At the same time, Mary Saotome had already sat down at the gambling table with Shimotsuki Okuri.
Shimotsuki Okuri asked calmly, "Meari, what do you want to gamble with me? Whatever you want to gamble, I can accept."
"You're very confident in yourself, aren't you?" Meari raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, since I entered school, I have been studying every day. I have researched all types of gambling. No matter what I gamble, I am confident of winning."
"Coincidentally, so am I," Meari snorted.
Not only was Shimotsuki Okuri studying, but Meari had also been studying constantly, never stopping her self-improvement. Now that she met such a hardworking opponent, a surge of fighting spirit welled up in her heart.
"Meari, do you really want to gamble with Okuri-san?" Hanatemari Tsuzura couldn't help but come behind Meari, quietly pulling her and whispering, "Why don't you reconsider? Gambling with her is really not a wise choice..."
"What's wrong?" Meari looked at her in surprise, not expecting Hanatemari Tsuzura to suddenly stop her at this moment.
Hanatemari whispered, "Meari, Shimotsuki Okuri is very strong. She scored almost full marks in every subject during exams. She is especially good at gambling and has never lost when gambling with others. Aiura Kokoro and the others were all defeated by her..."
In order to prevent these "favored children" who never listened in class from getting very poor scores and losing confidence, and being ridiculed by their classmates, it was tacitly agreed in the school not to disclose scores. Only teachers and students themselves knew their true scores.
Therefore, when Shimotsuki Okuri first transferred to this school, she was not conspicuous, and no one knew that her grades were consistently among the top in her grade.
In the eyes of wealthy students like Aiura Kokoro, Shimotsuki Okuri, this old-fashioned, silent "bookworm," was the easiest target to bully.
They, just like they did with Meari, enthusiastically invited Shimotsuki Okuri to gamble, and then... they lost miserably.
After this, most of her classmates knew how formidable she was, so they generally kept their distance and wouldn't deliberately provoke her.
Meari also suddenly understood at this moment.
No wonder Shimotsuki Okuri had been sitting at her desk studying without anyone disturbing her; it turned out they had all been "taught a lesson."
Hanatemari continued with a solemn tone, "Not only that, Shimotsuki Okuri has an exceptionally strong memory; she can even remember things after just one glance, able to recite any article she reads once."
Meari was startled, "Hey, Kazura, you're not trying to scare me, are you? Remembering something after just one glance—only a human dictaphone could do something like that, right?"
"Remembering after one glance" refers to the ability to quickly convert short-term memory into long-term memory, which is not an impossible feat. Many people throughout history have claimed to possess this "photographic memory," capable of instantly recalling large amounts of information.
Meari's idol, "Nikola Tesla," was said to have this ability, but that was just a rumor. This was her first time personally witnessing such a genius.
"I'm not kidding, it's true." Hanatemari said seriously, "Meari, when you gamble with her, you must be careful. Never play games that rely on memory, otherwise you'll have no chance of winning…"
Meari immediately thought of her experience during the Dou Di Zhu Competition. At that time, it was as if she had activated "X-ray vision," knowing every card in everyone's hand, and every card played made her extremely uncomfortable.
Although she was also memorizing cards, she always felt one step behind the opponent, which led to her regrettable defeat.
Meari believed about eighty percent of what Hanatemari said, and her vigilance immediately heightened.
If Shimotsuki Okuri truly possessed this ability, she absolutely could not play memory-related games with her!
"Meari, have you discussed it with her? What game are we going to play?" Shimotsuki Okuri saw them endlessly whispering to each other and couldn't help but urge them.
It was already after school, and time was running out. If she didn't quickly defeat Meari and return the money to Mibuomi-sama, he might leave the school.
"Don't rush, I've already thought of it." Meari walked over with a few dice and two dice cups, placing them on the gambling table, and announced with great presence, "Today, we're playing this: Liar's Dice!"
Liar's Dice is a game that requires both sufficient luck and for players to learn how to assess the situation and calculate the most suitable position for filling the score sheet. This was also one of the Ryōran Festival games Meari had brought out.
Today alone, she had already won almost a million with this game.
Meari's math grades had always been excellent. This game, which required both luck and calculation, was perfect for her. Even if Shimotsuki Okuri's grades in all subjects were strong, Meari herself was confident in her "math."
It's as if she hadn't also scored perfect marks.
Since she couldn't find her weakness in a short time, she would use her strongest skill to challenge her.
Let's see who is stronger.
"No problem." Shimotsuki Okuri nodded, having no objections. In her opinion, she could win no matter what game they played.
The reason she thought this was not out of blind arrogance, but based on absolute confidence in her own abilities.
Besides the dice and dice cups, Meari also placed two score sheets on the table; these were all necessary for the game.
Shimotsuki Okuri instinctively picked up the items and began to inspect them.
"Don't worry, there's no way I would cheat." Meari pointed to Captain Dragonfly, who was like a guardian figurine on the bar counter: "You participated in the Dou Di Zhu Competition, so you should know that the entire casino is under his supervision."
Shimotsuki Okuri glanced at Captain Dragonfly, but didn't stop her inspection: "After all, those are your things. I can't guarantee that this electronic program is really effective. To help Renshochen-sama win, no amount of caution is too much."
"Suit yourself."
Meari didn't stop her and let her inspect freely.
In her own casino, Meari naturally wouldn't resort to cheating. She wanted to win in her own way.
She had confidence in this game.
Shimotsuki Okuri's inspection quickly finished. The dice were all ordinary dice, and the dice cups had not been tampered with.
Meari spoke at the right moment, "Are you done checking? Do you know the rules of Liar's Dice?"
Shimotsuki Okuri shook her head, "I know the general rules of the game, but I've never played it. Could you explain it to me again, so we don't misunderstand each other due to different rules?"
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