"Please wait a moment, everyone."
In the casino, the dealer looked at the cards revealed on the table with a slightly speechless expression. He set down the deck in his hand, beckoned a waiter who was waiting nearby to whisper a few words, and called a halt to the game.
Meanwhile, the homeroom teachers of the first-year classes walked over. Chie Hoshinomiya glanced at the people at the table with a smile, clapped her hands together, and asked cheerfully, "Ara~ How is this situation usually handled?"
The dealer recalled the training he had received and answered solemnly, "According to the regulations..."
"According to the regulations, this matter should be handled by me." Someone nearby took up the dealer's words.
Everyone turned towards the voice and saw the gray-haired casino manager approaching with a group of bodyguards. After he clapped his hands, the eight bodyguards behind him instantly spread out, taking positions beside the four people at the gambling table, and said in unison, "Guests, please rise."
When the words fell, the reactions of the few people at the card table varied:
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji glanced at Hiyori Shiina, and after his eyes flickered for a moment, he was the first to stand up.
Hiyori Shiina looked at Ayanokōji with some confusion, not understanding why he suddenly looked at her, but she stood up as well.
Ryūji Kanzaki stood up, looking at Rokusuke Kōenji with an expression that suggested he was watching a show.
Only Rokusuke Kōenji sat motionless in his seat, arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face.
Beside them, the casino manager watched this scene. After meeting the gazes of the homeroom teachers, he smiled and spoke, "There are many ways to deal with cheating. In the vast majority of cases, we follow the principle that 'he who questions must provide proof,' just as student Kōenji demonstrated earlier."
"In other words—evidence must be provided for it to be considered cheating, correct." Tomonari Mashima frowned upon hearing this. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Forgive my bluntness, but in this situation, how can you guarantee your own impartiality? Even if you aren't participating in the gamble, we can't rule out the possibility that you have people on the table."
"Of course, there are other situations."
Seeing Tomonari Mashima raise a doubt, the smile on the casino manager's face did not diminish: "For example—in the current situation, we will retrieve surveillance footage, and use some methods that are not quite suitable to speak of to confirm the cheater. If no evidence is found, we will bear the responsibility and compensate for the losses."
"In that case, it is indeed fair."
Tomonari Mashima nodded at these words. The homeroom teachers nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with his statement. The students watching the live broadcast on the ship also felt there was no problem with this solution. Only:
Rokusuke Kōenji and Ryūji Kanzaki exchanged a glance and sneered without speaking. Hiyori Shiina quietly shrank her neck back. Kiyotaka Ayanokōji swept a calm gaze over the bodyguards behind him and chose to remain a cold bystander.
Everyone here was a smart person. In a situation where the source of evidence, the right of interpretation, and even personal safety were in the hands of others, it was hard to say how much room for manipulation was hidden within those "methods not quite suitable to speak of." One couldn't even rule out the possibility that these were just polite platitudes or lies.
"Whoever believes that is brain-dead," Symon, wriggling in her heart, summarized. "In short, let's stay far away from this kind of place in the future."
"Mhm~" Hiyori responded softly.
While the two chatted in their hearts, the casino manager had already walked to the table. He waved for the dealer to step aside, inspected the deck and the hand cards on the table, handed them to a waiter, and walked a circle around the gambling table. Finally, amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he extended his hand towards Hiyori in a gesture of invitation and said with a smile:
"The result has been determined. This student, please leave the examination venue."
Hiyori Shiina froze upon hearing this. She tilted her head in some confusion and pointed a finger at herself: "Is it me?"
The casino manager nodded with a smile, stepped around the girl, reached out to pull back the chair and table behind Hiyori, and picked up four playing cards from the floor, displaying them to the public: QA, 9A.
Beside the gambling table, Ryūji Kanzaki looked at Rokusuke Kōenji with slight suspicion—You wanted to win that badly?
Noticing their gazes, the upward curve of Rokusuke Kōenji's smile gradually flattened out. Looking at the "wild dog" who was trying so hard to curry favor with him, he let out a sneer. He took out his small mirror from his pocket and began rearranging the blonde hair on his head.
He did not need to explain anything.
He certainly couldn't say that because of a self-righteous wild dog that had crawled out from who-knows-where, he had actually "won" this game—a game he had racked his brains over and prepared for three days to directly challenge the "Goddess of Luck."
Noticing his attitude, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji recalled Rokusuke Kōenji's past performance and roughly guessed what had just happened—it was nothing more than an unexpected incident caused by an outsider attempting to curry favor with the heir to the Kōenji financial conglomerate.
Thinking of this, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji glanced at Hiyori Shiina, only to see—
"Hiyori Shiina" took the two playing cards from the manager's hand with a smile. After looking at them twice, she asked with a gentle laugh, "Will your casino remain open after the exam ends?"
The casino manager smiled and shook his head. "Apologies. Due to our relationship with your esteemed school, our business hours will cease once the exam concludes."
"That really is a pity." Shiina thought for a moment and added casually, "Let me give you a piece of advice—bootlickers never meet a good end, especially when a beast dreams of eating swan meat."
The smile on the casino manager's face gradually disappeared.
Ayanokōji, Kōenji, Kanzaki: Aggression! Such strong aggression!!!
____
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