91 - Deduction Showdown: [Hidden Rules]
Ougatou Naoko slowly extended her finger and pointed at Saotome Mary.
"Then it's decided—Saotome Mary-chan will join us in the gamble~ If you lose, you'll become a livestock forever~"
"Saotome-san, what do you think? It's not too late to back out now."
"I..."
Saotome Mary clenched her fists, golden flames flickering in her eyes. That was her will—an iron will as bright as gold.
Being treated like a plaything to be kneaded and toyed with by Mibuomi Aoi—she never wanted to experience that kind of humiliation again.
That's why she would stand by Hikigaya's side—resolutely, and win no matter what!
'I, Saotome Mary, will never be inferior to anyone in this lifetime!'
"Then bring it on!" she growled lowly.
"Such wonderful resolve! Then let's begin the game! As for the two unrelated individuals, please leave the baseball clubroom~ If you want to watch, you'll have to stand outside the door."
"Houko, go ahead and explain the game rules to everyone."
Hikigaya Hachiman took a deep breath, patted Jabami Yumeko's shoulder, and then sat firmly in his seat.
Aiura Kokoro turned and followed behind Jabami Yumeko with an unwilling expression. As a traitor, she was already prepared to be humiliated. But when this moment actually came, she realized she couldn't accept the reality so calmly.
She had to become stronger!
"Aiura-san."
Jabami Yumeko's voice carried no joy nor sorrow, striking straight at the confusion in Aiura Kokoro's heart.
Hearing Yumeko's voice, Aiura's heart fluttered, her cheeks flushed red. She instinctively looked into Yumeko's glowing red eyes.
"Remember how you're feeling right now. If you don't want to experience this again, then your resolve to become stronger must be as desperate as someone drowning who needs to breathe."
"At this point, hesitation serves no purpose~"
Aiura Kokoro fell silent. Her fists clenched unconsciously, and her gaze toward Yumeko slowly turned dreamy.
This was the first time she had ever felt the urge to kneel at a woman's feet.
With lips pursed, she replied in a nasal tone filled with subtle allure:
"Mm."
...
...
[The name of the gamble is: Hidden Rules]
[In this game, a standard deck of playing cards is evenly distributed among all participants, along with 50 rule cards.]
[The rule cards contain various different playing rules.]
[Players must play their cards according to the rule written on the selected rule card.]
[For example, one rule might be: cards must be played in the order of Hearts → Spades → Clubs → Diamonds.]
[That would be one possible rule.]
[Each round, the players are divided into one "Upper Seat" and four "Lower Seats." The Upper Seat plays first, followed by the others in seating order.]
[At its core, this is a deduction game. The Lower Seats must infer the rule that the Upper Seat is using based on the sequence of plays.]
[At the beginning of each round, the Upper Seat randomly draws three rule cards and chooses one to be the rule for that round.]
[During the play phase, including the Upper Seat, everyone must determine whether the card they're playing complies with the rule.]
[If a card is played in compliance with the rule, the Lower Seat player earns +1 point; if not, they gain no points. Each person has only one chance per round to make a deduction, and guessing the correct rule earns +10 points.]
[Additionally, for every card played by a Lower Seat, the Upper Seat gains +1 point. However, if after two full rounds no one deduces the correct rule, the Upper Seat forfeits all points from that round and receives a -10 point penalty.]
"This rule..." Saotome's forehead gradually began to bead with cold sweat—just listening to the explanation filled her with overwhelming pressure.
But there was one thing she understood clearly: as the Upper Seat, you needed to choose a rule that could probably be guessed after the Lower Seats made around seven or eight mistakes. Only by doing so could you avoid a point deduction.
And as a Lower Seat, you had to deduce the rule before the other Lower Seats in order to take the lead in scoring.
Seeing everyone deep in thought, Ougatou Naoko's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Additionally, to prevent signaling or passing secret messages, all assistive items must be handed in~ They'll be returned to you after the gamble ends."
"So then, Hikigaya-kun, Saotome-san, could you please hand over your watches?"
Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes narrowed. The signal he had considered his most reliable backup plan had already been exposed before the gamble even began...
'Truly unexpected... these Ougatou sisters.'
With a blank expression, Hikigaya removed the cheek-watch from his wrist and handed it to Ougatou Houko.
Saotome was sweating heavily; seeing Hikigaya offer no protest, she had no choice but to obediently hand over her own watch as well.
"Ah, well, it's not really Hikigaya-kun's fault~"
"Someone who joined our gamble before did it way too obviously, to the point we had no choice but to start taking it seriously."
"For example, stepping on the floor or tapping the table when the hand points to a certain interval..."
Ougatou Naoko spread her hands and shook her head in disdain:
"It was just so—weak!"
"I really didn't expect it—Hikigaya-kun, using such a low-level signaling method."
"And here I thought you were some kind of gambling expert."
Ougatou Houko cupped both hands around her cherry-like lips like a makeshift microphone, breathing out a foggy sigh:
"But now it seems... you're just a small fry~"
Hikigaya sighed helplessly, showing no intention to defend himself. After all, it was a trick that had been around since middle school—clearly outdated now.
He admitted frankly:
"Didn't expect to be seen through before the gamble even started. On that point, I was indeed not as skilled."
"Oh? Isn't using tools to send information your specialty, Hikigaya-kun?"
"Then... what is your specialty?"
Ougatou Naoko licked her lips, and beneath the table, stretched out her well-toned leg toward Hikigaya Hachiman. But he had already anticipated the move, shifting his body to the side and dodging her advance.
This smooth and natural reaction actually left Naoko momentarily stunned.
It was a move she and her sister had mastered while fooling around—how did Hikigaya Hachiman respond so fluidly?
"No need for unnecessary chatter." Hikigaya tapped his finger on the table.
"I have a question now."
"Please ask, Hikigaya-kun."
"What exactly do these so-called rules consist of?"
"Hmm... that, we can let everyone take a look at~"
Ougatou Houko pulled out an exquisite box from under the table and placed it in the center, slowly opening it in front of everyone.
The two girls and one boy each took a stack with perfect coordination and began examining them.
Hikigaya spread out the rule cards in his hand, eyes clear and sharp as he studied them closely.
After a while, he murmured:
"So, the simplest rules are things like 'only play black hearts,' 'only spades,' or 'only clubs or diamonds.'"
"And the slightly more complex ones are something like 'alternate between red-heart even numbers and black-spade odd numbers' in sequence."
The three stacks of cards were passed among the three of them in turn. Hikigaya quickly finished reading through all the rules.
At that moment, Shimotsukiuri Ouri slowly raised her head.