93 -The Twin Sisters' "Mutual Understanding"
The gazes of the Ougatou sisters toward Hikigaya Hachiman changed slightly.
In each other's eyes, they saw that flicker of shock.
'What's with this guy?!'
'Did he cheat? How the hell did he deduce the rule from the clues we had?!'
'No, that's not possible. I'm the one in the upper seat / my sister's the one in the upper seat—there's no way he could've cheated.'
'So he really... deduced it?!'
A sense of absurdity, something that defied the very foundation of gambling, began to spread within the hearts of the two sisters. Even though they were the ones who had designed the gamble, the man before them seemed even more at ease and in control than they were.
This kind of thing—they could never allow it! This was supposed to be their domain!
'We need to get serious, Houko!'
'We need to get serious, Naoko!'
Ougatou Naoko straightened her posture, the flippant look in her eyes replaced with a few degrees of seriousness. She smiled and said, "Congratulations, Hikigaya-san. Your deduction is absolutely correct."
"You've earned ten points."
"Then next, it's Saotome-san's turn to take the upper seat~"
Hikigaya Hachiman calmly watched the sisters, holding no thoughts of underestimating them.
He still didn't fully understand how their signaling worked, but it was clear—they were indeed passing codes. Just like he and Saotome had agreed upon: mutual understanding.
Was it the eyes? The elbows? Fingers? Foot stomps?
The previous round's movements by the Ougatou sisters played back in Hikigaya's mind as if in slow motion. The trembling of their eyes, the twitching of muscles—he stored them all into the palace of his memory to dissect and analyze.
The problem was the sample size was still too small—even Hikigaya couldn't deduce the full signaling system just yet. But it was clear that a specific pattern of physical gestures was being used.
Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion uses its full strength.
That was Hikigaya Hachiman's principle in battle.
He spoke, "Saotome, go ahead. Don't worry."
There was something magical about Hikigaya's voice—it calmed the flustered mind of Saotome Mary.
If this had been just a money gamble, she wouldn't be this nervous. But ever since Shimotsukiuri Ouri entered the scene, this had turned into a gamble they absolutely couldn't afford to lose.
Saotome Mary did not want to become anyone's lifelong slave. To avoid that, she must not end up in the bottom two.
"It's just three cards—Saotome-san, better hurry up and choose one~" Ougatou Houko lazily prodded her.
"Shut up!"
Saotome took a deep breath and slowly drew a rule card from the right-hand side. At this point, there was no turning back. She could only gamble.
"This is the rule card I've chosen."
"My card is [♦5], which does not match the rule."
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes. Saotome had deliberately avoided playing a card that matched the rule—this was the most conservative strategy.
But it wasn't without its benefits—it gave him more time to crack the sisters' code.
"Wow~ a different kind of opening strategy," Houko clapped her hands. "Then I'll play [♥Q]."
"Matches."
"Oh my, it matched so suddenly. What a stroke of luck," Naoko cheerfully praised her sister.
Now it was Hikigaya's turn again. This time, without much hesitation, he slowly played a card: [♥8].
"Matches."
"Wow~ two in a row. Sister, I think I've figured out what the rule is," Naoko's voice rang beside them.
Her words gave Saotome an ominous feeling.
Even though they were also using the "mutual understanding" method to cheat, due to lack of experience, she and Hikigaya, as first-time partners, were obviously less skilled than the twin sisters.
So her strategy had been to make the rule as simple as possible.
If Hikigaya Hachiman could deduce the correct rule before the sisters did, then signal + Hikigaya's reasoning would become their sure-win strategy!
Just as Saotome was feeling uncertain, Naoko raised her hand and smiled at the flustered Saotome.
"I'm going to deduce it now~"
"Really didn't expect Saotome-san to choose such a simple rule~"
"If I'm not wrong, the rule should be: [Play even-numbered hearts], right?"
Houko chimed in like a sports commentator during a time-freeze: "As expected of Naoko—she's made her deduction~ Will Saotome-san's rule be broken like this?"
But instead of panicking as expected, Saotome's face, which had seemed flustered before, didn't change—rather, her expression softened, and a seductive smile curved on her lips.
"Sorry, that's incorrect."
Next up was Shimotsukiuri Ouri—the woman who had been silent since the start of the game. She played another heart card: "[♥7]."
'Come on, figure it out already! Hikigaya!' Saotome Mary glanced anxiously toward Hikigaya.
This guy better not be overthinking things and getting stuck in his own head.
'I already gave you the signal—just read it, Hikigaya!'
Finally, at the last moment, Hikigaya slowly raised his hand.
"My deduction is: [Play heart cards]."
Hearing Hikigaya's reliable voice, Saotome finally felt at peace.
Should've just said it earlier—scared her for half the day. Does he enjoy walking a tightrope or something? What a dangerous man.
Her pink lips parted slightly: "Correct!"
"…You two are really something." The always lively Ougatou Houko shook her head helplessly. "We already expected that Saotome-san would go against expectations, but we didn't think she'd go so far as to choose the simplest rule. The game's starting to get interesting now."
"Well then, it's my turn to be the dealer~ Naoko, we can't lose to Hikigaya-san again this round."
Ougatou Houko swiftly flipped a rule card from the deck, glanced at it briefly, and then placed it face-down on the table.
"[♣6], not a match."
'Here we go again…'
Hikigaya immediately felt a sense of unease.
In the previous round, he had deliberately played a [♥8]. Not only to rack up some points, but also to bait Ougatou Naoko into stepping on a mine for him.
After eliminating incorrect possibilities, Hikigaya had a pretty good idea of the correct rule.
Letting the others play freely was also a way to get more opportunities to observe the sisters' signaling.
But just now, the moment the card was played, the sisters' body language had clearly become more subtle and nuanced.
In other words—they were cheating!
'Damn it… still too little information.'
Hikigaya had a vague feeling: this round, he was going to lose.
Sure enough, just as Houko's voice faded, Ougatou Naoko raised her hand with a cheerful smile and turned to everyone:
"Sorry, everyone, I've deduced the rule."
"The rule is: [Play in the order of odd-numbered Hearts and Spades, and multiples of 3 in Clubs]."