The school had arranged two discussion sessions per day—one from 1 to 2 in the afternoon and another from 7 to 8 in the evening.
To be honest, Kure Ragna found the entire discussion process meaningless. If the preferential treatment students simply kept their identities hidden and their classmates refused to participate, then no amount of deduction from other classes would uncover the truth.
Even if three out of the four classes in a group revealed their messages to confirm they weren't the preferential treatment, that still left two students in the last class who were also not preferential treatment.
Taking a random guess was too risky—especially with a penalty of 50 class points for an incorrect answer. No one would dare to take that chance.
Ichinose Honami understood this, yet she refused to give up. Despite the uncertainty shown by Classes A and B in the afternoon discussion, she had prepared an ice-breaking strategy for the evening.
When the discussion resumed after dinner, she arrived with two decks of playing cards.
"Well, I know it's impossible for us to suddenly open up to each other, but just sitting here in silence isn't helping either. So, I thought we could play a game together. What do you think?" she suggested with a bright smile.
"I'm in," Kure Ragna responded nonchalantly, waving his hand.
"A retro card game, huh?" Hideo Sotomura mused, rubbing his chin. "Not bad as a pastime."
"Well, it's better than just staring at each other," Yukimura adjusted his glasses and agreed.
In the end, almost everyone joined in—except for the three students from Class A, who were likely following Katsuragi's strategy of keeping their distance. Even when Ichinose invited them, they remained silent and indifferent.
It was as if they were Malphite—unyielding and immovable.
Oh, and Karuizawa Kei didn't join either. But unlike Class A's students, she didn't refuse; she simply never showed up at all.
"Karuizawa-san didn't come tonight…" Manabe Shiho from Class D muttered, glancing at Kure Ragna curiously. "Is she alright?"
He pursed his lips, his voice carrying a hint of indifference. "It's nothing—just a childish tantrum."
Manabe tilted her head in confusion but didn't press further.
The game Ichinose introduced resembled Five-Card Stud but with simplified rules. All cards were dealt face down, adding an element of uncertainty.
To make things more interesting, Ichinose even prepared small paper chips for betting, increasing the stakes each round.
Surprisingly, the first person to lose all their chips was Yukimura, despite his strong grasp of mathematics. His overly cautious nature worked against him—he folded at the slightest doubt, leading to his gradual downfall.
Meanwhile, Kure Ragna was the biggest winner.
From the very start, he played recklessly, placing large bets without even looking at his cards. His aggressive style intimidated others into folding early, convinced he had a strong hand.
However, as the game progressed, the others caught on—he wasn't playing with any strategy at all. No matter what cards he had, he always bet.
"Counsel Sun.jpg," someone murmured, watching the chaos unfold.
Once they realized his pattern, the others stopped backing down and played until the end. Yet, whether by sheer luck or fate, Kure Ragna continued to win crucial hands.
Eventually, the game boiled down to a final showdown—Kure Ragna against Ibuki Mio from Class D. Everyone else had lost their chips, while Ibuki had built up a sizable stack by mirroring Kure's fearless approach.
"Well, looks like this is it," Kure Ragna remarked, tilting his head as he compared their remaining chips.
Ibuki's sharp gaze met his without hesitation.
Manabe Shiho sighed under her breath, her lips moving slightly. If one could read them, it'd be clear she was muttering, "Tch… just dumb luck."
"Alright, place your final bets!" Ichinose, now fully assuming her role as the dealer, announced with enthusiasm.
The first hidden cards were dealt.
Kure Ragna glanced at the quartz clock on the wall, then casually pushed all his chips into the center of the table.
"Let's end this in one game."
"Hmph…" Ibuki smirked and followed suit, going all in without a second thought.
The final cards were dealt. Just as everyone was about to reveal their hands, Kure Ragna spoke up again.
"How about we raise the stakes?" His voice was calm but carried a playful edge. "These chips are just paper, so there's no real risk. Let's make it more interesting—the loser has to promise the winner one thing."
"Fine," Ibuki responded instantly, without even considering the consequences.
The game proceeded.
When the cards were revealed, Kure Ragna had 39 points, while Ibuki had 45.
A clear victory.
Everyone seemed taken aback—Kure Ragna had finally lost.
"Oh? Looks like I lost," he said, unfazed, as he neatly stacked his cards and returned them to Ichinose. He stood up, stretching slightly.
"As promised, I owe you one," he said to Ibuki with an easy-going smile.
With that, the night's discussions came to an end. Though no progress was made in uncovering the preferential treatment, they had learned something far more valuable—each other's personalities.
And that, in itself, was a win.
After the game, Kure Ragna didn't immediately return to his room. Instead, he made his way to the vending machine on the deck, gazing up at the endless starry sky as he reached for a drink.
Just as he was about to press the button, voices drifted from the nearby rest area.
"It's been a while since the three of us could just sit and chat over tea like this."
"Yeah, after everything, we somehow all ended up as teachers," another voice replied.
Kure Ragna immediately recognized two of them—Mashima from Class A and Hoshinomiya from Class C.
But the third voice…
Who could it be?
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