76 - The Flag of Gambling Madness, The Dream of Gambling Madness, The Delirium of Gambling Madness!
"Hikigaya... I..."
Miura Yumiko finally snapped out of the series of sudden events. Seeing a former middle school classmate in this unfamiliar high school—though their relationship hadn't been that close—still gave her a natural sense of familiarity.
Moreover, it was because of her that the girl named Jabami had been captured by Ikishima Midari.
A swirl of complicated emotions brewed in Miura Yumiko's heart. She bit her soft lips, not knowing what to say.
Guilt and helplessness sprouted within her.
In the end, all she could manage was: "I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I'll go find Ikishima and use myself to trade for Jabami-san."
Hikigaya Hachiman stayed silent for a moment, then slowly exhaled a heavy breath and shook his head. "It's not your fault. Besides, I don't think you could successfully trade yourself for Jabami from Midari."
He pulled out his phone and brought up the contact information and office address of Juraku Sachiko.
"Go find this person, and tell her to go to the Beautification Committee's headquarters."
"This is...?"
"The Public Morals Committee Chair," Hikigaya replied flatly. "I'll go ahead and follow Midari, just in case. You need to get someone over there quickly. That lunatic Midari really might pull the trigger."
"Public Morals... Alright, I got it!" Miura Yumiko nodded decisively without hesitation.
Inwardly, she was surprised—since when did Hikigaya Hachiman get so closely connected with a big shot in the student council?
Back in middle school, he was practically invisible… and what's going on between him and that girl, Jabami Yumeko? Did he ditch Yukinoshita Yukino?
Miura Yumiko recalled memories of middle school when Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were both in the Service Club. Her gossip-loving soul began to burn brightly.
But she also understood priorities. This wasn't the time to bring up such matters. At the very least, she could dig for details later.
Without further hesitation, she ran off toward the building where the clubrooms were located.
Hikigaya took a deep breath and followed Ikishima Midari.
——————
——————
"Oi oi, you actually followed me here? I didn't think you guys would go this far just for that thing between your legs, you know?"
Arriving at the Beautification Committee's headquarters, Ikishima Midari looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with some surprise.
She had played this game before. Without exception, the guys always abandoned the girl in the end. The two Beautification Committee members with her now were prime examples—turned into bitchy gals after being dumped by those same men.
Under the threat of her revolver, not many dared to risk their lives to play with her.
Men, when forced to choose between their own lives and the pleasure of their lower halves, would always pick the former—Midari believed this without a doubt.
"Cut the crap," Hikigaya ignored her nonsense.
The pure friendship between him and Yumeko needed no validation from anyone.
Midari took a good look at Hikigaya Hachiman, then let out a scornful laugh.
"What exactly is your business here? We have other plans, you know," Jabami Yumeko said indignantly, puffing her cheeks as she raised her hands, allowing the Beautification Committee members to unlock her handcuffs.
Sitting seiza-style with elegant posture on the floor, that mix of cuteness and majesty caught Hikigaya's attention.
"Plans, huh? I know about them~"
"You think a delinquent student like you can walk out of here today?"
"You probably don't know this yet, but the President has already set her sights on you~ So, before she breaks you, let's have a gamble first, Yumeko~"
As she spoke, a wildly exaggerated expression spread across Ikishima Midari's face. Her entire face was flushed, the tongue with a barbell piercing dangled limply from her mouth, and drool trickled uncontrollably down her chin.
Her single eye stared at Yumeko, brimming with indescribable emotion.
With her fingers painted in purple nail polish, she flirtatiously lifted Yumeko's chin, her hand continuously caressing Yumeko's pale neck. At the same time, she inhaled sharply again and again, greedily taking in Yumeko's scent.
This is bad— Hikigaya Hachiman's heart sank as he instinctively turned toward Yumeko.
Just as he feared.
"You should've said so from the start. So, what shall we bet on?"
The composed and refined mask fell away, revealing the true face of the girl possessed by the madness of gambling.
Yumeko's eyes gleamed red as she gently took Ikishima Midari's hand.
"I knew you'd say that. You really are something special, Yumeko!"
"I get you. You and I are the same. We are—"
"Turned on by betting using our lives, reaching the peak the more dangerous the bet!"
One hand of Ikishima Midari wasstroking Yumeko's head, the other was slowly reaching toward her lower body.
"Aah~ Don't say stuff like that! You pervert, that's just shameless~" Yumeko covered her face, her thighs instinctively squeezing together.
Suddenly remembering something, she twisted her body around and blocked Hikigaya's line of sight, keeping him from witnessing Midari's perverted behavior.
Hikigaya looked at the two like-minded girls and felt nothing but a wave of nausea.
He was secretly relieved that, although Yumeko was insane, she hadn't reached Midari's level of madness. If she had, he never would've considered her a partner.
'And seriously, Yumeko, can't you have some sense of danger...?'
'I almost had to snatch you from her at gunpoint just now... and you're acting like this is some playground game..'.
Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't help but hold his forehead.
After their chaotic exchange went on for a while, it was Ikishima Midari who first snapped back to her senses. She smiled in satisfaction and said:
"This place is an interrogation facility built underground to 'clean up' the school's trash."
"It's divided into the [Interrogation Room], where questioning happens directly, and the [Monitoring Room], where one can observe from another room."
"Both rooms are fully soundproofed sealed chambers. Even if you screamed your lungs out inside, no one outside would hear a thing."
"The only link between the rooms is the cameras and monitors installed in each. And the game we're going to play is an ESP game."
Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze sharpened. An ESP game—a two-player game where you have to guess the word your partner writes without being able to communicate. It tests how well you understand one another.
If it was that kind of gamble, he was confident he and Yumeko could pull through.
"The rules are simple—"
[It's a card game where you have to guess how the dealer in the other room arranges the cards]
[Specifically: the dealer first arranges the cards however they like, and their hand movements are visible via monitor]
[After the dealer finishes, it's our turn to arrange our own cards]
[The one whose card arrangement most closely matches the dealer's wins]
[The difference in the number of matching cards becomes the point score]
After listening, both of them nodded thoughtfully.
"I see, simple rules are really the best~" Yumeko said happily. "So, what's the wager?"
Heh—
Ikishima Midari grinned widely, her eyes filled with madness.
"Hehe, Yumeko, you've got it all wrong. Don't joke with me."
"Betting money? That's the kind of tame, boring stake normal people use—way too gentle, Yumeko~"
Important Announcement!
I Posted a new Fanfiction!
It's a crossover between Oregairu and Classroom of the Elite
The Return Of Hikigaya Hachiman in the Classroom of the Elite
Summary:
During the unanimous special exam in the second year at Advanced Nurturing High School, Hikigaya Hachiman was expelled.
After successfully making it through university entrance exams... he was rewarded with a big truck.
You can find the fanfiction here: https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-return-of-hikigaya-hachiman-in-the-classroom-of-the-elite_32602834508344205
Hello everyone! I'm VarieTL.
Read ahead (40 chapters) by supporting me on https://www.patreon.com/c/VarieTL and https://ko-fi.com/varietl
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