83. Juraku Sachiko's Staring Gamble
Juraku Sachiko raised a specially-made collar in her hand.
"This collar can monitor your heart rate. Put it on, hold my feet with both hands, stare at them up close, and if you can last one minute without your heart rate exceeding 100, then you win."
"If it doesn't exceed 80, you'll get an extra secret reward."
"If you win, I'll use my family's resources to support your endeavors outside of school. If you lose…"
Juraku Sachiko slightly nodded, revealing a meaningful smile. "That proves you were born to crawl at my feet. In that case… whatever wager you made with Momobami Kirari, in secret, you'll be my dog."
"If I tell you to kiss my feet, you can't refuse. If I tell you to lie on the floor and be my footstool, then you'll obediently lie down."
"But on the surface, everything stays the same. And I'll tell Kirari that you won the bet."
"Hikigaya, do you agree?"
Agree?
Of course not!
Hikigaya's entire body tensed up as if facing a mortal threat, eyes locked on that collar. The bet hadn't even begun, and already he felt his heartbeat speeding up.
Everyone knew— the closer he got to the opposite sex, the faster his heart would race.
After those chaotic incidents in the hospital with Jabami and Momobami, Hikigaya had realized that prime numbers weren't actually his loyal companions.
Prime numbers can only be divided by one and themselves; they are the loneliest of numbers. But even so, when Hikigaya faced women, those numbers betrayed him.
That strong and powerful heartbeat—though he hadn't counted the beats—would definitely exceed 100. Even if he wasn't some idiot who'd go into heat just by seeing a pretty girl's feet, any intimate contact with the opposite sex, no matter the body part, would send his heart rate out of control.
Trying to stay calm, he said, "Juraku-senpai, a gamble like this… doesn't comply with the rules, does it?"
"As far as I know, all bets at Hyakkaou Private Academy must be witnessed by a third party, even private ones."
"Heh, you want a third party to watch, huh. I get it, Hikigaya. I'll have Mikura witness it."
"No, that's not what I meant—"
Hikigaya's head felt like it was about to explode, and he was just about to argue further when his cheeks were suddenly pinched from both sides by Sachiko, forcing him to meet her beast-like eyes.
"I see it now, Hikigaya Hachiman. You're afraid, aren't you?"
"In that case, there's no other bet for you. We'll start right now~"
Right now?!
Hikigaya's pupils contracted, and his peripheral vision swept toward the monitor. The gamble between Jabami and Ikishima was already nearing its end.
Ikishima was kneeling on the table, seemingly begging Jabami for something.
If he went through with this gamble now, his situation wouldn't be much better than Ikishima's. And—Jabami would probably be here any minute now.
What happened in the hospital absolutely could not happen again!
Under Sachiko's surprised gaze, Hikigaya forcefully broke free of her hold.
He didn't plead for her to change the bet—that would be pointless. He knew Juraku Sachiko well. Once she had made up her mind about something, there was no changing it.
If he wanted the right to gamble with Momobami Kirari with no risk, he had to get past this obstacle with Juraku-senpai.
But not right now.
Hikigaya spoke quickly, "I understand, Juraku-senpai. If you want to gamble that way, then I'm happy to accompany you. But just not right now—let's schedule a time for it later."
A dark basement combined with Jabami possibly arriving soon—one external pressure, one psychological stress—under both, Hikigaya Hachiman was bound to lose.
"Oh? Afraid that girl will come knocking? Then as you wish."
Fortunately, Juraku Sachiko didn't press him further. She withdrew the foot she had placed on the chair and slowly pulled back the collar she intended to put on Hikigaya.
She stuck out her pink tongue and greedily licked the corner of her mouth. "Hikigaya. I will consume you. Your arrival at Hyakkaou Academy is fate, I was destined to make you my dog."
Hikigaya calmed himself from his initial panic and looked calmly into Juraku Sachiko's eyes. "Though I'm not entirely opposed to becoming Juraku-senpai's dog, I'd still prefer to live as a man."
"When's the gamble happening?"
"Next Monday, then."
"Location?"
"Your office, Juraku-senpai?"
Juraku Sachiko crossed her arms and nodded slightly, which signaled her agreement with Hikigaya's proposal.
The confrontation between the two had temporarily come to an end.
Knock knock—
"Hikigaya-kun, are you in there?"
At that moment, a timely knock came from the door to the monitoring room. The two exchanged a glance. Hikigaya took a deep breath to steady himself and walked toward the door.
He placed his hand on the doorknob and pressed it down.
The door opened, revealing Jabami Yumeko's somewhat weary face. A faint sense of guilt rose in Hikigaya's heart.
It was very much like that cliché: the wife is out working hard, while the husband is sneaking around cheating.
"Hikigaya-kun, I'm sorry. In the end, I wasn't able to win the gamble."
'Don't apologize at a time like this, Jabami! I'm the one who should feel guilty...'
Hikigaya said helplessly, "You did really well, Jabami… If your hands were stained with blood over this kind of gamble, it wouldn't be worth it."
Jabami was deeply moved by his words and was about to open her arms for a heartfelt embrace with Hikigaya Hachiman. But Hikigaya's face flushed red, and he raised his hand as if holding a microphone, lightly coughing to draw her attention.
"Eh?" Jabami's motion froze mid-air. Her moist eyes blinked rapidly, and then she noticed Juraku Sachiko standing behind them.
Juraku Sachiko glanced at the monitor, which showed Ikishima writhing and twisting on the ground, tormented by her unrequited love. She turned to look at Hikigaya and Jabami with a playful smile on her face.
"To be able to push Ikishima this far, you two really are…"
"She's fallen for you, hasn't she?"
Juraku Sachiko examined the princess-cut girl standing before her.
"Mm, Ikishima-san said some unpleasant things to me. I don't like her style of gambling."
"She's like that," Sachiko said.
"Back when she lost to the president, she clung to Kirari for a long time. But she never got another chance to gamble with her."
"She may be a little crazy, but her family's resources are still useful."
Juraku Sachiko spoke with implication: "Now that she's so obsessed with you, if you don't take advantage of it, Hikigaya, you'll regret it."
Hearing his name, Hikigaya kept silent.
Actually, from what he had just seen on the monitor, Hikigaya had already gotten some sense of Ikishima's background. Being able to casually carry firearms and a large amount of ammunition, plus her psychotic personality—it was highly likely she had a yakuza background.
Yakuza.
It was an unfamiliar term for Hikigaya, but that didn't stop him from considering the potential benefits of using them. For instance… protecting himself if Mibuomi Aoi got desperate, or shielding his physical book business from some overly honest "commercial warfare"?
He didn't need to use her right now, but he definitely couldn't afford not to have her as an option.
Of course, if Jabami wasn't willing, he wouldn't force it.
After all, what Ikishima desired was Jabami Yumeko—not him, Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Do you want her, Hikigaya-kun?"