176 - As the wife, Yumeko has no choice but to atone for her sins, right?
"4" is a homophone for death, so let's exclude it for now.
Therefore, in this round, Rokujou Eneru's position is at "8".
'But you know, I can't let you be eliminated so quickly.'
'According to the game's pace, you should still have two pieces of underwear on. At least two more rounds before you're eliminated.'
Hikigaya no longer hesitated and quickly tapped the number "4".
[Both photographers confirmed. Hidden camera activated—]
Click.
Once again, the screen partition in his hand returned empty.
[Now, both participants, please remove clothing for the third round.]
[Please note: starting from the third round, participants will begin removing their undergarments~]
"..."
Rokujou Eneru took a deep breath.
Though she had never really understood why people resisted becoming underwear models — weren't those the same as swimsuits?
But now, she finally understood those feelings.
"From here on out, the level is completely different!"
"It's gone from all-ages to restricted..." she murmured, slowly reaching behind her for the clasp.
Click.
Without hesitation, she tossed aside what could only be considered a sacred object to lustful boys onto a small stool. She raised her other hand to cover the holy light.
In her upturned eyes was an indescribable determination. As a photographer, she had already resolved to sacrifice herself for the sake of her art!
Besides, she didn't think she'd lose.
Her odd-even pattern strategy, though simple, was rarely seen through.
Very few people could associate the 3x3 grid of the stolen-camera baseball game with parity (odd/even). Most people, when entering the gamble, focused on the stripping, not the pattern.
By her calculations, Hikigaya Hachiman would have started with an even-numbered position — 2, 4, 6, 8 — meaning she could always track Yumeko's location!
'Still one more pair of panties left, Yumeko~ One more round, and I'll capture your most shameful moment on camera.'
Rokujou Eneru had a crazed look on her face, drooling uncontrollably — just as filthy as she was.
But compared to Yumeko's resolve, hers was nothing at all.
Inside the other grid room, Yumeko had long since opened her heart. The supposed hidden-camera baseball game seemed to have already been cast from her mind. Perhaps it was due to her absolute trust in Hikigaya — she had begun entertaining herself.
Her red lips bit tight, fingers curling, her body moving in rhythm.
Yumeko felt the vibration at her wrist — Hikigaya Hachiman had issued the next command.
That slight shake brought a sliver of clarity to her dazed eyes. She licked her lips:
"Oh, Hachiman~ Even though you've already seen through Rokujou Eneru's scheme, are you cruelly waiting until the end to take her picture~?"
"If that's the case, you'll have to see another girl's body too~"
"What a sin~ In that case, I — as your wife — must atone~"
Saying that, with nothing left restraining her, Yumeko, seemingly to better enjoy the rare atmosphere, slowly knelt down onto the floor on her pale knees.
Duang~ Duang~ Duang~
The delightful swaying echoed in the tight little grid space.
But due to the excellent soundproofing of the partition, nothing inside could be sensed from outside.
Noticing this early on, Yumeko became even more uninhibited.
[Hikigaya-sama: Point 6]
[Shimizu: Point 2]
'Point 2, huh. Starting from 8, the reachable positions are 2, 4, 6. Exclude 4 — remaining are 2 and 6.'
'2 is associated with afternoon school start time, 6 with end of day and adjacent to 7. So, this round, Rokujou Eneru's position is at 6.'
Hikigaya tapped the 2.
As expected, nothing was captured this round either.
[Now, we move on to the final round~]
In the final round of the stolen-camera baseball game, even the female referee's voice began to sound excited.
A gamble involving bodies — even for veteran dealers and referees — was rare to witness!
[Participants, please remove your final article of clothing. Anyone still clothed after this round will be deemed the loser.]
Rokujou Eneru lowered her head, looking at the last remaining piece of clothing on her body — cherry-patterned panties. Her final cover!
At this point, even someone like her — without any particular fetishes — felt the air growing scorching, as though dripping with sweat.
It was like those girls who, motivated by money, sit inside a luxury car and feel a strange heat. Feeling hot, they start stripping. Finally, driven by this mysterious, irresistible force — Rokujou Eneru took action.
But the expected cooling sensation never came. Instead, it felt even hotter.
And when it's hot, you sweat — you flow H₂O.
Her delicate fingers maximized their use of space, like a designer converting an 8-square-meter room into a full three-room apartment — covering her holy light completely.
Rokujou Eneru did not give up her feminine dignity.
When it truly came down to the decisive moment, she realized her heart was far from calm. After all, her opponent was Hikigaya Hachiman — a rising star who had recently bested many.
On one hand, she had confidence in her brilliantly designed game. On the other, she feared Hikigaya Hachiman's reputation.
These two opposing emotions clashed at the final moment, bursting open the water tower in her heart, flooding her with nervous, uneasy energy.
She began to sweat profusely, her body growing limp and powerless.
Closing her eyes, she prayed:
'Please… let me win!'
'Oh gods of photography! Oh gods of art! If you can hear me, let me win this game! I shall photograph the most perfect female form in the world for you — to show you ultimate beauty!'
Rokujou Eneru prayed to the gods — but her only response came from the god of logic who had already calculated everything—
Hikigaya Hachiman.
The dice was thrown high, then landed with a thud.
In the end, the number that sealed Rokujou Eneru's fate was "1".
Rolling a 1 meant she could only move to positions 3, 5, or 9.
"The game's decided." Hikigaya Hachiman smiled, and without hesitation, activated the camera behind screen number 3.
Numbers 3 and 7 — in over hundreds of thousands of votes — had won as the most popular single-digit numbers.
When picking blindly, no one can resist the allure of 3 and 7. They're psychologically comfortable zones.
Hikigaya Hachiman didn't think someone as simple-minded as Rokujou Eneru would go against this thinking.
Therefore, the outcome was already set.