At this moment, Mikura no longer threw a tantrum, letting out a soft hum: "Less nonsense. After all, I brought you here. If you really injure your hand, Juraku-sama might blame me."
"Alright, don't worry. If I get hurt, I won't blame you."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka reassured Mikura, picked up the second dagger Ikishima Midari had prepared for him, and lightly traced the blade with two fingers.
Just as Ikishima Midari said, the knife was not sharpened, and his hand was not injured after tracing it.
However, although the tip of this dagger was not sharpened, it seemed to have been specially polished, making it as sharp as the tip of a pair of scissors.
If this dagger were to land on a finger, piercing it would be unavoidable. If a lot of force were used, it wouldn't be impossible to stab a hole through it...
As expected... Ikishima Midari wouldn't allow herself to be in a completely safe situation.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at her, said nothing, and spread his left hand as much as possible on the mat.
Then, he carefully placed his right hand on the outside of his thumb, mimicking Ikishima Midari's earlier movements, cycling the Quick Knife Finger Stab on his own hand.
During the Quick Knife Finger Stab, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had to press down on his left hand with all his might to prevent it from reflexively jumping up and getting stabbed by the dagger.
Ikishima Midari happily watched Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's cautious, beginner-like movements, and instead of stopping him, she encouraged him, "Don't be afraid of getting hurt. I have a first-aid kit in my room, so your wound definitely won't get infected."
First try, thirty seconds, three cycles.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka tried again.
Second try, thirty seconds, three and a half cycles.
No, this speed is still too slow.
Ikishima Midari's earlier cycle was already considered slow, but she still completed one cycle in six seconds.
If she sped up, she should be able to complete a cycle in three seconds.
The essence of this game isn't actually about your finger gaps; treating the finger gaps as intervals and not worrying about your hand—that's the key.
But Ayanokoji, as a beginner, couldn't do that yet.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka tried again, this time increasing his speed. In a moment of carelessness, he accidentally stabbed the area above his thumb when bringing the dagger back.
In an instant, his palm was stained red.
"Hey, Ayanokoji, are you okay!?" Mikura exclaimed.
Ikishima Midari got up, took the first-aid kit from the bookshelf, and handed Ayanokoji hydrogen peroxide.
She didn't mock him, but calmly said, "This is very normal. When I first started practicing, I got hurt many times."
"I'm fine."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was not unfamiliar with wound cleaning. He dripped hydrogen peroxide onto the injured area to spread the blood and then wiped away the liquid with gauze.
Actually, the injury wasn't serious; it was just a superficial cut. It looked frightening, but in reality, it was nothing major.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka dripped a little povidone-iodine on it and then covered the wound with a band-aid.
"Hey, Ayanokoji, why don't we just stop? You're already hurt..." Mikura advised worriedly.
"If you don't want to gamble today, you can wait for next time... However, the wager has already taken effect, and I won't let you run away." Ikishima Midari even conceded, willing to give Ayanokoji time to rest.
But her eyes clearly showed disappointment.
"No, this little superficial injury is nothing. But... can I step out for a bit to get some air?"
Ayanokoji made a request.
"I'll be back soon. The gamble will begin when I return."
As long as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't thinking of canceling the gamble, letting him rest for a bit was no big deal.
Ikishima Midari readily agreed, but also made a request: "Alright, no problem. However, your little girlfriend will have to stay here. If you run away, then let her gamble with me."
She looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and said, "Either don't gamble, or... once the wager is set, don't stop."
"I'm not his girlfriend, I'm Juraku-sama's dog!" Although she was worried about Ayanokoji, Mikura still argued seriously at this moment.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, you stay here. Don't worry, I won't keep someone else's pet without returning it. I'll be right back."
Ayanokoji ruffled Mikura's head and quickly pulled open the door and left the room before she could get angry.
Ayanokoji didn't go anywhere; he just leaned against the wall in front of the door of the First Library Preparation Room, raised his hand, and sighed softly.
Because he had held back some strength during his practice, the wound wasn't deep, but it served as a reminder to him.
Getting injured or not wasn't important; what was important was that at his current speed, wanting to win against Ikishima Midari was simply a pipe dream.
Unless... he cheated.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced around, confirming that no one was nearby.
He pulled out a cigarette, a can of cola, a small cake, and a mint from his pocket.
These were all R-grade items.
The [Cigarette] has the effect of increasing focus.
The [Cola] has the effect of improving physical stability.
The [Cake] has the effect of numbing pain.
The [Mint]... has the effect of freshening breath.
Heaven knows why even cigarettes were classified as food.
Ayanokoji tucked the cigarette behind his ear, holding the cola in his left hand and the cake in his right, taking a bite of cake and a sip of cola.
Both the taste of the cake and the cola could be considered the best he had ever tasted in his life, but he didn't have time to savor them now. Like Pigsy eating ginseng fruit, he finished both items in just two minutes.
He threw the cola can and cake box into the trash can, took the cigarette in his hand, lit it with a materialized N-grade lighter, and took a deep puff.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka coughed.
Although this cigarette tasted very good, with an intoxicating orchid fragrance, he only smoked premium Chinese cigarettes; others made him cough.
Alright... kidding aside, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka actually didn't have a smoking habit.
No matter how good this cigarette tasted, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't enjoy it. He endured the discomfort and smoked the cigarette down to the butt, then snuffed it out and threw it into the nearby trash can.
Then, he popped the mint into his mouth.
In an instant, the discomfort from being choked by the smoke disappeared, and the greasy taste of the cola and cake also vanished.
Only a fresh minty taste remained in his mouth.
This was why he took out the mint; it could both eliminate "evidence" and alleviate the discomfort of the cigarette.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had drawn cards over two hundred times, but the number of R cards was only over forty, some of which were "bedding" used to increase pleasure.
Just this once, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka used four R cards.
With the buffs applied, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was determined to win this time.
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