I see... The girls looked enlightened.
Ririka said this very naturally, and none of them doubted her, but Ayanokouji Kiyohira grew suspicious of the truthfulness of these words.
Anna Kinomiya spoke with such certainty, as if she had seen Sayuri Nishikinotoin being "persecuted" in the Student Council with her own eyes. If she had only heard it through hearsay, would she be so certain?
However... since "Anna Kinomiya" could say such things so calmly, it meant she wasn't afraid of being investigated.
Even if these words weren't true, it meant she really was close to Sachiko Juraku, enough that she could even have her help with an alibi.
The two were very close, and could help each other with an alibi... An answer suddenly appeared in Ayanokouji Kiyohira's mind—could Anna be a member of the Student Council?
Thinking about it now, the person who had the ability to silently add a fake name to the school's archives and make that identity "real" had to be someone from the Student Council.
And not just an ordinary member.
Only the high-ranking members of the Student Council should be able to do something like this.
The Student Council President, the Vice President... and Sachiko Juraku.
Looking at height alone, Sachiko Juraku was already ruled out. Now, the possibilities were the Student Council President and the Vice President...
When Ayanokouji Kiyohira reasoned to this point, he was stunned himself.
No way? Could the true identity of "Anna Kinomiya" actually be Student Council President Kirari Momobami or Vice President Ririka?
He had just been plotting with Mibuomi Aoi to seize the position of Student Council President, and it turned out she might have been standing by his side all along... Surely such an absurd thing wouldn't happen, right?
Ayanokouji Kiyohira had seen a photo of Kirari Momobami, but in that photo, her makeup was very bold, she wore light green lipstick, and her smile was exquisite, yet it gave people a cold feeling.
Whereas the "Anna Kinomiya" in front of him had a pure smile that gave him a sweet, first-love-like feeling.
Looking closely, although their brows were somewhat similar, for a girl, different makeup could make her seem like a completely different person. Not to mention that the photo was heavily edited; who knew how many modifications had been made.
The difference between the two was simply too great. Ayanokouji Kiyohira found it hard to connect the two, but he couldn't rule out the possibility.
If "Anna Kinomiya" really was "Kirari Momobami," that would be a huge mess.
The Student Council President wasn't in her Student Council controlling things, but instead staying in his small casino to be a lowly employee... Ayanokouji Kiyohira couldn't fathom what she intended by doing this.
Therefore, compared to this guess, he was actually more inclined towards another—the Student Council Vice President, Ririka.
The Vice President always wore a mask; no one knew the true face beneath it. Moreover, she hadn't appeared at school for several days.
If Anna Kinomiya's true identity was Ririka, then everything would fit.
Unfortunately, the Pinocchio Bracelet's function was still on cooldown, otherwise Ayanokoji could directly verify her identity.
Ririka thought she had done it flawlessly, not knowing that Ayanokouji Kiyohira had already discovered her flaw and suspected her personally...
Seeing Ayanokouji Kiyohira staring at her, her first thought wasn't worrying about whether her identity would be exposed, but rather feeling happy that Ayanokoji was focusing his attention on her, secretly rejoicing in her heart.
"Ayanokoji, what's wrong?" she asked with a smile.
"It's nothing." Ayanokoji looked away, smiled, and his tone was as usual, "Let's hurry up and discuss what we should do to attract gamblers during the Ryōran Festival?"
As soon as the Ryōran Festival was mentioned, everyone got excited and started talking all at once.
Togakushi Yukimi's idea was to increase publicity and add discounts to attract more people to gamble; Kurume thought about limiting the number of guests and increasing the initial stake for gambling; Hanatemari thought about improving service quality to give guests a better experience...
This was a matter linked to making money, so everyone seriously offered their opinions. Finally, after the discussion, they settled on a rough plan.
The Chemistry Preparation Room next door would continue as usual, conducting Landlord gambling, welcoming anyone to come.
This was the casino's specialty and should not be changed.
However, in addition to the usual ranking matches, a limited-time cumulative points event would be opened during the Ryōran Festival. Every time one gambled during the Ryōran Festival, they would earn points.
After the Ryōran Festival ended, the person with the highest score would receive generous rewards such as cash prizes, casino VIP cards, and priority ranking rights.
As for the Cooking Room, they would use their existing advantages to set up a "Maid Cafe."
Maid Cafes and haunted houses could be said to be the most common elements of a cultural festival.
But unlike the cafes in typical cultural festivals where maids provide service to guests, chat with them, and make them feel at home—the "Maid Cafe" that Ayanokouji Kiyohira and the others were setting up was intended for guests to gamble with the maids.
Simply put, after Meari and the others, dressed in maid outfits, served a drink to the guests who arrived, they would then start gambling with them.
This was the idea Meari came up with.
AI Model: deepseek-chat
Maid uniforms generally give off an impression of fragility and submissiveness. Combined with the fact that those wearing them are young, lively girls, customers who come here often look down on them when they propose gambling, thinking they are just 'playing around' and agree with a laugh for fun.
At first, they can pretend not to know how to play and lose a few rounds. Once the customers completely let their guard down and are willing to bet big money, they can transform into 'assassins' and clean the customers out.
Hanatemari Kazura hesitated for a moment before speaking: 'Meari, that does sound like a good idea, but... I'm not good at gambling, so I think I'll pass on participating.'
In Meari's plan, this was a game where you bear your own wins and losses. Those skilled at gambling could win more, but someone like Hanatemari, with average gambling skills, would worry about whether she could beat the customers.
Meari encouraged her: 'Hanatemari, don't lose heart yet. We are the house. We can play gambling games we are good at, just like the Three-Color Dice before. Even relying just on luck, our chances of winning are greater than fifty percent!'
Hanatemari was tempted, but after thinking it over, she still shook her head: 'It is indeed a chance to make money, but I feel the money I have on hand is already enough. I don't need to earn more through gambling.'
Hanatemari Kazura wasn't greedy. She was already quite satisfied with the status quo. Compared to gaining more, she was more worried about losing what she had.
This aspect of Hanatemari's personality was quite heart-wrenching.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira wanted her to have a good time during the Ryōran Festival, so he said: 'None of you should feel pressured. I'll give each of you five hundred thousand yen as gambling capital. If you lose, the loss is on me. If you win, the money is yours.'
Even the ten million yen prize for the winner of the [Chaotic Award] wasn't much to Ayanokoji. Whether he made more or less during this Ryōran Festival didn't matter to him, as long as they were happy.
'Is the boss going to fund us? Then I'm in!'
'I'm in too!'
Hanatemari Kazura thought for a moment and also decided to participate.
Everyone raised their hands one after another. Even Ruricho Nadeshiko was tempted and raised her hand.
Only Ririka didn't raise her hand.
'Anna, what's wrong? Do you have any concerns?' Ayanokoji asked her.
Ririka hesitated before saying: 'I really want to help here, but... I might be a bit busy during the Ryōran Festival and won't be able to stay here for long periods...'
She'll be very busy during the Ryōran Festival... She's definitely a member of the Student Council, no doubt about it.
Ririka's words confirmed Ayanokoji's suspicion. He didn't ask anything, pretending to be nonchalant as he smiled and said: 'That's fine. This is a game where you're responsible for your own profits and losses. There won't be any restrictions. You can come and go anytime.'
'In that case... I'll participate too.' Ririka also raised her hand, reassured.
And so, everyone settled on the content for the Ryōran Festival.
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