Seeing that Ren still hadn't given an answer to her audacious offer, Kirari smiled thinly again.
"Since Ren-sama seems a little hesitant, how about you decide what game we will play?"
Ren shifted his gaze from Kirari to Godou.
"Godou, do you have a coin?"
"Oh, okay."
Though confused, Godou still reached into his wallet and took out a 100-yen coin. He handed it to Ren with a curious expression.
"What's the coin for, Ren?"
"Just watch, you'll know soon enough."
Without answering Godou's question, Ren snapped his fingers.
*SWISH!*
The coin flipped into the air, and with a swift movement, Kirari caught it back in the palm of her hand.
"Could it be..."
She could already guess the simple yet risky game Ren wanted to play with her.
Nodding slightly, Ren confirmed Kirari's guess.
"Yup, just as you thought. I'm too lazy to play complicated and time-consuming gambling games. So, let's just play coin flips. You'll flip this coin into the air, and you can choose the side of the coin first, heads or tails. I'll choose the opposite side."
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On the other side, Chika, who considered herself a true gamer with a natural interest in games, looked very enthusiastic about the simple yet tense game that was about to begin.
"Woah! This game looks so thrilling! I want to participate too! Too bad, the stakes are too high, I definitely can't afford it."
Chika looked regretful but remained excited.
"..."
Hearing Chika's comment, Kaguya could only roll her eyes with a flat expression.
'Fujiwara-san's thinking is as unpredictable as ever. Truly irrational, as expected of the earth's cancer.'
Honestly, Kaguya was shocked to see Kirari risk everything in one gamble.
'I really don't understand the psychology of a gambler. Seeking pleasure in uncertainty? Risking wealth and power just for a possibility? This is truly beyond my comprehension.'
"Fujiwara-san, if you're so interested, you can use your indecent body as a bet."
"Ehehe~ Kaguya-chan can actually make jokes!"
Chika giggled, not at all offended by Kaguya's comment. She actually thought it was a funny joke.
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At the Nakiri Family table, Alice, with her chin resting on her hand, stared at Ren's figure with sparkling eyes.
"Doesn't this situation resemble a shokugeki a bit, Erina? Only the stakes are much higher. What do you think?"
Erina snorted disdainfully, her eyebrows furrowing deeply. "Alice, don't equate the sacred shokugeki competitions dedicated to the art of cuisine with this vulgar and immoral gambling! Gambling is a classless act and is only done by people who lack the true talent or ability to achieve success."
Accustomed to her cousin's arrogance, Alice only smiled thinly. "But what exactly is that man named Rokuhara Ren thinking? The conditions he proposed himself are very unfavorable to him and very favorable to the opponent."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Erina looked away, not wanting to watch the ongoing gambling.
"Don't try to understand the mindset of gamblers, Alice. They are mentally retarded people who are incapable of clear thinking. They seek momentary pleasure in risk without considering the consequences."
"Ahem."
Suddenly, Senzaemon, Erina's and Alice's grandfather, cleared his throat loudly, drawing the attention of his two granddaughters.
"Erina! Watch your words! Don't speak ill of gambling in a place like this. There are many Hyakkaou Academy alumni present here. Their authority and power in the political world and other fields are far superior to the Nakiri Family. If they unite and cooperate, it's not impossible for them to shut down Totsuki Academy."
Hyakkaou Academy was an educational institution where students from the most powerful families in the political and financial world attended school. The school did not evaluate students based on academic or athletic abilities but based on the social status they possessed.
For them, lessons and extracurricular activities were considered irrelevant for people destined to have power over others. What was most important to them was mastering the tactics of manipulation, the ability to read opponents, and the power to achieve victory, which were abilities they had to prove and acquire through gambling.
In essence, Hyakkaou Academy was a gathering place for elite gamblers.
"Hmph!"
After being reprimanded by her grandfather, Erina could only sulk in silence, her lips pouting in disapproval, but she no longer dared to utter her sarcastic words.
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At another table, Yukino, who had also clearly heard the insane bet offered by Kirari, frowned even more deeply, her expression showing clear displeasure.
'That woman is completely crazy!'
'Not only is she betting her entire enormous family assets on a ridiculous gamble, but she's even using her own twin sister as a stake! Does she have no brain? Or has the Momobami Family gone completely insane?'
'How disgusting. Using humans as betting objects... this is lower than animals. No wonder that crude man is interested; they both have no morals!'
Although her relationship with her older sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, was often fraught with tension and disagreements, it had never once crossed Yukino's mind to treat her sister as a tradable object for personal gain, as her mother did under the guise of "family interests."
For her, the idea of treating humans, especially her own family members, as bargaining chips was something disgusting and contrary to her principles.
Yukino actually really wanted to intervene in the situation unfolding before her eyes, protesting Kirari's immoral actions. However, she was smart enough to realize that she couldn't act rashly.
Momobami Kirari was not the type of person she could provoke with her sharp words like Miura Yumiko and the other people who envied her at school. There was an aura of power and danger surrounding Kirari, and Yukino knew very well that she had to be careful not to cause bigger problems for herself and her family.
'I really can't do anything. So, is this the feeling that ordinary people have always felt when facing those with higher power?'
'How uncomfortable. Feeling small, powerless, and unable to do anything even though there is something clearly wrong right in front of my eyes. This is infuriating. I hate this feeling.'
What Yukino didn't realize at this moment was that her repeated insolent attitude towards Ren would lead to the downfall of the Yukinoshita Family.
However, the story of their fall was a story for the future, a consequence yet unimagined by the girl who was accustomed to arrogance.
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At the Sanzenin Family table, Nagi, who was enjoying her mille-feuille with gusto, suddenly felt a chill, her expression turning uncomfortable as she watched the interaction at the main table.
"Momobami Kirari is still as irrational as ever; I don't like her."
The Momobami Family and the Sanzenin Family had several business cooperation projects, and Nagi had also met and interacted with Kirari personally. However, their relationship was only limited to formal acquaintances and never really close.
"Hohoho..." Sanzenin Mikado, Nagi's grandfather, chuckled softly at his granddaughter's reaction. "The members of the Momobami Family are indeed like that, Nagi. Each of them is a genius with a unique touch of madness."
Nagi put down her fork lazily. "Grandpa, let's just go home. I can't stand being in the same room as that woman."
Mikado gently stroked his granddaughter's head. "Be patient for a little while, Nagi. We'll leave soon after the honored guests leave the banquet."
Nagi pouted, not understanding why her grandfather respected the guests at the main table so much. "What's so special about those honored guests, Grandpa? They just look like ordinary high school students. Well, one of them is handsome, and those two men are each accompanied by two beautiful Western women, but that's all, right?"
Mikado smiled mysteriously. "Tomorrow, Grandpa will teach you about the hidden side of this world, Nagi. There is more to this world than meets the eye."