167 The Gamble of Sound: Hikigaya's Challenge [Weight of Sound, Worth a Thousand Gold]
As he passed through the crowded corridors, Hikigaya felt the full intensity of the Great Bloom Festival.
It truly was a once-a-year grand event.
If one were to trigger a power-shifting incident, this would be the only opportunity. Only a gamble carried out under the eyes of the entire public could fulfill the goal that Nibuomi Aoi had been planning all along.
Soon, Hikigaya Hachiman was led to a music room.
A mixed-blood girl with golden, pear blossom curls was seated at the piano, her graceful melody fluttering from her fingertips.
Although Hikigaya Hachiman didn't know much about music, he could tell from the beautiful melody that the girl before him... was incredibly skilled at piano.
In terms of sound alone, she was far more impressive than Komachi's piano teacher. Even an amateur like Hikigaya could sense that.
"I always thought that guy was all show..." Now, upon hearing truly elegant piano music, Hikigaya finally understood what it meant to be a piano expert.
At the door, Kurume Kurumi, with a side ponytail, saw Hikigaya and immediately approached:
"You're the famous Hikigaya-kun, right?"
"So, what do you think? Isn't my dear Nadeshiko's piano beautiful?"
"And next, you'll be gambling with her~"
Hikigaya instinctively took two steps back, finding this girl a bit too enthusiastic.
Seeing her opponent arrive, the girl playing the piano stopped and walked toward Hikigaya with a smile: "Hello, Hikigaya-kun. I'm Rurichou Nadeshiko, president of the Classical Music Research Club. Nice to meet you."
Hikigaya examined the graceful girl in front of him. Judging from appearance alone, she didn't seem like the type to secretly take indecent videos and use them for blackmail.
Moreover… in the video, she had been wearing cute, cutesy-style underwear.
'What a strange girl,' Hikigaya thought.
He naturally gave a nod in response and suddenly asked, "Don't you consider yourself a member of the Full-Bloom Association?"
"Eh?"
Rurichou Nadeshiko blinked, then covered her mouth and laughed softly. "That kind of thing is meaningless. Kurumi just told me that if I became a council member, a fat sheep would come walking in on its own."
"I didn't think that sheep would be you, Hikigaya-kun."
'I see. She's short on money,' Hikigaya quickly deduced.
"Seeing me as a fat sheep, huh..." Hikigaya chuckled and sat at one end of the gambling table. "That's quite rude, Rurichou-san."
Since he was already in an unshakable position and had some time before the final showdown with Nibuomi Aoi, he didn't mind playing with her for a bit.
"Well then, why don't you introduce your gambling game?"
With elegance, Rurichou Nadeshiko sat at the other end of the table. "The Classical Music Research Club's gambling is absolutely equal. There are no handling fees, and theoretically, it's a pure capital game—a perfectly fair one-on-one gamble."
"You must already know the name of the game, Hikigaya-kun: it's called [Weight of Sound, Worth a Thousand Gold]."
"Let me explain the rules—it's a very simple game~"
"[Weight of Sound, Worth a Thousand Gold] is essentially a coin-guessing game."
As she spoke, Rurichou pulled out a clattering box from beneath the table and placed it on top.
"Zero-yen coins. Other props include two piggy banks and a balance scale."
As he listened to her explanation, an odd yet familiar feeling welled up in Hikigaya's chest.
Why was it another "absolutely fair" gamble? Who had said that last time?
'If props are involved, the cheating tools would only be one of these three,' Hikigaya quickly focused on the items she brought out. 'Balance scale, coins, piggy banks... and the large piggy bank, which is easy to overlook.'
'According to normal logic, the item easiest to overlook is most likely the one used to cheat.'
"The process is as follows: first, we decide on the betting amount, which becomes the basic wager."
[Each player takes their preferred number of coins and throws them into the piggy bank, then closes the lid. Care must be taken not to let the other player see.]
[Once ready, both players place their piggy banks on the ends of the balance scale.]
[Next, both players engage in reasoning. The subject is: the total number of coins in both piggy banks.]
[If the guess is correct, the player earns ten times the base bet. If wrong, they lose one times the base bet.]
[That means, in one round, you can earn up to six times the base amount.]
[The order of guessing alternates between first and second player, and the game continues for five rounds.]
Upon hearing this, Hikigaya raised his hand and took two coins from the large piggy bank.
One 50-yen coin and one 1-yen coin.
Closing his eyes, he quickly identified the weights through his fingertips. A 1-yen coin weighs 1 gram, while a 50-yen coin weighs 4 grams—a fourfold difference.
Opening his eyes, Hikigaya asked, "Using the tilt of the scale to deduce the number of coins... That's an interesting gamble."
"Eh? What do you mean, Hikigaya-kun?" Kurume played the foil enthusiastically.
Hikigaya picked up a few more coins and explained: "If I put in four 1-yen coins and one 50-yen coin, the total weight is 8 grams."
"But 8 grams of weight allows for three possibilities."
"That is: eight 1-yen coins, two 50-yen coins, or four 1-yen coins and one 50-yen coin." The crisp sound of coins hitting the table echoed in the room.
"A very interesting reasoning game."
Hearing Hikigaya's reasoning, Rurichou Nadeshiko's lips curved ever so slightly.
'That's right, Hikigaya Hachiman is completely correct—this is exactly it... But my game was designed specifically to deal with clever people like you!'
'The moment you realize that [Weight of Sound, Worth a Thousand Gold] is a matter of reasoning between several possibilities, you've already fallen into my trap, Hikigaya!'
'I've already woven the web and waited for you to walk right in.'
She smiled and clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the two others: "Beautifully said, Hikigaya-kun. But you've missed one very crucial detail~"
"And that is—"
"Sound!"
"When you throw coins into the piggy bank, they collide and make sounds. That sound becomes an important clue for your reasoning."
"Therefore, any action that obstructs sound is forbidden."
"After the gamble begins, you must throw in your selected coins within ten seconds. Note—you must throw them in! You can't reach in and drop them one by one!"
"During this time, anyone who deliberately makes noise will be disqualified immediately!"
"I, Rurichou Nadeshiko, absolutely will not allow anyone to defile the sanctity of sound!"