170 Sisterly love means nothing in the face of pleasure
This time, unlike the first round, there was no such coincidence.
The balance tilted slightly.
Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head, feigning regret: "With the balance tilted like this, there's no way to determine the number of coins. So I forfeit deduction this round."
According to the rules, if a player gives up guessing, they don't need to pay the bet. It was the most conservative and safe move. Better than guessing wrong and losing double.
Rurichou Nadeshiko chuckled lightly. Hikigaya's choice was within her expectations, but with that, he completely lost any chance of defeating her.
"What a pity, Hikigaya-kun."
"Since you gave up guessing, don't blame me then~"
Rurichou brushed aside her golden hair and coldly uttered a number: "17 coins. There are 17 coins total on both sides~"
With that, she opened both piggy banks and poured the contents onto the table.
She closed her eyes, as if hearing the sound of 36 million yen bills raining from the sky—a sound that smelled of pure happiness!
However, she didn't notice Hikigaya's satisfied, scheming expression.
Hikigaya Hachiman let out a long breath. This time, he had fully observed Rurichou's little trick. The moment he picked up the coin, her gaze flicked to the ladies' wristwatch she wore.
Exactly as he predicted.
Inside the giant piggy bank containing 600 coins, a weight sensor had likely been installed—transmitting the real-time weight to Rurichou's watch.
And the watch, while looking like a normal timepiece, was actually displaying weight!
As the weight in the piggy bank changed, the number on the watch updated in real-time.
Then, using the sound of the coins falling to estimate their number, and combining that with the change in weight—she could easily deduce the total number of coins even with the scales unbalanced.
'A truly fascinating sleight of hand.'
Hikigaya Hachiman, having seen through everything, played along and asked: "How interesting—can you tell me how you did it, Rurichou-san?"
He pointed at the tilted scales: "With the balance skewed like that, there could be too many coin combinations. How did you guess so accurately?"
"There's only one possible explanation, Rurichou-san... could it be... you were cheating?"
Hikigaya slammed the table and stood up, acting both angry and embarrassed—playing the role of a sore loser to perfection.
When in doubt, accuse the other of cheating—always works.
Just like suspecting hacks when facing a pro in games.
"Hmph—" Rurichou scoffed. Hikigaya's reaction was one she'd heard from countless defeated challengers.
How boring—so unoriginal!
Still, since he looked like her type, Rurichou decided to humor him a little:
"I've said it before, Hikigaya-kun~"
"'Coinweight Queen' is a gamble where mastering sound and weight leads to victory."
"The way to judge isn't just from balance and weight—it's also from sound."
"Could it be that you're one of those boring guys who thinks 'if I can't do it, no one else can'~?"
"There are people in this world with unimaginable abilities—for example, me, Rurichou Nadeshiko, who possesses what's called Perfect Pitch."
"To me, the sound of coins falling is easy to understand. As long as you listen carefully, you can easily count the coins by sound."
"For me, it's as simple as drinking water. Of course, if you don't believe me, I can demonstrate it again—but only during the bet."
"However, your two hundred million yen can only afford one last round~"
A truly exhilarating performance!
Rurichou Nadeshiko basked in her own act—this line had fooled countless arrogant upperclassmen and underclassmen. Watching them wrack their brains to solve her method, only to accept the idea of "a few people just have superpowers" in humiliation.
'Geez~ a human is still just a human, how could anyone possibly do something like that~'
'Only an idiot would believe something that ridiculous!'
"Tch—so that's how it is, huh?" Hikigaya forced down the laughter bubbling in his chest and pretended to be helpless as he clicked his tongue and sat back in his chair with an annoyed expression.
It seemed that even now, the naïve Miss Ruridou hadn't figured out who was the hunter and who was the prey.
Who exactly was the hunter, and who was the prey?
"So, what do you say? Want to keep gambling, Hikigaya-kun? You've already lost 36 million yen~"
"Now that you know I have Perfect Pitch, do you still have the courage to gamble with me?"
Ruridou Nadeshiko hadn't completely lost her sanity—this was the last line of defense she had drawn for herself. If her opponent chose to back off here, then the gamble would end, and she could walk away having quit while she was ahead.
But if the other side turned out to be a hopeless gambling addict, then Ruridou Nadeshiko would have no choice but to grit her teeth and earn the money while standing tall.
'So then, what will your choice be—'
"Yaa, sorry I'm late." Kurume dragged several heavy safes into the music room and collapsed ungracefully onto the sofa, tugging open her collar and letting her pale skin be exposed to the air to cool off.
After taking a long breath to recover, she continued dragging the safes closer to the gambling table, coming to a stop behind Hikigaya Hachiman.
"I've already followed your instructions and withdrawn all the money."
"Thanks for your hard work, Kurume-san." Hikigaya Hachiman felt the weight of coins landing in his palm, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
There was one thing he had lied about—the amount in his bank account wasn't exactly 200 million yen, but 200 million and 500 yen.
And what had landed in his palm was a 500 yen coin, weighing 7 grams.
'As expected, there isn't a single normal person here.'
'People work tirelessly to satisfy their insane urges to gamble, to seek pleasure, to satisfy their carnal desires.'
'And Kurume is a woman who craves amusement. The fake sisterhood between her and Ruridou is nothing but brittle plastic when faced with the desire for entertainment.'
"Nadeshiko, I advise you to quit while you're ahead~" Kurume gave a gentle smile, perhaps the last act of kindness as part of their so-called sisterhood.
The madness of this gamble had already devoured all sisterly affection from this bystander's heart.
Mad gambling, betrayal, pleasure to the point of madness!