"You want to compete? In what?"
"Let's settle the budget dispute with a game!" Makihara pointed straight at him, full of confidence. "Let's play a board game to determine the outcome."
"...I'm not that well-versed in board games, so I think—"
"Relax. We won't bully you."
She smiled and pulled two boxes of playing cards from a drawer.
"Not a traditional board game. We'll use something simple—Blackjack."
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-One, originated in France and is now played worldwide.
Typically 2 to 6 players use a standard 52-card deck (no jokers). The goal is to get as close to 21 as possible without exceeding it.
Simple rules. A classic casino game.
"So you're saying you're unhappy with me cutting 50% of your budget and want to reverse the outcome through a game of Blackjack?"
"Exactly!" Makihara smiled. "If we win, you must release our full budget without any cuts."
"And if you lose? Don't forget, I have the authority here. If losing means nothing changes, there's no punishment. That's not fair," Takamine pointed out.
"If we lose... hmm."
Makihara paused, then snapped her fingers.
"How about this—Fujiwara will go on a date with you."
"EEEEHHHHH!?"
Chika squealed in shock. Takamine's face went dark.
Having to go on a date with this crazy woman (in his eyes) felt like he was the one being punished.
"I feel malice. Can we pick something else?"
"Hey! Takamine-kun, what's that supposed to mean? Is going out with me that unthinkable?"
"Would you like being forced to go on a date with someone?"
"Hmm…" Chika put a finger on her chin. "If it's with Takamine-kun… I guess it wouldn't be too bad."
"I feel like you just don't care either way. And no, I still don't accept this—"
"Then it's settled! Let's begin!" Makihara clapped her hands.
"...Fine."
Takamine agreed to the match.
Though in his heart, he was already planning to report this Tabletop Gaming Club gambling incident, and cut their budget by another 50% on top of the current cut.
…
There were five participants including Takamine, who would act as the dealer.
"To ensure fairness, you shuffle the cards, and then each of us will reshuffle them too. That okay?"
"Sure."
"Also, we're using eight decks for this game," Makihara smiled.
"Eight decks, huh…"
If it were only a single deck, Takamine Rinji could easily calculate the probability of the hidden cards in his head and come up with a winning strategy. But with eight decks...
The difficulty of calculation still wasn't too high for him, but it introduced a lot more variables.
Rinji skillfully shuffled the cards, then handed them to Makihara Sozue after she finished shuffling the cards. She, in turn, passed the cards to her clubmates to shuffle, and finally, they ended up with Fujiwara Chika.
As Chika was leisurely shuffling the cards, Rinji suddenly said,
"Secretary Fujiwara, you wouldn't be cheating, would you?"
"…What are you saying~ Of course not."
"Then what was with that little pause?"
As usual, Rinji began dealing the cards.
Everyone at the table had some small toys prepared by the tabletop gaming club to use as chips.
On his table, he had one facedown card and a visible 6. As for the four girls in front of him, their face-up cards were:
K, 9 — 19 points
8, K — 18 points
K, K — 20 points
2, 7 — 9 points
Makihara Sozue glanced at her card, then at Rinji's hidden card and said,
"Hit."
Meaning she wanted one more card.
Rinji paused. Excluding the jokers, one deck has 50 cards. Eight decks total 400 cards. Subtracting the ten cards already dealt, 390 cards remained.
If the card she drew wasn't an A or a 2, she would bust.
Given that one 2 was already in Fujiwara Chika's hand, her chance of drawing either of the two cards she needed was only about 0.16. Was she really going to take that risk?
Seeing Suzu's confident expression, Rinji suspiciously dealt her a card.
It turned out to be the 2 of Spades.
"Awesome! 21 points!"
K + 9 + 2 = exactly 21.
"…You're pretty lucky," Rinji said.
Though still suspicious, everyone continued playing.
In the next round, Rinji had a hidden card and a visible 9. The others had:
J, 9 — 19 points
4, 5 — 9 points
Q, 3 — 13 points
J, Q — 20 points
"Stand," said Suzu, deciding not to draw.
The next member also chose to Stand. The following one Hit and drew a 7, making 20 points. Then it was Chika's turn.
She had 20 points already. Anyone with common sense wouldn't risk drawing another card unless it was an A. So Rinji assumed she'd Stand.
"I choose Hit!" Chika declared.
"…Are you insane?"
"Hmph~ Rinji, you just don't understand. The real thrill in games like these comes from dancing on the edge of the blade." Chika struck a wise pose that left Rinji completely baffled.
"…Alright. Don't blame me if you bust."
Rinji dealt her another card.
It was… an Ace.
"Oh~ looks like I won my gamble!" Chika laughed cheerfully.
"…"
No. Something's not right.
Whether it was Sozue's Hit at 19 or Chika's at 20, both looked like risky gambler's choices. But they didn't make sense.
Rinji glanced at the board game club members. It was as if they had known what was coming.
He lowered his head, thinking—was there something he missed?
'Wait.'
He suddenly noticed something odd about the backs of the cards.
He flipped over his own hidden card and his eyes widened. Then the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
"You can go ahead and deal now, Rinji."
"Sure," Rinji said with a smile. "But before that, mind if I put something on? It boosts my luck."
"Huh? That's fine, I guess…"
"Great."
Rinji took out a black ring from his pocket and put it on his index finger. It wasn't anything fancy, but if you looked closely, there was a magic circle engraved on it.