"Old Maid it's a simple game. You're good with that, right?"
Naoki turned to Tsuzura. "You lost 500,000 yen to Old Maid earlier?"
Tsuzura nodded timidly. "My luck was just awful. I kept drawing the turtle. I thought it'd be fine since I played this game as a kid."
The moment she heard that, Naoki knew Aipuxin had cheated. Unless you had exceptional observational skills, Old Maid was purely a game of chance. Losing repeatedly didn't add up.
Aipuxin didn't have outstanding gambling skills. So… did she mark the cards? Use some sleight of hand?
Well, they'd find out soon enough.
"Alright. What are the rules?"
Aipuxin had desks pushed together to form a makeshift table, then pulled out a deck of cards.
"Twenty pairs from 2 to Ace forty cards total, so each player gets ten pairs. Then we add one Joker as the turtle. Just like regular Old Maid the one holding the Joker at the end loses. Simple, right?"
Her smile sparkled. "If you want to win the money back, you'll have to bet 500,000."
Naoki still wasn't sure how Aipuxin had cheated. She tried to lower the stakes. "How about 100,000 for now?"
"Nope. You only got me to agree because you said you'd help Tsuzura win back her losses."
So Aipuxin wanted to wrap this up quickly. That confirmed it she was using a trick, and the more she played, the more likely it'd be exposed.
"Fine. 500,000 it is."
Naoki had no real choice. If she backed out now and lost Tsuzura's favor, the whole plan would fall apart.
After all, her mission was to win over girls not win gambles.
Among ordinary students, bets of 10,000–20,000 yen were common. 500,000 was already steep.
Soon, the classroom filled with students eager to watch.
Naoki inspected the cards Aipuxin had laid out. She couldn't see anything unusual, but something still felt off.
This girl had a history there was no telling what trick she might pull.
"The cards are fine," Aipuxin said sweetly. "But if you're worried, feel free to use your own."
Naoki took her up on that. She asked Tsuzura to borrow a new deck from the class next door.
"We'll decide who gets the Joker and who goes first with a dice roll. Sound good?"
Naoki nodded.
The dice decided that Naoki would start with the Joker.
Each player had ten cards. The goal was simple: don't be left with the Joker.
After shuffling her hand, Naoki held them up. Aipuxin rolled the dice again she'd draw first.
With eleven cards to choose from, the odds of drawing the Joker were slim.
Aipuxin glanced briefly and pulled out the third card a 7, which matched her own 7. She discarded the pair.
Now Naoki had 10 cards, and Aipuxin 9.
Naoki drew next. Every card paired cleanly so far, so good.
The game progressed into the second half.
Naoki had just three cards left. The Joker was still in her hand. Aipuxin had never drawn it once.
If Aipuxin didn't pick it again this round, and Naoki drew her final normal card, Naoki would lose with only the Joker left.
She stared at the Joker. No marks. Nothing suspicious.
In fact, Aipuxin had never even touched it. No chance to tamper with it.
So the cheat had to be external someone signaling the card's location.
If someone knew where the Joker was, they could easily avoid it.
Aipuxin likely had an accomplice among the onlookers, giving her subtle signals.
But without catching them red-handed, there was no use accusing her.
This was how the academy worked. Cheating needed to be caught in the act.
And whoever was helping her was out of Naoki's line of sight.
"Wow, Aipuxin, your luck's incredible. At this rate, I'm going to lose."
Realizing something was off, Naoki placed her last three cards under the desk and reshuffled them blindly before laying them face-down on the table.
Now, even she didn't know where the Joker was no way her eyes would give it away.
Aipuxin's smile stiffened. "Naoki, what are you "
"Whether they're upright or laid out doesn't matter, right?"
Aipuxin hesitated, then picked the leftmost card.
It was a 5.
She missed the Joker.
Naoki sat still, expression flat. Like her soul had left her body.
Was her luck really *that* bad?
Aipuxin burst out laughing and threw her matching pair onto the table. "Looks like I win."
"You owe me 500,000 now."
"No way you can pay that back. By the end of the month, you and Tsuzura will both be livestock."
Her expression turned twisted. "But hey, Naoki, we've known each other for a while. I'll give you a chance become my exclusive livestock. That way, no one else can bully you."
The class roared with laughter. They looked at Naoki and Tsuzura with disdain.
Someone with no skill, who lost everything, was no longer an equal.
**System: Gamble 'Old Maid' with Aipuxin completed. Despite the loss, you identified signs of cheating and tried to counter them. Gained 2 EXP.**
Tears welled in Tsuzura's eyes. "I'm sorry, Naoki. You only lost because you were trying to help me."
**System: Due to your defeat and impending livestock status, Hanatemari Tsuzura feels deep guilt. Affection +5.**
Naoki: …
Honestly, failing might've gained more affection than winning.
For sweet, sincere girls like Tsuzura, suffering together seemed to boost affection.
Naoki sighed and spent her 2 EXP on card draws.
**System: You've received the special skill card: Ghost Hand. In your next gamble, your fingers will move like tentacles, enabling high-level sleight of hand.**
**System: You've received the special skill card: Retry. Allows one redo of a gamble's outcome before results are finalized. Can be used on gambles you didn't personally participate in.**
Finally something useful.
Although for Old Maid, X-ray vision would've been best.
Still, Ghost Hand might work…
"Aipuxin, let's go again."
Naoki retrieved the 1 million yen from her system storage.
It was a special case she had to use her emergency stash. If she couldn't max out affection, she wouldn't return anyway.
She slapped the thick wad of bills on the table. "I've got 1 million yen here. Unless you win it all, you can't make me a livestock."
Aipuxin was stunned. "Where did you get that much money?"
Naoki deflected. "A senpai gave it to me."
If anyone pried, she'd just blame it on Midari Ikishima.
Aipuxin's face contorted. Another woman… gave Naoki money?
Just the thought of Naoki being close to someone else, getting spoiled like that, drove her insane.
She had to lock Naoki down. Now.
"Fine. 1 million it is."
…
The dice roll again gave Naoki the Joker, but that didn't matter.
Aipuxin thought Naoki had dropped her guard she was holding her cards up again like normal.
She quickly caught the signal from her insider.
Sixth card was the Joker.
She picked another card.
The game unfolded just like before.
At the end, Naoki had two cards: the Joker and a single. Aipuxin had one.
If she pulled Naoki's single, she'd win.
Aipuxin glanced at Naoki her lips were tight, her hands trembled slightly.
She looked terrified.
The last bit of doubt vanished.
Her spy signaled again the Joker was on the far left.
Aipuxin confidently reached for the right.
Soon, Naoki would be hers. Tsuzura, too, once she became livestock.
The idea that Naoki risked everything for that pathetic girl it burned her with jealousy.
She drew the card.
The Joker.
How?
She looked at her spy. A silent accusation.
The only explanation betrayal.
But she couldn't explode now. Not in front of everyone.
"Aipuxin, you don't look so good. Oh? Did your luck finally run out?"
Naoki smiled.
She'd seen the signal and swapped the cards at the last second using Ghost Hand.
Human eyes could track movements between 0.1 to 0.4 seconds. Ghost Hand swapped adjacent cards in just 0.03 seconds.
For a moment, she felt like her fingers weren't even human.
"It's not over," Aipuxin muttered.
Naoki still had to draw Aipuxin's last card.
But as long as Ghost Hand lasted, she could keep the Joker hidden.
She drew without hesitation.
A single card.
She won.
**System: Gamble 'Old Maid' with Aipuxin completed. Used skill at critical moment to win. Gained 1 EXP.**
Aipuxin collapsed onto the desk. She'd cheated and *still* lost.
"That 1 million cancels out the debt for me and Tsuzura."
Naoki stood up, deliberately leaving Aipuxin with nothing.
She'd balanced the win without making a profit. That way, Aipuxin's affection wouldn't drop.
Some girls didn't mind losing money. Others did.
Naoki figured Aipuxin was the petty type.
Tsuzura ran up, eyes sparkling. "Naoki, you won! And you paid off my debt… I don't know how to thank you."
**System: Hanatemari Tsuzura's affection +5.**
**System: Hanatemari Tsuzura's affection reached 22. Reward: Orange loot box.**
"I've only just transferred here… Tsuzura, can we be friends?"
"Of course! Actually… I should be the one asking you that."
Before enrolling here, Hanatemari Tsuzura had always been popular elementary and middle school. Kind, talented, beautiful.
But in this academy, none of that mattered. Without gambling skill, no one cared. She had no friends.
Naoki could tell she now had a real friend in this school.
From here on out, gaining her affection would be smooth sailing.