291 The Tower of Doors
Bang!
The door of the activity room let out a sharp creak as Momobami Ririka, wearing her mask, walked in quickly.
"Momobami Ririka? Why is she here?" Warakubami Sumika frowned.
In the Momobami clan, Ririka was the shadow head of the family.
Even if she held no official position, no one dared offend her.
Ririka walked straight past Yoshimitsu and came to Hikigaya Hachiman's side, grabbing his wrist.
A voice altered by the voice modulator in her mask said, "Hikigaya, come with me. Now."
Without waiting for a response, she pulled his hand and strode toward the exit.
"What happened?" "My sister... she's gambling against several other families."
"Who?" Hachiman was stunned.
"Obami, Totobami, Komabami, and Batsubami — Kirari has initiated a six-versus-one gamble."
"..."
Hikigaya drew in a sharp breath.
A six-on-one gamble.
Even without knowing the specific rules, if this wasn't a free-for-all but truly a six-against-one setup, then facing the combined intellect of six people alone — just thinking about it sounded absurd.
Though Momobami Kirari was incredibly strong, a six-on-one... was that really something even she could do?
"Where are they gambling?"
"Underground. In the Tower of Doors."
The two arrived at an empty hallway.
Ririka took off her mask — something she only ever did when alone with Hikigaya.
"Underground?" Led by Ririka, they circled around several times before arriving at a pitch-dark basement. When she swiped a card, a sleek, futuristic elevator lit up with a soft glow.
Ririka explained:
"The Tower of Doors is a structure my sister had specially built underground.
It exists solely for gambling — a super-special facility. Until now, Kirari has never used it."
"That means... this time, Kirari isn't confident."
Her voice carried heavy worry.
She didn't understand why her sister had chosen this moment to engage in such a risky one-versus-six bet.
It was all cost and no benefit.
"What good would it do for me to go?"
"If the gamble ultimately comes down to a vote-based duel... and Kirari loses — she loses the clan head position. Then it all spirals into an internal war within the Momobami family."
Hikigaya's face turned grim.
His agreement with Kirari had been to take the head position from her — if she was defeated before that, his grand ambition would die before it began.
"What a pain..."
Although life was going well now, having earned the favor of many Momobami branch families — with those relationships, he could easily coast through life after graduation.
But human ambition is like a boulder rolling down a mountain.
It only picks up speed until it crashes.
It doesn't stop halfway.
Hikigaya Hachiman was a man driven forward by ambition.
Seconds later, the elevator stopped. When the doors opened, the sight outside stunned Hikigaya.
A towering structure of blue and white stood underground, inconceivably vast. A field of lilies stretched as far as a football field, with the Tower of Doors planted solemnly in the center.
As they got closer, the paint on the building shimmered with a sci-fi luster — even a light touch would cause dreamy ripples.
"This is insane."
"This is Kirari's taste?" Hachiman muttered.
He had never imagined something like this was even possible.
In Tokyo, where every inch of land is precious, building such a massive underground facility wasn't just a matter of money. It was money and power combined.
A symbol of absolute power.
Anyone who came here would instinctively feel humbled, developing a reverence for the one who owned this domain.
This was the domain of the God of Gambling.
Just like the feudal-style game with Juraku, whose secret classroom had required kneeling just to enter — her twisted taste demanded literal subjugation.
But here, at the Tower of Doors, no physical force was needed.
The place itself inspired psychological submission.
Just as Hikigaya was marveling, noise came from the top of the tower.
No — a figure falling from the top.
His pupils shrank as he instinctively ran toward the fallen figure.
It was Tsubomi Terano!
Her eyes were shut — for the first time, she'd left her wheelchair, free-falling through the air.
The height wasn't extreme, but before Hikigaya could process it, she had already crashed to the ground on the other side of the building.
Hikigaya and Ririka were both shocked.
They looked at each other and ran to where she fell.
But when they saw the scene clearly, Hikigaya stopped in his tracks.
Terano wasn't the only one lying there.
All six participants in the gamble were already collapsed on the grass, their faces pale, as if dead inside.
It was only then Hikigaya noticed: the grass wasn't rooted in soil, but was a spongey mat. Falling from the top hadn't hurt anyone.
Terano lay there, her vacant eyes staring at the projection of a blue sky on the ceiling, all light faded from her gaze.
She noticed Hikigaya's arrival but didn't react.
She just muttered mechanically:
"Lost..."
"Unbeatable..."
"Kirari... is still the invincible Kirari."
"What in the world...?"
Relief and helplessness washed over Hikigaya at once.
He knew he himself could never win a one-versus-six like this.
The top members of the Momobami branches — each one was a formidable elite, no less powerful than the top brass of the old Student Council.
Beating them all in one gamble? Impossible.
And yet, Kirari had done just that.
Was there any real hope of defeating her?
Even though he'd fulfilled the prerequisite to gamble with her — without any cost — the memory of helplessness from their past encounter returned like a wave.
He didn't want to go through that again.
He wanted to win.
He really wanted to win.
Hikigaya raised his head.
And in that moment, he locked eyes with Momobami Kirari, who stood atop the tower with her hands behind her back, looking down slightly — right at him.
292 Gambling Game: [Materialized Word Chain]
"It's hard to imagine... that our current level of technology has already advanced to this extent."
As he walked into the interior of the Tower of Doors, Hikigaya couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
Soon, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ririka and arrived at the top floor of the Tower of Doors, meeting with Momobami Kirari.
"How do you like my paradise?" "Amazing," Hikigaya Hachiman replied sincerely.
He instinctively surveyed the surroundings—empty, with no visible gambling tools.
Only three helmets with a high-tech look sat on a round table in the center. What was going on? Hikigaya's eyes flickered uncertainly, unsure of what Ririka intended.
"To be able to enjoy a gamble here must be a fortune in one's life~" "I don't like gambling."
"To have come this far through gambling, and still say you don't like it? Hikigaya-kun, sometimes it's better to be honest with yourself."
Momobami Kirari wore a slight smirk on her lips, just as arrogant as the first time they met.
She walked gracefully toward them, leaned in, and lifted Ririka's chin with her index finger. "My dear sister, clearly we were both present at school, so why did you take off your mask?"
Ririka's face turned red with shame.
Her gaze dodged Kirari's aggressive, intense stare. She lowered her head in embarrassment, mumbling, "I'm sorry, Kirari, I..."
"Raise your head when you're speaking, Ririka."
Hikigaya Hachiman, after all, was a gentle person.
Any girl who had shared close—even intimate—contact with him was treated equally in his eyes.
This was a matter between the two sisters. Even though there was no formal title, Hikigaya still wanted to intervene.
After all, Ririka was Kirari's older sister...
Hikigaya's words gave Ririka great courage.
Her delicate hands clenched tightly at her sides, as if making a firm decision.
"Kirari, from now on, I want to take off the mask."
"How amusing—"
Kirari crossed one arm in front of her chest, the other hand splayed to cover her lower face, a chilling and eerie smile blossoming on her face.
"Even my dearest sister wants to challenge me now?"
"For all these years, you've lived as my shadow. And now, even the shadow wants to have its own will?"
"Ririka, even if you're my sister, if you lose this gamble against me, you'll have to pay a heavy price~ At that point, we won't be sisters anymore—we'll be master and slave~"
Kirari raised both hands, her warm palms cupping Ririka's cold cheeks.
Their extremely similar faces stared at each other on equal level.
"Sister, are you prepared for that?"
"To have your own younger sister place a collar on you, symbolizing submission."
"Kirari... I'm no match for you," Ririka's voice trembled slightly.
This declaration of defeat, made before the battle even began, landed squarely in the ears of both.
"Hmm?"
Ririka, looking shy and timid, grasped Hikigaya Hachiman's hand. "So, I want to entrust everything to Hikigaya-kun."
"If he loses, I'll become your livestock!"
As the elder sister of the Goddess of Gambling, Ririka knew her younger sister's personality better than anyone.
Whatever Kirari said—she would do it.
She would truly turn her own sister into a personal pet. It wasn't a joke.
Just thinking about the possibility of becoming Kirari's pet, collared and toyed with, made Ririka clamp her thighs together and tremble slightly.
That kind of thing... just imagining it was terrifying.
Absolutely not. It must not happen.
But... but I really do want to take off this mask~
Ririka was full of grievance.
She had lived as a shadow for far too long—so long that she had become lost about her own future.
How should she face her life from now on? After detaching from the original self, who should the shadow depend on?
But thinking about that now was too soon. At the very least, she had to wait until Hikigaya Hachiman defeated her younger sister.
"Hey, hey..." Hikigaya felt a headache coming on.
Wasn't this the same as last time? Carrying the weight of someone else's expectations again, giving him no choice but to win.
But defeating Momobami Kirari? Easier said than done!
"Ahahaha... how interesting, truly fascinating," Kirari clapped her hands. "Since this is your decision, so be it."
"Wait... I—" Hikigaya tried to say something, but Kirari rudely interrupted him.
"Let me explain the rules of the gamble."
She walked to the round table in the center and picked up one of the helmets.
"This is an ultra-sensory VR device currently under development. Put this on, and you'll enter a world fully generated by AI."
Ultra-sensory VR? AI-generated?
Hikigaya instinctively rubbed his nose.
Weren't they supposed to be talking about gambling? How did this turn into high-tech sci-fi?
"In that AI-generated world, there are twelve races, each with different talents and abilities. The weakest among them... are humans. They have no special abilities at all."
"After wearing the ultra-sensory VR helmet, the AI will randomly assign your race. Then, we begin the game—"
'Materialized Word Chain'
"The rules are simple—just like regular word chain games. Saying a repeated word, failing to answer within 10 seconds, or being unable to continue at all—any of those means defeat."
"If you say something nonexistent—something impossible in the AI-generated world—it's considered an invalid response and also results in defeat."
"If the item or concept mentioned exists in the room, it will disappear. If it doesn't exist, it will appear in this reality."
"You can understand these rules, right?"
Hikigaya Hachiman fell into thought. On the surface, the rules weren't hard to grasp. He had already caught the key elements:
Race abilities, materialization...
Just how far could this system go? It sounded kind of like some poorly made commercial game.
He raised his hand and asked, "To what extent can this 'materialization' go?"
"There won't be any actual physical sensations," Kirari replied. "But the helmet will simulate them based on visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile inputs. Once any of the three defeat conditions are met, the gamble ends automatically."
"For the specifics—just put on the helmet and experience it for yourself."
"The trial time is ten minutes. You and Ririka will each enter your own room, where all necessary information will be available to you."
"I see…"
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded, still half-skeptical, and put on the helmet.
Suddenly, the scenery before his eyes shifted.
Although only a moment had passed, it was as if he had traveled into a strange, classical study.