The two of them sat back down at the gambling table, each now with ten chips—each chip worth ten thousand yen.
That's right. This round had a minimum stake of ten thousand.
First, each player paid a one-chip blind.
Then, one player would cut the deck at random; the loser of the round would cut in the next.
Each was dealt five cards.
After viewing their hands, they would each have one opportunity to raise the bet, with the opponent choosing whether to match or fold.
If both chose to continue, they could each swap up to five cards—a single exchange allowed per person.
After the exchange, there was one last opportunity to raise the stakes.
Finally, if both agreed, they would reveal their cards. The hand rankings followed standard Texas Hold'em rules—Royal Flush at the top, high card at the bottom.
This was a variant of draw poker.
Naoki tapped to activate her Koi Card. Not a flicker of hesitation—she had been blessed with overwhelming luck. Sure, no luck could guarantee a hundred percent win rate, but with fortune on her side, this risk was worth it.
The first hand was dealt. Naoki looked at her cards—completely unconnected, the highest being a King. Her brows twitched ever so slightly.
Could it be… her luck was so bad that even the Koi Card couldn't save her?
On the other side, Aipuxin glanced at her hand—two pairs. Not a bad starting point. And her opponent…
With the help of her invisible x-ray contact lenses, Aipuxin quickly identified Naoki's cards: nothing but a ragtag mess.
A grin bloomed in her heart. Lady Luck was clearly smiling on her. This first round was hers.
Aipuxin gazed gently at the girl across from her, her earlier fantasies of dumping ice water over Naoki's head after turning her into livestock now replaced by warmer thoughts.
Once Naoki became her exclusive pet, she would make her have lunch with her every day, cook together, and never allow her to get too close to any other woman.
Naoki didn't know what was running through Aipuxin's mind, but the predatory gleam in her eyes gave her a chill.
What devious scheme is she plotting now? Planning to make me lick her shoes or something after I become her livestock?
Aipuxin's appearance and personality were a study in contrasts—sweet and doll-like on the outside, yet dark and prideful within, someone who took pleasure in domination. She had lured Naoki into gambling under a guise of warmth and trustworthiness.
Naoki glanced again at her cards. Perhaps this hand had arrived at just the right time. Though she didn't know what tricks Aipuxin had up her sleeve, if she could somehow see Naoki's cards, then this was the perfect moment to bait her into a full confrontation.
"I'll raise by two chips," Aipuxin said, as if deliberating, sliding two chips forward.
It wasn't that she didn't want to crush Naoki outright, but with such a weak hand on Naoki's side, overbetting might scare her into folding.
Naoki sighed. "Maybe I really am unlucky today. But judging from your face, Aipuxin, your hand can't be that great either. Maybe I should just leave it all to fate."
"All in!" she declared, pushing forward her remaining nine chips.
Aipuxin stared at her, stunned. Had Naoki gone completely off the rails?
But the next second, euphoria surged through her.
Even if her current hand wasn't perfect, discarding the singleton might get her a full house. And even if she didn't hit it, the only way Naoki could beat her was with three-of-a-kind or better.
Transforming a junk hand into a three-of-a-kind in one draw? Nearly impossible.
"Not calling?" Naoki blinked playfully, and Aipuxin felt as though a pink arrow had shot through her chest. How could she not call?
Naoki was clearly bluffing, thinking she could scare her off with a bold all-in.
Too bad for her—Aipuxin could see her hand. She knew Naoki was bluffing. There was no way her little trick would succeed.
"Of course I'll call." Aipuxin smiled sweetly and pushed in all her chips.
During the draw, Aipuxin exchanged one card.
Now she held three eights and a pair of Kings. Her breathing quickened.
The heavens were on her side! Her hand had upgraded from two pairs to a full house in one draw. There was no way she'd lose now.
Naoki would be hers.
Naoki's expression didn't change. If she couldn't trust the Koi Card now, what was the point of gambling?
"I'll change all five," Naoki said.
Exactly as Aipuxin expected. With such a terrible hand, of course she'd ditch everything.
Her heart overflowed with joy at the thought of imminent victory. When she looked up again to see Naoki's new hand, the girl had already stacked the cards into one neat bundle in her palm. Only the outermost card—a seven—was barely visible.
Whatever. There's no way she could win. With both their chips all in, it was time for the showdown.
Naoki's face remained unreadable. She hadn't even looked at her new cards. If fate was already decided, why not preserve a little suspense for the reveal?
"Let's show them," Aipuxin said confidently, fanning out her cards. "Three eights and two Kings."
Gasps and cheers erupted around them.
"Aipuxin strikes again! Her luck's unreal!"
"Right? Getting this kind of hand in an all-in match? Amazing!"
Aipuxin gave a theatrical sigh. "Sorry, Naoki. I didn't want to beat you."
Naoki revealed her hand. The top card: a Queen.
Then another Queen.
When the third was also a Queen, Aipuxin's smile began to falter.
No way. Don't tell me she…?
But the fourth card slid out: a sparkling Queen of Hearts.
The final card: a seven.
"No way! There's no way you drew four Queens out of nothing! You cheated, didn't you?!"
Naoki gave her a blank stare. The cheater accusing others of cheating—now that was rich.
If anything, not winning even while cheating would be the real embarrassment.
She blinked again. This time, Aipuxin didn't freeze up like before. She glanced at the Charm Card. As expected, its five-minute effect had worn off.
"Aipuxin, you won a lot earlier, didn't you? I just got lucky this once. That's perfectly normal."
True enough. The cards were rigged. The only explanation was that Naoki's luck had gone supernova.
Aipuxin slumped forward onto the table, thoroughly defeated.
"That settles the debt, then. I'm leaving," Naoki said, getting to her feet.
System: Congratulations! You've completed a high-risk gamble with Aipuxin. EXP +3!
Naoki's heart lifted—time to draw another card.
Unable to contain her excitement, she immediately burned one EXP for a card draw.
System: Congratulations! You've drawn the "Charm" Card! For five minutes, you'll radiate S-rank allure toward women!
This thing again?!
Was half the system's card pool just made up of Charm Cards?
Then again, considering the goal was to romance female characters, it made a lot of sense.
"Naoki."
Just as she was about to leave, Aipuxin called out to her, her expression back to soft and sweet.
"Your debt's cleared. Why don't we play another round—just for fun?"
Naoki shut her down without hesitation. "Nope. I've used up all my luck. Not a good day for gambling."
She kept her tone light, careful not to offend. After all, she still needed to build Aipuxin's favor. That last match was only about reclaiming what she'd lost.
Aipuxin sighed. "Then let me treat you to some cake, at least."
Huh? The Charm Card should've expired. Why was Aipuxin still being so nice?
Was it… residual attraction? A lingering after-effect?
For the sake of her favorability score, Naoki decided to accept. It wasn't like she had anything to lose.
Aipuxin's eyes lit up—and her affection score ticked up by two points, now at 12.
At a quiet two-seat table in the campus café, Aipuxin was practically glowing.
When the server brought out the cake, she beamed. "This is the first time I've ever had afternoon tea with someone like this. It feels… really nice."
Naoki looked at her with a curious expression. "Someone like you must have lots of friends. How could no one have tea with you before?"
Aipuxin's smile faltered.
It was true. She had no shortage of people flocking around her—boys and girls alike. But none of them would sit across from her like this, as a real friend.
They just stuck around for the spectacle she created. Once the match ended, they scattered like birds.
And those she beat would never want to share cake with her.
"Naoki… I won a lot of money from you earlier, didn't I? Even if you got it back in the end. Why would you agree to have cake with me?"
Naoki was still chewing a bite of cake. After unlocking the system, she no longer immersed herself in the role of an average student. Completing missions came first.
Even the grudge over Aipuxin's earlier deception had been tossed aside.
"Because you offered me cake. And it's really good," she replied.
After all, Aipuxin had just given her EXP. She even opened a million-yen loot box for her.
System: Because she finds you pure and kind, Aipuxin's favorability has increased by 3 points.
Really? Just like that?
Naoki suddenly realized—Aipuxin's taste was nearly identical to Yumeko Jabami's. Both were drawn to innocence and sincerity.
Though Yumeko hadn't transferred in yet, she was a key character who had to be romanced eventually.
If her tastes were similar to Aipuxin's, then this was the perfect training ground for honing that persona.
Aipuxin looked at the girl across from her. The heady, heartbeat-skipping effect from earlier had faded, but Naoki's innocent kindness still smoothed over something tender inside her.
Naoki was so sweet, so sincere… Aipuxin felt more convinced than ever.
If she truly wanted to protect someone like her, she had no choice—
She had to make Naoki her exclusive pet.
Otherwise, this cruel school would chew her up and spit her out.