---
The room fell silent after Misaki's announcement. Then, without warning, she placed a metal case on the table with a thunk.
"The first game," she said, "is simple: you must keep this money safe."
Natuse's eyes widened. "Money?"
Misaki smiled. "Yes. Inside this case is one hundred thousand Boller. Your job is to protect it."
The club stared at her, speechless.
"When you vote," Misaki continued, "you'll have to guess if your opponent's declared amount is correct. For example—if your opponent says they have twenty thousand but you vote innocent when they're lying, you lose. If you're correct, you can take their money. Whoever ends with the least amount… loses. And if you lose, you must pay the debt back."
She unlocked the case and spun it toward them. "Oh, and one more thing—here are your opponents."
She tapped her phone. The screen lit up with four faces:
A boy with messy brown hair: Gryver Takashiro.
A calm-looking girl: Sayuri Midorikawa.
A tall, intimidating man: Rogon Kurogane.
And finally, a smirking boy: Takeshi Moriyama.
"One of them," Misaki added, "is also a Fairy Tale member."
Kiyoa frowned. "...What does that mean?"
"Oh, right," Misaki said, glancing at him. "I forgot—you're just a normal human."
Kiyoa's eyebrow twitched. "You didn't have to say it like that."
"Fairy Tale members," she explained, "are people who have abilities—just like characters from old stories. Natuse is a half-dragon, for example."
Kiyoa nodded slowly. "Oh. So… does the whole school know about this?"
Misaki shook her head. "No. Only a few. This is supposed to be a secret. You should be grateful—I only let you in because I promised someone I would."
Kiyoa's eyes narrowed slightly at that.
Natuse cracked his knuckles. "Finally… I can fight."
"Good luck, everyone," Misaki said with a smile, and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Silence followed. Hinari walked up to the case and opened it, her eyes lighting up at the neat stacks of bills. "It's really all here…"
Arisawa didn't even look up from her book. Serika, however, tapped her chin. "Where should we hide it?"
A sudden knock at the door made everyone freeze.
"Hide it!" Hinari hissed. "It might be them—the Newspaper Club!"
Kiyoa blinked. "The what?"
"They're also in the game," Hinari said quickly. "You saw them on the screen, right?"
Natuse strode toward the door.
"Wait! Don't open it!" Hinari whispered urgently.
Serika calmly picked up the case, carried it into the storage room, and locked it. "Problem solved."
Natuse shrugged and opened the door.
Standing there was Gryver Takashiro himself, wearing a smug smile.
"Hey, Natuse. Just wanted to see what the Service Club is up to."
He glanced around, his gaze briefly landing on the locked storage room before shifting to Kiyoa. "Oh? A new member? A transfer student? Interesting."
"Now you've seen us," Natuse said flatly. "You can leave—unless you want a fight."
Gryver chuckled. "No fight. I just wanted to give you a tip. Don't put six hundred thousand into the pot."
Natuse frowned. "What?"
"One of my members can see the future," Gryver explained. "And he saw you put six hundred thousand in. Thought I'd let you know. Make it interesting."
He turned to leave. "See you at the match."
The door shut. Natuse clenched his teeth. "Great. One of them can see the future. This just got tricky."
Yukine leaned back in her chair. "Actually… this gives us an advantage."
Hinari tilted her head. "How?"
"They want us to change our plan," Yukine said. "So we won't. We'll put in exactly six hundred thousand."
Hinari's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh… because they'll think we won't do it."
Kiyoa sat down, resting his head on the desk—only for Yukine to stop him. "You're coming with us."
"…Why me?"
"You think I'm going to let you sleep?" she said flatly. Then she looked at Arisawa. "And you—come too."
Arisawa sighed. "Why me?"
"Because you're not going to sit here reading, either."
Before anyone could argue, a voice rang through the speakers: "Time's up! All participants to the voting hall."
The Service Club headed to the hall, Yukine carrying the case. Across the room, Gryver and his team were already waiting—Sayuri Midorikawa and Rogon Kurogane standing at his side.
From the hallway, Misaki and a group of teachers watched on a monitor.
"The Newspaper Club will win this one," one teacher murmured.
Misaki just smirked.
The voice over the speakers announced, "Begin."
They won't throw all their money in at once, Yukine thought. They'll split it to play it safe.
"100," she declared confidently.
Gryver grinned and opened his case. Inside was… one hundred thousand.
The Service Club froze in shock.
"They… knew?" Yukine thought, eyes wide. Wait—no… they predicted we'd think they'd split it…
"My turn," Gryver said. "You have six hundred thousand."
Yukine's eyes widened. The voice confirmed: "Correct."
Gryver took the case. "Thanks for your business. See you at the second vote."
He walked away, leaving the Service Club stunned.
Next time…
---