"Oh, I forgot to tell you, the gambling money is one million per round," Kuroki Ya said casually.
"One million?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was startled, "One million yen per round, you're really rich."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't lack this one million. He was surprised by where Kuroki Ya got this money?
Didn't he worry about the 100,000 yen for the tribute money two days ago?
"Hehe, this money isn't coming from me, but from that Tanaka Daishou," Kuroki Ya chuckled.
"You guys shouldn't just fleece one sheep."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka even felt a little sorry for that otaku.
He couldn't help but say, "Besides, bringing him to this competition is clearly to extort money from him, isn't it? Although I don't really want to say this, comparatively, no one would choose him as their first choice, right?"
In this matchmaking game, if a male successfully matches, all females who confessed to that male must pay him gambling money.
This is a gamble where popular men gain everything, and unpopular men lose everything.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't narcissistic, but he still considered himself quite popular.
Kuroki Ya and the other two were also very handsome, the kind who could be top hosts at a nightclub. As long as they lowered their pride, being supported by rich women wouldn't be difficult.
In contrast, Tanaka had nothing that would make a girl notice him.
Except for money.
But in this gamble, his money wouldn't help him increase his competitiveness. This was a gamble purely based on appearance.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at Tanaka. He was still staring blankly at the stage, seemingly still infatuated with the pink-haired female host from earlier.
"Hey, do you guys know that host girl? Her voice is so nice!" He excitedly asked Ochi Ren beside him, seemingly eager to know who that girl was.
"We don't know either…"
Ochi Ren and Kuonji Mamoru exchanged glances, helplessly humoring him.
"No, no… Ayanokoji, you've got this wrong."
Kuroki Ya shook his head and smiled as he explained, "Although we're here to get money from him, this game is actually a special benefit we arranged for him."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was a little confused.
"Well, you'll know soon," Kuroki smiled mysteriously.
What kind of riddle man…
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at him speechlessly: "There's still some time before it officially starts, right? Then I'll go look around first…"
"Wait a moment…!" Kuroki took out an order list and called out to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "Fill out this list before you go."
This was an order list. Later, they would need to confess and choose according to the order on it. Kuroki Ya and his friends had already filled in their names, leaving only the last empty space.
Most of the items on the table were desserts and some cold dishes, which should still be provided by the chef team from Far Moon Institute. The taste was excellent.
After Ayanokoji Kiyotaka filled in his name in the last spot, he picked some food to his liking and walked around the long table, eating as he went.
Many people came alone. Hearing that they needed to form teams, they hurried around, approaching classmates of the same gender, looking for people to team up with.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already confirmed his joining Kuroki Ya's group, so he was now walking around the room without any worries.
Suddenly, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stopped.
Before him appeared people he hadn't expected—Saotome Meari, Hanatemari Kazura, and Togakushi Yukimi.
Why were these three here?
"…Meari?"
"How could this be? We actually have to participate in this kind of gamble…"
Saotome was complaining to Hanatemari Kazura and Togakushi Yukimi beside her. Suddenly, hearing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's voice, she trembled.
Like a mouse encountering a cat, she shivered and almost jumped, instinctively hiding behind Hanatemari Kazura.
"What's wrong? Am I that scary?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Saotome Meari awkwardly stepped out from behind Hanatemari, looking at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka with an embarrassed expression: "Ayanokoji, so you're here too…"
"Yeah, a friend was short a person, so he called me," Ayanokoji nodded, "What about you? Why are you here?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Saotome "thoughtfully": "Could it be that you want to find a partner now…?"
"No way!"
Saotome Meari immediately wanted to cover Ayanokoji's mouth, quickly explaining, "I'm here for the money! I heard from others that there's a gamble here where you can make a lot of money, so that's why I came…"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Hanatemari Kazura: "What about them?"
"They're both like me, here to make money!"
"One million yen per gamble, adding up to three million yen per round… Do you really have that much money?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka scanned them. Saotome Meari guiltily dared not look up.
"Do you make that much running a casino?"
Even Hanatemari Kazura and Togakushi Yukimi lowered their heads in shame, clearly having something to hide.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't stupid. Combining Saotome's hesitant and timid demeanor when he met her yesterday, he quickly guessed the answer.
"…You guys didn't lose all your money at the casino, did you? And you're afraid I'll blame you, so you decided to come here to gamble big and fill this hole?"
The Saotome trio exchanged glances. Saotome took a step forward, showing Ayanokoji a silly smile, deliberately playing dumb to try and gloss over it.
"Hehe… that's about it."
She put her hand to her ear, making a cat-like gesture to try and act cute.
This guy really lost again…
"Don't act cute," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, annoyed. "Losing money is no big deal. It's normal for gambling to have wins and losses. If you lose, you lose. I'm the casino owner, am I supposed to make my subordinates pay if they lose money?"
"Calm down, I was just afraid you'd get angry…" Saotome whined.
"I'd only get angry if you didn't tell me," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rolled his eyes.
Ayanokoji could tell that Saotome Meari wouldn't miss this opportunity to make money.
Forget it… let her play.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't going to lecture her.
She might take risks if she were alone, but since she brought Hanatemari and Togakushi, she should know what she's doing.
Saotome Meari shouldn't be so reckless as to risk them both.
"Ayanokoji?"
Suddenly, a voice appeared behind Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
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