While Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was taking the girls out to eat, Kamishita Nagi and Ibuki Jotaro had already returned to Zenshoukai and reported the "battle results" to Mibuomi Aoi.
"You lost…" Mibuomi Aoi looked at Kamishita Nagi, seemingly unsurprised, and spoke in a very calm tone.
"I'm sorry, I failed to live up to Renshochen-sama's expectations," Kamishita Nagi lowered his head, full of remorse.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. If you lost, you lost."
Mibuomi Aoi didn't blame Kamishita Nagi on this point, only asking, "Is Ayanokoji's gambling skill really that formidable? Don't you usually pride yourself on your cheating skills?"
This time, he didn't send those two nobodies. In his mind, Kamishita Nagi was still very strong, surpassing most people in the school in gambling skills.
"Before the gambling officially began, my gambling tools were found, and my martial arts were useless."
"That must be Captain Dragonfly."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's casino has a highly intelligent referee robot, which means that if you challenge Ayanokoji, all cheating methods cannot be used. For people like Kamishita Nagi who often cheat, it is equivalent to cutting off an arm.
Many members of Mibuomi Aoi's Zenshoukai, like Kamishita Nagi, rose to prominence by "cheating." In that case, the candidates sent to challenge Ayanokoji needed to be carefully screened.
Perhaps they should just find an excuse to make Ayanokoji change the venue for the match. Letting him always occupy the geographical advantage limits their side too much...
"Excluding the factor of cheating, what do you think of Ayanokoji's gambling skills?" Mibuomi Aoi continued to ask.
Kamishita Nagi replied truthfully, "Although I really don't want to admit it, in this gamble, if I'm on the third level, Ayanokoji is on the fourth level. During the gambling process, he thought more than I did. I admit defeat."
Kamishita Nagi highly praised Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
In previous gambling, those who could make the best match were on the second level, those who could counter the best match were on the third level, and Ayanokoji… honestly, Kamishita Nagi isn't quite sure if he's on the fourth or fifth level right now.
His way of playing cards was difficult for Kamishita Nagi to understand, too bold, too unpredictable... It was like he knew he definitely wouldn't call, and chose to fold.
Mibuomi Aoi nodded expressionlessly, and then asked the question that Kamishita Nagi was most worried about.
"Let's not discuss the outcome of this gamble for now. It's just... why did you add another 20 million yen to the bet? Don't you know I'm using the Martin Gale Strategy?
You skipped 20 million this time and bet 40 million directly. What about next time? Do you want to bet 80 million directly next time? Do you know how much money that will cost me?"
Mibuomi Aoi suddenly questioned Kamishita Nagi.
He uses the Martin Gale Strategy, betting double the previous bet each time. As long as he wins once, he can earn back all the money lost before and win back the money earned the first time.
Now, Kamishita Nagi's sudden action disrupted his plan.
Although it didn't affect Mibuomi Aoi much, and he wasn't short of this money, he still wanted to "discipline" Kamishita Nagi.
As his subordinate, changing his plan without consulting him first truly made Mibuomi Aoi "unhappy."
Kamishita Nagi was indeed very smart, but what he needed was not a flexible "commander," but a "general" with excellent gambling skills who could faithfully execute his orders.
Kamishita Nagi quickly explained, "I apologize, Mibuomi-sama, I was forced to. If I didn't agree to Ayanokoji's request to increase the bet, he wouldn't have agreed to gamble with me at all..."
Mibuomi Aoi waved his hand, "I'm not interested in excuses. I want to hear how you plan to resolve this matter."
Kamishita Nagi was in a difficult position now.
There's no way he could say he'd make up for that part of the money, right?
This was 20 million yen, not a small sum. He wasn't a rich second-generation heir; paying off the 8 million yen he owed was already enough to make him struggle for a long time, let alone 20 million.
Just as he was hesitating how to find an excuse to "pass the buck," Ibuki Jotaro, who was standing beside him, suddenly spoke up.
"Let me cover this 20 million deficit. Consider it a private loan from me to him."
Ibuki Jotaro stepped forward and said, "Today's gamble was only a 20 million yen gamble. Tomorrow, I will find a way to make up for 40 million."
"Jotaro, do you mean... you're going to bear this 20 million yen?" Mibuomi Aoi was stunned for a moment.
"Yes, this money is what I lent to Kamishita Nagi, so I should bear this responsibility."
Ibuki Jotaro's meaning was clear: the 20 million yen he lent to Kamishita Nagi would not be counted on the Zenshoukai's account; he would bear it.
"Jotaro, you've truly worked hard. You always make things easy for me."
Mibuomi Aoi patted him on the shoulder, then suddenly said, "Jotaro, you don't have to do this. I'm not short of this 20 million. I'm just dissatisfied with Kamishita Nagi for temporarily increasing the bet without my permission. I'll still pay for this money."
Mibuomi Aoi originally just wanted to "discipline" Kamishita Nagi, and this money was not a large sum in his eyes, but he didn't expect Ibuki Jotaro to step forward.
"Then thank you, Mibuomi-sama!" Kamishita Nagi was very perceptive and quickly said.
If Mibuomi Aoi paid for this money, everyone would be happy, but at this moment, Ibuki Jotaro stubbornly shook his head.
"No, this is my dereliction of duty. This money should be made up by me."
Mibuomi Aoi wanted to say something more, but thinking of Ibuki Jotaro's personality, he didn't try to persuade him anymore, just sighed lightly: "Alright then, I'll count on you tomorrow. You two can leave."
After the two left, Mibuomi Aoi's face not only showed no sign of defeat, but he was even looking forward to it.
Mibuomi Aoi was not short of money, even paying the full gambling amount for Kamishita Nagi and the others would be fine.
However, if he paid the full gambling amount, it would make them lazy, thinking that the outcome of this match had nothing to do with them.
Only when the risk of "losing money" was closely related to themselves would they be willing to go all out and show their true strength.
He believed that Kamishita Nagi had definitely put his heart into this gamble.
Ayanokoji's strength was indeed as he expected, not as simple as it seemed.
Even Kamishita Nagi was easily defeated by him, and even earned the admiration of the usually "arrogant" Kamishita Nagi.
If Ayanokoji could defeat Ibuki Jotaro tomorrow, then it could be confirmed that he was the person he was looking for.
"Speaking of which, today's gambling even attracted Sachiko Juraku..." Mibuomi Aoi rubbed his forehead, a little troubled.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"