CHAPTER 8

Chapter 8: JOKER

Rika often wondered why someone like her was even related to a man named Ryusui. They have no apparent similarities in her opinion. Attitude and behavior-wise, these two were complete opposites.

The man is naturally charming, good-looking, and has an awful god complex whereas she appeared sassy, gorgeous, and friendly. 

"All right, everyone! Gather around!" Gen's eerily high-pitched voice rang through the sheets of Rika's tent causing her to stop writing detailed plans for her projects and rundowns for the ship and peeked at the sudden commotion happening outside. "We still need to pick three people to ride in the balloon!"

The announcement spikes her attention. At this time, the hot-air balloon project was finished and ready for take-off. Up to this point, she was very useful to her new colleagues while fulfilling her tasks for the ship's construction. No questions asked, she was up for this task. Well, this is the first flight take-off prior to the petrification and she doesn't want to miss the opportunity to participate.

She gets out of the tent while fixating her gaze on the crowd swarming the whole area. They were forming a line and somehow picking a card out of the clow—mentalist's hand.

In her tracks, she saw Ryusui curiously going in the direction she was going, assuming that he too wants to know what the commotion is all about.

"What's this about, Gen?" Ryusui inquisitively asked. Gen then spun in their direction and offered a closed-eyed smile to the two. "Great day to you two! Ryusui-chan! Rika-chan!"

"Please, Gen dear," Rika responded with an adoring laugh and an unpleasant smile. "Don't call me that." Her tone went down.

Ryusui snorts at the sides.

"Nevermind that," He presents a set of personalized cards that by the way, look tacky, in Rika's opinion. "Draw one within these cards, and if you are lucky enough to have been chosen the Joker's, you get to ride our very own hot-air balloon."

Ryusui looked amused, he was glad about this kind of decision. Giving everybody a chance to win? Sounds fair and square to him. He peered at Rika, and flail his hands gracefully like a true gentleman. "Ladies first." He offered.

Delighted with the given opportunity, Rika gently tapped his shoulders in gratefulness and then took a step forward. With one glance at her surroundings, most who drew a card from earlier looked particularly gloomy. she already knew that no one hasn't managed to obtain a Joker's card yet.

At that moment, she knew something isn't right. Randomly selected people is kind of the concept in her opinion, but that doesn't mean that she can't see the ulterior motive that this man is pulling off. Out of at least 54 cards and the 100+ people who drew the cards, why is no one able to draw a joker?

"Oh, Gen~" Instead of picking a card as Gen instructed, she pulled the man into a bear hug which surprised the life out of the mentalist. "You are truly kind for giving everyone such a rare chance." She dramatically uttered, patting his back. Skillfully, her hands swiftly traveled on his clothed body.

'Found it.' She smirked.

Gen was confused. "What are you do—"

She then leaned to his ears for a whisper. "Oh, what is this?" Pressing her hands up to his sleeves. The man immediately paled on the spot.

"A thin, almost paper-like flat object located at your left shoulder sleeve, what are you planning, Gen~?... Oh, I know what you are planning~" She taunted, sending shivers down the former's body like sparks. "Whatever do you mean?" Gen innocently asked.

Rika almost burst out laughing at his act. You see, in an industry filled with deception and mind games, the only thing that matters to the performer, or in this case, a mentalist is not the element of surprise but its reputation and skill to predict. If one was revoked, the trust of the audience will never be able to obtain ever again. "Keep up the act any longer and you will see for yourself what will happen in the next 30 seconds."

 "Present me the card," She negotiated while looking directly cheerily at the audience looking at them behind his back, concealing what was really happening between the two. "...and I won't have to ruin your little show to everyone."

"What?"

"What? Did I stutter?" She sassed back. "You are far pretentious than I thought. You are trying to rip off money out of his pockets, am I right?" She revealed, indicating the man behind her. The man with who she has had a close connection ever since their childhood.

Her eyes then gaze over at Senku's whose rather confused as to why she was hugging the mentalist for far too long time. She meaningfully smiled at him who in return gave her a puzzled look. "You are not very keen on this type of thing, dear. Keep it up." She mouthed at which the man understood but dearly avoided eye contact.

After that conversation, the man avoided her like plague. She's not dense to not know that the man was embarrassed to actually had misunderstood what she'd offered that day. But like any other day, she had played it off like nothing. It's not like it's her fault that he misunderstands. 

"Hey, he rips us off first, for your information." Gen hastily defended, putting her back to reality.

 She shook her head in return. "Doesn't matter who did it first. Either you give me the card or you suffer. Choose."

"Urgh, fine!" He huffed. Rika let go of the man as he started shuffling the cards in his hands. On the normal naked eye, the situation being seen is just an event where the mentalist is being fair with everyone by re-shuffling the position of each card in a deck before presenting it to a participant, but what they didn't know is that this is a matter of sneakily placing a new card among the others.

"Now then, Rika-chan," Gen presented the card to the woman. "Pick your card." One finger pointed at the latter part of the deck, Rika immediately understood what to do. In one hand swoop, she obtained a winning card; the Joker.

"Oh, what a surprise!" Gen acted shocked. "Rika-chan was able to draw the first Joker of the deck! Give her a round of applause, everyone!"

Everyone was amazed and eagerly clapped their hands for the first winner. WHAT.A.LUCK, right?

Yeah, what a stroke of luck. Rika then raises her hands to encourage the people to clap their hands more. "Thank you~ Thank you~ AGH! You all are such sweethearts ~"

Walking right behind her, Ryusui then nudged her a bit and whispered. "Too much reaction, Rika~"

"Right, I'll stop." She complied before going back to the sidelines with the man. With what she had won, Rika is currently over the moon and is wearing her heart to her sleeves. 

"I am really impressed, Rika!" Kohaku walked towards the woman. "You are so lucky! I mean first time flying with this thing," she pointed at the hot-air balloon. "—I am so envious! I would've never imagined that a human could touch the sky!"

Rika jokingly scoffed. "Girl! That's not even the craziest thing ever invented by science...but I totally get you!" She grabbed Kohaku's hand with determination. "This is going to be lit!"

"L-lit?" Kohaku titled her head. "What's that?"

"O-oh!" Rika staggered as she scratches her nape. Kohaku was a part of a new generation of humans after the collapse of modern civilization, so she doesn't clearly know what it meant. "It's a slang originated in America—"

"America?"

"It's a country or a foreign land governed by another race back in our time... and lit is a word used by them that means awesome or crazy fun!"

"Oh! I get it now!" Kohaku smiled. "It is going to be lit!"

Rika heartily laughed at the woman. "Yeah! Lit!" 

As the two were lost, conversing about their interests, the others were still occupied at the official choosing ceremony at the front. In the far right corner, a man firmly set his eyes on our female protagonist. Disguising his observation with short glances while conversing too with the audience standing around him. 

A small smile crept up to his face as he saw Rika laughing freely with the lioness as if life has been treating her well and better than ever. He had never seen her like this, cause sometimes—scratch that, most of the time, she only smiles when she felt the need to. A forced one at that. 

"Uhm, you okay there?" He was snapped back to reality as he glances in the direction of the voice. 

"Huh? Oh yeah, totally... totally. I just spaced out a bit." He laughed at himself. 

Whew! That's a close one.

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Unedited.