Chapter 281: Open Conspiracy

Kiwatari was just a sacrificial piece.

Or rather, anyone could have been the sacrifice.

On the surface, the gamble between Rinji and Kiwatari looked like a straightforward showdown, but Kiwatari was never the real target.

Kiwatari and even Runa, who acted as the judge, were just pieces on the board.

Rinji's real goal was to force Momobami Kirari into action using this gamble.

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"Damn it! Is no one going to stop them!?"

In the student council office, Manyuda Kaede slammed the desk in fury.

"If this gamble continues, the student council will be a joke! No—worse, everything happening in this school will be exposed to the outside world."

He wasn't the only one worried. The entire student council was terrified of what Rinji's gamble might bring.

Thanks to Kirari's policies, very little was known about the inner workings of Hyakkaou. Outsiders only knew that the school allowed gambling and had a long history.

But what they didn't know was that the school had a rigid class hierarchy. Student status was determined by gambling prowess. There was even a brutal "livestock" system in place.

Organ bets were also allowed.

Yet no matter how cruel the school became, Kirari had never let any real deaths occur. Even the "livestock" were technically still alive.

Because if someone died, outside attention would inevitably follow. Kirari's power could suppress news of injuries, but a death—especially the son of a county governor—would be impossible to bury.

Rinji's actions were aimed at forcing Kirari out of hiding.

If she didn't appear, Kiwatari's death would plunge the school into chaos.

If she did intervene, it would show the student council interfering in fair gambling, undermining their credibility.

"I misjudged everything..."

Manyuda clutched his head, his bandaged face hiding how grim he looked.

"I thought he was just a delinquent punk with no sense of law... But from the start, his target was the student council—no, the entire Hyakkaou Academy."

"Is there no way to break the deadlock now?" asked Nishinotouin Yuriko.

"None at all," Manyuda replied coldly. "According to Kirari's rules, the school doesn't support life-risking bets. But you saw the screen—Yomozuki didn't stop Rinji at all. That alone tells the students the council can't control him."

"Then should we intervene..."

Before anyone could act, Manyuda pointed at the big screen.

On it, Rinji had a pistol on the table—the same one he used to shoot Kiwatari, obtained from Midari.

"If we try, he'll shoot us. And if any of us die, the outside world will get involved immediately."

He paused, shifting his gaze from the gun on Rinji's table to Runa.

"Yomozuki's presence also sent an important message to the students."

"What is it..."

"Rinji wants every student to know—'Even with the student council present, no one can stop him from breaking the rules.' Do you realize what that means? No matter how this ends, the council's prestige and authority are already crumbling."

Why was gambling so rampant here? Because everyone believed that if you lost, you had to pay up.

Why? Because the council would enforce it.

If a student couldn't pay, the council would pressure their family to sell assets to cover the debt.

To the students, the council was absolute authority.

And that authority was built on their strict adherence to rules.

But now, Rinji shattered that trust.

Like a country's credit collapsing and its currency losing value, the council's authority was devalued.

And once students stopped trusting in gambling, the whole system would fall apart.

"From the moment this gamble began... Rinji had already won."

Manyuda clenched his fists and laid his head on the table. After a moment, he looked up at Igarashi Sayaka, who was sweating coldly while staring at the screen.

"Hey, is there still no word from President Kirari?"

"No word yet."

"Damn it, she's really... forget it."

Knowing that blaming Kirari now was pointless, Manyuda lowered his head in thought.

Soon, he stood and headed for the door.

"Manyuda, where are you going?"

"For a walk." He adjusted his glasses calmly. "Oh right, Igarashi, when your president returns, pass along a message."

"What message…"

"I'm quitting the student council."

"What!?"

Sayaka jumped up. "Quitting? At a time like this!?"

"Yes, precisely because it's this time."

Manyuda said flatly.

"I've analyzed Rinji's actions these past few days. I've figured out his aim."

"So... what now?"

"I'm going to the Anti-Gambling Club."

"You... what are you saying?" Sayaka shouted. "You're betraying the president!?"

"You can see it that way. But I'll give you and the rest of the council some advice," he said with a slight smile. "The wise man adapts to the times. A quick analysis will tell you—Kirari can't win."

With that, he opened the student council doors and walked out.

"Between being the player and the piece, I'd rather be the player. And if I can't be the player—then at least I'll be a piece on the winning side."