Chapter 284: One Born with Everything

Kiwatari's chest was pierced—not by Rinji, but by a bullet fired from outside the classroom. It shattered the glass and went straight through his heart.

Looking at Kiwatari' slumped on the table, eyes lifeless, Rinji closed the bloodied suitcase and pushed it toward Kirari.

"I don't need the money. You keep it."

Kirari didn't say anything. She just picked up the suitcase.

This match—Rinji had won.

When she first learned that Rinji planned to publicly defeat and kill Kiwatari, she knew it was an opportunity.

Originally, the council had planned to turn Kiwatari into livestock to control his influential family. If she intervened with money, she could claim his debt and ownership.

Unfortunately, Rinji didn't care about money. What mattered to him was the fear he instilled in the students.

"My goal is achieved. The rest is up to you."

Rinji stood and walked past Kirari.

As he passed, he whispered in her ear with a smile:

"Next time, send the real one."

"!!?"

Kirari's eyes widened at his sudden words.

"Until then... I look forward to facing her. There's still time."

With that, Rinji walked out the door. Manyuda followed closely behind.

In the classroom, only the student council and a corpse remained.

'Kirari's' expression changed briefly but quickly returned to calm. No one noticed.

"Damn it... how did he do it!?"

Sayaka kept drawing cards from the deck, trying to understand how Rinji had pulled it off.

She had suspected he swapped cards mid-game, but upon checking the deck, found no duplicates.

She was left completely baffled.

"Sayaka, we're leaving."

"Ah, yes."

At Kirari's call, Sayaka pocketed the deck and followed her out.

Yomozuki Runa glanced at Kiwatari's corpse and muttered, "What a shame," before leaving as well.

The body would be handled by others. She wasn't interested.

With Kiwatari's death, this stage of the game ended in complete victory for Rinji.

---

"President Rinji!"

"What is it?"

Rinji turned to look at Manyuda, who had been silently following him.

"What will my role be in the Anti-Gambling Club? Should I start from the bottom, or...?"

"Right now, counting you, we have five people," Rinji said. "Besides me and Vice President Tsubomi Nanami, you can manage whatever you're good at."

"I was the student council's treasurer, so I'm skilled at financial management."

"Perfect. I was treasurer at Shuchiin myself, but I'd rather have a lighter workload. Finance is yours now."

"Thank you for your trust."

"By the way... I'm surprised someone I smashed with a teacup wants to join me now," Rinji chuckled. "Mind telling me why?"

"Of course."

Manyuda nodded. "I believe you can defeat Kirari."

"And why's that?"

"Your methods make it obvious."

He adjusted his glasses.

"Whether it was smashing me into a teacup when you first arrived, ignoring student council rules, or using underhanded tactics to pressure them—these show one thing."

He looked Rinji in the eyes, raising a finger.

"You have power behind you far beyond what normal people can imagine."

"Oh?"

"Ordinary people can only guess your intentions and react accordingly, but they can't see the full picture," Manyuda explained. "Most council members come from outside factions. Many central institutions in Japan are run by alumni of Hyakkaou Academy. They're watching closely."

Like Shuchiin, Hyakkaou was filled with elite children from powerful families and corporations. The school had its own twisted network of influence.

And what happened here rarely made it to public attention.

"Yet you act freely here, meaning you're not afraid of external forces. That power alone ensures your advantage. You don't play by the council's rules. You win by your own."

"Well reasoned," Rinji smiled.

"When I watched your gamble against Kiwatari, it felt like we weren't even playing the same game. While others focused on tactics, you'd already won the strategy."

"I'm glad you've thought so deeply."

"It's necessary. I grew up in a household where I had to become a king holding absolute power. Strategy is essential."

"I recall... your father is—?"

"My father is the vice minister of Japan's Ministry of Economy," Manyuda said quietly. "When I was little, he told me: 'You must become a king. Otherwise... you have no value.'"

"So you used the ambition you inherited from him to climb your way to student council treasurer. And now, after weighing your options, you've chosen me—to become the king of this school?"

"Exactly."

"And you're telling me all this so openly because you're not afraid I'll worry about betrayal?"

"I never considered it."

Manyuda looked straight at Rinji.

"From my observations, you're not like us. We struggle to obtain everything we desire. But you..."

With a quiet breath, he said,

"You're someone... who was born already having everything."