Chapter 295: Dangerous 'Livestock'

"Mmm~"

Carrying a bag filled with over a hundred vote chips, Rinji strolled leisurely through the campus.

On the large screen, gambling scenes from all over the school were being broadcast in a loop. Those who had lost all their vote chips were now out of the election. The ones who remained were the skilled contenders still holding multiple vote chips.

Among them were some who, like Rinji, held more than one hundred chips.

Occasionally, the screen would highlight the top contenders.

Currently, first place was Momobami Kirari with 216 vote chips. In second was Terano Totobami, the girl in a wheelchair, holding 133 chips. Third was Rinji, with 126 chips.

That meant the front-runner for the presidency was still former president Kirari, while Totobami and the transfer student Rinji were strong competitors.

Rinji also saw that Manyuda Kaede had 70 chips—not bad.

However, even if Rinji gave all his chips to Manyuda, it still wouldn't be enough for him to win the presidency.

Generally, if a candidate holds more than half the total vote chips, their victory is practically guaranteed. But since no one currently held over 50%, the race was still wide open, and anyone could crash or come out on top.

"Ughhhh! This is so boring!!"

"...Shut up."

Standing next to Rinji was Ikishima Midari. This election was torture for her.

Because she had joined the Anti-Gambling Club, she was forced to sign the anti-gambling pledge, which meant not only was betting her life out of the question, she wasn't even allowed to bet chips.

After being forced to "lose" her chips to Manyuda, she had withdrawn from the competition entirely.

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have joined this club." Midari looked like she was suffocating. "I thought a psycho like you would give me something wild and different. Turns out it's just dull!"

"The name is 'Anti-Gambling Club' for a reason. It's to keep people away from gambling."

"Then why are you still gambling!?"

"Because I'm the president. I need to oversee strategy, so I don't have a choice," Rinji said. "Besides, my win rate is 100%. Something I can't lose isn't really gambling."

"You two-faced bastard."

"Shut it. With the chips in your hands, who knows what dumb crap you'd do. Better for you to sit still."

"Tch."

Midari clicked her tongue, but had no way to argue with Rinji's decision.

At that moment, the large screen outside started broadcasting Kirari's gamble. A crowd had gathered around her.

Her opponent was a student named Marushiro who had 15 chips but still lost in the end.

"Rinji, as someone who once lost an eye to Kirari, I believe you're the only one in this school who can beat her."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Are you going to challenge her next?" Midari asked.

"Your wording is weird. There's no one I need to challenge."

Rinji scoffed and looked at the screen.

"Besides, my duel with Kirari hasn't really ended. Even now, we're still at the gambling table."

"Huh? Can you talk like a normal person?"

"Put simply, Kirari wants to see this school's students compete until the strongest wins. I believe those so-called strong ones will trip up, and someone unexpected might end up winning."

"...Makes no sense."

"Different perspectives, that's all."

They wandered aimlessly around the campus. As they passed by, students quickly moved out of their way.

Rinji's reputation was infamous. Not every student had seen him in person, but the black uniform and golden hair made it obvious: he was the "Devil of Shuchiin."

As for Midari, this lunatic was also notorious at Hyakkaou Academy—a former student council member who casually played Russian roulette with a real gun. Students treated her like a mental patient on the loose.

If you asked who students least wanted as student council president, Rinji was number one. Midari was number two.

But not everyone was afraid of them.

"Um... Rinji-kun."

Tsubomi Nanami approached Rinji from afar, her expression still a bit timid, but no longer as submissive as before.

"Oh, Nanami."

Only Anti-Gambling Club members dared to interact with these two dangerous people.

During the election, aside from Manyuda, the rest of the club members had all signed the pledge. Most of their duties now involved gathering intel to report to Rinji.

"Did something happen?"

"Nothing major." Nanami shook her head. "The club's intelligence gathering around school has been going smoothly. We've got a decent read on the Hundred Devouring Families members. Some students tried using intimidation to force gambling... but, well, you know."

"Yeah, I get it."

Some students used coercion during the election. Since the rule was that any kind of gambling counted, they'd threaten others with lines like "I'll play rock, you play scissors, or I'll beat you up," and take their chips.

Their main targets were the former "livestock" students—the easiest to bully.

But most of the school's "livestock" were now Anti-Gambling Club members.

And upon joining, they followed three key rules:

• After signing the pledge, their spare time was spent doing physical training.

• At school, they moved in groups of two or more. If bullied, they were required to fight back—even injuring or killing was allowed. Rinji would take responsibility (or hand it over to Kirari).

• During the election, every member was armed.

With real guns.

Students who thought they could strong-arm the club were quickly reduced to kneeling, terrified messes.

"I can already picture it," Rinji chuckled. "So Nanami, what did you want to talk about?"

"I..."

Nanami looked at him, pursed her lips, then seemed to make up her mind.

"Rinji-kun, do you have time right now?"

"Hmm?"

"There's something I want to talk to you about."