Chapter 301: Shirogane Miyuki Bets His Life

Rinji held nearly 200 votes, while Miyo and Miri had just 50 combined.

At Hyakkaou, possessing more than 10 votes already meant you were a powerhouse. The two girls, hailing from the Hundred Devouring Families, certainly had the strength to dominate regular students.

Yet in Rinji's eyes, they were still weak.

Miyo was conflicted. She hadn't wanted things to escalate this far.

To her, gambling was dull. In the end, the key to victory was sheer force—absolute violence. That belief was what led her to use poison as her means of dominance.

But when it came to violence, she couldn't even match a single finger of Rinji. The blood on his hands, earned through countless battles and corpses, was far beyond her comprehension.

'Violence won't work. Even poison would only bring his people down on me. My only hope is to win his votes through this gamble.'

She exchanged a look with Miri.

Miri immediately understood and nodded before checking her hole card.

Because of their family circumstances, the two had grown up separately. To hide their bond from adults, they had trained themselves to communicate wordlessly.

'To live openly together one day—I must become the clan head.'

Fueled by this determination, Miyo joined the election. She had to win.

She looked at Rinji, whose faint smile never left his face.

To win, she had to defeat this demon. If she couldn't, she might as well be dead.

"You exchanged glances with that girl just now, didn't you?" Rinji said with a grin.

"What…"

"Doesn't matter. Plot all you want. I can figure it out just by observing," he said. "Use any tricks you like. Even poison is fine."

"...I won't do that anymore."

"Whether you do or don't is irrelevant to me. I don't trust you anyway," Rinji replied. "In broad daylight, the most blinding thing isn't the sun—it's the human heart. The only people I trust are very few. Unfortunately, you're not among them."

"Tch..."

Miyo clicked her tongue and looked down at her hole card.

They had one advantage—only one of them needed to win for a complete victory.

She and Miri had already exchanged card information through subtle glances. In terms of intel, they had the upper hand.

So all they had to do next—

Thud!

Suddenly, Miri collapsed onto the table, clutching her chest in pain.

"Miri, you—"

Miyo dropped her cards in panic. When she saw Miri's expression, she froze.

"Familiar symptoms, right? That's the same poison you used on Yuriko."

"What? This isn't..."

Mitsuyu looked at Rinji in disbelief, who sneered.

"I figured out what poison you used the moment I got the antidote from you."

"You... you poisoned her?!"

"I never said I poisoned anyone," Rinji said with a smile. "But you're tied to a chair now. Even if you had the antidote, you wouldn't be able to give it to that girl."

"…"

Miyo never imagined that Rinji would resort to such methods.

Even if she threw the antidote to Miri now, Miri wouldn't have the strength to take it. And with herself tied to the chair, she couldn't move to help her.

Now, it had become a one-on-one gambling showdown between her and Rinji. If she lost, both she and Miri would die.

"I already said, the most blinding thing under the sun is the human heart."

With a sinister smile, the match continued.

———————————————————————————————————————

"Hmm…"

Shirogane followed Kirari into a very luxurious reception room.

As he marveled at the extravagant decor, Sayaka suddenly picked up a remote and pressed a button.

The large screen in the center of the room lit up, showing a confrontation between Rinji and the two girls, Miyo and Miri.

"Is that... Rinji?"

Shirogane stared at the screen in shock. It wasn't that Rinji was sitting at a gambling table that surprised him, but the twisted grin on his face.

It was a smile Shirogane had never seen from Rinji before.

"Mr. Shirogane, would you like some black tea?"

"Oh, sure."

Kirari handed him a freshly brewed cup.

"Momobami-san, did you bring me here just to watch Rinji gamble?"

"Yes. This has to do with our wager."

"I never agreed to any wager." Shirogane frowned. "What are you betting on? Whether he wins or loses?"

"Not that. Rinji's victory is certain. Those two are no match for him."

Kirari gave a small laugh, then her expression sharpened.

"I'm betting on whether Rinji will kill someone."

"What!?"

Shirogane stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you joking? Rinji would never—"

"Do you really understand your treasurer? Do you know what he's truly like?"

"Well…"

Truthfully, Shirogane didn't.

There were times when he felt completely lost, realizing he knew nothing about the friend he'd always trusted.

"I believe Rinji is more suited for Hyakkaou Academy than Shuchiin. Here, he doesn't need to suppress his true nature. At Shuchiin, he's forced to hide it."

Placing down her tea, Kirari sat with her legs crossed and smiled at the conflicted Shirogane.

"Want to bet with me? If you win, I'll pay you five billion yen."

"And if I lose?"

"Then Rinji will stay at this school. How about it?"

"…"

Shirogane lowered his head, then looked up again at the twisted smile on Rinji's face on the screen.

He realized he'd never really tried to understand him.

Clenching his fists, he muttered, "Rinji…"

…

'President, the mask of a normal person isn't something you can wear at will. I'm still a ruthless person at heart. Even if I manage to pretend for a while, the truth will eventually show.'

…

"Rinji, I should've…"

…

'But at least in the student council, you won't see that cruel side of me.'

'If you trust me, then I'll trust you too.'

'President, do you believe in me?'

…

Shirogane slowly unclenched his fists.

His eyes met Kirari's without a trace of confusion.

"I'll take the bet."

"Oh? So you do understand him?"

"Not at all. But I trust him."

"Is that so?" Kirari smiled. "But you should know, if you lose—"

"I won't bet on whether Rinji stays or goes. That's his decision."

"Then what are you betting?"

"My life."