Debt Settlement Game III

—Gathered in a gymnasium hall, were students wearing the dog-tag on their neck, they are people who had a huge debt they can't afford to repay.

At the forefront of the gym, on the podium stood a girl of average height. She had hip-length dark-violet hair styled in a side ponytail on the right, with short bangs swept to the left. Her eyes were empty and dark-violet, her lips painted pink.

"Welcome to the Debt Settlement Party."

"I am Sayaka Igarashi, the secretary of the student council. Every year, we have students who have troubles with their debt. So, the student council has provided students with an opportunity."

"We call it debt swap game!" Though she said this last part aloud, with some hint of enthusiasm within her voice, her face nor her expression was unchanged. She probably said this to lighten up the mood, however—

—Silence…

"..." Seeing that nobody was responding to her enthusiasm, she coughed lightly before continuing, "We will organize you into groups of four for the gamble. Based on the final scores, we will adjust and replace the debtors accordingly."

Debt Settlement Party. A game devised by the student council. It was a game of redemption, for those who can't afford to pay off their debt.

However, this same game can go two ways. It's either you successfully pay off your debt with this game, or you fall deeper into a deeper debt.

For each group, the lowest possible debt to exit with would be the lowest of the four, and for the person who comes out last, the highest debt will be placed on his head. And if someone who happens to have the least debt plays the game, their debt will be cancelled, reduced to zero yen.

"Well, everybody, it's your [Second Chance]! Please don't let this go!" Sayaka Igarashi-san spirited words ignited hope in the hearts of the students, however few weren't as excited.

"It's like Kinji-san said, I can't stand it," Mary muttered nervously, this was no different than what happened to her before.

They give the students hope, in this case, if one deeply thinks about it, only those that comes out first and second would be able to get out of their debt, but for those coming out last would have an even bigger debt on their head.

"It's quite the charitable move, isn't it? Their motive is as clear as day." Yumeko crept behind Mary, her hands on Mary's shoulder as she whispered into her ears.

"Uwaah! Yumeko! Please don't do that again!" Startled Mary moved a little away, since she had submitted to Kinji, she naturally got acquainted with Yumeko. "Ugh, though I suppose we'll have to cooperate," Mary muttered through gritted teeth before sighing

'The Debt Settlement game. At first glance, seems like a charity event which the students gain nothing from—'

'—The truth is far from that. They're simply giving money squeezed from the students to those with a heavy load of debt and gaining their gratitude. But from this, it's most likely… Their objective…'

"We have prepared papers for you all, so please declare your debts and their respective amounts here, the amount of your debt declared here will influence who you're grouped with."

"Take this opportunity to unify your debts to the student council and aim for your own [Second Chance]."

"Well then, I shall announce your groupings. Group A: First year—" As the student council secretary began announcing groupings…

… Mary turned towards Yumeko, scrutinizing her for a moment. "There might be a high chance we will be put in the same group, so then, what should we do?" Yumeko, upon hearing Mary's words, moved closer and clasped her hand with Mary's own. "Huh? What?"

"Hehehe~"

"Group F! Second year, Camellia-class, Kageyama Shuya. Second year, Camellia-class, Tsubomi Nanami. Second year, flower-class, Jabami Yumeko. Second year, flower-class, Saotome Mary."

"Ugh—just as I thought." Mary seemed depressed even though her chances of winning. were higher with Yumeko. Perhaps it all boiled down to compatibility, as she mumbled something along the lines of, "I would rather Kinji-san…"

<Well then, those are the group allocations, I shall move on to content of gambling, gamble we will have everybody take part in today is…>

<2-Card Indian Poker!>

Indian Poker, also in some cases called a Blind man's bluff, is a version of poker that is unconventional in that each person sees the cards of all players except their own. However, this version…

<I will now explain the rules. There be no repeats, so please listen carefully.>

<The 40 rules are simple. With jokers, Jack, Queen, and Kings removed, cards will be used. Firstly, the dealer deal one card to each player. Please confirm its value without showing anybody else.>

<Next the dealer will deal second card. This be placed on each player's forehead without having seen So, while all other see content of that card, players themselves cannot>

<These cards are the [Public] and [Private] cards. Win or loss will be decided by combination of these two>

<The [Pair] where the two numbers match are strongest. The next is [Mark] suits match. If neither number nor suit It weakest [Pig].>

<If both are in the same category, pair with higher numerical value wins.>

<This is a game of chance, betting on [Public] and [Private] cards without knowing the value both.>

"Do you all understand thus far?"

"No?"

"Good."

"Because this is where it gets interesting. Everybody will receive ten chips in differing colors."

<The total sum of chips in this game is not most important. It the value that matters, as each player will be given equal chips. In end, [total] number your possession decide win or loss.>

<The 10 100 value of each chip is one tenth person's debt. So, in order words, if your debt million, will be worth million yen.>

<This is to ensure, those with more debt do not gain an unfair advantage. The game will take place in ten turs. Each player one chip for each round as participation fee.>

<If you do not have enough chips, please pay with other chips out of pocket.>

<Also, 3 the game will be no fun if it's decided quickly, so maximum bet for each hand is chips. This way, even a small amount of chips you able to call hand.>

"Right, right, a board like this will be provided, alongside the forms, so please use them during the game," Igarashi Sayaka announced, holding up a board briefly before setting it down.

This time, she moved closer to the mic, her expression shifting slightly, almost menacingly. "Now for some final advice: we will not provide any assistance whatsoever to the players. The same applies to any attempts at cheating."

"In this world of wins and losses, the one being tricked is at fault." It was like Sayaka Igarashi was indirectly to cheat, and even if they do catch players cheating, they wouldn't interfere, unless the players point it out themselves.

"Ugh…" Mary grunted under her breath before sharply looking towards Yumeko, who smiled at her in return.

—Meanwhile.

"Ugh!" A shoulder-length raven-haired boy sighed as he looked at the girl before him, a pale-skinned girl with short black hair styled in a concave-cut and extremely tiny pupils.

"I've found you, Kinji.

Kinji furrowed his brows as he glared at the girl. "You again." Accompanying her were several girls behind her, 'the beautification committee?' Kinji thought as he massaged his forehead.

"What do you want? I don't think I've done anything to warrant arrest from the committee." Kinji locked eyes with Midari, who licked her lips in return.

"Emiya Kinji, you're under arrest for injuring students on Hyakkaou grounds."

"Oh? So that's what she's playing at?" Kinji's frowned deepened as he muttered, before his lips parted into a grin. "Interesting. That's one way to play this game."