The Compulsive Gambler II

"Hey what?"

"Mary is at it again."

"She's going for the newcomer this time."

"Again?"

The cottons of the classroom dropped as students quickly rearranged the entire classroom, shifting the desks to the edge of the classroom, as every student surrounded them.

"—Oh? What type of gambling do you have in mind?" Fascinated by the change in atmosphere, Yumeko glanced around before focusing back on Mary.

Mary smiled as she twirled her finger in the air, "—it's one of a kind, it's called, ballot Rock-Paper-Scissors, it was devised by out class."

First, everyone in our class draws either a rock, scissors or paper on a card, then they drop those cards into the box so the participants can't see them. Then the participants draw three cards from the box.

Then, they just one and play Rock-Paper-Scissors.

If it's a stalemate, then the participant draws from the remaining two cards and play again. And if it's still a stalemate all three times, it's a draw. That makes up one game.

"Unlike normal Rock-Paper-Scissors, you don't always show your entire hand. Trying to reach each other under such unfair circumstances is the appeal."

Mary wasn't wrong there, unlike normal Rock-Paper-Scissors, one could read another to some extent, and those with quick reflexes can swiftly change their choice before both participants reveal their selections.

"Sounds fun! I'd love to try it." Yumeko exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she looked at Mary with anticipation. Mary responded with a grin, clearly delighted by Yumeko's enthusiasm.

"—It's a simple game to understand, but unlike regular Rock-Paper-Scissors, you're limited to a certain number of cards," Kinji commented, closing his eyes as he pondered the game's mechanics. 

"If someone ends up drawing two scissors, while their opponent draws scissors and rock consecutively, it would undoubtedly put them at a disadvantage. In the end, it's an unfair system."

Mary glanced at the boy next to her, who had a tag-like necklace around his neck. She reached out and yanked the tag, pulling his face towards her. "Pocchi, fetch some chips," she commanded, her grip firm and assertive. 

The boy seemed hesitant, perhaps resisting in some small way. However, Mary held onto the tag tightly and whispered menacingly, "I said, fetch."

"Yes, ma'am." 

Yumeko observed the interaction in front of her with an apathetic expression, though her interest was apparent as her eyes focused on the scene. After a few moments, he returned with the chips, placing them on the table. Mary grabbed a handful and sent them flying towards Yumeko.

"These are the chips."

"The rate is 10,000 yen per chips. For starters, her are 120 of them. I'll let you determine how much we bet each game. You'll never know till you try."

"-How much are we betting?"

"Hmm," Yumeko held a chip as she looked at it before responding, "Let's see, let's go with two chips."

In this form of gambling, it is rare for a participant to have all three choices available to them. Since each participant only draws three cards, there is a higher likelihood of getting multiple cards of the same type, such as two rocks and one scissors.

If a participant's hand mostly consists of rocks, it indicates that the pool of cards is likely filled with rocks as well. This means that the participant's opponent is more likely to throw out a rock, so the participant should counter with paper.

Basically, both participants are betting that they can read each other amid such uncertainty. Mary's eyes darted around her cards. She quickly stole a glance at Yumeko, but the girls' eyes were on her instead. "…"

"Ready? Then, at the signal, play your card when I do."

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

Both Yumeko and Mary simultaneously revealed their cards on their desks, exposing a rock and a pair of scissors, with Yumeko drawing a rock and Mary revealing scissors. Mary was momentarily taken aback, but she quickly regained her composure.

A smile formed on Mary's lips as she spoke, "So, you win the first round, Jabami. Congratulations."

Yumeko maintained her usual refined smile and responded, "Thank you very much. I'll take two chips then," she said, collecting the two chips that Mary had wagered. "Now, you understand how this game works, right? Let's keep rolling."

"!?" Kinji's eyes widened for a moment before he chuckled, 'she's crazy alright.' Yumeko boldly pushed almost all of her chips towards the edge of the table. "All right, this time, let's go with 50 chips."

Fifty chips. 

Going by the logic, of a chip equaling ten thousand yen, fifty chips would equal five hundred thousand yen. Everybody in the class were taken aback, with only Kinji chuckling.

Even Mary, initially taken aback, transformed her expression into one of mockery, her lips curling back into a smile. "I didn't think you were such a risk-taker," she commented, her tone laced with both surprise and amusement.

Yumeko maintained a straight face and calmly replied, "Oh, no, no," as the next round began. 

This time, it was the six males who drew the cards and placed them into the box, following the same procedure as before. After the cards were placed in the box, it was brought to Yumeko and Mary for them to draw their rock, paper, scissors cards.

To ordinary people, risking five hundred thousand yen on a game of rock, paper, scissors might seem like pure insanity. However, for individuals like Yumeko Jabami, such high stakes were not much.

"Are you ready then?"

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

Both Yumeko and Mary drew their cards and revealed them, resulting in a draw once again. Both had chosen rock. Mary expressed surprise, remarking, "Oh? A draw? Unexpected. Let's do it again." 

She reached for the card to her left, and Yumeko followed suit, drawing a card of her own.

The reveal showed that Mary had revealed rock, while Yumeko had revealed scissors. Mary raised her hand triumphantly, exclaiming, "All right! I win." Mary hoisted her hand up victoriously while Yumeko didn't seem that surprised. 

"Oh, my. Either way, I would've lost, right?" She revealed her remaining cards displaying two scissors.

'I was right.' Kinji shrugged, regardless, Yumeko would have lost in this round. If one analyzes the game carefully, it can be both fair and unfair, depending on how it is played, however—

"Good thing I won when the stakes were high." She kept her left hand against her lips as she spoke. "How many are we betting next?"

"All right, two chips."

The third round began, with the class members drawing a rock, paper, or scissors on their card, before stuffing it into the box. Whan that was done, they brought the box to the two participants, with both of them drawing three cards.

"Okay, let's go."

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

"—Rock, paper, scissors!" Both revealed their cards, with Yumeko winning with a paper, and Mary losing with a rock. Mary lips curled backwards looking straight at Yumeko. 

"Congratulations. You win, Jabami."

"What's next?" Mary continued. 

Yumeko on the other hand was already beginning to understand the game Mary was playing, so Yumeko simply relaxed her back against her chair, eyes closed. "Let's see."

"Shall we go with 50 chips once more?" Yumeko moved all her chips to the center of the table once more. Mary wasn't surprised anymore. "Oh? Interesting." However, Yumeko looked even more focused than before.

She locked in. "Let's go again."

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

The next round ended in a draw between Yumeko and Mary. Unlike before, Yumeko didn't reply back to Mary's words, and instead kept her focus on Mary. In the second round of the third round, it played out as Kinji had predicted. Mary drew a paper while Yumeko drew a rock.

'She's already realized.'

"Yes! I win again!" Mary cheered triumphantly as she lunged towards Yumeko's chips, grabbing them all for herself and dragging them back to her side of the table. "Thanks for the 500,000."

"-That's one million-yen, total."

"- Geh, how bad must she be at gambling."

"- Isn't this just rock-paper-scissors?"

 "All right, next! Let's keep rolling, shall we?"

"Is something wrong?" Mary's face contorted as she pointed her finger at Yumeko. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet." Her lips spread into a sardonic grin. "Well, after losing one million yen, who can blame you?"

"No, the showdown is just about to start," Yumeko replied to Mary's taunts, shaking her head with her eyes closed, as she reached out for her chips. "Let's bet two chips this time around."

Mary appeared surprised once again, but she managed to hold herself back from bursting into laughter. At the moment, Mary had over 216 chips, while Yumeko was left with only 24 chips. The gap between them was immense.

Mary's goal was to drive Yumeko into a corner, and her plan was working so far. "Then, let's carry on," Mary smiled, her entire lips curling into a smile, like she had already won.

"—Rock, paper, scissors!"

"—Scissors!"

Mary continued her winning streak, triumphing in both rounds one after the other. Yumeko, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by her losing streak, her focus appearing to be elsewhere.

"Oh, my, Jabami. I see you've run out of chips," Mary taunted with a mocking grin. Her arrogance was growing as she continued to win. "-Did she just lose 1.2 million yen?"

"-That was a huge gamble."

"...," While the others had already assumed the game was over, Kinji looked towards Yumeko and then to the class representative, who had a nervous expression with sweat trickling down his face.

Yumeko calmly gazed at Mary and spoke, "Mary, would you mind playing just one more game?"

"Huh—?" Before Mary could finish her sentence, Yumeko took out her bag, flipping it causing cash to drop out of the bag in bundles on the desk. "What-!?"

"Ten million yen in cash," Yumeko calmly stated as she held a bundle of cash with a smile on her face. The shocked reaction was not limited to Mary alone; everyone except for Kinji was taken aback.

"Why would you walk around with that amount of cash?" Mary slammed her hand on the table and shook her head dismissively. "Don't be ridiculous. Staking ten million yen on a single casual game of rock-paper-scissors."

Mary seemed to have lost her arrogance seeing such astronomical amount of hard cash, to her it didn't just make sense, "You… You're insane." Mary shouted those word in front of Yumeko's face.

However—

"Isn't that what makes it fun? Insanity is the essence of gambling, right?" Yumeko's burgundy eyes began to glow with a crimson shade. Mary was taken aback by Yumeko's eerie demeanor, as the atmosphere around her felt distinct.

"In a capitalist society, money and life are the same." 

Yumeko continued, almost robotically and eerily. 

"Trusting your life to fortune, no one in their right mind would do that. And yet, people still throng to casinos because they derive pleasure from the insanity of risking their lives."

Mary subconsciously took a step back, feeling the pressure from Yumeko's words. "In that case, the more insane you are, the more you enjoy gambling!" Yumeko squirmed in her chair, crossing her hands, her hair flowing, and an expression of ecstasy on her face. "Saaa~ kakegurui mashoo~"