Chapter 93

Having triumphed in the one-on-one battle with the president, I quickly tidied up the cards on the desk.

"Y-You... How could this...?"

She was trembling, her face a picture of disbelief.

She probably never dreamed the match would end this way.

(Well, I can't blame her...)

After all, the president had prepared three tricks for this battle.

The first was the 'stacking' of the deck.

Before the match began, I checked the deck to verify the gimmick cards.

(I guess she was confident she wouldn't be caught...)

But to anyone who knew a little about cheating, it was obvious—the cards in the deck were arranged in a 'three-number skip' pattern.

One, four, seven, ten, thirteen, and so on.

(This is not a 'stack' to create your own hand, but a 'break stack' to prevent the opponent from making a hand.)

With a deck arranged in a 'three-number skip' pattern, it's difficult to even make a pair, let alone a straight.

And giving me the dealer's turn first was also part of her strategy.

By playing one round, a few cards would be revealed.

She subtly slipped the pairs among them to the bottom of the deck.

The president layered two more tricks on top of this.

A 'false shuffle' that made the deck look thoroughly shuffled without changing the order of the cards.

A 'bottom deal' that made it look like the top card was dealt when it was actually the bottom card.

(She must have practiced a lot for this day...)

She executed the two tricks at a very high level.

A 'stack' that made it difficult to even make a pair.

A 'false shuffle' and 'bottom deal' combo that ensured the president always had a hand better than a pair.

(A subtle but excellent strategy with little risk of failure...)

If we had played a straightforward game, the president would have won nine times out of ten.

But—her strategy crumbled with 'my move.'

Yes, the shotgun shuffle.

This kind of stack is strong against a normal shuffle that doesn't change the order much.

But it's powerless against a shotgun shuffle, which completely disrupts the card order.

With her stack broken, the president tried to hold on using the false shuffle and bottom deal...

But without the foundation of the stack, it was all for naught.

"Then, President. Since I've won, may I have my gin?"

Having won the cheating poker match against the president, I made my claim for the prize of gin.

However,

"H-Hold on...!"

As expected, or perhaps not...

The president didn't hand it over easily.

"Allen...! What kind of trick did you use!? I won't be angry if you tell me now, so be honest!"

"No, I didn't use any 'trick'..."

"Lies! It's impossible to get a royal straight flush twice in a row!"

It seemed she was convinced I had cheated.

"Ahaha... Let's put that aside for now, shall we?"

It wasn't wise to reveal my hand so openly.

Besides, what I did wasn't really a trick, but more of a 'skill.'

"No way! I won't give you my gin until you tell me!"

The president pouted like a child.

"Ha... I see..."

I stood up from the chair and observed her body, particularly the pockets of her uniform.

(...There's no bulge. She doesn't seem to have much gin...)

If I couldn't recover it, it wouldn't be a big problem.

"What are you staring at...?"

Noticing my gaze, the president crossed her arms in front of her chest and took a step back.

"No, don't worry about it. I'll be going now."

As I turned to leave the student council room,

"Wait! Please, tell me what trick you used! I can't sleep if I'm left in the dark like this!"

She grabbed my hand and pleaded desperately.

"Even if you say that..."

Honestly, there was no benefit in revealing my method here.

"If you don't tell me...!"

"...If I don't?"

"I'll say that Allen did... something... inappropriate to me!"

The president, blushing, said something outrageous.

"...Please don't do that."

I was already dealing with enough rumors...

If it spread that I had done something improper to the daughter of the Arkstria family, the Holy Knights might even get involved.

"So, what will you choose!? Will you confess to the trick, or will I spread the rumor that you did something... inappropriate to me? It's one or the other!"

The president, her face flushed with excitement, pressed closer.

Her sweet scent wafted, and I could feel my heart rate quicken slightly.

"Ha... I have no choice..."

Sighing in defeat,

"Yes! You're the best, Allen!"

The president clapped her hands and smiled like a child.

"Then, President, can you name a hand that's difficult to make?"

"A difficult hand...? Hmm, a straight?"

"Ahaha, that's too easy."

I quickly shuffled the deck and dealt five cards from the top.

"...What is this?"

"Can you turn them over?"

"Sure, I can...!?"

Her eyes widened as she saw the hand she had just named.

"H-How did you do that!?"

"I didn't do anything difficult. Do you know about 'card counting' in blackjack?"

"Um... Remembering how many cards over 'ten' are left in the deck to lower the probability of busting...?"

"Exactly. And what I'm doing now is an advanced form of that—'card memorization.'"

"Card memorization... memorizing the cards?"

"Yes. Memorizing the order of all fifty-two cards from 'one' to 'thirteen' and the four suits."

"That's impossible!"

"It's easier than you think. It takes about half the effort of memorizing the multiplication table."

"No way... Even if you memorize the order, once it's shuffled, it's over, right?"

"Carefully observing the shuffle isn't a problem. It's just a matter of rearranging the order in your head."

Compared to the life-or-death battles with swords, tracking the shuffle isn't that difficult.

It's just a matter of reconstructing the order in your mind each time the shuffle is performed.

"Once you memorize the order of the deck, the rest is easy. Just shuffle with a bit of attention to make sure the desired cards come up... like this."

I dealt five cards to the president, and she spread them out, speechless.

"...!"

There, laid out, was the royal straight flush I had shown her multiple times.

"Such a thing...! As long as Allen is the dealer, no one can win!"

The president glared at me.

"No, that's not entirely true. I was able to use card memorization thanks to the president."

"Me...?"

"Yes. It's impossible to memorize fifty-two cards instantly. To use this, you need time to observe the deck thoroughly."

"Time...? Could it be... that time!?"

"Yes. I pretended to check the gimmick cards but was actually memorizing the deck."

To me, whether the cards were gimmicked or not was irrelevant.

As long as I memorized the deck—once I could use card memorization, the match was decided.

"Such... Then this match was...?"

"Yes, it was decided from the start."

As I finished explaining,

"Hey, Allen. If you can control the deck so freely... Was the last one... a prank...?"

The quick-witted president immediately caught on.

"...What do you mean...?"

I feigned ignorance, but I knew exactly what she was referring to.

"I was so happy when I got a full house... I thought, 'I can beat Allen with this hand!' But after hearing your explanation, I realized... You set it up so I would get that hand, didn't you?"

The president glared at me with a stern look.

...There was no denying it.

"Ahaha... I'm sorry, but your reaction was just too funny... I couldn't help myself..."

It was just a moment of mischief.

Her expressions were so changeable... I got carried away and did it.

When I confessed,

"Of course...! I'll deal with a prankster like you...!"

The president stood up from her chair and walked towards the large window behind her.

She opened it with practiced ease and shouted,

"Everyone! Allen is here! He's in a bad state, so it's a perfect opportunity!"

"President!?"

"Ha! I don't know anyone who pranks me! ...Hmph."

"Fine... I'm leaving! And don't catch a cold—stay warm tonight!"

I said quickly and fled the student council room.

However,

"---We found you, Allen Roadel!"

It seemed they were already nearby.

I was spotted by a group of seniors.

Their numbers grew, and before I knew it, I was surrounded.

"Hehe. Just as the president said, you're in a bad state..."

"We can't let a first-year win, so..."

"This is a real battle—don't call it a trick..."

They held their soul weapons, their faces full of confidence, and slowly approached.

(Damn, there's no place to run... But the Rikken Festival should be over in a few minutes...)

If I could just hold on for a few minutes...

"...There's no choice. Let's make this the final battle..."

I poured all my remaining spirit power into the area, enveloping it in pitch-black darkness.

"What is this...!?"

"Idiot, didn't you watch the Sword King Festival? His power is 'darkness'!"

"Don't let your guard down... We don't know what his abilities are..."

The seniors, seeing the darkness that covered the ground, began to stir.

"Then, let's begin..."

After that, I never fell—fighting until the final bell rang.

■

The 'real battle' lasted an hour, and I headed to Class 1-A, my body exhausted.

Slowly opening the classroom door,

"Ah, Allen...! I'm glad you're safe!"

"You held your own against so many seniors... Impressive."

Ria and Rose, with bandages on their limbs, ran to me.

"Yeah, somehow. ...Are you two okay?"

"It's nothing! This is nothing!"

"Just a scratch. Don't worry about it."

"Good to hear that."

As we talked, the rest of the class gathered around us.

"Hey, Allen. How much gin did you collect?"

"Hehe, let's see who earned more!"

Everyone seemed curious about my 'holdings.'

"I think I collected a fair amount, though I haven't counted yet."

As I said this, I took out a large amount of gin bills from my pockets and inner chest pocket.

"Serious...?"

"This is a landslide... You must be the top in the class, maybe even the school..."

It seemed to be a significant amount, and dry laughter escaped from everyone's mouths.

Then, the door was pushed open, and Ms. Reia, holding a large box, appeared.

"Everyone, good work today! I'll collect the gin Class A earned... Wow! There's quite a bit! This is promising!"

She put the gin everyone had earned into the box and moved on to another class.

After that, we talked about who was tough and what soul weapon users were out there—when the intercom announcement began.

"---Everyone, thank you for your hard work today! Both the public and secret Rikken Festivals were of a high level this year! Let's skip the formalities and get to the results! The class that stood at the top of the secret Rikken Festival this year is—Class 1-A, with overwhelming earnings!"

At that moment,

"YEAH!"

Cheers erupted.

"We did it! This means we're the 'strongest class in Rikken Academy'!"

"Right! We're the strongest in name and reality!"

"There's also a large prize... How are we going to use it!?"

Everyone was excited, and it was decided that a victory party would be held tonight.

"---Ria, what about you?"

"Hmm... If Allen goes, I'll go too."

"Okay, let's go together then!"

"Sure!"

So, I went to the victory party with Ria—and we enjoyed ourselves until late into the night, talking and laughing.