Chapter 75 (Patreon)

Kyoto.

After stepping off the Shinkansen, the two split up again.

“I’m heading to Kyoto Jujutsu High first. What about you?”

Ragnar Kagenou glanced at the information on his phone.

“No rush. I’ll go find those two suspended students and ask them a few things first.”

“Alright. See you later, then.”

After seeing Ieiri Shoko off, Ragnar followed the address on his phone and arrived at an underground arcade in Kyoto.

“So this is where they’re hiding.”

The place was not especially large, but people were constantly coming and going.

Inside the sealed underground space, neon lights flickered endlessly. There were no windows, no sunlight, and no real sense of time. It was the kind of place where someone could waste an entire day without noticing.

Ragnar stepped inside, looked around for a moment, and soon spotted a familiar face.

“Hoshikiri Roro?”

The boy turned at the sound of his name, his expression immediately suspicious.

“…Who are you?”

Ragnar did not answer that.

“Where’s Kinji Hakari? I don’t see him.”

The moment Hakari’s name came up, Roro’s eyes sharpened.

His guard went up instantly.

“Relax. I’m not from the higher-ups.”

Roro’s expression did not soften.

“Don’t care who you are. Leave.”

Ragnar glanced around the arcade.

“This is an arcade, right?”

“So?”

Ragnar took out a 100-yen coin.

“If I use this to win enough for entry, you take me to Hakari.”

Roro looked him up and down, then let out a short laugh.

“A hundred yen? Even if you brought ten or a hundred times that, you’d lose it all.”

He paused, then smirked faintly.

“But sure. I wouldn’t mind watching you embarrass yourself.”

Ragnar smiled.

“Then we have a deal.”

He walked to the counter where tokens were exchanged and placed the 100-yen coin down.

The cashier stared at him for a moment, clearly confused, but still handed him a single token with the number “1” printed on it.

“Don’t lose it too fast.”

“One is enough.”

When Ragnar returned, Roro folded his arms.

“What are you playing?”

Ragnar’s gaze swept across the machines before stopping on one of them.

“That.”

Roro followed his line of sight.

“A gacha machine? With one token?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re seriously relying on luck?”

Ragnar flipped the token into the air, caught it, and covered it with his other hand.

“Call it. Heads or tails?”

Roro clicked his tongue.

“Heads.”

Ragnar opened his palm.

There was nothing there.

Roro’s brow twitched.

“…Cheap trick.”

Ragnar smiled faintly.

“Luck comes in many forms.”

Under Roro’s suspicious gaze, Ragnar walked through the rows of machines, stopping only after carefully checking several of them.

Then, with a casual flick of his fingers, the missing token reappeared in his palm.

“The Goddess of Luck is in a good mood today.”

Roro followed him closely, clearly wanting to see what he was planning.

Ragnar inserted the token.

The machine’s screen began to spin rapidly.

Ding.

Three hearts lined up perfectly.

Jackpot.

A flood of tokens poured out.

Ragnar picked up a bag from near his feet and calmly began filling it.

Roro stared at the machine.

“…You’re kidding.”

Ragnar gave him a light smile.

“Guess today really is my lucky day.”

Luck?

That was only something people said when they did not understand what was happening.

Ragnar knew very well this had nothing to do with luck. The machine had already reached its pity state. He had only chosen the exact one that was ready to pay out.

In a place like this, luck was just the excuse losers used.

What mattered was knowing when to move.

Ragnar walked to another machine, glanced at it, then shook his head and moved on.

Roro watched him in silence.

His expression slowly changed.

“One more should be enough.”

Ragnar stopped before another machine, inserted a token, and pressed the button.

Ding.

Another jackpot.

This time, Roro’s expression stiffened completely.

No.

This was not luck.

The tokens clattered loudly into the bag.

Once it was heavy enough, Ragnar carried it back to the counter. The entry fee was paid without issue.

He turned back to Roro.

“Alright. Take me to Kinji Hakari.”

Roro hesitated for a moment.

Then he clicked his tongue and led him deeper inside.

They eventually arrived at a small room hidden further in.

Inside, three people were seated around a table playing cards. Kinji Hakari was among them, though he was not sitting at the head.

One of the men near the wall shifted his hand toward his back, but stopped when he saw Roro enter with Ragnar.

The middle-aged man sitting at the main seat glanced toward Hakari.

“Who’s this?”

Hakari looked at Ragnar for a moment, then leaned back lazily.

“He’s with me. Don’t worry about it.”

Then Hakari stood and walked over to Ragnar.

“No idea who you are, but don’t make too much of a mess.”

Ragnar glanced at him.

“I came to talk to you.”

“Then wait until we’re done here.”

Hakari turned his eyes toward Roro.

“You brought him in?”

Roro shrugged.

“He said he never loses.”

For a second, the room went quiet.

Then the men around the table burst into laughter.

Hakari’s lips curled slightly.

“That so?”

Ragnar looked at the table.

Since things had already turned out this way, he did not mind playing along.

The councilman smiled and pushed the deck forward.

“Then let our new friend deal.”

Ragnar picked up the cards.

The moment his fingers touched the deck, he already knew how the round would go.

“Pretty smooth hands,” the councilman said.

Ragnar dealt five cards to each player.

Then he drew two extra cards for himself.

“The dealer takes two.”

No one objected.

The councilman glanced around.

“Anyone staying in?”

One by one, the others looked at their hands and folded.

“I’m out.”

“Same.”

“Pass.”

Ragnar tapped the table.

“I’ll play.”

The councilman smiled.

“I’ll call.”

Everyone else folded.

Only the two of them remained.

The councilman revealed his hand first.

A 2, two Jacks, and two Kings.

He leaned back with an arrogant smile.

“Hard to breathe now, kid?”

Ragnar placed his cards down.

A 9, a Jack, and three 10s.

The room went quiet.

The councilman’s smile froze.

Ragnar looked at him calmly.

“How about now, old man?”

Everyone in the room understood immediately.

The councilman had lost.

His face darkened.

“Do you know who I am?”

Ragnar tilted his head slightly.

“Did your mother forget to tell you?”

The air in the room changed at once.

The councilman stared at him, then laughed quietly.

“You’ve got nerve.”

Ragnar looked at his next hand.

Terrible cards.

But that did not matter.

This was never a game of luck.

“All in.”

The councilman narrowed his eyes.

“You sure?”

“Scared?”

The councilman smiled coldly.

“Call.”

He revealed his cards confidently.

Three Kings and two Queens.

A full house.

The men around the table relaxed at once.

Then Ragnar placed his cards down.

Jack. Queen. King. Ace.

Straight.

The room went dead silent.

Switching cards in secret.

That was all this was.

Luck had nothing to do with it.

In the end, the only thing that mattered was who cheated better.

The councilman’s expression twisted.

“You’ve got a good hand.”

His gaze turned cold.

“But you shouldn’t forget what hands are used for.”

Ragnar looked at him without blinking.

“Yeah?”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“Then use yours properly.”