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92. Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [9]

 

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Translator: Saitama-sensei Editor:Ryunakama

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92. Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [9]

I fell into the president’s ambush, and was about to play my first poker game in three months.

The president and I placed a desk across and sat face to face.

「The rules are the same as general poker. The winner of the match is the one who wins three times first. However, we change the dealer after each battle. Any questions?」

「No, it’s okay.」I nodded.

「Fufu, you can have the first round.」she said, offering me the deck.

「Are you sure?」

「Yes, you accepted all my conditions after all. It’s unfair if I don’t do at least this much.」

「Is that so? Well, thank you.」

I received the deck, shuffled lightly two or three times, and dealt five cards each to both of us.

「Hmm, I’ll change one card.」

「Yes, here you go.」

「Thank you.」

After changing one card, the corner of her lips relaxed.

She seems to have got a good hand.

「I’m good with this. Now… I wonder how many cards Allen-kun will change…」

The president placed the five cards facing down on the desk and laughed confidently.

「No, I’m okay as is.」I said with a smile, without looking at my hand even once.

「I-I see… you seem pretty confident.」

She trembled slightly, but soon regained her confidence. And she unfolded her hand.

「My hand is Flush…! Come on, Allen-kun. Show me your hand!」

「Yes, of course.」

And I turned over the cards on the desk one by one from the right.

Ten of Spades.

Jack of Spades.

Queen of Spades.

King of Spades.

「N-No way!!」

And the last one, of course, Ace of Spades.

「Oh my, what a surprise… It’s a Royal Straight Flush.」

My first win.

I was able to get off to a good start.

「Y-You’ve started using your cheat right from the start. What kind of sleight of hand did you use?」

「Ahaha, I’m just lucky is all.」

I feigned ignorance and quickly performed riffle shuffle three times.

At that moment, the president’s face turned ghastly pale.

Well… it’s no surprise.

Then I handed her the deck under a calm guise.

「Here. Next, it’s the president’s turn to be the dealer.」

「A-Allen-kun… You!」she glared at me, as she received the deck with trembling hands.

「What’s wrong?」

「No, it’s nothing…」

After that, the president bit her lower lip and began to hand out the cards with a frustrated expression. Then the second game began.

I looked at the five cards distributed to me. It was 2, 3, 4, 7, 7.

(One pair of seven’s… I can’t see a Straight, but it’s safe to aim for Three of A Kind.)

The president’s cheat was destroyed.

And I still had two rounds as the dealer.

This was not the time to rush the game.

「I’d like to change three cards.」

「Yes, here you are.」

I gave away the cards of two, three, and four, and received three new cards from the president.

As a result, my hand was 7, 7, 7, 8, 10. I got a Three of A Kind.

(All right, not bad.)

The probability that five randomly selected cards become a『Three of A Kind』is about two percent.

This hand is quite strong in a poker game where you can only exchange cards once.

In a normal poker game, you will almost never lose with this hand.

Then the president changed one card, and we unfolded our hands.

My Three of A Kind: Seven against the president’s two pair of eight and two. My victory.

「Luck seems to be on my side today.」

The president, whose plan was greatly upset, had a pained expression on her face.

「Then, shall we move on to the next game?」

「Hey, wait a minute!」

「What can I do for you?」

The president stopped me when I tried to reach for the deck.

「The first Royal Straight Flush… How did you do that?!」

She probably sensed that she would lose the game if it went on like this, so began to probe for my cheat.

「No, I didn’t do anything.」I answered honestly.

「Kuh… You’ve got some nerve to lie to onee-san!」

She stood up with a sullen expression and walked up to me.

「Roll up.」

「What?」

「Roll up the sleeves of your uniform! You hid the cards there the other day!」

「Haa…」I sighed.

I had no choice but to roll up the sleeves of my uniform and expose my arms as she said.

The president checked my arms and made sure there were no hidden cards.

「You don’t have anything…」

「That’s what I said… I really didn’t do anything.」

「T-That can’t be true! I’m sure you’ve got it hidden here somewhere. Oh right, it’s around your chest!」

「No. How am I supposed to take out the cards which are hidden near the chest?」

Taking out cards from the chest area while deceiving the eyes of your opponent is next to impossible.

「T-That’s… There’s no point in arguing about it!」

And she thoroughly started searching if I had any hidden cards from my chest to my stomach, and both pockets at the end.

But there was nothing.

No matter how much she looks for it, it is impossible to find anything there.

「Are you done?」

「No way… Did he really hit it by chance? No, that’s impossible! The probability of Royal Straight Flush aligning even once in your lifetime is astronomical…」the president mumbled, as her face turned pale.

「Excuse me… I’m feeling a little cold. Can I roll down my sleeves now?」

「N-No! If I take my eyes off of Allen-kun for even a second, I know you’re going to cheat right away!」

「Haa… But you didn’t find anything like that at all.」I sighed.

「Urgh! Oh, now I understand! It wasn’t on your body, but it was in this!」the president exclaimed, turning toward the deck of cards on the desk.「I don’t know how you did it, but I’ll do this!」

She performed a riffle shuffle and carefully cut the deck over and over again.

「Fufufufu… Now your set-up has completely disappeared! Even If it’s Allen-kun, there’s nothing you can do anymore!」

The president pointed at me with a triumphant look.

「Haa… So, can I start?」

「Yes, of course. The real game starts from here on!」

「That’s right.」

I quickly shuffled the deck as I looked at her with warm eyes.

After that, I dealt five cards each to both of us. The president changed two cards.

And then,

「YES!」

The president must have gotten a really good hand.

She clenched her fist and cried out in delight.

「Let’s show our hands.」

The moment I said that, the president stiffened.

「A-Allen-kun… Are you not going to change cards?」

「No, I’m going to play with this hand.」

「T-This hand? But you didn’t check your cards again…」she said. Her voice trembling.

She must have recalled the unpleasant memory of the first battle.

「Ahaha. I’ve decided to entrust all the important games up to heaven.」

「I-I see… Okay, let’s do it! My hand is Full House! Now show me your hand!」

「Yes.」

Then I slowly turned over the cards in front of me, one by one from the right.

The first one is, Ten of Spades.

「You’ve gotta be kidding me…」

The president being at a loss for words seemed like deja vu.

And then, in the exact same order as before, the exact same cards appeared.

Jack of Spades.

Queen of Spades.

King of Spades.

And the last one, of course, Ace of Spades.

「Wow! What are the chances! It’s a Royal Straight Flush again.」

「M-My loss?」

This is my third straight win.

The president’s revenge match which carried over from three months ago, ended in my overwhelming victory.

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