Chapter 93.
Erina stared at Shijun's cards, her mind completely short-circuiting.
A Revolution?! Are you kidding me?!
Her perfect, untouchable pair of 2s—the highest cards in Daifugo—were now the absolute weakest.
The Ice Queen had been utterly, mercilessly overthrown.
Megumi and the others were equally stunned. They all understood the rules of Daifugo. A pair of 2s was an absolute death sentence for the rest of the table under normal circumstances. But to casually drop four 3s and trigger a Revolution on the very first round?
At this moment, the girls' expressions were identical:
Megumi: (O_O)! Hisako: (O_O)… Ryoko: (O_O) Yuki: (O_O)!
They never expected Shijun's luck to be this absurd. He had stolen the Daifugo crown in the very first hand.
Simultaneously, the girls cast pitying glances at Erina.
The proud young lady had walked right into a brick wall. Megumi and the others felt incredibly fortunate that they had passed their turns early; otherwise, they would have been the ones caught in the crossfire of the Revolution.
Shijun looked at Erina's dull, shattered expression and collected the 'Tycoon' marker with a slightly guilty smile.
He swore to the heavens, he hadn't stacked the deck. It was completely randomized. Who could have predicted he would be dealt four 3s right off the bat? With luck like this, he felt he should go buy a lottery ticket.
"Aren't you going to pick up your cards?"
Shijun asked with a teasing smile, watching Erina stare blankly at her new title: Daihinmin (Extreme Beggar).
"Deal! Just deal the card! I refuse to believe I can't beat you!"
Erina snapped, her competitive fire reigniting with a vengeance.
And so, the one man and five women continued their ruthless game of social climbing.
Slam!
"A straight! 4, 5, 6!"
Yuki cheered, tossing her cards down.
The only player left to act was Shijun.
He casually dropped three cards.
"7, 8, 9. Spades."
Yuki: (QAQ)!
Busted!
The game continued. The cards were dealt for the fifth round.
As Erina picked up her hand and fanned it out, she gasped silently. Her hands actually began to tremble.
It was a god-tier hand. She had drawn the Joker, a 2, a pair of Aces, and a sequence of face cards. It was a hand built for absolute slaughter.
She felt an overwhelming rush of victory. Forcing herself to remain calm, her expression instantly smoothed back into an unreadable mask of aristocratic grace. She gently placed a single card on the table, her movements elegant and measured.
She didn't want anyone to detect her anomaly. She felt that, finally, she was about to exact her revenge on Shijun.
"I'll play an Ace."
Erina declared calmly.
"Pass."
Megumi sighed, looking at her terrible hand. The poor girl couldn't hide her emotions if her life depended on it; her face was a portrait of misery.
Erina snuck a quick glance around the table.
It doesn't matter. My hand is invincible.
Yuki and Ryoko also looked incredibly lonely, tossing their cards face down with weary sighs. They hadn't drawn a decent hand since the game started.
Finally, it was Shijun's turn.
The young man laughed. It was a very bright, very happy laugh.
"I'll play a 2."
Shijun said, casually tossing the card down.
Erina's heart skipped a beat, but she grit her teeth.
I have the Joker. I can beat that.
"Joker." Erina declared, slamming the ultimate wild card onto the table. "The pile is cleared. I lead."
She felt a surge of absolute euphoria. She was in complete control.
"I lead with a pair of Aces."
Erina announced, placing the cards down with a triumphant snap.
She looked at Shijun, fully expecting him to pass.
Instead, Shijun's smile widened into a devilish smirk.
"Pair of 2s."
Erina: (O_O)!
How?! How could he possibly have a pair of 2s when she had already seen one played, and she held one herself? That meant he had drawn the exact two remaining 2s in the entire deck!
"You... you must be cheating!"
Erina accused, her voice trembling with indignation.
She refused to believe her luck could be this cursed. She had drawn a nearly perfect hand, and he had miraculously drawn the exact, singular combination of cards required to counter it?
She suspected Shijun was pulling some sleight of hand. Everyone knew his knife skills were blindingly fast; swapping a few cards would be child's play for a monster like him.
Hisako and the others turned their heads in unison, staring suspiciously at Shijun. They had to admit, it was a very plausible theory. The boy seemed to pull a miraculous counter out of thin air every single round.
(QAQ)!
Shijun gasped in mock offense.
I get lucky a few times, and suddenly I'm a card shark? Do you really have to be this sore of a loser?
"It's just a casual game of Daifugo." Shijun sighed, rubbing his temples helplessly. "I have absolutely no reason to cheat. My hands are right here."
Facing the collective suspicion of the girls, Shijun felt profoundly wronged. When you draw good cards, it's natural for people to get salty, but this was ridiculous.
God knew what was happening today. His draws were just absurdly, mathematically improbable. It was pure, unadulterated luck.
Cheating? Completely unnecessary.
He wasn't petty enough to cheat in a friendly card game. As for whether they believed him or not, that wasn't his problem.
The girls, lacking any actual proof of foul play, begrudgingly let him off the hook for the time being.
Erina, however, was distraught.
She wanted to cry.
It genuinely felt as though the universe itself had conspired against her. It was one thing to be inferior to him in the kitchen. That, she could slowly come to terms with. But to be brutally, systematically humiliated in every single round of a card game?
Then what is the point of playing?!
At this moment, Erina lost all love for life. The proud Ice Queen slumped back against the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling like a salted fish drying in the sun.
"Erina-sama... I still have some good cards left if you want to team up and try to beat him?"
Hisako offered hesitantly, looking at her master with deep concern.
"It's boring. I'm done playing. Just let me be quiet."
Erina replied weakly, her voice entirely devoid of its usual arrogant spark.
She had been temporarily reduced to a state of mild autism.
In a matter of minutes, Daifugo had lost all its appeal. It held zero attraction. The world was dull and cruel.
Hisako sighed, patting her master's shoulder sympathetically.
Then, she turned back to the table, her own competitive spirit flaring. This novel, ruthless game of social climbing was actually incredibly fun.
And so!
One man and four women continued their shameless, cutthroat game, leaving the broken Ice Queen to her existential crisis on the sofa.