171: The Weight Deceived You
"Huh? Kurume, you should be persuading Hikigaya-kun, shouldn't you?"
"He's the one holding the final decision in this gamble right now!"
"He lost so badly in the second round just now~"
Seeing her dear friend still acting so naïve, Kurume didn't say anything more. Although she wasn't yet sure what kind of effect that extra 500-yen coin would have, Kurume instinctively felt that it was dangerous.
Maybe, just maybe, her dear friend would fall into an abyss of no return because of that tiny 500-yen coin.
But—
Kurume's eyes suddenly arched upwards, and the corners of her mouth pulled into an exaggerated grin, as if a delicate human-skin mask had been placed over her face.
She was really looking forward to this kind of fun. Personally pushing her best friend into hell—such extreme psychological stimulation was precisely the kind of amusement she had always been seeking!
"Hehehe—"
"Well then, since that's how you see it, Rurichou-san, I have no reason to back down either. Let's go all-in with the remaining money!"
"If you win, you'll get my full 200 million yen. If you lose—fall into the abyss!"
If Rurichou were to come to her senses and back out, Hikigaya would be forced to give a wry smile and pull out that little video of her secretly filmed by Miss Yor to threaten her into continuing the gamble. Even if it came to that, Hikigaya would have respected her a little more.
But right now... Rurichou-san had already become a pitiful person completely consumed by gambling desire.
"Well then, for the final round, Hikigaya-kun will go first~"
"Rurichou-san, you said you could determine weight by sound, right?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"How about adding one more side bet? If the balance scale ends up level in the next round, I'll give you an extra one million yen—as a fee for letting me witness your superpower. How about it?"
"Sure!"
Rurichou Nadeshiko agreed without hesitation. It was just bonus income for her—why say no? For her, it was as easy as glancing at her watch.
At the moment Hikigaya Hachiman took out the coins—
Rurichou discreetly glanced at her watch. Hikigaya Hachiman had removed a weight of 37 grams. Then, by listening to the sound of the coins dropping and ruling out extreme coin numbers, the total was—
Thirteen coins, no doubt! Six 50-yen coins, seven 1-yen coins. Hehe, I've already seen right through Hikigaya Hachiman.
She opened her eyes again and, without hesitation, took out the same number of coins and dropped them in. Under the watchful eyes of all three present, the balance slowly leveled.
"Hikigaya-kun, the scale is balanced~ I've completely seen through you. The total number of coins between us is 26." A brilliant smile bloomed on Rurichou Nadeshiko's face—more than 200 million yen! She had never had so much money in her entire life.
Even after buying the finest Steinway piano, there would still be plenty left. How should she spend it?
Hmm... she would treat Kurume to a delicious meal and buy her a gift. After all, it was thanks to her that she found this fat sheep.
Just then, Hikigaya's voice fittingly cut off her daydream.
"Hehehe—"
"Rurichou-san, you seem to be celebrating a little too early." Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, then slowly spoke a number from his mouth: "Twenty-three coins."
Rurichou Nadeshiko's smile froze. Why was Hikigaya Hachiman showing such a confident smile?!
The number was definitely 26 coins—she was sure of it.
Subconsciously thinking she had miscounted, Rurichou glanced at her watch. The weight displayed was still the same as before.
'That means, either Hikigaya Hachiman is just bluffing, or he's a complete fool unaware that he's already lost,' Rurichou Nadeshiko reassured herself.
"Seems like Hikigaya-kun doesn't believe me. Shall we open the piggy bank and confirm right now?"
"You think we both put in 13 coins each—six 50-yen coins and seven 1-yen coins, right?"
"So what if I did?"
Rurichou Nadeshiko felt a chill in her heart, and her unease spiked to the maximum.
How could this happen? Her calculations were completely seen through by Hikigaya Hachiman, but why did he say there were 23 coins?
"Actually, I also have a superpower. Mine is telepathy~"
"Don't joke with me! There's no such thing!" Rurichou Nadeshiko shouted harshly, almost with a tone of command: "Kurume, open the piggy bank now and check!"
Because of the intense anxiety in her heart, Rurichou instinctively used a commanding tone toward her best friend. When she realized it, she felt a surge of guilt—but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
If she lost, she would be carrying a massive debt of 200 million yen! That must not happen!
In an instant, the tsunami-like regret unique to gambling addicts surged within Rurichou's heart.
Clang—
One coin after another spilled onto the table. Rurichou's heart leapt to her throat, silently praying for more coins to fall.
'20... 21... 22... 23...'
No matter how much she wished, the coins simply wouldn't appear. When she counted to 23, the piggy bank would no longer give anything.
"N-No way! How could this happen?!" She snatched the piggy bank from Kurume's hand in disbelief, finding it truly empty inside.
The combined total of coins—exactly as Hikigaya had predicted—
23 coins!
She slumped into her chair in panic, Hikigaya's reasoning echoing in her ears, but she no longer had the presence of mind to follow his words.
Just what... happened? Why weren't there 26 coins, but only 23? The weight matched what her watch had recorded!
Suddenly, she noticed one coin among the pile looking particularly eye-catching.
What was that?
Instinctively, she lifted her hand and picked up that coin. When she saw the markings on it, her pupils shrank.
"A 500-yen coin?!"
"W-Why is this here?!"
"Noticed it, did you, Rurichou Nadeshiko?" Hikigaya, at some point, had stood up and moved behind her. His ghost-like voice sounded at her back: "You mentioned it yourself—the two key elements of Soundweight Sensing are weight and sound."
"Your weight—deceived you."
Hikigaya Hachiman reached out, gentlemanly lifting her wrist, looking at her watch which displayed 1426—exactly the total coin weight in the main storage box.
"You see? You trusted the weight too much, didn't you?"
"Because you believed in the weight too much, you overlooked the sound. If you had paid a bit more attention, you might have noticed that the sound of coins being dropped into the piggy bank was a bit shorter~"
"Let me give you a tip."
"One 500-yen coin weighs 7 grams—the same as one 50-yen coin plus three 1-yen coins~"
As he spoke, Hikigaya opened his palms, and the four coins he had been holding all along slowly dropped onto the table.