It was the will of a gambler. There was no doubt in his mind that his opponent was standing at way higher heights. However, there was still an opening he could take advantage of. The fact that he wasn’t facing the monster directly. And the fact that point-wise General Red was still at the advantage.

(First of all, I have to turn the tide around! I’ll turn it for sure!)

His hand was no pair. No sequential numbers. And only two cards of the same suit. The game started with General Red in a headwind as usual.

The first card he drew from the deck was an unnecessary card. There was no sign of a turnaround yet. He replaced an unnecessary card with the newly drawn one, discarded it to the field, and ended his turn.

Next was Toby’s turn. He spent not much time and ended his turn with the same deftness as General Red. General Red could no longer read Toby’s thoughts from the air around him. It was nothing short of outstanding. Because in such a short amount of time, he had rushed up onto the same domain as General Red. However, he couldn’t afford to admire the young man forever.

General Red focused on his own turn. He paid no more attention to the monster standing next to Toby. No, he couldn’t afford to pay him any more attention. Should he do so, he would surely be overwhelmed. And this game would involuntarily be swept away from him at once. There was something that forced General Red to have such a premonition.

A few turns passed in such a manner. Then, with the newly drawn card, he assembled three consecutive cards. He could see a slight sign of turnabout. However, every card was of different suits. If he continued to advance at this rate, for sure he wouldn’t complete anything better than a straight. The flow was leading him to merely a small hand.

(… It’s fine. It doesn’t matter even if it’s just a small hand. My top priority is to make a move. If I don’t turn the tide, I have no chance of winning!)

Encouraging himself, he set his sights on the path he ought to take, completing a straight. He discarded the card he didn’t need and ended his turn. There was no longer any hesitation. He was resolutely determined to complete a straight as fast as he could. At this moment, however, the monster, who had not moved even a muscle up until then, suddenly made a move. Drawn by it, he couldn’t help but take a look at it. At The monster’s face–.

(–he grinned. Did he see through my determination? No, there’s no way he did! As if I’d let him to!)

The next turn. A consecutive good progress. He was only one step away from completing a straight. There, however, he couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of it again. The moment when the monster grinned–

(Did he really see through my thoughts…? Kuh, but what about it? Even if he can read my thoughts, he can’t stop this fastest move of mine!)General Red encouraged himself! However, next was his opponent’s turn. There, he realized. How naive his thought had been….

「–Straight.」

General Red was stunned. It wasn’t like he underestimated his opponent or anything. He was undoubtedly well aware that he was up against a monster.

(… No way. The tide is completely on his side. For sure he has countless chances to aim for a bigger hand. And yet, he made a move with a straight here?!)

When he caught a glimpse of the deeper grin on the monster’s face, he finally realized. The fact that the monster was actually standing at even higher height than he thought. (He hasn’t merely read my thoughts. Not only has he foreseen my aim, but even the tide of the game itself!)

Otherwise, there was no way the previous wave would ever occur. It was true that the tide wasn’t leaning toward General Red. However, the straight he aimed for earlier. Considering the number of turns it took him, he was by no means slow. In fact, he was quite on the faster side. Without a doubt, it was supposed to have been the tipping point of the game. A move that would have turned over the tide of the game.

(They were aiming for straight from the beginning. Not only did he see through the moment when the tide of the game was about to turn, he even anticipated me going for the fastest straight possible at that exact moment!)

The surprise, confusion, and anger he’d had to face up until now. His heart had continuously been shaken in various ways. Thus, General Red failed to notice. The fact that fear had been planted deep in his heart there–.

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「–Hmm.」Tanaka had managed to sneak his way into being able to enjoy the game for free. However, he was beset with an unexpected miscalculation there.

His plan was to meddle in while showing off his extensive knowledge of the game, but….

Tanaka turned his gaze to the young man, Toby, who was focused on the cards in front of him. For some reason the young man was putting up a good fight now, as though the disadvantageous situation he had been in earlier was nothing but a lie. The game had been progressing without room for Tanaka to meddle in.

The blood of gambler — who in the past had once challenged strip mahjong in an arcade and succeeded in claiming zero victories, thus soon giving up on claiming victory for himself and simply stealing glances at others playing the game while enjoying the mufufu portrait from afar – in him wasn’t necessarily not stirred, but the man standing there was the aloof adult, Tanaka. He decided to simply watch over the young man’s battle with a lukewarm gaze.

Then, when he accidentally looked over at the other side, he realized something. The handsome man in his prime of life in front of him. And the beautiful women on both sides of that hateful handsome man. –Grin. Tanaka’s expression changed completely. It was like the eyes of a cunning beast aiming for its prey. There, the beasts slumbering within Tanaka were about to awaken once again. –However, after merely turning over in their sleep, the three hamsters fell into slumber again. The sight of the three hamsters, slumbering side by side in the shape of a river word (川), was somewhat nostalgic and soothing. Regardless of such a heartwarming scene of the hamsters, however, the game progressed. And then, Tanaka’s beauty stealing operation commenced.

「–Phew.」

His first move was to float a smile and send them a flirtatious glance. It was a light jab to get a feel of the situation. However, what a twist. None of the beautiful women were looking at him at all.

What a bitter mistake. He’d been running around in circles since his first move. However, as a man who had always been running around in circles his whole life, Tanaka was unfazed by a setback merely on this level. At once he created a passionate and moving story depicting a sports boy who stated ‘Running around is my friend’ with a refreshing smile, before storing it into the hard drive in his brain to keep his cool.

Nevertheless, Tanaka’s force of will as he managed to suppress his annoyance at the fact that, instead of the beautiful women, the one who reacted to his signal was the handsome man in his prime in front of him, all could be said was as expected of him.

And so, Tanaka’s battle continued. First of all, he had to catch the eyes of the beautiful women. Tanaka suddenly shut his eyes and raised one of his hands. He could already picture the scene where the eyes of the beautiful women were all fascinated by his sublime movement. However, the reason why he didn’t put his hand down right away here was because the man, Tanaka, had received tutelage from sports manga that ‘attack is the best defense.’ He brought over his raised hand onto his face as it was and struck his signature pose.

–Flash! He opened his eyes wide. There was no beautiful woman who could withstand the gaze he shot through the gap between his fingers. With his mouth warping into a nihilistic grin, Tanaka believed as such…. There, the one who met his gaze was once again the handsome man in his prime of life, instead of the beautiful women. It wasn’t Tanaka’s fault that he became more irritated. Now that things had turned out this way, Tanaka couldn’t help but realize. The fact that it was impossible for the current him to obtain these beautiful women. The fact that this was a fate that could never be changed, no matter what. It was like trying to twist the absolute providence that was common throughout the world of going ‘ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh~’ in front of an electric fan.

(…… Am I going to lose again?)

His heart was about to break. However, the experience of overcoming countless rigorous ordeals up until now was nothing to scoff at. Tanaka headed to his final do-or-die battle.

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