"10... 9..."

I hastily grab a stack of chips, knocking another one over, making Nishinotouin laugh. I hide my frustration. If I want to go through my strategy during the time limit to bet, I need to act fast.7

"8... 7... 6..."

I stack a chip on every space on my board. I know it's annoying, but that's a strategy I discovered by practicing with Mary and Yumeko. It's supposed to eliminate all sleight of hand performed by Kamagusu. What Nishinotouin knows is that despite her obvious advantage by using her own game, I have practiced this game for weeks.

"5... 4... 3..."

Nishinotouin furrows her brow in anger, but doesn't respond to my seemingly naïve betting strategy.

"2... 1... zero! No more bets!" Kamagusu notices my bet and looks visibly annoyed. Judging by their reactions, this is either a very rare or a very common occurrence.

"I will now be lifting up the cup." Kamagusu reveals the swords.

"We have Life on 9, Death on 19, Life on 21."

Because we only bet 30 million yen, Nishinotouin only had 3 spots to choose from, and lo and behold, none of her spots were correct. I won sixty million yen from the life predictions, and I lost thirty million yen from the death predictions, with a net gain of thirty million yen!

"Nice job, Kokoro-san," Nishinotouin says in well-hidden sarcasm, as she passes me three ten-million yen chips. "Let's do 90 million for the next round."

I gulp. With 90 million yen on the line, Nishinotouin has a 9/30 chance of making a correct prediction. However, we take turns deciding what to bet, so I agree. I prepare my stacks of three chips per space for when Kamagusu throws the swords in.

"Let the second round begin!" Kamagusu announces as she throws the swords in the pot. Yet again, I only have ten seconds to arrange my bet. Hopefully, luck will be on my side.