Celes left her tablet in the middle of building a card and wasn't even close to pressing the finish button. She can't win through Bingo. How could she mess up at the critical moment, when her life was on the line!? Maybe she planned to win by disqualifying Hans? Was that possible?

I hoped nobody will notice me navigating the tablet.

"STOP HIM!" shouted Hans. As my concentration shattered, two Club men beside me grabbed my arm and confiscated the tablet. "You're lucky. If we punished cheating, Celestia would be dead now. Honestly."

"Attendant." Celes's voice was merciless. "Please refrain from causing either of us further embarrassment."

"But-mmph!" The two men covered my mouth. Please, Celes! Figure it out!

Hans looked like he was trying to figure out something too. Although he tried to retain his trance like during the last game, his face was scrunched. On occasion, he glanced at the laptop, Celes, and even me. However, the game continued without incident.

Hans: [B1,B2,B3,B4,I16,I17,I18,I19,N31,N32,N33,G46,G47,G48,G49]

Celes: [B1,B2,B3,B4,I27,I28,I29,I30,N31,N32,N33,G57,G58,G59,G60]

"O61," said Hans.

"I will also go with O61."

"BINGO." Not again! "Whew! I feel bad doing this to you, Celestia."

She smiled. "You're a liar. Nobody feels bad about winning."

"Your numbers?" asked Smith.

Hans cast a quick glance at me, the laptop, and then huffed before closing his eyes. "On card…86, going across: B...1. I...27. N...31. G...59. O...61."

"Again, the winner of this game is Master Hans."

Just like that, game over. Celes lost? What was going to happen now? Was she going to die? No, that can't happen! Maybe Celes can even talk her way out of this? Then we'd be able to go home. Today was a terrible loss, but her life won't just end here, right?

As the men released me, Celes stepped to her feet, using the chair to keep herself steady. That somehow had to be a calculated move, right? But I really felt like she was nervous. Every molecule inside my body started bashing to and fro, her fears like an electric shock.

Smith yawned. "Well. At present, I am unable to confirm the transfer of ten billion yen to Master Hans's account."

"I definitely have it!" she said.

"That might be the case, but it does not appear to be readily accessible. Had it been so, you should have prepared the money in anticipation of today." The men strode forward to encircle Celes.

"Wait!" Celes turned this way and that, anger and desperation giving her newfound energy. "If you would just wait! Give me some time and I'll have it ready!"

"I wish it didn't have to go like this," said Hans. "But the conditions were confirmed and the gamble is done."

"I agree," said Smith. "The Club prides itself on prompt collection. You should know firsthand, Lady Celestia."

"Don't touch me!" Celes squirmed as a couple men grabbed her arms. "This is improper conduct towards a lady! Attendant! Naegi!"

I stood there dumbfounded. What am I supposed to do? As I tried to think, she stopped resisting. On her face was a wistful smile.

"Never mind," she said. "I just have to die and the transaction is complete, right?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" I said. I won't let things end like this! I asked Smith, "There's got to be something we can do, right? Maybe Celes can make another bet?"

Smith was amused. "Sure, if she finds a 1-UP, or ten billion yen rains from the sky in the next minute. But we need to carry out the collection before another gamble can take place."

"What about me? What if I bet my life and Hans bets on forfeiting the collection?" I asked. Celes revived in bright surprise, and at that moment, I knew I had to push for this no matter what. "If I win, it'll be fine, right?"

"That's for Master Hans to decide," said Smith.

Hans shook his head. "Absolutely n-" His phone started ringing. It rang again at Hans's hesitance, and then a third time before he answered. "E-excuse me."

He stepped backstage, and after a couple minutes, stumbled back as if he had survived an assassination. "I'll accept a third game."

Smith tilted his head. "Oh?"

"I will wager the right to collect Celestia's life and everything in my account. Celestia will wager her attendant's life."

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and grinned. He didn't have to wager all of that, but I won't object. "Isn't that great, Celes? We can still get out of this! We can even come out ahead!"

"Huh?" She looked dazed. "Oh. Yes, of course."

"Celes?"

"I...maybe you should try this game. I'm too scared to play a third time."

"But you've played the game twice! Surely you know it inside and out by now?"

"I trust you."

My face a little red, I swallowed my fear. "Alright."

Smith asked Hans. "Are you okay with the substitution?"

"It doesn't matter, so long as we have the wager according to my wishes."

Then Smith addressed me. "Today's gamble was specified to take place between Master Hans and Lady Celestia. Becoming the player will only make you into her representative. Even if you win, any money goes to Lady Celestia's account."

"But Celes will be spared?"

"Yes. But you must understand that should you lose, you die. There will not be another chance."

"It's fine. I accept!"

"Then the stakes are ten billion yen and the right to collect Lady Celestia's life, and Attendant Naegi's life." Smith adjusted his shades. "Let fate heat up today's final gamble!"

So this is it. Do or die. Drying my hands on my suit, I started plodding in numbers. The tablet offered all sorts of ways to organize the data. There were pre-set patterns, scrambling numbers on the current card, even randomization, it was all way too much for me.

Not wanting to forget my own card, I decided on something simple:

BINGO CARD#13
01-16-31-46-61
02-17-32-47-62
15-30-Fr-60-75
03-18-33-48-63
04-19-34-49-64

This was my limit. My Ultimate Luck better kick in. Maybe he'll call the same way as before and I can sneak a win?

"The time is up," said Smith. We handed our tablets to the men. I retained my nerves.

"Looks like I'll go first," said Hans. After the beep, "B1."

Remembering that mental rehearsal was good for short-term memory, I decided to take my time too so I could keep track of everything. After another beep, "B15."

As the game continued, something amazing happened!

Hans: [*B1,*B2,*B3,*B15,*I16,*I17,*I18,*I30,*N31,*N32,*N33,*G46,*G47,*G48,*G60…]

Naegi: [B15,B14,B12,B11,I30,I29, I27,I26,N45,N44,N42,G75,G74,G72,G71]

All Hans needed to do was call one of nine numbers!

"Nervous, attendant?" Hans asked.

Don't tell me he caught on to my good luck! "N-No."

"This is the part where the game gets fun, after all. O65."

I corrected my auto-wince. He was so close! "O63!"

"That's the one, attendant! BINGO!"

Hans pumped an arm, and everything inside me started falling into pieces. We almost escaped! I closed my eyes and braced myself for an ugly ending.

"I made it! On card number...huh?"

Hearing his chair screech on the floor, I dared to open my eyes. Hans was standing with a horrified expression on his face, looking offstage. Celes was patting a laptop speaker?

"Cheater!" he shouted. "That's illegal! Stop her!"

Smith shrugged. "Master Hans, I recall saying early on that the beeps were just a courtesy. There was never any specification that the volume had to be turned on. Now then, you said 'Bingo'. Card and numbers?"

Hans ran down and tried to turn the volume back on, even cramming his stitched ear beside it.

"Oh my," said Celes. "You needed a hearing aid that badly? Unfortunately, I already turned off the laptop by accident. My apologies."

"Urk!"

"Luckily, the Referee has been keeping a back-up record. Why not go claim your win?"

"Uh..."

"About that," said Smith. "The minute window just expired. It appears that Attendant Naegi is victorious by default."

I had somehow won. Relief washed every number out of my head.

With a pained look on his face, Hans gripped the speaker with both hands and bowed his head on it. Even though he was the enemy, even though he just tried to kill Celes and me, seeing him like that drew my pity.

Celes ignored him. "My attendant and I are spared? The ten billion yen is mine?"

"Yes," said Smith. The transfer of ten billion yen has been confirmed. If there will be no additional gambling, then I shall take my leave."

"Thank you for your hard work today."

Smith took a step before adding, "Lady Celestia, it might not be my place to say this due to my neutrality as Referee, but you've grown. I'm looking forward to your next gamble." After that, Smith and his men left, leaving Hans, Celes, and me. All I could was to sputter my questions.


"It'll help if I start at the beginning." Celes tilted her head to poor Hans. "First off, this guy was cheating. I'm sure you figured out that much, at least."

"How did you figure it out?" he asked.

"I actually wasn't sure how you were going to cheat at first, but I know that people don't challenge me without a surefire method to win. At my level, the game is just a pretense. The real gamble is whether or not I can solve the trick." Celes tapped one of her ears. "In this case, the trick was sound outside the normal human hearing range."

"Wait, what?" I asked. "Is that even possible?"

"It was ultrasound." Hans groaned. "Due to physical limitations, the human ear can hear up to 20 kHz. Without going into the specifics, my hearing was surgically improved."

"I didn't believe it at first either," said Celes. "But everything pointed to sound."

"You mean the beep?" I asked.

"It was actually an excuse for the sound to be turned on. During the gambles, Hans was spending his time not thinking, but listening to a broadcast or something similar regarding the current state of the game."

"That's a pretty big leap," said Hans.

"Not quite. After I heard the rules, I wondered why we still had the laptop and speakers. Since the Referee would have to prepare equipment independent of the player anyway, why would you even bother? The Referee could just keep track for you, whether it was results or time remaining. In my mind, I already figured that your preparations were relevant to some sort of cheating."

"You're right. This speaker was specially modified to create ultrasound. I'd listen for what number I should call next and could even declare Bingo whenever I wanted. That's why I was fidgety about the attendant holding the tablet, because although illegal, it was possible to make cards while we were calling numbers. If it's Celestia, I couldn't take any chances."

Wow. "So how does ultrasound come in?" I asked.

"Hans had a tendency," said Celes, "to close his eyes in order to concentrate. How does he receive information? If there was a visual cheat sheet, he would've used a different pretense to check indiscreetly. Tasting, touching, and smelling are useless here. That left hearing, but I couldn't hear anything. Then I noticed his stitched ear and realized that if his injuries were just a cover-up for some sort of hearing enhancement, the trick started falling into place."

"They needed time to make sure my new hearing technology worked and to train me for this gamble. But someone important like the First Minister can't just disappear." Hans winced as he tugged on his ear at the stitch. "For my country I suffered. And it didn't even matter."

His despair hollowed my body. Unsure of how to respond, I instead asked Celes another question. "If you knew he was cheating, why didn't you say anything?"

"Hans and I only agreed to stop cheating, not punish it. That meant we'd still play, only it becomes an even game. But no sane gambler plays fair in a game familiar to the opponent. Instead, my plan was to be in a position where I could easily surprise and trip up his cheating during a Bingo. That required timing, because if I suddenly moved to cut off the sound, he'd just outrace me. Then by the time I explained everything to the Referee, Hans would've already won. That's also why I acted unwell and had you play in my place, so that I'd have the freedom to move with less risk of detection. You have my gratitude."

"Uh, thanks. So you really thought that far ahead?"

"Well, everything depended on whether or not he really did use sound to cheat. Ultrasound was rather 'out there' so far as possibilities go; in fact, I spent the second game checking if and how my card was leaked."

"Wait," I said, "you knew? You didn't confirm your card on purpose?"

"Yes."

"No way," said Hans, "When I heard the warning I built in that you had zero cards active, I thought that you somehow cloaked your cards, or that there was a glitch, or that your attendant had a clever scheme. How could you do something so careless? That's insane!"

She giggled. "Yet your fears enabled me to confirm everything. When confronted with an unexpected situation, you can see a person's thoughts by reading their reaction. In your case, you checked for some sort of interference."

My heart started pounding. "So if you threw away the second game even when you wagered your very life, were you really able to predict that you'd be alive for the third game?"

Celes sobered. "That's why it's important to understand the opponent's mentality. I couldn't see the killing intent in Hans's eyes; he was likely forced into this gamble. Even after winning a huge sum of money, why continue? Each game, he had less and less to win." She pointed to the camera. "When Hans left to make his phone call, I realized that the most plausible answer was that the sponsor, whoever he or she was, wanted to break me. So long as I had a reason to keep up hope, the sponsor would force the game to continue."

Hans covered his face. "It's as you said. This game was sanctioned by a high-ranking official in my country." He paused for a few seconds, shaking, holding back his tears and despair. My heart lurched to see him like this.

"Why me?" she asked.

"I don't know!" Speaking in a hoarse voice to the speaker, "such a promising future...why? What happened to you that changed everything? You were supposed to be the shining hope of Novoselic..." Closing his eyes, he shoved the speaker to the floor and sobbed.

"Putting all your trust into one person is a recipe for disaster. Anyone who does so is an idiot."

"What about me?" I asked. "What you did in the second game, you must have known that you'd need me to bet my life for the third game. But for that third game to happen, weren't you putting all your trust into my decision?"

"I brought you along because..." She sighed, unsure. "We've been in the same class for a while. During that time, I just felt like you were stupid enough to come and aid your friends, no matter how big the risk and how little the benefit."

"But isn't that what friends are supposed to do?"

"Even if someone IS your friend, it's too easy to cut ties in a tough situation. I've seen it happen to others over and over. Thinking back on it, even though I had the confidence you'd help me, and I've survived by accurately reading others, it goes against a truth that every gambler holds: never trust anyone but yourself. I'm just a little embarrassed that I did something foolish, I guess; don't take it personally."

No! You've got that wrong! I spent a quick second trying to think of a response. "But maybe that's why you're the Ultimate Gambler, because you're the only gambler capable of betting everything on breaking that iron law?"

Glint replaced her surprise. "You have quite the insight! Perhaps I shall bring you to my next gamble. An unassuming guile person like you will certainly throw the opponent into confusion."

Hoping Celes wouldn't guilt-trip me later, I declined with all my strength.