Summary:
The MC and Rion head to the
elevator. They stop to look at the posted map of the hotel to decide where they
are going to go. They browse through the listings, and Rion suddenly stops over
the word “casino”. He asks to go, and as usual, she is surprised by his choice.
They laugh and talk happily as they head upstairs. He says he wanted to go to a
casino once before, and he asks the MC if she has ever been. She says no, but
her friend works there. Rion looks down and frowns. He asks her if her friend
is a man or a woman. She responds that her friend is a woman (referring to
Sakiko). He is silent for a little while before blushing and saying “that’s
good”.
They arrive at the casino. He is
amazed at the space and flits around looking at each game. The MC runs into
Sakiko but realizes that she’s lost sight of Rion. Fortunately, Sakiko keeps
the conversation short, and the MC sees Rion returning. She asks where he went, but he
just smiles vaguely. They start to go over to a baccarat table and the peanut
gallery VIPs show up. Baba immediately tries to get the MC to come
play with them. She sees Rion looking uncomfortable and fidgeting. Baba sees
him and asks if he’s her boyfriend - which she politely denies. The guys poke
some fun at her, but it’s clear that they do not know that Rion is the Mad
Hatter. They drag them over to another table to play poker. Kisaki asks him his
name, but he stays silent, frozen in fear. Kisaki looks at him and thinks he
looks familiar. Rion had been fidgeting with a stack of poker chips, but knocks
them over when Kisaki says this. The MC sees that Rion is extremely uncomfortable
and tells Kisaki to back off, but he won’t stop pestering Rion. She grabs Rion’s
arm and starts to leave, but Kisaki stops them. He asks Rion if he wants to
make a bet. Rion finally opens his mouth, questioning anxiously what they would
be betting. Kisaki says a normal bet would be boring and that they should bet
for the right to take the MC to bed. While Kisaki thinks this is fun, Rion says
that he couldn’t bet such a thing.
Suddenly, they hear a familiar
gruff voice from behind. They turn to see Mr. Ichinomiya standing over them. Rion
calls him by his first name, Eisuke, and the other VIPs are shocked that they
know each other. He tells Rion that it’s been a long time since he’s seen him
and that it’s unusual for him to be in the casino. He casts some shade at the
MC – asking Rion if it was her idea. Rion denies it, and then proceeds to tell
him to enjoy himself and that it would be a fun story if he wins. They all sit
down to play poker at that point. She doesn’t know what to say to Rion to
encourage him, so she places a hand on his shoulder and smiles gently at
him. Mr. Ichinomiya reveals that he knows that Al is at the hotel. Rion doesn’t
respond but keeps staring at his hand, fingers trembling slightly.
Upon revealing their cards, the
whole group is shocked at Rion’s hand. He has a straight royal flush. Nearly
all of them protest, saying that he must have cheated since it was only a
0.00015% chance of getting that hand. The MC can’t see his face for his hair,
but his hand is now resting quietly on the armrest of the chair instead of trembling. Not long after
a few more protests, Rion starts to laugh. His tone of voice and speech flip to
what they usually hear from the Mad Hatter. The group is in shock.
My
commentary:
Rion is JEALOUS?!?! He’s too
cute worrying about her friend!!! On another note, would someone who’s been a
shut-in for the past four years really want his first foray into a crowd to be
a casino? That would be overkill for most people, I think…
When it came to the poker game…
First, I wanted to slap Baba and especially Kisaki for their treatment of the
MC and Rion, but then I was dying laughing when Rion kicked their asses at
poker. You get what you give, motherfuckers!!!
Songs to
listen to while reading this chapter:
"Hey Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms
“Asking for It” by Shinedown (for Baba and Kisaki...)
"Hey Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms
“Asking for It” by Shinedown (for Baba and Kisaki...)
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