Top. (Reader x Various Kakegurui)

85: Forgive Me If I'm Wrong

"Forgive me if I'm wrong... 'I gotta take this out'... Is that what you're thinking?" Yumeko asked. "You said it yourself, didn't you? Torture is the 'Mushibami family business'. Even the princess didn't hear that. You wanted to see 'how long we could hold out'. So maybe I'm preaching to the choir--"

"--I heard her myself! She did say that, yeah!" Midari chimed in.

"But this 'finger-cutting guillotine' becomes more terrifying with every string cut. A kind of growing terror that nobody can withstand. The kind of thing... that would make anyone fling away their convictions... their very pride. A primal, psychological type of rejection. And if that's the case... now we're at the essence of it. It's just getting fun now, isn't it!?" Yumeko started to get worked up. "NOW! What are you waiting for?! Take those scissors in your hand and make the terror all the more real for us!!"

She was right, of course. It would be impossible for normal humans not to remove their finger at the last string. Because when it comes to torture, the Mushibami family pursues total perfection. So Erimi's game would also be perfect. But to see two girls like Yumeko and Midari... it negated the very essence of the Mushibami family business.

But Erimi would never let that happen. So she snipped another string. And it was a miss.

"Not bad... not bad at all." Midari panted. "You're good... I can get off with you involved!"

"It's your turn, Midari!" You reminded her.

"Oh, I know! Let's have some fun, guys!"

Erimi looked positively ill. So you thought you might remind her what was at stake.

"Just a subtle reminder... Should you choose to quit and shame your own name, I would be inclined to let those parties, non-royalty affiliated of course, know that the name Mushibami means little anymore. And should they need those services that I didn't hear about, that they might need to search elsewhere." You gave a sly smile, surprising even Ryota.

"Yumeko..." Midari panted out. "Thanks for telling me about all this fun! I... love it..."

And suddenly, she cut the last two strings, sending the guillotine down.

And Erimi pulled out her finger.

"That's the match!" Yamato declared. "All the strings have been cut... we're at the end of the gam. Mushibami removed her finger, putting her out of the match. Ikishima-san is disqualified for breaking the rules and cutting two strings. Thus, I declare Yumeko Jabami-sama to be the winner!"

You tsked and shook your head at Midari. Even in the end, she couldn't hold herself together. It was such a turn-off.

"Jabami-sama is hereby awarded two chips."

"What the hell were you doing!?" Erimi's eyes flashed with anger. "I can't... WHY did you cut two at once!!?"

Midari was also furious.

"Why the FUCK did you set it up so we can't cut any fingers?! And here I was... I was gonna do it with Yumeko finally! And you screwed with both of us instead!" Midari shoved Erimi, prompting you to stand. "You piece of crap! Give this bitch a piece of your mind for me, Yumeko!"

But Yumeko was already behind her, with dark eyes.

"You're the piece of crap here, Ikishima-san." Yumeko stated darkly. "Do... Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"W-What do you mean?" Midari was shaken. "Like... I didn't hoard all the risk, just like you said!"