The strongest high school student in Japan

Boys and girls in school uniforms kneel beside a low table. A painted screen separates them from the corridor, while outside the round window, bamboo branches sway in the breeze in the shadows, creating a very charming picture.

They didn't have to wait long before Hyoudou Takako walked in.

Now she has changed into a kimono.

Like her daily attire, this outfit is mainly black, with floral lines outlined by silk threads in the middle, making it look solemn yet charming.

"You two have quite good manners." She stood at the door, looking down at the two people kneeling, smiling as if she was complimenting them.

Then she changed her clogs, walked in, and knelt down opposite the two men.

At this time, dinner officially began and the waiters began to serve the dishes slowly.

The first thing served was tuna sashimi, followed by soup and rice in bowls, and Hyoudou Takako was the first to pick up the chopsticks, signaling the guests that they could start eating.

"You don't have to be restrained. I don't like to follow so many rules. Eating a meal has to be treated like a ritual. That should have disappeared three hundred years ago." She waved her hand and poured herself a glass of wine. "Do you want some? Drink if you like. No one will control you here. It doesn't matter if you are underage..."

They both refused at the same time and poured themselves tea.

It's not just that they are following the rule that minors are not allowed to drink, but that they have no interest in alcohol.

They didn't drink, and Hyoudou Takako didn't urge them, but just drank the glass of wine in one gulp.

Although her movements were relaxed and her attitude was generous, she didn't seem to be able to drink much. After drinking a glass of wine, her face turned slightly red.

"This is our family's business. Grandpa bought it not because he likes the restaurant business, but because he wants to turn it into a place for secret gatherings. Um... all the plots you see in TV dramas, such as giving a large bag of untraceable cash to a congressman's secretary, or leaking official business documents before they are released... all of them are happening here, and it's happening today."

Hyodo Takako pointed vaguely and poured another glass of wine. "My grandfather did business by colluding with important figures in the political and financial circles to obtain information and monopolize resources. He also relied on this network of relationships to amass our family fortune. He was very successful. He was recognized by everyone as an expert in the insider operations of the Showa era. No one played it more smoothly than him, and everyone was afraid of him."

Mogami Jun and Sagihara Shion looked at each other again, not quite understanding why Takako suddenly said this.

They couldn't say anything about these things, so they could only listen quietly.

At this time, the waiter brought the grilled sea bream, which had been grilled into a golden color and exuded a crispy and fragrant aroma. Mogami Jun, who was already a little hungry, picked it up and took a bite. The soft feeling in his mouth suddenly made him feel that the trip was worthwhile.

"Japan's glory comes from this, but Japan's decline also comes from this. When people get old, they will be obsessed with their past experiences. They believe that how they succeeded in the past will always work in the future. Japan is controlled by such a group of old people, so it can't breathe for a moment and can only struggle in their cage..." Hyodo Takako continued, and then drank a glass of wine, "The Showa era has ended for 30 years, but these people are still living in that era. It's really a pity for them. This country will continue to be occupied by these old trees, and then slowly decline..."

Perhaps she was thinking of something upsetting, as she poured glass after glass of wine, her face becoming redder and redder. The cruel and violent aura that she had originally possessed suddenly disappeared, and instead she looked charming and sad.

The arrogance in front of others may just be her outward appearance, she has another side inside.

"You may not believe this, but the Di'ai Group has such a huge size and capital, but it has not made many achievements in emerging industries. Instead, it has been engaged in finance and real estate for decades. The reason is that my grandfather believes that this is the most stable way of doing business. He does not want to change, and does not want to know what changes have taken place. It is enough for him to continue to scrape bones from the common people. Meanwhile, the world outside is undergoing earth-shaking changes! Japan has isolated itself into an island, living decades ago, and he is the king of the island, fully believing that his rule will continue forever!"

"If you are dissatisfied with your grandfather, it would be better to tell him directly. There is probably not much point in complaining to us in private. We can't do anything." Seeing the other party like this, Sagihara Shion said bravely.

"Humph, talking to him... talking to him is useless. He will never listen to anyone's opinions. In his eyes, he is the only one in the world who can do whatever he wants. Even our closest relatives can't influence him in the slightest." Hyoudou Takako laughed mockingly, "Fortunately, he can't live forever now. His rule will soon come to an end. When that day comes, the Teiai Group will usher in a brand new era. It will truly integrate into the world, and I will be the one to implement this strategy. I have been preparing for this throughout my life! This is also the mission that the professor enlightened me and made me realize. The old men's self-contained rule must end here!"

"Is this the real reason why the senior founded that club?" Sagihara Shion finally understood something.

"Yes, that's the reason. I need help, and it's easiest to find help in the University of Tokyo." Hyodo Takako smiled slightly. Perhaps it was the effect of alcohol, her spirit became a little excited.

She raised her head and looked at Sagihara Shion and Mogami Jun.

"It doesn't matter if you don't have knowledge or skills, these can be acquired through training. Only courage and decisiveness are things that can never be learned from books. It is a kind of talent that very few people have. Only those who don't take anyone seriously at all, those who dare to challenge the tacit rules of society, will have the courage to break this stagnant water and create a career that the old men dare not imagine. Simply put... I'm looking for my kind."

Then, she slowly raised her hand and pointed at the girl in front of her, "Sagihara Shion, you are one of my kind. Do you know why I don't look for a successor among the seniors? Because... I have already decided on a successor!"

"Ah!?" Sagihara Shion was completely surprised. She was so surprised that her hands loosened and even the chopsticks fell to the ground.

Hey, senior, calm down, it hasn't thundered yet! Mogami Jun thought.

He didn't expect that his casual guess just now would come true. Hyodou Takako actually chose Sagihara-senpai as his successor.

However, he also found it a little hard to believe. He didn't expect that Takako would think so highly of his senior.

It took Sagihara Shion a long time to recover from the accident, and then she shook her head.

"I...you and I are not the same kind. You think too highly of me."

"If not, how could you have dared to challenge me to a game? And how could you have dared to bet your life? In the end, you beat me. Whether it was by luck or strength, this is a courage worthy of praise." Hyoudou Takako laughed coldly, "In school, you are the only one who is young and dares to do this. So recognize your own value, Sagihara Shion, although you do not have any leadership skills, you are quite suitable to be my assistant."

"But I won't despise human life and take pleasure in the suffering of others!" Sagihara Shion retorted loudly. "You can manage that company in the future as you wish, but don't involve Jun and me. We don't need such an honor!"

"You are such a stubborn person. This is really a headache for me, but after all, isn't this what I value..." Hyoudou Takako shook her head slightly, without any sign of anger, which was rather expected.

Then, she narrowed her eyes slightly, her eyes moved, and with the kimono she was wearing, she looked like a young woman in her early twenties.

It’s a pity that this momentary charm disappeared almost immediately.

The blush brought by the alcohol spread to her ears and seemed to ignite her pupils, burning with flames.

"Since we have completely different opinions, how about we resolve our differences in the traditional way?" She raised the corners of her mouth and let out a sharp laugh.

"The traditional way..." Sagihara Shion suddenly froze, as if she had thought of something.

"Yes, Sagihara Shion, let's play again. If you win this time, I won't force you to obey me anymore." Hyoudou Takako threw the empty bottle aside, hitting the plate with a crisp sound. "How is it? You miss it, don't you? That feeling of total devotion..."

"No... I won't come." Sagihara Shion shook her head suddenly, "I have no obligation to fight you again... We are not children anymore, how can we treat it like a joke!?"

"I think this is a good idea. It's better for everyone to bet on their luck and decide who is right or wrong than to have a boring argument and use winning or losing to decide who is right or wrong." Hyoudou Takako shook her head, still smiling. "You can choose not to accept the challenge. Then you can choose, subway, ocean-going ship, or nuclear power plant?"

...Shion Sagihara took a breath.

As expected, Hyoudou Takako threatened her without hesitation, but she was helpless for the moment.

"Let's stop here." At this moment, a hand reached out from the side and stood between Hyoudou Takako and Sagihara Shion.

"Senior, it's already late today, shouldn't we end it? After all, I'm still a student and need to go home before curfew." Mogami Jun looked at Hyoudou Takako without changing his expression, "Otherwise my parents will criticize me severely..."

Jun Mogami's sudden interruption made Hyoudou Takako slightly stunned. She looked at Jun Mogami as if the other party was telling a joke.

Then she threw her head back and laughed.

"Pfft, hahahaha...hahahaha. Interesting, interesting! Sagihara Shion, is this your greatest reliance? You really have made progress! Well, then I'll give you a chance - how about you two come together? Don't you even have the courage to fight two against one?"

55, draw lots

"Well, then I'll give you a chance - how about you two come together? Don't you even have the courage to fight two against one?"

Under the combined stimulation of alcohol and Sagihara Shion, Hyoudou Takako finally revealed her arrogant and conceited true nature and laughed wildly without any scruples.

She seemed to have immense confidence in front of the two men.

Mogami Jun and Sagihara Shion looked at each other again and reached a tacit understanding.

"What are we going to play, and how are we going to play?" Mogami Jun asked. "Let me make it clear in advance that we will reject any life-threatening situations. I don't want to play any blood-drawing games. I'm still young, and my blood is very precious. I can't waste it casually."

"No, since we're both juniors, I'll let you off today and let's just have a normal fight... If I win, Sagihara Shion will have to listen to me and promise to join my club if she gets admitted to Toda. If I lose, we'll pretend that what happened today never happened and won't threaten you about it anymore." Hyodo Takako seemed to have realized that the junior had the upper hand between the two opponents, so she simply changed the person she was negotiating with to Mogami Jun.

"Then Hyoudou-senpai, your bet is too low, isn't it?" Mogami Jun smiled, "If you win, you will have Senior Sagihara to serve you; if you lose, you will lose nothing... This duel is too unequal. Please allow me to refuse on your behalf."

"Hahaha, are you kidding me, young man? How can there be so much fairness in the world? How much fairness have you seen?" Hyodo Takako laughed wildly. "If the world is fair, why can we go to famous schools and walk on the road paved by our predecessors since childhood, while some people can only waste their lives in the most mediocre environment? There are even so many people in foreign countries who are naked and don't even know if they can live to see tomorrow? If the world is fair, why can I do whatever I want in school while others have to be bound by school rules? Inequality is the axiom of the world! I stand at a higher place than you, so I have the right to be unequal, do you understand? Our family's wealth was accumulated by unequal means, so why should I demand equality from you now?"

In a sense, it was hard to refute. Mogami Jun frowned.

"So how do you plan to play this? I have to understand it clearly before I can make further judgments. I can't agree rashly. Who knows if you will lay down some tricks to cheat me."

"He looks like a hot-blooded kid, but he's surprisingly cautious." Hyoudou Takako laughed again. "So, Sagihara Shion, do you think so too?"

Perhaps because she had been drinking, Hyoudou Takako's voice was heavily nasal and her eyes were half open and half closed, but her consciousness was still clear enough to control the situation.

Sagihara Shion, who had been struggling, looked at Hyoudou Takako and then looked at Mogami Jun again.

For some reason, this young man always gives her courage... and hope.

At least this time Chunjun is on my side again, two against one... Takashi doesn't completely give me no chance.

Either watch his father die, or try his best to have two-thirds chance and then work with Chunjun to find a way to overcome the difficulties.

If it is unavoidable, then face it head on. It is better than being at a loss what to do.

"I...I agree with him." Finally, she nodded slightly, "Then please explain it."

"Very good." Hyoudou Takako nodded, then looked at Sagihara Shion, "Personally, I would like to repeat the last game with you..."

The memories of the past were brought back to her, and Sagihara Shion's face turned pale.

"But... it's a pity that a duel like that requires props to be prepared in advance, and you may not be convinced that I won't cheat." After appreciating Sagihara Shion's panicked expression, "Besides, little brother, aren't you going to leave early? Then let's play a little faster!"

"Please explain in more detail--" asked Jun Mogami calmly.

"It's very simple." Takako Hyoudou walked step by step to the round window.

It was already night, and the dim moonlight shone through the sparse clouds. Although the moonlight was quite dim due to the light pollution in the city, it was enough for people to see the slightly swaying shadows under the bamboo forest.

It’s very, very nice weather.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, enjoying the leisurely and comfortable air, and also cleared her mind to get rid of the drunkenness that had just surged into her head.

Then she walked back and picked up a small box next to her and shook it gently.

A few bamboo sticks rustled out of the box.

These bamboo sticks are used for eating Japanese confectionery snacks after meals. They are called bamboo sticks. They are about 15 cm long and more than 1 inch wide. The front end of the bamboo stick is sharpened and the back end has black lines, which looks inconspicuous.

"Let's just use these most common things as tools—" She looked at Mogami Jun and Sagihara Shion with a smile, "I think you guys don't have any objections to this, right?"

Jun Mogami and Sagihara-senpai looked at each other again, but neither of them objected.

"How should we fight? What are the rules?"

"You guys take a look at these first." Hyoudou Takako casually picked up a few sticks from the low table and put them on the table.

Sagihara Shion took a closer look and found that the texture and craftsmanship of these bamboo sticks were quite exquisite. More importantly, the wide flat surface on the top was painted and Chinese characters were printed on it with gold powder.

Asahi, sakura, kaori, mayumi, nagisa, oboro, jirushi, tsubasa, yanagi, wataru, zurui... and so on.

There are different Chinese characters on each stick, and they are the more literary ones, which are quite elegant.

"Did you notice anything different?" Hyoudou Takako asked again.

"Does the romanization of the Chinese characters on each stick have different initials? In other words, they are kana in different rows?" Sagihara Shion asked tentatively.

"Well, although this is not a difficult problem, it is a good insight to notice it so quickly. I guess there are not many high school students nowadays who can read all these Chinese characters." Hyoudou Takako nodded slightly, as if to express her appreciation for Sagihara Shion. "In ancient times, nobles often used these bamboo sticks to play games when they got together. Different lots were drawn and they had to write poems or haikus - so today we will follow the ancients and be elegant for once, and use these lots to decide the winner? I am too lazy to find other props..."

Sagihara Shion and Mogami Jun did not answer, but waited for further explanation from Hyoudou Takako. They were not prepared to make a hasty decision before they understood the situation.

"If you ask me to write Chinese poetry or haiku, I'm not good at it." Mogami Jun immediately protested. "This means that the advantage in numbers is meaningless."

"I'm not good at these elegant studies, so we use other ways to play--" Hyoudou Takako replied with a smile.

Then, she continued to explain, "We use these Chinese characters as special marks. Although each bamboo stick looks exactly the same, it becomes unique because of these marks. Next, we will take turns to draw lots. Each person has three lots in his hand, which means that each person has three words starting with different letters."

"And then what?" Sagihara Shion had already understood, and she continued to ask the following questions.

"Then we report the three letters in our hands, and add them up according to the order of the English alphabet. The one with the highest number wins directly. How about that? Is that fair enough?" Hyoudou Takako asked with a smile. "This is the simplest rule. It's clear who will win and who will lose, and no one can deny it. Since there are two of you participating, you have a two-thirds chance of winning. How do you think about this?"

After hearing Hyoudou Takako's explanation, Mogami Jun fell into deep thought.

And Sagihara Shion calmed herself down and looked at Hyoudou Takako's white hands and the bamboo stick that was shaking unconsciously in her hands.

This little thing is going to determine what I will do in the future? A strange sense of absurdity arose in her heart.

From the perspective of rules, it is very simple and intuitive, and easy to understand at a glance.

She wanted to refuse, but the words were hard to say.

In one sentence, it was a matter of life and death for her father. She knew that Hyoudou Takako was definitely capable of doing it.

So she couldn't say it. Even though she didn't love her father at all, she didn't want him to die because of her.

The father-daughter relationship that we have had for more than ten years will be exchanged for this last bet. Whatever happens to you in the future will have nothing to do with me! She thought to herself.

She silently took the bamboo stick again, then looked at it carefully over and over again to confirm that it was indeed the same product.

In silence, Jun Mogami carefully observed the lottery.

Theoretically speaking, a two-thirds probability is already very high, an almost overwhelming advantage, but Jun Mogami was not at ease at all.

Not to mention that a one-third chance of winning is already very high, more importantly, would someone like Hyoudou Takako pin her victory on the illusory "probability"? Especially since she was willing to only have a one-third chance of winning, this was incredible.

Jun Mogami would not allow himself to do so, and he believed that Hyoudou Takako would not do so either, because in a sense, both of them had an unusual obsession with victory.

But she did it.

Either she suddenly became a different person, or she had some hidden tricks up her sleeve, some means to win, or at least increase her chances of winning, in the seemingly most ordinary and simple gambling game.

But no matter how hard you look, there's no sign of tampering.

Could she really be generous and accept the challenge with a one-third chance? That would be simply mercy.

According to this rule, it is almost certain to win if you draw a letter at the bottom of the ranking. For example, the Japanese kanji starting with W, Y and Z at the end of the sequence are enough to win - of course, there are no pinyin starting with letters such as C, L, V, X, etc. in Japanese, so the corresponding kanji do not exist.

If three people draw completely fairly, the probability of getting the corresponding lot should be almost equal, so 1 versus 2 is a disadvantage. Neither Mogami Jun nor Sagihara Shion needs one person to pick all the letters at the back to have a chance of winning.

"What's wrong? Even such a simple rule and an overwhelming chance of winning are not enough to give you courage?" Hyoudou Takako asked with a smile, "Where did Sagihara Shion, who had nothing but dared to challenge me, go?"