"Survival rate...?"
This was not a light topic. Yukino raised her head, her clear, cold eyes meeting Yuki's cunning gaze.
Her seated back was ramrod straight, her knees pressed together and tilted. Her over-the-knee black stockings shimmered with an oily sheen in the firelight.
Yukino's fair index finger hovered over the rim of the bone china cup, the surface of the black tea perfectly still—at this moment, she was rapidly deducing all possibilities.
'Since she specifically asked, the number of survivors must be more than three.
In just one day, one person died, yet they found a way out? A survival rate of 5/6.
As expected of Yuki-senpai! What astonishing insight!'
Thinking of this, Yukino lightly tapped the cup with her fingertip and said, "83.3%, only one loss. Senpai's observation skills are still admirable."
"Wrong!" Yuki wagged her index finger, her triumphant smile blooming with victory. "Guess again?"
"Could it be..."
Yukino's suspicious gaze swept over Yuki and the other two, then she hesitantly offered a second number: "50%?"
"Nope!"
Yuki said, then suddenly turned to scoop sugar from the sugar bowl and asked Hayashi:
"Want some sugar?"
Amidst the crisp clink of the sugar spoon against the cup, Yukino's willow-leaf eyebrows trembled almost imperceptibly.
Seeing the topic deviate, and especially with so much sugar being added to the black tea, her cool, willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly as she reminded,
"The ant that fell into the honey pot in Aesop's Fables—it didn't end well, so you should eat less sugar."
"But sweets are the antidote to the soul!"
Yuki cut her off, rattling the sugar bowl.
As soon as she finished speaking, instantly.
Two pairs of eyes suddenly locked onto Hayashi: one pair clear and sharp, the other playful and elegant, like searchlights cast upon a battlefield of sweet versus savory tofu pudding.
Facing the two girls' abrupt change of topic and gazes, Hayashi calmly picked up his plain white teacup and said, "I'm used to drinking plain tea, no sugar, thank you."
Then, Hayashi looked at Asuna and asked, "What about you?"
"Still... just one cube."
The girl avoided Yukino's cold, authoritative gaze and joined Yuki's sweet faction.
Yuki was overjoyed at this, linking arms with Asuna and laughing, "Asuna has good taste!"
Yukino didn't mind this. She looked at Hayashi, her lips curving slightly, a hint of approval flashing across her cool face—a small comfort at seeing a fellow spirit.
"Ha~ sugar really is brain fuel!" Yuki sipped her sweet black tea, her eyes narrowing in happiness. Suddenly, she changed the subject and specifically chose to speak when Yukino had just taken a sip of black tea:
"The correct answer is—100%!"
"Pfft~ cough cough~~~"
She covered her mouth and lightly coughed, accompanied by the clear clink of the bone china cup's bottom against its saucer.
Yukino's ice-like calm face cracked inch by inch. It took her a while to recover, then she looked at Yuki's cunning, mischievous eyes and exclaimed, "What?"
"Literally." Yuki lightly tapped Hayashi's shoulder. "It's all thanks to this gentleman containing that anomaly on the first day. All of us survived and got a six-day vacation."
With that, Yuki meticulously recounted the events that had transpired in this instance to Yukino.
As the details of the gamble were revealed, Yukino's cool pupils widened in shock.
When she heard about the five-bullet roulette game, she suddenly stood up and stared at Hayashi:
"Nine out of ten gambles are rigged, and prolonged gambling always leads to loss. You actually dared... and still won?! Sigh...!"
Yukino's slightly breathless question twisted in her throat, finally turning into a soft sigh.
After all, the person before her was truly a victor who had snatched his life back from the grasp of a gambling anomaly.
For a victor, any advice seemed pale.
Ultimately, Yukino's gaze towards Hayashi contained not only doubt but also a hint of admiration.
Hayashi, however, merely nodded calmly, adopting a nonchalant 'basic operation, no big deal' posture.
"..."
Hayashi's relaxed attitude made Yukino frown deeply. If she were her old self, the former perfectionist, she would definitely have a heated debate with Hayashi.
To make Hayashi understand that no one always wins.
But now, having witnessed too much life and death, she had long learned to respect the destinies of others.
Thinking of this, Yukino's gaze towards Hayashi held a trace of regretful pity, as if she were looking at a dying person.
"As expected of the Second Miss Yukino, good tea."
That gaze was so direct it was dazzling, but Hayashi paid it no mind, instead sipping his black tea with contentment.
"As long as it suits your taste."
Although she wasn't particularly fond of the address "Second Miss," Yukino wasn't angry at the moment. She even thoughtfully rose to refill Hayashi's cup.
Her solemn manner of pouring tea was clearly an act of end-of-life care, which made Yuki let out a 'pfft' of laughter, quickly covering her crimson lips with her lady's fan, and teasingly say,
"Oh my, oh my~ To make the aloof Yukino treat someone so gently, it seems Hayashi-san won't be walking much further after the dungeon in Yukino's heart, will he?"
Yukino merely gave Yuki a faint glare in response to her teasing. It wasn't that she thought Yuki's words were wrong, but rather that Yuki shouldn't have said them directly.
"Heh~"
Hayashi, meanwhile, chuckled as he looked at Yuki, his dark eyes reflecting the girl's elegant and lovely figure. Yet, that gaze inexplicably made Yuki's scalp tingle, giving her a bad premonition.
"Looking at me like that, even a humble maiden like myself can get shy."
Yuki said, feigning shyness as she nodded.
Hayashi lightly tapped the cup with his fingertip, a mischievous smirk on his lips, as if praising and teasing at the same time:
"Shyness is good; it's that gentle lowering of the head..."
Listening to Hayashi's words, the room instantly fell silent, leaving only the emotionally charged statement.
'Is this a confession?
As expected of me, the charm of I, Miss Yuki, is indeed unmatched!' Yuki thought, surprised.
Then her eyes darted about, ready to respond.
Asuna, beside them, perked up her ears, ready to listen to the upcoming gossip. Yukino, on the other hand, looked between the two with a puzzled gaze, wondering if their relationship had actually progressed this far.
'It's only been seven days, and Hayashi-san has already been captivated by Yuki-senpai?' Asuna thought with some surprise.
'As expected of Yuki-senpai, but Hayashi-san probably doesn't know Yuki-senpai's true personality!'
Yukino thought silently to herself.
And just as the girls' minds were buzzing with romantic gossip, suddenly!
Hayashi's tone shifted as he teased:
"So, no time like the present, Suou-san, you still owe me a dance. The moonlight is beautiful tonight; why don't we dance tonight?
Remember to change into a black bodysuit and wear a maid outfit over it, and the song must be 'Marionette.'" [1]
The air solidified.
"!!!"
The light in Yuki's eyes instantly extinguished.
Dance? Fine! Maid outfit? That's not a problem either!
But to dance "Marionette"!!
She instinctively glanced at the bewildered Asuna and Yukino—they clearly didn't know what that dance implied.
But who was Yuki? On the surface, an elegant and dignified young lady, but privately, she had seen quite a lot.
That suggestive music video, those excessive dance moves, and the milk splashed in the bathtub of the MV seemed to have already drenched her imagination, a blush spreading from her ear tips to her collarbone.
Ugh~ Thinking of this, even the bold Yuki couldn't help but avert her gaze, resolutely deciding to change the subject:
"Oh, by the way, Hayashi-san, your onboarding procedures haven't been completed yet. I'll take you to the bureau first!"
She suddenly stood up, her fan snapping shut with a 'pa,' her feigned calm voice trembling slightly at the end.
"Trying to renege on a debt?"
Hayashi asked calmly.
"Of course not!"
Yuki vehemently denied, her feet already shuffling towards the door. In short, it was all about stalling!
"There's always a matter of priority!"
"Is that so? Alright then~ Ha~"
Hayashi chuckled aloud.
It turned out that the fearless Miss Suou would also be this shy over a dance.
He no longer pressed, bidding farewell to Yukino and the other girl before boarding the self-driving bus with her.
He thought she was truly fearless.
However, it was also possible that their relationship hadn't reached that point yet, and Yuki was still a bit reserved?
Meanwhile, Yukino and Asuna looked at Yuki, puzzled, not quite understanding why her reaction was so strong.
Was there something wrong with this dance?
Curious, the two decided to search online later to find out what kind of dance it was...
Beep beep—~!
The long honk of the bus pierced the twilight as Hayashi and Yuki arrived before a base in a valley.
"This is one of the perks for us villa residents. We can call a bus anywhere and take it to any destination."
After getting off the bus with Hayashi, Yuki's mouth didn't stop. While introducing the bus situation to Hayashi, she also gave him a basic overview of the Anomaly Management Bureau.
She had never been so eager to introduce the trivial regulations of the Anomaly Management Bureau to anyone. At this moment, she merely wanted to drown out the undanced dance with a wave of sound.
Marionette? Yuki declared that she would never dance that kind of dance in her life! She wasn't that daring yet!
At this moment, she was putting all her effort into it, absolutely not giving Hayashi a chance to bring up the dance.
And just as Yuki was introducing things to Hayashi and leading him towards the Bureau.
Hayashi's gaze was suddenly drawn to two figures.
[1] Marionette by Stellar; be warned, it has quite suggestive moves.