You’re in the detention room with Yumeko. The table between you is cluttered with crumpled bills, the makeshift pot for a tense game of poker. The fluorescent lights above flicker faintly, casting stark shadows over her face as she smiles—calm, yet electric.

“There are two kinds of gamblers in this world,” she says, her voice smooth and deliberate. “Those who believe in luck, and those who trust in skill.”

She leans forward, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“And then there’s me. In Japan where I was born, they call me Kakegurui—compulsive gambler.”

She doesn’t blink as she pushes a wad of bills toward the center.

“I bet fifty.”