I paid off the debt for the most beautiful sisters in the school, and then they barged into my house where I live alone. “Please go back home; you don’t need to repay the favor.” “No way.” “We don’t want to~☆”

I still remember it from time to time.

“Hey, Sei, come here.”

When I was a child, sudden two-player games would sometimes begin when I went to my grandpa’s house.

I understood later on, but those weren’t really games. They were all forms of gambling.

When the game ended, Grandpa would always mess up my hair.

“Sei, you have a talent for gambling. I can see it because I’m me. You have more talent than I do.”

What is gambling talent? I asked Grandpa at the time.

“Having gambling talent means you’re good at games of chance. Like me,” he said, laughing loudly.

Indeed, Grandpa was considered a legendary gambler in certain circles.

I didn’t find this out until later.

“People who are strong in gambling can live strong lives even without betting. So remember, Sei,” he would say, as if it were his catchphrase.

“Don’t gamble. Your gambling talent is too strong.”

If it’s strong, isn’t that good? I asked, and Grandpa shook his head with a bitter expression.

“Gambling is a losing proposition in life, no matter how strong or successful you are. I can’t even imagine how your strong senses might affect your way of life. So I won’t say it’s wrong, but only use your gambling talent at crucial moments in life.”

Crucial moments in life?

When I asked that, Grandpa answered with a smile.

“You know, when you choose how to live… like when you choose the woman you love. Like I chose Grandma. Well, it might be too difficult for you right now,” he said, laughing again and patting my head.

“Don’t gamble.”

Those were words that Grandpa, who has since passed away, used to say like a catchphrase.

A command that I ultimately couldn’t obey.

But I’ve come across it.

Gambling is a different sensation from ordinary betting. Probably the moment Grandpa talked about choosing how to live.

The “crucial moment in life.”

…

That day was strange from the morning.

I was in perfect health, the road to high school was peaceful, and I arrived at school just before being late as usual… but as soon as I entered the class, I felt something was off.

I usually don’t carefully observe my classmates.

I’m what you would call introverted or socially awkward.

Frankly, I’m not interested in other people, and it doesn’t really matter.

But is that why?

I was more sensitive to the troublesome atmosphere that people emit.

I know from shitty past experiences that if I misread it, life becomes troublesome, and I don’t want to get involved in other people’s troubles.

Today’s discomfort in this place seemed to be coming from my classmate, Kamiyo Karen.

She’s an exceptionally beautiful girl in the class, or even the whole school.

With her long silky hair, unusually well-arranged cool features, and a figure that even the art club members idolize, she stands out a lot in the school.

As far as I can see, Karen, who is always smiling calmly, doesn’t seem to be injured or sick.

The classmates around her don’t seem to have noticed anything special either.

But somehow, she seemed to be wearing a tense atmosphere, as if she had a duel scheduled later.

“…Well, it doesn’t matter.”

I took my seat without caring.

Karen might have something going on, but it’s probably not directly related to me.

I don’t have any connections with her, and I don’t plan to make any. It’s best not to stick my neck into trouble.

I switched my mood and deliberately looked away from Karen.

Or rather, I buried my head in my desk and slept.

…

“Ah, um, did something happen? Kamiyo, uh, Miss Kamiyo?”

I should know better than to stick my neck into it, but for some reason, I found myself calling out to her after school.

As the end of school approached, her atmosphere seemed to become more desperate, and I happened to run into her at the shoe lockers, so I inadvertently called out to her.

“――Huh?”

Karen looked at me with an expression as if a pigeon had been shot with a bean gun.

Well, I’ve never seen a real pigeon, so I don’t know if birds actually make such faces.

“Um, I mean, you looked like you might be feeling unwell.”

Karen, who had been frozen with wide-open eyes at my words, soon thawed and began to move.

She smiled and slowly shook her head.

“No, I’m fine. But thank you for worrying about me.”

“…Yeah, well, as long as you’re okay.”

I wonder which one of us is lying?

I knew that Karen was not unwell and asked her, and she said, “I’m fine.”

Both statements contain lies.

“Yes, I’m fine. …Hehe.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, no. It’s just my first time talking to Kagami-kun, and I realized you’re surprisingly kind.”

I froze for a moment. Kind, huh?

Apparently, she thought I was usually cold. That’s true, though.

“Ah~. I just realized that you might be kinder than I thought.”

“You have an interesting way of talking. If I had known, I would have talked to Kagami-kun sooner.”

Really? I’m already regretting talking to you.

“Well, I’m going now.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Karen bowed gracefully and then turned her back and walked away.

“…I would have talked to you, huh? What’s okay about it? You’re wearing a face that’s not okay at all.”

If things go wrong, Karen might not come to school tomorrow.

For some reason, I even had such a premonition.

I don’t know why, and I have no evidence.

But my grandpa’s inherited gambling talent was banging in my head, saying that this was probably a crucial moment for me.

…

If I regret it, this is a big regret. I carelessly talked, had a conversation.

Karen was just a stranger I had never spoken to.

If I were suddenly told by the teacher, “Karen-san died in an accident,” I would have been able to dismiss it with, “Huh, that’s too bad.” …Until yesterday.

But today, I talked to her. I saw that painful fake smile.

Now, if I hear something tragic about Karen tomorrow, I won’t be able to just say “huh.”

In order not to add strange regrets or discomfort later on, I have no choice but to act today.

―So, I ended up tailing Karen.

It’s incredibly reluctant. It’s a pain in the ass. It’s like I’m Karen’s stalker or something.

Actually, it seems like that, a stalker of Karen. She’s cuter than some mediocre idol.

Well, at least it seems like I’m the only one tailing her today.

I follow her at a perfect distance. She has a good figure, but she’s rather short, so I’m following her back, or rather her back of the head.

Her hair is long, so if she had it in a ponytail, it would sway nicely and I wouldn’t get bored chasing her.

While thinking about such stupid things, it seems that Karen has arrived at her home.

Surprisingly, it’s an old, worn-out apartment that looks decades old.

It’s a residence that doesn’t match Karen’s princess-like atmosphere at all.

I had a very bad feeling at this point.

I imagined one thing about the discomfort I felt with Karen today.

This feeling is also coming from past experiences…

To confirm the result, I decide to wait patiently outside the apartment.

It might be suspicious to stand here, but a kid in a school uniform playing with his smartphone will probably be thought of as waiting for someone and won’t be particularly guarded.

After waiting for several tens of minutes, a visitor appeared in Karen’s apartment.

Just as I had suspected, a visitor.

“Damn. Is this where it’s going?”