Ren folded his arms, gaze darkening. ‘If this continues… it’s going to take forever to reach 200.’

He glanced at Yuki. “You alright?” Her elbow was on the bench, chin resting on her palm, eyes dull, her stare flat and unblinking.

Yui’s voice echoed gently inside. – “Hey… don’t feel bad.”

– ‘Is she really your friend? Just provoking again and again…’

Yui spoke softly, almost guiltily. – “Can I take control? I’ll talk. Because of me, she’s doing that.”

– ‘Take. I don’t need it now.’

Ren stood straighter, expression unreadable. ‘Well… I have to play. Even if it’s unfair.’

He hummed lightly. A faint wave passed through the air. Then he reached for the dice and rolled.

Both dice spun across the bowl, bouncing lightly.

Regular Dice: 1

Special Dice: 6 (Swap)

Ren’s face twitched. ‘Damn. I focused on one… both dice were needed, right?’

Yui silently moved the piece forward.

Hisagi watched, then said quietly, “99, Master. IP: 26…”

Yui activated Mind voice art. – “Hey! I took control. I’ll play now. Give the dice.”

Ren didn’t resist—he simply handed the dice to her.

“Three of you have such bad luck…” Esha leaned on the table with a teasing grin. “Can we just change the goal to -200?”

“Okay, Esha…” Yui’s head snapped toward her with a glare. “-200 is the target now. We just need 101, then.”

Esha blinked. “Huh?! Hey! I was just kidding—”

“You! Stop it, idiot!” Yui grabbed her face with both hands, squeezing her cheeks. “There’s a limit for everything! You said -200, so we follow that!”

“Okay, okay!” Esha raised both hands quickly. “I won’t do it again, but I can’t change the rules, Yui!”

Yui let go with a sharp sigh. “Then be calm.”

“Sorry…” Esha rubbed her cheeks and smiled awkwardly. “It’s been a long time, right? That’s why I talked like that…”

Yui folded her arms and turned away. “Hmph. Don’t defend yourself after doing it.”

“Alright, alright!” Esha waved her hands in surrender with a sheepish grin. “No more provoking…”

Ren raised a finger lazily. “Yui… don’t flick the dice downward. Just drop them from up high.”

“Huh?” Yui blinked, confused. “What’s the difference? They fall either way, right?”

Ren shrugged, playing innocent. “Just do it. Might get lucky.”

Yui sighed but obeyed. She held the two dice above the bowl and let them go.

Ren casually whistled. The two dice floated down slowly—without even a hint of slowing—wobbling just before landing.

—Clink! One tilted to R: 1, the other to S: 4 (Double)

Yui’s eyes widened. “HUH?! +20?”

Hina cheered, clapping. “YEAH! First big number!”

Yui didn’t wait. She dropped the dice again, this time more confidently.

They fell quicker, hit the bowl with a gentle bounce, spun once—and stopped. Again. R: 1, S: 4 (Double)

Hina grinned wider. “Now 9 + 9... 18!”

“Okay!” Yui clenched her fists. “Minus 61 now. We’re gaining momentum!”

****

Meanwhile, a little distance away...

Mira handed a key to Nivan without looking at him. “Here. Go, idiots.”

“Master…” Meena frowned gently. “Don’t feel bad…”

“Just go.” Mira pouted harder, waving her off. “Don’t call me master again. Your types are totally different anyway.”

Meena walked up beside her with a sly smile. “So what?”

She reached out and squished Mira’s cheeks. “You’re still our bujji master.”

Mira swatted her hand, flustered. “Hey! Don’t do that!”

“Ohhh…” Meena teased with a grin. “You only allow Miya-san to do it, right?”

“It’s not that!” Mira turned away quickly. “Just go and finish the round already!”

****

“Master…” Hisagi leaned forward with a smile. “Finally, your pair’s getting lucky.”

“Hey you!” Yui shot him a glare. “Do you even understand the situation? If we don’t qualify, you don’t qualify either!”

Hisagi tilted his head innocently. “If Master fails, I’ll fail too.”

Yui turned slowly toward Ren. “Same as you. Are you both idiots?”

“And Azuma too!” She pointed toward the side. “Why’re you all saying this, huh?! If others fail, you fail?!”

“Don’t say that, okay?” Ren gave Hisagi a glance, voice calm. “After this round… I need to talk to you seriously.”

Hisagi blinked, suddenly nervous. “W-What? Did I do something wrong?”

Ren’s tone stayed calm. “Nothing. I’ll just tell you then.”

“Are you two done talking yet?” Esha cut in loudly, arms crossed.

Yui didn’t say a word—she simply stepped on Esha’s foot.

“Oww—hey!!” Esha’s face twitched as she pulled her leg back.

Yui tilted her head. “Ah… sorry. It was a mistake.”

“Liar!” Esha shouted, pointing. “You did that intentionally, you—!”

She crossed her arms with a huff. “If we had a turn every time, this game would be way better!”

“That’s exactly why they didn’t design it like that.” Yui snorted. “Inori-sama knew idiots like you would say that.”

“HEY—can I ask something?!” Esha gasped, eyes narrowing. “Earlier, you spoke to me completely differently!”

Yui didn’t even look at her. “I’ll talk how I want.”

Without warning, Yui raised her hand and dropped the dice again from above.

Ren flinched. ‘Yui… why’d you drop without warning?!’

The dice spun wildly, clacked in the bowl, bounced again, and finally—

R Dice: 2

S Dice: 6 (swap)

Ren exhaled sharply. ‘Phew… what luck.’

Yui moved the piece forward—from -61 to -54… now resting at Row 4, Square -7.

****

Kazuma leaned forward, voice steady. “Rina-san… just 10 more points.”

Rina watched silently, arms folded. ‘They’re getting lucky… one after another.’

Sakura dropped the dice.

R: 3, S: 1 (Freeze)

“Aah! It’s just +8!” Sakura groaned. “And we can’t even move… that 1 blocked us again!”

“Then roll again,” Kazuma said with a calm nod.

As Sakura prepared, Kazuma’s eyes drifted to Ren’s table.

He spotted Yui, casually dropping the dice from above. ‘Huh? He said he’d play fair until it got serious… What’s his score now?’

“Master, look!” She grinned and pointed.

R: 1, S: 3 (Drain)

Kazuma turned just in time. “Oh, +10!”

“Rina-saaaan…” He turned to her, eyes gleaming. “Now you’ll give us the key, right?”

“Hmph.” Rina sighed, holding out the red key. “You just got lucky. Again…”

But as she handed it over, a faint smile slipped onto her face.

Kazuma blinked. “Eh? You’re smiling. Why?”

“Nothing…” Rina met his eyes, unblinking. “It’s just… everyone here knows you’ll all complete this room. Only the timing is different.”

She paused. “You… you remind me of my son. Same height too.”

“I feel the same.” Kazuma’s smile softened as he looked at her.

He turned, waved lightly. “Bye.”

Rina blinked, a little taken aback. ‘Did he… say that indirectly?’

****

Kazuma walked to Ren’s table. “Hey, what’s your score?”

Hina answered before Ren could. “6!”

“HUH?! Just 6?!”

“Master…” Hisagi raised his hand gently. “Right now the spins are all double-positive. Otherwise, they’d still be in the negative.”

Kazuma looked at Ren, then smiled, a bit exasperated at the last. “Well… complete it quickly. Still… what were you doing when you got stuck in a negative score?”

****

One by one, the teams moved toward Section A—keys in hand, footsteps light with success.

Yui watched them all leave, arms folded. “We’re still stuck at 41…”

Esha groaned. “Then play quickly!”

“No.” Ren shook his head slowly. “Calmly drop. No need to rush.”

“Huh?! You need 200, not 100!” Esha narrowed her eyes. “You’re really lucky, you know? Every spin’s been positive, and we’re just sitting at 24 IP.”

Yui smirked. “Someone said we were unlucky.”

“H-Hey… don’t take it seriously, Yui…” Esha looked away quickly, sweat forming.

****

Meanwhile…

Tanvika watched them play and tilted her head. “Where’s Renshiro?”

“Hmm… I think he’s outside.” Anvitha replied as she sipped from a warm cup.

“First—I need a mini screen.” Tanvika stood up, her tone brisk. “Alright. I’ll ask him when I step out.”

Little Rezu bounced up. “I play!”

“You?” Tanvika raised a brow. “You want to play?”

She glanced across the rows of tables, scanning quickly.

“Let’s go to Kiko’s table, Tanvika-sama.” Anvitha pointed helpfully.

But Tanvika was already stepping forward—toward Amika’s table, who stood in front of Kiko.

Amika glanced up at the approaching Tanvika… then quickly looked down, gently rolling her dice.

“Amika…” Tanvika brushed her hair back softly. “Can you give the dice to Rezu?”

Amika looked at Rezu, silent for a moment.

Rezu beamed. “Neesan! I play!”

“You want to take her?” Tanvika asked softly, watching Amika’s eyes.

Sira stepped forward. “Give it to me, Tanvika-sama.”

“No.” Tanvika raised her hand firmly. “I’ll only let Amika take her.”

Amika didn’t take it right away. “Give her Tanvika-sama, Take this dice.”

“Just hold her.” Tanvika leaned in slightly, voice warm.

Amika finally reached out and gently took her.

Rezu smiled wider and turned to Sira.

She blinked. “You… tame!”

(*tame - it’s intentional)

Sira said with a laugh, “Yeah, we’re twins!”

“Hey, say something!” She turned to Amika, nudging her with a smile.

“Do I need to?” Amika shrugged, eyes soft. “She’s already smiling.”

Suddenly, Rezu grabbed Amika’s face with both hands, eyes wide.

“Huh?” Amika raised a brow.

Rezu leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You same!”

Amika looked around as everyone stared. “Why are you all staring at me like that? Even if I wanted to kiss her… I don’t feel like it now—because you’re all staring at me like I’m weird. I’m just quiet. That’s not my fault.”

Tanvika chuckled. “Did I say anything?”

She stepped closer, a little softer now. “You’re just like your mother…”

Then a frown touched her lips. “Why didn’t she come today? She has to come tomorrow. You’ll tell her, right?”

Sira nodded. “Ha, Tanvika-sama. I’ll tell her… but I don’t know if she’ll come.”

“Well.” Tanvika crossed her arms firmly. “Then I’ll talk to your father.”

Rezu rolled the dice, tongue peeking from the corner of her mouth.

Amika leaned in, eyes lit up. “Huh?! You got it on the first turn?!”

“Well then!” She looked around at the others. “Take her, Tanvika-sama! Kiko-san, give me the key!”

****

Esha squinted at the bowl, her thoughts swirling. ‘Huh? What’s going on? Every roll’s positive… not just positive—double! And not even a single bad turn?’

“Hey! Drop the dice normally—with a downward flick!” Esha finally blurted, frustration leaking into her voice.

Yui blinked. “Why?”

“T-That’s…” Esha stammered, frowning. “You keep getting only positive rolls!”

Yui slowly leaned back, lips curling into a smirk. “Ohhh… now, you’re thinking that?”

“When we kept getting negatives—did you say anything?” Her voice sharpened—calm, but dangerous.

Esha opened her mouth… but no words came.

“You grinned. You teased. You mocked,” Yui said, her voice rising like a quiet storm.

Esha’s shoulders stiffened. “T-That’s not—”

Yui raised an eyebrow. “Not what? Say it.”

“O-Okay okay!” Esha held up both hands in surrender. “Just roll however you want!”

****

In the middle of the forest, scattered footsteps echoed through the empty halls of half-ruined buildings.

“Well… I’ll check the other buildings,” Kazuma said, eyes scanning the tree shadows. “Sakura, can you search this building?”

Sakura gave a confident nod. “Yeah, Master. Don’t worry—you go ahead.”

Kazuma disappeared into the trees with his other avatars.

Inside the building, Sakura and the others moved through each room with quiet urgency.

“Oh, you don’t know?” Sakura looked up from a dusty shelf. “The token won’t just be lying around. It’s kept inside a box.”

She gestured to the far corner. “So just find the boxes in this building.”

Rayan and Ayesha moved between rooms, hands brushing faded walls and dusty cabinets.

On the upper floor, Darven and Shoren moved silently through the hallway.

Darven glanced around, muttering. “Where did that girl run off to…? Damn it…”

“Hey—look! That girl!” His eyes narrowed suddenly.

Shoren turned his head slowly, expression unreadable.

“Oi, idiot—just talk for once!” Darven scowled. “If you don’t like me, just say it!”

Shoren answered flatly. “Find the token.”

Then he moved away, walking up the stairs, opening books, checking beneath carpets, his pace quiet and steady.

“Uff… Idiot.” Darven followed with a dramatic sigh. “If you search like that, you’ll never find anything.”

He raised both hands, and a faint white aura swirled around him.

With a sharp motion—woooosh!—a strong gust of wind ripped through the room. Papers flew, books tumbled, even patches of the wall crumbled and fell.

Everything shuddered beneath the sudden force.

Then silence.

“Tch. I think it’s no use…” Darven dropped his arms. “Damn it. What’s with this building?”

He peered through the window. “Are all the buildings like this?”

****

Rayan pushed open the creaky door.

Inside: a bare rectangular room—eleven identical chairs circled around a long wooden table.

“Huh?” He blinked. “What is in this room? Chairs and a table? That’s it?”

“What are we even supposed to search here?” Ayesha stepped in behind him. “There are no boxes, no crates—nothing!”

“Let’s just go to the next room.” She turned on her heel. “This one’s a waste.”

But Rayan didn’t move. He squatted beside the nearest chair. “Wait. Let’s just check a bit.”

He bent down, inspecting the chair legs. Then he peeked under the table, one hand brushing across the dusty floor.

Ayesha sighed loudly. “You’re wasting time, idiot.”

She walked lazily around the table, weaving between chairs—

And then it happened.

Creeeeak.

A sharp sound echoed as her foot pressed down beside one chair.

Rayan’s head snapped up. “Wait. That sound—what was it?”

“Huh? It’s just the chair cracked—the tile’s broken.” Ayesha blinked, brushing it off.

Rayan rushed over and pushed the chair aside.

Underneath… one floor tile had a faint line.

He jammed his fingers under the edge, pried it up slowly.

Beneath it, there was a narrow cavity, just wide enough for a hand. He reached in, brushing past the cool sand—until his fingers found something: a thin folded slip of paper.

He unfolded it carefully. “The 12th chair was removed due to lack of discipline.”

He stared. “...There’s only eleven chairs here.”

“Maybe they actually removed it.” Ayesha leaned in, frowning slightly.

Rayan didn’t reply. His eyes scanned the room slowly. “What if the box was in the 12th chair? What if… that’s the missing piece?”

Ayesha gave him a deadpan look.

“Where will you find it, genius?” She flicked his forehead with two fingers. “There’s no sign of it in this room. They probably set this whole thing up just to waste our time.”

She turned toward the door. “Let’s go. It’s nothing.”

****

Darven stepped into the room with a blank face. Everything was clean. Too clean.

One desk. One shelf. Nothing else.

“Tch. Nothing here to hide anything.” He scanned the corners with a sigh.

Then—he noticed a narrow door in the back corner.

Curious, he grabbed the handle and pulled—

And suddenly—

“WHAA—?!”

A flood of soft, dusty dolls collapsed on top of him.

Teddies, rabbits, stitched-up clowns, old puppets—dozens, all tumbled on him.

Darven shoved a stuffed pig off his shoulder. “Wha—who kept this many dolls in one damn room?!”