Kazuma cut in immediately. – Did I say you didn’t?

He continued, – I know you, idiot. That’s exactly why I’m telling you, I will never let her cry over this. Not even a little. So quit chewing your brain.

Ren let the silence settle around him again. But it wasn’t heavy now. Just lingering.

The four walked into Merchant Street, a faint excitement lingering around like the scent of festival sweets.

[Tokens papers]

Kazuma: Usable: 5

Ren: Favor tokens (Locked): 20 | Usable: 8

Yui: Usable: 8

Yuna: Usable: 5

“If the dice lands again on a pair-bound number,” Yui said while looking at her tokens, “we can get 9 instead of 8, right?”

“It’s just one token,” Ren shrugged, looking at the stalls. “No need to worry.”

They saw Haruki, quietly manning one of the stalls.

Haruki spotted them too. His chest tightened. ‘Please don’t come here, Yui. Please don’t come. Not now…’

“Let’s check that stall,” Kazuma suggested as they strolled straight to Haruki’s.

Yui didn’t even glance his way, her eyes already scanning other nearby stalls.

Kazuma went closer, casual as ever. “Hey… what’s the rate here? An—” Then he smirked, “Well, I think you already know right?”

“First, among your four… say who’s buying the box. Only then will I tell the price.”

Kazuma looked back at them and shrugged. “Well… Ken and Yui got the most tokens. They’ll buy, obviously.”

“Who wants to buy from him?” Yui said without turning, her voice was icy and calm. “You go ahead, Ken. I don’t need a single token from this stall.”

Haruki’s shoulders dropped slightly. His eyes fell to the table. He didn’t say a word.

Ren blinked, confused. “Hm… okay, then I’ll buy it.”

“All boxes here cost 20 tokens,” Haruki said without energy, still looking down. “Pick whichever you want.”

“Eh? 20? But I have only 8—”

Kazuma chimed in. “Then we share. Look, 8 from you, 5 from me, other tokens from them, Total 26.”

“Eh?! Why should I give my tokens?” Yuna said, standing firm like a kitten pretending to be a lion. “I’m not giving.”

“Oye, you have to share. What if that box has more tokens inside? We all split.”

“And what if it has less? Or nothing at all?” Yuna hugged her token pouch tightly against her chest. “I won’t lose for others.”

“Did your mother teach you that, you idiot?” he snapped, “Use your brain, understand the situation.”

“Why are you shouting?! I just said I don’t want to lose! What’s wrong with that?!”

Kazuma gritted his teeth. “Then why’d you come? Go play alone then.”

“Hey, hey,” Ren said gently, holding his hand out between them. “Wait. She’s just unsure. That’s okay.”

– She’s Sakuragi’s daughter, idiot.

Kazuma blinked slowly, then looked away, jaw still tight. – Even though she is… she’s not sharing.

– We need to give her some kind of guarantee first.

Ren turned to Yui. “Yui, we need your 8 tokens too.”

Haruki, behind the stall, quietly shifted a few boxes around while they were busy talking.

Yui pulled out her tokens without a word. “Here… seven. You said you need twenty. I’ll keep the last one with me. No need for all, right?”

“Hmm… Haruki-san,” Kazuma tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing. “Can you tell us which box has more tokens?”

Haruki gave him a long, blank stare. “Are you seriously asking that? Why would I reveal it to you?... But fine, this one has more tokens.” He tapped one of the boxes casually.

“Are you being honest? Or are you just tricking us?”

“Your call. If you trust me, take it. If not, walk away.”

Yui glanced toward him briefly, her lips pressed tight, before turning back to the other stalls.

– ‘Hey, what’s your problem with him? Can you not play seriously?’

– “I gave my seven tokens, didn’t I? You think that’s not serious?”

Kazuma took the box, laid out 20 tokens on the table, and opened the lid slowly - inside sat 30 tokens.

He glanced at Yuna. “So… you said you don’t share, right?”

“Eh?” Yuna blinked, confusion clear on her face.

Kazuma smirked, “We’ll split this 30 into 10 each, for the three of us.”

“Wait wait! Please give it to me,” Yuna approached with a small, pleading tone. “We’re a team, right?”

“Oh, now you remember we’re a team?” Kazuma raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. “I asked before, you didn’t want to share. So now, we do not share.”

“Pleaseee, I’ll just lose like this…”

Kazuma turned to Ren with a dry sigh. “Now I get why you said that earlier.” Then faced Yuna again, flicking her forehead gently, “Hey idiot, this is just the start. You already think you’re losing?”

“I don’t need the tokens,” Yui stepped in calmly, her voice steady. “Just give them to her. If I find some at another stall, I’ll collect mine then.”

“You sure?” Kazuma narrowed his eyes slightly. “No need at all? Anything wrong?”

“Nothing. Let’s just go.”

Kazuma turned back to Yuna with a teasing smile. “You’re lucky, you know that? Didn’t even spend anything, and still got 10 tokens.”

Haruki signed all the papers, and the group moved on to the next stall, sunlight glinting off the tokens Yuna tucked into her pouch, a secret grin playing on her lips.

****

“That stall looks strange,” Yui said, eyeing the giant glass container stuffed with coins, each the size of a 1-rupee, sparkling under the sunlight.

Beside it stretched a long, wide tray, and inside the stall stood Ryota (34 years), a stern expression on his face like a seasoned shopkeeper.

(*Ryota - Pronunciation as Ryo-tha)

The group moved closer, Yui asked, pointing towards the container. “Ryoto-san… what is this?”

“Pay tokens. Try your luck,” he leaned forward lazily, his voice casual. “One grab, if you pick exactly fifty coins with your hand, you get double the tokens you bet.”

“Miss it, you get nothing.” He added, gesturing thumb to the down side. “One token is needed just to try, so if you’re betting ten, you pay eleven... don’t bargain, my rules are final.”

“Huh? At least we can share the bet, right?” Kazuma asked with excitement.

“Haa.”

“Now…” Kazuma turned to Yuna with a sly smirk. “Are you giving or not?”

Yuna looked down at her pouch of tokens, then sighed. “I’ll give ten.”

“Okay, then I’ll try with 14 tokens. If we win, we split seven each.”

“Eh? That’s not fair! I gave more, yet I only get seven? That’s less than what I’m giving!”

“Oh?” Kazuma cocked an eyebrow. “Then why did you snatch ten tokens earlier? You didn’t even give one.”

Yui laughed, her hands on her hips. “I’ll give that extra token. You two, just pay the four.”

He nodded, tossed the fifteen tokens in front of Ryota and said confidently, “Betting fourteen.”

“One chance only. Even if you pick forty-nine, no double.”

Kazuma rolled his neck and cracked his fingers. “Here goes,” he muttered, slowly plunging his hand into the container.

His grip tightened, fingers stretched wide like a mechanical claw, then he clutched the cold coins. With steady hands, he lifted them and let the coins clatter down into the side tray.

The coins rang like rain while falling on the tray.

Ryota started counting… slow as a sloth on a tree.

“Hmm…” Ren leaned closer, counting in mind. “I don’t think it’s fifty.”

“Baka, don’t say anything negative! This girl will curse me if I lose!”

“I didn’t say anything. I know I’m not getting more back anyway.” Yuna said, held her hands in the front of her hoodie pocket.

Ryota continued counting the last few coins, his face impassive, as if each count was a countdown to heartbreak.

"41... 42..."

Kazuma silently counted the remainder in his head, ‘Ah shit…’

“47, 48. That’s it.”

All three turned and stared at him.

“Hehe, hey… please don’t look at me like that! I really tried. Okay, we didn’t get them, but we still have some tokens!”

“I have zero,” Yui said flatly, not even blinking.

Ryota silently signed off the papers.

Ren: Usable: 8 | Favor tokens : 20

Kazuma: Usable: 8

Yuna: Usable: 5

Yui: Usable: 0

“Hey, can we go to another section?” Yuna asked innocently. “We’ve already played here once and got nothing. No luck.”

“If Yui-san says that, I’ll accept,” Kazuma snapped. “You? What loss are you crying over, idiot?...” He sighed, calming down a bit. “We have to think of gain, not loss.”

****

“We should check the next stall,” Ren suggested, starting to walk, their eyes scanning the stalls like broken gamblers.

That’s when Ren spotted Hina at a far corner, waving energetically like a squirrel on sugar.

“Let’s go there,” he said, and they followed.

The stall was laid out with 36 cards in 6 rows, 6 in each.

Hina’s eyes twinkled, already up to something. Ren saw her expression in confusion

Kaizen greeted them, “You need 10 tokens to flip one card. Whatever’s written beneath, you get.”

“We’ve got 21 tokens total,” Kazuma said after a quick count.

Kazuma glanced at Yuna, waiting for her reaction.

“Why are you always looking at me when it’s about tokens? I’m not some stingy villain. Fine, I’ll give 2. Happy?”

“You roll the dice,” Kaizen smirked, holding the dice casually, “pick a column or row based on the result, then choose one card from that six.”

“Eh?” Ren raised a brow. “Can’t we choose any card?”

“No… well, you can if you’re okay with paying 20 tokens.”

Yui’s jaw dropped. “That’s pure robbery! You’re squeezing our tokens like lemons!”

“Hey Yui, I never said it’s compulsory. You’re free to walk. We’re here to stall your time, not help you win. We’re not normal shopkeepers… Bargaining here? It’s tough.”

“Hmph,” Yui turned away with dramatic flair.

Hina, behind Kaizen, subtly pointed her eyes toward a specific card. Ren noticed. Yuna leaned in, her gaze following Hina’s subtle gesture.

“I’ll give my 5 tokens,” Yuna said quickly. “But give me a bigger share if we win.”

Kazuma snapped, “Now you want more share?” And he thought, ‘You Diya, How do you raise her!’

Still grumbling, he dropped 10 tokens in Kaizen’s bowl and rolled the dice.

It landed on 4 with a soft clatter.

Ren tries to select a card, but then… Hina’s eyes widened, and she barely shook her head, a small, secret eye signal flickering. Ren hesitated, his hand pausing mid-air. ‘Did I misunderstand?’ he thought.

He hovered his hand over the other five cards, his fingers passing slowly across their edges.

Then. Click. Hina’s eyes lit up at one specific card.

Kazuma noticed. Kaizen turned towards Hina behind him, seeing Kazuma’s expression, squinted. “Oi Hina! Are you giving clues?!”

But it was too late.

Ren snatched the card and flipped it.

“40 tokens!”

“N-no! That doesn’t count. Invalid!”

Yui snapped, “Huh? We paid and picked, how’s that not valid?”

Kaizen raised both palms. “No no, listen. Hina helped you.”

“Then go scold your daughter, idiot,” Yui said with a teasing smirk.

“Yui, I’m saying it’s invalid… but fine, I’ll give you another chance. It’s my fault.”

Hina, without warning, smacked his arm. “Baka Dad! Just give it to them, they got it fair!”

“Hina, we’re instructors. First, you have to learn the rules. If you help them like this, you can’t be an instructor!”

Hina puffed up her cheeks. “But that’s not even a rule! It is our, I mean instructor’s wish. That’s different!”

Kaizen didn’t argue further. He simply picked her up onto his hip, holding her like a grumpy toddler.

“Listen to me, Hina,” he said gently. “We’ll give them another chance. But you need to stop interfering.”

“Who wants your second chance?!” Yui pointed her fingers towards cards. “Can you guarantee we’ll get forty tokens again in the next turn? No, right?!”

“I can’t promise that… But I can tell you, there are cards above forty in the rest. The highest left is forty-five. Pick any one you want, no dice. My bad, okay?”

He turned to Hina and whispered, “See? Because of you, they think I’m wrong now.”

Hina kissed his cheek. “Sorry, Dad~”

“You only do this when you know you messed up, huh?”

Hina giggled, rubbed her forehead against his shoulder, and threw her arms around his neck like a cheeky monkey. “Okay~ From now on, I’ll follow the rules properly.”

Then she turned toward Ren, “Sorry, Nii-san!”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry.”

Kaizen watched Ren quietly, a small smile spreading across his lips.

Yuna chimed in. “I’ll take the next card, please!”

Kazuma sighed. “Then take it, idiot. Who’s stopping you now?”

Yuna’s hand hovered to the second row and pointed. “That one. First card.”

Kaizen watched her, amused.

She flipped it.

45 tokens.

“That’s the highest left. Lowest is minus ten.”

Yui’s eyes snapped open. “Wait, you even have negatives?! What the hell! If we get that, we’ll end up paying you! You’re just dangling hope in front of us while holding a loot sack behind your back!”

He leaned forward, hand on table, asked with a teasing smirk. “Hey… you seem like you’re enjoying this tournament more than I think, huh?”

“So what? Don’t change the subject.”

“Nothing,” Kaizen chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Just curious…”

“Yui Aunty… are you missing something?” Hina asked from the side, tilting her head slightly.

Kaizen’s face stiffened. “Hey, Hina—”

Her lips zipped shut immediately. “Okay,” she whispered, leaning back like a soldier after a warning from a commander.

“Sign the papers already!” Kazuma groaned, waving his hand. “You’re just stalling time, Kaizen-san.”

Meanwhile, Yuna tapped her chin dramatically. “I gave five tokens, right? So how much is my share?”

“Ayy, you only think about that?! Fine. Take forty-five and go!”

“You have to share it with the others, you little squirrel,” he added, reassuring. “And don’t worry, we’ll definitely qualify.”

Ren interjected, counting on his fingers. “Take fifteen. We’ll share ten each.”

“Ohh! Then it’s okay.”

But before the joy could last a full second—

Smack!

Kazuma thumped gently on her head. “Thokay? you!” he scowled in gibberish.

“Go, you idiot! You’re worse than him!” Yuna pouted, rubbing her head. “My mom said you’re clever, but you’re just worse!”

Kazuma went silent after listening to those words.

Kaizen quietly started filling in their details, crossing the last count and writing a new count across the papers.

Ren: 15

Kazuma: 16

Yui: 10

Yuna: 15

(*Favor tokens type for Ren is 20, so it is unnecessary giving again again, right?)

Yuna peeked at Kazuma’s paper like a sneaky squirrel.

Kazuma caught her. “What? Sixteen. Do you want this too, huh? Just say, I’ll give it to you, greedy girl.”

“I don’t need it. Hmph!”

Then she stomped over and plopped herself beside Ren. “From now on, I’m staying beside you,” She said softly. “Please forgive what I said. And… and you can touch my hair if you want.”

Ren chuckled softly, patting her head like she was a cat who had returned home after a street fight. “He’s just playing with you, Yuna. Come on, let’s go.”

They walked further into the street of stalls, light flickering on their cheeks.

Author’s Note :

Hey readers!

As I said, I want to give you relationship words that I use in this story!

Yenge - Older sister-in-law. Actually, I took this from Turkish! I searched and wanted a term which blends in English while reading with other words.