The Leopin Millionaire Game

With Class 1-03 joining in, the classes refusing the toast had become five.

Now that they had exceeded the four-class limit for refusing the toast, they could no longer force it under the name of the game’s rules.

Kakerukun had been cornered once again.

It looked as though he was finally about to explode, but once again the vice principal cried out loudly.

“Raaah! We’re announcing one more, new rule, ra!”

This time, even from below the stage came cries of, “A-again!?”

Paying no heed to such criticism, the vice principal Diraira held her hand over the painted wall set beside the stage.

Then ten treasure chests flew out from beyond the wall and landed with heavy thuds by its side.

Apparently, Diraira was a mage.

When Diraira snapped her fingers, the ten treasure chests all opened at once.

Then two kinds of signs popped out from inside the opened chests.

Five of the treasure chests bore signs reading, “Winner! Plus 50 million Enders!”

The remaining five treasure chests bore signs reading, “Loser! Minus 50 million Enders!”

As if he had understood everything from that alone, Kakerukun took over from there.

Nodding over and over with tears in his eyes, he looked as though he had been deeply moved in the most exaggerated way possible.

“The feelings the girls have for Leopin-kun have touched even my heart! So now I feel like giving Leopin-kun a present too! And thus begins the ‘Leopin Millionaire Game’~! Heyy! Leopin-kun! Leopiiin-kuuun!”

Even when Kakerukun called out to him, Leopin was so absorbed in the ants that he did not notice.

When one student threw a stone at him, thunk! “Ow!?” he turned around.

When Leopin faced toward the stage, his eyes widened in shock.

Because every last gaze was focused on him.

Pointing toward the row of treasure chests, the principal spoke.

“Leopin-kun! Look over there! See all those treasure chests? Those treasure chests are going to be shut and shuffled now, and after that, you’ll pick one! If you draw a ‘Winner,’ I’ll give you 50 million Enders! But if you draw a ‘Loser,’ then I get 50 million Enders from you! Right!?”

Leopin replied with a flat, uninterested, “Huh.”

“The rest of the rules are extremely simple too! If you draw a Winner, you win, and if you draw a Loser, I win! You can draw treasure chests as many times as you want! If you manage to draw five Winners in a row, that means you can get your hands on a grand prize of 250 million!”

“Huh.”

“However, there’s a condition for quitting midway—you can’t retire until you’ve drawn at least one ‘Winner’!”

“Huh? But I only have 100 million Enders.”

“I’ll just count everything that goes over that as debt for you! Right, right!”

Casually mixing in something outrageous, the explanation of the rules continued.

At that point, the principal suddenly turned the topic toward Monaka and Kotone.

“And now it’s Chaaance Tiiime! If your classes declare that they’ll ‘cooperate’ with Leopin-kun, then for each class, the number of ‘Winner’ treasure chests will increase by one! However, if a class declares its cooperation, then if Leopin-kun draws even one ‘Loser,’ that class has to make the toast! In short, you’ll be putting your memories of Leopin-kun on the line to improve Leopin-kun’s odds! Right!?”

Now it became clear why the ‘Cheers Game’ had changed into the ‘Leopin Millionaire Game.’

Using the game as a pretext, the principal apparently wanted to make absolutely certain that Monaka, Kotone, and the others would make the toast.

Wearing a puzzled expression, Monaka raised her hand slightly.

“Um, Principal… if all five classes here cooperate with Leo-kun, then won’t all ten treasure chests become ‘Winners’…?”

At that, the principal fidgeted in an exaggeratedly bashful way.

“Oh, don’t make me say everythiiing! I told you just now, didn’t I!? I said that the feelings you all have for your Leopin-kun moved my heart!”

Monaka and Kotone were sheltered young ladies who had been raised like treasured flowers.

They were slow to notice the malice of others, but quick to perceive the goodwill of others.

“Ah, s-sorry…! So this was your way of being considerate, Principal…!”

“My apologies, Principal-sama. I had misunderstood you a little. I do not engage in gambling of any kind, but if that is the case, then I would be happy to lend my cooperation.”

The girls who had refused the toast were pure, and did not know how to doubt people.

Especially when the other party was someone in the position of principal.

However, one girl alone was different.

“Heheh, there’s definitely some kind of catch. But that’s fine, I’m in too. Men and danger are like horses… they exist to be ridden. Aaahn, a dangerous gamble like this is making me shiver…!”

In the end, all five classes offered to cooperate with Leopin, staking their ‘toast.’

The ‘Loser’ signs on the treasure chests lined up beside them were swapped out by the vice principal’s hand for ‘Winner’ signs.

The sight of ten ‘Winner’ chests lined up in a row was magnificent.

Naturally, complaints erupted.

“Ehh, that’s not fair! Having every single one be a winner is way too unfair!”

“And that’s 500 million total, you know!? We upper classes only got 100 million, so why does a trashy guy like that get…!?”

“Isn’t he in the ‘Special Duty Class’!? Why are Kotone-sama and Monaka-sama and Akemi-sama all backing a guy like that!?”

But their dissatisfaction was blown away in an instant.

“All right then, the ‘Leopin Pauper (●●●) Game’ starts noooow!”

At the principal’s signal, the lids of all ten treasure chests snapped shut, and the painted wall surrounding the students …was blown apart with a CRAAAAAAAAAASH!!

And scattered in all directions.

As the view opened up all at once, across the broad schoolyard there were… an appalling number of treasure chests, more than a thousand of them…!

The treasure chests that had flown away were now so scattered that no one could even tell where they were anymore.

In front of the stunned students, the principal and vice principal burst into triumphant laughter!

“Kakakakakaka! Got you, got you! No one ever said there were only ten treasure chests~~~~~~~! Now Leopin’s guaranteed to be drowning in debt~~~~~~~~!”

“Rararararara! It was worth preparing all two thousand treasure chests, ra!”

The principal and vice principal took each other’s hands and began dancing around merrily.

Monaka and Kotone, who had never been deceived by anyone before, went pale white.

The other students, meanwhile, were in an uproar of excitement.

“So that’s what this was! I knew the principal was one step ahead after all!”

“Well, of course! Like hell he’d hand even one Ender over to a trash bastard like that!”

“Look at the trash bastard’s face!”

“Hahahaha! He looks completely lost already, like he’s drowning in debt!”

At the center of it all, Leopin still wore an expression as though it had nothing to do with him.

For a while, he looked around at the countless treasure chests drifting there like jellyfish in an out-of-season sea, but then he turned toward the stage and

“…Am I really allowed to take them?”

“Kakakakakaka! Of couuurse you aaare! Take as many losers as you liiiike! And even if you say you want to quit halfway, it’s no use! After all, the rules say you can’t stop until you draw a winner!”

Once again, Leopin gave an absent “Huh,” then steadily walked into the forest of treasure chests.

He looked around for a while as though searching for something, then stopped in front of one treasure chest and opened its lid without the slightest hesitation.

…Pop!

In the next instant, together with a fanfare and a shower of confetti, a ‘Winner’ sign sprang out.

“Ha… Hassaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!?!?”