Not a detective

Page 166

"That's really creative."

In the first two rounds, it should be relatively easy to find them, but this round is already a bit difficult. In the later rounds, it may not be so easy to find them.

"May I borrow a pen?"

Following the same procedure as last time, the two borrowed Asakawa Riku's pen again, and then wrote down the card patterns on the paper one by one, while turning them over at the same time.

末月：“39——黑桃9方块9红心9梅花9方块3，四条9。”

星羽：“8——红心2梅花2方块2梅花A方块A，2葫芦。”

"I won."

The last month smiled, and the four lines naturally exceeded the gourd, meaning she was luckier and got a better number.

But Asakawa Riku sensed something was wrong: "Wait...did you make a mistake, Hoshino?"

He reached out and interrupted their conversation.

After taking the note, I added a line under Hoshino's pretty handwriting with a pen:

[Ace of Spades, Ace of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, 4 of Diamonds, four Aces.]

"This is bigger, right?"

德州扑克中，四种花色无大小之分，重点在于牌的面值，从大到小排序为：A、K、Q、J、10、9、8、7、6、5、4、3、2。

That is, A is the highest and 2 is the lowest. Although A is equal to 1 point in numerical calculation, the strength of the hand is not like that.

Therefore, four Aces should be greater than four 9s of the last month. If Xingyu forms this hand, he should be able to win, right?

Why didn't she choose that, but instead chose two gourds?

Did she really make a mistake? Was her mind in a daze, overlooking this possibility and failing to think of the optimal solution?

"Let me clarify first that human mistakes are also part of the decision-making process, and they can't be corrected now. So, Motsuki still won this round. I was just curious and wanted to ask."

Fearing misunderstanding, Asakawa Riku added.

To everyone's surprise, Xingyu smiled and shook her head, saying, "There's no need to correct it. I did lose, but I didn't make any mistakes. It's just that Miss was more skilled this time."

When Asakawa Rikusuke was puzzled, Suezuki explained:

"Assistant, it's not just about numbers; you also need to consider the remaining cards and the remaining suits. This isn't just a numbers game; it's a poker game."

"……What!"

He was immediately surprised and astonished, his eyes widening in disbelief.

...Do we really have to go this far in the calculations?

Asakawa Riku originally thought that this game was simply about breaking down numbers and finding the optimal solution that matches the card type from countless possibilities.

But after Mo Yue reminded him, he realized that this was a poker game, so naturally he had to follow the basic rules of poker.

A deck of cards has 54 cards. After removing the two Jokers, there are 52 cards. Each time a card is used, it is removed from the deck. [It cannot be reused].

也就是说，第一回合所使用的“黑桃8、方块8、红心8、梅花8、方块4、黑桃A、黑桃2、黑桃3、黑桃4、黑桃5”都要被去掉，不能够再选择，其中“黑桃A”已经没有了，所以浅川陆预想的“黑桃A方块A红心A梅花A方块4，四条A”并不成立。

Not only do we need to extract the optimal solution from the numbers, but we also need to imagine what cards are left!

It's not just about numbers; you also have to accurately identify which suits still exist. If you get it wrong, it's a mistake!

Asakawa Riku felt his mind was in complete chaos. After only one round, he began to feel strained, and it was easy to imagine that the thinking would become more and more difficult as time went on.

Since there is no physical deck of cards to refer to, all calculations must be done in the brain, based on mere imagination!

...This is genuine air poker.

Asakawa Riku felt that he had underestimated the game earlier; this game was truly terrifying, no wonder Hoshino hadn't used it to test the students in the first place...

For the average student, without paper and pen to draw diagrams as a reference... who could possibly calculate something like this...?

"real or fake……"

The way he looked at the two beautiful girls in front of him was as if he were looking at monsters.

I gradually came to understand why other people stared at him so incredulously when he made some actions that he thought were very ordinary.

That’s what it feels like.

Asakawa Riku knew that Shinonome Suetsuki was a patient with "hyperthymesia." What seemed like a side effect of the illness was actually a kind of superpower. With her brain, remembering those card types and suits shouldn't be too difficult for her. Even if she were to conjure up a deck of cards out of thin air in her mind, she should be able to do it.

But Hoshimi Kouyu on the other side was someone he couldn't quite figure out at this moment.

The blonde girl still smiled confidently, her hands behind her back.

In Asakawa Riku's previous understanding, Hoshino had always been a flustered and clumsy little maid. This summer, he got to know her better, learned about her background, and discovered that she also had advanced hacking skills.

Could she also possess such terrifying memory and calculation abilities? Was she just hiding her true strength before? She actually has the ability to rival Shinonome Suetsuki?

Just how strong is the student council president of this school?

Hoshino didn't answer the question that Asakawa Riku was wondering about; she simply spoke as casually as her master:

"The score is now 1-1, a tie."

"Now that's the kind of girl who's really serious... Very good, let's begin the next round."

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter 42 The True Star Feather

[Round 3]

...

After the two of them came downstairs, Asakawa Riku took out a deck of cards from his pocket.

He stopped carrying that burden. Since he couldn't figure it out himself, he would just honestly take the cards and check them.

So he went to a secluded corner and arranged the playing cards in four rows according to their order and suit.

每一排都是按照A、K、Q、J、10、9、8、7、6、5、4、3、2的大小往下排开，从左到右分别是黑桃、方块、红心、梅花。

That's how you get all 52 cards.

Asakawa Riku then removed all the used playing cards from the array based on the four slips of paper that the two had just handed over.

I used 20 cards in two rounds, and I have 32 cards left.

"It's much more convenient."

Asakawa Riku smiled wryly. Although he was somewhat unwilling, this was the only way he could keep up with the thinking of those two prodigies and ensure that he would not make any mistakes.

Otherwise, it would be too much to ask him to accurately remember which numbers and suits are left.

He also made a point of confirming that the corner was in the shadows, and since it was dusk and very dark, it was impossible to see anything without getting close.

Upon closer inspection... no, even a quick glance would allow one to roughly guess from the pattern, and if one had eyesight like Asakawa Riku, seeing it wouldn't be difficult at all.

"……How about this."

So he simply turned the door away from him, which completely blocked the view and eliminated any possibility of peeping.

This deck of cards was specially prepared for the referee. He was determined to see if these two people were completely infallible.

Asakawa Riku was ready, the two of them came up.

"I am back."

"It hasn't been too long, has it?"

This time it took [6 minutes].

It seems they've hit a plateau and can't climb up as quickly anymore... I wonder if they spend more time looking for notes or thinking about card combinations?

The thought of having to do two things in ten minutes made Asakawa Riku feel very strained.

If they spend a lot of time looking for the slips of paper, it means they are still very quick at thinking about the card combinations and can figure out which numbers and suits are left in an instant.

If they spent a lot of time thinking about the card combinations, it means they found the note in an instant, and it seems that the place where Asakawa Riku painstakingly hid it was not well hidden at all.

It's hard to feel happy no matter how I think about it... Or maybe they know Asakawa Riku well enough?

"Are you ready?"

"no problem."

Regardless, this round of competition began. Xingyu and Moyue once again wrote down their hand patterns on paper and presented them to each other.

Last month: "45 - Jack of Spades, Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, Ace of Hearts, four Jacks."

Xingyu: "47 - Hearts 10, Hearts J, Hearts Q, Hearts K, Hearts A, Royal Flush."

When Asakawa Riku saw the hand, he was about to say something, but this time he was smart and paused.

wrong.

He glanced at his prepared cheat sheet. When he first saw the number "45", he thought of 78910J, which is the optimal solution, a straight flush.

But when I turned around, I saw that 8 and 9 had already been used up in the previous round. There were no more cards of any suit left. They were all gone. Not a single one was left.

Therefore, the four J's in the last month are indeed the only remaining optimal solution, and she did not make a mistake.

...Luckily, I had prepared this deck of cards. Asakawa Riku was secretly pleased. Otherwise, I would have embarrassed myself by speaking rashly just now.

"So this round is Xingyu's victory, 2:1."

On second thought, even if the last month could form a straight flush, it would still be a loss.

Xingyu got an amazing number: 47, which is the highest possible hand in poker: the King of Kings, a royal flush.

And only this number makes a royal flush: 10JQKA, which adds up to 47. It's such a coincidence.

When Asakawa Riku was writing down the numbers, he hadn't even discovered the rules yet, and he just happened to come across this hand pattern...

"Moreover, this round is the best time to use the Royal Flush." ​​Mo Yue nodded and said, "Right now, the Royal Flush of Hearts can still be used smoothly, but as the game continues, the 7, 8, 9, 10, and J of each suit will be consumed sooner or later, and then it will be impossible to form a Royal Flush smoothly, even if you get 4 and 7."

Asakawa Riku thought it was true; Hoshino's choice of 78910J perfectly avoided the cards used before and was a card combination that did not violate any rules.

Moreover, he remembered that he had never written down the same number twice, so there was only one 47, which was the "killer move". No matter what Mo Yue brought out in this round, he would lose.

The timing was perfect... If it had been any later, even if I had gotten the number 47, I wouldn't have been able to form such a powerful hand.

Suezuki turned to the surprised Asakawa Riku and said:

"Lu, do you remember me saying that someone once defeated me in the game of 'Blood Draw Mahjong'? You should have guessed it, it's this guy in front of you."

"So you guys played that game too, without my knowledge."

Xingyu narrowed her eyes, but did not deny the instruction.

Hoshimi Kohane...!

What kind of bizarre game were this master and servant playing before Asakawa Riku even arrived at the agency...?

"Xingyu is a genius, even if he's an idiot, he's still a genius."

Mo Yue slowly and deliberately said, "At first, I had her attend those annoying private lessons for me simply because I was lazy. But gradually, the feedback from those lecturers and professors became strange. Xing Yu may not be good at logic games like deduction, but her sensitivity to numbers, calculations, and economics is extraordinary. That's why her math scores have always been perfect, and her ability to become a hacker in a short time is all due to this talent. It's the same in business operations. Why does that old geezer want me to inherit the Dongyun Group? It's not because of my superpower of foreseeing the future, but because he mistakenly thought from those business professors that the girl attending the classes was [Dongyun Mo Yue]."

Asakawa Riku suddenly realized something. Looking at Hoshimi Kou, who was listening quietly on the other side, he had a deeper understanding at this moment.

So she had this side to her, this talent...

No wonder she's the top student in her grade... and even became the student council president...

"At least in numerical games like Mahjong or Poker, even with my hyperthymesia, I often lose to her amazing intuition and thinking. I even think that Xingyu would be more suitable to inherit the group's name than I am, at least compared to the ten 'decisions' I scribbled down back then..."

The last month said mysteriously:

"Actually, I also had her write ten points that day, without telling anyone... If the group had followed her strategy back then, it might have become number one in Japan."

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter 43 Rules of Punishment

However, Hoshino didn't seem to appreciate the young lady's praise, and simply said calmly:

"Miss, no matter how much you praise me, it won't help. Don't try to get away with the [punishment rules]."

"...What are the punishment rules?"

Asakawa Riku was puzzled. Could there be rules in this game that he didn't know about?

“I didn’t get away with it.” Mo Yue shook her head and said to Asakawa Riku, “I just need to explain to him that there is a penalty in our usual way of playing.”

She took the two slips of paper covered in writing and pointed to a certain spot on them: