Saki Miyanaga showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, a faint smile appeared on her face.
She counted out the points from her score sticks, her movements as brisk as if she were handing out candy. "Here."
[Kazekoshi Girls' High School hit mangan! Ikeda Kana of Kazekoshi Girls' High School has won her first hand in the finals, clawing her way back from the brink of death!]
[And this is the second Robbing the Kong of the match!]
At the table, Amae Koromo's smile froze for the first time.
She stared at Saki Miyanaga. The crimson in her blue eyes faded, revealing rare astonishment, and her voice sounded as though it were caught on shards of ice. "C-could it be... that move just now was intentional?"
Saki Miyanaga slowly raised her head.
She lifted a hand to brush aside her bangs. Her eyes were no longer clear brown, but a deep crimson nearly the color of blood, like burning embers carrying enough heat to reduce everything to ash.
She looked at Amae Koromo, the curve of her lips identical to Koromo's from moments ago—this was the smile of a Demon King.
At that moment, the second Demon King fully awakened.
Can I Take Off My Shoes?
Ever since Saki Miyanaga had deliberately dealt into Ikeda Kana and given her points, Ikeda Kana's emotions had finally settled somewhat.
She was still in last place, but at least she no longer faced the possibility of the match ending prematurely at any moment.
Ikeda Kana's "meows" were like firecrackers being lit, each one shriller than the last as they tore through the stagnant air of the venue.
Her black hair whipped wildly around her shoulders. She clutched her winning hand, her knuckles white yet filled with unprecedented strength—that was the exhilaration of crawling back from