The one who harms others will ultimately harm themselves

In the second round, Kato Satsu played a Joker according to his strategy, and Matsuyama played a Joker as well.

"No way! No matter how I struggle, he's going to win," Matsuyama thought.

"There are three cups of normal coffee left on the table and two cups of laxatives. No matter how I adjust my strategy this round, it boils down to two outcomes: either three cups or four cups remain," Matsuyama calculated.

At this moment, Kato Satsu couldn't help but add to his own thoughts.

"But I'm the one calling the shots in the third round. Whether I drink two cups or one is entirely up to me."

"I'm not opening!" Kato Satsu, who was the first to call in this round, shouted.

"I'm opening!" Matsuyama replied through gritted teeth.

The Joker was revealed, and Kato Satsu drank the coffee again. After the third round, four cups of coffee remained on the table, and both sides still held two Jokers each.

At this point, playing a safe card didn't hold much meaning. Kato Satsu had already consumed the antidote, and Matsuyama knew which two cups contained the laxatives; both men were fully aware of each other's status.

Moreover, there were still two cups of normal coffee left on the table, so it didn't matter who drank them.

"I'm opening!"

"I'm opening too!"

Hearing Kato Satsu's reply, Matsuyama couldn't help but feel a wave of regret. Why on earth did he come up with these rules?

The antidote was originally meant to keep him undefeated, but it had ended up like this.

In reality, whether it was a safe card or a Joker, someone had to drink coffee as long as a card was opened; it was merely a question of who would be the one to drink it.

Even if he didn't open, and Kato Satsu didn't open either, the number of cups would still decrease by two.

With two more cups downed and still nothing happening to either of them, the atmosphere was pushed to a fever pitch.

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. Only two cups of coffee remained on the table, and everyone knew what that meant.

Both cups were laxatives, the antidote had already been consumed, and the final round had arrived.

Seeing this, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned and left the scene. He had absolutely no interest in witnessing Matsuyama's impending diarrhea.

"Ayanokoji-kun, aren't you going to keep watching? The winner is about to be decided," Yamauchi called out, stopping Ayanokoji to ask.

"No, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat later," Ayanokoji replied indifferently before walking away.

The Yamauchi trio didn't try to stop Ayanokoji further. Like everyone else, they had already pulled out their phones, ready to record the scene that was about to unfold.

"If Kato loses, just thinking about that scene is exciting," Yamauchi said, impatiently opening his phone's camera and staring fixedly at the stage.

"There's no mistake. Judging by how decisively Kato drank and the expressions on both their faces, he drank the antidote at the very beginning," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka noted.

In the fourth round, the safe cards finally made their grand appearance, both played simultaneously.

"I'm not opening," Kato Satsu called first.

Clearly, he wasn't planning to let Matsuyama off the hook. If Kato Satsu had opened the cards, Matsuyama wouldn't have had to drink as long as he didn't open his own.

If Kato Satsu had drunk the laxative and shown no reaction, the winner would have been decided, and Matsuyama wouldn't have needed to drink at all.

But Kato Satsu decisively refused to open, which meant Matsuyama had to drink regardless. If he opened, it was a safe card and he had to drink; if he didn't open, they would both drink.

"I'm not opening either."

Matsuyama replied in despair. Although his choice no longer mattered, he decided to make Kato Satsu drink one more cup.

Kato Satsu didn't care and drank it down readily.

"Ten."

A countdown began to echo through the venue.

"Nine."

"So confident?" Horikita Suzune whispered.

"Eight."

"Alright, time to head back to the dorms," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said.

"Seven."

"Don't let me down, Kato! Come on, let me see you look pathetic!" Yamauchi cheered.

"Six."

"Five."

"Four."

"A handsome guy like that, he wouldn't really do it in public, would he?" a girl in the front row murmured.

"Three."

"This kind of ending," Kato Satsu mused.

"Two."

"Is absolutely perfect," Kato Satsu concluded.

"One!"

"Rejoice! It is my victory!"

The moment the countdown ended, Satsu threw his hands up into the air and shouted.

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers, but Reine did not join in. Her gaze lingered on Satsu for a few seconds before she turned and vanished into the throng.

Satsu naturally noticed Suzune leaving; the scene that followed would not be pretty, and he did not want her to keep watching.

On the other side, Matsuyama sat with his eyes half-closed, holding his coffee with a look of utter despair.

Seeing this, Satsu leaned his face right up against him, close enough that Matsuyama could feel Satsu's breath on his skin.

"Drink up! What are you waiting for?"

"I'm sorry."

"What was that?"

Satsu replied deliberately, leaning his ear toward Matsuyama's lips. "Speak up! Say it again."

"I'm sorry. Please, spare me some dignity. You've already won everything; at least don't make me drink this."

Matsuyama's tears fell uncontrollably. He knew that if he drank it, those videos would exist forever, potentially even leaking out of this school.

"Everyone, do you agree?"

Satsu did not answer him, instead turning to spread his arms wide and shouting to the crowd.

"No!"

The crowd responded to Satsu's words in an instant, beginning to jeer.

"Drink! Drink! Drink!"

"You see, Matsuyama. It's not just me asking you to drink anymore."

"I suggest you drink it yourself, lest some impulsive idiot in the crowd decides to come up and force it down your throat. That would be an even uglier sight."

Listening to the increasingly deafening jeers, Matsuyama looked around in despair, then drank the laxative with a hollow sense of resignation.

The effect was faster than imagined; a foul stench soon breached the crowd's defenses, assaulting their nostrils.

Yet, the crowd did not scatter immediately. Everyone pinched their noses and pointed their cameras at the stage.

Matsuyama clutched his stomach, lying limply on the ground with a pained expression.

Overcome by the intense agony, Matsuyama finally lost control of his body and completely let go.

Watching Matsuyama twitching in a puddle of filth, not a single person went to find a doctor or offered a shred of sympathy.

That is how things are here: the winner takes all, and the loser doesn't even have the right to be called a loser—it is a meritocracy!

Everyone was busy laughing, retching, or recording; the video was shared to various group chats the very first second.

There were not many people in this school to begin with; surely, within half an hour, the entire student body would see Matsuyama in this pathetic state.

A few minutes later, some finally could not bear the stench and began to leave, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

The massive stadium was soon left with only Satsu and Matsuyama. The former walked slowly to the latter's side.

Satsu showed no expression as he looked down at Matsuyama, who was trembling and could only emit faint whimpers.

He did not pinch his nose like the others; he simply held his breath.

Without a word, Satsu turned and left. The only sounds remaining in the stadium were the echoing footsteps of Satsu and the whimpering of Matsuyama.

Matsuyama's points were not many, only a little over fifty thousand, but Satsu still felt happy. Up until now, he had accumulated a full two hundred thousand points.

"I would have had two hundred and ten thousand, but it's a pity I spent some on a gift yesterday, and I haven't even given it to Ayanokoji yet."

Though he said this, Satsu felt no dissatisfaction. After all, not only had he earned money, but he had also fulfilled his promise to Kuraku.