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ArabicClassroom of the Elite: Standing Firm in Class A — Chapter 46
Chapter 46: Winning the Lottery
“Excuse me, but I have to ask,” Kaedehara Tetsu began, his tone perfectly polite yet carrying a subtle weight. “For a lucky draw like this, are you entirely certain there is actually a first-prize ball inside? What if it’s merely a promotional gimmick, and we’re drawing for nothing?”
“N-No, of course not!” The female cashier waved her hands frantically, her customer-service smile straining at the edges. “We are a legitimate establishment. Our promotions are absolutely fair and transparent. The first-prize ball is definitely in the box!”
“Words alone aren’t quite enough to dispel doubt.” Tetsu spread his hands in a mild, reasonable gesture. “Unless, of course, you allow me to confirm it with my own eyes.”
The cashier hesitated, her brow furrowing. Allowing a customer to inspect the box violated store regulations. Yet, faced with such a calm, rational challenge, she found it difficult to refuse outright—especially since she herself wasn’t entirely sure the grand prize existed. After all, no one had won the top tier since the promotion began days ago.
“Um… I can ask the store manager on the walkie-talkie. Please wait a moment.”
She retrieved a radio from beneath the counter, turning away slightly to quietly explain the situation. A minute later, she set the device down, a visible wave of relief washing over her features.
“Hello, sir. Our store manager has agreed to your request. You may check the contents, but please return it immediately once you are satisfied.”
She opened the lid of the lottery box wide, exposing a sea of colorful plastic spheres. “Look, that golden one right there is the first prize!” she said, pointing toward the gleaming ball resting near the top.
Tetsu leaned forward, narrowing his eyes as if scrutinizing the prize. While his gaze remained fixed on the golden sphere, his free hand drifted downward, slipping perfectly into the cashier’s blind spot. His pinky finger brushed against the bottom edge of the cash register. He knew exactly what to look for. A roll of transparent tape, typically used for affixing price tags, rested there. With a practiced, imperceptible flick of his nail, he peeled off a minuscule, sticky fragment of the tape and concealed it against his fingertip.
“Ah, so it really is there.” He nodded in faux realization. He reached into the box, plucking the golden sphere from the pile, and held it up in his palm. “Look at that. It even has ‘First Prize’ engraved on the side,” he noted, turning the ball so the cashier could verify it.
“Right? I wouldn’t lie to you,” she exhaled, her shoulders dropping.
As Tetsu lowered his hand to return the ball, his thumb and forefinger pinched together. In a fraction of a second, he pressed the hidden sliver of tape firmly onto the smooth golden surface. He dropped it back into the pile, his expression a mask of harmless, easygoing charm.
“Alright, I believe you. Shall we begin?”
“Of course, right away!”
The cashier snapped the lid shut and shook the black box vigorously, the plastic balls clattering loudly as they mixed. She offered the box back to him.
Tetsu slid his hand through the circular opening.
Beside him, Sakayanagi Arisu watched in absolute silence. The cashier was completely oblivious to the subtle mechanics of Tetsu’s trick, but Arisu missed nothing. Her sharp, lilac eyes tracked the slight shifts in his wrist. The hand submerged in the box wasn’t stirring the contents blindly. Beneath the cardboard barrier, his fingers were moving with deliberate, feather-light precision. He was searching.
Tetsu’s fingertips glided rapidly over the curved, smooth surfaces of the plastic spheres. Smooth… smooth… still smooth. To an outside observer, he merely looked hesitant, taking his time to pick the luckiest draw.
Then, the pad of his index finger brushed against a foreign texture—a tiny, abrupt patch of sticky friction.
Found it.
He closed his grip around the marked ball. With a quick scrape of his thumbnail, he peeled the tape off the plastic and let the adhesive scrap fall away into the depths of the box. Even if someone eventually found it, they would simply assume a piece of stray tape had fallen in by accident.
He slowly withdrew his hand. Resting in the center of his palm was the gleaming golden sphere.
“Wow… it’s the first prize! Congratulations!” The cashier’s voice spiked an octave, drawing envious glances from shoppers in the adjacent checkout lanes.
“What good luck,” Tetsu murmured, allowing a perfectly measured hint of pleasant surprise to touch his features. He handed the golden ball to the flustered cashier.
“H-Here is your prize!” She fumbled beneath the counter, retrieving a thick, sealed envelope. She presented it to him with both hands, bowing slightly. “I wish you and your girlfriend a wonderful time!”
…
Tetsu carried the heavy plastic bag of groceries in one hand, the envelope secured in the other. Arisu walked unhurriedly at his side. The rhythmic tap of her cane against the pavement set a quiet tempo for their stroll, maintaining a precise half-step distance between them.
The evening breeze swept across the sprawling campus, carrying away the lingering heat and hustle of the afternoon. The setting sun cast a rich, amber glow over the walkways, stretching their shadows long across the concrete until the silhouettes overlapped into one.
They reached the dormitory and stepped into the elevator. Tetsu pressed the button for the third floor. The machinery hummed quietly before the doors slid open. He stepped out into the empty corridor, Arisu following in his wake without a shred of hesitation. Since she had tacitly accepted the role of his “girlfriend” for the afternoon, stepping into his private room was simply the natural continuation of the game.
Tetsu swiped his keycard. The lock clicked green. He pushed the door open and stepped aside.
“Please, come in.”
Arisu’s gaze lingered on his face for a fleeting second before she glided past him. Tetsu shut the door, the heavy click of the deadbolt sealing the room off from the rest of the world. He set the groceries on the small kitchen counter and turned back to her.
“Make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready shortly.”
Arisu did not bother with false modesty. She stepped further inside, her sharp eyes cataloging her surroundings.
The room was exceptionally simple. Austere, even. Aside from the standard-issue bed, desk, chair, and wardrobe provided by the school, the space was entirely devoid of personal touches. The walls were a sterile white; the floor lacked any rugs. Every item was arranged with calculated precision—textbooks stacked in perfect alignment, the chair pushed flush against the desk. It didn’t feel like the bedroom of a teenage boy. It felt like a high-end hotel room, a temporary staging ground utterly lacking the warmth of human habitation.
She approached the bed, her gaze sweeping over the pristine white sheets. Then, her eyes locked onto a tiny detail.
Resting against the stark white fabric of the pillow were a few incredibly fine, long strands of purple hair. They stood out like a drop of ink on fresh snow.
Arisu’s expression did not change. Her breathing did not hitch. She merely filed the information away in her mind, shifting her gaze a second later as though she had seen absolutely nothing. She moved toward the desk, inspecting the varied, eclectic stack of books resting on the surface.
The clear rush of tap water from the kitchenette broke the silence. Tetsu was already washing the ingredients, his movements efficient and practiced. Arisu took a seat on the room’s single chair, leaning her cane against the edge of the desk. She sat with perfect posture, watching his back as he worked, resembling a highly patient aristocrat waiting for a private chef to finish his craft.
Half an hour later, the small desk was transformed into a dining table. Three dishes and a soup were arranged with care: a steaming plate of Mapo Tofu, vibrant stir-fried seasonal vegetables, glistening sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and two bowls of rich miso soup.
“It’s a bit simple, but please make do,” Tetsu said, setting a bowl of steamed rice and a pair of wooden chopsticks in front of her.
Arisu picked up the chopsticks, her grip delicate and refined. She lifted a piece of the sauce-coated pork to her lips. The sweet and sour profile bloomed across her palate instantly—a perfect crunch on the outside giving way to tender, hot meat on the inside. She followed it with a small bite of the Mapo Tofu. The fragrant, numbing heat of the spices layered beautifully, stimulating her senses with a complex depth of flavor.
“The taste…” she murmured, slowing her chewing to savor the texture. “…is indeed exceptional.”
It was an objective, genuine assessment. Coming from Sakayanagi Arisu, it was high praise, devoid of any polite flattery.
“It seems my culinary skills haven’t rusted,” Tetsu replied, a faint, dry amusement in his voice. He served himself a bowl of rice and took the seat opposite her.