The Invigorating Girl

Cover

**The Invigorating Girl** is the 54th chapter of Kakegurui Twin, written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Kei Saiki.

## Summary

Aoi had explained to Sakura that Mary has a strength: tenacity. She has a will to win at all costs. That’s why he wants Mary for himself. Aoi bet a billion on himself winning this and he bet another billion on the Literary Club in the great bloom memorial. If the Literary Club wins, they earn a billion, and Aoi becomes student council president. In this scenario, both sides stand to benefit greatly. Sakura believes there’s no reason for them to compete against each other.

Sakura thinks that Aoi has all but granted victory to Mary. Aoi praised Mary for her drive to win, he wondered what Mary would do if the victory was given to her. It would warp Mary’s will. Mary kept defeating Full-Bloom councilors, so she became a threat to Aoi. Mary also refused to join Full-Bloom. Aoi is thus attempting to break her. He made a ploy to defeat Mary and Kirari at the same time. Mary is frustrated by Aoi having his way with her. Aoi explains that it’s the only way to become a winner. He reminds Mary that if she defies him, she won’t have a debt of one billion yen, the whole Literary Club will. Yukimi and Tsuzura would have debts too.

Sakura feels that Aoi has fully grasped the essence of Mary. She’s convinced that Aoi has executed the perfect strategy, and that there’s not any opening in it. She thinks that Mary is cornered. Tsuzura asks Mary why she wanted to become a winner in the first place. She reminds Mary of her first day at Hyakkaou. Tsuzura was a mittens. One day, Mary showed up. Although Tsuzura was a housepet, Mary taught her that in order to keep from being picked on, help retain her dignity, and help see her will through the end, she had to become a winner.

Tsuzura declares that if she’s forced to take a victory that’s just given to her, she'd rather be a loser any day, shocking Mary. Aoi is stunned. Sakura can’t believe it. She reminds Tsuzura that the Literary Club will have a debt of one billion yen if they lose. She adds that Tsuzura would be a housepet forever. Tsuzura answers that her own will is driving her. Yukimi admits that she doesn’t have a will like that. She says that however, if someone she likes has that kind of desire, she wants to help make it happen, while looking at Mary. Yukimi adds that they’ve been cornered lots of times before now, and they’ve always figured something out.

Mary thanks Tsuzura and Yukimi and declares to Aoi that the Literary Club will purposefully lose the game. Aoi believes he read Mary perfectly. He thinks he went wrong with the feelings of those close to her. He had never considered them. Aoi tells the Literary Club that as long as he loses, nothing changes. He says that from here on in, this gamble is a battle for the bottom. Sachiko enters the room. Aoi asks her why she is here. Mikura brings loads of cash. Sachiko bets to Yukimi that the Literary Club will win Conquer the Land. She announces that the stakes are one billion yen.

Now, no matter who wins, the Literary Club neither gains, nor loses, one billion yen. They also have no chance of winning the Great Bloom Prize. Aoi’s scheme will fail. Aoi asks Sachiko if Kirari ordered this. Sachiko answers no. She did this because she wanted to. Sachiko adds that if Kirari knew Aoi’s scheme, she’d just observe it. Aoi asks Sachiko why she is willing to take the risk of losing one billion yen to him. Sachiko responds that she can’t abide him teasing and tormenting Mary all he wants. He cornered Mary without giving her a chance to fight. Sachiko says that it’s no fun at all. Sachiko wants to see Mary struggle, worry, and agonize, and whether she faces total ruin or obtains everything for herself.

Aoi finds that he read the whole situation wrong. Mary’s drive is far stronger than he ever thought, and anyone who sees it can’t help but be invigorated. Aoi asks Ruri what the total bet amount is. Ruri announces that there are 1,030,240,000 yen riding on Aoi’s victory, and 28,950,000 yen riding on the Literary Club’s victory. The betting window is now officially closed. Aoi announces that the Call to Action won’t be over, and that he will repeat the same process after earning a billion yen. Tsuzura asks Sachiko if she’s sure she wants to do this. Sachiko answers that all she wants from her is one thing: to beat Aoi.

## Plot

Sakura remembers what Aoi told her. He had explained to Sakura that Mary has a strength: tenacity. She has a will to win at all costs. That’s why he wants Mary for himself.

Aoi bet a billion on himself winning this and he bet another billion on the Literary Club in the great bloom memorial. If the Literary Club wins the Conquer the Land game, they earn a billion, and Aoi becomes student council president. In this scenario, both sides stand to benefit greatly. Sakura believes there’s no reason for them to compete against each other.

Sakura thinks that Aoi has all but granted victory to Mary. Aoi praised Mary for her drive to win, he wondered what Mary would do if the victory was given to her. It would warp Mary’s will. Sakura realized that Aoi recognized Mary as his enemy. Mary kept defeating Full-Bloom councilors, so she became a threat to Aoi. Mary also refused to join Full-Bloom. Aoi is thus attempting to break her. He made a ploy to defeat Mary and Kirari at the same time.

Mary is frustrated by Aoi having his way with her. Aoi tells her that he’s sure she’ll be willing to accept him. He explains that it’s the only way to become a winner. Aoi knows that Mary hates being given victory by him. He reminds her that if she defies him, she won’t have a debt of one billion yen, the whole Literary Club will. Yukimi and Tsuzura would have debts too.

Sakura feels that Aoi has fully grasped the essence of Mary. She’s convinced that Aoi has executed the perfect strategy, and that there’s not any opening in it. She thinks that Mary is cornered. Tsuzura asks Mary why she wanted to become a winner in the first place. She reminds Mary of her first day at Hyakkaou. Tsuzura was a mittens. One day, Mary showed up. Although Tsuzura was a housepet, Mary taught her that in order to keep from being picked on, help retain her dignity, and help see her will through the end, she had to become a winner.

Mary is shocked by what Tsuzura is implying. Tsuzura declares that if she’s forced to take a victory that’s just given to her, she'd rather be a loser any day. Aoi is stunned. Sakura can’t believe it. She reminds Tsuzura that the Literary Club will have a debt of one billion yen if they lose. Sakura tells Tsuzura that she’ll be a housepet forever. Tsuzura answers that her own will is driving her. Yukimi admits that she doesn’t have a will like that. She says that however, if someone she likes has that kind of desire, she wants to help make it happen, while looking at Mary. Yukimi adds that they’ve been cornered lots of times before now, and they’ve always figured something out.

Mary thanks Tsuzura and Yukimi. Mary declares to Aoi that the Literary Club will purposefully lose the game. Aoi believes he read Mary perfectly. He thinks he went wrong with the feelings of those close to her. He had never considered them. Aoi tells the Literary Club that as long as he loses, nothing changes. He says that from here on in, this gamble is a battle for the bottom. Sachiko enters the room and asks Aoi if he thinks that it’s fun. Aoi asks Sachiko why she is here. Mikura brings loads of cash. Sachiko asks Yukimi to have a side bet with her. Sachiko bets that the Literary Club will win Conquer the Land. She announces that the stakes are one billion yen.

Now, no matter who wins, the Literary Club neither gains, nor loses, one billion yen. They also have no chance of winning the Great Bloom Prize. Aoi’s scheme will fail. Aoi asks Sachiko if Kirari ordered this. Sachiko answers no. She did this because she wanted to. Sachiko adds that if Kirari knew Aoi’s scheme, she’d just observe it. Aoi tells Sachiko that she’ll lose one billion to him if he wins. He asks her why she is willing to take such a risk. Sachiko responds that she can’t abide him teasing and tormenting Mary all he wants. He cornered Mary without giving her a chance to fight. Sachiko says that it’s no fun at all. Sachiko wants to see Mary struggle, worry, and agonize, and whether she faces total ruin or obtains everything for herself.

Aoi finds that he read the whole situation wrong. Mary’s drive is far stronger than he ever thought, and anyone who sees it can’t help but be invigorated. Aoi asks Ruri what the total bet amount is. Ruri announces that there are 1,030,240,000 yen riding on Aoi’s victory, and 28,950,000 yen riding on the Literary Club’s victory. The betting window is now officially closed. Aoi announces that the Call to Action won’t be over, and that he will repeat the same process after earning a billion yen. Tsuzura asks Sachiko if she’s sure she wants to do this. Sachiko answers that all she wants from her is one thing: to beat Aoi.

## Quick References

### Character Appearances

* Sakura Miharutaki
* Aoi Mibuomi
* Yukimi Togakushi
* Mary Saotome
* Tsuzura Hanatemari
* Ruri Fuen
* Sachiko Juraku
* Mikura Sado

### Chapter Notes

* Sachiko made a side bet of one billion yen on the Literary Club’s victory.
* The students bet a total of 1,030,240,000 yen on Aoi’s victory, and 28,950,000 yen on the Literary Club’s victory.

## References

1. ↑ Mary defeated:
Sakura in Treasure Hunt;
Naoko, Houko, and Ouri in Hidden Rules;
Nagi in Full Count Blackjack.