Shipping the SDRA2 Cast With Each Other

Sannohashi/Syobai Hashimoto x Mikado Sannoji

"Ah, so you really came, Mr. Hashimoto!" Mikado chirped as he sat in the Monocruise's warehouse. The wizard had moved a table and two chairs into the room, and on the table were two large cups and ten dice. These were divided evenly in front of the chairs, so each side had a large cup and five dice.

Syobai walked into the warehouse, surveying the setup in front of him. "This is where you impress me, right?" He remarked sarcastically before pulling out a chair and sitting down. "So, what exactly are you paying me to do?"

"Well, I need to learn how to play the game 'liar's dice'. You see, Ms. Chiebukuro bet a whole week of cleaning that I wouldn't be able to beat her in liar's dice, and even though I like cleaning, my pride is a lot bigger." The wizard explained, sitting down across from the broker. "I would like you to teach me how to play this."

"Liar's dice? Alright, that game's pretty easy. And you got all the right materials, nice." Syobai chuckled. "Alright, so first, I have to tell you what you do in the game."

"Alright." Mikado nodded.

"Basically, you shake the dice in the cup and then slam the cup onto the table, but you don't pick it up. Instead," Syobai tilted his cup on an angle to demonstrate to Mikado, "you open it like this so that only you see the dice underneath."

"Got it. So, you don't want the other player to see your own dice?" The wizard questioned.

"That's right, the main goal of the game is to strategically guess how many of a dice number are on the table at once. That means all the players, not just your dice." The broker continued. "But if the other person says a bid that you don't think is true, you can take the cup off to reveal their dice."

"What's a bid?" Mikado chimed in.

"Every turn, a player starts out with a bid, or a guess at how many number of dice are on the table at once. For example, two threes or five twos." Syobai explained. "Each turn, a player has three options to adjust the existing bid: you increase the number of dice, but keep the same face, like increasing three fives to four fives; you increase the number of dice and change the face, like increasing three fives to four twos; or you keep the same number of dice, but change the face, like increasing four twos to four threes. Keep in mind that when you up the number of dice, you can only do it by ones, and the number of dice can't lower."

"Okay, I think I've got it. So, what happens with the bid and the 'taking the cup off' thing?" The blonde inquired.

"Well, if the bid is lower than the amount of dice on the table, the one who takes the cup off loses. But if the bid is too high and the player with the bid can't put their money where their mouth is, they lose." The broker concluded. "Sometimes you have to be honest, sometimes you have to bluff. That's the only way to win liar's dice."

"Well, that makes sense. But I hope that what you had taught me is st least correct." Mikado hummed. Dropping his voice low, he spoke as if he were in a trace, "I just don't want to be betrayed again."

"What do you mean? As long as a customer pays me, I won't go back on my word." Syobai reminded with a raised eyebrow, able to hear the wizard's muttering. "This should be enough to suffice for you to win your little 'competition' or whatever, but I guess I should play once with you to make sure that the lesson sinks in."

As Syobai reminded Mikado of some of the instructions as he went along, they shook the dice in the cup before slamming it on the table. Mikado tilted his cup and looked underneath. He had one four and four fives. That seemed to be the result of Divine Luck in the end.

"I'll go first." Syobai began. "I bet two twos. Your turn, and remember the rules I taught you."

Mikado looked at his dice again and swallowed his nervousness. "Three twos."

"Four fours." The broker replied. Mikado was beginning to get nervous.

"Four fives." The wizard spine, being a little too honest.

Syobai looked under his cup again. He had three fives, a two, and a one. He had a feeling that Mikado had at least one five so he decided to try and bait the wizard to see if he'd stick with the fives or not. "Five threes."

"Six fives." Mikado replied. At this point, Syobai was suspicious. He already had three fives of his own, and it would be unlikely that Mikado had three fives as well. After a brief moment of thinking, he stood up and took Mikado's cup off.

To his shock, Mikado didn't have three fives, but four of them. The bid was lower than the number of dice, and Syobai had lost. The broker sat down and took his cup off his dice, revealing them to the wizard. "You won. Good game."

"That was fun! Can we do it again?" The wizard chirped, looking like an excited puppy.

The broker had to resist his laughter. "Sure. This time, we're gonna bet money on the game. Get your handbook out and get ready to roll your dice again."