After Tadashi shot himself and collapsed to the floor, coughing up blood, his opponents burst into laughter.
The Guy: "And they call you the legendary gambler?!"
Tadashi struggled to stand while still coughing.
Tadashi: "Don't get too cocky... Gambling is full of deception."
The Guy: "Empty words!"
Referee: "Let's begin the fourth round."
The bullet positions appeared for them as usual.
While the girl was thinking carefully and anxiously about her next move, Ayano remained completely calm as always.
Ayano: "Hey..."
The Girl: "What?"
Ayano: "What did you mean earlier?"
The Girl: "About what?"
Ayano: "About Tadashi. You said it was strange he had a partner."
The Girl: "You're really new at this. You know he's a famous professional, right?"
Ayano: "Yes, so?"
The Girl: "Didn't you wonder - if he's so famous and skilled, shouldn't everyone want to be his partner? Why he have no partner? Then he chose a girl who doesn't know anything about gamble?"
Ayano froze in place. The girl's words made perfect sense. If he was such a professional, why would he need her?
Ayano: "Why...?"
The Girl: "Because Tadashi always ends up getting his partners killed."
Ayano's eyes widened in shock.
Ayano: "What?"
Referee: "Now let's see the results."
Ayano's guesses: First bullet real, second real, sixth fake.
The girl's guesses: First fake, second fake, fourth fake.
Without hesitation, Tadashi immediately fired at his opponent - a real bullet.
His opponent collapsed instantly, coughing blood.
Referee: "It's over..."
After coughing violently, the guy struggled to stand, only to find Tadashi aiming at him again.
Tadashi fired again. Another real bullet.
The guy fell to the ground, his armor shattered, now a lifeless corpse.
Behind the glass, his partner trembled in fear. She looked back to see a referee standing with a gun pointed at her.
He fired. She too collapsed to the ground.
A splatter of blood landed on Ayano's cheek, and she lost touch with reality.
Tadashi entered her area and found her frozen, so he pointed the shotgun at her and fired a blank to snap her out of it.
Ayano: "Can you stop doing that?"
Tadashi: "Only if you promise to stay in reality."
After this, they were blindfolded and led out of the area.
Later with the referees:
Referee: "That was a strange match."
Referee 2: "I can't believe Tadashi almost lost."
Referee: "But that's not true."
Referee 2: "What do you mean?"
Referee: "Tadashi secured his victory when he was stalling for time."
Referee 2: "What? Wasn't he stalling because he didn't know where the real bullet was?"
Referee: "No."
Referee 2: "Are you saying he knew its location and still shot himself?"
Referee: "Of course. When his hands were shaking, it wasn't from uncertainty - he knew the next one was real. He was nervous about shooting himself on purpose."
Referee 2: "Why would he do that?"
Referee: "To win, obviously. Remember what was said at the start of the third round - that it was the final round with only one real bullet. That meant the fourth round would have two or more real bullets."
Referee 2: "And how does that connect to him shooting himself?"
Referee: "Both players had taken one normal shot by then. The game would end on the third shot. If Tadashi had fired at his opponent then, he would have lost because his opponent would go first in the fourth round. With multiple real bullets, he would have followed his partner's guesses and ignored Ayano's completely."
Referee 2: "So he shot himself to ensure he'd go first next round?"
Referee: "Exactly. The rules state the last one to be shot at goes first in the next round."
Referee 2: "But how would he communicate this to his partner? They never had time to plan."
Referee: "They planned it beforehand. When I was escorting them to the venue earlier..."
[Flashback]
In the car transporting them to the first game venue, Tadashi and Ayano sat blindfolded in the back.
Tadashi: "Listen."
Ayano: "What?"
Tadashi: "You're going to mess up."
Ayano: "Huh? We're not even there yet."
Tadashi: "don't know which game we're going to play, but when I give you the signal, act disgraceful—and act stupid."
Ayano: "If this is a backup plan, fine. But what's the signal?"
Tadashi paused before answering.
Tadashi: "You'll know it when you see it."
[Present]
Referee: "I suspect he didn't tell her directly because he knew I was listening."
Referee 2: "He doesn't even trust the referees?"
Referee: "he doesn't."
Referee 2: "So when he realized the next round had multiple real bullets, he stalled until his partner recognized the signal. When she did, he hesitated briefly before shooting himself to secure victory."
Referee: "Exactly. It was a good plan, but this level of thinking won't be enough. This was only the first round - things will get much worse for both of them from here."