After we finished lunch, we spent some time wandering through the festival at a leisurely pace to walk off the meal. Perhaps because large monsters were allowed to participate as pets today, the streets were wide enough that walking with Bell felt perfectly comfortable.
Rin seemed to have entered her afternoon nap after getting her fill. She was tucked inside my clothes, breathing peacefully as she slept—a rather clever way to doze off, honestly.
As we strolled along without any particular destination in mind, Fia-sensei suddenly came to a halt. She looked off to the right, narrowing her eyes as if she’d spotted something.
"...Isn't that Ru-chan and the others?"
"...Eh? Sorry, it's too far for me to see clearly."
"It is indeed Duchess Lilia and her group," Noin-san added. "They appear to be troubled by something."
Fia-sensei and Noin-san might have been able to see them, but all I could make out in the distance was what looked like a white mountain with a crowd gathered at its base.
"Well, we happened across them for a reason," Fia-sensei said. "Let’s go say hello."
"I agree," Noin-san replied.
"I do too... even though I still can't actually see them," I chimed in.
I was curious about Noin-san’s observation that they looked "troubled," so I went along with Fia-sensei’s suggestion. We veered left, heading toward the spot where Lilia-san and her group were—presumably—standing.
As we closed the distance, I finally caught sight of them. Lilia-san, Luna-san, and Sieg-san were standing in front of that "white mountain." Up close, I realized it was literally a mountain of stacked white boxes, each about ten centimeters square.
Just as Noin-san had predicted, the three of them were locked in a very serious discussion. I managed to catch snippets of their conversation as we drew near.
"I believe we should go on the offensive..."
"Luna, that's irresponsible. The potential return is high, yes, but the risk is... right, Sieg?"
"...Yes. It’s a difficult choice."
We were close enough to be seen, but they were so engrossed in their consultation that they didn't even notice us. They looked so intense that I actually felt a bit hesitant to interrupt.
"Heeey! Ru-chan, Lilia-chan, Sieg-chan!"
"""Fia-sensei!?"""
While I was hesitating, Fia-sensei dove right in without a second thought. The three of them spun around, looking startled.
"What a coincidence, meeting you here. You all look so serious—what's going on?"
Fia-sensei’s social skills were on another level. I’d started to think I was getting better at this myself lately, but watching her effortless approach made me realize I still had a long way to go.
At her cheerful inquiry, the three of them pointed toward the mountain of boxes behind them almost in unison.
"...Hmm? Let's see... 'Six Kings Festival Limited Monster Lottery. 1 Draw: 1 Gold Coin'?"
"Yes," Lilia-san began to explain. "We were debating whether or not Sieg should give it a try..."
As Fia-sensei read the sign, the situation became clear. A Monster Lottery... Ah, I see. Those white boxes were disposable Magic Boxes, just like Random Boxes. Still, there were an incredible amount of them. Thousands—maybe tens of thousands.
And at one million yen per draw, it was one hell of an expensive gacha.
"Is this for Sieg-chan?"
"Actually, Sieg has been wanting to get a monster of her own..."
"Yes, but..." Luna-san interjected, supplementing Lilia-san's words. "Every monster Sieg finds 'cute' is far beyond her budget. Milady offered to lend her the money, but Sieg insists on buying it with her own funds if possible."
Sieg-san had been so enthusiastic about buying a monster when we met this morning, but it seemed the high prices were proving to be a significant hurdle.
"...Then, while we were searching, we stumbled upon this."
"A Monster Lottery... So you draw and get a random monster?" I asked.
"Yes," Sieg-san replied. "To be precise, you win a Monster Egg."
"Eh? But aren't eggs usually expensive?"
Sieg-san’s expression clouded over as I asked that.
"Yes, they are... which is probably why this lottery has so many 'duds' in the mix."
"Duds?"
"Apparently, only about ten percent of the boxes contain eggs. The rest are breeding tools or miniature models."
"I see..."
I nodded. If you thought of it as a gacha, ten percent wasn't actually that bad—but at one Gold Coin per pull, it was an incredibly steep gamble. With the money Sieg-san had saved, she only had about three chances.
Noin-san, who had been quiet until then, spoke up while staring at the mountain of boxes.
"...If it's a lottery, I assume the grand prizes are exceptional monsters?"
"Yes!" Lilia-san exclaimed. "The Grand Prize is a Rainbow Dragon, said to be the most beautiful of all dragon species!"
"What!? A-A Rainbow Dragon? That's incredible..." Fia-sensei gasped.
"Indeed. Even the First Prize is a Black Metal Dragon, and the Second Prize is a Graptail!"
"As expected of a festival hosted by Magnawell-sama," Noin-san remarked.
If Lilia-san was this excited, they had to be top-tier monsters. Fia-sensei and Noin-san were clearly impressed as well, though the significance didn't quite register with me.
Sensing my confusion, Luna-san stepped closer to explain.
"Rainbow Dragons are exceedingly rare. It's said only five of them currently exist in the entire world. They are astronomically expensive—they almost never hit the market, but if one did, it would easily fetch over a thousand Platinum Coins."
"That much...?"
"Rainbow Dragons produce Rainbow Diamonds, known as 'Supreme Gems,' on their tails. These diamonds grow back about once a year even if harvested, so even at a thousand Platinum Coins, the dragon would pay for itself in no time."
"I-I see. That makes sense."
"Even I'm surprised," Luna-san admitted. "A Rainbow Dragon egg... 'rare' doesn't even begin to cover it."
So the prizes were legendary. No wonder there were so many people trying their luck. It seemed gacha was a pit of darkness no matter what world you were in.
As I was thinking that, Lilia-san and Sieg-san looked troubled again.
"...If she hits the jackpot, it would be possible for Sieg to get a dragon within her budget. But if she misses..."
"Yeah, it’s a tough call. There are so many boxes... unless you have incredible luck, it's—oh?" Fia-sensei stopped mid-sentence.
" " " " ...Luck?" " " "
"...Huh?"
The moment Fia-sensei murmured that word with a pained expression, everyone’s eyes locked onto me.
"Luna, what do you think?" Lilia-san asked.
"I consider Miyama-sama's luck to be at an inhuman level," Luna-san replied instantly.
"I agree," Fia-sensei added. "If it's Miyama-kun, he’s got a real shot, right?"
"Yes," Noin-san nodded. "I believe Kaito-san could pull it off."
"Wait... eh? Um..."
Wait a minute. Is this happening? Even without the "perhaps," am I being asked to draw for her? The pressure is insane! If I pull a dud, I’ll be crushing Sieg-san's dreams!
As I stood there flustered, Sieg-san stepped forward and bowed deeply, holding out three Gold Coins.
"...Please, Kaito-san. Please... lend me your strength."
"...Y-You can count on me."
She’s my girlfriend, and she’s asking so nicely. My dignity as a man would be non-existent if I didn't step up here. Right. Worst case scenario, if I miss... I’ll just pay out of pocket and keep pulling until I get something.
Dear Mother, Father—In a bizarre turn of events, I’ve ended up drawing the Monster Lottery as Sieg-san's proxy. To be honest, the pressure is out of this world. Please, God. Let me pull a monster that will make Sieg-san happy. Please let me draw it.
Eden Maman: "Understood. Luck Value: Maximum Correction."
Lethargic God: "Okaaaay."
Natural God: "I have been requested."
[Kaito's Luck Power has been increased by +9,999,999,999] [Lottery probabilities have been manipulated by the God of Fate] [The future in which Kaito draws the Grand Prize has been established as the Causality of the World by the Creator God]
Serious-senpai zero: "...I see zero chance of failure here. The protagonist is a literal monster."