Fu Hua had once possessed an incomparably glorious past, and even now, after all she had experienced, she was still a rare and powerful A‑rank Valkyrie. Someone who could spend an entire day training was naturally no weakling. In terms of reflexes, observation, and judgment, she was at an extremely high level—perhaps even surpassing Himeko Murata.
At this moment, the two of them—Evan and Fu Hua—were playing a two‑player fighting game. To become a top player in such a game, what one needed precisely was fast reactions and nimble hands. Fu Hua embodied those qualities perfectly.
Unfortunately, she really had never played this kind of game before.
Although her almost photographic memory allowed the class monitor to quickly memorize the move list, she didn't know how to respond to different attacks. She didn't even know the attack style of the character Evan was controlling, while Evan could predict her moves in advance.
And so, Fu Hua lost three times in a row, utterly crushed by Evan, who held nothing back.
"It seems I still have many shortcomings. Can we play again?"
Even after three straight losses, Fu Hua's way of speaking didn't change much; she still carried the air of a top student. However, her expression was subtly different—not anger at Evan's merciless play, but eagerness and excitement.
This class monitor, often judged as old‑fashioned and stern, really enjoyed playing games.
As it happened, Evan liked games too.
So the two of them fed dozens of tokens into that machine. If Evan hadn't bought a lot in one go earlier, they might have run out of tokens by now.
About half an hour later—
"I won!"
Seeing the victory text on the screen, Fu Hua showed a joyful smile. This was the first time Evan had seen the class monitor smile, and it looked really good.
Unlike the gentle or cute smiles of other girls, Fu Hua's smile, even then, was elegant—or rather, cool.
As Evan admired Fu Hua's smiling face, he let out a small breath and took a few sips of the large soda he had bought earlier.
"Are you tired? There are seats over there. If you're tired, you should rest."
Noticing Evan's small action, Fu Hua, whose smile had yet to fade, turned and asked with some concern.
Evan shook his head.
"I'm not tired. I'm just a bit emotional. This is my first time playing games in an arcade with a girl, and for so long at that. It feels really satisfying. Not bad at all."
"Then—how about a few more rounds?"
Fu Hua looked eager to continue, and Evan naturally should keep her company.
After playing the same game for a long time, Fu Hua, who had started as a complete beginner, gradually became a seasoned player. Through her own exploration and Evan's guidance, she learned all kinds of techniques and began truly trading wins and losses with Evan.
Fu Hua reacted quickly, but Evan was no slouch either. The arcade machine's response speed was fixed; once both of them hit that limit and understood the mechanics well enough, the contest came down to mind games and a bit of prediction mixed with luck. Unfortunately for her, Fu Hua's luck didn't seem very good—she still lost more than she won.
"How about we switch to something more casual?"
Sensing that Fu Hua showed absolutely no sign of boredom or fatigue, Evan grew a bit afraid.
If he didn't take the initiative, things might continue like this for several more hours. Fu Hua seemed to have carried her tireless training spirit over to gaming, now displaying the potential of a hardcore grinder.
Terrifying.
Evan certainly wasn't tired; he just didn't want to spend a huge chunk of time on a fundamentally simple mini‑game.
"Something more casual..."
Although she felt a little regret, Fu Hua of course wouldn't refuse Evan's suggestion. Her gaze roamed around the arcade and soon stopped on a strange machine.
It wasn't an electronic screen like the fighting game, but a fixed image panel with flashing lights. It looked like some sort of lottery machine.
Since there were seats, Fu Hua decided it must be a casual game and walked over with Evan.
"Two tokens for one draw, huh... The prizes are snacks and drinks from the counter. Want to give it a try?"
Fu Hua quickly grasped the purpose of the machine. Without a doubt, this kind of game where you toss in two tokens and push a button for a random draw was extremely casual, and Fu Hua was quite tempted.
Aside from the top prize—a deluxe food combo—there were two kinds of snacks, two kinds of drinks, and a "Thank you for playing." Out of the six lighted options, five were prizes. Fu Hua felt this was practically a hidden welfare machine in the arcade.
She still had plenty of tokens. Snacks and drinks could be used as thank‑you gifts for Evan, and if she happened to win the top prize, the deluxe food combo, that would be even better.
On the other hand, Evan recalled certain "settings" about Fu Hua and his expression gradually turned complicated—a mix of anticipation for a good show and a bit of guilt.
"Fu Hua, you might not know this, but even though it looks on the surface like there's only a one‑in‑six chance of landing on 'Thank you for playing,' in reality, the true odds of winning are probably—"
"Our prize rate here is as high as fifty percent! Even the top prize has a five percent chance. Compared to other arcades, St. Freya Academy is very fair!"
Before Evan could finish, the nearby staff member interrupted him.
Since there were no other customers in the arcade, most of the staffer's attention had been on Evan and Fu Hua. Hearing Evan seem about to say something that might smear the arcade, he naturally couldn't stay silent. After all, this arcade existed more to let Valkyries and others relax than to make money. All the probability‑based games were much more generous than those outside.
It was basically like paying money to buy snacks and drinks of equivalent value, just with added entertainment and uncertainty. The arcade didn't earn much, and customers wouldn't lose much either. If lucky, one could win the top prize with just one or two tries, getting a full meal out of it.
"Alright, I'll try first."
Hearing the staffer's words, Fu Hua didn't hesitate and inserted two tokens.
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