"Thank you for playing." "Thank you for playing..." "Thank you for playing!"
When Fu Hua put all her remaining twenty tokens into the machine, she received ten melodious "Thank you for playing" notifications.
Evan tried hard to make his expression look serious and turned his head to look at the dumbfounded staff member next to him.
"This machine of yours... doesn't have a pity system?"
"P-Pity system? The winning rate is as high as 50%; there shouldn't be any need for a pity system at all. This is the first time I've seen someone draw ten times and get nothing. Logically speaking, the probability of failing ten times in a row is very low—even lower than the probability of drawing the super grand prize in one go."
While Evan was talking to the staff member, Fu Hua lowered her head and remained silent. This elegant and cool class monitor seemed to be having some mentality issues.
Making a customer feel negative emotions was a dereliction of duty.
Seeing this, the staff member quickly spoke up.
"I think the machine might have malfunctioned. Customer, you seem to still have some game tokens left. How about this: try a few more times. If it's still 'Thank you for playing,' you two can use the tokens spent on this machine as equivalent cash to buy snacks or drinks at the counter."
The staff member said this to Evan, after all, Fu Hua's game tokens were already used up.
If the spent game tokens could be used to buy things, it wouldn't be a loss.
Fu Hua, who had lowered her head, looked up again and gazed at Evan, signaling him with her eyes to draw a few times to see if the machine was really broken.
The girl's eyes were full of hope—the hope of seeing Evan also draw "Thank you for playing," proving that the machine was indeed faulty.
The staff member also stepped aside. The probability of failing ten times in a row was indeed too low. This wasn't just a simple matter of bad luck (face being black); if one had to describe it, this was a Supreme Chief of Bad Luck (African Chief), surpassing ordinary unlucky people.
Although she asked Evan to try again, the staff member was already certain in her heart that the machine was broken, not that the girl who drew earlier had bad luck.
Evan, who roughly guessed their thoughts from Fu Hua and the staff member's expressions and actions, felt considerable psychological pressure. After silently praying, he inserted two tokens.
"Congratulations, you have won a snack. Please claim it at the counter with the ticket."
"..."
Under the electronic notification sound, everyone fell silent.
Looking at the ticket spat out by the machine, Evan didn't know if he should take it. He turned his head and looked at the staff member with a questioning gaze.
"Does this machine really not have a pity system? Like, if you don't win ten times in a row, you're guaranteed to win the next time?"
The flame of hope reignited in Fu Hua's heart, who had begun to doubt life. Together with Evan, she looked at the staff member. Her gaze contained too many things. Facing such a gaze, the young counter lady showed a bewildered expression.
"Uh, probably, maybe, possibly... there is?"
"I see. But even with a pity system, this winning rate is still a bit low. So Fu Hua, let's play some other games..."
"You still have quite a few game tokens, right? Draw a few more times."
Although Fu Hua's tone didn't sound much different from usual, Evan could be sure that her current state was very problematic.
With Fu Hua's polite personality, it was absolutely impossible for her to interrupt someone mid-sentence and then say such a command-like statement.
"...Let's not?"
Evan was a little nervous.
Fu Hua didn't speak, just looked at Evan.
"Ahem, then I'll start drawing."
Evan inserted two more tokens. When the "Thank you for playing" notification sounded, a smile uncontrollably appeared on Fu Hua's face. However, this smile didn't last long. As Evan inserted two more tokens, a new notification sound came.
"Congratulations, you have won a drink. Please claim it at the counter with the ticket."
Evan knew he couldn't continue!
Although Evan, who had drawn Friendship Supplies many times, knew he wasn't a lucky emperor (European Emperor), he also understood that his luck wasn't too bad; he often had good luck when needed. It was fine to win ordinary prizes now, but if he got that super grand prize in the next few draws, Fu Hua might turn dark (yandere/evil).
There seemed to be a hint of turning dark already.
Danger!
Evan directly pulled Fu Hua to the counter, then turned his head and shouted to the staff member who hadn't reacted yet.
"We're here to redeem prizes. Also, we'll buy some more snacks. What's in that top prize deluxe food combo? We'll buy one."
Fu Hua's hand was very soft, completely unlike the type who used gauntlets for attacks over a long period. Evan, who grabbed the girl's soft hand in a hurry, could feel that smoothness. However, Evan had no mind to savor this ambiguous touch right now; his task was to soothe Fu Hua.
"Momentary luck doesn't prove anything. Don't let this kind of probability event affect your mood. Are there any other games you want to play?"
"No need. It's getting late, let's stop here. Thank you for letting me know about this place, the arcade."
Fu Hua seemed to have listened to Evan's advice; her way of speaking and tone returned to normal.
Evan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright then. If there's a chance next time, let's come to the arcade again."
After enjoying snacks and drinks with Fu Hua, Evan offered to walk her home out of gentlemanly manners. As expected, he was refused. After walking together for a while, when they encountered a fork in the road, the two, whose residences were in different directions, naturally parted ways.
A moment later, Fu Hua, who had walked halfway, watched Evan's figure disappear completely from her field of vision in the other direction, then turned her steps and returned to the arcade.
"I'll buy twenty game tokens."
Looking at the staff member who showed a bewildered expression at the customer who returned, Fu Hua took out money and said.
Read ahead with 100+ chapters now with daily updates!
@patreon.com/Zefyrus