As long as you can learn some skills.
And if you happen to be meeting at a game center or arcade, your chance of winning at a claw machine will skyrocket to 100%.
However, if you can't grab a doll and get angry, then keep putting in more money, which makes your girlfriend feel bad and becomes a bad memory, that possibility is a little bit bigger than the first one.
Even so, a considerable number of busybodies still gather around the claw machines.
Even if they don't play themselves, watching other people fail is an enjoyable experience.
"Speaking of which, Miku, are there any dolls you like?"
"A warlord from the Warring States Period..."
Halfway through, she realized she misspoke. She looked around and didn't see any dolls like that.
"A hedgehog."
Miku gave another answer. Rather than dolls, she preferred hedgehogs as animals.
A hedgehog, huh? Natsuhiko chuckled to himself. An animal covered in spikes, that really fits Miku's usual image.
But.
There just happened to be hedgehogs in the various claw machines.
"Let's go over there."
Miku hesitated for a moment and followed Natsuhiko closely behind.
Right now, a family of five, a man, a woman, and three girls, were playing the claw machine.
One of them was fussing in the mother's arms.
The other two stood timidly to the side. The man, wearing ordinary clothes, stood in front of the claw machine and awkwardly operated the mechanical arm.
"Yuri, what kind of doll do you think Hina would like? Sora, Miu, and you too, watch Dad show off his skills and grab one for each of you!"
Natsuhiko clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Miku, look at that family. They almost have as many people as your family."
The little girls were all very cute and likable.
The woman was wearing a dress that didn't look like something a mother of three would wear. She was also very pretty. When she heard Natsuhiko's words, she
Pulled apart the little hand of the girl named Hina.
And smiled brightly.
"Come on, say hi to big brother~"
The baby made noises, clearly unable to speak.
But Miku quietly approached Natsuhiko's ear.
"I'm going to make this clear first, you're not allowed to get any funny ideas about their daughters~"
Who would!
Besides, they're still kids.
Natsuhiko didn't expect Miku to think that. It was definitely one of the negative effects of her words on the first day.
"I'm not talking nonsense, they're all so cute!"
"..."
But the baby didn't know.
The two little girls were indeed very pretty.
One had her long hair tied into pigtails, and the other had a cowlick sticking up on top of her black hair. You could tell they had the potential to grow into beautiful women.
Natsuhiko moved his mouth to Miku's ear.
"It's not too late to make a move when they grow up..."
He earned a glare in return.
Just then, the two girls made sounds of disappointment. The two of them turned their attention back to the claw machine. It turned out that the father had failed, as was often the case.
"Aw~"
The four of them, including the young mother, all made a sound of regret.
The man chuckled and rolled up his sleeves. "I'll get the dog that Sora likes, the little devil that Miu likes, and the pink doll that I'm saving for Hina, no matter what!"
The man showed off his fatherly spirit, shouting loudly.
I must say.
He's really putting on a show!
But.
If winning at claw machines only depended on spirit, everyone would go home loaded, right?
In fact, as the man kept putting in coins, they all went to waste.
Natsuhiko also witnessed the situation where the first burst of energy fades, then wanes, and finally gives out.
The man's confidence grew weaker and weaker, and his expression became more and more ugly.
Instead, the young mother named Yuri tugged at her husband's sleeve. "Shingo, why don't we stop playing? We could just go buy three dolls. The number of coins you've put in already exceeds the actual value of the dolls."
She's a good woman.
Natsuhiko thought after hearing that.
But the one named Shingo was a little discouraged. He seemed to have encountered the Waterloo of his life taking his daughters out to play. He wanted to give up, but he really couldn't refuse his daughters' longing eyes!
Natsuhiko smiled.
And was elbowed by Miku in secret.
"Why are you still laughing? Can't you see he's feeling bad?"
He took the opportunity to press down on Miku's shoulder.
"Miku, do you know what the name of the claw machine god is?"
The two little girls clearly heard Natsuhiko's voice and turned their heads at the same time.
Natsuhiko flashed a bright white smile.
"It's me!"
"..."
Natsuhiko moved to the front of the claw machine.
"Uncle, how about I help you grab one?"
The uncle froze for a moment. After putting in an unknown number of coins, he finally realized that he was useless. It was really great that this young man in a school uniform was willing to lend a hand.
He was overjoyed and handed over the three game coins he had in his hand.
"I'll go get more!"
After saying that, he hurried off to find the staff to exchange some more.
Natsuhiko stopped him.
He tossed the three coins that had been given to him and the two he had in the air, catching them with a cool move.
"When the claw machine god takes action, he never returns empty-handed!"
The people around him were amazed by his spirit, and they all turned their attention to this side.
Natsuhiko skillfully inserted a coin.
Then he carefully looked around the machine, pressed the two buttons controlling the vertical and horizontal movement, and focused his mind on the claw machine.
"First, the dog!"
After taking his time, the mechanical arm stopped below the dog doll, slightly off to the side.
The people around him sighed.
So-so.
However, one of the claws of the mechanical arm cleverly hooked onto the dog's tag. After rising, although it was swaying and unstable, the object never fell.
Then, it returned to the starting point and dropped into the prize outlet.
"Wow~!"
Miku's eyes widened.
"Wow, so strong!"
The people around were full of praise.
Natsuhiko handed the dog to the girl with the cowlick.
Next was the little devil, the pink doll, the little hedgehog, and the one-eyed cat with an eye patch.
Five coins, five dolls.
[Helping the girls get their favorite dolls, Youth Points gained +4]
The whistles and applause from around him were endless.
Even the staff was alarmed and immediately came over to find out what was going on.
As a newly opened game center, they keenly sensed a business opportunity and ran over with a camera.
"Excuse me, could you please let this gentleman and the pretty girls who got the dolls take a photo for publicity?"
Natsuhiko never hits someone with a smiling face.
And it wouldn't affect him much anyway.
But Miku refused the request to take a photo together. The credit all belonged to Natsuhiko, and she didn't want to squeeze in.
Finally.
The promotional photo was of Natsuhiko holding the baby girl with the pink doll and the little girl holding two dolls. The game center handed out three copies of the photo to them on the spot.
I must say.
The owner of the game center was quite good at handling people.
"Goodbye big brother! Thank you big brother!"
Amid the little girls' sensible thanks, the two of them left the game center together.
"Here, this is yours!"
Natsuhiko stuffed the hedgehog and the one-eyed cat into Miku's arms.
"I only want the hedgehog. You can keep the one-eyed cat for yourself~"
He didn't take it.
Instead, he smiled.
"Miku, this isn't just a one-eyed cat, I'm giving it to you as Date Masamune, the famous one-eyed dragon daimyo!"
After hearing Natsuhiko's explanation.
Miku finally understood the deep meaning behind it.
Sure enough, the cat's eye patch was on the right eye, and Date Masamune's right eye was also blind.
Miku murmured to herself.
In an instant, she felt a warm current surge through her heart.
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