IGTL Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – I Got Mugged by High Schoolers (1)

The pachinko hall I headed to was Paradise.

No, not to refer to a place free of suffering and filled with joy. Just a branded parlor that prided itself on offering a “unique, fresh, and fantastic playground.”

On certain days at Paradise, the hall’s mascot “Yabaira” descended.

Yabaira was a habanero-shaped “angel of luck.” On those days, the hall resounded with triumphant (and despairing) howls.

“Gyaaaah! There goes my living expenses for the month!”

On Yabaira Day, the unlucky saw their balls vanish down the nail gaps.

One man, condemned to a month of bean sprout meals, sagged in defeat.

“N-Not yet! I’m not done! I’ll keep feeding this thing until Marin-chan smiles and says ‘Lucky!’”

Next to me, a man yelled after 30,000 yen worth of pachinko balls had been collected by the machine.

Poor guy… even on Yabaira Day, not everyone got blessed.

As for me…

“Cru—el Angel♪…”

With a mere 1,000 yen investment, a single ball dropped in the center and I hit a jackpot.

From the perspective of the neighbor who had sacrificed thirty thousand, reality truly was cruel.

Behind me, a cluster of vagrants watched with envy, humming the famous theme, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis”.

While they mouthed the lyrics, I, already in decisive battle mode and hitting jackpots, found myself humming it too, mind blank.

Every clack into the attacker sent more balls flooding into the tray.

That day, I felt like I could become a legend.

The cash boxes stacking up behind my seat told the tale.

Man, I was on a roll.

Pachinko had felt stingy lately, but apparently that had just been my imagination.

“Oh—it’s Kaoru-kun…”

The hot streak showed no sign of ending.

After lingering at Paradise for hours, I finally cashed out my winnings and started home.

Paradise had been wild.

As expected of a double-digit day, the kind when Yabaira descended.

In my hand was a wad of bills worth a month’s salary.

Walking home, I passed the big AEON mall.

“Right, there was a lottery booth near AEON… I’m feeling lucky today. Might as well buy some tickets.”

I stopped at the kiosk and, without fanfare, bought ten scratch tickets at 300 yen each.

“Excuse me, ten of these scratch tickets.”

“Certainly. Ten comes to three thousand yen.”

“Here you go.”

I took 3,000 yen from my wallet, traded it for the tickets, and the clerk handed them over.

“Exactly three thousand. May luck be with you.”

“Thanks.”

I pulled a 50-yen coin from my wallet and started scratching.

Why fifty yen? It was a good luck charm, seeking 50 times the chance of success.

Top prize: 30,000,000 yen for nine matching icons.

Second: 1,000,000 yen for eight.

Third: 100,000 yen for seven.

Fourth: 10,000 yen for six.

Fifth: 1,000 yen for five.

Sixth: 300 yen for four.

Three or fewer was a dud.

Naturally, I aimed for the top thirty million.

On this lottery, four or more matches meant a win.

I scratched the first ticket: four hearts and five others.

That was 300 yen, the sixth prize.

The Mizuho Bank mercy was such that if you buy ten tickets, you’re guaranteed to get one.

“On to number two…”

The thrum of scratching was addictive.

With the 50-yen coin, the next ticket came up five spades.

“Oh…”

I won 1,000 yen. A good omen.

Thank you to the kind auntie who picked the stack.

“All right, number three…”

Maybe I would actually bag thirty million.

I scratched: six spades.

“T-Ten thousand… yen!?”

Until then, my best lottery win had been 3,000 yen. I had already blown past it.

Hands trembling, I set the 10,000-yen winner gently on the table.

Get a grip.

It was my first time snagging ten thousand; I had let it rattle me.

“O-Okay. Next.”

I scratched, and this time seven clovers came up.

T-Ten hundred thousand, the winnings were 100,000 yen?!

Shaken, I stared at the booth lady like she was divine.

Thank you, Auntie.

By your godlike hand, I had just secured a month’s living expenses.

I was on fire.

Surely there wasn’t a thirty-million winner in the rest… right?

I scratched the remaining tickets, and left speechless.

Nine diamonds.

And not once, but six tickets like that.

“Uh… what’s thirty million times six again?”

Eighteen million?

No, no, that was wrong. I was so rattled I couldn’t do elementary math.

Calm down. Breathe.

Thirty million times six was 180,000,000 yen.

One hundred eighty million.

One hundred eighty million. Incredible.

I could probably live without working ever again.

The booth lady now looked like one of the Seven Lucky Gods.

While I pressed my hands together in reverence, she gave me the look reserved for unhinged customers.

Right. Reel it in.

I was weirding her out.

Still, what a day.

What was this day?

Fired in the morning, millionaire by late afternoon!

Oh, how I wanted to smack Director Ishida, Gout Division, across the cheek with these scratch tickets.

Scratch tickets worth 180 million yen had to have a satisfying sting.

“Auntie! Can you cash these?”

I at least tried to redeem one 30,000,000-yen ticket. She blinked at me.

“Oh my, you won the top prize!? That’s amazing. I’m sorry, but high-value prizes must be redeemed at the bank.”

“Eh, really!?”

A glance at the clock said it was past 3 p.m. Already too late today.

Tomorrow, then.

“I see… That’s a shame, but I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Congratulations. Come again.”

“Will do!”

Clutching the scratch tickets, I set off in high spirits, and bumped into someone.

“Ah, sorry—… huh?”

I looked up to find five high schoolers, chewing gum and glaring.

“Hey, old man. You think ‘sorry’ cuts it when you slam into someone? Huh?”

“Yocchan’s right. That ain’t how this works. Pay 330 yen in damages. We’re buying thirty Umaibo sticks.”

…Huh?

Three hundred thirty yen?

For muggers, their pretext was kind of cute. From someone holding 180 million in winning tickets, it was pocket change.

If they’d settle for 330 yen, I could afford to be gracious.

I was so excited I started walking without looking ahead, so I’m partly to blame too.

Extortion was over the line, but 330 yen was within tolerance.

No, why not show some adult magnanimity and make it a 500-yen coin?

I took out a 500-yen coin and slipped it to them.

“Hey, isn’t it pathetic that a grown man got mugged?”

“Yocchan’s right! Pathetic. Let’s go buy Umaibo sticks with this!”

They could say what they liked; I would let it slide.

Kids with only part-time gigs and zero adult experience couldn’t dent my mood.

If anything, I was holding an amount they couldn’t save in a lifetime.

Okay, I hadn’t cashed them yet, but still.

Heh. Take the 500 yen.

You guys, go suck on some Umaibo sticks, which cost 11 yen each.

While you were chomping happily on Umaibo, I’d be at home savoring food delivery from Demae-can*. (Japan delivery service)

“Well then, I’ll be—”

I was about to slip away when I noticed one kid eyeing my right hand.

“Hold up. Old man. What’s that you’re holding?”

“…I don’t like sharp kids.”

The wrong line slipped out.

“Hah? Did you say something? Hand it over. I’ll take it off your hands.”

Crap, he noticed the scratch tickets.

Pulling a “If it wasn’t me, you’d miss it” in real life, huh…

I needed to hide them, fast.

I took a step back; one of them closed two steps in.

Damn it. If only I had Item Storage like in the game…

While I was despairing, something odd flickered at the edge of my vision.

I looked, and saw a menu bar.

Wh-What!?

The situation was absurd, but it was a chance.

I didn’t know why there was a menu, but I would use it.

As if storing items in DW, I stashed the 180-million-yen scratch ticket, and the boys froze.

“Hey. What did you just do? Where’d the scratch ticket go?”

“Scratch ticket? What are you talking about?”

“Huh? You guys didn’t see? He had a high-value winning ticket. I caught a glimpse. He was clutching it like it was his baby. I’m sure of it.”

At the words high-value, their eyes lit up.

“So, how much?”

“It’s a scratch ticket, so maybe ten thou—no, from the way he held it, could be a hundred thousand…”

…Oh?

So they hadn’t seen what kind it was?

Damn. I should have left one of the low-prize tickets in hand.

Without letting them notice, I drew a scratch ticket from Item Storage, a non-grand-prize one, and raised both hands.

“You seriously plan on mugging a man’s winning ticket? If you do, I’ll file a police report for robbery of a high-value prize! Still want to try!?”

When I said something that sounded like a loser, the high school students trying to muggle me started laughing.