Beginner's Luck (1)

"Ugh... I wish I were just useless... How did I end up catching the eye of that monster? I want to wake her up and ask her myself."

No sooner had King Arthur finished speaking than a groan escaped the man's lips, as if he were finally regaining consciousness.

"Ngh-h..."

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Perhaps because the man's groan sounded so suggestive, the sound of gulping throats echoed from every direction, all at once.

Feeling that if he didn't wake up quickly, something truly disastrous might happen, King Arthur spoke with desperate sincerity, hoping the man resting on her lap would hear her and stir.

"Hey, a man shouldn't just lie there so defenseless... If you keep this up, something big is going to happen... Wake up, quickly..."

Did King Arthur's desperation reach him?

The man’s consciousness seemed to return; he furrowed his brow and slowly opened his eyes.

Merlin, who had been nursing(?) him with a lap pillow, glanced around as if to ward off the other heroes from approaching him, then quickly asked if he was alright.

"Are you okay...?"

"Ugh, I... I'm okay. You didn't abandon me, you protected me... Thank you so much..."

The man seemed utterly exhausted. He tried to slowly slide off Merlin's lap to stand, but perhaps due to the massive blood loss, he immediately slumped back down to the ground.

Nevertheless, he gripped one of Merlin’s hands with both of his, offering his heartfelt thanks for her protection.

Gulp...

Merlin twisted a lock of her bangs with her free hand, swallowed hard, and replied with a flushed face.

"It’s nothing. I’m sorry for being so harsh at first... You’re very different from other men. Hehehe..."

"Hahaha..."

Seeing Merlin acting like a flustered young girl at the man’s sheepish laugh, Cheonma suddenly felt a surge of irritation. She stepped forward and demanded,

"Hey, was she the only one who worked hard? What about us?"

"Ah, I apologize... I... I didn't think deeply enough."

"Hmph. We clearly gave you the chance to prove yourself, just as you asked, and we bought you the time to use ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your abilities. We kept our promise. Now it's your turn to keep yours."

"You're right... Thank you all, truly. Thanks to you, I was recognized and managed to survive."

"We haven't recognized you yet, have we? You're quite delusional, aren't you? How cheeky."

"...Thanks to you, I was given the chance to survive."

"...Hmph."

It wasn't the answer Cheonma was looking for, but she seemed satisfied that he didn't argue and accepted it immediately. She gave a single nod, her gaze toward him losing the hostility it had held before.

"I hope our hard work in waiting for you, even after you collapsed, was the right choice~ Hmm? Surely... that red wave wasn't all you had, right?"

Cheonma asked with a tone full of expectation, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠implying that she had been generous enough to wait for him instead of abandoning him.

"Hoo... I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

The man took a deep breath and stood up.

"..."

"..."

"...Thank you once again."

The man met the eyes of the heroes one by one, bowed his head to express his gratitude again, and then called upon the status window, firmly believing it would have changed.

"Status Window!"

A moment later, a rectangular frame unfolded before his eyes.

...

....

.....

As I examined the status window with a pounding heart, I noticed a change in the inventory tab.

GACHA COIN x 100

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One... One hundred!!?

There were 100 GACHA COINs in my inventory!

Kwooooooooh!

"Yeeeeeeeeesssss!!!"

"...!"

At the sight of the 100 coins I had obtained with such difficulty, I was so preoccupied with the thought of rolling the gacha that I completely forgot the presence of the heroes in front of me. I struck a victory pose, full of happiness, and shouted while waving my hands back and forth.

Startled by my voice, Cheonma, who was closest to me, flinched and then glared at me with a fierce, axe-eyed expression.

Thinking I should change the subject quickly before Cheonma’s mood soured further, I tried to chant the spell to summon the Rock-Paper-Scissors machine I had stored in my sub-space, but I was forced to stop by Merlin, who stepped forward to restrain me.

"Stop! You, you were about to use another ability, weren't you?"

"Huh? Yes... well, yes. My life is on the line right now... and as you can see, Cheonma is looking at me like she wants to kill me."

"Cheonma. There are too many eyes here. Let’s return to our camp first. This is the Angel faction's territory, but if we accept him as a comrade, we'd be exposing our forces too much. Hmm? Let's go back."

"..."

At Merlin's dissuasion, Cheonma closed her eyes for a moment, but soon opened them and gave a single nod, as if to say she understood.

"Alright! Everyone, get into position."

At Merlin's command, each hero began to take their positions in an orderly fashion.

To me, standing there awkwardly, Merlin held out one hand, gripped mine tightly, and said,

"You have to be in contact with me to teleport, you know~"

"...Ahem."

Merlin giggled, then raised her white staff, which had an emerald orb embedded in it, toward the sky, closed her eyes, and shouted,

"MASS TELEPORT!"

Vwoooom-

No sooner had Merlin finished speaking than, just like before I arrived here, a slight vibration hummed, and circular green magic circles began to form beneath everyone's feet.

As a green film enveloped everyone's bodies, we began to float slightly, and a crackling sound of radio interference erupted.

Tzzzzzzzt-

As our bodies settled onto the magic circles beneath our feet, the green film surrounding us shattered with a sound like breaking glass.

Crackle-crash-shatter!

The scene I saw after the teleportation was not the darkness-filled forest I had seen when I was first dragged here by the angel, but the front of the campfire where I had first met the six heroes.

"Fire."

Whoosh-

With Merlin's magic spell, the campfire, which had been fading, began to burn fiercely once more.

Thud.

Lancelot, who had bumped into my shoulders like a shoulder-check as she passed behind me, began to head toward her spot among the five remaining rocks.

"..."

That feels really bad...

If she wanted me to move, she could have just asked. Is it too much trouble to open her mouth, so she has to shoulder-check me instead?

Or does she just hate me that much...

As I stared at Lancelot's back with a sense of hurt, King Arthur apologized with a regretful look.

"Sorry... she’s a bit... expressive with her emotions..."

"No, it's... it's fine."

"...Hurry up and reveal your ability. Why does it take forever to show us something? How great could it be? For a man."

"...Ah, yes..."

Cheonma, who didn't seem to want to give me any more time, urged me on with a sharp rebuke.

Thinking of the Rock-Paper-Scissors machine in my inventory, I reached out my arm and shouted,

"... Sub-space Open."

Huh?

Vwoooom-

Ignoring Merlin's startled voice at the mention of the sub-space, a black sphere that looked like a black hole appeared about 3 meters from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my fingertips.

Vwoooom-

The form of the Rock-Paper-Scissors machine, integrated with a chair, began to slowly emerge.

A moment later...

Diri-ring-ding-ri-ring ♪

A melody flowed from the machine, and the Rock-Paper-Scissors machine, with its colorful, flashing LEDs and a screen glowing in brilliant, dazzling light, finally revealed itself before the heroes.

"...W-what is this?"

"Whoa..."

Looking at Cheonma's flustered expression, I saw her eyes wide with shock at the machine that had appeared.

Merlin, who was next to Cheonma, had her mouth agape; perhaps her curiosity as a mage had been piqued, as she began to slowly approach the machine.

Just as Merlin reached out her hand to touch it,

Zap-!

Bwoom-

With the sound of sparks, a repulsive force seemed to push back, knocking Merlin's hand away.

Merlin turned her head to look at me.

Judging by her expression, she looked desperate to examine the machine.

Does she think she can get whatever she wants just by looking?

I smiled brightly at Merlin and said,

"Nope~ Not allowed~"