The Gambler's Downfall

"W-what is this!!!!!!!!!! A system? A qu-quest!? What is it! What is this thing I'm seeing in front of me! And 500 more Gacha Coins have been issued!? Seriously, what is going on! I can't even keep my head straight!!!!" -Merlin-

"No way... does this mean I can get Gacha Coins now too...? Wait a second... 500 coins? What are you doing! Hurry up and hand them over so I can pull the Gacha!" -Cheonma-

"A real... comrade... system...? It's fascinating..." -Lancelot-

"This is driving me crazy... This is exactly why the demons can't help but be obsessed with you, even if they tried not to... Wait a minute, Judang! Why do you keep pushing!" -Arthur-

"Young Master... finally... a chance to show once again that the Buddha exists... I shall surely demonstrate the power of the Buddha! Move aside, Arthur! Hey! Cheonma! I am first!" -Judang-

"Judging by the atmosphere, we should hold the hearing later. More importantly, hand over my coins first. I want to pull the Gacha too." -Hwaryeon-

The heroes, driven mad by the fact that they could also obtain Gacha Coins through the system, began to pester me, each demanding that I hand over their coins immediately.

Feeling exhausted by their badgering, I spoke up, hoping they would quickly decide on an order.

"...Wait... let me organize the current situation... I feel like I'm losing my mind... Everyone... can you please just decide on an order?"

"Ah! The Young Master says he is having a hard time! Therefore, I shall challenge the Gacha first, so everyone get in line!"

As Judang declared he would go first, using my excuse as a pretense, Cheonma snapped.

"...What... 'Still waters run deep,' but you've gone crazy after tasting the Gacha? Who do you think you are, deciding the order and going first?"

"No. I think it would be better to let Judang go first."

Hwaryeon reached out to restrain Cheonma, who was approaching Judang in a rage.

Cheonma glared at Hwaryeon, her face twisted in annoyance.

"What? Hwaryeon... who do you think you are... to say something like that...!"

"Hey. Look a little into the future. If he goes first and loses all his Gacha Coins, won't he resent the Buddha? Then he won't keep going on about 'Buddha this, Buddha that' to us... He'll be breaking his own faith."

"But... what if... he hits the jackpot...?"

"Didn't you see how many times he succeeded earlier? I'll bet my 500 coins that Judang's coin count hits zero, I swear it on the Yuanshi Tianzun. Is that enough?"

"...I'm definitely second."

When Hwaryeon invoked the Yuanshi Tianzun, the highest deity of her ideological foundation, and staked her own 500 coins on Judang ending up with zero, Cheonma had nothing left to say and took a step back.

Of course... with the caveat that she would be next.

"Ahem! How could mere mortals understand the will of the Buddha... Therefore, I shall show you the Buddha's will! Now, Young Master! Give me the coins!"

Emboldened by the other heroes stepping back, Judang looked at me and held out his hand, demanding the coins.

I nodded at Judang, then visualized the 500 coins being placed onto the machine's joystick from his inventory.

Soon, along with the system notification that Judang's inventory had hit zero coins, a black circular object appeared and disappeared on the joystick.

Clunk-!

Slide-

In that spot, 500 golden Gacha Coins, Judang's share, were piled up.

Judang opened his mouth, staring at the Gacha Coins with eyes that looked like he was in the throes of ecstatic love.

"Heh- these are... the Gacha Coins that I earned through my own hard work...!"

Wondering if I heard that correctly, I rubbed my ear canal with my pinky finger.

Whoosh-

?

What... did you just say?

I'm the one who said we'd grow together, and you're just reaping the benefits...

Hard work?

Ha-

This is even a miracle brought about by Lancelot!

I wanted to point out that it was thanks to me—or rather, thanks to Lancelot—but I kept my mouth shut, fearing that if he failed at the Gacha, he'd blame it on me.

Seeing Judang like that, I thought about how sports have a concept called sportsmanship... and since I believe that elegant(?) and classy(?) Gacha should also have sportsmanship, I decided to put the brakes on the heroes.

"Ah, for the record, don't say things like 'I hope you fail' or 'I hope you don't get a good pull' while someone is playing. It's a taboo... keep it. If you break it, I'll just send you under the machine."

"Whaaat!?"

"H-how could you...!"

"Don't like it? Then I'll kick you out of the comrade system. You won't be comrades anymore."

"Th-that! ...A... Alright..."

"...O-okay..."

I judged that since competition in sports requires displaying one's own pure ability with sportsmanship, I needed to set a proper standard for the heroes, like sportsmanship, where they compete by acquiring good things solely through their own luck.

My standard was very simple.

Do not make negative comments while someone is playing Gacha. That was it.

Ah... of course, I thought it was fine to brag a little bit on the side.

Why? Because appropriate bragging can be the driving force and motivation for all heroes to work hard and try to pull the Gacha, which in turn leads to me accumulating mileage and enjoying the benefits!

Therefore, bragging was absolutely indispensable.

For the sake of everyone(?)... Heh, isn't this a win-win situation?

Ah...

Of course, sometimes... when it gets too extreme, I would step in to sanction it and try to remain as neutral as possible.

Since we are human, there is no such thing as perfection.

"I don't think it's right as comrades to tell someone to fail while they're playing Gacha. Ah, of course, I won't say anything if you express joy after winning. I trust you all to be comrades who know how to keep within appropriate boundaries... I... believe in you guys. Hehehe!"

As I said I believed in them with a goofy, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silly smile...

"Seriously... that idiot smile..."

"...That, we will keep..."

"I-I think the demons really did bewitch him..."

"...Hey Judang! Hurry up. There are a lot of people waiting~"

"So, are you going to do 10 pulls? Or are you going to increase the coin count? We need to decide that first."

"Ahem! What will you do if I keep winning and acquire a large amount of coins! The results will tell whether I am the incompetent one, or if you donors are!"

That line...!

"N-no! Judang!"

"Hm? Why are you doing this, Young Master? Do you not trust me either? Hahahaha!"

Perhaps because my desperate regret was conveyed... Judang said with a wide smile.

No, no, no! That's not it!

You shouldn't have said that line!!!!!!!!!

I clearly remembered that line because the game where it was used had failed.

It was a situation where you couldn't even be sure if it would work out even if you wished for it with all your might...

You're diving headfirst into a disaster you brought upon yourself...

...

I'm sorry I couldn't protect you... Judang...

Clatter-

"Hahahaha! This is the path of the Buddha! Everyone, watch closely!"

Judang, seemingly excited, operated the lever and pulled it with a grin from ear to ear.

I turned my head away, unable to bear looking at Judang's face, which I knew would soon be drenched in disappointment.

And...

Lost~

As expected...

The machine continuously played the voice of a vicious demon's temptation, shattering Judang's mentality like a fragile cookie.

Startled by the change in the machine, I turned my head back to the screen.

Surprisingly... the rock-paper-scissors machine had the same game mechanics, but... the reactions had been upgraded to a much spicier flavor.

...!

It even upgraded the teasing to be much spicier...!

If this happens...

The heroes' mentality...!

Judang....!

Judang, who was playing the game himself...

Just as I expected...

Had lost his reason.

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A strange object that isn't even a mere human... dares to... treat me, who was praised as the incarnation of the Buddha...? Today, I shall teach even an object the path of the Buddha!"

.

..

...

-10

.

..

-30

.

..

-499

Judang, who was already showing a 99% loss of coins, was sobbing, his hands trembling, as he picked up the last coin heading toward the abyss of -100% and headed toward the input slot like someone with a tremor.

"*Sob*... *sob*... P-please... this is my last... coin... *hic*..! Why... why... can't I win even one round...?"

"Because your heart is not with the Buddha, but filled with greed."

"...!"

From behind the sobbing Judang, Cheonma's sharp remark, which she had been waiting to deliver, pierced Judang's heart like a sharp dagger.

Upon hearing Cheonma's remark, Judang pressed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the button nervously, giving the impression that golden light was erupting from his pupils.

Tap-!

Lost~

...

Having lost all 500 coins without winning a single round in a series ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of consecutive losses, Judang stared blankly at the machine's screen with dead eyes.

The machine's voice, which added fuel to the fire of despair in Judang's heart, who had already run out of coins, rang out.

Waaaaaah!

Judang, whose mentality had shattered, sat down on the floor of the machine and sobbed.

"If you don't have coins, get down under the machine. How dare you stay here when you don't even have coins?"

"Waaaaaah!"

Driven by Cheonma's viciousness, Judang was practically chased down from the machine.

"Hahahat! Hey. Hurry up and take out my coins. Do you know how long I've been waiting to face off against this cheeky machine? Daring to... make me feel the wall of defeat? Today will be different."

...

Why are you all setting up defeat flags today?

Cheonma... that's an early symptom of gambling addiction...

Get a grip!

Clunk-!

Slide-

As Cheonma requested, I took the coins out of her personal inventory, just like I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠did for Judang earlier, and summoned them onto the joystick above the machine.

Cheonma approached the coins, picked one up with her hand, brought it close to her nose as if to savor it, and took a deep breath.

Then, slowly exhaling, Cheonma closed her eyes and made an ecstatic expression, as if she felt drugs in the coins, and said.

"Hhh-uu-mm-ph... Haaaaa.... This is it... this...! The scent of the coins... do you know how long I've been waiting?"

...? They were odorless... did they have a smell?

Is my nose broken?

Are the coins coated in drugs?

Suspicious of Cheonma's behavior, I placed my hand on Cheonma's coins.

Grip-

Instantly, Cheonma's hand grabbed my wrist tightly.

Flash-

!!

"Stop right there. What... are you doing right now...?"

"...Oh? N-no..."

"These are my coins. Why are you touching my coins?"

"No, no... you have a big misunderstanding."

"...Mis...understanding?"

"Uh... yeah... that's..."

"Speak clearly."

I'm... doomed... she's truly insane...!

It's my fault for touching the coins without permission, but... it's so scary...!

I lied to Cheonma, who had let go of my wrist, saying I was trying to blow my luck into them to clear up the misunderstanding.

"I was trying to cheer you on by sending my luck to you... Now, watch carefully... 'Please accept my luck, Cheonma♥!'"

With a shy face, I picked up Cheonma's coins, put my hands together in a heart shape, and held the coins between my hands, imitating the lines and actions of a character from a certain game who left behind the famous quote of saying 'c-ba' with love.

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

Pshhh-

Cheonma, having received my support directly, turned bright red, and soon a nosebleed erupted with the pshhh sound you only see in cartoons.

Cheonma, who hurriedly covered her nose with her right hand, quickly poked her nose a few times with her remaining left hand, using a pressure point technique to stop the nosebleed.

Wow... that pressure point technique is amazing.

The blood really stopped just like in a novel.

"K-kuh! You, youuuuu!!!!!!!!!!"

.

..

...

Cheonma, whose face had turned bright red, glared at me, perhaps out of embarrassment.

The remarks and momentum of the surrounding heroes, who were watching me and Cheonma, were quite unusual.

"*Kuh*... My heart almost gave out, and I nearly fell into a state of qigong deviation... Seriously... you're so seductive... I should tie you up somewhere..."

"...Are you really an incubus...? My heart almost exploded too... I agree with tying you up... If you leave this guy anywhere, he'll bewitch everyone here and there... I'll ask for it when it's my turn too...!"

"...Cheonma... I'm jealous...! Me too...!"

"Phew... Me too! Me too! I'm going to ask him to do it like Cheonma did! Cheonma! Hey! Are you not going to do it quickly? There's a line waiting!"

...

Guys.

I'm not going to do it for you now, am I?

Cheonma was the first service...

If you guys want to receive it, you have to pay with coins. Did you think you could get this for free?

I scoffed at the other heroes' words, let them go in one ear and out the other, and looked at Cheonma.

Cheonma seemed to be focusing, slowly placing her hand on the button, staring at the screen, waiting for the timing when she felt like pressing the button carefully.

Cheonma...

Your peace of mind has been shattered... will the result really be good?