The Art of the Bait

The Heavenly Demon, who had been fidgeting and dragging her feet, unable to even meet my eyes, finally opened her mouth.

"U-um... hey... about that... c-coin..."

...

Well, look at that. Judang accidentally set the stage for me.

I’ll make sure to pour you a proper drink later, Judang.

They say that to increase market share, you have to be willing to take an initial loss and invest boldly to secure future growth engines. Just like that, I took a step toward the Heavenly Demon, extending my reach to slowly turn her into a slave to debt.

"...?"

"Hmm, you’re already out of coins? How did that happen..."

To do this, I first had to... listen to her story. Just like a multi-level marketing scheme or a cult.

"Ah~ so, you see! I was already pissed off because I lost at that machine, and then it started using Sound Arts on me!?"

"...Sound Arts?"

Sound Arts. What is that? Isn't it literally a martial art that uses sound as a medium? There’s no way a machine could use that...

Ah! Don't tell me...

In an instant, the voice of the machine that had shattered Judang’s mentality played back in my head.

'Tee-hee!'

'You lost, so what are you doing?'

'Can’t do anything, can you?'

'Your hands are shaking because you lost, aren't they?'

'I’m going to take all the coins you have!'

'Come at me!'

It was obvious. The machine had clearly been provoking her to induce excitement or trap her in a mental demon, using various psychological attacks. Since her inner energy was so profound, she wouldn't have fallen into a cultivation deviation or a mental demon, but... it was clear that defending against psychological attacks would have been difficult.

But I’d read in novels that masters on the level of the Heavenly Demon use their inner energy to protect their hearing... is that difficult?

"Yeah! It asked if my hands were shaking... it nagged me about what I was doing since I lost... and then... it kept saying I couldn't do anything...!"

"..."

As I stepped closer to listen carefully, the Heavenly Demon vented her anger to me, her expression so vivid it felt like she was reliving the moment. Then, sensing me getting close, she flinched slightly and stopped talking.

"..."

"...A-anyway... c...coins..."

"Right. I promised I’d give you more coins earlier, didn't I? Remember?"

"...Ah!"

To prove that I strictly keep my word, I decided to give her the coins I’d received from Lancelot. At the mention of getting coins, the Heavenly Demon looked at me with a look of pure bliss, happy to have another chance to try and multiply them.

The Heavenly Demon had finally entered the introductory stage of a typical gambling addiction.

"I'll give them to you once all the heroes have finished their turns and Judang’s turn is over. Let’s wait a bit."

"Okay."

Hehehe~

Thinking she could challenge it again, the Heavenly Demon wiggled her hips in a good mood and approached Judang.

"Hmm? Heavenly Demon. You shouldn't have any coins... so why are you coming back up!? You were just yelling at me to get down because I didn't have any!"

"Hmph..! I thought about it, and Eodum promised to give me coins earlier! I just remembered, that's all!"

Judang picked a fight with the smiling Heavenly Demon, but the Heavenly Demon, already in a great mood, seemed completely unaffected.

"....T-that! Young Master! Are you really going to give them to her?"

"....Yeah."

"Are you playing favorites with the Heavenly Demon right now!?"

".... T-that.."

Upon hearing that I was giving coins to the Heavenly Demon, Judang glared at me and pressed me for an answer. The Heavenly Demon, who had been listening, got angry on my behalf.

"Playing favorites? I hit 500 coins at the start! Eodum is just rewarding that, so why are you being so impatient, you wench? You should have shown interest from the beginning!"

"....Grrr!"

That’s right! Hah...

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But wait... 500? I only intended to give her 100... if it’s like this, I have to give her 500... The expenditure is getting much higher than I thought...?

Judang... you really are a double-edged sword. Bringing blessings and curses at the same time...

I could have blocked it with 100 coins and some smooth talking... but now I have to block it with 500! This is definitely going to be cheap soju and shrimp crackers for dinner.

Ah, by the way, whose turn is it next? Should I take the coins out in advance?

As I looked for the next hero, I locked eyes with Arthur, who was standing confidently in front of the machine’s lever.

Arthur, catching my gaze, raised her hand.

"Me! I want to try."

"...Sure."

Clunk-!

Slide-

Following Arthur’s request, I took the coins out of my personal inventory and summoned them onto the joystick of the machine. Then, I summoned the rest of the heroes' coins in front of them as well. In an instant, 1,600 coins were piled up around the joystick like casino chips.

"...C-coins! M-mine?"

"Hmm... there are mine too."

"Mine are here too."

After looking at her pile of coins, Arthur nodded slightly at me and then, with a confident expression, inserted the coins into the machine's slot.

Clack-!

Lost~

It was around the time she had hit a 10-game losing streak.

"...Hmph. It seems... our side has better luck? I think the martial arts heroes need to step it up a bit?"

Arthur’s words, which pricked the pride of the martial arts faction, echoed through the room. She was pointing at the screen with a confident face.

I followed her hand and looked up at the machine.

You’ve won 1,000 coins!

You’re having better luck today than the people before you? Want to challenge it again? Please pull the lever!

Is 1,000 coins a slight upward leveling of the prize? Instead of the dejected sound from before, the machine emitted a woman’s voice tinged with a hint of celebration.

Slide-

As ten black shapes appeared and vanished, 1,000 coins suddenly flashed and filled the space above the joystick.

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

1,000!

Arthur, who had surprisingly hit the 1,000-coin jackpot so easily and quickly, looked at the Heavenly Demon, Judang, and Hwaryeon in turn with a triumphant expression.

Wait a minute...

If she does this, the martial arts faction, who are nothing without their pride!

My fears were realized without fail. Naturally, the martial arts faction was triggered by Arthur’s words.

"...Hey! Are you... provoking us right now?"

"Arthur... are you... showing off your coins right now?"

"Is this... an attempt to awaken our martial spirit? Or are you trying to fight to the death!"

However, Arthur just laughed at the riled-up martial arts faction.

"Then... you should just win it."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Is it hard? Eodum."

"Huh? Why?"

No, how can she be such a show-off...?

Arthur, who had silenced the martial arts faction, called me.

"Please keep my coins safe."

"Sure. Got it."

"Ah~ I’m so satisfied today... I think I’ll go down and get some rest~ Good luck~"

Stretching as if she were tired, Arthur watched the coins disappear and walked past me and the martial arts faction, heading down below the machine.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Guys... sorry."

"...Sorry."

At Arthur’s arrogance, the other two heroes apologized to the martial arts faction. You guys... is this why your factions are divided? I could see why...

Since no one was mediating, it was obvious...

Clap clap!

I clapped twice to change the atmosphere and said, "Alright, alright! Arthur isn't wrong. That’s what you call a flex. Are you frustrated? If you’re frustrated, you have to win it. And there’s no need to be envious. Just because you have 1,000 coins ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doesn't guarantee you’ll get something good from the gacha. Even with the 100 coins you have now, you can pull 10 times and get an item just like I did. Having more coins just gives you more chances to challenge it; it doesn't increase the probability."

"Then... what would you like us to do?"

"Then... what should we do?"

As soon as I finished speaking, the Heavenly Demon and Hwaryeon duo asked what they should do.

...

Shall I give some advice to our gacha novices?

"You can either accumulate coins by overcoming trials in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quests, or use them to increase your stash like Arthur did. Ah... if you feel like something is going to drop today! Then you pull the gacha. You can get lucky even with a single pull. The choice is yours. But personally, I think it’s fine to use up all your coins today. You’ve found a way to collect coins steadily from now on, right? Don't be too obsessed with this very moment. How about you pull the gacha today just to enjoy the mood?"

At my words, the heroes, who had been deep in thought, nodded.

"Sorry about Arthur’s behavior. Hwaryeon, do you want to go first?"

Surprisingly, Merlin offered her turn to Hwaryeon. Merlin, who had always shown a crazed obsession with the gacha... you’ve grown, unlike yourself...? It felt like watching a daughter grow up!

"...Then I’ll go first."

"Okay."

I watched Hwaryeon and Merlin’s conversation with a satisfied smile. That’s right. Novices helping each other and growing is the most beautiful thing!

Click-

Hwaryeon operated the lever and switched it to gacha mode.

"Single pull? I’ll try challenging the gacha one at a time!"

Watching Hwaryeon, who was burning with a sense of challenge, I took out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the 500 coins that were the Heavenly Demon’s share from my inventory and headed toward Arthur, who had gone down below the machine.