Shouting Gacha from the High Heavens (9)
Lancelot, who had been puffing out her cheeks, let out a soft pop as she stared at me with wide, emerald eyes, looking as if she couldn't believe what she’d just heard.
Instinctively sensing that she had severely misunderstood my words, I quickly waved my hands to clear the air.
"Wait! I phrased that in a way that made it sound like a misunderstanding..."
"Mis... understanding?"
"Yeah... it's just that you're the only one who can help me right now... so... I really need you to help me..."
"Misunderstanding... tsk..."
Lancelot turned her head back toward the screen with a look full of disappointment.
"...."
"...."
After a moment of silence, Lancelot let out a short sigh, looked at me, and opened her mouth.
"....... How... do I... do it?"
"...! Th-thank you... It feels like the angels keep targeting me... I'm really sorry... I couldn't think of any other way to divert their attention..."
After looking at Lancelot, I rubbed my palms together, expressing my gratitude with my mouth while screaming "Arigato!" in my head over and over.
"........? Angels... Eodum... targeting!?"
"Yeah... I can feel the gazes of the surrounding angels fixated on me... and you guys hate that kind of thing, right?"
"Hate... Angels... gazes... you...? Hmph...!"
Lancelot tilted her head as if she’d misheard me when I said I could feel the angels' gazes, but when I emphasized it again, she scoffed.
Then, eyeing me with a look of distrust as if telling me not to lie, Lancelot lifted her head slightly to observe the movements of the surrounding angels as if to verify it for herself.
".............."
"...."
..
..
!!!!!!!!
Suddenly, Lancelot was startled to see an angel looking at me with the eyes of a beast that had just discovered its prey, licking her lips.
See? I told you she was licking her lips looking at me, didn't I!?
Lancelot snapped her head toward me, our eyes meeting with a look of shock.
Snap-
"See? I told you, right?"
".............Y-you're... right...!!"
"...I don't lie about stuff like this~"
"...W-what do we... do!"
"What do we do, you ask?"
"...Y-yeah!"
"Then... you're cooperating, right?"
"...H-hurry... hurry!"
Click-clack-click-clack-click-clack
Perhaps finally feeling the heat from the angels' behavior, Lancelot kept her hand on the lever, trembling as she watched me with an anxious gaze, urging me to start quickly.
Having clearly etched Lancelot’s cooperative stance into my mind, I patted the back of her head as if to tell her not to worry, then lifted the microphone with my other hand and continued the presentation.
= Alright! Attention, angels! Please lend me your ears for a moment! =
-......-
= Did you see the hand shape change on the screen just now? =
-....Yes! -
= What I am about to show you is a human cultural practice for settling conflicts without fighting when you have a disagreement with someone close to you. =
I lifted the hand I had been using to pat Lancelot’s head, clenched it into a tight fist, and looked at the Cube.
As expected, the Cube was closing in on my clenched fist as if a professional camera director were filming it, broadcasting it on the screen so the angels could easily understand.
= This is what you saw on the screen called "Rock." =
- Rock..-
Next, I spread my thumb and index finger, revealing my hand on the screen in the shape of scissors.
= This is called "Scissors." =
- Scissors.. -
The angels, engrossed in my actions, then spread their hands wide to show "Paper," and I explained the three-way relationship.
= This is "Paper"... Paper beats Rock....... Rock beats Scissors, and loses to Paper. It is what we call a relationship of compatibility. =
- Aha....-
= Now, why don't you try it with the angels next to you! =
- ......... Rock-Paper-Scissors! -
- Oh, I won? -
- Didn't I win? -
- Are you stupid? I told you this is winning! -
- Damn it! Hey! One more round! -
- Nope~ Not happening~ I beat you~ -
- Hey! -
Buzz, buzz.
And just as I said, the angels began simulating Rock-Paper-Scissors with those around them, and it seemed they understood to some extent.
Well then... now that I've laid all the groundwork...
Shall I give it a try?
The Angel-Participatory-Content?
= Alright! Now, why did I teach you this! =
-....-
"..."
- ....? -
I paused for a moment, and when five seconds had passed and the angels' curiosity had reached its peak, I opened my mouth.
= It is precisely to proceed with all of you, our dear angels! It is what we call: Angel Participatory Content! A.P.C.! =
- A.P.C.??? ......... We can participate? -
- We aren't directly interfering with the machine... how? -
The angels were buzzing, showing curiosity and wondering how I meant for them to participate.
Yeah...
I've taught them this much... it would be a shame if they didn't bite.
I lowered the hand that wasn't holding the microphone, pointed at the machine, and continued.
= Ah, of course, you cannot pull the lever yourselves. You aren't the players, after all. But... indirectly! Based on the majority vote of you angels, our player Lancelot will press the corresponding button to play Rock-Paper-Scissors against the machine. Then... you could say you participated indirectly! Since your opinions were included! =
"What benefit is there for us in that!? It's all for your own gain, isn't it! What a shallow trick!"
At that moment, the male angel known as Sebastian, still baring his teeth at me, threw a jab.
That guy is seriously...
He’s absolutely no help...
...Hmm...
Let’s see...
How...
Should I use him as a sacrifice?
= Hmm~ This is just me showing off my abilities. I wanted you to feel my abilities once... did you feel the difference in our capabilities..? =
"What!? The difference in capabilities!? Ha! If you call that an ability, it’s obviously just a childish prank! A mere human! Stop this at once!"
The male angel, perhaps having lost his temper at my comment about feeling the difference in capabilities, immediately demanded I stop and made a motion as if throwing something.
A small object was shot from above and grazed my forehead.
Flick-
My ears caught the vivid sound of skin tearing, and I quickly placed my hand on my forehead.
= Ugh..! =
With the male angel finally crossing the line, I cheered internally. Keeping my hand on my forehead, I let the strength drain from my body as if I had taken a massive blow, swaying exaggeratedly so the angels watching through the Cube’s screen would feel the impact.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- !!!!!!!!!!!!! -
"A-are you okay!?"
"Are you alright!?"
"Are you okay, sir!?"
The heroes, startled by my actions, quickly approached and supported me, offering words of concern.
I checked my face in the Cube’s reflection to see if I looked okay, then took my hand off my forehead.
As expected, I felt something hot flowing from near my forehead, trickling down over my eyebrow and nose.
"Blood..!"
"You're bleeding!"
"You're bleeding, sir!"
"You...! I'll cast a healing spell on you quickly!"
Seeing the heroes fussing and not knowing what to do, I quickly put my hand back on my forehead.
When I called out to Merlin, who was approaching to cast a healing spell, she stopped.
"Merlin."
"Yeah?"
"Don't use a healing spell. It's a waste of mana. And it’s not even that bad of an injury."
"You're bleeding, what are you talking about!"
I waved my hand dismissively and asked Merlin if she had any bandages to stop the bleeding.
"I'm fine. Do you have any bandages or cloth I can put on my head?"
"I do... but why?"
"....I have to show them what a 'fighting spirit through blood loss' looks like."
"........"
Merlin, who didn't respond, looked at me with an anxious gaze, as if thinking, 'What is he plotting now?' at my mention of a fighting spirit.
I made a deal with her to put her at ease.
"Instead. I'd like it if you came over and bandaged it yourself."
"....Huh? M-m-m-me!?"
Merlin seemed to have thought I would bandage it myself, and she was quite flustered by my request, as if she’d been struck by an unexpected blow.
I smiled bashfully at her and opened my mouth.
"Why... do you not want to?"
"N-no..."
To stimulate Merlin, who was being lukewarm, I brought up Lancelot.
"If you don't want to, I'll ask Lancelot..."
"Ah..! I-I'll do it!"
Lancelot, who had been watching with her hand on the lever, brightened at the sudden opportunity and tried to move toward me.
"I'll do it! Move aside, Lancelot!"
"...."
Merlin, having pushed Lancelot aside and expressed her opinion strongly, left the flustered Lancelot behind, pulled a snow-white bandage from her sub-space, and stood before me with an excited expression.
I bowed my head slightly, and Merlin began wrapping the bandage around my forehead.
I watched with satisfaction as Merlin’s voluptuous upper body was revealed over her robe, waiting for her to finish.
Seeing her voluptuous upper body gathering in one place to wrap the bandage, I couldn't help but feel like I was getting younger—surely that wasn't just my imagination.
..
..
After she finished, I summoned as much sadness as I could, then lifted my head to look in the direction of the male angel.
Looking at the male angel, I checked with my peripheral vision that the Cube was filming my face, then lifted the microphone and spoke slowly.
"To go as far as to see blood like this... do you hate me, a fellow man, that much? Could it be... that you feel the wall of ability... and it’s jealousy...?"
= To go as far as to see blood like this... do you hate me, a fellow man, that much? Could it be... that you feel the wall of ability... and it’s jealousy...? =
"What!? The wall of ability!? Jealousy!? Don't talk to me about jealousy! Me, an angel, jealous of a human!? Don't make me laugh! You dared to come to this sacred place as a human and try to be treated like a comrade, so I stepped in because I couldn't just watch that!"
That jerk...
It’s obviously jealousy, isn't it...
But wait, is there really racial discrimination here?
Ha...
But at this point, you'd think there would be some sympathetic public opinion...
Is it still too early...
That was when it happened.
Fortunately, perhaps because my reputation was good due to the positive image I’d built, the female angels began to speak up, opposing the male angel who was openly discriminating against me.
- Ah.... is it really necessary to go this far? The human man is just trying to show us his abilities and be recognized... is it really necessary to... assign malicious intent to that..? -
- That's true... even if he is a male angel... this isn't right... -
- Anyone can see that right now... the male angel looks jealous of the human man, doesn't he? Eek! He's glaring at us! -
- Bow your head! Bow your head! -
However, as soon as the male angel began looking around to find the angels who were opposing his opinion, the female angels quickly lowered their heads.
I had confirmed that the female angels were at least willing to speak up, even if they wouldn't go so far as to defy him, so I quickly called the Cube to proceed with the A.P.C.
= Cube! Is it possible to distinguish all the voices of the angels here and react to their opinions? If you can react to opinions, show my face... if not, show the angels... =
I requested that the Cube distinguish all the voices of the angels shouting Rock-Paper-Scissors—without us having to count them manually—and provide a statistical reaction.
....This has to work...
If it’s the Cube, which has been moving so competently... it should work...
Will it work...?
If not... I'll have to use another trick...
As I watched the Cube with a nervous heart, the screen turned pure white for a moment, and then it showed my face.
Yes!
Okay! It worked!!
I cheered internally, clenched my fist with the hand not holding the microphone, and ordered the Cube to perform the next action.
= Cube! Can you display the Rock-Paper-Scissors buttons on the screen above the machine? =
As soon as I finished speaking, the Cube’s screen zoomed in on the Rock-Paper-Scissors buttons above the machine.
I pointed at the buttons and began to speak.
= Now, angels! Please pay attention to the Cube’s screen! =
- .... -
= Do you remember the Rock-Paper-Scissors you played with each other earlier! From now on, whenever I shout "Start voting," shout the Rock-Paper-Scissors move you want to make in a loud voice! Then the Cube will gather everyone’s opinions, zoom in on the most popular one, and display it on the screen. Then, we will consider that the majority opinion of the angels, and Lancelot will press that button. Since your opinions were included, it will be an indirect experience! Of course... it’s not a single opinion, but still! =
To signal the start of the vote, I lifted my hand—the one not holding the microphone—up to the sky, brought it down, and shouted.
= Alright, I assume you understand! Let’s proceed immediately! Voting... Start! =
..
..
- ..... -
However, perhaps because they were conscious of the male angel, the angels just looked at each other, and no one made a sound.
"Hahahahaha! Nobody is going to do it! That is exactly your position as a human! Ahahahaha!"
Instead, the only thing I heard was the male angel’s nasty, mocking laughter...
Ha...
Is it not going to work?
"....."
I tried to hide my bitterness and was agonizing over what to do when...
"I'll cast one vote for Rock. I feel a bit sorry because it looks like you got hurt because of me."
Michael’s voice, sounding full of regret, came from below the machine.
"...... Th-thank..."
I was taken aback, turned my head in the direction of Michael, and conveyed my thanks.
With this... there should be a rebound...!
Please...
As if the Cube had sensed my heart, it must have counted Michael’s voice, as it immediately displayed the Rock button on the screen.
- ...........! -
Perhaps Michael’s statement acted as a catalyst, as the angels began to shout their own opinions, and soon the competition hall turned into a chaotic mess, surpassing even a busy marketplace.
- M-mine is Scissors! -
- Mine is Paper! -
- Mine is Rock! -
- Women choose Rock! You idiots! -
- Archangel Michael said Rock just now! Who do you think you are! -
- Who cares! Is the Archangel important right now!? My opinion is what matters! Don't force me! I choose Scissors! -
The Cube, perhaps counting in real-time, continued to alternate between the buttons, stimulating the angels' participation.