Slot Machines and Pachinko (2)
Laura took a step back from the slot machine and spoke up.
“So… the act of pulling the lever and pressing the stop button must have absolutely no connection to the actual outcome. The moment the lever is pulled, the result should already be predetermined.”
Her golden eyes stared straight at Mikhail.
“In the end, what we’re selling isn’t ‘victory’ itself, but the illusion that one can test and control their own luck, isn’t it? That’s what Your Highness said before, too.”
She actually remembered that.
Mikhail nodded, inwardly impressed. At the same time, a headache began to creep in.
Is that even possible?
A device that instantly generates completely random results the moment you pull a lever or press a button… He knew slot machines existed in the early 1900s, so it had to be doable, but he couldn’t wrap his head around how.
Ah, shit… If I knew I was going to get isekai’d, I should’ve gone to engineering school.
Mikhail laughed bitterly at himself. As a liberal arts major, the only mechanical thing he could remember making was a rubber-band-powered airplane from elementary school science class. Or maybe a water rocket. Even then, he couldn’t recall the exact principles behind either.
While he was sighing, Josepina remained completely absorbed in the pachinko machine.
“Josepina,” Mikhail called out to her. “What about that one? Any issues?”
Josepina lifted her head toward him.
“This one also… doesn’t seem to rely purely on luck. The initial launch trajectory of the ball can be somewhat controlled depending on the force and angle when pulling the handle. Of course, after that, it collides with countless pins and variables come into play, but…”
She turned her gaze back to the pachinko machine.
“If someone has innate dexterity like a dwarf or a goblin, they’d probably have a slightly higher chance of winning than the average person. At most, it’d be about a one percent difference, like card counting in Blackjack. But it’s not negligible.”
She paused for a moment to choose her words, then added,
“However… if we improve it just a little more, it will be quite valuable. As the Grand Duke said, it’s the perfect tool for planting the illusion that one can control their own luck. And…”
A very faint, almost invisible smile flickered across Josepina’s lips.
“It’s quite fun.”
With that, she dove back into the pachinko machine. Mikhail let out a small chuckle at the sight.
She’s probably only doing this because she was ordered to.
Work instructions had come in during work hours, so she was working hard. She really was an easy-to-read, adorable kid.
“Then…” Mikhail concluded. “We’ll leave the pachinko as it is for now. Just adjust it to reduce the payout a bit. But what about the slot machine? If the spinning reels are that obvious… will people actually enjoy it? I’m not sure.”
Laura offered a clear solution to his dilemma.
“Then why not stop treating this device as a gambling machine altogether?”
“If not gambling, then what?”
“For example… we could market it as a device to train dynamic visual acuity and reflexes. Something like a recreational training apparatus.”
Her eyes sparkled like a merchant’s.
“We could package it as military training equipment or as a learning tool for noble families to develop children’s reflexes and sell it that way.”
“Oh…”
Mikhail thought it was a very reasonable idea. In 21st-century South Korea, if you wanted to sell something, you just had to claim it was good for stamina or good for students’ studies. It was a country where private education alone could create companies worth hundreds of billions in market cap. This world probably wasn’t all that different. After all, the Academy stood as one of the clear paths to success and fame.
“And there’s no need to limit these machines to inside the casino, is there?”
This time, Josepina lifted her head from the pachinko and joined the conversation.
“We register the copyright and sell the design itself to other trading companies or workshops. The craps table is important because it can only be enjoyed in our casino, but these machines are inherently fun no matter where you put them.”
Her words were logical. Moreover, there was no telling what kind of schemes someone like Anastasia might pull next. A prince’s status meant nothing in front of the other members of the imperial family. So if he wanted to expand his weight class and grow the casino business even further, he needed to make the empire’s citizens familiar with the act of gambling itself. That was where his power would come from.
In that case…
Laura and Josepina’s voices overlapped perfectly. The two women looked at each other with slightly surprised expressions. Their thoughts matched Mikhail’s exactly.
Seeing how the two of them had already been completely influenced by him, Mikhail couldn’t help but smile.
“Then… shall we call it a day?”
It was only natural to be dissatisfied. These were just prototypes, after all. The client only needed to pay well. Once he thought of it that way, it didn’t matter anymore.
“I’ll buy dinner tonight. Like always. Order whatever you want. Let’s go to whatever restaurant you two desire.”
The craftsmen, after several consecutive days of all-nighters, were breaking down in their own unique ways.
“Uuu… Mama… gimme milk…”
The youngest of the workshop, Michael, was squatting in the corner. He hugged a freshly cut block of wood like a baby, rocking back and forth while whining.
Even so, Michael was still doing relatively well.
“Ehehe, honey… come here~!”
His friend Johan was tightly hugging the very first prototype of the slot machine. He clung to the machine’s heavy body, rubbing his face against it. Though he was smiling, anyone could see it was nothing but pitiful. It looked like he was trying to escape from reality. As proof, tears were streaming down his hollow face.
“This is fucking… ridiculous…”
The workshop master Gregor muttered in a hoarse voice. He was perched on the edge of a workbench, sipping watery beer from a tin can. His unfocused eyes had lost their clarity long ago.
Creak—.
The old door of the workshop opened, and two workers from the Valeriano Trading Company cautiously stepped inside. The moment they saw the miserable state of the workshop—especially Johan fused with the slot machine—they recoiled in horror and stumbled backward.
“Um… Workshop Master.”
One of the workers barely managed to speak.
“His Highness looked at the prototypes and has a few modification requests…”
Instead of answering, Gregor pointed at the workbench with his finger. There were already dozens of instruction sheets piled up, similar to the one the workers had brought.
The workers placed the new instructions on top with awkward expressions and fled the workshop as if escaping.
A few more days passed like that.
The craftsmen drank beer instead of sleeping and chewed on sawdust instead of eating. New prototypes were churned out from their hands one after another. Those machines were carried to the Grand Duke’s Mansion by the Valeriano Trading Company workers, only to return shortly after with new instruction sheets and rejection notices.
Fortunately, there was no order to destroy the rejected items. It seemed they could do whatever they wanted with them—sell them later or play with them.
A few days later, when the Valeriano Trading Company workers visited the workshop again, their faces were unusually flushed with excitement.
“Workshop Master! The final decision has been made!”
At his shout, the eyes of the half-conscious craftsmen snapped open. Even Johan stopped his usual strange behavior and turned to look.
“The pachinko will be the second version you made! And the slot machine… will be the new third version! Those have been officially selected!”
For a moment, heavy silence fell over the workshop. The craftsmen stared blankly at each other’s faces. What rose on their faces wasn’t joy or relief.
Naturally, it was pure, thick rage.
“…You son of a bitch!”
The first to break the silence was Michael. Having snapped out of his regression, he spat out the hammer handle he’d been sucking on like a pacifier and roared.
“We’ve made how many of these things?! And you’re telling us it’s just the second and third ones?!”
“Are you kidding me right now?!”
Shouts erupted from all over. The craftsmen stood up, grabbing whatever tools were in reach. Faced with their murderous aura, the Valeriano Trading Company workers turned deathly pale and backed away.
“B-but… His Highness personally gave the order…”
One worker sniffled as he made an excuse.
“I-if you speak like that… it’s lèse-majesté…!”
With those words, the workers screamed and bolted out of the workshop.
“His Highness is not that narrow-minded!”
Gregor roared as he chased after them. A hammer was clutched in his hand.
“Stop right there, you bastards!”
But his body, soaked in days of overtime and hangovers, refused to follow his will. He staggered after only a couple of steps. The workers were already far away.
In the end, Gregor gave up on catching them. Instead, he hurled the hammer in his hand with all his strength. The hammer didn’t fly far before it fell weakly to the ground with a dull thud.