Chapter 7
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Awe and Fear (3)
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The total came to 69,900 won.
A price starting with a 5 was already pushing it for a meal out, yet Id just blown nearly 70,000 won on a single gacha pull.
It would be a lie to say my blood pressure wasnt rising.
I stared at the gacha screen, utterly dumbfounded.
"Did my finger really just press that?"
My finger had suddenly darted toward the pull button.
Even though I clearly remembered it happening, it wasn't easy to believe such a surreal memory.
Maybe I pressed it myself and was just mistaken about how it happened.
I pondered the thought for a moment.
Perhaps my intense desire for a 10-pull had distorted my memory.
After weighing the credibility of my memory against reality, I quickly decided to compromise with the latter.
"Ah, whatever. I guess I must have really wanted to pull."
Compared to the games I used to pour money into, this wasn't actually that much.
It wasn't like I didn't have memories of skipping meals because I was crazy about gacha pulls.
It felt like an old memory surfacing after a long time.
Though now, it was nothing more than the faded romance of my younger days.
My brief moment of regret over, I turned my attention to the gacha screen to check the results.
A colorful array of items was displayed on the screen.
- You have acquired Baguette.
- You have acquired Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Stylish Tunic.
- You have acquired Baguette.
- You have acquired Baguette.
- You have acquired Steel Shield.
- You have acquired Sponge Cake.
- You have acquired Magic Book: Barrier.
- You have acquired Torn Tunic.
- You have acquired Iron Sword.
It seemed the notice about an 'improved' gacha was true; most of the items were different from before.
The biggest difference was that, unlike last time, none of the items were broken.
I started examining the pulled items one by one.
First up were the food items.
Baguette. And Sponge Cake.
Neither was something I could use myself.
Yutenia would probably like them.
"Come to think of it, she's eating better than I am."
If you divide the 69,900 won for the 10-pull by ten, each item comes out to about 7,000 won.
I took the Sponge Cake from my inventory and gave it to Yutenia.
Perhaps because it was a different food from the Hard Black Bread she'd been getting for days.
Yutenia, showing a flicker of curiosity, broke off a piece of the Sponge Cake and put it in her mouth.
After eating the cake, Yutenia's reaction was even more intense than before.
- (Gratitude)
- (Tears)
- (Moved)
- (Gratitude) (Gratitude) (Gratitude) (Gratitude)
That's a 7,000 won piece of food, mind you.
I would have been disappointed if she hadn't reacted like that.
While I was at it, I also tossed the Stylish Tunic from my inventory onto the ground.
It seemed like it would be better than the clothes she was currently wearing.
I figured that if she changed, she'd look much neater than she did now, wrapped in that Torn Cloak.
Picking up the Stylish Tunic, Yutenia expressed her thanks once again as she accepted the gift.
I watched the deeply moved Yutenia eat her cake for a moment before turning my gaze back to the inventory to check the next items.
"Not rusty this time."
Iron Sword and Steel Shield.
They looked quite different from the Rusty Iron Sword I'd gotten before.
They'd be usable if I gave them to a suitable character.
But they were awkward items to give to Yutenia right now.
After all, Yutenia didn't exactly strike me as the sword-swinging type.
If I end up raising a character who needs them later, I'll hand them over then.
"And finally... today's only real prize."
The only magic book from the 10-pull.
I looked closely at the newly acquired magic book.
Magic Book: Barrier.
A barrier is a spell used to protect people.
It didn't seem like a good spell for acquiring Karma.
If it were an attack spell, I would have learned it in a heartbeat, but since its purpose was different, I hesitated.
What should I do with this?
As I studied the magic book, a question occurred to me.
"Can't characters learn magic from these too?"
If I learn it, the book disappears from my inventory.
But it's different if I hand it over to Yutenia.
Unless she decides to eat it, the book won't just disappear.
I didn't know if I could get it back after giving it to her, but it was definitely worth a try.
I dragged the magic book I was holding in front of Yutenia as well.
Thump.
As the magic book suddenly fell before her, Yutenia, who had been eating her cake, looked up at the sky.
- (Curiosity)
- (Gratitude)
With that, I had dumped all the byproducts of the 10-pull on Yutenia.
I did it because I considered her, with her Fanatic trait, to be on my side.
Sooner or later, there would be some kind of result.
Whether that result would be good or bad, I had no idea.
If possible, I wanted to see Yutenia having learned magic.
"It would probably be interesting if she learned a spell."
The magic book was an item that could be given to a character.
I didn't think that would be possible for no reason.
After all, hadn't the game's interactions proven to be surprisingly well-structured?
There must be some system in place for magic.
At least, that's what I believed.
Click.
Having given the magic book to Yutenia, I pressed the button and turned off my smartphone screen.
I'd done everything I could.
Now it was time to wait for my magic power to recharge.
"Ah. My 70,000 won."
Tsk. I smacked my lips and glanced at my wallet lying on the bed.
My empty wallet looked particularly pathetic today.
It looked like dinner tonight would have to be ramen.
Damn developers.
Cursing someone, somewhere, I threw myself onto my soft bed.
Quite some time had passed since Yutenia began living in the cave.
It was an escape, born from a feeling of no longer wanting to face the world.
She had thought it better to starve and shiver in the cold than to meet the people of the outside world.
But she, hidden in her cave, never had to starve.
It was all thanks to the grace of the nameless god who watched over her.
The nameless god periodically visited her and bestowed gifts.
A dagger and a cloak. And even black bread to eat.
He had given her items sufficient for surviving in the mountains.
If she wanted meat, she could catch a rabbit with the dagger. If the cold came, she could wrap herself in the old cloak.
The items were somewhat crude and worn, but they were perfectly usable in the cave.
Thanks to this, Yutenia's life in the cave had become quite plentiful.
"Thank you for watching over me every day."
And so, Yutenia was offering her prayers today, just as she did every other day.
She had never once seen his face, but she was clearly aware of his existence.
She hoped that one day, if she became a more worthy devotee, he might even let her hear his voice.
As Yutenia was engrossed in prayer with her hands clasped, she heard the sound of something falling from the sky.
Thump.
The sound echoed through the cave, and Yutenias gaze fell to the spot right in front of her.
There lay a soft sponge cake, along with a small wooden plank.
"......What is this?"
Ssk.
Yutenia said as she brought the cake placed before her closer.
Yutenia was the daughter of a baron, but he was merely the noble of a poor, rural town.
Even for her, a noble's daughter, the sponge cake before her was not a food she could easily obtain.
Next to the sponge cake, there happened to be a small wooden fork.
Taking the dagger from her robes, Yutenia neatly cut the sponge cake and separated a piece.
"Since it is food bestowed by Him, I must eat it with gratitude."
The fork sank in.
Yutenia watched in awe as the fork sank effortlessly into the soft cake.
It was a softness incomparable to the hard black bread she ate every day.
Gulp. She swallowed hard at the sight of the cake on her fork.
Yutenia took a small bite from the piece and brought it to her lips.
"Mmm..."
The cake melted softly in her mouth and was gone.
From the surface of the cake that touched her tongue, a sweet, sugary taste spread.
It was a sweetness she could never experience from the dry black bread.
No, even in her entire life, she hadn't had many opportunities to eat something like this.
Munching on the cake that filled her mouth, Yutenia exclaimed with a flushed face.
"......It's sweet. It's so good."
The piece of cake in her mouth vanished in an instant.
Having finished the bite, Yutenia turned her gaze back to the cake before her.
Did he perhaps grant me a special meal today?
She had been given a food on a completely different level from the usual black bread.
Again, the fork sank in.
As Yutenia lifted another piece of cake, a small teardrop formed in her eye.
"Truly, how can I ever repay this grace?"
He saved her.
He gave her food.
And now, he was taking care of her.
It was far too much grace to be bestowed upon a single individual.
Yutenia couldn't even begin to imagine how she could repay this kindness.
Just as Yutenia, overcome by a wave of emotion, was about to eat more cake, another object fell before her.
This time, the item wasn't food, but clothing.
"This is... clothing, I see."
Yutenia picked up the garment that had fallen before her.
It was a tunic that looked stylish even at a glance.
It was clothing that seemed perfectly fine to wear outside immediately.
Compared to the equipment she had received so far, the fact that it was clean and stylish was a huge difference.
Unlike the old rags she had been using, this didn't seem like something meant for use in the mountains.
"Ah..."
The moment she examined the clothes that had fallen before her, Yutenia finally understood the intentions of the god watching over her.
She had been given clean clothes, unlike before.
To Yutenia, that could only mean one thing.
Wear this and go outside.
It meant that her escape in this damp cave was nearing its end.
"He wishes for me to go outside."
From the moment her life was saved from the bandits, she had resolved to live for her god.
For someone like her to remain cooped up in a cave was unacceptable.
She couldn't keep running from the world forever.
There was something she had to do.
And that was surely to carry out the will of the great being who watched over her.
"If that is Your will."
As if to support Yutenia's resolve, a final gift fell from the sky.
Thump.
A thick-covered magic book tumbled onto the floor.