The Claw Machine
I despaired at the unbelievable reality staring me in the face.
"Ha… sixty-six thousand won for a single meal…!"
How could this be?
Hadn't the hundred thousand won allowance Na-yeon unnie gave me been more than enough to live like a king for an entire day?
With that, the sum left to me had dwindled to thirty-four thousand won.
A mere single meal had wiped out sixty-six percent of my entire fortune.
Sensing that my expression was far from ordinary, Lee Da-yeon asked with a worried look.
"Yeon-ah, what's wrong?"
"J-just a moment. This Seat requires time to put her thoughts in order."
I sank onto a roadside bench and cradled my head in both hands.
Lee Da-yeon sat beside me and stared, but I had no leisure to spare her any attention.
In a way, this was also my own fault for neglecting my studies of the world. Days spent chasing only training and gates had left me without a single glance at YouTube for quite some time.
This world differed from the Central Plains where I once lived in every aspect, from the very manner of living down to the value of objects. Common liquors and foods sometimes sold for outrageous prices, while rare spices could be found littering the ground.
Having worn only the clothes Kim Na-yeon bought, eaten only the meals she prepared, and slept only in the house she provided, I had never learned how to spend money properly.
Of course, my strength had played the greatest role in making the fledgling Heavenly Demon Divine Cult wealthy. Strictly speaking, it would not have been unreasonable to demand a fair share of the profits from Kim Na-yeon.
Yet my economic sense, still woefully ignorant of this world, was utterly catastrophic.
Without Kim Na-yeon's care, I might thoughtlessly squander every last coin and end up living on the streets. I would also fall for scams with ease.
Purchasing a guild branch? Auctioning gate byproduct items? Had I taken the lead, I would have been overcharged nine times out of ten.
I let out a light sigh and summed up the truth I had realized today in a single sentence.
"Restaurant meals are expensive."
I wanted nothing more than to race back to the guild that very instant and demand a larger allowance from Kim Na-yeon, yet I resolved instead to spend what remained with thrift and practice cultivating a sense for money.
I headed straight into a café and ordered the two cheapest strawberry smoothies on the menu.
000 Café −7,200 won
Balance: 26,800 won
"Uuuu…"
My face crumpled.
An additional outlay of seven thousand two hundred won.
What remained now fell short of thirty thousand.
We collected the strawberry smoothies from the counter and sat at a table.
I opened YouTube on my smartphone and searched for "how to have fun while saving money."
"Look at this video. This YouTuber claims one can spend an entire day in abundance with only ten thousand won."
"How much are the ones we're drinking?"
"Ahem. Ask no further about money. This Seat shall handle everything."
Lee Da-yeon sucked contentedly on her smoothie while still fretting over the cost.
I did not want our pure Young Cult Leader to have such thoughts. Relying solely on the Left and Right Protectors would not do. I myself had to acquire a sense for money.
Slurp, slurp.
Savoring the sweetness of a three-thousand-six-hundred-won smoothie, I quietly recalled my gratitude toward the female guild members who had so often bought desserts for Lee Da-yeon and me.
"I wonder how much our guild members receive as base pay…"
Tug.
While I was lost in thought, Lee Da-yeon pulled at my sleeve.
She pointed at an item on the menu.
Soft texture, a subtle aroma of coffee. A dessert in which bitterness and sweetness achieved perfect harmony—one slice of tiramisu cake.
The price was a full six thousand won.
"Yeon-ah, I want to eat this."
"U-uuung. Very well. Let us eat."
Lee Da-yeon and I had already reached the realm where the stomach for meals and the stomach for desserts existed as entirely separate vessels.
The first glass of smoothie is the difficult part.
After that—rampage!
We ordered the tiramisu, shared it, and then ordered a six-thousand-won fresh-cream castella as well.
Nom nom nom.
"It's delicious."
"Today you may eat as much as you please."
The sweetness lingering in my mouth was matched by a bitter ache in my gut, yet together with Lee Da-yeon I finished the cakes with gusto all the same.
The place we arrived at next was a kids' café with an entrance fee of five thousand won per person.
There were other kids' cafés with better facilities, but this one was the cheapest.
At the entrance a female staff member greeted us with a bright smile.
"Oh my, what adorable little ladies. Hello? …And the guardian?"
"There is none."
"Ummm…"
Honestly, everywhere we go they demand a guardian. Is this body of mine truly so small?
In that respect the Central Plains had been better. Even the children of the Beggars' Sect had run about freely in packs without adults.
The female staff member looked around awkwardly, then stepped away for a moment.
Shortly afterward she returned and took our hands.
"Technically we can't let you in without a guardian, but Unnie will act as your guardian today. Just for today, okay?"
"Oh, thank you."
"Thank you very much."
This was kindness.
Just as Kim Na-yeon had taught us, Lee Da-yeon and I bowed politely.
"This Seat is called Wiji Yeon."
"I'm Lee Da-yeon."
"Hehe, Unnie's name is Park So-young."
We entered the kids' café together with Park So-young.
And under her watchful eyes we played to our hearts' content.
"Kihihit!"
"Kyahat!"
The device called a "bouncy castle," which allowed high leaps even without circulating internal energy, was truly marvelous.
The ball pit was larger in scale than the one in the guild's welfare center as well.
Dusk began to settle over the city.
The lights of the shop signs burned even brighter.
"Shall we head back now?"
"I still want to play a little more."
"Uuung… where?"
"This Seat wishes to visit a place called a game center."
Sparkle sparkle.
The open-fronted game center welcomed us from the first floor with countless machines blazing with light.
"There are dolls inside glass boxes."
Lee Da-yeon and I pressed ourselves against the glass walls, mouths hanging open as we stared at the plushies.
Overall they were not to my taste.
Yet when I glanced sideways, Lee Da-yeon's eyes were sparkling with light.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she tugged my sleeve and pointed at a fluffy shark plushie.
"Yeon-ah. I want that one."
"Uuum… how does one take it?"
Whirrr.
A sudden sound made me look to the side. A young couple, a man and a woman, were operating the stick in front of the glass wall.
When the man worked the long stick, the claw mounted at the top of the glass box advanced. He pressed the button at the right moment; the claw descended and seized a plushie.
Thud.
But the plushie held by the claw the man had controlled dropped limply away.
"So close!"
"All right, one more time."
I watched intently, then nodded.
I had grasped how this game worked.
"Very well. For the sake of our Young Cult Leader, This Seat shall extract that plushie."
"Waaah!"
Lee Da-yeon threw both hands into the air in delight.
I locked eyes with the price tag affixed to the bottom of the machine.
1,000 won — 1 play
5,000 won — 6 plays
"U-uum."
Paying five thousand at once granted one extra attempt as a bonus.
Remaining funds: five thousand nine hundred won.
Only six chances.
Beep.
There was no turning back now.
"Hup!"
I swung my arms vigorously and let out a bold shout.
Then I stretched out my hand and gripped the claw-control stick.
Whirrr.
The claw advanced.
This game demanded a refined sense of space.
Wiji Yeon.
You must make the Young Cult Leader smile.
Raise your sensory perception to the absolute limit as though handling internal energy, and adjust the claw's position.
Whirrr.
Accompanied by the machine's roar, the claw surged forward and stopped precisely above the shark plushie the Young Cult Leader desired.
Beep.
I pressed the button; the claw descended.
And seized the plushie.
Yet it dropped with a soft thud.
"Th-this…!"
I stamped my feet in frustration.
One more time.
Whirrr, thud.
Whirrr, thud.
…
"U-uuuuu…"
At last I was forced to confront a despairing reality.
Only a single attempt remained, and I had not shifted the plushie's position even a fraction.
I understood.
This game was a scam.
To dare attempt fraud against this Heavenly Demon…
"What blasphemous…"
Humm.
In resonance with my fury, the ambient internal energy in the air began to answer.
I wanted nothing more than to stretch out a hand, shatter the glass wall, and simply take the plushie.
— Promise Unnie! No using your powers outside whenever you feel like it!
Yet Kim Na-yeon's voice, suddenly rising in my mind, calmed the surging energy.
"Haaah."
I exhaled and mastered my temper.
Lee Da-yeon too wore an expression of forced resignation.
"This Seat is a worthless Supreme Being who cannot even win a single plushie. Forgive me."
"It's okay. Yeon-ah tried so hard for me."
Our kind Young Cult Leader instead comforted me.
Moved by the magnanimity befitting the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I swallowed my tears and embraced her.
"Khuk, Young Cult Leader!"
"Hii, Yeon-ah!"
We clung tightly to each other in front of the claw machine.
"…Excuse me?"
Just then someone approached and spoke to us.
When I lifted my head, a young woman stood before us, her eyes somehow red-rimmed. She appeared to be a staff member of this game center.
She clenched both fists and cheered me on.
"You can do it! You've still got one play left, right?"
"Th-that is true, yet this game is far too difficult."
"Just wait a second."
She drew a key from her pocket and opened the glass case.
The staff member's hand slipped inside and soon lifted the very plushie I had been targeting. She then hung it right beside the exit chute.
"Oh."
The shark plushie now sat immediately next to the machine's exit.
At that position, a mere nudge would send it tumbling down.
Whirrr.
I stretched out my hand once more and worked the claw.
With every ounce of concentration I aligned the position and lowered it with perfect precision.
The plushie caught by the claw gave a soft thud and dropped straight into the exit below.
"Ooooh…! Success!"
"Waaat! Yeon-ah!"
Lee Da-yeon and I clasped hands and rejoiced.
Watching us, the female staff member quietly wiped the corner of her eye.