Ch.133133. The Winner

“Fuck, my life is made.”

“I’m definitely going to taste a succubus. No, I’ll just live with one wrapped around me.”

The man in his mid-twenties, Hans, was muttering these words like a mantra while shaking his legs frantically.

Sometimes he would bite his nails or snap his fingers. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight for onlookers.

In fact, the lottery office staff were glancing at him with annoyed expressions.

They even whispered loud enough for him to hear, saying things like “Of course the first winner causes a huge problem” or “We should contact the Marquis. What if he gets angry?” Hans couldn’t understand what “problem” they were referring to.

‘Are they bitter because someone like me is the winner?’

Of course, that could be the case.

But what could they do about it? They were just employees getting paid to work at a lottery office.

Though they were dressed neatly and seemed to be saying intelligent things, it was right to consider them beneath him now.

Hans decided to forgive them generously.

…Of course, until just a few hours ago, Hans wasn’t in a position to speak of generous forgiveness to these people in their neat uniforms.

He was a laborer working at a tile factory on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

Tiles. While commonly used in the capital, they were still considered luxury finishing materials.

Skilled tile makers enjoyed lives approaching the middle class. Hans himself would claim to be a technician when trying to impress women.

But in reality, Hans wasn’t a technician but just a common laborer. He couldn’t learn the technical skills because he had caused too many problems due to alcohol.

Living in the Imperial Capital meant he wouldn’t have to face monsters and was essentially exempt from conscription, but beyond that, his life offered no consolation.

Hans could never be satisfied with the life given to him.

He didn’t have any particular talent, nor did he have any passion for learning. He had even dropped out of public school after just two years. He had tried to become an Imperial Guard once, but unfortunately failed the physical test.

Still, he couldn’t abandon the hope that “there might be some opportunity for a turnaround.”

A chance to live a special life, different from others.

Hans simply couldn’t give up his attachment to this idea. He also found it hard to accept that he had to waste his youth working at the bottom of society.

The first opportunity that came to his dreary life was the lottery.

With his already tight finances, he had managed to scrape together five silver coins to buy a lottery ticket.

His colleagues clicked their tongues, saying he was wasting money, but Hans endured two weeks of hard labor while dreaming sweet dreams. He was filled with determination to show off to those idiots if he won.

The basis for his confidence in winning was, well, there wasn’t any. He just had a strong belief that “my life can’t end as just digging ditches.”

“Anyway, I did it with my own hands, didn’t I?”

Hans smiled with satisfaction and clenched his fist.

However, there was one strange thing in all this.

He had brought the winning ticket, but the lottery office people showed no sign of giving him the prize money.

A sense of anxiety suddenly arose.

‘Just try to cheat me. You think I’ll just sit back?’

As Hans was grimly reaffirming his resolve, the director of the lottery office finally approached him with a blank expression.

“The verification of the lottery ticket is complete. The prize money is 5,762,200,000 Lyra.”

“Wow.”

It was an enormous amount he had never encountered before.

The director rambled on about how the payout rate was 48 percent after deducting business expenses and reserve funds from the total sales, but Hans wasn’t interested. Though he couldn’t help feeling somewhat deprived that “they’re taking more than half of my money,” he was willing to overlook it.

With over 5.7 billion, he could live as a wealthy man for life, no, for generations.

‘With this money, I can do anything.’

First, he needed to buy a house.

He was living in what was commonly called a beehive house near his workplace, in poor conditions. There was one water tap for every four households, and without magical lighting, nights meant simply going to bed in the dark.

But now he could say goodbye to that place.

He could treat the 3rd District, where the elites lived, as a slum, and easily enter the 2nd District where the real nobles lived.

But why stop at a mansion? He could probably rent out an entire succubus bar, which was all the rage throughout the Imperial Capital these days.

And, and also.

“…That concludes my warnings. You’ve heard everything, right?”

“Huh? Oh, you’re done? Then please give me the prize money.”

“I recommend depositing the prize money in the Imperial Bank.”

Hans was about to reply, “I don’t trust banks,” but closed his mouth. He belatedly realized it would be impossible to physically move 5.7 billion in cash. Though he had never been to a bank and didn’t fully trust them, he had no choice.

“Fine. Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll go along with that.”

“……”

A few hours later, Hans left the lottery office with just 100 million, accompanied by Imperial Guards. They said they would escort him home.

Hans decided not to decline. To be honest, he felt a sense of pride.

‘This is the life.’

…

Unfortunately, the satisfaction on Hans’s face disappeared not long after.

It was because of the crowd gathered in front of the lottery office.

At first, he couldn’t believe it, but Hans soon realized that these people had gathered to see him.

They weren’t just looking, either. Some were staring at him with strange gazes and whispering odd things.

“What? He’s young?”

“I found out he’s a laborer at a tile factory owned by the Imperial Seal Manager, or should I say, His Majesty’s cousin for easier understanding. They say he ran out screaming as soon as he saw the winning numbers.”

“Oh. Good information. How do you know that?”

“It’s not about good information. The winner himself was going around waving his ticket and bragging about it.”

“What a strange fellow.”

Hans’s face turned pale upon hearing such talk.

‘They know about me?’

Being recognized by strangers was something Hans had never experienced before. He had expected his workplace colleagues to be jealous, but he hadn’t thought strangers would take interest in him.

Regardless of whether he understood it or not, he could sense this wasn’t good.

People glancing and whispering.

People who looked ordinary but somehow had an unusual aura.

Some even greeted him with sinister smiles.

He couldn’t even guess what they were thinking.

‘What is this?’

Hans swallowed hard and slowly moved forward.

Fortunately, thanks to the accompanying guards, people slowly made way for him. Even so, the gazes fixed on Hans remained.

His only hope was that he would be free from those stares once he got away from the lottery office.

But even that hope was soon shattered.

Dozens of people were already crowding in front of the room where he lived. Most of them were his workplace colleagues. There were also friends, relatives, and even ex-girlfriends.

“Oh, Hans is here.”

Someone’s voice somehow felt creepy.

Soon, his acquaintances began to approach him. Hans unconsciously grabbed the edge of a guard’s uniform.

***

To think such a thing would happen right from the start.

I couldn’t help but chuckle when I heard that the first Imperial Lottery winner had caused a problem.

Or perhaps this situation arose precisely because it was the first lottery. After all, it was unprecedented for a commoner, and a penniless one at that, to suddenly possess over 5 billion.

Hans seemed completely unaware of how dangerous his situation was. Just because there were no monsters didn’t mean the Imperial Capital was necessarily safe.

‘Still, I can’t let him end up as a corpse. That would shake the lottery system.’

The fortunate thing was that I had prepared for such a situation in advance.

It was a plan I had formulated after seeking advice from the Saintess (whom I had called to check her holy magic skills) sitting quietly beside me now.

Gang Hannah said that in her country, people weren’t killed just for winning the lottery, but problems still arose when the fact became known. Because of this, some winners even hid their winnings from their families.

Even now, the Saintess seemed worried about potential problems.

“Um, The Hero. That winner probably…”

“If we leave him alone, he’ll be in danger within days. That’s why the Imperial Guards will protect him for now.”

“For now? That won’t be enough.”

Yes. For now.

The Imperial Guard wasn’t a charity; they couldn’t keep protecting a lottery winner indefinitely.

The plan was to provide security for about a week, then withdraw. Of course, a week wouldn’t be nearly enough, so Hans would likely feel extreme anxiety. By that time, his relationships would probably be in ruins too.

“At that point, I’ll send someone to offer private security. Saintess, you mentioned that lottery winners in a place called America hire bodyguards. That’s where I got the idea.”

I had already established an association using the connections of Garland and Lord Ordellon, both members of the Hero’s party. It was an association for security services.

The personnel being recruited as bodyguards were knights.

Specifically, they were former knights from the two major knightly orders who had ended their careers due to injuries.

While most injuries could be healed by clergy, some knights had become disabled (losing sight in one eye or a hand) because they missed the timing for treatment. Even with such disabilities, they could still use aura, making them more than capable of providing security.

“Retired knights get good jobs, and winners don’t have to worry about safety—it’s a win-win situation.”

Of course, this wouldn’t be entirely pleasant for the winners. They would have to live with bodyguards who were of higher social status, stronger, and more knowledgeable than themselves. That gap couldn’t be bridged with money.

Still, at least they wouldn’t die. This was all I could do for a winner whose identity had been exposed, given that I was busy preparing for a military expedition.

The rest was entirely up to the individual concerned.