Ch.52Earning, So Enjoying: NPC. (4)

I knew this world was different from a game, but this is too much. An arcade? A casino with a sports arcade?

“Heh. So many interesting things. Jack, what should we try first?”

“I want to try that!! The one where you hit a small ball with a stick! It looks fun! And refreshing!!”

“Ah. Right. But first, let’s hear what this place is and why people come here. Looks like there’s someone explaining over there.”

No matter how I look at it, I wouldn’t expect such a large arcade to be inside a building like this. Is this some kind of gimmick too? With these thoughts, I listened to the guide’s explanation along with the other two.

And the explanation was extremely simple.

Here, one game costs a basic 100,000 kan. And if you achieve a certain score or perform specific actions in the game, they’ll exchange it for prize items.

For example, that baseball batting area over there.

For 100,000 kan, you get three attempts, and you need to hit the target in that high place twice out of three tries.

…Hey, even a professional player couldn’t do that.

There’s also basketball, bowling, a punching machine, golf, billiards, and something resembling kendo. And on top of that…

‘Shooting games?’

There’s even a shooting game area like Biohazard from my previous life.

What is this? Aigram was supposed to have a medieval setting, so how did it end up with a place that looks like a mix of SF and “IT”?

The scene makes me genuinely suspicious that there might have been such an easter egg hidden in the game from my previous life.

However, Ray and Ragni are just excited, their eyes sparkling as they see it as a fascinating place of entertainment culture.

I guess I should pretend not to know anything either.

“I understand the explanation roughly. Now let’s play. It seems they give pretty good prizes if you win even one.”

“The difficulty is quite high. That batting thing, even the people over there are struggling just to hit the ball with the bat, let alone hitting the target. We need to think carefully.”

Ray, who just wanted to play a moment ago, hesitates a bit at the price of 100,000 kan per game, while Ragni talks as if we should just spend a reasonable amount and leave.

Right. After all, this is money won from gambling, and this establishment is a “business” designed to make us spend it here.

I received glasses from a bunny girl employee who approached us with a smile, distributed them to the two, took a shot myself, and then divided the money.

“Here. Ten games per person. Let’s just spend this much and go.”

“Huh?! You’re giving me some too?! But I already have money from earlier…”

“No. It’s better for you to keep that money. You lost all 200,000 earlier, right? That’s at most 400,000-500,000, and if you spend it all, you’ll just end up borrowing more, won’t you?”

“Ugh!”

Right. Thanks to Ragni, I won an insane amount, but she only hit the jackpot once.

Of course, 400,000-500,000 isn’t a small amount, but it’s far from enough to play here. She’d definitely use it all up while Ragni and I are playing, and then start whining again. Rather than seeing that, it’s better to divide it equally.

After dividing the money, we decided to play whatever we wanted…

“But why are we all going to the same place?”

“Well, playing alone in a place like this just doesn’t seem fun?”

“Ray, didn’t you want to try that batting thing?”

“I don’t want to play separately from you two that badly!”

What’s this? Is their DNA wired to be social?

Both in my previous life and this one, I was a loner, so it felt natural to play alone in places like this, but these two prefer to stay together as if it’s the obvious choice.

Well. In the end, even though I divided the money between them, they followed me, and we decided to stay together. And then.

*BANG!!!*

“Ohhh!! 60 points!! A high score!!”

The game that men always play when they go to an arcade—the punching machine.

I came to stand in front of it. Above all, this one has prizes for each score out of a maximum of 200 points, so even if I can’t get the top score, I’d lose the least. That was my reasoning.

But it’s not just a machine sitting there like in a game arcade.

Around us, people who look wealthy are holding drinks, watching men and women swing their fists. There’s even an MC.

Hmm, this is different from the arcade I had in mind.

“Are you going to try that?”

“It’s 200 points maximum, and if you score over 190 points, they give a reward worth 3 million kan?”

“Even if you don’t get 190 points, it seems they give rewards for anything over 50 points. Better than playing without getting anything.”

And I’m also curious to see how many points I could score with my stats.

With that in mind, I handed over 100,000 kan to the garter-belt-wearing employee next to the MC, and then.

“I want to try too! Can I go first?”

“Huh? Ray too?”

“Yes! This looks satisfying!!”

“I’ll pass. Physical exertion isn’t my thing.”

When she asked the employee to register her first, the employee smiled wryly and did as asked.

It’s obvious that few women participate in this game, and Ray looks like a delicate woman except for the sword at her waist.

They probably thought she was just a woman on the fringes of adventuring who was being overconfident.

“Now!! This time, a beautiful blonde swordswoman is challenging!! How many points will she score?! It’s been a while since we had a female challenger, but the highest score by a woman so far is 120 points!! Good luck, adventurer miss!!”

The MC started speaking quite excitedly when Ray appeared. She is indeed beautiful when she’s just standing still.

The people around also seem to think she’s pretty, as they’re watching her more intently than they did the man who was punching earlier.

But that man had quite a sturdy build and scored 60 points. A woman scored 120? If Ray hits with all her might, won’t this machine break?

I watched her take her position with a slightly nervous feeling.

*Shiver*

“My, it seems she’s quite serious about this?”

“No, why is she so serious about a game…”

Her blue wall completely changed to a serious mode.

The perverted idiot swordswoman who laughed, chatted, and whined in front of us suddenly switched to a serious atmosphere as if to prove she’s a 1.5-tier dealer, and even the MC could only swallow hard.

*BANG—!!*

“Whoa?!!”

“Eek?!!”

When Ray struck the punching machine with no warning, her golden hair flying as if she were thrusting her sword, the people around were so startled they dropped their drinks and let out shrill screams.

Wow. That punch was incredibly fast! Is this what they mean by an attack speed dealer?

“Uh, uh? Uh! Amazing!! A, a fist as fast as the wind!! I thought the punching machine would break!! The fist wasn’t even visible!!!”

*Dingalingalingaling*

The MC’s voice jumped in surprise as the machine tallied the score, and everyone around focused not on her but on the scoreboard she created.

They probably realized that what they thought was just a pretty girl playing around was actually a true powerhouse.

And the score was.

“Ahhh!!! So close!!! 110 points!! Not enough to break the female record!!!”

“Huh.”

“…If that punch only gets that score, how hard do you have to hit to exceed 190 points?”

Ragni and I let out disappointed voices, and Ray looked at the scoreboard with frustration before turning back.

But why didn’t she use her full strength?

“Ugh!! I couldn’t even beat the female record, let alone reach 190 points!! I’m sorry!!”

“Huh? No, there’s no need to apologize. It wasn’t your full strength anyway.”

“Huh? That wasn’t full strength?”

“What?! I, I just used my absolute full strength!!”

Ray and Ragni opened their eyes wide in surprise at my words.

But what we just saw was definitely not her full strength.

“No. You could have held your sword in your left hand and used skills too, but you didn’t.”

“…Ah!!!”

At my words, Ray looked at her sword as if she just realized it, so she must have really forgotten.

Well, maybe she forgot because it’s a skill that doesn’t activate without the sword? She’s also quite forgetful.

As I was talking with Ray, an employee approached.

“Congratulations!! Those who score over 100 points receive a prize worth 100,000 kan!!”

And soon the employee handed Ray a small box.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“This is a random box made by our [Golden Castle]! It’s a magical item that gives rewards worth from 30,000 to 200,000 kan! People who score over 100 points sometimes earn more than the game fee with this!”

“Heh.”

“Oh. It’s a gacha.”

“A what?”

I shook my head at Ray who didn’t understand my words and told her to open the box quickly.

And what came out was.

“…What could this be?”

“Oh. A ring. That’s good?”

“Huh? You know what this is?”

It’s not that I know, but my status window showed it. It’s good. A very good equipment item for the early game.

[Emerald Ring: Increases the wearer’s agility by 3 and adds 5 magic damage per hit. [Now I’m a magic swordsman too!!] -From a swordsman who couldn’t become a magic swordsman.-]

“Make sure you wear that. It’s a pretty good ring for you.”

“Ah, yes!”

Regardless of the price, it’s a good item for her. The additional magic damage will be a real help for someone who only has physical attacks.

“Next challenger, please step forward!!”

“They’re calling you.”

“Alright, I’ll be back.”

As I stepped forward when called, the MC immediately began speaking.

“This time we have a male companion of that strong beautiful swordswoman from earlier!! Ah! Since his female companion scored over 100 points, he must be feeling quite pressured?! As a man’s pride is at stake, he should score at least 100 points, right?!!”

He spoke nicely about Ray, but why is he so eager to pressure me?

Looking at the eyes of the MC and the men around, I roughly understand the reason.

Being a companion of a strong and beautiful woman like Ray is enough to invite jealousy.

‘Geez. Without even knowing her, just because she’s a beautiful woman, their eyes roll…’

But this doesn’t feel so bad either. Living as an illiterate mountain keeper for three years, when have I ever received such envy and jealousy?

I felt somewhat excited, and I put my weight strongly on my waist and legs, grabbing my right wrist.

‘But come to think of it, this is annoying? In their eyes, I must look like that kind of person?’

Those envious gazes aren’t bad, but they must think of me as a man who lives off a woman, or a man being protected by a woman?

This won’t do. I’ll show them my true strength.

“Mountain Keeper’s Serious Punch.”

Forgetting how I was bewildered by Ray using her full strength earlier, and unaware of my own mood swinging like someone with bipolar disorder, I swung my fist with all my might for the first time since recalling my previous life’s memories.

And the punching machine bent like a bow.