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Mutsuki was somewhat troubled as he checked the photo on the screen but he guessed she would be mad if he retook it He touched the confirm button on the panel and it took around a dozen seconds to print the photos What is this

Like I was saying this machine isn’t actually a game

Anger visibly grew on Ange’s face when he handed her the printed photos

He began to wonder if he should have retaken it after all Depending on how one looked at it it almost looked like they were smiling together with their arms linked

What is this So it just takes pictures That isn’t a game at all

Well you’re actually supposed to draw on the pictures you take

Where’s the fun in that How stupid

He had started this because he had thought she would find something stupid to be fun but she

had gotten mad instead She seemed to especially dislike how friendly they looked in the photo She blushed and stomped out of the booth

Mutsuki scratched at his head and followed her

But he did secretly pocket his first one-on-one photo with a girl since it had come out so well

Ange seemed more cautious after that first failure so she avoided any kind of machine with a screen as she started searching for something that looked fun

Even in such a large place there was only so much they could do so they naturally ended up at a certain device

You called this the crane game

Yes You grab the prizes with that crane

Hmm

Still looking sullen she stopped in front of the prize area that contained over one hundred machines

The prizes were exposed behind a single layer of glass and one could snag one for as little as one hundred yen The genre had an attraction for people like her who knew little of normal games and it drew her attention quite well Want to try it Although it’s not easy so I doubt you can get anything

There were plenty of varieties orthodox cranes shovels that scooped up treats and glass beads extending arms baskets the prizes were shaken into and hooks to snag the prizes For a beginner like her he guessed the roulette that relied entirely on luck would give her the best odds of success but I can teach you the trick to it if you want So which one do you- Uh oh

When he noticed what her slanted blue eyes were focused on he grimaced

She apparently wanted a Lazy Bear cushion based on a mascot character that had gotten popular recently It was a large prize and there was only one per machine And of course each play in those machines cost two hundred yen I can get this too

Um W-well yes If you can grab it But

I’ll do it Just tell me how

Her unconcerned tone of voice would not take no for an answer so Mutsuki had no choice but to operate the machine in question and teach her how it was done It was an orthodox crane type where Button 1 moved it to the side and Button 2 moved it forward He told her that she had to stop the crane above the prize to grab it that targeting the center of gravity was best and to go for a spot that was not too thick but not too thin since it responded to pressure Okay I’ll give it a shot

The machine cost two hundred yen a try but he inserted a five hundred yen coin which was worth three games

Ange stared at the prize beyond the glass with as serious a look as when she wielded her great sword Mutsuki had paid for three game’s worth to make sure she was convinced but

Here

Whirr

There

Whir-whir-whir-whir-whir

Is that all

Yeah you failed your first try

The claws had grabbed the prize at a good spot but they had risen back up without lifting the target in the slightest Then they moved back above the prize hole

What the hell What a piece of junk

I told it wasn’t easy didn’t I

He smiled bitterly at the angry girl because he had expected this to happen

Prize games generally had two types of machines the lure machines that drew in customers with their magnificent prizes and the opened machines that drew in customers with the ability to actually win something Mutsuki had looked into it because his sister Mutsumi was really into the Lazy Bear series but the cushion was a new product That meant it would be in one of the lure machines The machine was only meant to show off the prizes so it would be made so no one could actually win them There would be days when it was set up to be possible but a weekday like today was hopeless

Based on Ange’s game the claws were too loose Even one hundred games would not be enough to get it

Grr

Oblivious to that world of adults Ange furrowed her brow and glared at the machine as she reached for the buttons again

Three games would never satisfy her so Mutsuki inserted another five hundred yen increasing the remaining plays light to 4 In the meantime he started looking for another solution

Fortunately he quickly found what he was looking for It was the machine he had worked himself

to death conquering after Mutsumi had begged him

Ahh There’s no way you can get it Is this thing rigged

After using up all of her plays and only moving the cushion a little over two millimeters the girl shouted loud enough for the employees to here

As I said it’s really hard

Mutsuki returned to her with a smile

This isn’t just hard It’s made so you can’t win

And you lost from the moment you didn’t realize that

Here

He handed his prize to the girl whose adorable face was twisted in anger

Ange was shocked to have something a few sizes larger than the cushion pressed against her chest Her eyes opened wide when she realized what it was The shape was a little different but it was the same character as what she had wanted It was a Lazy Bear body pillow He had worked his ass off winning one two weeks before for Mutsumiand then had won another for his jealous older sister And then a third time for Chiaki when she sulked He was so accustomed to it that he had won this one after only two tries It was not a difficult

thing on one of the opened machines

You can have it It’s not a cushion but it’s pretty much the same right

I-I don’t need

You don’t want it

She never said she did but she refused to let go of it

She quickly grew silent so he headed to the service counter to get a bag

When he turned his back he barely picked up a voice saying nk you but he pretended not to

hear it and continued to the counter

However he could not keep up his gentlemanly act so he peeked back toward her after turning

the corner and asking an employee for a prize bag

Ange remained entirely motionless for a while but

He saw her squeeze the pillow just once

Afterwards they enjoyed themselves in the normal game section

With the fighting puzzle mahjong and quiz games that were only buttons and a screen she could only tell something is happening on the screen since she did not know the rules On the other hand she quite liked the games that required moving one’s body Take the shooting games for example

Wah Wah This is really gory Take this and this and this and this

Wow perfect accuracy That’s amazing for your first time

Why you- Take this H-huh What the hell Why did I die when I was never hit once

As I’ve already explained several times your life goes down whenever you shoot a hostage You can’t just shoot everything that moves

Or the rhythm games

Ah ha ha ha ha This is so easy

No misses is pretty amazing for a first attempt

Heh heh Well if I actually try a little you should expect this

But there’s someone with three times my score in the high scores

That’s because you’re hitting the buttons without paying attention to the rhythm You won’t

get a good score that way

Or the punching machine

What does a punch strength of ‘E’ mean

That’s an error Try hitting it again

If you say so Deryah

What Now it’s not even showing the ‘E’

The pole is stuck inside the machine I’ll go call an employee