A Shopping Spree and a Shady Lottery

“Little one, if you gather so many, won’t your father be upset?” the store clerk finally couldn’t help but ask, as Aya Jiu, yet again, scurried to the front desk, clutching another box and adding it to the small mountain of items she had already amassed.

It wasn’t uncommon for children to indiscriminately grab items, only for their parents to refuse payment, leaving the staff to meticulously return everything to its place.

Typically, they would communicate with the parents immediately to prevent any unnecessary complications down the line.

However, the father of the little girl standing before him was also busily collecting items. This left the clerk momentarily uncertain whether he should even voice his concerns.

“Daddy won’t be angry at all!” Little Aya Jiu pouted, pointing to another small mountain beside her that was even taller. “Daddy’s grabbed even more than Aya Jiu has!”

‘Daddy was so mean, teasing her because her hands weren’t big enough to carry more than one small box at a time.’

“Big brother, I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Watching Aya Jiu trot away, resuming her quest for more beloved figures, the clerk found himself momentarily stunned.

His gaze then drifted to the other towering pile of figures. So many… that must be several thousand yuan, at least.

‘How enviable, to have such an adorable daughter. Truly, a winner in life.’

****

Meanwhile, Aya Tone had completed her rounds, finally satisfied, and ceased her own spirited shopping.

“Hey buddy, do you happen to have any of those—you know, the not-for-all-ages kind? The ones you understand.”

Aya Tone pulled the clerk closer, showering him with winks and suggestive gestures.

The clerk stared blankly for a moment, utterly bewildered. Yet, a flash of understanding quickly crossed his face. “I apologize, but this is a legitimate specialty store. We don’t carry those kinds of items.”

“None? What a shame…”

‘So it’s true, some characters can only be acquired through alternative channels?’

While this specialty store was expansive, it couldn’t possibly stock every anime character imaginable.

Certain niche or licensed characters were never openly displayed for sale.

All his previous online groups had been infiltrated by moles and subsequently reported, leading to their complete demise.

Even the boss had gone in to ‘eat national rice,’ a euphemism for being imprisoned.

Studios with less severe involvement had been warned, and now none dared to make a move.

He wondered how long it would take for the market to recover.

‘Such a worry.’

He had hoped to find some legitimate channels here. Was it truly impossible? ‘Damn those moles!’

“Aya Jiu, time to go.”

Aya Tone turned, spotting the small figure standing not far off, utterly absorbed in watching others participate in a lottery draw.

Big White was waiting outside, so he wasn’t concerned about Aya Jiu wandering off.

With so many purchases, unboxing alone would consume a considerable amount of time. Buying anything more would truly necessitate tidying up their room just to find space for them all.

“Daddy, daddy, can we play that game?”

Hearing Aya Tone’s call, Aya Jiu immediately spun around and dashed towards her father.

She had just seen many young women gathered around a wall, tearing at something she couldn’t quite discern. It looked like a lottery, and she longed to join in.

Following the direction of his daughter’s tiny pointing hand, Aya Tone couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Wasn’t that the ‘prize draw’ thing Aya Jiu had been watching earlier?

That was no good thing at all; its mechanics were indistinguishable from gambling, rife with elements of fraud.

He bent down, scooped up Aya Jiu, and playfully tapped her small nose.

“That’s a trick game, Aya Jiu can’t play it.”

“Why?” Her large eyes blinked in confusion.

She had just seen a young woman buy up all the remaining prize tickets in one go.

“Because some unscrupulous merchants hide the tickets that are printed with the big prizes.”

“Huh?” Her small nose wrinkled. “Then you can never win? Teacher says lying isn’t what good children do.”

“Exactly, exactly! So they’re all bad kids!” Aya Tone was thoroughly amused by his daughter’s indignant little expression.

The playful interaction between father and daughter utterly disregarded the nearby clerk.

The clerk merely offered a dry chuckle, making no attempt to refute them.

After all, he couldn’t be certain whether his own boss engaged in such practices, and speaking out incorrectly would only serve to embarrass himself.

‘It was best to remain silent.’

Besides, the act of hiding winning tickets wasn’t unheard of. It was simply one of the industry’s darker secrets, not something to speak of proudly.

Having successfully soothed his pouting daughter, Aya Tone gestured towards the two small mountains of purchases, one large and one considerably smaller.

“Hey, buddy, do you offer mailing services here?”

He couldn’t possibly carry all of them himself. With how advanced courier services were these days, the store should be more than willing to assist with shipping.

“Of course, no problem at all. However, there might be a small fee involved.”

“Alright. Please help me check out. If there are any duplicates between the two piles, just leave one in the smaller stack.”

At the clerk’s summons, two more staff members quickly arrived.

The trio efficiently divided the tasks and swiftly tallied the total cost.

They removed the duplicates, yet upon final tally, only a handful of items proved to be identical.

There was no helping it; due to Little Aya Jiu’s diminutive size, most of her chosen items were small trinkets.

Indeed, had it not been for the kind assistance of the big brother, she wouldn’t have even been able to reach them on the shelves.

“Hello, that will be 8,500 yuan. If you could please present your payment code, I’ll scan it for you.”

As the receipt emerged from the machine, over eight thousand yuan departed from Aya Tone’s wallet.

Aya Tone glanced at the receipt in his hand.

‘Hmm, it looked like a lot, but in reality, most were merely decent quality prize figures. There weren’t many truly expensive collectibles among them.’

‘Still, the money in the ACG world was surprisingly easy to make.’

“Make sure to package them securely! If anything arrives damaged, I’ll be back to settle it with you directly!”

Having been swindled by an unscrupulous merchant in the past, Aya Tone felt compelled to exercise caution.

Courier services rarely cared what was inside; when damage occurred, everyone simply passed the blame back and forth. The endless finger-pointing was utterly infuriating.

Laying down the terms beforehand was always better than haggling later.

After providing their address, the two stepped out of the store.

“Wow, so many people!” Aya Jiu, nestled in her father’s arms, was startled by the sheer throng before them.

The crowd outside Big White’s original position had not thinned; if anything, it had swelled. By the time they emerged, Big White’s form was completely obscured.

“Aya Jiu, call out to Big White.”

“But there are so many people, Big White won’t hear me.”

“It’s alright, Big White can hear you, I promise,” Aya Tone said, lowering his gaze to give Aya Jiu a reassuring look.

Big White’s core programming was entirely dedicated to caring for Aya Jiu, granting her a higher priority even than himself, her creator.

For instance, while Aya Jiu had been running rampant inside the store, Big White had been outside, posing for photos with magical girl enthusiasts. Yet, her awareness had remained steadfastly focused on Aya Jiu.

Thus, a single word from Aya Jiu was all it took for Big White to hear.

Little Aya Jiu took a deep breath, her small cheeks puffed out. “Big White! Let’s go!”

Alas, the sheer volume of people was too great. Her sweet, childish voice traveled mere meters before being swallowed by the clamor of the crowd.

“Daddy, it’s no use…” Aya Jiu pouted, her face clouded with unhappiness.

‘Big White was hers, after all, so why were so many people surrounding her? How annoying.’

“It’s alright, Aya Jiu. Big White heard you, I promise,” Aya Tone said, comfortingly stroking his daughter’s small head.

His gaze pierced through the dense crowd, and he watched as that streak of silver began to move the moment Little Aya Jiu called out.

As for why it was only the silver streak moving—don’t ask. If asked, the only answer was that everything below Big White’s shoulders was entirely obscured by the crowd, leaving nothing else visible.