“Here’s your change and receipt.”
Reine, dressed in her adorable uniform with a small bear perched on her shoulder, had once again taken on the role of cashier.
“…Wait, this is a lottery ticket for the shopping district. After you leave this store, if you walk along the path to your right, you’ll reach the lottery center. Please make good use of it, if you can.”
Just as Shido and the others were about to depart, Reine retrieved a lottery ticket from the drawer and handed it to Shido, emphasizing the latter part of her sentence.
‘She probably didn’t mean “if you can,” but rather “you must use it.”‘
Shido thought, feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his temple as he gazed at the ticket in his hand.
“A lottery ticket? Your luck’s looking up, Shido!”
Qianye teased, her eyes fixed on the ticket Shido held.
Of course, she knew this ticket was actually prepared by Ratatoskr for Shido, but for now, she chose to feign ignorance.
“Shido, Qianye, what is that?”
Tohka watched the lottery ticket in Shido’s hand with keen interest.
“This is a lottery ticket. You can use it to draw prizes, and if you’re lucky, you might even win the grand prize,” Shido explained to Tohka.
“So… Tohka, do you want to give it a try?”
“Really? Even though I don’t quite understand what it is, it feels important, so I want to go!”
Tohka nodded definitively, her face beaming with excitement.
“Let’s hurry!”
Tohka was the first to bolt, overflowing with boundless energy.
“Tohka, do you even know where you’re going? Don’t run off to the wrong place!”
Qianye sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead in exasperation, before rushing out after her.
“Miss Reine, I’m off too!”
After exchanging a brief glance with Reine, Shido also dashed away.
“Good work, Reine.”
Kotori, who had been hiding beneath the counter, stood up only after confirming that Shido and the others had left.
“…Mm, no problem,” Reine replied, her voice devoid of any intonation.
The plan Kotori was currently executing was codenamed F-08, also known as the “Tengu City Holiday” project.
Its core objective was for the crew members to “pose as ordinary citizens and assist Shido when the Spirit evades detection by the organization and makes contact with him.”
To prepare for this, every crew member underwent over a month of acting training. Yet, this elaborate setup was merely one of Ratatoskr’s thousands of contingency plans for unexpected situations.
“Ah, it’s me. A quick brief: act as naturally as possible. If you fail, I’ll skin you alive.”
After succinctly stating the mission’s objective and its dire consequence, Kotori hung up the phone.
“Let’s head back to the Fraxinus! We can’t contact them, but we still need to monitor the footage!”
“Mm… That sounds like a plan!”
****
“Uh, the lottery center… Is this it?”
The trio had arrived at the entrance of the lottery center, and Shido, glancing at the map in his hand, spoke with a hint of uncertainty.
In an open space, a large, long table draped with a red tablecloth stood, adorned with a massive lottery machine.
“This must be the place,” Qianye said with a lazy stretch.
“Ooh, so this is the lottery center? It’s so lively!” Tohka exclaimed, surprised by the bustling crowd of staff members around them.
“Uh… I think I’ve seen them somewhere before.”
Shido scratched his head, wondering if his memory was playing tricks on him. Besides the staff, even the customers in line and other passersby seemed familiar, as if he’d encountered them all within the Fraxinus.
‘This couldn’t be Kotori and her crew, could it?’
Shido surmised that Kotori must have sent them to assist with his date; otherwise, such a coincidence would be inexplicable.
“Tohka, you handle the lottery!”
Qianye handed the ticket to Tohka, whose face practically screamed, ‘I want to draw!’
‘It’s Ratatoskr’s lottery anyway, so letting Tohka have some fun is fine. Besides, if I recall correctly, the grand prize is…’
Qianye recalled the plot she had once read, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
‘It’s going to be very interesting. Shido can’t refuse this time.’
“Eh, really?” Tohka looked at Qianye with delighted surprise.
“Of course! Shido, you agree too, right?”
“…Let Tohka experience it,” Shido conceded with a nod.
Tohka joyfully took the lottery ticket and joined the very end of the line.
“Ooh, I’m going!”
As the customers ahead spun the lottery machine, Tohka’s head and eyes eagerly followed each rotation.
Finally, after all the customers ahead had drawn their prizes and left, Tohka mimicked their actions, handing her ticket to the staff member before placing her hand on the lottery machine.
“I just need to spin this, right?” Tohka murmured softly, then gave it a forceful turn.
“I wonder what Tohka will win?”
“Who knows? Maybe a ticket to a love hotel!”
“How could that be? Ahahaha…”
Shido burst into laughter at Qianye’s deadpan joke.
In response, Qianye could only shrug helplessly.
With a soft thud, a small red ball dropped out.
“Ah, what a shame. A red ball means a miniature bread…”
Before Shido could finish his sentence, the triumphant chime of a grand prize suddenly rang out.
“Congratulations, you’ve won the grand prize!”
“Ooh!”
“Wha— Nani?”
‘This is far too obvious!’
Shido froze, stunned by the sudden win. He didn’t even bother with the confetti ribbons that had fallen on his head, instead looking up at the prize board. At some point, the golden ball that signified the top prize had been replaced with a red one.
“Congratulations! The grand prize is a free couple’s package ticket to the ‘Island of Dreams’!”
“Ooh, Shido, Qianye, what’s that?”
“It sounds like some kind of theme park. Qianye, have you heard of it?”
“I don’t know. Won’t we find out if we go?”
Qianye replied with a meaningful smile, taking the tickets from Tohka.
“Coincidentally, there’s a map on the back of the tickets, and even more coincidentally, it’s not far from here. Shall we go check it out?”
“Alright!”
“Then Shido, let’s hurry!”
With that, Tohka and Qianye set off together toward the destination marked on the map.
Shido felt a strange premonition. If he remembered correctly, that area was supposed to be a residential district. While it wasn’t entirely impossible, it was hard to imagine a theme park there.
However, since Tohka and Qianye were eager to go, he, as the protagonist of this date, couldn’t lose face. So, Shido could only sigh and follow them.
“Oh, Shido, Qianye, it’s a castle! Are we going in there?”
Tohka excitedly pointed towards a castle ahead, while Shido gasped internally, ‘How is this possible? It actually exists!’
Then Shido glanced at the sign in front of the castle, immediately wanting to turn around and leave.
“Wait, Shido, where do you think you’re going?”
Before Shido could put his thoughts into action, Qianye stopped him.
“Qianye, that’s a love hotel!”
“So what? You’re not going to say, ‘We’re still minors, we can’t go in,’ and then refuse, are you?”
“You’ve already said it all. What more can I add?”
“Ehehe!” Qianye approached Shido step by step, then whispered conspiratorially into his ear.
“Don’t forget, Shido, you’re not a virgin anymore. You have no reason to resist something like this.”
“But…”
“Qianye, what are you secretly telling Shido?”
Tohka noticed Qianye whispering to Shido and turned to ask.
“Is there something you can’t tell me? Does it hold the essence of dating?”
“Tohka, you’re so smart!”
“You’re right in many ways, but we still can’t go in.”
“Why?” Tohka asked, her face etched with disappointment, her voice deflating.
“Perhaps it’s because Shido only wants to do this with me,” Qianye said to Tohka, her slender hand wrapped around Shido’s neck, a mischievous, triumphant tone in her voice.
“Something like this, only with Qianye, but not with me? Am I not as important as Qianye in Shido’s heart?” Tohka looked at Shido, her eyes welling with tears.
“Baka Shido, you’re already here! It’s so unmanly not to go in!”
Even Kotori, from the airship, chimed in.
“Now Tohka’s mood is plummeting rapidly. If this continues, all your efforts today will be for naught.”
Kotori sighed. Though she didn’t wish to resort to such methods, at this point, Shido had no choice but to enter.
“Go for it!”
Even the staff members, presumably from the Fraxinus, cheered for Shido from their hiding spots.
“Alright! I’ll go in with you two!”
Shido sighed, resigned to his fate.
“Wonderful!”
“That’s more like it!”
Qianye nodded, then led Shido and Tohka together into the Island of Dreams.
“Tohka, it’s okay if you’re inexperienced. I’ll teach you.”
“Mmm.”
Sitting in the airship, Kotori watched Shido and the two girls disappear into the castle before immediately issuing an order.
“Everyone, evacuate the command room at once. Do not return until I give the order.”
After dismissing everyone else, Kotori stared at the screen, one hand resting on her undeveloped chest, the other beneath her skirt.
“Idiot brother…”