Chapter 43: Who am I? The God Gacha, “Kaino Izumi “

Two long horizontal game UIs were aligned vertically on the screen.

Needless to say, both were the main screens for Destiny’s Showdown.

“Aka, I see you prefer playing as Yukiho, huh…?”

One unique feature of Destiny’s Showdown was the ability to freely change the protagonist’s gender at the start.

And depending on that gender, there were slight differences in the story.

Of course, these were not major changes that altered the overall storyline; they were just subtle variations in choices or responses, but for the players, finding those small differences was part of the fun.

[Well, to be precise, you can change the gender depending on the situation. But normally, I play as Yukiho. So, you must be the type to play as Yukiho, huh?]

“Of course! A cute girl is way better than a smelly guy, right?”

The protagonist’s official name was Takasaki Kanade.

But to the players, the nickname “Yukiz” that had been used long before was much more familiar.

If the gender was set to male, it was Yukiho; if set to female, it was Yukiho.

And of course, I was the type to play as Yukiho.

-That’s true, but when Mei-chan says it like that, it feels weird.

-Mei-chan’s yuri radar is still on today.

“That’s not it, okay?!”

Ever since the unintended yuri declaration, no matter how many times I insisted that it wasn’t true, no one believed me.

Given the circumstances, I even considered going for a more overt yuri route, but no matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like my style.

So, should I just accept it and live with it as is?

[Well then, shall we start slowly?]

“Y-yeah, okay.”

When I pressed the ‘Hero Summon’ tab, the gacha screen for Destiny’s Showdown appeared.

This time, the pickup 5-star hero was Hercules from Greek mythology.

The 4-star hero was also from Greek mythology, Orpheus, but what I wanted was, of course, the 5-star hero, Hercules.

This hero had just debuted in this event, and not only was the illustration top-notch, but the performance was also quite good, so I wanted to summon him as soon as I saw him.

[Let’s check once more before starting. The one who summons Hercules faster wins. If both come out at the same time, we’ll keep summoning until one gets an extra card.]

“R-right. And the loser has a punishment, right?”

Fortunately, thanks to Akabane’s consideration, it was decided that the punishment for the loser would be to treat the winner to a meal the next time we met.

Objectively speaking, it was a light and reasonable punishment.

Subjectively, though, it felt heavy and unreasonable.

[So, shall we spin at the same time?]

“Y-yeah, okay. I’ll count to three, right…? ”

[Got it. One, two, three!]

“Ugh!”

To cut to the conclusion, I lost.

[Didn’t I tell you from the beginning? Your probability of winning converges to zero.]

“Unbelievable…”

Akabane managed to summon Hercules in just 30 pulls. She even got two copies.

Meanwhile, I had just rolled my 33rd 10-pull.

“Why am I getting Orpheus again…?!”

I lost count of how many times I had summoned Orpheus at this point.

-At this rate, I think I’ve summoned Orpheus about 20 times.

-I’ve already spent 30,000 yen after using all the free spins, right?

-Is this good luck or bad luck?

-The pickup rate for 4-stars is 1.5%, so if we’re being technical, it is good luck, I guess.

To achieve the maximum limit break, you need a total of five identical cards.

So, if I’ve summoned Orpheus 20 times as the chat says, that means I’ve already gone over 15 times.

But how could Hercules not appear even once during all this?

Does that even make sense?

[Since you’ve already lost, it’s okay to stop, as I said.]

“I-I’m the kind of person who needs to see things through once I start, you know…”

-?

-Mei-chan is a guy…?

[You are a girl, though…]

“T-that’s not the case!”

I shouted that and, without hesitation, pressed the 10-pull summon button again.

With a swish, 10 cards were revealed.

And of course, there was no lightning effect indicating a guaranteed 5-star.

Instead, there were… three golden cards indicating at least a 4-star!

“W-well, it’s okay. It could still come out from there, right?”

-I feel like I’ve heard that line over ten times now.

[Oh, I feel the same way. Though it has never happened before.]

I wanted to retort, but there was nothing I could say to contradict that.

But this time, it was really different!

If there are three golden cards, then at least one of them could be a 5-star, right?

I believe in myself… not in the me that you guys don’t believe in, but in the me that believes in myself…!

The first golden card began to spin.

There were… no additional effects.

[My name is Orpheus! The poet of the Argo… ]

Hehe No hesitation; I skipped it.

-I wouldn’t want to hear that either. Hehe

It’s okay. There are still two more left.

This time, for sure…

[My name is Orp….]

-Let’s at least listen to the name until the end, Mei-chan…

[My n….]

“Ughhhhh?!”

No way, this is ridiculous!

Isn’t this a scam? No matter what, there are probabilities to consider.

Last time, I hit a 3.44% chance. What are the odds here?

–Hehe The probability of pulling Orpheus three times in a 10-pull is 0.04%.

“W-well, with those odds, Hercules should’ve come out…!”

What do they expect if 0.7% loses to 0.04%?

-In the end, it’s a guaranteed pull…

“Strange…”

No matter how I think about it, it feels strange.

To be honest, I had been quite lucky with the Destiny’s Showdown gacha up until now.

I had managed to get almost all the top-tier units for free.

That’s why I was confident enough to make a bet.

But why has this been happening since last time and now?

[Well, I guess this is what they call ‘fate.’ Akakat!]

The one who got the bait in 30 pulls said that.

The world is clearly wrong.

Regardless, I ended up reaching the limit.

The 10-pull button was glowing bright red, and that was proof.

“Haah…”

Letting out a sigh, I pressed the button, now too tired to watch or listen to the card summon effects…

“…Huh?”

[Huh?]

-???

One, two, three…

“F-five…?”

I skipped all the 3-star card animations as if I was possessed by something.

Since the cards indicating a guaranteed 5-star were among the last five.

And from the first golden card surrounded by lightning emerged a beautiful woman.

[Hmph. I am the famous hero of Greece! Proud daughter of the god Zeus, Hercules! Nice to meet you, my friend!]

With flowing silver hair and enticing bright red eyes.

Though her outfit was quite revealing, she smiled confidently, showing no shame at all.

She was the pickup target this time: Hercules.

And then came the next golden card.

[Hmph. I am the famous hero of Greece! Proud daughter of the god Zeus, Hercules! Nice to meet you, my friend!]

-Huh?

-Really?

Once again, Hercules appeared.

[Hmph. I am the famous hero of Greece! Proud daughter of the god Zeus, Hercules! Nice to meet you, my friend!]

And from the remaining three cards, it was all Hercules again.

“U-uhh, Akabane? Is this a dream?”

[What’s wrong, Izumi? Rejoice. This is a clear reality.]

“Waaahhh!”

God does exist!

In Destiny’s Showdown, I’m never quitting!

If there’s anyone who slanders this unbelievably amazing game, I, Kaino Izumi, shall not forgive them!

-I may have lost the bet, but…

It doesn’t matter!

“Haah, haah, haah…”

The excitement wouldn’t settle, and my head felt a bit dizzy.

Who am I? The goddess of gacha, Kaino Izumi—.

-But I’ve been wondering, why is Hercules a woman?

[Huh?]

“Huh?”

What a strange question that is.

Most of the well-known heroes turn out to be cute girls when you look closely.

This is just common ‘knowledge,’ right?

Like King Arthur, for example…?

[Hmm. I had fun today. I’d like to collaborate again if I have the chance next time.]

“I, I had fun too. It’s the first time I could talk so much about Destiny’s Showdown with someone…”

The gameplay of Destiny’s Showdown isn’t particularly high.

Saying “I’m not playing a game; I’m reading a novel” is a joke, but it’s also a sort of sarcasm.

In other words, Destiny’s Showdown isn’t a very popular game among ‘gamers’ who want to play games, meaning there aren’t many people to have deep conversations with.

Of course, I could go to a community where users gather, but I’m not the type to actively participate in community activities.

-But even without Destiny’s Showdown, Mei-chan has few people to talk to anyway.

・Shut up.

[Then, everyone, farewell!]

“E-everyone, goodbye… Let’s meet again sometime..!”

-Bye, Izumi! -The world is heading towards destiny…

“Hmmm. They’re not coming…”

Yukari was staring at the DM from Miscode.

[Akabane Yukari: I had fun during today’s collaboration. I hope we can do it again next time.]

[Kaino Izumi: I had fun too. Thank you.]

This DM had come an hour ago.

And naturally, the conversation ended there.

“Hmmm.”

‘Wasn’t it cute how Izumi asked to be friends via DM after the first collaboration?’

Recalling Suzuka’s words, Yukari naturally thought she would receive the same DM from Izumi, but that was a complete miscalculation.

“…I wanted to tease her.”

If she received such a DM, Yukari planned to tease Suzuka by saying that she wasn’t anything special.

Of course, it wasn’t just that thought that led to the collaboration with Izumi.

“I feel like I’ll get a little stubborn about this…”

Just like how Izumi had no one to talk about Destiny’s Showdown with, Yukari also had no one around to share her thoughts on it.

And for Yukari, today’s collaboration was very satisfying.

She wanted to regularly talk about Destiny’s Showdown from now on.

Surely, Izumi felt the same way.

“…Since we agreed to get a meal together, I need to set a date as soon as possible.”

It would be nice to set the next collaboration date too.

Thinking that, Yukari sent another DM to Izumi.

[Akabane Yukari: You can set the penalty for when it’s convenient for you, Izumi.]

Determined to make sure she’d receive a hint to become friends next time.