Side Story: Ichika and the Bar's Slots

Thirty DP per day, or thirty copper coins. That was the daily wage for employees at the [Dancing Doll's Pavilion]. Food and lodging were free. In other words, these wages were basically pocket money to spend however they wanted.

Considering that a one-night stay cost fifty copper coins with meals sold separately, and that the employee benefits were equal to or better than the [Dancing Doll's Pavilion]'s guest standards, it was a very good deal.

"Alriiight, today's the day I win! Then I'm gonna eat a mountain of curry bread!"

That day, Ichika headed to the bar all pumped up. In her hand were today's wages: thirty copper coins. For Ichika, who never kept money past the night, this was her entire fortune.

Her goal was the bar's slot machines.

"Heeey, is my beloved Slot-chan open～?!"

"Oh, Ichika-san. Welcome, your usual seat is open."

"Thanks! Now then, today I'll wiiin…!"

Welcomed by the bar's master Wozuma, she headed to the second machine from the back. The three machines in the back let you bet one to three copper coins per play, and depending on how many you put in, the winning lines increased: "center row only," "plus top and bottom rows," "plus two diagonal rows."

That second seat from the back had become Ichika's designated spot, and as her shift neared its end, Wozuma would quietly reserve it for her.

Ichika dropped in three copper coins with a clink, clink, clink, then pulled the lever. The drum spun with a whirrrr and…

"One push, one soul…! Haaaah!"

Bam! Bash! Bang!

She slammed the buttons with force, but the symbols came up completely mismatched… A loss.

"Kuh! Nine more tries… haaaah!"

She put in more money, pulled the lever, and pressed the buttons again… Another loss.

But Ichika didn't give up. She had enough wages left for eight more tries.

"Heh… but I don't look back! Full steam ahead!"

"Oh, Ichika huh. Still at it as always."

"Hm? What, Gozoh? Don't talk to me, you'll break my concentration."

"Gahaha! C'mon, it's fine. So, how's it going? Think you'll hit today?"

"Hm? Let's see… I got this, I can just feel it!"

While saying that, Ichika got another loss.

"No good, huh."

"Dummy, look closely! See here, the right one slipped down a bit, yeah? That's a sign that the next one's gonna hit!"

"Is that so? I mean, is that even a thing?"

"Yep, here I gooo… hah!"

And Ichika got another loss.

"No good, huh"—Gozoh's gaze said as it bore into her. But Ichika just grinned.

"… Heh, don't rush it, Gozoh. This is the flow for a big win."

"Big win?"

"When there's a loss after that slip, it's Pattern 5… nine times out of ten, a big win comes within five tries!"

"Heh, then hurry up and spin."

"Hmph, just sit back and watch."

Ka-chunk, click click click. Ka-chunk, click click click. Ka-chunk, click click click.

She got three more losses.

"Two more left, yeah?"

"I-it's not like this is anything to get impatient about, y'know?"

Ka-chunk, click click click… Another loss.

"G-gunununu…!"

"Alright, if you win the next one, I'll treat you to karaage."

"You said it?! Alright, just watch! Here I gooo!"

Ka-chunk… click, click…

"O-ooh! Look, look! Two [7]'s lined up in the center!"

"Oh, nice. So what's the last one?"

"One push, one soul…! One push, one soul…! Hah!"

Click. A [7] appeared one position off… A miss.

"Guaaaaaah?! Damn iiiiit!!"

"Gahahaha! Saw that coming."

"Gunununu, damn it…"

Ka-chunk, click click click… Ichika spun the reels and pressed the buttons half-heartedly.

… Cherry symbols lined up, and ding! The slot machine's bell rang. The signal for a win.

"Oooh, Gozoh, I won! Buy me karaage!"

"A nine-coin win, huh. Good for you. One try late, but since I feel bad for you, I'll give you just one."

"Ooh, thanks～"

A nine-coin win was worth three spins. It was a relatively common payout that came up about two out of ten times.

Gozoh brought a single piece of karaage stabbed on a toothpick to Ichika's mouth as she stayed glued to the slot machine. Chomp, nom nom. She savored that one piece of karaage while continuing to spin the slots.

… In the end, that day too, she lost her entire fortune to the slots.

"Kuh, today's just not my day! Time to head home～… haaah…"

"See ya, good work～"

Ichika left the bar dejected.

… Immediately after, at the second slot machine from the back — the one Ichika had just been sitting at — a scramble broke out.

"Hey, move. You're in the way."

"Idiot, you played yesterday! Today's my turn!"

"Oi oi, what do you think I've been waiting around for? Move it! Today's my day!"

After Ichika loses, the machine pays out fifty percent more.

At some point, that rumor had spread among the bar's regulars.

"Aah, they're all so full of energy, every one of them."

"Hm? Roppu, you're not going to try?"

Gozoh returned to the table where his partner Roppu was sitting and took a swig of his drink.

"Don't be ridiculous, Gozoh. I don't believe that rumor."

"Heh? Really?"

"Because the source of that rumor… it was Kehma-san's doing, wasn't it? I think the first version was something like—since Ichika lost, the next person should win—right?"

"It was more like, 'since Ichika lost, the wins have built up,' I think? Well, something like that."

Before anyone knew it, the story had snowballed from "wins come easy" to "wins come often" to "someone actually won" to "I won!" until it finally settled at "fifty percent better odds."

In reality, since the machine Ichika played on was popular, it got spun a lot more until someone eventually won.

If you spin it enough times, you will eventually win. The more spins, the more wins. It truly was a machine that produced a lot of wins.

… It also produced a lot of losses, but the species known as gamblers had a strong tendency to look away from inconvenient facts.

And so, combined with the rumor, the slot machine remained incredibly popular.

"… Well, gamblers love their superstitions."

"Even more so when they're adventurers, I'd wager?"

Ah, come to think of it, the two are pretty similar, Gozoh thought with a shrug.

"Booyah! I won!"

"Hurry up and switch out!"

"Kukukuku, this is why I can't quit the slots."

And so the bar's noisy night wore on.