Chapter 151: CH 166

At a corner of the capital of Rihitel. 

Close to the Royal Library, there’s a Japanese style area that you would find hard to believe is inside an European style city. 

A peculiar gate formed by red pillars, and there’s statues resembling lions resting at both sides. 

Gravel laid on the decayed stone steps. 

And what’s smiling deep in is a smiling black haired girl wearing a mysterious white and red attire. 

…To be blunt, it is a straight up Shinto shrine. 

A Shinto Shrine in this country in terms of their religion is a mystery, but one young man came here every day. 

His aim being the omikuji that has strange powers. 

No, it is a bit hard to deny that the shrine maiden giving omikuji was also attractive, but his excuse was the omikuji. 

He went up the stairs today as well, and showed up in the Shinto Shrine he is accustomed to. 

Even though it is just a bit of an altitude difference, he felt as if this space was always filled with pure air. 

No, this shrine has a healing effect for HP and MP even if little, so that feeling might not be that far from the truth. 

“Ah, good morning!” 

While thinking about that, the black haired girl sweeping the compounds noticed him and spoke to him. 

Honestly speaking, there won’t be dust or trash piling up that would require sweeping no matter how much time it passes, but that’s not the issue.

His cheeks loosened naturally at the bright smile that one could even feel sanctity from. 

He had a girl he had promised to get married to in the past. 

Because of a certain incident, he had to break up with her, but this bright shrine maiden somewhat reminded him of that girl he has parted with. 

“Are you getting an omikuji today as well?” 

The girl asked and the man nodded nervously. He took out the Crystal filled with Element. 

“Yes. Please give me a good one.” 

“Fufu, I wonder about that. That’s something God decides.” 

The shrine maiden giggles playfully at his words. 

Even when knowing this is just a scripted conversation, he couldn’t hold off his heart from racing.

“Now then, please pull one.” 

Unbeknownst if she is aware of his internal struggles, the shrine maiden offered him a square cylinder filled with numbered notes for omikuji use.

He took that without hesitation. 

Even if around half of his reason for coming to this shrine daily is to see the smile of this shrine maiden, the other half is purely because of the effect of the omikuji. 

The effect of the omikuji isn’t that big of a deal. 

Even in the case when you pull the biggest one that is ‘Excellent Fortune’, you simply get 20% more Element from the monsters for 24 hours. 

‘Good Fortune’ gives you 10%. If you get ‘Bad Fortune’ and ‘Terrible Fortune’, it will be the opposite. 10% or 20% less in the Element you obtain. 

Then, does that mean it really is a matter of luck whether you benefit or suffer? Not really.

You can pull the omikuji as many times as you want with 100E, and if a new effect comes out, it gets overwritten. 

In other words, even if you are unlucky and draw Bad Fortune, you can pull several times again until you get Good Fortune, and only the effect of the Good Fortune will be applied.

100E isn’t much for him now, and the rates aren’t bad. 

Aside from the aforementioned ones, there’s also the familiar Regular Fortune, Slightly Good Fortune, and Lasting Fortune; weird ones like Terrible Fortune x Excellent Fortune, and Terrible Fortune x Terrible Terrible Fortune; also joke ones like Test Fortune, Shangri-La Bad Fortune, and Used. However, in principle, you can get Excellent Fortune almost for sure if you draw 20 times which is 2,000E. 

In other words, as long as you aren’t frugal with the time and have no problems of coming there and drawing the omikuji, you definitely won’t come out losing. It is a bit of a special event. 

Rather, the omikuji’s effects are created from the mysterious effect of the shrine’s mana, in other words, Element which doubles as money, so it even made him worry about their financial state for running a business with such a generous price. 

By the way, when he asked about this directly…

“It is true that the more omikujis sold, the more on the red we are… Ah, but that’s okay! This is just between us, but the omikujis here have attracted customers, and we are profiting in other aspects! That’s why there’s no problem at—ah, you definitely must not tell this to anyone else, okay?!” 

The vexed sight of the shrine maiden at that time had charmed him, and he became a regular of that shrine. 

“…Then, I am drawing.” 

As expected of someone who comes daily, he was used to this. 

He waved the cylinder to a decent degree, and after making clear rattling sounds, he swung his hand vigorously, and after waving his hands with one big motion, a wooden stick with a number came out from the container.

“Hm…?” 

The usual omikuji and the usual motions.

And yet, the number that came out from it is different from usual, which made him furrow his brows.

“…Six hundred sixty six?” 

There should only be 2 numbers at most on the omikuji. 

He tilted his head slightly, but the girl moved before that.

“The number 666 would be this.” 

Saying this, she gives him the omikuji kindly like usual. 

Even when having a bad feeling about this, he slowly opened the paper and looked inside. 

666 Fortune: Worst Fortune.

The Person you wait for: Not only will they not come, they will hate you. 

Lost Articles: You will lose other things while searching for it. 

Gamble: It would be a miracle if you win.

Desires: They won’t be granted to a shocking degree. 

Travel: You will be able to journey off into the skies.

Health: One little trip will kill you. 

Illness: One little bit of bubble lotion will kill you. 

Studies: The more you try, the more you forget.

Love: Know your place.

Marriage Proposal: You will be blessed greatly, so you definitely should try it. 

“……”

He was speechless at how outrageously horrible it is. 

He has been coming to this place for several weeks already, but this is the first time he has gotten a result as horrible as this one.

He wondered what happened to his Element acquisition rate, so he hurriedly checked his own Status Screen, and the status change entry had [Worst Fortune (Element Acquisition Rate -80% ・Lottery Fortune Worst)] added to it.

“This really is the worst…” 

He muttered this.

But the good part of this is that you can redraw. 

He paid 100E to the shrine maiden-san without hesitation and drew the omikuji again.

But…

“Eh? …666?” 

The stick that he had redrawn had the same number written.

“O-One more time!” 

A nightmarish coincidence. 

But he can still redraw. 

‘This time for sure, a normal one should come’ -he stretches his hand towards the cylinder with numbers once more. 

But no matter how many times he tried…

“666 again…” 

Only the Worst Fortune omikuji was coming out.

After drawing for several dozen times, he came back to his senses. 

“Could it be that the Lottery Fortune that was shown in the explanation just now…” 

He thought at first that it was rubbing salt on the wound for drawing Worst Fortune.

But if that cemented his draws from here on…

“U-Uhm…” 

When he was filled with dread, a saving hand was extended to him. 

The shrine maiden girl gently held his hand and said with an anxious face as if encouraging him.

“Tomorrow! How about you try drawing it again tomorrow?” 

“…Aah, right.” 

I forgot something important in my panic.

The effect of the omikuji runs out in 24 hours.

There’s no need to get all flustered redrawing. The Worst Fortune will end if he endures for 1 day, and the Element Acquisition Rate and the Lottery Fortune will return to normal.

He thought for a moment he might as well just reset, but it has already been confirmed that the results of the omikuji don’t change. 

If he is going to draw Worst Fortune one day anyways, it would be better to make it fast. 

“Thanks. Then, I will come again tomorrow at this time.” 

“Yes, I will be waiting!” 

He was about to waste money there. 

He felt deep gratitude towards the shrine maiden smiling dazzlingly, and left the shrine. 

And then, the next day. 

He went up the stairs triumphantly.

The day he drew the Worst Fortune, his adventures unexpectedly went well. 

The money he got from the monsters was a lot lower than normal, but it is bearable if it is just one day. 

After clearing 2 quests, he saved, stayed at an inn, and after checking that it was the time when he pulled the omikuji yesterday, he went to the shrine.

“Ah, good morning! Are you getting an omikuji today as well?” 

Hearing the energetic voice of the girl…

“Yes, please give me a good one.” 

He responds in the usual manner. 

And then…

“Fufu, I wonder about that. That depends on the luck of the person.”

He felt something was a bit off from her words, but he drew the omikuji for now.

“…Eh?” 

He froze at the 666 written there. 

(What’s going on…?) 

He hurriedly confirmed the time.

There’s no doubt. 

It has already been 24 hours since the last time he drew. 

“O-Once more!” 

Even when he was somewhat aware that it would be pointless, his hand stretched towards the cylinder. 

However, the result was cruel.

It was like the recreation of the nightmare from yesterday. 

No matter how many times he drew, no matter how many times he repeated it, that cylinder was only spitting out 666 sticks. 

(This is weird. Even if the 2nd time onwards is the effect of the Worst Fortune, why did it show up in the 1st one today? 24 hours have passed and the Worst Fortune’s effect should be gone—no, could it be…?!) 

When he investigated his own Status, the Worst Fortune was still showing there. Moreover, now that he looked closely, the remaining time for the effect to go away was not written there. 

That there’s no indication of this…

—Could it be that this is a permanent effect?! 

He had lowered his guard completely. 

The other omikujis were 24 hours, so he just assumed that was the case for the Worst Fortune too.

It may not have been intentional, but the words of the shrine maiden ‘come draw tomorrow’ amplified that assumption.

(What should I do? What must I do?) 

It might have still been salvageable when he still hadn’t saved yesterday. 

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If he just resetted and never drew omikujis again, it would have been solved. 

But he saved yesterday night already.

He already can’t erase the reality that he drew the Worst Fortune omikuji.

He couldn’t think of what to do next. 

Would he have to continue his adventures with the terrible effect of -80% Element Acquisition Rate? 

In that case…

“Uhm…” 

But a hand of salvation was extended to him when he was in despair once again.

He raised his head and the shrine maiden kindly offered him her hand. 

“Bad luck is in a way an evil. Would you like to exorcize it?” 

The face of her saying this while tilting her head looked truly like that of a God. 

(God really didn’t abandon me!) 

It was as if he had found Budha while in hell. He held the soft hand of the girl as if clinging onto it. 

He lowered his head deeply, really deeply. 

“Please do!” 

And then, she said with a crystal clear smile like that of an actual angel smiling…

“Thank you very much! That will be one payment of 1,000,000E!!” 

—At that instant, his angel had transformed into a demon.

“…And so, something like that happened.” 

I told them that story while we were heading to the shrine, and Mitsuki, who was walking by my side, had her cat ears bend as if finding it displeasing, and Maki was making a complicated expression.

By the way, my companions are currently these two: Mitsuki and Maki.

Leila and Seirie-san stayed to watch over the sphinx, and Sazan is missing. 

Ringo and Ina tried to come with us too, but at the time when leaving the library, Ina left a mysterious message that said ‘it has been completed…’ and dropped out.

And on the way here, Ringo gave a shounen manga protagonist excuse of helping an old lady that had fallen on the road, and dropped out too. 

And so, one of the important remaining companions, Mitsuki, raised her cat ears as if filled with discontent and spoke. 

“Isn’t that totally a fraudulent business? And so, what happened to you…I mean ‘him’?” (Mitsuki)

“Obviously that time I…no, this acquaintance of mine, couldn’t prepare the 1 million E at once…apparently. He somehow managed to make the money by doing quests for several weeks, and selling items, and he finally managed to pay the 1 million E…or so he said.” (Souma)

It is only now that I understand. 

They have the other party win a little bit, and then once they have their trust, they deceive them of their money. 

The classic move of a scam. 

They would bait you with omikujis that have a high effect for a low price, and then suck your money away with the combo of Worst Fortune. It is the worst kind of business practice.

Even though there’s no way an event that benefits players would just be lying around at arm’s length in Nekomimi Neko. I really messed up there. 

While I was cursing the failings of my youth, Maki poked her head out from behind Mitsuki.

“Hey, I am more interested in that woman you promised to marry!” (Maki)

“Wa?!” (Souma)

I was troubled in what to say because of what she suddenly blurted out. 

“A-As I said, that wasn’t me but an acquaintance.” (Souma)

“Lies. You had no acquaintances in that world, Souma.” (Maki)

“Just how much of a loner am I? I do know a few.” (Souma)

Even though I went out of my way to say acquaintance instead of friend since it would be exposed right away if I said friend. What an unbelievable girl. 

Mitsuki spoke as if mediating when I was indignated by this.

“Anyways, how is this related to the riddle quest?” (Mitsuki)

It is a pretty forceful change of topic, but what she is asking is understandable.

I try to soothe Maki, who was trying to approach me, with one hand while answering Mitsuki.

“Yeah, that 1,000,000E exorcism had a lot of victims aside from me—I mean, him. But Nekomimi Neko players are the type that don’t just stand up normally when they fall. We—They thought of a way to use that.” (Souma)

That Worst Fortune omikuji has a destructive power that doesn’t bring shame to its Worst Fortune name. 

Even so, the chances of drawing Worst Fortune in the omikuji is really low. 

To be more precise, the 666 omikuji only shows up when the omikuji RNG hits the lowest denominator. 

“However, once you get hit by the Worst Fortune state, you won’t get anything but Worst Fortune afterwards… Do you know why?” (Souma)

“Because the contents of the omikuji are decided by the random numbers of the omikuji…ah, could it be…” (Mitsuki)

Her face was expressionless, but her cat ears were trembling, showing that Mitsuki was shuddering. I nodded clearly.

“It is probably as you have imagined just now. The moment you draw the Worst Fortune omikuji, the random numbers of the omikuji will be adjusted, and set up so that the random numbers are all the lowest denominator!” (Souma)

This is the reason why Nekomimi Neko is not called a game where you can adjust the random numbers…but a game that adjusts the random numbers. 

There may be many games where you can adjust your RNG, but Nekomimi Neko is probably one of the few games who would have a horrible RNG adjustment like this one. 

It is not like I took a direct look at the data or anything, so I don’t know if the RNG really was changed or if they did something with the rates though.

However, it isn’t much of a difference for the people playing the game. 

In the case you do an event when you are in that state, the reality that a crushing defeat is promised doesn’t change. 

Thanks to this adjustment, the players who drew the Worst Fortune would find it difficult to earn money from gambling type games like the casino, making it even more difficult to pay back the 1 million E, but that in turn also makes other things possible.

Riddle Quest: The One who knows Wisdom.

In this quest alone, you won’t be troubled even if the RNG is the lowest denominator.

No, not only that. With the random number being set, the difficulty decreases drastically. 

“When the omikuji random number is at the lowest denominator, the next riddle of the One who knows Wisdom will always be the same. 

In other words, the problems coming out are fixed!” (Souma)

When in the Worst Fortune state, the riddle number will only advance one by one. 

If you clear the 1st problem, the next one will be 2, and then 3, always. 

The new clear method with that in mind is this.

The way to clear the One who knows Wisdom that even Sazan can do, part 2.

I don’t know if those last steps were necessary there, but let’s leave that aside. Anyways, it is simple. 

It is on a level where it really would be possible for Sazan to do too.

However, it can only be certain with the riddle number 1 to 50. 

Normally, you would have to draw the omikuji before you begin the One who knows Wisdom in order to do this clear method. 

That’s why it was such a struggle until now. 

“The riddle that showed up at the end is one I know of. That’s riddle 6. The very first wrong answer riddle you get hit with in The One who knows Wisdom.” (Souma)

However, the story is different if we find riddles 1 to 50. 

I am sure that I can get them all right until the riddle 50. 

Hearing this, Maki counted with her fingers and asked. 

“Uuuh, there’s 20 questions remaining and the one that was found was the 6th riddle, so…you know the remaining 43, right? T-Then, if you were to draw the Worst Fortune omikuji…” (Maki)

“Yeah, I can get them all right till the end for sure!!” (Souma)

I responded confidently to Maki and jumped into the compounds and said:

“Excuse me, give me a whole lot of omikuji! Until I get Worst Fortune!!” (Souma)

I shouted this to the shrine maiden that has taken care of me before.

“Sorry for the tardiness!” (Souma)

“Souma!!” 

When I went to the deepest part of the library, Leila jumped at me with a big smile on her whole face.

That action of hers brought back some bad memories but I somehow managed to catch that body of hers. 

“Sorry, took more time than expected.” (Souma)

I apologized, but Leila shook her head within my arms.

…After that, the Worst Fortune just wasn’t showing up no matter how many omikuji I drew, and it made me impatient, but…

“Hey, Shrine Maiden-san, is there really a Worst Fortune in here? You know, there have been those cases recently~. Like in gachas, there would be times when they would tell you there’s an Ultra Rare of something, but the reality is that there wasn’t even one in there. 

Honestly speaking, I think that’s a straight up scam. I wonder if that’s the same with this omikuji~.

I don’t know how many sticks there are inside this cylinder, but I have definitely drawn an amount of sticks several times what should be inside. 

Even so, I haven’t gotten a single one? Aren’t the rates a bit weird~?

Could it be that you have done something to it~?

Hey, care to explain? Come on, Shrine Maiden-san.” (Souma)

I tried acting like a claimer with a bit of revenge mixed in it, and it finally showed up. 

After confirming this, we ran back to the library while leaving the shrine maiden that was half in tears. 

“Time is of essence! I am going from the back—” (Souma)

I was about to finish my sentence there, but Mitsuki grabbed the back of my collar and we entered the library from the entrance, paying the entrance fee like normal.

It seems like we made Leila and the others pretty uneasy here, but our preparations are perfect thanks to this. 

I slowly moved Leila away from me and stood in front of the sphinx.

“Apologies for the worry. But it is alright now. Leave the rest to me.” (Souma)

“Souma… O-Okay!” (Leila)

“Then, I leave the rest to you.” (Seirie)

I received the gaze of trust from Leila and the gaze of expectation from Seirie, and moved my hand to the entry form. 

What’s shown in the screen is the pretty orthodox math problem where you have to calculate the rendezvous point in an ABCD area at full sprint with Hanako-san** chasing after you. <a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako-san who haunts school toilets.>

However, I know this is not the math problem shown here. 

“The answer is…Hanako-san!!” (Souma)

The letters of Hanako-san are input along with my shout. 

“Eeeh?!” (Maki)

I could hear the scream of Maki from behind, but I didn’t pay attention to it. 

I don’t know why the developers placed the name of a person as the answer for a question asking you for a location.

There wasn’t a single mention of this in the diary. I don’t know what kind of esper managed to discover the answer to this either. 

However, I know that this is the correct answer. 

The clear pinpon sound rang. 

With this, there’s now 20 questions remaining. 

From here on, there’s only 4 within the 7 to 27 that are wrong answers.

Moreover, I know all of them. 

That’s why my hands won’t stop. 

No reason to. 

Question 31 shows up. 

The 3 questions following up 7 to 9 are normal questions.

The number 7 certainly does look familiar. 

It is not necessary to take my time here. 

I extend my hand to the entry form and…

“…Hm?” (Souma)

My hand stopped right before touching the screen. 

And my fingers didn’t move forward one bit after.

“D-Did something…happen?” (Leila)

Leila nervously asks me since I had stopped completely.

I turned around slowly and answered her question. 

“Uuuuh…looks like I forgot the answer.” (Souma)

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