Eiji, who noticed Soma, opened his mouth while waving his hand wide in the air. Eri, who walked beside him, noticed Eiji''s change in atmosphere, turned her gaze away, and saw Soma showing an awkward smile.


    After his stealth was discovered, Soma could do nothing but sigh about his fate and approached the two.


    "Good morning, you two. Are you on a date?".


    The two of them show a difference in reaction in which Eiji''s face was flushed like a boiled octopus, iling his hands to the sides, and Eri, who was also red in the face, felt ted.


    "No, no. We were just looking for a cksmith to buy equipment and items".


    "I see".


    Eri, who heard Eiji''s denial, puffed her cheek and threw her gaze away. But Eiji seems not to notice it as he is currently showing his back to Eri. Soma gave him a wry smile seeing them and struck upon a bright idea.


    "It''s coincident I also want to go toward a cksmith shop. Want toe over?".


    "Eh, are you sure?".


    "Yeah, no problem. How about you, Eri?".


    "...If Eiji agrees. I will follow him".


    "Okay then, let''s go follow me".


    Soma starts to move his legs and lead the way. Eiji and Eri, who saw his back, began to follow him. On their way, the three of them engage in small talks about their home, hobby, and school life before the academy. The atmosphere was pretty harmonious. Sometimes, their eyes were glued toward the wafting delicious small food that came from the stall, for they hadn''t eaten breakfast yet.


    They were also slightly overwhelmed by the flock of crowds that didn''t show off, decreasing each time they passed.


    "Wait, everyone"


    Suddenly, Eiji stopped in his tracks as he bent his knee, picking up something that was lying on the ground. Soma turned his gaze to his back, but he heard a slightmotion from his side. Then, his eyes caught an iing thing fly at a fast speed and graze Eiji''s hair before it struck in the wall.


    Soma opened his eyes wide, for he witnessed small metal skewers or picks. It has pointed ends embedded in the wall, and its opposite is rounded from wood.


    "I am truly sorry, customer".


    A young man in his early thirties approached their group with cold sweat stered on his temple. Eiji, who didn''t notice themotion, picked up a pendant with a tiny silver chain wrapped around it.


    "I wonder who this belongs to, hm?".


    "I am sorry, young man. Did you get hurt?".


    "Eh, what is happening?".


    "Eiji, it was like this…".


    Eri, who noticed themotion, started to exin everything, making Eiji white as a sheet before the stall owner bowed his head ny degrees and opened his mouth.


    "I am truly sorry. So, topensate for my mistake. You can take whatever you want from my stall, and it''s free of charge".


    "Eh, no, you don''t have to..".


    "Please, I insist?!".


    Seeing the stubborn stall owner made Eiji flustered as he hesitated to ept the food. Eri, beside him, stood in front of Eiji and opened her mouth.


    "Well, if you insist. We will take one".


    "Eri, we shouldn''t…".


    Eri, who didn''t want to prolong her stay, closed her distance and dragged Eiji away from the man. Soma contemted for a bit and joined their side.


    "... You are wrong. The person himself already said it''s alright. So, if we remain stubborn in this matter, it will be quite rude to refuse his goodwill anymore than this. So let''s ept his offer and get done with this".


    "But,".


    "Eri is right, Eiji. You must ept his proposal. It isn''t wise to refuse someone else goodwill. Besides, if you feel burdened by this, you can revisit this ce next time and properly buy the delicacy the stall has to offer, right?".


    Eiji turned his gaze at the stall owner and to his two friends before nodding his head.


    "Okay, I will take up your offer".


    "Thank you, young man. Your friend can take some too".


    Before Eiji opened his mouth any longer, Soma and Eri simultaneously put their hands on Eiji''s back and pushed him forward to distract him, making no more refusal".


    "Thank you very much".


    After receiving the stall owner''s goodwill, each of them now held a box of takoyaki, which was freshly fried with its still radiating heat. The three of them decide to postpone their n for a while. They spread their gaze on the surroundings, looking for some empty chairs to sit on. Enjoying their meal, but another urrence happens.


    "Is that?".


    The three of them simultaneously turned their heads, looking at a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties pointing her finger at the pendant that hung on Eiji belts. The woman intensely approached Eiji, making him shrink back with flushed cheeks, seeing a beautiful, mature woman invading his space.


    Eri, who saw the woman, knitted her brows, and she opened her mouth to talk.


    "Who are you?".


    "Ah, I am sorry. I was too happy to see someone found my pendant".


    "Your pendant?".


    Soma turned his gaze to the pendant on Eiji''s belt, and Eiji, who understood the woman''s meaning, took out the pendant and gave it to her.


    The woman feels taken aback as Eiji inly gives it to her. She took the pendant in her hands before opening it and saw the photo inside. A single tear streamed on her beautiful, smooth cheek. Seeing what happened to the woman, the trio opened their eyes wide.


    "...Thank you. Currently, I don''t have much, but you can have these".


    After she saw the three kids'' stunned expressions, she spread her mouth, wiping the tears on her cheeks. She took something from thin air and presented it to the dumbfounded trio. It was a three-piece gold coin.


    Seeing the absentminded state of the kids, the woman chuckled before taking Eri''s hand and putting the gold coins in her hands.


    "..Consider it a gift. Thank you, everyone, have a good day".


    The woman waves her hands and soon leaves the ce as the trio returns from their absence.


    "...Eri, we should give it back".


    "Eh? It''s toote. She''s already gone".


    "What should we do?".


    Soma covered his mouth using his palm, wondering what happened. He gazed at the gold and then at the two of them. Since he met the two, the usual morning seemed full of events that he felt weird from his perspective. But, he shook his head to dismiss the thought, for it was probably just some coincidence.


    "You two, let''s go".


    "Soma, what should we do with the gold?".


    "Let''s split it evenly".


    After receiving one gold each, the three of them resume their walking and meet another stranger in front of them. A single older man desperately begs for money as he offers a lottery ticket that has not been revealed.


    "Please, young man, I haven''t eaten in three days. Please buy this ticket. It''s just one gold coin".


    The man shamelessly crawled on Eiji''s feet, who seemed troubled and with his kind nature. He took the gold coin in his hands, and before Eiji could extend his hand, the man swiftly snatched the coin to his hand and fled from the ce, leaving the unused lottery ticket.


    "Thank you, young boy. With this I can buy some drink".


    "That old bastard".


    "It''s okay, Eri".


    Eiji holds back Eri with a frown on her face, ready to deliver her ultimatum using her unique magic. But upon hearing Eiji''s words, she calmed down, and she took the piece of paper thaty on the ground. She turned her gaze to Eiji and opened her mouth.


    "What should we do about this?".


    "Um, let''s try to scratch it and try our luck".


    "Okay".


    Soma, who watches the duo on the side, starts to have an ufortable feeling in his chest. He keeps his mouth shut, begins to follow the duo, and the three arrive at the ce to exchange it.


    "May I help you?".


    "... Ah, yes, this is".


    "Let me check the number".


    Eiji and the woman clerk start their conversation while Soma and Eri wait behind. Eri, who saw Soma in deep thought, opened her mouth.


    "Sorry for dying out".


    "Ah? No worries here. It''s just a lot of things that happen in a short time. So I…".


    The sound of a ringing bell reverberated across the street, inviting the many curious onlookers to turn their attention to their ce. The woman rose from her seat and shouted loudly to the crowd.


    "Congrattions, you won the grand prize of the lottery ticket, and the prize is ten million gold".


    "Ten million?!".


    ""Woah"".


    Many onlookers eximed, raising their brows with rounded mouths. Soma, who saw this happening, knitted his brows as the ufortable feeling in his chest grewrge. First, he could tolerate it; second, he started to have some spection, but after the third time this happened, he couldn''t take it anymore.


    "Thanks for the wait, you two. Soma?".


    "You two,e over here!".


    Soma led the two of them toward an alley that was dark and devoid of any people. Soma faced the two of them and sighed before opening his mouth.


    "Let me be frank. I am someone who has Nine stats in luck, almost touched maximum. How about you two?".


    The two of them flinched and exchanged looks. Eiji looked worried to Eri, but Soma didn''t care. He wanted to know if his prediction was correct. So, he kept staring at Eiji, and as if overwhelmed, he opened his mouth, revealing his luck stats number.


    "Eiji?".


    "It''s okay, Eri. I was born with Ten stats in Luck, which means Max".


    Soma stiffened his body, jaw cked to the ground.


    "... What?!".