Ultimate Strategy for the Arcade

Star Color and Kohei Katsuragi finished lunch, changed into more suitable casual clothes in their rooms, and headed to the agreed meeting spot.

"Tamiya-san!"

He waved toward Tamiya Emi in the distance.

"Star Color-kun."

"Sorry, I'm a little late."

Star Color breathed lightly, looking up at Tamiya Emi, one hand on his chest, a hint of apology in his voice.

"Ah, it's fine. I only just got here myself."

Tamiya Emi noticed the faint blush on Star Color's face and the way his lungs squeezed air from his short jog, his lips parting and closing like a cat's as he breathed evenly.

"Well then, let's go."

Strolling through the shopping center, there were even digital products... Why did they have things like voice recorders here!? Was this a training room!?

Star Color looked around—there was even a toy store! What man could resist [Bandai]!? Staring at the dazzling array of models inside, Star Color's eyes went wide.

On the display stand were the hot toy items from recently aired special effects shows: [Lockseed], [Ginga Spark], [Shuriken Sword].

Tamiya Emi noticed where Star Color's gaze was fixed and let out a soft laugh.

"Star Color-kun likes toys? You really never grow up, do you?"

"No, it's not that. I just like special effects shows. Sure, they're for kids, aimed at children. But the stories often make adults think too."

People yearn for 'justice' precisely because reality doesn't have much of it. That's why many adults sink into the utopia of 'children's special effects shows.' Lost in the strange fantasy that maybe they too could become [justice].

"But compared to righteous heroes, I actually prefer the 'monster roles' or 'villain roles.'"

"Monsters? Villains?"

"Me? I like all kinds of bizarre, twisted, ferocious monsters or villains with a fantastical evil flair—alien creatures from imaginary special effects."

"That's quite an unusual hobby."

Tamiya Emi didn't show any disgust; she listened seriously to every word Star Color said.

"See, this is the monster I like."

"It looks kind of like a longhorn beetle..."

"The space dinosaur—Zetton. The first monster to kill a righteous hero..."

"Kill a righteous hero?"

Tamiya Emi watched as Star Color lightly brushed the glass, the reflection of [Zetton] in his pupils, a mix of longing and bitterness swirling in his eyes.

"It's nothing. Let's go."

Tamiya Emi nodded, but a strange feeling sprouted in her heart.

"An arcade..."

Star Color's eyes lit up. For someone who excelled at games, an arcade was the perfect choice.

Star Color tugged at Tamiya Emi's sleeve, then pointed excitedly at the arcade...

His face was practically screaming [I wanna play], [Tamiya-san, pretty please?], [Let's go in!].

As an inexperienced young lady, Tamiya Emi had never been to such a place. Her impression of an 'arcade' seemed to stop at 'claw machines.'

Star Color happily exchanged a small basket of [Neon Yen Coins].

(Over in Neon, arcades either use cards or drop in coins.)

"Tamiya-san, what do you want to play? My treat."

Tamiya Emi looked around the claw machine area and spotted a teddy bear that matched her 'cute aesthetic.' She pointed at it.

"I want to try this one."

"Then how about you give it a shot first, Tamiya-san?"

After a few tries, Tamiya Emi failed each time. She stared at the doll behind the glass with some reluctance.

"Let me try, Tamiya-san."

Star Color smiled and dropped in a coin.

"Tamiya-san, you didn't pick the easiest doll to grab. Vertically, horizontally, diagonally—which do you think is the best angle to grab?"

"Horizontal!"

"That's right. But this machine's claw grip is a bit weak. So you need to grab twice to get the doll out."

First, Star Color grabbed the doll. As it rose and moved, the claw's grip gradually weakened, and the doll landed precisely on the acrylic plate above the exit slot.

"The second time, you use the force of the claw descending to push the doll into the exit."

Just as Star Color predicted, the 'teddy bear plush' dropped neatly into the opening.

Star Color crouched down and picked up the plush.

"Tamiya-san, this is for you."

Star Color held out the cute teddy bear doll and handed it over. In Tamiya Emi's eyes, it was a "double cuteness combo" of cute plus cute—just the sight of it was incredibly heartwarming.

"Thank you, Star Color-kun."

"No need to thank me. Any other dolls you want?"

"Speaking of which, Star Color-kun is really impressive. Did you go to game centers often back in middle school?"

"Haha, I just watched a few tutorials, nothing that amazing. It's just a skill you pick up after a few tries."

Star Color scratched his cheek, then shifted the conversation elsewhere.

"Want to try something else?"

Without realizing it, Star Color had taken Tamiya Emi's hand, and she quietly savored this small, tender warmth.

He led her over to try out [Taiko no Tatsujin].

At the whack-a-mole machine, Star Color scored a brilliant zero. Compared to Tamiya Emi beside him, he was completely deflated.

A guy, scoring worse than a girl... Star Color held back the urge to smash the machine.

Hmph, he couldn't get mad at Tamiya Emi, so he'd take it out on the arcade instead.

He dashed over to the ice cream claw machine, picked the most expensive Haagen-Dazs, and used the claw's spin to sweep two from the edge of the top row. A delicate maneuver—just knocking two off without causing damage, the kind of thing even a staff member would ignore.

"Tamiya-san, want some ice cream?"

"Sure."

So the two sat eating ice cream.

"There's a machine over there I want to try."

"What is it?"

Following Star Color's gaze, Tamiya Emi saw a huge machine called [Castle Adventure].

[Castle Adventure Machine Rules]

[1. Insert one coin, press the button. The coin slides out through a chute, needing to pass through a moving castle gate obstacle to enter the castle. If blocked by the gate, it falls.]

[2. Once the coin enters, it triggers a pinball device at the machine's bottom left. The ball shoots to the top, then falls through a grid of steel pins. If it falls to either side, you lose and score zero.]

[3. The ball in the pin zone enters a central rotating disk entrance. When it drops into the bottom center grid's hole, the disk's pattern determines your final reward.]

[These are: three 5-point soldiers, two 15-point knights, two 30-point generals, and the ultimate king reward.]

[If the ball enters the king's hole, it activates the topmost lucky wheel. Hitting JP dumps all the points previous players lost to you.]

To put it bluntly, this was a Pachinko variant, just with tokens not tied to gambling, meant for casual fun.

The coin had a 1/2 chance of passing the gate, a 1/3 chance of entering the disk, and a 1/8 chance of hitting the king's hole.

That meant one coin had only a 1/64 chance of landing on the king and triggering the wheel above.

Would he win? He would!

Star Color put in 20 coins.

But this machine had a fatal flaw: when you pressed the button, the coin's drop speed was fixed. The ball's fall after being launched might be slightly disturbed, but not by much. The middle disk's rotation speed was also fixed!

If he locked onto the king, when it reached a certain position, he'd press the button to launch the coin. The ball might be blocked by the gate or fall off the pin grid's sides. But if the coin entered the rotating disk's entrance, the result was guaranteed to be the king!

After observing during the ice cream and a first test, the king just needed to reach the left semicircle's 140° to 130° range.

If he pressed the button at that angle, when the ball reached the disk's bottom, the king would be there too—a perfect hit!

And a detail about the coin-blocking gate: the coin chute leaned left. The castle gate blocked the left side the most, while the right side had almost no obstruction!

He kept his eye on the king's angle while using his peripheral vision to watch the gate, avoiding pressing when it moved right.

Out of five tries, he hit the king three times.

Star Color's ultimate, flawless strategy!

The students and staff gathered behind him were dumbfounded. The coin slot overflowed with tokens clattering out, the wheel on top spinning every so often. At that moment, Star Color was the coolest guy in the whole arcade.

Ask any arcade guy—who didn't love the JP prize? Star Color had only one goal: JP!

But since the wheel above couldn't be influenced, he kept missing it.

"What rotten luck! Tamiya-san, want to give it a try?"

"Huh... me?"

Tamiya Emi, absorbed in watching Star Color's solo show, asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I believe in your luck."

Inside, Star Color cursed: Damn it! Anyone else would've hit JP by now.

Tamiya Emi sat down in front of the machine.

"When I say press the button, don't hesitate, just do it. It's fine if you miss. Don't put too much pressure on yourself—it's just a game."

Star Color comforted the slightly nervous Tamiya Emi.

"Three, two, one, press."

As Tamiya Emi pressed the button, the coin shot into the channel, leaped through the castle gate, and the pinball was instantly launched. Although the ball was slightly off course due to interference from the flippers on both sides, it still made it into the hole without any real danger.

The lucky wheel above began to spin, finally stopping on the [JP] side.

"Eeek, we hit it!"

Star Color held Tamiya Emi's hand, and Tamiya Emi's cheeks unconsciously flushed.

"Tamiya-san's luck really is good."

The machine spat out all the points it had accumulated, and Star Color emptied it completely. Coins kept dropping out by the basketful.

"Tamiya-san, what do you want to exchange for?"

Star Color counted the falling tokens, feeling a full sense of accomplishment. Indeed, this was the best way to play at an arcade.

Of course, there were bound to be people who weren't happy, like the store staff.

A few employees were helping bag the coins with looks of despair. Sorry, sorry... but I'd do it again (sticks out tongue).

And so, they exchanged for an oversized, adorably dazed Capybara Plush for Tamiya-san.

With the remaining tokens, Star Color got a game card and stored all the leftover coins onto it.

Tamiya Emi couldn't stop fawning over it, flipping the oversized Capybara Doll around, her gaze lingering.

"Do you like it?"

Star Color looked utterly satisfied, as if he'd completed some great deed and entered a state of serene clarity.

"Mhm..."

Tamiya Emi poked the plush's face, a shy, maidenly smile on her lips.

"This plush's vibe is just like Star Color-kun—lazy and cute."

"Huh... me? Really?"

Tamiya Emi handed the plush to Star Color to hold. His small frame hugged the huge doll, which was a full two-thirds his size.

"So big... not like me at all. I'm not that dazed."

Tamiya Emi felt her heart melt, and the two of them happily enjoyed their Saturday together.