This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

TingoAutumn Deer muscled his way through the crowd until he finally stood in front of the capsule machine. He grumbled, "If you're not pulling, move along already!"

Most of the players closest to BS-Rita hadn't actually pulled yet. They were waiting. Rita would only add a new capsule containing 1500g worth of Blocks after five capsules had been pulled. That meant, over time, the number of capsules would shrink, and the odds of pulling the capsule with Cat's Ideal would grow.

As for whether this kind of setup could really change the ownership of a Divine Relic?

Nearly every player who bought a capsule asked that question in their own language before committing.

And TingoAutumn Deer was no different. Now that he'd squeezed his way to the front, he held up his 300g Blocks but didn't press the button just yet. Instead, he asked skeptically, "Even if there's a Divine Relic in that machine, I wouldn't be able to keep it if I pulled it, right?"

Rita glanced at him. He wasn't the first to raise the question.

"Capsule games are all about gambling on odds," she replied. "I'm staking the Divine Relic. You're betting on a possibility. If you pull it, you win. How is that not a kind of victory?"

It wasn't a convincing answer, but it was enough.

Honestly, every player knew her reasoning wasn't airtight—but what if?

Besides, she was still dropping capsules with 1500g worth of Blocks into the machine. Even if you didn't get the Divine Relic, you might snag a god token or a pile of Blocks. That alone made it worth trying.

TingoAutumn Deer stared into Rita's eyes and asked again, "Are you seriously telling me your capsule machine contains Divine Relics and god tokens?"

Rita met his gaze head-on, no tricks, no evasion.

"There are capsules inside my machine that contain a Divine Relic, god tokens, Universal Fragments, Block duplication coupons, event packs, and other rare items," she said.

Then she added, "The Divine Relic is whole. All nine fragments are in a single capsule."

That last line made fools of so many players.

TingoAutumn Deer immediately handed over 900g Blocks. "Three pulls!"

Rita calmly took the Blocks, combined them with 600g from her own stash, and sealed them into a single capsule. She dropped it back into the machine right in front of him.

TingoAutumn Deer slowly pressed the button. The capsules inside began to spin wildly.

He didn't take his eyes off her the entire time. While she looked outwardly composed, he noticed that each time he hit the button, her eyes flickered with tension. Even her breathing would stop for a moment.

It wasn't until the capsule popped out that the tension would melt away, her breath resuming.

He opened his three eggs: 1500g Blocks, a five-piece item set fragment, and 12g Blocks.

He'd made a small profit.

God, this was addictive.

And seeing the faint flash of irritation on BS-Rita's face made the experience even sweeter.

Blocking out the players behind him with a smug flick of his tail, TingoAutumn Deer turned to Rita and said, "I want to buy more pulls. What kind of items are you looking for?"

Rita recited her answer, something she'd said a thousand times by now: "Message in a Bottle, Unlucky Coffee Machine, Deceitful Bloom's Garden, Lost & Found Counter, Gourmet Food Truck…"

She rattled off more than a dozen items.

TingoAutumn Deer frowned. He didn't have any of those. Truthfully, it was rare for any player to just happen to have the items BS-Rita was specifically after.

He glanced at the capsule machine. It was only half full now.

"What kind of things are you into, then?" he asked, eyes locked on her.

He was still probing. Even if he had already figured out that BS-Rita had come to 10th Month Theme Park to offload her Divine Relic via gacha, he couldn't help but peel back the layers—one question at a time—like an onion.

BS-Rita's expression didn't change. Calmly, she said, "I want anything that can contact a god—items or curios. If you have that kind of thing, I'll give you three capsule pulls per fragment. No more. But if you've got a complete set, no matter how many pieces, I'll give you thirty pulls."

"I'm BS-Rita. My capsule machine has a Divine Relic. Are you pulling or not?"

Her answer and her composure eased another sliver of suspicion in his mind.

Maybe this really was her goal.

And as it happened, he actually did know about Message in a Bottle. It was an item that could communicate with gods.

So maybe one of those names she'd listed was the truth after all.

His gaze shifted as a thought hit him—he remembered the Dull Game he could never reassemble.

Narrowing his eyes, he said quietly, "I've got an item that can contact a god."

Rita's eyes flashed with both hope and doubt. "What is it?"

TingoAutumn Deer didn't answer right away. He just began pulling out Blocks.

Please don't let her be completely clueless, he thought.

But given how boldly BS-Rita had declared she was looking to contact a god—and the fact that she'd once become the Captain in that god token incident in Chaotic Restaurant—he allowed himself a flicker of hope.

Maybe she really did know the name Dull.

At the same time, he sent a private message to his pet:

Check the exchange. Is Dull Game still listed?

Then he held up a Block fragment that clearly came from the chamber of a revolver.

"This piece's market value is 3000g. I want six pulls for it."

The moment he finished speaking, Rita hugged her capsule machine and pointed toward a Fat Duck watching nearby.

"Go talk to that event pack over there," she said. "They're cheaper."

Fat Duck, stunned: ?

TingoAutumn Deer let out a breath. She really didn't know.

"Fine. One piece, five pulls," he offered.

"Four."

"Deal."

He handed over the piece.

BS-Rita turned it over in her hands, inspecting it carefully. Then she began breaking down some of her own Blocks to see if she could start assembling it, hoping to trigger some info from the item's data.

She'd done the same with every item that claimed to contact a god—verify first, then trade.

And in that moment, the last of TingoAutumn Deer's doubts disappeared.

She wasn't here for Dull Game.

If she had known anything about it, she wouldn't be testing it right in front of him.

The moment she pieced it together, she'd see it couldn't contact a god, and the trade would fall apart.

But the item didn't reveal full information from just a few pieces. That was enough for him to sell the illusion.

He opened his four capsule eggs:

An event pack, a handful of duck feathers, 20g Blocks, and a five-piece item set fragment.

He'd taken a small loss…

But strangely, he didn't feel frustrated at all.

Weird.

Maybe it's just my bad luck. The pool's fine.

All around, other players watched every capsule opening with fascination—even if the prize wasn't theirs.

Then again, most of them were opening theirs in secret, afraid of what might happen if they drew a Divine Relic in plain sight.

That kind of spotlight? Dangerous.