Chapter 69

Day 4.

"Huh? What is it?"

A few hours after starting the hunt, around mid-afternoon, my smartphone suddenly vibrated.

I took it out and looked at the screen to see a call from Noll. What could he want?

『Oh, Oowaka-don---pyau!? Help! Help, I need help!』

"What, what's that sound!? Hey, are you okay!?"

『Estelle is going berserk! The cave is full of holes everywhere!』

As soon as I answered the call, I heard Noll's scream. At the same time, I could hear heavy, explosive sounds repeatedly.

When I asked what was going on, he said Estelle was going berserk.

No way... What happened?

"Is Noll okay?"

『I managed to take shelter! I'm keeping an eye on Estelle to make sure no monsters get close, but I can't stop her, so please come quickly!』

"Hold on, I'm coming! Cissha! We're stopping the hunt for now!"

I told Cissha to stop the hunt, and we decided to head to the northern cave.

When we arrived at the northern cave, the scene was terrible. Holes were scattered all over the walls, and parts of them were melted like lava.

Searching the area, I found Estelle holding the Grimoire and raising her staff, continuously firing fireballs at the direction where the scorpions were.

The area being bombarded was already a mess of explosions, and upon closer inspection, I could see the scorpions and stingers evaporating the moment they spawned.

Looking for Noll, I found him hiding behind a stone pillar near Estelle, trembling and watching the situation.

I cautiously approached Estelle from behind and called out to her. She turned around, her eyes fixed on me.

She seemed to be smiling slightly, but her mouth was half-open and her cheeks were tense.

"Hey, Estelle? Are you okay?"

"Big brother, praise me? I've taken down so many today. Can I keep burning this cave all night? Will you be even happier if I do? Hey... Hey, big brother."

While looking at me, she continued to fire fireballs at the place where scorpions spawned.

Estelle, smiling, spoke to me in a calm, cheerful voice. She seemed normal, but she was clearly out of her mind.

I felt instinctively scared. If this continues, it's definitely going to be bad.

"Okay, okay. I understand, but first, calm down, okay?"

"Can I keep burning?"

"No! That's not it!"

I stopped Estelle, who was about to increase her firepower, and managed to get her back home.

As soon as we got home, she fainted, so I carried her to her room and laid her on the bed.

I never thought Estelle would be this mentally exhausted... I was so focused on Noll's madness that this was completely unexpected.

It wasn't like Noll's obvious madness; it was more subtle. Maybe it was because I took her words at face value.

Tomorrow's hunt might have to be done without Estelle.

"So, what about today's gacha?"

"Hmm, we only managed to collect 54 today. I'll draw this time."

"Try your best, Oowaka! If you can draw, you can win the gacha!"

What does he mean by "win"? I wasn't trying to compete...

We had a total of 97 magic stones. This time, we could only draw once. But there was a chance we could draw it in this one attempt.

If we drew it here, we wouldn't need to hunt tomorrow. Everyone would be happy.

I immediately took out my smartphone and tapped the 11-roll gacha while Noll and the others watched.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver.

【R Food, R Snack, R Walkie-Talkie, R Thunder Ring, R Long Sword, R Universal Medicine, R Magic Dynamite, R Tear Gas, R Stuffed Animal, R Potion x 10, R Shampoo】

"Damn it!"

"Oh, this is no good..."

"We'll have to try harder tomorrow... Oowaka, let's keep going until night!"

It stopped at silver. I'm losing confidence in my gacha luck...

Only one day left... Tomorrow, everything will end, for better or worse.

Final Day.

"Today... Today is the last day. Is Estelle really okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine now. I had a good sleep. More importantly, I'm sorry for yesterday. Because of me, we couldn't collect enough magic stones, right?"

"Don't worry about it. It's a path Noll has also taken. I should have noticed and helped her."

I told Estelle to rest, but she said she couldn't rest when we had a promise. So, we decided that the last day, we would all go to the Orc Forest, and Estelle would only use body-strengthening magic and rest as much as possible.

We continued hunting for hours, but the efficiency was not as good as the northern cave, and the magic stones were not accumulating quickly.

"Oowaka, how many do we have now?"

"Right now... 137."

"Then... We need to hunt a bit more today."

The sun was already starting to set. It would soon be dark.

We needed 13 more magic stones to get three draws. We had to push through.

"I'm sorry. Just for today, can you help me a bit more?"

"No, no. Rather, Cissha is amazing... How can she keep hunting like this without getting tired?"

"Ah, I think it's better not to know."

Today, with Estelle and the others, Cissha wasn't laughing while hunting.

Even so, when I looked at her face while hunting, she seemed to be on the verge of laughing.

After three days of enduring Cissha's crazy laughter, I felt like I needed some praise too.

Even after the sun had completely set, we continued hunting using lamps, and finally collected the remaining 13 magic stones. Now we had exactly 150.

We returned home and gathered around the table to draw the final gacha.

"Well... This is the final gacha."

"Mmm, it's delicious!"

"Hmm... Yeah. If we miss this, I might cry too."

"Phew, sweets really hit the spot. So, who will draw the final gacha?"

As a celebration, I gave Noll and the others snacks.

We had a strawberry cake, a fluffy waffle with cream, and a crispy, fish-shaped pastry filled with red bean paste.

I handed them to the girls, and they all took a break, eating the snacks happily. Noll was so focused on the cake that she wasn't even listening to the conversation.

More importantly, we needed to decide who would draw the final gacha.

Well, if I had to choose now, first...

"Moffut and Noll, one each. The last one... we'll decide later."

The two with abnormal luck in the party were certain. First, let's see what Moffut and Noll draw.

If that doesn't work, we'll think about it later.

"Then, Moffut! Let's do our best!"

Moffut, the first to draw the final gacha, approached the smartphone with a determined look, despite her usual calm demeanor.

She raised her foot and tapped the 11-roll gacha.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver, gold, and white. It stopped at white.

Will it come out? Will it really come out?

【R Steel Scythe, SR Excalibur, SR Explosion Ticket, R Hot Ring, SR Cursed Rod, R Thin Book, SR Beacon, SR Stabilizer, R Deodorant, 'SR Board Game Set', SSR Petasos】

"Oh!? Still no... What do we do now..."

"Well, what can we do..."

"Next! Let's get it next time!"

An SSR came out, but the Dimension Room didn't. Noll and the others watched the gacha results more seriously than usual and looked really disappointed when it missed.

Moffut's turn was over, and it was Noll's turn next.

"Noll, I'm counting on you..."

"Noll, I'm entrusting everything to you."

"Noll, I'm counting on you. You're our only hope."

"Hey, hey! Stop it! All three of you! Even Moffut... This is the most important gacha I've ever done..."

Everyone placed their hands on Noll's hand on the table, full of hope. Even Moffut placed her small hand on Noll's, showing her support.

If she misses, we might as well give up. This is practically the last gacha.

Under the weight of our expectations, Noll tapped the 11-roll gacha with a more awkward movement than usual.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver, gold, and white. It stopped at white.

She has good luck too. If it doesn't come out here, there's no hope.

【R Flash Ball, SR Nike's Shoes, R Thunder Ring, SR Gold Shoes, R Animal Video, R Speaker, SR Eclipse Sword, R Magic Potion x 10, SR Pot Lid, 'SR Prominence Finger', SSR LCD Monitor】

"Oh!? I'm sorry..."

"No, don't worry..."

It's over, it's over... There's no way it would come out.

I gave up, resting my elbows on the table and covering my face with my hands. It was impossible, there was no way we could have drawn it.

When Noll suggested giving up, I should have listened. Why did I insist on drawing it?

Thinking about the number of magic stones we've lost, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

Looking at the others, Noll's expression was hard to read, but she was clearly disappointed.

Estelle was leaning back in her chair, looking frustrated.

Moffut, who was on the table, was sitting down, making sad squeaking sounds.

Cissha... She was the only one who raised her head, looking at us with a curious expression.

She hadn't given up yet. Her eyes weren't dead. Her blue eyes were still bright and clear.

"Cissha... You're amazing."

"Huh? Rather, we still have one more draw, so why are everyone acting like it's over?"

Cissha's words sent a jolt through me.

Right... I thought we only had one more, but in her mind, we still had one more.

Ha, I admit it. Cissha is the kind of person who faces the gacha more positively than I do.

"Cissha, I'm counting on you."

"Wh-What? Me!?"

I handed her the smartphone on the table.

I believed that the gacha would smile on someone who hadn't given up, even in this situation.

"Oowaka, what's wrong with you? Asking me to do it, are you out of your mind!?"

"No, I really want Cissha to do it. My intuition is telling me that now is the time to let Cissha draw."

She hasn't drawn anything above SSR before. She might not have confidence in herself.

"But..."

"What happened to your positive attitude! You're not the type to get discouraged like this! Show us your true self!"

Still, if she could do it in the midst of that despair, I believed she could. So, I entrusted this one draw to her.

"What about Noll and the others?"

"I'm fine. I believe Cissha can draw it."

"I'm fine too. I trust your intuition, big brother."

When I asked Noll and the others, they all nodded, raising their heads.

Moffut even went to Cissha and tapped her chest with her front paw.

"Alright! I'll do it!"

"Great, that's the spirit! Go for it!"

Encouraged by us, Cissha clenched her fist and made a determined pose.

Then, without hesitation, she tapped the 11-roll gacha.

Please, please! If we miss this, it's over for the gacha... for us!

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver, gold, and white. It stopped at white.

"Hmm!? This is... Yes! We got an SSR!"

"Wow! Cissha drew an SSR!"

"Let's celebrate, but we don't know if it's the right one. Tap it quickly."

Finally, Cissha drew an SSR for the first time. It's about time.

She was overjoyed, and Noll was celebrating with her. Estelle, though, was calmly saying it was too early to celebrate, but she