Chapter 18

Holding the box containing the miniature fountain, Daisy became dazed.

I spun Daisy around, holding her. People of the world! Look at my lucky flower!

"Did I get a good one?"

"Of course! I really wanted this."

From the miniature fountain, clear water flowed continuously, sparkling like crystal. Ironically, my hands didn't get wet. A cute rainbow hung over the fountain.

But now that I had drawn it, how was I supposed to place it in the artifact? Would it just work if I put it there?

It did. The white fountain returned to its original size and took a beautiful place right in the center of the field I had aimed for. I leaned on the glass dome, turning it this way and that, lost in admiration. Ah, this is so satisfying to decorate.

Feeling a bit more confident, I opened the remaining boxes, but only a giant teddy bear with a single-digit probability came out, and the rest were all fences. The 0.1% chance of getting a house didn't happen. This must be the fence box. Otherwise, it couldn't be this cruel to me.

"Lottery time is coming soon!"

A megaphone sounded from outside, and with no more boxes to open, I got up. I had considered having someone else buy the random boxes for me, but the attendant firmly said it wasn't allowed, so I couldn't even try.

Even with dozens of lottery tickets, I still felt uneasy and bought them all from the people gathered outside for one diamond each.

One of these must be a winner. With a trembling heart, I headed to the center of the market square where the lottery was about to begin.

I casually asked the elder if the luck buff cooldown was over, but he said it wasn't. Ah, you handsome face, you're useless for anything else!

"First, the fifth prize! Fifty winners! One potion each!"

The person with the megaphone called out the numbers, and I got 48 potions.

"Next, the fourth prize! Thirty winners! One emergency travel ration each!"

More numbers were called, and I got 25 emergency rations. The bunch of lottery tickets I had thrown out fluttered in the air.

"Third prize! Five winners! This time, it's something everyone will want! One custom nutrient from a dryad!"

Sure enough, I got five nutrients.

The event staff, looking dubious, handed me the prize in a box as I prepared to go out and receive it.

The nutrients were well used by my dryads. When I asked what they liked, they said they felt stronger. Did their defense stats go up?

"Second prize! One winner! Who will be the lucky person to take home the 'snowflake cloud' that can be placed in the terrarium artifact? Drumroll, please...!"

Ah! That's something I really want. It's an item that gives psychological comfort to the snow field dryads, which I don't really need, but isn't it beautiful?

Look at those cute, tiny snowflakes falling... I should probably have it just in case!

Despite winning prizes all the time, I didn't win this one. Why? I quickly followed the winner and tried to make a direct trade.

"Sir, are you selling that? I'll buy it."

But it was a limited item, so he didn't sell it easily.

"I'll buy it for the price you set. Don't hesitate to name your price."

Trying to make the first offer, he hesitated and said, "Well... 300...?"

How much is that worth? Send a cart.

"What will you use the snow cloud for in the snow field?"

"It's pretty!"

Holding the miniature snow cloud and smiling, the elder's expression crumpled.

Why! What! You like useless things too! What will you do with a singing bird statue made of gold or a gold-plated fake harp?

If the elder is crazy about shiny things, I'm crazy about pretty and cute things.

"The grand first prize! A limited accessory that can only be obtained from the 26th World Tree! Who will be the lucky person to take home the special-grade Ruby of Wisdom ring?"

Me! Me! It's me! I prayed to every god I didn't even believe in. Please, let me have it!

"The lucky number is 226! The druid with ticket number 226, please come forward!"

226! My hands moved quickly to find the ticket, but 226 was missing. Damn, 226 was missing.

Who is it! Who won it! If I don't win, I'll buy it with diamonds! But even as the megaphone desperately called for 226, no one came forward.

"226! Is no one here?"

Better not to come at all. They'll call the next number, right? That's when it happened.

"Um... druid."

Daisy tugged at my clothes from behind. In her hand was a star-shaped paper. She showed me the paper in her hand, looking flustered.

"I think I have number 226..."

Did I hear it wrong because I was so desperate?

Looking at the paper Daisy handed me, the number 226 was written on it.

Two hundred twenty-six, two 2s, one 6, in order, is that right?

I kept checking the number with trembling hands, wondering if I had misread it. Was it really Daisy, who only had one ticket, who won first prize, not me who bought hundreds of tickets? Even if Daisy is my lucky flower, such a dramatic event could happen.

"Jay, it seems to be the first prize number. Aren't you going to go out?"

Mesquite, with wide eyes, bent down to look at the number on the ticket with me.

"226! Is no one here?"

I snapped back to reality. This wasn't the time.

"Here! Here! My child drew number 226!"

I pulled Daisy forward by the hand. The event staff, surprised to see me again, lowered the megaphone.

If I hadn't won, I could have tempted the winner with a blank check worth of diamonds to transfer ownership, but winning directly felt much better.

Of course, it wasn't me who won, but my dryad. But since it's my dryad, it's the same, right?

The event staff confirmed the ticket number and handed me the key to the glass case containing the ring. Congratulations and envy were directed at me, but I was too stunned to care.

Honestly, I felt even more elated than when Daisy drew the fountain from the random box.

"Sure enough, meeting Daisy was a huge stroke of luck!"

I shouted, holding Daisy's hands tightly. I've only ever won the fifth prize in the lottery, but to win the first prize, which is only for one person!

I used every cliché I knew to praise how lucky Daisy was to me. Daisy's cheeks turned as red as her hair, and she smiled shyly.

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Elder, who appeared suddenly, poked my shoulder. His sparkling eyes were like the puppy eyes he had when he knelt in the orchard and looked at me.

Elder, who usually showed no intention of hiding his rebellious and prickly expression, now looked gentler than anyone else.

He's so easy to understand. Materialism. Diamondism. He would get along well with my dwarves...

"I will!"

Inserting the key into the small groove and turning it, the key melted and disappeared. Surprised by the disappearing key, I was momentarily stunned, but then the glass case opened, revealing the beautiful ruby ring. Oh, it's dazzling. This is the first time I've seen a ruby.

A thick silver ring with small ruby stones densely set in a groove, and a round, bright red ruby, like a pomegranate seed, nestled in two silver leaves. It looked as if a small flame was trapped inside the ruby, burning brightly. The ring was warm like a hand warmer.

Although the decoration was elaborate and might seem cumbersome, in the original game, the more unnecessarily elaborate the accessory, the more powerful the item.

As I was entranced by the ring, the event staff handed me an additional wooden box, about the size of two tissues put together.

The dark night-colored wooden box had elaborate gold patterns on its surface. I thought it was too big for a ring case, but the event staff opened the case to show me the inside.

Three grooves and a gold line connecting each groove. The grooves were carved out for a ring, necklace, and earring. In the center of the triangle was a strange magical pattern.

What is this? I asked, full of curiosity, and he replied that it was a special-grade Ruby of Wisdom accessory collection.

If I collected the two more accessories that matched the set, I could get a special reward... How did you know I'm crazy about collecting?

"What's the special reward?"

"You can get a Ruby of Wisdom tiara that surpasses the performance of the three accessories! No one has succeeded in getting it yet..."

Do you want me to win first prize two more times?

The Ruby of Wisdom tiara must be a top-tier item in the game. I like the sound of that.

If it were a normal person, they might think, "I'll just aim for something better than half of what others have," but I can aim for the top. Diamonds are paving the way to the top.

With this nearly infinite supply of diamonds, it would be absurd not to aim for the top.

"Do I have to draw the rest?"

"You can only draw the ring."

"Is that so?"

"The whereabouts of the others are unknown."

Oh, the old RPG feeling hit my heart. Find them, the special-grade accessories scattered around the world! I know, I know. If you could get them all at once, they wouldn't be the ultimate item, right?