Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 2

 As I sighed and raised the Holy Coin, a sudden drum roll began to play.

And then—the reel started spinning at an incredible speed.

Before me were the director’s desk, a statue of a goddess or something behind it, and the wall.

I instinctively rubbed both my eyes, but nothing changed.

The only thing I was sure of was that the reel was still spinning.

“…My brain?”

I didn’t say what exactly, but it felt like my brain.

~drum roll ~....

I quickly finished cleaning. Normally, I’d be reading a book by now, but there was no way I could focus on that.

At some point, the Holy Coin I had been holding vanished.

I considered the possibility that I had dropped it in shock and searched the entire room, but it was nowhere to be found…

~drum roll~…

And then, this drum roll.

It was annoying, and I really wanted it to stop, but there was no lever or button.

How was I supposed to stop it…?

Since the Holy Coin disappeared and this phenomenon began, this was probably some kind of gacha system that consumed Holy Coins.

I really hoped that was the case—otherwise, I’d be in trouble.

“Stop!!”

For now, I shouted with all my might.

“Oh!”

Maybe my spirit worked, because the spinning gradually slowed down and eventually came to a halt.

A fanfare played—!

That meant something good had to come out of this, right?

“…Huh?”

Letters floated in my mind.

【Hideout】

◇

This world has magic.

Once, I was called to help at a church’s infirmary—a place like a hospital.

While cleaning and doing laundry, a wounded man was brought in. A priest raised his staff and chanted something, and before my eyes, the man’s wounds slowly healed.

It was called Holy Magic—essentially, healing magic.

Of course, if healing magic exists, then offensive magic must as well.

Apparently, while their effects differ, all magic fundamentally involves manipulating mana.

Some people are born with the ability to use it, while others acquire it later in life.

That fact alone raised my spirits.

More than when I first learned about adventurers or monsters.

Since then, I had secretly practiced shouting things like “Wave~~!” or “~Dein!” but nothing ever happened.

Either I had no talent, or I was doing something wrong. Eventually, I gave up.

But the sudden appearance of the Holy Coin reignited that old excitement—

【Hideout】

…Real estate? Seriously?

Sure, I had thought about wanting a place of my own, but suddenly obtaining one like this was just confusing.

Besides, I didn’t even know where it was.

After that, I was so stunned by the situation that before I knew it, night had fallen.

I found myself lying in the corner of the dormitory’s shared bedroom, my usual sleeping spot.

There were no lights, and though there was a window, tonight was a new moon.

Just like my mood—completely dark.

At first, I had been able to entertain myself by imagining a bright future, but now, even that was impossible.

Goodbye, wonderful future.

When I open the door, all that awaits me is a pitch-black life.

Perhaps because I was thinking of such nonsense, I thought I saw something like a door in the darkness.

So, I figured—might as well try opening it…

“…Huh?”

I was no longer sitting on the cold wooden floor.

It was still cold, but now it was a smooth, tiled surface.

“Where… am I!?”

This place—

It wasn’t the orphanage.

It wasn’t my childhood home from my past life.

It wasn’t my one-room apartment from my college days.

It wasn’t the company dormitory I lived in as a new employee.

It wasn’t any of the places I moved to after that.

It wasn’t the house I bought when I became independent, using it as both a home and an office.

It wasn’t the last place I had chosen for convenience after setting up a separate office—my 1LDK apartment.

But—

This was unmistakably the entrance to that very apartment.

I had lived there for years. Even without the lights on, there was no way I could mistake this familiar sight.

Wait… what?

Is this what 【Hideout】 meant!?