In the end, after some discussion and comparison, they chose a modern, minimalist-style solid wood dining set. Ryohei told the sales guide to put it on their list, and they continued shopping.

They picked out a sofa, a coffee table, and a TV stand. Ryohei also selected a small, round side table, a single armchair, and a smaller TV stand for his own room, which he had already planned out in his head.

The shopping spree continued.

"Whoa—! What a huge wardrobe!"

"Incredible! That thing must be three meters tall!"

The group discovered a massive wardrobe. Even Ryohei was surprised; you didn't see them that big very often. Normally, a wardrobe is between 2.2 and 2.4 meters tall.

"Come to think of it, we have big wardrobes like this at home, too," Jashin-chan said, looking up at it with a nostalgic expression. "I used to hide in them all the time. Or tie Medusa up and lock her inside." A happy smile spread across her face as she recalled the fun memories.

Medusa: ( ﹁ ﹁ ) ... No comment.

"You've been bullying Medusa since you were kids," Yurine said, giving Jashin-chan a look reserved for scum.

"What a scumbag snake," Ryohei added with disgust.

"Hehe~," Jashin-chan replied, completely unbothered and even a little proud, the tip of her tail wagging happily. "You know, it's been a while since I've played a game of hide-in-the-wardrobe…" She opened the wardrobe door and was about to climb in.

"Are you an idiot?!" Yurine dashed forward and planted her fist squarely in Jashin-chan's face, sending her flying. "What do you think you're doing in a furniture store?!"

"Oww!" Jashin-chan's face swelled up instantly. She propped herself up on her elbows, clutching her cheek and crying out in pain in a surprisingly sultry pose.

"Ah… miss, are you alright?" The sales guide who had been assisting them rushed over and knelt beside Jashin-chan, then looked at Yurine with a troubled expression. "Please, no fighting in the store!"

"Sumimasen!" Yurine, feeling she had caused trouble, bowed deeply and apologized.

Ryohei just put a hand to his forehead. This Jashin-chan is unbelievable. He couldn't comprehend the thought process that led to trying to hide inside a display wardrobe in a store. You could only chalk it up to her being a gag manga character.

After getting punched, however, Jashin-chan behaved herself for the rest of the trip. They each picked out a bed and a wardrobe, and Yurine also chose a small, integrated vanity and desk. Minos and Jashin-chan followed suit, picking out desks for their own rooms.

Next, they selected bedding—not that kind of bedding, the text clarifies, but sheets, comforters, pillows, and summer sleeping mats. They also picked out curtains. Then they went to other floors and chose a large, double-door refrigerator, a washing machine, a big-screen TV, a large-capacity rice cooker, new dishes and cutlery…

The grand total for all the miscellaneous items came to nearly 1,800,000 yen—and that was after a discount.

When Ryohei first heard the price, his heart skipped a beat, but then he remembered it was in yen. Oh, that's fine then. He did a quick conversion in his head. It was less than 12,000 US dollars. Still a bit pricey, but this was Tokyo, where the cost of living was high, and they weren't exactly buying the cheapest models.

Yurine took out her bank card and paid. All the advance money from Anteiku was in her account. For a moment, Ryohei had the strange feeling that he was watching his wife pay for their things.

"Please leave your delivery address and contact information here, and select a delivery time," the cashier said, respectfully returning the card with a very long receipt. With such a large purchase, Nitori naturally provided free delivery and assembly.

"Ryohei-kun, should I put your name down?" Yurine asked, putting the card back in her wallet.

"Either is fine," he replied casually, looking over the long receipt. So Yurine left Ryohei's contact information, filled in the address of the new house, and chose the earliest possible delivery time.

After they had submitted the information, the sales guide reminded them, "You can go to the prize lottery over there next." She explained that Nitori was having a customer appreciation event. You got one spin in the C Prize pool for every 3,000 yen spent, one in the B pool for every 18,888 yen, and one in the A pool for every 88,888 yen. The grand prize in the A pool was a one-day trip to a private beach in Okinawa.

"It would be great if we won the grand prize," Ryohei said with a smile as they walked over. A vacation to a private beach with Yurine and the others sounded amazing.

"Let me do the spinning! I guarantee I'll bring home a grand prize!" Jashin-chan declared, rubbing her hands together eagerly. She loved anything related to gambling.

"We have 20 spins in the A pool. That's exactly four for each of us," Ryohei said, looking at the receipt. It was a perfect coincidence for the five of them.

"Fine! Let's see who's the luckiest. Of course, it'll be me, the Great Jashin-chan!" she said with the mysterious confidence of a true gambling addict.

"We'll see about that," Ryohei said, looking at her. "But I have a feeling you're going to get the worst prizes." You've already jinxed yourself.

"Ptooey, ptooey! Don't be a crow's beak!"

They arrived at the A Prize lottery machine. There was no line; the spending requirement was quite high. The staff member confirmed their receipt. "You have a total of 20 spins."

"Me first, me first!" Jashin-chan rushed to the machine and cranked the handle.

Clank. A white ball rolled out. The consolation prize. She didn't flinch. That was just a warm-up! She cranked again. And again. And again. Four white balls. Her expression began to crumble. Clank. Another white ball from Medusa's turn, which she'd taken. She was about to try again when she felt Yurine's death glare on her. She froze.

"Tch! And you said you were lucky? Is that it?" Minos said, pushing her aside. "My turn!" She cheerfully spun the crank.

Clank. A red ball rolled out.

"Ooh, congratulations!" the staff member said, ringing a small bell. The red ball was the 4th prize, a box of luxury bath bombs. Minos cheered and spun again. Two more white balls, and then… Clank. A blue ball.

"Congratulations!" the staff member rang the bell again. The blue ball was the 3rd prize, a beanbag chair.

Next was Medusa. She spun and got three white and one green ball (5th prize, a cushion). She was a little disappointed, but Minos patted her on the back. "Hey, at least you did better than Jashin-chan."

"Yurine, you're up," Ryohei said.

"Based on my knowledge of Yurine, she'll definitely get the same results as me," Jashin-chan crowed, jinxing her.

And then…

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! The staff member began ringing the bell furiously. "WE HAVE A WINNER! THE GRAND PRIZE!" he shouted excitedly. "CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YOUNG LADY ON WINNING THE ONE-DAY TRIP TO A PRIVATE BEACH IN OKINAWA!"

A gold ball sat in the tray.

"NANI?!" Jashin-chan's jaw dropped. Ryohei was also stunned. Yurine had actually won. This is the power of a manga protagonist, he thought, giving her a thumbs-up. "That's amazing, Yurine!"

Yurine herself was thrilled. Her luck continued, and with her next three spins, she got a white, a red, and a green ball. Jashin-chan was practically numb with envy.

It was finally Ryohei's turn. He looked at Yurine and smiled. "Let me absorb some of your good luck."

"How?" she asked, confused.

Without answering, Ryohei walked over, bent down, and wrapped her in a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He could feel her body jolt and then stiffen, but she didn't push him away. He inhaled her pleasant scent. It was intoxicating.

Minos looked on, surprised. Are they in that kind of relationship? Medusa, with the bag on her head, was just curious.

Jashin-chan, however, went from confused to deeply suspicious. Hey, is something up with you two? When did you get together behind my back?! And you're not even trying to hide it anymore?!

"That's some fragrant luck," Ryohei said, releasing Yurine. Her face was flushed red, her eyes shining as she playfully slapped his arm. He just laughed and went to take his spins, getting a respectable one green, two white, and one blue ball.

Jashin-chan sidled up to the still-blushing Yurine. "Ehhhhh…?"

Yurine took a step back, turning her head away.

"Ehhhhh…?" Jashin-chan followed, a huge grin on her face.

"Do you want me to punch you?" Yurine finally snapped, raising her fist.

"I have a question…"

"No questions!"

After redeeming all their prizes—the trip voucher, two beanbag chairs, two boxes of bath bombs, three cushions, and twelve towels—they ran into a problem. The beanbag chairs were too big to carry. Ryohei found their sales guide and asked if the prizes could be delivered with their furniture. She explained that it wasn't allowed, but he could pay for a separate delivery service, which he did.

They left the store around 3 PM and headed back to the apartment to start moving small items before the delivery arrived. Meanwhile, at their usual spot, customers had begun to gather, waiting for them to open. They waited, and waited, until it got dark.

"Why aren't they here yet? They were here by four yesterday."

"Maybe they're taking the day off?"

"He's not very motivated to make money, is he?"

"If he was, he wouldn't close up so early every night."

"…That's true. I can't even argue with that."

"Let's go, let's go. They're probably not coming today."

The crowd, having arrived full of hope, left full of disappointment.