CH 55

Supporting High School Student Does Crane Game

“Hmm, where do we go next?”

“Next station is…….GAME CENTER!”

“I see? It’s time to let the world witness Godhand huh….”

“What do you mean by Godhand Shiraki-san?”

“This guy always goes to arcades so he’s good at crane games. That’s probably his nickname there.”

He sometimes messages me that he get some prizes from those games. I don’t know about Godhand but he’s probably good.

A while back I used to frequent these crane games too. I used to be good and gave every prize I got to my sister but just like sushi, I wasn’t blessed with any luck ever since I entered high school so I think I’m actually not that good.

I sometimes want to start playing again from the withdrawing symptom but once I think about what would I do with the prize, I just don’t feel like doing it anymore.

Rather, if we head upstairs, this mall has so many sections like a Game Center to sections for groceries and essentials stuff like clothes and even some entertainment like consoles and books.

“It will be a fresh experience for me since I only visit it for the photo booth a couple of times.”

“There’s a lot of crane games there you know! You will see!”

“Most of the machines here are good but be careful okay, there are some fixed ones too.”

When we arrived at the game center we found crane game machines lining up in a row. There are also pachinko and slot machines, and even fighting and music games too. The photo booths also made me feels a little nostalgic.

“Shiraki-san, what do you mean by fixed machines? They are all the same to me though……”

“The fixed ones are the machines that limit the strength of the crane’s arm. You can only get the prize once you put in a certain amount of coins……well, it’s those ones. The ones that have a game console or a music player inside, those ones are the most infamous I think.”

“I see…… but since we are already at a Game Center, I want to try getting a prize!”

Eihashi-San brings her hands in front of her chest, she maintains that pose in front of one of the crane games. It seems she found something she wants.

“Ah, is this one a fixed machine”

The machine she is staring at is one with a stuffed animal which I don’t know whether it was meant to be a cat or a rabbit inside.

“This huh……the arm doesn’t look like it was rigged but this one is a luck game……”

“A luck game?”

“To get a prize from this kind of game, you have to use the hook to shake the stick to drop the prize. You are only allowed to use the hook to nudge the stick so I don’t know how much it will cost until you can get even one prize. Sometimes, it can cost you more than even the fixed machines, and sometimes a coin is only what it takes. I have never seen any guide video on the net for this kind of machine either. Well, I guess the only thing that can help you is a divine intervention I guess.”

“Oi, what about the Godhand thing from earlier.”

“Wh, whatever are you talking about…….”

“Is that so……Nekousa……”

(TLN: Neko-Usa)

Apparently, this plushy is called Nekousa. I don’t personally find it cute but with Eihashi-San sneaking a glance after glance back after she looked away from the machine, she looks very pitiful.

Still. I heard that it might cost more than even a fixed machine so I don’t really want to challenge it.

Anyone would want to get it for her if they see her like this but this one is a game of luck so it doesn’t matter how skilled you are. It’s more likely and way cheaper to get one from an online auction site.

When I was wondering what to do, Ichinose-San jogged over.

“Reika! There’s a Nekousa over here! Ah, there’s one here too!”

“Is that true! Let’s go!”

“Well, I hope it’s a different kind of machine.”

“Since it’s a plushy, it will be difficult right?”

Then, we moved to a machine that is a little distance away. The machine was the type that you often see with plushies inside, the one that you use the crane to grab and carry the prize to a hole.

“Ah, isn’t this one a fixed machine?”

“……it is?”

“Is that’s so? THERE’S A FIXED MACHINE HERE!?”

“I think it’s one because the plushy fall immediately after you grab it…..”

“……umm, how much will it cost to get this?”

“Hmm….can’t tell…..”

Eihashi-san seems like she wants a Nekousa no matter what but her expression looks like this is her lifetime chance to get it.

The machine needs a hundred yen for a game but if we put in 500 yen, you will get 6 runs. Still, I only put in one coin.

“Let me see.”

“Y, yes.”

I think what important to beat a crane game are accuracy and knowledge.

For example, with the box type, you basically need to turn the box to unbalance it, making the box fall between the gap between the supporting sticks in the middle, the guide on how to beat that is for you to nudge it on both sides so that it moves forward or backward and fall between the sticks.

There are few box-type crane games that you can take the prize with only one coin but it is designed to let you take the prize that way only when you do not make a single mistake.

Even so, even with the same procedure, the amount of money it will cost a beginner and an expert is very different. What determines the difference is the amount of distance you can nudge the box in one run.

You can moves the box a lot farther if you get the hook to close on the box just a moment before the hook open.

From what I saw, a good player can do it three times faster than an average player.

What I want to say here is that I was addicted to pursuing such accuracy in crane games in my junior high years……..

“If we pick it up we might have to wait for the fixed time the arm is usable but we should be able to hook the arm to the tag on the plushy!….alright!”

By accurately inserting the arm into the gap between the tag on the plushy, I managed to lift it up regardless of the arm’s strength but it failed to drop when I move the arm toward the drop hole.

“It, it was stuck but you lifted it!”

“That’s right. That’s why this time…..”

I add another 100 yen coin and press the hook button right at the starting point. Then, when the arm closed, the plushy that was caught fell in the hole and we got the prize.

“Oh! He got it!”

“A, amazing! So you can do it like that too!”

“Nn? Here. You wanted it right?”

Eihashi-san’s expression turned sloppy as though she didn’t expect that it would be given to her. Rather, if I don’t give it to her, it will only bother me to dangle the prize she wants in front of her right.

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah. Rather, I only did it because it seems you want that thing in the first place.”

“For me……..th, thank you very much…..!”

“……to think that Seiya is capable of using the secret technique [Fallen Out]…….!”

“What’s that! So cool! Is that the name of the earlier move?”

“No, I just came up with it.”

Masato is saying something strange again but he’s probably embarrassed since his so-called Godhand just got destroyed. Well, I did win my first crane game in a while so I guess this is an accomplishment huh.

“There’s no other choice…..if it’s like this then I will have to show off my skill at another game.”

“Come one, we got the prize so it’s all good right?”

“That’s right true…..I’m already satisfied with Nekousa after all……”

“That’s a nice idea! Ah, if I have something I want I will be counting on Hiura-kun okay!”

“There’s no guarantee that I will get it alright?”

This time the plushy was in a position where it was easy to insert the hook in the tag so it went well. There’s no guarantee that I can get a prize again.

“That’s good enough!”

“Oi, over here, hurry up!”