Stealing Spree

Chapter 2633: From Intimate Kisses to Gacha Pulls?

After getting satisfied with the kisses, Maaya buried her face on my chest, inhaling my fragrance or maybe recharging her ʼRuki Energyʼ? Anyway, I thought sheʼd escalate our intimacy but I guess she also knew how to hold back, given that the others were waiting for us.

Meanwhile, Misaki, whoʼs also more or less satisfied with my doting, gestured towards the shelves of board games. ”Ruki, was the sleepover fun? Did you also play games like these?”

I gently ruffled her hair and then cupped her cheek, ”Mhm… It was fun and chaotic, I guess? We did a seance with this supposedly ʼcursedʼ crystal ball. You would love to see how Chii, Kushii and An-rin got so spooked.”

”Oh! Did ghosts appear, Ruki? Are they scary?”

”No. But things started falling off their shelves. We went to check it, only to find nothing.”

”Whoa… scary…” Misaki hugged me tighter as she shivered slightly.

That was already scary for her. How adorable.

Maaya pinched my side, ”Stop scaring her, shameless guy. And enough about the other girls. Youʼre here with us now. So, make it up to me. To us. Right here, right now.”

”Alright, how do I make it up to you right now? More kisses?”

”Hmph. I love your kisses but thatʼs not how youʼre gonna make it up to us.” She huffed. ”Misa, tell him.”

”Oh! Understood, Maaya-sama! Ruki. You see…” The innocent girl started. She then twirled before producing her phone. She fiddled with it for a bit before showing the screen to me. One look, and I recognized it as a gacha screen.

These girls, what are they playing?

”Here, Ruki. Help us pull for this character. Weʼre unlucky! Maaya-sama doesnʼt want to risk it, and Iʼm hopeless at these gacha games!”

Misaki cutely stuck her tongue out as she phone closer to my face.

The screen displayed a vibrant banner with a smug-looking anime character, some kind of limited-time unit that was apparently the holy grail of their current obsession.

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift from steamy kisses to… gacha pulls.

Maayaʼs lips twitched into a smirk, her earlier jealousy now mixed with an amused expression. She continued rubbing her face on my chest before looking up.

”Donʼt look so surprised, shameless guy. You think you can just charm your way out of everything? If youʼre sorry for making us jealous, youʼll prove your luck and pull this character for Misa. And maybe for me too.”

How does that relate? This girl…

But well, itʼs surprising to see them playing this. It looks like itʼs one of the popular games nowadays. I kept seeing its ads.

While I didnʼt have that much experience in playing this type of game, I could somehow understand why Maaya would be hooked by this.

I mean, sheʼs part of the Game Club. And gaming is her stress-reliever, especially whenever sheʼs dealing with the responsibility of being the heiress to their hotel business.

However… why is Misaki playing it too?

I chuckled, shaking my head as I took Misakiʼs phone. ”So, this is my punishment? Gacha RNG? You two are brutal. Alright, letʼs see if my ʼirresistible charmʼ also works on digital loot boxes.”

Misaki clapped her hands. ”Yay, Ruki! I knew youʼd help! Maaya-sama said youʼre lucky with stuff like this. Please get the shiny character! He looks like you!” The reference version of this chapter is on *.

Is he? I donʼt know. I probably look better than a game character, right?

Ah… No. Theyʼre all made to be the personification of the playersʼ ideals.

Maaya raised an eyebrow, her smirk widening. ”No pressure, Ruki. But if you fail, Iʼm gonna tell everyone youʼre not as charming as you think you are. I heard Chiiʼs friend wants to dye your hair pink. Iʼd let her do that and watch you get scolded by the teachers.”

”Such a low blow, Maaya. But will you be able to endure seeing me getting scolded? I doubt that” I put on a smirk before focusing on the phone.

The gacha interface was all sparkles and dramatic music, the kind that hyped you up to spend way too much time, or money, chasing pixels.

”Alright, Misaki, how many pulls do we have? These are all free, right?”

”Um, I saved up thirty pulls!” Misaki said proudly, pointing at the currency counter on the screen. ”Maaya-sama gave me some too. She took my phone and did something with it. When she returned it, I got more crystals!”

I glanced at Maaya, who shrugged nonchalantly but couldnʼt hide the fondness in her eyes as she watched Misakiʼs excitement. ”Donʼt look at me like that, shameless guy. Itʼs not that expensive. I wonʼt waste money on these. Itʼs only to support the developers.. Now stop stalling and pull.”

”Fine, fine. Here goes nothing.” I tapped the screen, initiating the first ten-pull.

The animation instantly kicked in. Flashing lights, spinning cards and the whole over-the-top spectacle.

Misaki hugged me again, her cheeks pressed against my arm as she watched with bated breath.𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Maaya subtly turned her head sideways as her eyes locked on the screen.

The results popped up. A bunch of low-rarity characters and a couple of decent 4-star characters, but no shiny 5-star limited-time unit.

Misakiʼs face fell slightly, her enthusiasm unwavering. ”Itʼs okay, Ruki! We still have twenty more pulls!”

Maaya snorted, nudging my side. ”Wow, some luck youʼve got there. Maybe your charm doesnʼt work on gacha after all.”

”Give me a break, itʼs RNG. They say you have to pray to RNGesus for His blessing. Anyway, Iʼve got this.” I tapped for the next ten-pull, the animation dragging out the suspense like it knew we were all on edge.

Misakiʼs fingers gripped my sleeve, and even Maayaʼs cool facade cracked as she leaned in further.

The screen flashed gold. Misaki gasped, and Maayaʼs eyes widened. A character card flipped over, revealing the smug anime character from the banner, all sparkles and dramatic poses.

”Ruki! You did it!” Misaki squealed, rejoicing as the character started moving on the screen. Its animation was quite cool, not gonna lie.

But what kind of game was this again? I remember it being a farming game.

Anyways. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldnʼt help but laugh as she squeezed me tight.

Maaya let out a soft gasp as her smirk returned. ”Okay, shameless guy, Iʼll give you that one. Nice pull. But donʼt get cocky. You still owe me a character for my account. Mind you, I havenʼt built any pity at all.”

I handed Misaki her phone back, ”Well, will I let you down? No way. Iʼm the luckiest guy in the world to be loved by all of you, right? Watch me pull multiple copies of it.”

Maaya let go of me momentarily to pull out her phone. ”Pffft. Look at you being cocky. Iʼm not as forgiving as Misa if you didnʼt get it. And like Misa said. I want it because the character looks like you. Smug and shameless too!”

”Why chase over a game character when you already have me?”

”Youʼre not always with me, idiot.” She answered swiftly but with a low enough volume that would be easily missed if we werenʼt in this quiet place.

”So, itʼs going to be a replacement, huh? Should I start playing it too?”

”No. There are too many female characters here. I donʼt want you to be hooked by them! You already have us!” Maaya shook her head.

Misaki also chimed in, ”Thatʼs right, Ruki! Just watch us play, okay?”

What kind of logic do these girls have?

Well, not like Iʼll have a lot of time to play it.

Soon, I tapped the screen, doing the 10-pull.

The animation played out but as expected. Nothing. No gold flash, no limited 5-star character.

Maayaʼs face fell for a split second before she caught herself, crossing her arms with a huff.

”You have more chances. Do 1-pulls, shameless guy.”

”Alright, here we go. One at a time, for maximum drama,” I teasingly said before tapping the screen.

The gacha animation spun up again, all sparkles and over-the-top effects.

The card flipped. Another 3-star. Maayaʼs eyebrow twitched, and Misaki let out a tiny, disappointed ”Oh…”

”Cʼmon, RNGesus, donʼt let me down now,” I muttered under my breath, tapping for the next pull. Another dud. Then another. Five pulls in, and still no gold flash. Maayaʼs smirk was back, now laced with a challenge, like she was daring me to prove her wrong.

”Youʼre losing your touch, shameless guy. Maybe your charmʼs only good for real girls.”

Misaki giggled, her hands clasped together. ”Donʼt give up, Ruki! You got mine, so you can get Maaya-samaʼs too!”

I shot Maaya a grin, undeterred. ”Oh, Iʼm not done yet. Watch me pull through for my not-jealous Maaya.”

I tapped again, and this time, the screen lit up with that over-the-top golden glow. Misaki squealed before the card even flipped, and Maayaʼs eyes widened, her cool act slipping completely.

The card revealed the same smug anime character, all dramatic poses and shiny effects. Misaki clapped her hands, while Maaya let out a breath sheʼd been holding, her lips curling into a reluctant but genuine smile.

”Well, looks like my charm works on pixels too. Youʼre welcome, Maaya.” I smirked, but before I could even hand her the phone, the girl pulled my head down again for another kiss.

This is my reward for successfully pulling it, huh? Not bad.