The Guy Who Messed Up Is Gradually Doing His Best

Today, the 3rd, I will be visiting the unboxing netTube channel of Kamifukuro Ai-san.

Originally, it was typical to spend the first three days of the New Year visiting shrines, eating traditional New Year’s foods like traditional food eaten during the New Year’s holidays and soup containing rice cakes and vegetables, and relaxing with family. However, there are exceptions, such as the first sale (conducted by retailers in the New Year).

The first business conducted by retailers in the New Year is unlike regular business operations, lucky bags, which serve as a test of fortune for the year, are widely sold from New Year’s Day in various stores and are well-loved (Kaori’s information).

If I want to get lucky bags from a popular women’s fashion shop, it’s common to line up the day before (according to Kaori). There are probably more women looking for lucky bags than I thought.

Of course, lucky bags were also sold at Manager Aikawa’s men’s clothing specialty store. The lucky bags contained men’s clothing, jackets, and some accessories or miscellaneous items. While the contents varied depending on the price, all the lucky bags were sealed so that the contents were unknown.

This is the case in every store. There are no lucky bags where we can see inside. That’s why they are also called “luck bags,” but even though we can’t see inside, there are no stores that sell extremely malicious luck bags filled with unpopular, leftover items.

If they start selling such lucky bags, they know that the store has no future.

In those lucky bags, Manager Aikawa even included signed colored paper and bonus photos taken for posters by us, the Armed Girls, and the special ones contained three photos.

Well, this year, considering that women might buy them for themselves, we also prepared more M and S sizes.

Since I owe them a lot, I hoped they would sell well even if they didn’t sell out completely. Thinking that, I tried to order a lucky bag for myself online to contribute to their sales, but they were all sold out.

I couldn’t buy a single one. As a dedicated model, it’s great, but I really wanted one for myself too. It’s a bit of a complicated feeling.

“Ugh~ what should I really do?”

I look around restlessly.

Back to the topic, it seems that Kamifukuro-san, the netTube we are visiting this time, lined up at a popular women’s fashion store from the previous day, the 31st, and successfully got lucky bags worth 100,000 yen, 50,000 yen, 10,000 yen, and 5,000 yen.

I was crying tears of joy because I could film an unboxing video with Taketo-kun, but I was empty-handed.

I’m in a hurry because I won’t look cool if I don’t bring some lucky bag too.

Fortunately, Kamifukuro-san’s photography studio is in the neighboring town, so the travel time isn’t too long. This is because of the recent netTube shoot, where I felt I had to do something since my turnover rate had dropped. After thinking long and hard, I came up with the idea and proposed it to them, and they accepted it, making it possible.

The content this time involves multiple people (five people who can gather on this day) from the netTube community coming together and each revealing the contents of the lucky bags they bought in front of everyone.

If this collaboration goes well, I plan to continue collaborating with multiple netTubers in the future to improve our turnover rate.

Mil-san has suggested that it might be time to stop the netTube support project, but since I started it to help the netTube who are already doing their best, I want to keep going as long as I can.

“Going empty-handed is not good… right?”

My outlook was too optimistic, what should I really do? It went on sale on New Year’s Day, and today is the 3rd. Is it strange that there are still some left?

Since I still had the feeling from my previous life, I thought there would be at least one unsold item left at the department store. But there were none. It seems that the lucky bags were really popular.

Kaori seemed like she really wanted to go buy it, but since it was too much for her (the popular store’s lucky bags had intense pushing and shoving), she was dejected and decided to give up this time.

I tried to go to her place, but Mil-san stopped me…

Huh?

As I walked through the town, looking around and searching for shops without signs saying “Sold Out of Lucky Bags,” I found a shop with a sign that said “Lucky Bags Available.”

However, that store looks obviously run-down and doesn’t seem to be popular at all.

“Is this a handmade accessory shop? Handmade… so… cool…”

That’s an amazing name. But since it seems there’s a lucky bag, there’s no choice but to go in.

Clang, clang♪

When I opened the non-automatic door and stepped inside, the interior had a cute atmosphere that was quite different from the exterior, and it felt really nice.

“Oh…”

There were many cute accessories lined up, but I quickly found the lucky bag I was looking for.

On the counter side, there are 15 neatly arranged small lucky bags of 3,000 yen and 1,000 yen each.

The lucky bags are quite unsold, but if I look at the products displayed in the store (other accessories), there are many cute and stylish items like necklaces and bracelets made with leather cords, beads, pearls, and silver, as well as rings, earrings, and ear cuffs.

If it’s for filming and Kaori…

I glance at Mil-san and I occasionally see her looking at cute accessories. That’s right. Even with in-game avatars, she always collected cute gear. Mil-san likes cute things.

Since I’ve also been taken care of by Mil-san, it’s just right. I picked up one 3,000 yen and one 1,000 yen lucky bag for the photoshoot, Kaori, and Mil-san, totaling six bags…

“Welcome… Oh! T-Taketo-kun!!”

A young woman hurriedly came out from the back of the store. Even though she was young, she was probably in her twenties, older than me.

The woman stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw me, her surprise evident. It seems she knows me.

“U-um, I’m Saotome Kaoru, a third-year student at the same school as Taketo-kun. This is also my house, and usually, my mom runs the shop, but since she’s out right now, I’m taking care of the store…”

It seems like she’s a senior from the same school, but Saotome-senpai is quite flustered and keeps talking rapidly.

What should I do? There’s no chance for me to say anything.

“S-so, Taketo-kun. Why are you at my place today?”

After a while of tuning it out, the conversation finally ended, and she turned to me.

That’s good. I left with plenty of time, but since I have to move to the next town now, I can’t really relax too much.

“Um, this one. I want a lucky bag… please give me three of these and three of those.”

I lined up six lucky bags of three thousand yen and one thousand yen on the counter.

“I’m glad there were still some lucky bags left.”

While Saotome-senpai said thank you and was ringing up the register, I took out my wallet and prepared to pay.

“Ahaha, it’s been quite unsold, hasn’t it? It used to sell normally, but ever since one of my classmates brought in a fashion model one day… What am I even saying to you, Taketo-kun? I’m sorry for saying something weird.”