The Witch and Her Companion: I'm Just a Normal High School Student, but I Became the Familiar of the Highest-Ranked Witch. Also, It Seems I'm the Only Guy in the Witch Organization I Joined - Chapter 27: Lottery and Sponge

Chapter 27: Lottery and Sponge

[Tatsumori Haruto]

It had already been five days since I started skipping school. Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve spent a solid stretch of time at home without school or work to worry about.

When you’re constantly pressed for time, suddenly finding yourself with too much of it can be unsettling—you don’t even know how to use it properly.

On Monday, Ryuna brought over a week’s worth of frozen food and instant noodles, so I hadn’t even needed to go grocery shopping. I’ve been completely holed up at home.

All I really did was handle house chores and watch TV with Fuu.

But today, I had a reason I absolutely needed to leave the house—

“…Fukubiki-ken?”

Fuu tilted her head, gazing curiously at the bundle of papers in my hand.

“You get these when you shop at the shopping district. With them, you can enter a lottery called ‘fukubiki’ and win all kinds of prizes.”

“Oh! I wanna try fukubiki too!”

“Right? These tickets expire today, though. Ryuna was going on about how I shouldn’t leave the house, but just stepping out for a little lottery shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

“Yeah! I wanna go out with Hare too, like to school and stuff!”

Over the past few days, Fuu had mastered everyday conversation to the point where no one would think anything was off.

“Alright then, let’s go out for the first time in a while!”

“Yay! I need to dress up then!”

With that, Fuu dashed up the stairs. Lately, she’d been watching TV personalities and saying things like “I wanna wear that outfit” or “I wanna try that hairstyle.” She was starting to take an interest in fashion too.

After a while, I heard the sound of her hurried footsteps thudding down the stairs again. I turned my gaze toward the staircase, expecting her to be ready to go.

“Hare, which color goes better with this jacket?”

Standing at the top of the stairs was Fuu—wearing nothing but her underwear, holding up two shirts in each hand, one beige and one striped.

For the record, her underwear was a soft pink color that was—no, not dazzling. Dangerous.

“Y-you idiot! I told you not to walk around like that in front of people!”

“It’s fine! I don’t mind if Hare sees. I like Hare, after all!”

“Stop joking around and just put some clothes on already!”

I turned my eyes away, clutching my head in frustration. Fuu had grown so much in just a week, but things like this were seriously troublesome.

What troubled me the most? The fact that being told “I like you” by her didn’t feel bad at all.

Living under the same roof, it wasn’t right for me to develop those kinds of feelings. I’d rescued Fuu without any ulterior motives—or at least, I wanted to be able to say that with confidence.

“Hare, are you embarrassed? You can look if you want, you know?”

“If you take one more step toward me, you’re staying home today!”

Hearing the creak of the floorboards behind me, I hurriedly issued my warning. If I turned around now, I’d be greeted by a half-naked blonde beauty—No. Stay strong, Tatsumori Haruto!

“You don’t have to be so mean about it. Now I feel kinda insecure…”

With that, her footsteps moved away.

Her voice had sounded a little dejected. Maybe I was too harsh?

Her flawless white skin, her elegant golden hair, her perfect proportions—No, that’s not what matters!

She needs to have some modesty! Seriously!

The fresh air outside, even its chill, felt refreshing after so long. Staying cooped up indoors too much really messes with your mood.

Fuu, experiencing the shopping district for the first time, was practically bouncing with excitement, rushing toward every shop that caught her eye.

Since I was technically skipping school under false pretenses, both Fuu and I wore hats pulled low and masks over our faces. You never know who might see you.

“Alright, we’re here. Looks like my target is still available.”

“Target?”

At the center of the shopping district, a long table had been set up as the lottery station. Prizes ranged from first to sixth place, with only third place marked out in red.

My goal was the second-place prize—a brand-new vacuum cleaner. The one at home was obnoxiously loud but barely picked up any dirt.

I had 39 fukubiki tickets. Since three tickets were needed for a single spin, I had 13 chances.

Today was the last day, so the lower-tier prizes should’ve already been mostly claimed.

“Listen, Fuu. My goal is that second-place vacuum cleaner. If I get it, I’ll be able to vacuum the house without drowning out the TV.”

“No way! It won’t go ‘Gaaah Gaaah’ anymore!?”

“I swear it won’t. Just watch—the power of my lucky right hand!”

—It was a total defeat.

At some point, Fuu had ended up with an armful of sixth-place prizes—sponges. She looked like some kind of sponge campaign girl.

I even swallowed my pride and switched from my “lucky right hand” to my left, but the results remained unchanged. Sponge after sponge after sponge.

Whoever called this a lucky hand, show yourself!

I was down to my last spin.

“Hare, can I try spinning it?”

The sponge campaign girl, who had been handing out sponges to random passersby, looked up at me hopefully.

I’d been so focused on winning the vacuum that I forgot—Fuu had never tried a fukubiki before. I should’ve let her spin from the start.

“Sorry, Fuu. I got too caught up in it. There’s only one spin left, but do you still want to try?”

“Yes! I wanna do it!”

She threw down her sponge pile, snatched the last fukubiki ticket from my hand, and ran up to the attendant.

She really must’ve wanted to try.

As I was gathering the scattered sponges, I heard the chime of a bell behind me.

“Congratulations! We have a grand prize winner!”

I snapped my head around so fast it almost broke, tossing the sponges aside as I rushed over.

“D-did we really win!?”

“Yes! Congratulations! You’ve won a first-place prize—an all-inclusive pair travel pass to Irie Onsen!”

“…First place?”

“Yes! The grand prize!”

I had been so fixated on the vacuum that I had assumed we won that instead. My emotions were all over the place.

“…”

“Hare, aren’t you happy?”

Fuu was looking up at me with a puzzled expression.

The moment I saw those eyes, I stopped caring about the vacuum.

“Of course I’m happy! We won first place! That’s even better than second place!”

“Hehe, good! I won it in just one try, you know? Amazing, right?”

Her bashful smile was so angelic that it should be designated a cultural treasure.

“Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it. I spun twelve times and only managed to alchemize sponges.”

“Hare, from now on, call my right hand the lucky hand!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

In the end, we didn’t get the vacuum, but we scored a luxurious onsen trip.

“…Looking at it closely, this trip is ridiculously fancy.”

Back home, I checked the pamphlet that came with the ticket.

It covered two nights at a high-end inn, included gourmet meals, full access to the onsen, and even functioned as a 50,000-yen voucher for the facility’s souvenir shop.

Irie Onsen was in Shinto, meaning it was super close—less than an hour by train and bus.

“I wanna go! When are we going!?”

Fuu jumped onto the sofa beside me.

“Alright, let’s go this weekend!”

“Yay! It’s time for a steamy hot spring murder mystery!”

“That’s ominous!”

Ryuna had told me not to leave the house, but… it couldn’t be helped, right?