Seiichi and Lumine stood before a massive three-story building constructed entirely of dark brick, capped with a steep wooden roof. Each floor was painted a distinct color: the first a deep blue, the second a vibrant red, and the third a regal purple.
A pair of immense, pure black wooden doors served as the entrance, flanked by five large windows on each side of the wall. To the right, a line of carriages stood waiting, their drivers chatting idly.
"Here we are!" Lumine announced, striding toward the doors and pulling Seiichi along.
Seiichi eyed the structure warily. "By the way, what is this place?" he asked flatly, studying his sister's face.
Lumine didn't look at him or reply. She merely continued pulling him forward, but Seiichi could see the wide, mischievous grin plastered on her face.
She pushed the heavy door open, and they stepped inside. The interior was bathed in a dim, pink glow. At the far end, a large red stage dominated the room, with chairs and tables scattered before it where patrons played cards, drank, and chatted loudly. The cavernous space was filled with an array of games and machines Seiichi had never seen before.
"This is my absolute favorite place in the entire realm!" Lumine declared cheerfully.
Seiichi observed the scene, his suspicion growing. "Why does this look like a gambling den?"
Lumine's smile turned downright impish. "Because it is for gambling! Seriously, this place is heaven for it," she said smugly, striking a dramatic, chūnibyō pose. She placed her left hand over her right eye, peeking through her fingers with a supposedly glowing gaze, puffed out her chest, and thrust her right hand out to the side.
Seiichi stared at her for a few seconds in deadpan silence before turning back toward the door. "I'm telling Mom," he stated, and began to walk away.
Lumine held her pose for a moment longer before the meaning of his words registered. Her face drained of color, turning a pale, sickly blue. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind, halting his escape.
"You can't tell her! No matter what!" she pleaded, her voice tight with panic. "She'll kick me out of the realm and leave me to wander the Pathway for eternity, or banish me to one of the lower existential realms as punishment!"
Seiichi struggled frantically against her grasp. "Let me go!"
"Please don't tell her, I beg you! I promise I'll be a good sister to you!" she lied, infusing her voice with a convincing tone of remorse.
"I know you're lying," he retorted, putting all his strength into breaking free, but her grip was like iron.
"Okay, I admit I lied! But please, I'm begging you for the second time, don't tell her!" Lumine cried.
Seiichi finally stopped struggling and let out a long, weary sigh. "Fine. I won't tell her. But if she finds out on her own, don't you dare involve me."
Lumine sighed in profound relief and loosened her grip. "Thank you! You're the best little brother ever!" She ruffled his hair affectionately, thoroughly messing it up before releasing him completely.
Seiichi smoothed down his hair, still faintly feeling the phantom pressure of her desperate hug. "Now, let me give you a tour of this place," Lumine said, her cheer returning instantly. "And we are mainly here to play games and nothing more, okay?" She grabbed his hand again to ensure he wouldn't get lost.
They navigated through the labyrinth of strange games, eventually pushing through a particularly dense crowd that made passage difficult. Seiichi found himself pressed tightly against his sister.
"Why is it so crowded today?" Lumine grumbled, feeling suffocated by the press of bodies.
Suddenly, a shout rose above the din from behind them. "I lost my wallet in this crowd! If someone finds it, please return it! I need that money for groceries!" The voice belonged to a young man, likely a teenager who had recently entered adulthood.
After finally escaping the throng, they stopped before a peculiar machine filled with colorful foil packs.
"What is this?" Seiichi asked, peering at the displays.
"It's a special card dispenser. They only bring these out around the time of the Vow Ceremony. See all the packs inside?"
"Yes, I see them. What about them?"
"You see, there's only one card per pack, and they come in different rarities: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and the highest, the Rainbow card. The higher the rarity, the more valuable the card is," Lumine explained, her face alight as if she were revealing the secrets of the universe.
Seiichi looked at her, confusion evident. "But why do you even need them? You're royalty."
She smiled, striking another playful pose. "Sometimes being royal is boring, even with all the money. Having a card of the rarest rarity is more of a flex than a title, in my opinion." She stepped closer to the machine, a determined glint in her eyes. "I plan to get the Rainbow card this time. I didn't get it last time."
"So, how does it work?" Seiichi asked, moving to stand beside her.
"We need money," Lumine stated.
"Which we don't have," Seiichi countered.
Lumine smirked and produced a wallet from a hidden pocket in her dress.
"Where did you get that?" Seiichi asked, eyeing the wallet. "Did you steal it from that guy who shouted about losing his?"
Lumine closed her eyes, feigning a thinking pose so intense it looked painful. "My head hurts," she declared. "And no, I didn't steal it from him. I took it from the woman who stole his wallet. So technically, this is her wallet now."
"Still, that's stealing. Even if you steal from a thief," Seiichi reasoned. He stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking her squarely in the eye. "I feel like you will single-handedly ruin the reputation of the entire angel race. Even though I'm your younger brother, and a lecture like this should be coming from you... I'm genuinely worried about your future."
Lumine met his gaze, a small, touched smile appearing on her face. "But I'm not worried about my future. As a B-rank fate awakener, able to manipulate possibilities just like Azariel, I'm certain there's a 51% chance it'll be successful and a 49% chance it'll be normal, like right now," she explained, a look of pride returning to her features.
Seiichi removed his hand from her shoulder and stepped back, massaging his temples. "I'm genuinely convinced your future is as tragic as my fate."
"Well, that's a talk for another day," she chirped, turning back to the machine. She pulled two silver coins from the wallet, inserted one into the slot, and waited. The machine whirred and clunked before a pack dropped into the retrieval slot with a thud.
A smile spread across her face as she bent down to retrieve it. "Let's see what's inside!" she said, tearing the foil with excited fingers.
As she slowly pulled the card out, her smile began to fade, replaced by a wave of sadness and disappointment. It was another Gold card but this one was Gold Card 7: The Monarch, whereas her last one had been Gold Card 273: Trickster.
"At least it's a single-digit card," she mumbled, her voice thick with disappointment.
"Does a lower number mean something?" Seiichi asked, he kept looking at the card in Lumine's hand. His eyes glowed red for a brief moment.
"Well, yes. The color matters, but the number matters too. It tells you how rare that specific card is within its color tier," Lumine explained.
"Understood," Seiichi said flatly.
Lumine straightened her posture, her determination returning. "If I got a Gold 7 today, I'll get a Diamond card next time we come!"
"By the way," Seiichi began, "if you can manipulate possibilities, why didn't you just make it so you'd get a Rainbow card?"
Lumine looked at him and smiled. "Because, while I might be a pure gambler in the future, cheating doesn't run in our family's genetics. Even if I do cheat a little on exams, training, and duel sessions sometimes." She extended her arm, offering him the remaining silver coin. "Why don't you try one?"
Seiichi looked at the coin in her hand and sighed, a small, resigned smile touching his lips. "I suppose I have to. Arguing with you is like arguing with a wall."
He took the coin, inserted it into the machine, and waited for the familiar whir and clunk. He retrieved the dropped pack and opened it, slowly pulling out the card. Lumine watched with bated breath, clenching her fists in childlike anticipation.
As Seiichi fully revealed the card, all the expectation and excitement drained from Lumine's face.
"Why do you look so disappointed?" Seiichi asked.
"Because you pulled out the worst type of card! A Bronze card! Do you understand? A Bronze card is the lowest tier! Aren't you sad, too?"
Seiichi looked at the card in his hand. It was Bronze Card 4: Ruler. "Well, there's nothing to be sad about over such trivial things," he said, slipping the card into his pocket.
"Why are you keeping it? Aren't you going to throw it away?"
"I'll just hold onto it. As you said, maybe I'll get a better card next time," Seiichi replied, his expression calm.
"You are always so nonchalant about everything," Lumine said, a small, fond smile returning to her face.
As they spoke, a heavy shoulder slammed into Seiichi from behind. He stumbled, barely managing to keep his balance. He turned to find a giant of a man, triple his size, glowering down at him. The man was heavily muscled, dressed in worn white clothes, and had a third eye blinking ominously on his forehead. Two other men and a woman stood behind him, snickering.
"Can't you watch where you're going, you little brat?" the giant man