"You're right. There's absolutely no need to pay! We weren't thinking about any of that when we saved you. Just take good care of yourself from now on and live a healthy life until you're ninety!"
"Wha...?! Burnice..." Piper's eyes widened in surprise.
She looked at Burnice with a mixture of disbelief and resignation, as though this was exactly the kind of response she'd expected.
In the end, she chose to say nothing.
Hearing those words, the elderly woman became even more convinced that Burnice was a genuinely kind person. As a token of gratitude, she handed her something she believed would bring good fortune.
"Is this... a lottery ticket?"
Piper, who frequently bought lottery tickets herself, recognized the small slip of paper at a glance.
The old woman nodded.
"I bought it on a whim when I passed by the lottery station earlier. A kind clerk picked the numbers for me. The moment I bought it, I felt a warmth in my palm, a truly wonderful feeling. After living this long, I know that feeling wasn't ordinary. It was a sudden flash of good fortune! This ticket will win at least two million!"
"Wow! Two million! I'm going to rent a standard swimming pool, fill it with Nitro-Fuel, and have Wise teach me how to swim!"
Burnice's eyes sparkled with excitement. Judging by the look on her face, she was already imagining the wonderful life she'd have after claiming the prize.
Watching her, Piper could only sigh helplessly.
"...Swim in Nitro-Fuel? You're getting carried away already."
Afterward, Burnice stayed behind to guard the supplies while Wise and Piper escorted the elderly woman to the nearest Hollow exit.
It was then that Piper suddenly spoke.
"Wise, we're thinking the same thing, aren't we?"
"About Burnice getting carried away by that lottery ticket?" Wise asked, already knowing what she meant.
"Of course. Burnice's boundless optimism is part of her charm, and I really like that about her. I'm sure you do too. That's exactly why I don't want to see her disappointed. Reality is always disappointing, isn't it? As troublesome as it'll be, I'll be the one to remind her of the realistic side."
Piper spoke with the calm clarity of an adult, while Wise found himself wondering what would happen if that lottery ticket actually won two million.
By the time they finished talking, they had already returned to Burnice.
The moment she spotted them, she grinned excitedly.
"Yo! You guys are back! Guess what I'm thinking! Three, two, one... That's right! I'm thinking about how the three of us should split the huge two-and-a-half-million prize!"
"What? We were only gone for ten minutes, and the prize in your imagination has already increased by half a million? I wish my stocks performed like that," Piper replied with the melancholy of an adult weighed down by reality, but Burnice only looked at her in confusion.
"I thought you'd be happy, Piper. Don't you usually enjoy talking about lottery tickets with the other truck drivers?"
Upon hearing that, Piper set aside her world-weary expression and looked at Burnice with complete seriousness.
"We like lottery tickets, but not this little piece of paper that costs us money. We like the prize money behind it. Burnice, listen carefully. Buying lottery tickets is both a science and an art, but in the end, it's ninety-five percent science and five percent social darkness. Understand?"
Her tone was completely serious as she raised a finger for emphasis.
Burnice simply slapped her forehead and burst into laughter.
"Haha! I don't understand at all!"
"Sigh... I hope you never do. The waters are too deep to explain. Wise knows this too, right? A random ticket with numbers picked by the shop might win a small prize, but the jackpot? That's basically impossible."
Piper looked toward Wise, hoping he would help convince Burnice.
Meanwhile, Wise found himself wondering how many cups of Nitro-Fuel it would take to cheer Burnice up if the ticket didn't win.
After all, no matter how upset she became, a few cups of Nitro-Fuel would probably solve the problem.
If not, he could always spend some time with her instead, he thought.
Burnice, however, remained as confident as ever.
"The drawing hasn't happened yet, has it? It's way too early to say it's impossible!"
"Don't start quoting sports manga. This isn't one of those, 'It's match point, but we haven't lost yet!' moments. Anyone who's ever bought lottery tickets knows miraculous comeback victories mostly exist in manga."
As she spoke, Piper took the lottery ticket from Burnice and checked the drawing date.
It was scheduled for tonight.
Hearing that, Burnice immediately decided they should watch the live broadcast together.
"Tsk... Wise, I need to discuss something with you. This ticket is almost certainly not going to win, and I don't want Burnice to be alone when she's disappointed, so..."
She left the sentence unfinished, but Wise immediately understood what she meant.
Naturally, he couldn't refuse.
After receiving his nod, Piper turned back to Burnice.
"Burnice, why don't we go to the video store on Sixth Street and watch the drawing together? We'll be there with you."
With that decided, the three of them left the Hollow with the collected supplies and returned to Sixth Street.
As they passed a convenience store, Burnice suddenly stopped to buy a bottle of Nitro-Fuel.
When she twisted off the cap, she found the words "Win Another Bottle" printed underneath.
Seeing that, Burnice's excitement only grew. She became even more convinced that the lottery ticket was destined to win the grand prize.
Piper's advice went in one ear and out the other. Burnice had already begun planning exactly how she would spend the prize money.
Watching her, Piper finally gave up trying to dampen her enthusiasm.
Burnice was like a sauna. The more cold water you poured on her, the hotter she got.
Before long, the sun had set, and the lottery drawing was about to begin.
The three returned to the video store together.
Piper and Burnice settled onto either side of Wise as the lottery broadcast played on the television in front of them.
|| Now announcing the winning numbers for this drawing! ||
As the host's voice echoed through the room, Burnice eagerly compared each announced number with the ones on her ticket.
For this type of lottery, the more numbers that matched, the larger the prize.
"The first few numbers all match! Our ticket really is going to win a huge prize, isn't it?"
"Don't celebrate too early. At this point, the prize is still tiny, barely enough to buy three cups of milk tea," Piper said, trying to temper her expectations.
"Only three cups of milk tea? That's not even enough for the four of us to share! No, no! Prize money, go up! At least enough for four cups of milk tea!"
As Burnice spoke, she clasped her hands together and began praying earnestly.
Seeing that, Wise couldn't help but feel that his earlier worries had been unnecessary.
Burnice was so easily satisfied that it almost seemed impossible for her to stay disappointed for long.
But as the next number was announced, Wise noticed that it matched their ticket as well.
This time, even Piper's expression changed.
"...Hey, wait a second... There are only two numbers left... and every other number matches?"
As Piper spoke, the host announced the final two winning numbers.
Burnice's eyes slowly widened.
"Eh? Aren't these... exactly the same as our ticket?"
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