After the Kidō class, Arata declined Toushirou and Kusaka's invitation to have lunch together and returned alone to the kendo club hall.
Since the beginning of the school year, the kendo club had yet to accept new members, so this place had essentially become Arata's personal "student" professor's retreat.
After closing the door, he let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the soft couch.
"System."
As the thought emerged, a transparent system panel unfolded before his eyes.
[Holder's fate value: 5977/11525]
[Weekly lottery discount has been refreshed. Please enter the roulette zone and use it as soon as possible.]
Almost 6000 fate points?
This number far exceeded his expectations, and he hadn't even realized how much he had already accumulated.
If he saved just a little more, he would be able to directly exchange for the defective version of the Spirit King's Heart worth 8848.
However, when Arata recalled the main source of fate judgments being triggered, his face blushed slightly. After all, Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin alone had given him nearly two thousand points.
Unfortunately, for some reason, his intimacy with Unohana Retsu the previous night didn't trigger a judgment at all.
He didn't know whether the system deemed the change not deep enough yet or that their behavior hadn't started affecting a third party.
Arata didn't know.
He stared at the flashing lottery message on the panel, gently tapping his finger in the air.
"System, open the roulette zone."
A colorful wheel slowly spun before his eyes.
The four clearly separated zones remained the same, only a new label appeared in the top right corner: [Lottery progress: 30/500].
Ever since he drew the Sky Crane bracelet at Kūka's birthday celebration, Arata hadn't used the roulette to try his luck again.
On one hand, his fate value at the time hadn't been sufficient, so every spin would have cost him dearly.
On the other hand, he had just returned from Hueco Mundo and felt that the period of great danger had temporarily passed, so he no longer had the mad pressure to enhance his strength and equipment at any cost.
Now that he had points, he could finally afford to loosen up a little.
"A little gambling for a little luck…" he muttered to himself to self-soothe before the final draw, then pressed the confirmation button.
[Spent 150 fate points, Wheel of Fate is spinning…]
Ten colorful wheels lit up simultaneously, leaving sparkling trails in the air.
Arata held his breath as he watched the first white light flash.
[You received 1 bottle of special soy sauce from Darunfa supermarket, a divine seasoning from the world of the living]
"Special soy sauce?" Arata raised an eyebrow. This one was new to him.
Then, the second blue light flashed.
[You received 1 spiritual-pressure-powered induction stove, the latest prototype from the Technology Development Department of Seireitei]
[You received a set of Wagyu beef from Karakura-chō, freshly prepared high-quality fatty beef]
[You received 1 double hot pot base, allowing you to easily make delicious broth for hot pot]
[You received...]
The roulette stopped one by one, and all ten rewards were from the daily necessities zone.
Arata was rather annoyed. Even though they all looked like practical everyday items, none of them directly contributed to strengthening his power.
He pressed the lottery button again. This time the price was full, and a small "guaranteed" activation was triggered. Surely something good would drop now, right?
[Spent 250 fate points, Wheel of Fate is spinning…]
Ten roulettes spun wildly again, and Arata stared intently.
[You received one pre-packed vegetable set, full of vitamins and fiber]
[You received a 2L bottle of cola, the world-famous "happy water" of fat otakus]
[You received...]
The first nine times were still just blue skies and white clouds, but the last wheel suddenly exploded in dazzling golden light!
Guaranteed drop!
[Item rank A: "Anywhere Door" lost by a certain cat]
[Origin: Special zone of the Wheel of Fortune]
[Effect: Instantly teleport to any place you've already been or remember clearly. Limited to five times a day.]
[Note: Can be gifted, cannot be upgraded]
Arata stared wide-eyed at the system display, unable to believe his own eyes.
An A-rank item!
This was the first time he had drawn such a high-ranking item.
Moreover, the effect of this door was simply incredible, practically the ability to teleport five times a day without any cost.
He couldn't wait, so he pulled the prop out of the system space. It was a palm-sized door, pink in color.
On the doorframe, a tiny sentence was engraved: "Exclusive to Dora**," which was clearly the lost property of a certain blue, fat humanoid-cat.
"I really hit the jackpot this time…" Arata muttered, carefully placing the door back into the system space.
With such a gadget, he could even start planning and scheduling operations in Hueco Mundo or even the world of the living in advance.
[Lottery progress: 50/500]
[Remaining fate value: 5577/11525]
Looking at the remaining points, Arata hesitated for a moment but eventually decided it was best to quit while ahead.
After all, he had already drawn an A-rank item today and triggered the guarantee mechanism once. If he got greedy now, he might just lose everything.
He immediately closed the panel, better not to look at it anymore.
As he stretched, his gaze fell on the pile of daily supplies he had just drawn.
A spiritual-pressure-powered induction stove, hot pot base, a set of Wagyu beef from Karakura-chō, and the otaku's "happy water"…
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to make hot pot?
…
That evening, Arata was preparing ingredients for hot pot at home by himself.
The spiritual-pressure induction stove was very "user-friendly." It was enough to inject a small amount of spiritual pressure into the energy chamber on the side beforehand, and it could operate continuously for several hours.
At that moment, quick and light footsteps were heard outside the yard.
"I'm back~" Rangiku pushed open the door, her long golden hair gleaming slightly under the setting sun.
"Hm? What's that smell?" She instinctively sniffed the air, but couldn't determine what it was.
"Dengdengdengdeng——"
Arata emerged from the kitchen carrying the hot pot base. The combination of the mild white broth and the spicy red base released a scent that nearly made Rangiku's mouth water.
"Arata, what's this?"
Rangiku ran over to the table in two steps and widened her gray eyes.
She had never seen such a strange pot with a divider in the middle, let alone smelled such a tempting aroma coming from the clearly separated red and white sides.
Arata placed the induction stove in the middle of the table and injected a standard unit of White Lightning spiritual pressure into the chamber with his palm.
Soon, a faint blue light appeared on the stove's surface, and heat began radiating just like an ordinary flame.
"This is called mandarin duck hot pot, one of the most popular dishes in the world of the living."
Then he brought out the Wagyu beef, tripe, pre-packed vegetables, and various bottles and jars of sauces, all drawn from the lottery earlier in the day.
"Eh? I've been on missions in the world of the living, but I've never heard of hot pot?" Rangiku asked in confusion.
"Well… maybe the area you went to was pretty remote, hahaha." Arata quickly made up an excuse to cover himself.
After all, he couldn't exactly say that it was a specialty from a magical Eastern country.
At least for now, in the concept of the "real world" as defined by Soul Society, only two countries were mentioned: Neon and Daikoku.
"Come on, try it."
As soon as her fingers touched the cold slices of beef, Arata gently swatted her hand aside.
"Wait until the broth boils, then put the meat in, cook it until done, and then eat it." He leaned on the table and smiled, pointing to the boiling spicy side. "This is really spicy, I suggest you start with the clear broth."
"Don't underestimate me!" Rangiku defiantly grabbed a slice of beef and, unconvinced, dropped it straight into the red side. The boiling chili oil instantly coated the meat.
After three or four breaths, when she saw all the reddish blood color disappear, Rangiku couldn't resist and popped the meat straight into her mouth.
But in the very next moment, she suddenly covered her mouth: "Hiii! It's so hot! But…"
"It smells so good!"
Arata quickly handed her a chilled glass of the otaku's "happy water" and watched Rangiku gulp down half the glass in one go. The carbonation bubbles clung to her red lips, suddenly stirring in him the urge to kiss her.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to snatch it from you."
He reached out to wipe the foam from the corner of her lips, but Rangiku used the chance to shove a piece of tripe soaked in chili oil into his mouth, so spicy he nearly choked and cried.
"Shameless! An ambush attack!"
"Hahaha, Arata's such a wimp!"
As the two of them bickered, a knock sounded at the gate.
"Sorry for the interruption! From Unohana's team..."
Kotetsu Isane stood awkwardly at the door, her tall figure looking a bit slender in the twilight.