落とし穴１３６堀：課金というのは湯水の如く (Part1)
Pitfall 136: Microtransactions Flow Like Water
Side: Yuki
"How about that? Our popularity is going to skyrocket with this!"
The one puffing out her chest with pride was the Goddess Luna.
As for what she was so proud of...
『『『Winning Dungeon Management Methods』』』
" " "Ohhh—" " "
For some inexplicable reason, she was bragging about the fact that we had been turned into a game.
"I don't get it. We’re living in reality, not a game."
"Fufun. It’s the classic 'branching world' trope. There’s a world where your stories were written down, gained popularity, and were adapted into a game. You know, like alternate timelines or worlds that are similar but different."
"So, a parallel world of sorts. Fine, I get that, but if that’s the case, time shouldn't really matter, so why show up now?"
"Well, if I showed you at the very beginning, you wouldn't have understood, right? I’ve finally established my position among you all, so I figured it was a good time to reveal it."
"...First off, there’s no harm in this, right?"
That was the real issue.
Nothing Luna ever brought to the table had ever been free of trouble.
Honestly, my gut instinct was to shut down the game window on the PC screen immediately and wipe the data clean.
However, since my wives were clearly excited, I couldn't just do that.
If I deleted it without proof of it being malicious, I’d likely face a mountain of complaints.
"Oh, by the way, it’s a gacha game."
"That’s the definition of malicious!"
I’m a bit of an otaku myself.
There’s no way I don’t know the terror of the bottomless swamp known as 'gacha.'
With laws even being passed to regulate gacha business practices, it’s clear just how much damage they can do to a person’s wallet.
I was never particularly wealthy to begin with, and I preferred playing console games over gacha games, which luckily kept me from suffering much damage.
Honestly, once the cost exceeds the price of a standard game, I lose all motivation to play.
But a former colleague and friend of mine from my days as a salaryman used to pour money into them, even cutting back on his food budget every month.
Well, he did lose weight after starting gacha games, so... is that a good thing?
Anyway, that’s beside the point. Right now, it’s about this game.
"So, you want us to pour money into this and play it?"
"Eh? No, for people like you, the amount an average citizen spends wouldn't even make a dent in your pockets, would it?"
That’s true; we are now key figures in the nation of Weed.
We aren't hurting for money, but that’s only in this world.
"No, I don't have any Japanese yen."
Exactly. No matter how vast our wealth is in the other world of Weed, we don't have money for Japan or Earth.
"Don't worry, it's all electronic money anyway, so I’ll just top it up for you. I have to be careful not to arouse suspicion from the developers, so instead of directly increasing the DNN points, I’ll just funnel some electronic currency into an account so you can buy the points yourselves."
"I thought you said you weren't good with programming?"
"I’m not building programs or hardware. I’m just tweaking numbers, so it’s no problem at all. I’m making sure to gather up dormant funds and have them drawn from legitimate accounts."
"So you're actually being careful about that."
"If I wasn't, the account would be frozen instantly. If I just rewrote the numbers and suddenly a massive amount of electronic money appeared, it would be incredibly suspicious, right? Anyway, don't worry about the money and just have fun."
Since Luna said so, it seems the financial side is covered, but...
"So, who’s actually going to play this game?"
"Well, surely that would be you, Husband?"
"That’s true. We are familiar with games, but when it comes to gaming, it’s always been you, Yuki."
"Then, Yuki-san, please do the honors."
Well, the flow of the conversation naturally led to me being the one to play, but the problem was...
"Wait? How come I’m not in this gacha?"
"Indeed. And Ria, myself, Samantha, Cleena, and many others are missing as well."
"It is strange. Even though people like Air-san, Difes-san, Roday-san, and Sia-san are included..."
"...This game is defective. It’s strange that the Principal is in it, but we aren't."
The voices of my wives, who hadn't been implemented yet, were filled with dissatisfaction.
"Well, the game just launched. It’s probably a 'wait and see' approach, and they’ll add more in future updates. Taiki-kun, can you give us a detailed explanation?"
"Eh!? Me? Well, I’m not in it either, so I guess it’s fine?"
Taiki-kun began to explain.
"You understand that if they tried to make everything at once based on the original story, the development costs would be astronomical, right?"
"Ah, I see. So they didn't make it all at once, and they’re adding things little by little based on popularity."
"I see. And if it isn't popular, they pull the plug. It’s basic business strategy."
The members involved in financial matters, Ratz and Eris, were the first to nod in agreement.
Thanks to that, even Ria and the others who weren't in the game seemed to accept it, but...
"Wait a minute. Why am I an SR?"
"Ah, me too!! I’m dissatisfied, so dissatisfied!"
"Now that you mention it, Feelia-chan and I are SRs too."
"Our rarity is low. Labyris and Shera are SSRs..."
Because their value was being determined by the convenience of a game system, these kinds of complaints were bound to arise.
Well, this is common in games based on existing works.
Even if you think a character is strong, they might be mediocre in the game.
That leads to dissatisfaction for those who have a strong attachment to that character.
These things easily become sources of conflict.
However, lately...
"Hm? Wait a second. I’m an SSR in my kimono outfit."
"Oh, I have a kimono outfit too!"
"Feelia has a Santa outfit, too. Though it’s an SR."
"Wait a second!? I don't have anything at all!?"
Well, Riel wasn't included, but there was that forbidden business tactic of treating characters wearing different costumes—like kimonos or Santa suits—as entirely separate characters.
Naturally, that means you have to keep pulling the gacha.
That is how it endlessly devours money.
And above all, the real problem is...
"Well, well, what isn't there, isn't there. For now, let’s just give it a spin. Shall we, Brother?"
"A-ah. Yeah, I suppose."
I felt a bit hesitant at Ratz’s words, but I had no choice but to spin.
I nervously pressed the gacha button...
"Wow, this is interesting. Is this what a gacha animation looks like?"
Milly said, and everyone leaned in, watching the gacha screen with great interest...