Chapter 5: The Miss’s Lottery

"It's just a bit of relaxation during the holidays."

"Even though I don't particularly enjoy going out, it's necessary to get some fresh air every now and then."

"Who are you trying to fool?"

Suzuki Sonoko couldn't recall a single instance where this person ever came to an amusement park just to "get some fresh air."

However, she didn't call her out directly. There was no need to waste words on someone like this. Besides, Sonoko had other priorities today.

"Well, enjoy your fresh air then."

She turned to her chauffeur. "Uncle Ryo, pick me up in the evening."

"Yes, Miss."

After speaking with her driver, Sonoko walked straight into Tropical Land.

Meanwhile, the other young lady, Shinomiya Kaguya, dubbed the "ice queen" was quietly reminded by her maid.

"Miss Kaguya, it's rare for you to take a day off. Please don't waste it."

From the maid's tone, it was clear she was even more impatient than her master.

"Hayasaka," Kaguya said in a cold voice. "Don't you find it suspicious that Miss Suzuki is here as well?"

Her brow furrowed slightly, and her fingers nervously twitched.

"Could she be looking for the same person as me?"

Hayasaka Ai nodded lightly.

"If you aren't imagining things, Miss, then it's possible your experience isn't unique."

"Just as you're here to confirm that person's existence, others might have the same idea."

Kaguya fell silent, deep in thought.

"Let's head inside. Today's goal is just to confirm the authenticity of this person. Don't let him notice us. If he sees me, he'll likely figure out that I also possess a diary."

"Understood, Miss. I've made the necessary arrangements."

Hayasaka bowed slightly, exuding an air of readiness.

To ensure Kaguya wouldn't be seen by the person she sought, Hayasaka had already stationed a motorhome in a nearby parking spot. Inside the amusement park, she had arranged for multiple individuals to act as their eyes.

---

Once inside Tropical Land, Suzuki put on a pair of sunglasses and kept her eyes glued to the entrance.

Before long, she spotted her target, Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri, entering the park together.

---

While all this was happening, Ren was still busy handing out flyers and balloons to the numerous children visiting the park.

The weekend crowd meant there were far more kids than usual, and many of them wanted balloons.

Ren soon found himself running out and had to go fetch another batch of balloons to hand out.

The morning shift flew by, and before he knew it, it was lunchtime.

At noon, Ren headed to the staff area to eat. The park provided lunch for workers, so he didn't have to prepare anything elaborate himself.

His meal was simple: glutinous rice balls sprinkled with sugar, two large rice balls, and two bottles of electrolyte drinks to replenish his energy.

"There's nothing unusual so far," Ren muttered to himself, wiping sweat from his brow. His clothes were damp and clung to his body from the morning's work.

"Even though this is Tropical Land, it seems like I've avoided running into the Death God today."

The thought alone made his rice balls taste sweeter.

"No one's noticed the diary yet, have they?"

"Is this different from what I imagined? Maybe it's not one of those 'exposure flow' scenarios after all."

It was too early to draw conclusions. After all, he'd only written one entry in the diary so far. He figured he'd need to write a few more before anything significant happened.

"I've got some time before my afternoon shift. Might as well write about what happened this morning."

With that, Ren pulled a pen and his diary from his backpack while sitting in the locker room.

---

[Diary Entry]

[Today is a part-time job day, and the location is Tropical Land. My work involves distributing flyers and balloons while wearing a heavy mascot costume.]

[This job isn't as easy as I thought it'd be.]

[The mascot costume is much heavier than I expected.]

[But that's not the main issue. The key point is that I didn't encounter the Death God today. If I had, this shift would've been a lot more troublesome.]

[Well, there wasn't much of note this morning. Nothing complicated happened, and I didn't notice any special people in Tropical Land. Maybe they're avoiding me, or maybe no one's noticed me yet.]

[There's still a lot of speculation to be made.]

[But if this really is an exposure flow, then based on what I know, people who read the diary should receive some kind of reward, just like how I get rewards for writing in it.]

[Whether the rewards are good or bad is probably random.]

---

After writing the last sentence, Ren closed the diary.

He hadn't finished his diary for the day, so he couldn't draw any rewards just yet.

Besides, he'd already decided yesterday to perform some "rituals" before his next lottery draw. He planned to take a bath, burn incense, and make offerings to see if he could influence his luck.

---

Meanwhile, the two young ladies who also possessed diaries felt theirs vibrate. Opening them, they saw the updated content.

"So, there are rewards for reading the diary? How cliché," Nagi muttered, a grin spreading across her face.

Flipping through the latest diary entry, Nagi couldn't help but marvel at how this setup resembled those classic tropes from the time-travel novels she'd read in the past.

[Completed reading the first day's diary.]

[Achievement Unlocked: First Day.]

[Reward Pool Unlocked.]

Nagi's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"This is my chance to prove the diary's existence to Maria and Isumi! If I can draw something tangible, I can show it to them!"

"Maria, is there a quieter place in the amusement park? I don't want the bodyguards seeing what's about to happen."

Although Maria didn't fully understand, she responded calmly.

"There's a motorhome near the work vehicle Klaus prepared. It's meant for your afternoon nap."

"Perfect! Let's head there now!"