Upon awakening to an earlier-than-usual alarm at 6 AM, Yuji turned it off and checked the clock.
Despite returning home late and rising early, Yuji's body felt surprisingly energetic instead of tired.
The high stats he possessed contributed to his current energetic state.
He wore his sweater, took his phone and wallet, and headed towards Katsuro's store.
This time, Yuji chose to walk on the sidewalk instead of running on top of rooftops.
After a few minutes of walking, Yuji observed Katsuro preparing to open up the shop.
"Good morning, Katsuro," Yuji greeted as he approached.
Katsuro turned towards the sound and saw Yuji waving at him.
"Morning, Yuji. You're up early," Katsuro remarked with a friendly smile.
"Considering the government's gradual regaining of control, I've come to play my tickets," Yuji stated.
"Ah, I see. Good timing then. I was just getting everything set up," Katsuro replied, gesturing for Yuji to follow.
Yuji accompanied Katsuro into the store and assisted him in setting everything up.
Shortly after, Katsuro guided Yuji to the checkout area and provided him with a pen.
Yuji accepted the pen and took out the ten lottery tickets Katsuro gave him from his inventory.
Katsuro wasn't surprised to witness the lottery tickets materialize seemingly out of thin air. He had observed Miwa perform similar actions many times.
Yuji selected the numbers: one, ten, nineteen, twenty-seven, thirty, six, and seventeen. He replicated these numbers across all of his tickets.
Katsuro was surprised as Yuji consistently placed the same numbers on all the tickets, a move that suggested either ignorance or a premonition of the winning numbers.
Upon completing his selection, Katsuro handed Yuji the printed tickets containing his chosen numbers.
"In three hours, they'll be announcing the winning numbers. I wish you the best of luck," Katsuro said.
"Thanks. Also, if you don't mind, can I help out around the store while I wait?" Yuji asked.
"Sure, I appreciate the offer. You can help organize some of the shelves or assist customers if they have questions," Katsuro replied.
Yuji nodded and began working. With plenty of free time on his hands after losing his job due to the tower, boredom had become a common companion.
Three hours passed swiftly for Yuji, and Katsuro called him to the front to witness the winning numbers revealed on the TV.
Watching the TV mounted on the wall behind the counter, a young woman was announcing the numbers.
"The first number is six," the woman announced. Katsuro, noticing that Yuji had guessed one of them correctly, couldn't help but entertain the thought that maybe he was going to win the lottery.
"The second and third numbers are thirty and one," the woman continued. Hearing the woman announce the same numbers Yuji put on the tickets, Katsuro couldn't help but think to himself, 'Is he really going to do it?!'
"The last four numbers are ten, nineteen, twenty-seven, and seventeen. I hope these were your winning numbers!" The woman concluded.
Katsuro couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Never in his life would he have imagined seeing someone win the lottery, especially not ten of them!
Katsuro, regaining focus, urgently advised, "You need to cancel your phone number and prepare to move! Keep this all confidential, redeem the winnings anonymously, and take every precaution to ensure the safety of you and your family!"
Yuji's chuckle perplexed Katsuro, who gazed at him with a puzzled expression.
Yuji understood Katsuro's concerns, yet his extensive regressions reassured him that he could expertly keep everything discreet and off the radar.
"I appreciate your concern, but rest assured, I have plans in place," Yuji reassured Katsuro.
Despite Yuji's reassurance, Katsuro couldn't shake off his lingering concern for him.
"I'll trust in you, Yuji. Please stay safe!" Katsuro expressed, and Yuji thanked him before leaving the store.
Despite assuring Katsuro of his plans, Yuji hadn't actually formulated any.
Yuji headed to a particular bank, a standard place for big lottery winners go to exchange their prize.
Once at the bank, he approached the front desk and initiated a conversation with the attendant.
"Hello, how are you today?" inquired Yuji to the female attendant.
"Hello, I'm doing well. How may I assist you today?" the woman replied with a friendly smile.
"I'd like to discuss setting up an account with someone," Yuji responded.
The woman nodded and placed a call. Moments later, a man stepped out of an office and greeted Yuji, "How are you doing today, sir?"
"I'm doing well, thanks for asking," Yuji replied.
"That's great to hear! Please follow me to my office so we can speak more freely," the man said, guiding Yuji to his office.
Inside his office, Yuji took a seat in front of the man's desk.
"So, you'd like to discuss creating an account with us?" the man inquired, echoing the information he received from the front desk attendant.
Yuji negated his previous statement, "Contrary to what I mentioned earlier, my purpose here is to discuss my winning lottery ticket. I successfully matched all seven numbers."
The man, taken aback by Yuji's assertion of winning the lottery, stammered, "I-If you don't mind, can you provide evidence of the ticket?"
"I apologize, but I hope you understand my hesitation in showing the ticket given the circumstances. If you could kindly involve the bank president in this matter, I would greatly appreciate it," Yuji stated.
The man, understanding Yuji's cautious approach, made a phone call. After a few minutes, an elderly man in an expensive suit greeted Yuji, "Are you the lottery winner?"
"Indeed, I am the fortunate lottery winner," Yuji responded respectfully.
"In that case, let's continue this conversation upstairs," the old man said, leading Yuji to a spacious office on the upper floor.
They both took seats across from each other at a small rectangular table.
"We do handle lottery winning tickets, but before we proceed with your prize, we need to verify the authenticity of the ticket," the man informed Yuji. Yuji took the ten tickets from his pocket and placed them on the table.
At first, he didn't think much of it until he noticed that all ten tickets had the winning numbers.
'T-Ten winning tickets!' The man exclaimed inwardly.