With a Luck Value of 999, I’m the Strongest in the World Because I Can Absolutely Succeed in [Instan

Unfortunate Girl

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As I walked through the Forest of Strange Flowers, I wondered where the floral-patterned magical beast could be. It had been about thirty minutes and I was having difficulty finding the creature, despite my belief that I was skilled at strolling through the woods. However, it seemed that it wasn’t as easy as it was when I trained in the Forest of Sinners. So, I decided to relax and admire the colorful flowers blooming everywhere as I walked, and then…

“Waaah! Where did it go!?”

“Hmm?”

I heard a voice from somewhere – the weeping voice of a young girl that still had a hint of innocence. It didn’t sound peaceful, so I went to check on her first.

Peering from behind a large tree, I saw a small girl with bright blue hair sitting in a slightly open area, crying uncontrollably. She was wearing a bright blue hooded cape, and her appearance made me want to call her “Little Red Riding Hood.”

She seemed to be a little thin, with a somewhat pale complexion, so I couldn’t say she was well-off. Actually, I think she was one of the applicants for admission to the Magic Academy that I saw in the exam room.

What could she be doing in a place like this? She was crying and seemed to be looking for something as she stuck her head into nearby bushes, exclaiming, “It’s not here, it’s not here!”

Although I had no obligation to care, I couldn’t ignore the sight of a girl crying and lost in the forest. It was like seeing myself from the past.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Hyaa! H-hi!”

As I called out to her from behind, Little Red Riding Hood shuddered, and her shoulders shook in surprise. She turned her tear-soaked face towards me, wary and pulling back a little.

Trying not to startle her, I kept my distance and asked, “I’m sorry if I startled you. I heard your voice while walking through the forest and was wondering if there was something wrong…”

“Uh, uh… “

The girl continued to cry and look troubled, like dealing with a toddler. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before. She still seemed a little wary, so I carefully chose my words and asked,

“You’re an applicant for the Magic Academy entrance exam, right? I’m a fellow applicant too. Is there something wrong?”

“Um, well…,” Little Red Riding Hood hesitated, looking frightened.

“I lost the embryonic seed of the Death Flower Ivy.”

“The embryonic seed? Wasn’t that something you were supposed to bring back to the examiner?”

“Yes. I had it in a pouch on my waist…”

Just then, the girl sniffled and wiped her nose.

Hearing her story so far, I was amazed that she had already acquired the embryonic seed. It hadn’t been that long since the practical exam began. At the same time, I also sensed a certain amount of understanding about her situation.

Most likely, she lost the pouch containing the embryonic seed of the Death Flower Ivy while walking through the forest. Just as I was thinking that, she added,

“As I stumbled over a tree root and fell, the pouch came off my waist and flew off, getting caught on a branch up in a tree. When I tried to get it back, a big bird took the pouch and flew away with it. As I chased after the bird, I tripped over another tree root and lost sight of it.”

“Is that so?”

Her story far exceeded my expectations. It wasn’t just a matter of bad luck anymore. It was as if she had been abandoned by the gods. Indeed, her legs were very dirty, and her right knee was scraped badly. The pouch must have flown off her waist with great force. And then it got caught on a branch, taken by a bird, and lost again due to another fall.

She had obtained the embryonic seed of the Death Flower Ivy early on, but she had lost it due to such a script-like misfortune.

What was with this girl? Upon closer inspection, I could sense a foreboding aura emanating from her.

“I’ve always had really bad luck since I was a kid. There hasn’t been a single day where something bad didn’t happen to me. Injuries and illnesses are just a part of my daily life, and I’ve probably fallen more times than I can count. And if I drop a slice of bread, the side with jam always ends up facing downwards, and sometimes I even end up dropping the whole plate and smashing it to pieces.”

“Maybe you should get a purification before your entrance exam?”

This child is probably what they call an “unlucky girl” depicted in stories. Unlike me, a lucky girl with a luck value of 999, this girl is probably…

“I’ve tried getting a purification before, but when I visited the church, they told me it’s simply because my luck value is 0.”

“There are people with 0 luck value?”

She is a super unlucky girl with a luck value of 0. I’ve heard that the average luck value for most people is around 50. Even low scores usually have around 30, and there are hardly any people with a value below that. To have a luck value of 0 is unheard of. The luck value is determined by the brightness of one’s magic particles, but I wonder just how dark this girl’s magic particles are.

“Actually, it’s not just 0, but a negative value,” the appraiser told her. “I’ve never seen anything like it before, so let’s just call it ‘luck value 0’ for now.”

Negative value… it might be more appropriate to call it “misfortune value” instead of “luck value”. If this girl is constantly being bombarded with misfortunes like this, her misfortune value must be an astronomical number.

It’s a bit scary just being around her. I feel like I might get caught up in something bad too. So even though I feel sorry for her, I try to leave as soon as possible.

But…

“Oh no, I finally defeated the Death Flower Ivy and got the Embryo Pearl, but…”

I stop in my tracks as Little Red Riding Hood starts crying again, tears streaming down her face.

… Sigh, there’s no helping it.

“I can help you look for it for a little while if you want.”

“Huh?”

“I’m good at finding lost things.”

Without hesitation, I stick my head into the nearby bushes, checking if the pouch was there. After confirming that it’s not, I quickly moved on to the next bush.

Watching me search for the pouch, Little Red Riding Hood looks surprised.

“Ar-Are you sure? You have your own exam to worry about…”

“That’s why it’s only for a little while. If it takes too long, I’ll stop. See, let’s find it quickly.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Little Red Riding Hood responds with a stiff nod, looking surprised.

Well, it’s no problem if it’s just for a short time. I’m really good at finding lost things, and if I were to abandon her in this situation, I would be scolded by Mulberry in my heart.

So, Little Red Riding Hood and I started searching for the pouch together. After a while, we had searched through the bushes and trees around the area.

I take a deep breath, feeling like it’s not around here.

“Let’s move on a bit further. Over there, maybe?”

“Why? What makes you think that?”

“I just have a feeling that it might be there.”

“Really? Just because of a hunch?”

Little Red Riding Hood looks extremely puzzled at my baseless confidence, but she follows closely behind me, nonetheless.

As we made our way through the forest, I spotted a large tree after pushing through a bush. And what do you know? There was a blue pouch-like object lying near the base of the tree.

“Oh, my pouch!”

“See, I told you so.”

As expected of a lucky girl like me.

With a smug look on my face, I proudly stood there, while Little Red Riding Hood, who had picked up my pouch, looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“H-how did you know exactly where the pouch was?”

“I didn’t really know. I just had a feeling it was in this direction. You know, I have a really accurate intuition.”

“Oh, I see.”

The blue-haired girl looked dazed, as if she didn’t quite understand what was going on.

Perhaps she was unsettled by my explanation, which amounted to just a hunch.

But that’s really all it was – my intuition.

With this intuition, I’ve been able to find lost items and things people were looking for, like the magical tools Mulberry lost, or the medicinal herbs and spices he was searching for.

Maybe it’s thanks to my luck stat of 999? I don’t really know.

“Well, since we found the lost item, I’ll be going now. Congratulations on passing!”

“Oh, thank you very much!”

With those words of gratitude from Little Red Riding Hood, I quickly left the scene.

After all, I still needed to get my hands on the embryo of the withered flower ivy.

Now that I’ve done a good deed, maybe the gods will show me a little mercy and give me the withered flower ivy embryo soon?

Specifically, please give me the withered flower ivy embryo as soon as possible!

As I pondered this, I searched for the target monster, the withered flower ivy, for about twenty minutes after parting ways with the girl.

But it never appeared in front of me.

“This is odd. Something’s really off here.”

How could I not find the creature I was looking for, when finding things was supposed to be my strong suit?

Aren’t I the lucky girl with a luck stat of 999 who can easily find other people’s lost items?

“Why is it that I can find other people’s lost items so easily, but can’t find anything I’m looking for?”

Perhaps luck isn’t the only factor here.

Or maybe that girl’s unlucky aura affected me and weakened my luck a bit?

It’s possible.

This is the first time I’ve struggled so much to find something.

Just as touching lucky items can increase one’s luck, maybe getting involved with an unlucky girl has threatened my luck.

Well, let’s stop joking around.

“Maybe it’s actually gathered around the entrance?”

I had assumed that the withered flower ivy would be concentrated in the depths of the forest, so I had been walking towards the back the whole time.

But what if that assumption was wrong?

Little Red Riding Hood had obtained the embryo of the withered flower ivy right after the practical test began, so maybe it’s actually gathered near the entrance.

That’s what I thought, so I decided to turn back.

This was just another hunch without any evidence.

As I was walking back the way I came, I heard a voice again.

“Hey, give me that embryo.”

“Hmm?”

This time it was a male voice, and it didn’t sound friendly.

Despite what had happened earlier, I walked towards the direction of the voice because it was in the direction I was headed.

I decided to observe the situation and run away if it looked too troublesome.

As I peeked from the bushes, I saw a narrow animal trail that cut through the forest, and four people standing there.

Three well-dressed boys and…

“Huh? Isn’t that the girl from earlier…?”

Little Red Riding Hood, who had helped me find my pouch, was trembling and shaking uncontrollably.