The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

"Huh? What's that? A shiny box with lots of fluffy little things inside!" Aita's cat pupils instantly contracted and then dilated, her tail involuntarily straightened, staring at the swaying toys, her paws instinctively itching, wishing she could pounce on them and scratch them right now.

A flicker of interest flashed in Delta's blood-red eyes. She licked her fangs and chuckled, "Oh? A game of 'catching' your prey from its lair? Sounds interesting." She was already mentally simulating the optimal angle and force for the "capture."

Even the usually composed Beta glanced at her slightly and commented elegantly, "A very ingenious entertainment design, and the color scheme is also very eye-catching. I wonder how difficult it is to successfully grab it?"

Gamma, on the other hand, had already habitually started doing mental calculations: "A one-time investment, with a potential return of dolls that could be worth several times the investment... It takes advantage of people's sense of luck and desire for a challenge... Hmm, if placed in a high-traffic area, the profit margin should be quite considerable. As expected of Eota, he has once again replicated the wisdom of Lord Shadow (Grey: I could never make this thing...)."

Although Sita remained expressionless, her gaze lingered for a few seconds on the mechanical structure and magic transmission lines of the claw, as if analyzing its operating principle.

Phoenix stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming with scholarly curiosity: "Using magic to drive such a precise mechanical claw for pinpoint grasping... that requires extremely high precision in controlling the magic output and mechanical linkage. The designer is truly a genius!"

Only Taric, seeing the obvious interest piqued in his companions (including some of the servants), then looking at the princess "fighting" the machine and the demon king preparing to attack, and then looking down at his own muscular arms and heavy battle axe, showed an even deeper sense of bewilderment and helplessness.

He lamented inwardly, "Oh no... Am I the only one who thinks this thing is for little kids and girls? Am I the only one who doesn't fit in?"

His soldierly pride made him lose interest in plush toys, but the atmosphere around him made him feel like a burly man who had wandered into a dessert shop, completely out of place.

He could only shrink back silently, trying to minimize his presence.

Meanwhile, among the waiters, Aiota had somehow put away the notebook she used to record dating data, replacing it with a palm-sized, sophisticated mechanical device with several fine-tuning knobs and a small screen displaying complex runes.

Her gaze was fixed on the claw machine, her fingers making extremely subtle adjustments to the mechanism, her lips moving silently, as if reciting data parameters that were inaudible to others:

"...Claw hook magic output stability, parameters normal...Grab success probability, currently below the expected threshold...Target user (Philippa) number of attempts: 3, success rate: 0%, emotional fluctuation index: slightly anxious..."

Her gaze lingered for a moment on Philippa's face, which was filled with resentment and anticipation, before glancing at Gray, who was about to make his move.

Then, in her straightforward electronic eyes, there seemed to be a very faint blue light flashing by, representing an accelerated data flow.

"...Considering the specific observation targets, the need to optimize the interaction experience between Gray and Philippa, and the requirement for positive feedback to maintain user interest during the initial public test of 'TEST-07 Entertainment Device'...it is recommended to make temporary minor adjustments and appropriately increase the success rate weight of the next one or two captures..."

Her finger subtly and discreetly turned a knob one notch, causing a parameter on the display screen to change quietly.

"...Parameter Delta-7, claw hook closing force, temporarily increased by 100%... Duration: Expected for two coin-operating cycles... Data record marked as 'Special Circumstances Intervention'..."

After doing all this, Aiota quickly returned to her previous expressionless observational state, as if nothing had happened.

But in those cold, mechanical eyes, there seemed to be a barely perceptible hint of "keeping one's achievements hidden."

Clearly, even someone as meticulous as her selectively used a little bit of "administrator privileges" when faced with "Lord Shadow's grand plan of dating" and the potential frustration brought by her own creation.

Although Kappa didn't see exactly what Aieta did, based on her understanding of her colleague and the extremely faint magical fluctuations at that moment, she immediately cheered exaggeratedly in the mental link: "Oh oh oh! I felt it! It's the power of love! It's the power of Aieta-chan's secret assistance! Lord Shadow Demon, the opportunity has come! Hurry! Seize the little fox that Princess has been longing for!"

Sofia, though still indignant about Gray's "abduction" of her princess, felt her anger subside a little when she saw Philippa's earnest and adorable expression as she focused on the claw machine, and her pouty, aggrieved look after repeated failures. Instead, she felt a little like rushing over to help her catch that wretched fox.

Seeing Gray about to go on stage, she held her breath, her heart filled with conflicting emotions—she both hoped that this damned demon king would fail and embarrass himself, and yet she also secretly hoped... what if he succeeded? Philippa would be so happy then, wouldn't she?

'Damn it...this broken machine! And this damned demon king!' She clenched her fist inwardly, her feelings extremely complicated.

Gray was unaware that Iota had secretly tampered with the device. He stepped forward, stood in front of the control panel, tilted his head slightly, and explained in a low voice to the still somewhat sullen Philippa beside him, "Actually, this device has a little 'pitfall'."

"Huh?" Philippa blinked in confusion.

“It doesn’t entirely test your skill,” Gray said, inserting a coin as the machine emitted its pleasant startup sound again. “The key is that the gripping force of the claw inside the device is different each time. Maybe once in ten or even dozens of tries, a ‘powerful claw’ will randomly appear, able to firmly grasp the doll. The rest of the time, the claw is loose, making it difficult to succeed.”

He skillfully manipulated the joystick, and the metal claw moved smoothly inside the transparent box, hovering precisely above the white fox doll.

"The designers used this method to avoid the dolls being too easy to grab, which would lead to losses, and also to prevent people from giving up because they can't grab them at all, or complaining that the machine is malfunctioning," Gray said, and at the right moment, his slender fingers pressed the drop button.

The claw hook fell with a thud, accurately trapping the little fox's body.

As Gray anticipated, this grab would most likely slip during the ascent, just like Philippa's previous attempt. He had even already planned how to comfort Philippa, or whether to try a few more times to see if he could get lucky.

however--

"Click."

A crisp click of the latch rang out, a stark contrast to the previous soft, yielding sound. The metal claw not only gripped the little fox firmly, but also remained incredibly stable as it rose without the slightest wobbling!

Under Philippa's suddenly bright gaze, the grappling hook moved smoothly above the delivery port, and then—cleanly and decisively released.

"Boom!"

The little white fox doll that Philippa had repeatedly failed to defeat fell smoothly into the shipping chute!

Gray: "???"