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

This...this is completely different from what he expected! Shouldn't it be "Random Powerful Claw"? This is too lucky! He got it on his first try?

"It's a success! Gray, you did it!" Philippa didn't think much of it. She instantly forgot her previous setback and cheered with joy. She almost jumped down and took the fluffy, soft little fox doll out of the shipping port.

She hugged the little fox tightly, looked up at Gray, her amber eyes filled with pure joy and undisguised admiration, "Amazing! You caught it on the first try!"

Seeing her radiant smile and sparkling eyes, Gray temporarily suppressed his doubts. In any case, as long as she was happy.

He smiled slightly, reached out and gently ruffled Philippa's hair, his tone carrying a hint of doting affection that he himself didn't realize: "Looks like I'm in luck today. I'm glad you like it."

Philippa nodded vigorously, stroking the little fox in her arms with obvious affection, a satisfied smile on her face.

The servants exclaimed, "As expected of Lord Shadow Demon!"

Aiota then quietly retrieved the strange little device...

Sofia's feelings were even more complicated as she watched Philippa happily hugging the doll. On one hand, she was happy for Philippa, but on the other hand, she was annoyed by Gray's "lucky break." She could only continue to think bitterly about how she would eat more cake later.

Phoenix stroked his beard thoughtfully: "Success on the first try? The probability... it seems the machine's algorithm is even more sophisticated than I imagined, or... perhaps this gentleman's luck is truly astonishing?"

Taric remained bewildered: "...So, what's so fun about this?" He felt an even stronger sense of alienation from the world.

Seeing Philippa's radiant smile as she hugged the little fox doll, Gray's slight doubts stemming from the initial success were quickly dispelled by her joy. He was convinced his theory was absolutely correct; this machine must involve probability control.

To prove this to Philippa, and also with a hint of "I was just lucky," Gray smiled and put in another coin.

“Look, this is how it should normally be…” he said, while manipulating the joystick, this time aiming at a cute-looking teddy bear.

The claw descends, grabs, rises, moves, and falls—precisely landing in the shipping port.

Gray: "...?"

The second time, it was a success.

He refused to believe it and threw another one, this time choosing a cat-shaped doll wearing a mage's hat, which was in a rather tricky position.

The result was the same – steady, accurate, and ruthless, a success on the first try!

Gray's expression gradually changed from calm to one full of question marks.

He tried four or five times in a row, and each time he succeeded without exception, as if the claws were subject to an "absolute capture" law, which was completely different from the kind of deceptive machine he knew that was "a weakling nine out of ten times".

"...This isn't right." Gray finally couldn't help but mutter to himself, his brow furrowing slightly. "My luck...is it really that good?"

The probability of encountering the "powerful claw" repeatedly is far too low. Moreover, he noticed that Philippa had tried so many times before and failed; logically, the probability of encountering the "powerful claw" on this machine shouldn't be this high.

Philippa, holding her little fox, stared wide-eyed at the various dolls that were rapidly piling up in front of Gray. Her initial surprise and admiration gradually turned into a hint of confusion, just like Gray's.

“Grey…you seem to be particularly good at this?” she whispered, her voice filled with uncertainty.

Gray shook his head, looking at the pile of "spoils," feeling his understanding challenged. He thought for a moment and said to Philippa, "Why don't you try again? Maybe... it's just that my luck is concentrated here."

"Okay, great!" Philippa got excited too, stuffed the little fox into Gray's arms, rubbed her hands together, and inserted game coins again.

She focused intently, carefully manipulating the joystick, aiming at a cloud-shaped doll that looked soft.

Press the button—the claw gently grabs, lifts, and shakes, and the doll slips away lightly some distance from the outlet.

"Hmm..." Philippa was unconvinced and tried again, aiming at another small dinosaur. The result was still the same—failure.

The third time, the fourth time... she tried five or six times in a row, and failed every time. The claw seemed to lose all its power when she was controlling it, and it couldn't even lift the doll up a little bit.

Philippa's little face fell again, and she looked at Gray with a pitiful expression: "Look... it's being disobedient again."

Looking at this stark contrast, Gray was filled with doubts.

He silently stepped forward again, inserted a coin, casually manipulated the joystick, and this time didn't even aim carefully before pressing the button.

"Clang." Another toy—this time the little dinosaur—fell steadily into the shipping chute.

Gray: "..."

Philippa: "..."

The two stared at each other, an eerie silence hanging in the air. This machine… does it selectively target people? Is it specifically targeting Philippa while giving Gray unlimited preferential treatment?

Gray looked at the pile of dolls in his arms and at his feet, then at Philippa's aggrieved little face that seemed to say, "Why am I the only one who can't do it?" He was momentarily at a loss for words.

He originally wanted to prove that the machine had a "pitfall," but now, he himself has become the exception to that "pitfall," making his previous explanation seem particularly weak.

“…It seems,” Gray could only conclude dryly, with a hint of inexplicable absurdity, “that this machine…may be more ‘friendly’ to me.”

He couldn't think of any other explanation.

Until he subconsciously glanced in a direction from the shadows in the distance.

Iota, this machine was built by my fiancée.

However, even though Iota likes to invent things, he shouldn't be so bored as to remotely control a claw machine to mess with them... right?

However, Gray hadn't considered that this might not be a "teasing" situation...

Meanwhile, in the distance, Iota calmly typed into her recording device: "Confirmed by comparative experimental data. When the target user (Gray) operates, the 'Powerful Claw' mode is forcibly activated, with a success rate of 100%."

When the target user (Philippa) performs an operation, the standard probability mode is restored, and the success rate remains low.

The observations showed that the target user (Philippa) experienced a slight sense of frustration due to the comparison and an increased dependence on/admiration for the target user (Grey).

The target users (Gray) exhibited confusion and cognitive conflict.

Data analysis: 'Special treatment' in specific situations can effectively create memorable moments and influence the dynamics of interactions. (End of record.)