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

Seeing this, Sophia stomped her feet in anger: "This damn machine is definitely broken! No, it's that demon king's doing! He must have used some unknown means to curry favor with Philippa! How awful!"

Taric: "Um... does this device recognize people?"

Looking at the pile of "trophies" at Gray's feet, and then at her own empty hands (except for the little fox Gray had helped her catch initially), Philippa's indomitable spirit resurfaced. She took a deep breath, and her amber eyes blazed with renewed determination.

"I'll try one more time! Just one last time!" she said, as if to encourage herself, as she inserted another coin into the machine.

This time, she was even more cautious, focusing almost all her attention on the wobbly metal claw.

She carefully adjusted her position, aiming at a round, yellow chick toy that looked easier to grab (hiyo~hiyo~), and silently prayed.

The moment she pressed the button, she even nervously closed her eyes.

The grappling hook descended, seemingly... more stable than before? It gripped the chick doll's body and slowly rose. Philippa peeked through her slits, her heart pounding in her throat. The grappling hook swayed slightly, moving... moving... towards the delivery hatch.

"Boom!"

A soft thud, unlike the muffled sound of the toys falling back into the pile, was a crisp sound as they landed at the shipping chute!

Philippa opened her eyes abruptly, hardly believing what she was seeing—the yellow, fluffy chick plushie was lying quietly in the shipping tank!

"I...I succeeded?! I succeeded!" After a brief moment of stunned silence, immense joy exploded in her mind like fireworks.

She practically lunged forward, scooped up the chick plush toy, and hugged it tightly to her chest. Her eyes were slightly red with excitement, and her voice was choked with a mix of sobs and unbelievable joy. "I really caught it! I caught it all by myself!"

God knows how many failures she endured, and how much resentment and bitterness she accumulated as she watched Gray succeed so easily time and time again.

The sense of accomplishment from this hard-won success is simply unparalleled.

Seeing her so excited that her eyes welled up with tears because she had caught an ordinary toy, Gray's last doubts vanished, replaced by a kind of wry confidence.

He sighed softly, gently wiping away the few tears that had welled up in her eyes with his fingertips, his tone tinged with understanding and helplessness: "Alright, don't cry. Now I'm basically certain..."

Philippa looked up at him with her wet eyes, puzzled. "Are you sure about what?"

"This machine, or rather, the person controlling this machine, was definitely tampered with by my subordinate who loves inventing things."

Gray pointed to the pile of plush toys at his feet, then to the lone chick in Philippa's arms, "When I caught it, she probably set the success rate to the highest, or rather, she locked onto 'Powerful Claw.' But when you caught it..."

He paused, looking at Philippa's eyes widening instantly, and continued, "...Except for this last time when she might have been a little 'merciful,' or you actually encountered that low-probability 'powerful claw,' the rest of the time you are facing the machine's original, and most realistic, 'tricky' probability."

That's why he succeeded every time, while Philippa suffered defeat after defeat. This wasn't a matter of luck at all; it was blatant manipulation!

After hearing this, Philippa, holding the chick doll in her arms, was stunned for a long time before she could process the information.

She looked at Gray, then at the doll in her hand, and then at the pile of toys on the ground. Her little mouth slowly pouted, and her tone was a little aggrieved and belatedly realizing her mistake: "Oh, so that's how it is! I was so serious... I almost thought I was really clumsy!"

Although she was a little annoyed (mainly because she had been so nervous for nothing), the sense of defeat disappeared after learning the truth. She looked at the dolls that Gray had caught on the ground, her eyes darted around, and she suddenly changed her mind.

“However…” she changed the subject, a sly smile appearing on her face, “I want all of these dolls!”

"Huh?" Gray was somewhat surprised.

"You helped me catch this little fox, it's very meaningful!" She held up the little fox in her arms, then held up the yellow chick, "I caught this chick myself (even though I might have been let off easy), it's also very meaningful!"

Then, she pointed to the pile on the ground, "And these... although the process was a bit 'cheating,' you still spent time and effort catching them for me, one by one! I'm not going to waste your efforts!"

As she spoke, she held the little fox and chick tightly to her chest with one hand, and with her other hand she gently touched the pendant of a simple silver necklace around her neck—a small storage device.

With a flash of light, the pile of plush toys on the ground vanished instantly, all neatly stored inside the "silver pendant".

"See, this is perfect!" Philippa patted the now empty floor, smiled at Grey, and said with a hint of pride and satisfaction, "These are all 'souvenirs' from our date, and I'm going to keep them all safe and sound!"

Seeing how much she cherished these gifts tinged with a bit of "shady dealings," Gray felt a surge of warmth within him, and the little incidents about the machines being tampered with seemed insignificant. He smiled slightly and said softly, "I'm glad you like them."

Meanwhile, in the distance, Iota calmly recorded: "Intervention phase complete. The target user (Philippa) achieved 'hard-won' success after experiencing significant setbacks, reaching the peak of emotional value acquisition. Items acquired through irregular channels were given high emotional value and all were collected. Data collection complete."

Sofia looked at Philippa's adoring expression, snorted, and muttered with mixed feelings, "Hmph, at least that guy has some conscience... But Philippa, you're too easy to please! A few toys and you're this happy..."

This little episode, sparked by the claw machine and filled with "shady dealings," finally came to an end after Philippa happily accepted all her "trophies."

Gray looked at the smiling girl beside him, who was holding two dolls in each arm, took her hand, and continued their date.

The claw machine incident was just a minor episode, but it made Gray realize that girls also like these soft and cute plush toys.

Next up was the second stop on the original plan for the date.