“Boring.”
“Master? Is it because my skills are lacking…?”
“It’s not that, so don’t worry.”
I brushed off the butler’s polite question about my intentions and moved a piece on the board.
That ended my turn. Next was the butler’s turn.
But the game was already over, since all my pieces had surrounded his king.
“… I surrender, young master. As expected of the family’s best player.”
“Best player, my foot.”
I frowned at his declaration of surrender and began to put the pieces away.
How many times had we done this? Just today alone, it felt like it had been dozens of times.
Nearly 20 years had passed since I was hit by a car one day and got reincarnated into a medieval fantasy world brimming with magic.
Being born into a prestigious noble family, I lived a life without any problems but I had many complaints.
“Shall we play another round?”
“…Let’s stop. You don’t have to humor me anymore.”
“Humor you? If you’re having fun, I’m more than willing to continue.”
I’m saying it’s “not” fun.
I could accept not having any talent for swordsmanship or magic. My lack of aptitude was so thorough that I couldn’t even enroll in the Empire’s Academy, but I thought I’d made peace with that.
However, my position as the third son was more boring than I had imagined.
Unlike my eldest and second brothers, I couldn’t involve myself in family affairs. With no talent to speak of, I couldn’t go to the Academy either. So I spent my days like a wastrel, living off the family’s wealth.
It was the life of a rich, idle bum I once dreamed of in my original world, but that novelty wore off quickly. After years of this, time seemed to drag unbearably.
That’s when I discovered this board game which resembled chess.
But now, I’m sick of it.
No matter how much of a masterpiece chess is, playing it over and over inevitably becomes tiresome.
At first, I got into it enthusiastically and even won several tournaments. I thought it might be my life’s calling.
But winning didn’t matter. When the fun disappeared, so did my motivation.
As someone who frequented board game cafes and played countless games in my previous life, this wasn’t nearly satisfying enough.
“Is there another game?”
“Another game…young master? Are there other games besides this?”
“…Never mind.”
In this damned world, there were hardly any board games besides this chess knockoff.
There were other diversions, like circuses, magic shows, or duels, but only board games could truly satisfy my desires.
Should I just make one myself?
I had toyed with the idea before, but it seemed like the time had come to act on it.
Until now, I had been able to scratch the itch with this chess knockoff, but I wanted to enjoy more diverse board games.
“Butler, I need a favor.”
“No.”
“…I haven’t even said what it is yet.”
“Are you planning to create another dice game like last time and turn the knights into gambling addicts? Absolutely not. The head of the family was very clear on this.”
“…Ugh.”
Wasn’t it the fault of those knights who started betting money using the Yacht game that I designed for casual enjoyment? There was no wrongdoing in the board games themselves.
(TN: Yacht is a dice game.)
Even if I tried to use the prize money I earned, my father would absolutely say no.
Being the third son seemed quite favorable, yet in times like these, it was difficult. I had no real power within the family, after all.
…No, wait a minute.
So, then I could create a board game that had little potential for gambling unlike Yacht?
But what kind of game would that be? Board games aren’t something you can just decide to make easily. They require a lot of specialized work, like unique game boards, cards, tokens, illustrations, and so on.
That’s why I made “Yacht” which only needed five dice in the first place, but since the dice themselves were banned,
A board game that was easy to make, fun, and didn’t use dice.
…I have an idea.
“Old man.”
“No.”
“It’s not that kind of thing, so don’t worry. You know the bells used in the kitchen, right?”
“The bells… you say?”
“Yes. Not the kind you shake to make noise, but the kind you press with your hand. Could you bring me one?”
“Um, understood. Sally? Please bring one as the young master instructed.”
“Yes, yes!”
The maid Sally, who had been standing stiffly next to the door in a tense posture, hurriedly went out of the room.
There was something I needed to prepare before she came back.
“The paper for the bell… This should do. Old man? Could you cut this into a uniform size?”
“…Card gambling is not allowed.”
“I told you it’s not that kind of thing! Just try cutting it first. If it’s not good, you can take it back later.”
“…Understood.”
Whoosh.
Normally, scissors would be needed to cut the paper, but I had the old man (butler).
Though he was retired now, the old man who was still a knight who mastered Aura subtly emitted Aura from his fingertips and brought it to the paper.
Snip.
Ha, it cuts well. This is like human scissors or something.
The butler, albeit somewhat skeptically, neatly cut the papers into card shapes. And then I would draw on them.
“Shapes… is that so?”
“Yes. People are most familiar with shapes.”
Normally, I would draw fruits like bananas, strawberries, or kiwis, but such fruits don’t exist in this other world. Moreover, coloring them now would take too much time, so I needed to make them distinguishable even without color.
So I decided to use shapes like circles, stars, and diamonds. It would make them harder to recognize than usual, but it should be fine.
I drew different numbers of shapes on each card. Five circles, two stars, one pentagon, and so on.
There were 56 cards. After drawing appropriate illustrations, Sally came back holding the bell at the right time.
“Y-Young master! Here’s the bell you requested!”
“Thank you. Ah, Sally? Could you cast a hardening spell on these cards?”
“Y-Yes! How, to what extent, should I…?”
“Don’t make them too hard, just stiff enough to bend slightly.”
“Yes!”
With the help of Sally, who was an apprentice mage, I made the paper as stiff as real cards. That was it.
It was terribly rough, but the board game was complete.
“Is this the end? It’s definitely not like last time.”
“Hmm, right?”
“Is this a game made by the young master? What did you name it?”
Originally, it would have been Halli Galli, but…
Since the shapes weren’t fruits, I would have to change the name as well, wouldn’t I? Besides, the name Halli Galli didn’t really mean anything; it was just something that sounded cheerful.
Well, let’s keep it simple.
“Let’s call it Kyle Galli.”
“Kyle… Galli? I understand using your name, Young Master, but what does Galli mean?”
“Just think of it as something I made up. Anyway, want to give it a try?”
“Hmm, how do you play this game?”
“It’s simple. First, divide the cards evenly among the players. Each player flips over one card from their stack and places it in front of them so everyone can see the shape. If there are ever five matching shapes visible on the table, quickly ring the bell. The first person to ring the bell gets all the cards that have been played so far. You win by collecting all the cards.”
“It sounds quite simple.”
That simplicity was exactly why it had become a worldwide bestseller. All you needed were cards and a bell, and the rules were far easier than most other games.
Even during Yacht, many people struggled with the complexity of the rules. By comparison, this game was a breeze.
When I saw that the old man shuffling the cards looked relieved that this wasn’t some kind of gambling game, I turned my attention to Sally. She was watching me with curious eyes.
“Sally, you play too. Sit down.”
“Wh-What? Me? N-No! How could someone like me possibly play with the Young Master…?!”
“You need to work on your self-esteem. You’re an apprentice mage, aren’t you? You’re much more capable than someone like me.”
“Y-Young Master…!”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Seriously, let’s play together. It’s more fun with three people than just two.”
Sure, a one-on-one, nerve-wracking battle was fun, but with more players, you had the added excitement of reading each other’s moves.
In the end, Maid Sally couldn’t refuse the invitation of a noble like me. She held back her tears and reluctantly took a seat.
…Why was she sniffling, though? She was making me feel like a villain.
“Anyway, you heard the rules earlier, right? Let’s give it a go.”
“I’ve finished shuffling the cards. Shall I deal them evenly?”
“Please do. Oh, since there are three of us, two cards will be left over. Just distribute them however you like.”
“Understood.”
The old man quickly dealt the shuffled cards. With Sally having stopped sniffling, it was finally time to begin.
A new board game, a new board game…!
Although I had played this game countless times in my original world, this was the first time in this one, and it filled me with an odd sense of excitement.
I hoped this game would help the old man and Sally appreciate the charm of board games.
“Alright, I’ll go first.”
“Yes.”
“Y-Yes!”
Shff. Shff. Shff.
We began flipping the cards one by one, and the turns moved quickly.
The old man, and even Sally who had been sniffling earlier became quite focused once the game began.
For a while, no one managed to match five shapes. We just kept adding to the piles, one after another—
Ding!
“Oh! Young Master, that was really fast.”
“I didn’t even see it…”
“Well, as the creator, I can’t afford to lose, can I?”
As soon as there were five star shapes, I rang the bell and scooped up all the cards on the table.
I felt a bit sorry for the old man and Sally, but after all, I had been the reigning champion of board games in the world’s “board game club”.
Even if it was a bit much to go all out against beginners who hadn’t fully grasped the rules yet—
Well, we’ll just end up playing this over and over for a while anyway, so what does it matter?
It wasn’t like I could create a full-fledged board game with my father’s permission, so small games like this were the best I could manage.
I wondered how much Halli Galli….or rather “Kyl Galli”… could alleviate my boredom.
Once again, I flipped a card.
***
Ding!
“As expected of you, Young Master.”
“A-Amazing…!”
“This is nothing.”
***
Ding!
“Haha, you’re incredibly quick-witted. This old body can barely keep up.”
“A-As expected of you, Young Master…!!”
“You two should try harder.”
***
Ding!
“…You’re truly skilled.”
“Uh… y-yes, indeed.”
“How about putting in a little more effort?”
***
Ding!
“……….”
“……….”
“…Old man? Sally?”
“Master, please flip the card.”
“Oh, right …”
****
Crash––!!
“…Old man?”
“Ah, I seem to have accidentally used my Aura. The bell is broken, so I suppose this game ends in a draw.”
“What? How does that make any sense?!”
“Don’t worry, Young Master! I’ll go get another bell!”
“Thanks, Sally. Old man, you’re not getting too into this, are you? It’s just a game.”
“I may be old, but this body once belonged to a knight. My strength simply slipped out this time.”
“If this keeps up, I might lose my hand, too.”
“Young Master! I brought it!”
“Great, shall we continue?”
“……….”
***
Ding!
“Hmm… huh? Huh?”
“…Sally, don’t tell me you’re using magic?”
“Uh, uh, well, I had no choice. If I want to win against you and the butler… I had to resort to… to something like this…”
“That’s illusion magic, isn’t it? Using it just to swap card shapes is a waste of talent, don’t you think?”
“Hehe…”
“Anyway, that’s cheating, so just hand over about half your cards.”
“Y-Young Master!”
“If you’re going to cheat, at least don’t make it so obvious. You were way too blatant about it.”
“……………”
“Sally?”
“If I don’t get caught…”
“…Sally?”
***
Ding!
“Haha, it seems I was a bit quicker this time. Sally.”
“B-Butler, you’re as composed as ever… Even though I still have more cards than you.”
“……………”
…How did it come to this?
At the start, I was clearly in the lead, so when did I end up getting eliminated?
Was it when the old man started deliberately using his Aura? Or was it when Sally began using her “undetectable” magic?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
“Hahaha! Is that magic tickling me? It’s so weak I barely notice it.”
“Hehe… That’s because the butler, who only uses Aura to ring the bell quickly, wouldn’t understand…”
“Hahaha.”
“Hehehe.”
Now that the only powerless player—me—had been eliminated, the old man and Sally were openly using Aura and magic to play Kyle Galli.
Aura-enhanced hands flipped cards and hit the bell at the same time, while subtle magic distracted and confused with illusions of card designs and bell positions.
As I watched all this unfold, I thought to myself:
I need to add some rules.
To survive between these two superhumans and actually enjoy the board game, I decided to create a set of Kyle Galli rules unique to this different world.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t even get to enjoy playing the game…
Leave a Reply