“I can’t understand it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Really… I just can’t understand.”
Click.
Duke of Nicholas set down his teacup with a deeply complicated expression on his face.
He appeared to be pondering something, thinking it over, then suddenly seemed dejected.
He cupped his forehead with one hand and asked,
“How did you do it?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve tried everything up until now. I even tried to forcibly demolish the tower, invited spirit masters contracted with the Spirit King to drive the spirits away, and at one point, I even pleaded outside the tower, promising to grant any wish if she would just talk to me. That went on for over five years.”
“…………”
“But all this time, my daughter… not once, not even once, did she respond….not even with a brief letter or a single word. And then you in just a week, you managed to enter that tower and meet Lacia.”
As he said this, the Duke smiled.
But it was clear that his smile wasn’t one of joy.
He was genuinely curious.
Why had all his countless efforts been in vain, yet something as ridiculous as a board game had opened Lacia’s heart?
“Tell me, how did you do it?”
“I simply wanted to play board games with her and did just that.”
“…And?”
“That’s all.”
No matter how I thought about it, that really was all there was to it.
Although it felt like I got a little closer to her when she broke the rules during the game (ironically?), in the end, it was Lacia who opened the door, agreed to play board games, and even told me to come back tomorrow.
It wasn’t as though I persuaded her; it was a choice she made herself.
Still… Kyle Gali was a big help.
It was thanks to that I grew closer to the spirits, and perhaps also why Lacia who had been hurt by people was willing to approach me, even just a little.
The Duke, who seemed to be staring at me as if to say, “Is that really all?” finally let out a long sigh.
“Haah… I see. Thanks to you, there’s finally a glimmer of hope… I’ll just have to invite some famous board game players.”
“That’s—”
“After all, you can’t stay here forever, can you? How many days has it been now?”
“…It’s been 15 days.”
Fifteen days. Half a month.
It had already been that long since I left home and came to stay at the Everts Duchy, all because of one sudden letter from the Duke.
Of course, I had exchanged letters with my father in the meantime.
Not that my absence would be much of an issue to begin with.
I heard that Kyle Galli was spreading quietly among the servants under Charles’ supervision.
After all, as the third son, I had no involvement in family affairs, so staying at the duke’s castle for an extended period of time wasn’t that much of a problem.
If anything, the real problem was my father subtly suggesting I settle down there entirely.
“You’ve been here quite a while. Do you plan to stay even longer?”
“That’s… not my intention.”
“I see. To put it bluntly, unless you intend to marry Lacia, I’ll have to find another solution after you leave.”
“…That makes sense. Well, if it’s famous board game players, I imagine it’s something like chess. They’d probably adapt to Spirit Poker quite quickly.”
“……………”
“Your Excellency?”
“The fact that you’re more focused on board games than marriage… makes me doubt I’ll find a better solution than you.”
Anyway.
Duke Nicholas composed himself, set aside his faint laughter, and put on a serious expression.
“A week ago, since you first entered the tower, you’ve been going there daily to play board games with my daughter.”
“Spirit Poker, yes.”
“Indeed. In the end, my daughter has yet to step outside the tower, but thanks to you, there’s now a glimmer of hope. Speak your wish. If it’s within the bounds of your achievement, I’ll grant it.”
“………….”
A reward, huh?
I hadn’t thought playing board games with Lacia would lead to something like this.
But considering the reward was coming from the head of the Everts Duchy, the wealthiest family in the West, it was bound to be extraordinary.
…Still, in truth.
If I were to accept a reward, my wish would always remain the same.
“I need support.”
“…Support?”
“I want to spread Kyle Galli and Spirit Poker far and wide. For that, I desperately need funds and manpower.”
While my father had allowed me to pursue board games, that didn’t mean I could use the family’s money to produce and distribute them. Not that I intended to, either.
At first, I had planned to use the prize money I won at that chess-like board game competition as capital, but the estimated costs were far higher than expected.
No matter how simple the materials were, the moment I aimed for mass production, the budget exceeded anything I could imagine. After all, I was just a board game enthusiast. Nothing more, nothing less.
Custom-made bells and cards for Kyle Galli, workers to engrave patterns on the cards, special materials for house rules designed for knights….those alone would cost a fortune.
And now, with the new Spirit Poker I just developed, who knew how much more funding I’d need?
That was the reward I sought from the duke. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Support… support for spreading board games, you say.”
“Yes. I’m not asking for continuous funding, but if I could just get some upfront money—”
“…Ha, hahaha! Hahahaha! You’re telling me…..the ruler of the west, Nicholas van Everts asked you to name any reward, and all you ask for is something as trivial as board games! Hahaha!”
“…Your Excellency?”
“Haha… ha, I guess all my efforts weren’t in vain. It takes someone this obsessed to make something like this possible.”
After the duke finally managed to stop laughing like a madman,
He continued speaking with a sly grin replacing the earlier expressions of frustration, exhaustion, or solemnity.
“Alright, if it’s support you want, I can provide as much as you need. If you require funds, I can grant you money. If it’s manpower, I can dispatch master craftsmen to assist. Furthermore, I can use the duke’s family connections to spread those board games far and wide.”
“Oooh…!!”
“However, I can only grant you one of these. Money, manpower, or connections. Your reward will be just one. So, what will it be?”
His words seemed slightly different from his earlier declaration of granting anything I wished.
But honestly, even that was more than generous. It was more than I could ever dream of, so I nodded my head quietly. Asking for more and risking the Duke’s goodwill would only end badly.
“If you want the others, you could stay at the duchy longer than you’ve been planning.”
“Apologies, but that’s not possible. I already have responsibilities with Viscount Byron’s mansion.”
“Very well. Then choose one. Whichever you pick, I will support it with my name and make sure it is done right.”
Technically, I could have stayed at the duchy and accepted additional rewards just like the Duke said.
However, the whole point of this was to spread board games, and delaying that to focus on rewards would be counterproductive.
The Byron territory had already seen some spread of Kyle Galli, so starting from there made the most sense.
If worse came to worst, I could return to the duchy later and stay for support….though whether the duke would entertain me again was another matter.
In any case, if I had to choose from those three, the answer was obvious.
“I would like to request your connections.”
“A wise choice.”
After all, while money and manpower could be managed one way or another, connections were irreplaceable.
With the Everts Duchy’s name backing the promotion of Kyle Galli and Spirit Poker to the noble circles and the duchy’s territory, the impact could be massive. Whether it would flop or become a jackpot was uncertain, but the potential was there.
However, for the connections to have any real effect, something had to come first. Money.
First, I need to mass-produce the board games before the duke’s connections can spread them.
Spreading just a few handcrafted versions of Kyle Galli and Spirit Poker would have obvious, limited effects. In the end, mass production was the prerequisite for the Duke’s connections to truly shine.
…And so, I found myself back at square one. I needed a huge amount of money.
What should I do?
The first ideas that came to mind were borrowing money from a merchant guild or finding someone who would invest.
The merchant guild was located in the capital, and it was doubtful how much money could be borrowed in the name of Kyle Byron instead of the Viscount Byron family.
As for investments, the real problem was finding an investor in the first place.
As I was agonizing over how to secure the funds,
“…Well, I suppose I can provide some small help.”
“Your Excellency?”
“Take this.”
Thud.
The Duke casually tossed something my way. It was a letter.
An exquisitely decorated and carefully sealed letter… bearing the seal of the Magic Tower.
Wait, the Magic Tower?
“What is this…?”
“It’s a letter sent to every wealthy family in the western region. I’d bet your family received one as well.”
“Are you saying…?”
“You’ll understand better once you open it. But before that…”
Knock, knock, knock.
The Duke who had been smiling boldly, and I who was still confused by the unexpected letter, simultaneously turned our heads toward the sound.
It was the sparrow spirit tapping at the reception room window.
[Chirp, chirp, chirp!]
“What is it saying?”
“…It’s saying it’s time, and we need to hurry.”
“Seems my daughter has been eagerly awaiting her time with you. Go on now. And be sure to let her know today will be the last time.”
“Understood, Your Excellency.”
“The concern is… actually for you. Knowing Lacia, she might use the spirits to keep you tied down. She’s been like that ever since she was little, never letting go of her favorite toys.”
“…Your jokes are quite extreme, Your Excellency. Haha!”
It was a joke, right? He was smiling, so it had to be a joke.
…Right?
***
The Magic Tower.
Unlike the Imperial Academy in the capital, which was more about general education, the Magic Tower was a place sought by those who truly intended to pursue the path of magic.
Once you enter, it’s famous for being a society that strictly values merit, with no distinction between commoners and nobles.
Whether your blood was red or blue, only talent and skill mattered in magic… or so they claimed.
But in the end, the Magic Tower was still part of the Empire, and like any place where people lived, noble mages had a considerable advantage, even if it wasn’t openly acknowledged.
Commoners began at Level 0; they couldn’t even qualify as apprentices, while nobles started at Level 1. This difference came with better masters and opportunities, so there was a silent but undeniable discrimination.
Even so, the fact that four of the six Magic Tower Masters in the Empire were of commoner origin made the Magic Towers arguably the most fair institutions in existence.
Among the six great Magic Towers of the Empire was Arkhe that was located in the western region.
This magic tower that was dedicated to the study of magic related to light and darkness now bore witness to a young girl and an old man pulling at his hair in frustration.
“Again… it’s happening again? How many years has it been now?”
“It’s the seventh year, Master.”
“Damn it all.”
As was common among those who had mastered Arkhe’s magic, both the old man and the girl had heads of pure white hair.
The old man frantically flipped through papers and books, clutching what little hair he had left, while the white-haired girl assisted him with an emotionless expression.
If someone were told that this old man was one of the six Tower Masters and an archmage, who would believe it? Yet that was the reality. This Tower Master was utterly swamped.
“This is enough to drive me insane! We’re making so much money, and yet… it’s not enough?”
“To put it precisely, our expenses are three times greater than our income. Although we’ve managed to survive the past seven years thanks to our reserves, the situation is…”
“Stop beating around the bush, Adela.”
“If we calculate the remaining assets against income and expenses… we have just one year left.”
“One year! Only one year!”
At this rate, in a year’s time, he would go down in history as the Tower Master responsible for reducing the six Magic Towers to five.
The Tower Master leaned back in his chair, let out a deep sigh, and turned to the white-haired girl he had called Adela.
“What about the letters we sent to the noble families in the West? We have to sell that thing on the first floor somehow. There’s no other way…”
“We sent letters to 134 families. Of those, 108 have replied.”
“Not the formal replies. What about meaningful responses?”
“Not a single one.”
“Damn it all to hell!”
The Tower Master clutched the back of his neck as if he could feel his blood pressure, which he had barely managed to keep down, rising again.
At that moment, the door of the office that was buried under piles of papers and numbers swung open.
Thud!
“Master! Someone from the Everts Duchy is here!”
“Is that true!?”
The Duke of Everts.
He had put the most effort for the duchy when he was writing the letters, even though he thought they were the least likely to help.
The Tower Master was well acquainted with Duke Nicholas, and he thought it impossible that the man would purchase the item on the first floor. Yet, despite his doubts, he had clung to a sliver of hope.
Who would have thought he’d be betrayed in such a wonderful way?
“W-Who’s here? Could it possibly be His Excellency the Duke himself!? It doesn’t matter! I need to go out and see for myself!”
“Tower Master!? But His Excellency didn’t come in person. Surely you don’t need to personally go out there….”
“Does that even matter right now? If things continue like this, we’re going to go bankrupt. Unjustly so, at that!”
Ignoring the mage who tried to dissuade him, the Tower Master hurriedly descended toward the first floor of the tower.
For an Archmage who studied light and reproduced it through magic, that distance was no more than the blink of an eye.
In an instant, the Tower Master arrived on the first floor. He anxiously looked around the area before spotting something, which caused him to scowl deeply.
That damned money sink!
It was an object synonymous with the Arkhe Tower, the very thing that had once elevated Arkhe to its position as one of the six Magic Towers: the gigantic board game.
Thanks to magic that manipulated light and darkness, the game allowed players to move oversized pieces that towered over most people. As a landmark, it was extraordinary.
But it had also become a financial burden due to its astronomical maintenance costs, turning it into nothing but a liability.
The more he looked at the colossal board game, the more his stomach churned. He finally tore his gaze away and began searching for the person who had supposedly come from the Everts Duchy.
The Magic Tower had been closed today to accommodate any visitors from noble households, so it was easy to find people in the vast hall.
He quickly spotted a man who was clearly an outsider and a young maid who exuded faint traces of magic.
“Ahem, might you be the representative from the Everts Duchy? It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am the Tower Master of Arkhe Magic Tower—”
“Ah.”
“Young Master…?”
“—Hmm?”
The young man and the maid, who should be from the Everts Duchy, stood there before him.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the giant board game board as was usually the case with first-time visitors to the Magic Tower…
Rather—
“So it’s actually possible…?”
“…….?”
“A giant board game…!!”
The young man was grinning ear to ear and his face lit up with pure joy.
“Th-That’s right! If it’s you, Young Master, anything is possible!”
The young man was laughing so hard his mouth was about to split, and the maid approached it while giggling.
In front of such a crazy sight, the Magic Tower Master found himself involuntarily taking a step back….
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