She had only one life left. The other players had each failed once in casting their spells and had likely gotten a vague sense of their own spells by now.
She could no longer hope to avoid being attacked by sheer luck before her next turn.
For Adela to win, she had no choice but to deplete both Vermilly and Kyle’s life units entirely on this turn.
If she made even a single mistake during this critical moment, it would result in her immediate elimination.
………Hah.
Calm down. Focus your mind.
It wasn’t as if it were entirely impossible. Normally, even if she managed to hit all five of the stone tablets laid out before her, she wouldn’t be sure if it would lead to victory.
But with this:
[Chain Spell: The next spell you cast will take effect twice.]
The hidden spell granted to the first player to reach a single life point.
A spell that didn’t require her to aim or perform any complicated steps to activate; this effect made the impossible feel within reach.
Spells below fifth-rank are meaningless. If I’m going to do this, it would have to be something like [Lightning Magic] or [Ice Magic]. Something that could knock him out in one blow…
But was that really the right thing to do?
Even now, the desire to eliminate Kyle and the refusal to lose to him hadn’t disappeared.
But if she used the hidden spell that way, it would leave her in a one-on-one match with Vermilly, who still had four lives remaining.
…She had told herself it wouldn’t matter if she lost to Vermilly.
But in his fierce determination to win, Adela felt something stir inside her.
Because the Tower Master… is watching.
It wasn’t just the desire not to lose to Kyle. That alone wasn’t enough.
Victory.
She wanted to win.
She wanted to stand proudly as the victor in front of everyone in the tower, with Tower Master Olphin watching over them.
She wanted to reclaim the attention that had been drawn to Kyle Byron and turn it back toward herself—
“………Ah.”
—And that feeling, she realized, was jealousy.
A simple jealousy, like that of a child who had lost their parents’ attention to someone else.
It was a jealousy that came from wanting someone to notice her again.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before, one she hadn’t even been able to recognize until now. But it was something she instinctively understood.
It was jealousy born from her own unique circumstances. The jealousy of someone who had lost her parents as a child and had come to see the Tower Master and the mages of the tower as her family.
At that moment, Adela’s eyes widened as she gazed at Tower Master Olphin.
And in response, the Tower Master simply smiled at her, as if to say he understood.
That’s why.
Was this why the Tower Master had told her to play a board game with that man?
Was this why he had said that understanding such emotions would be the first step?
Adela recalled Olphin’s words.
– You’re jealous because you feel like your home and family have been taken from you. It’s a feeling you don’t even realize you have… because I raised you poorly.
For Adela, the tower was her home, and the Tower Master and the mages were her family.
Was it only after realizing she was jealous of Kyle because of that, that she could finally leave behind the “child” she had been?
As she gazed at Olphin’s warm smile, Adela slowly turned her head toward Kyle.
“Adela?”
“…………….”
But even now, she still disliked him.
She understood now that this feeling was nothing more than childishness, but even so, she didn’t think she could ever be close to him.
The Tower Master, who had always been by her side, who had always understood her—
The man who was no different from a father to her—
Had poured his full attention on someone else, not her.
And not just anyone, but an outsider who wasn’t even a part of the tower.
Even more, he had rejected Adela’s attempts to persuade him…
…It wasn’t persuasion, was it?
If she had truly trusted and followed the Tower Master, then she should have also trusted his decision to place his faith in Kyle.
But Adela hadn’t trusted him. She hadn’t trusted Kyle either. She had only resented the Tower Master for not taking her side and resented Kyle as the cause of it all.
How must that have looked to Olphin?
It must have been the trigger. It must have confirmed the Tower Master’s decision.
Because trusting Kyle’s abilities and investing in him was also an opportunity to bring about change in Adela.
Then, I…
Could she say that she had taken a step forward because of this?
Could she call recognizing such an ugly, embarrassing, and childish feeling as “jealousy” growth?
If she had never experienced this feeling, she could have gone on living as she always had.
…She wouldn’t have had to feel ashamed of herself.
But this was what Tower Master Olphin had hoped for.
So Adela decided to trust the man she considered her father.
“Adela, you’ve been deep in thought for quite a while.”
“………Kyle Byron.”
“This is, after all, just a board game, a simple pastime. Go ahead and take a bold move.”
A simple board game, just a pastime.
Adela thought that was true.
“I’ll use the hidden spell.”
“Great choice, Adela!”
“Then, your next spell is………?”
“I will—”
But at the same time,
She also thought that wasn’t entirely true.
If I hadn’t played this board game with that man, would I have ever become aware of my jealousy?
Abracadabra had been the trigger. A catalyst that forced her to see herself clearly.
What if she hadn’t played Abracadabra?
Adela would never have realized her jealousy.
And that would have continued even after Kyle left the Tower of Magic.
Every time she looked at the giant board game Kyle had carefully designed, she would have kept recalling that unrecognized jealousy.
Within myself.
Because board games were something she was encountering for the very first time.
So, even if people called it a simple pastime or a way to kill time, Adela, having experienced it herself, had the right to define this board game differently.
And she concluded that for her, a board game was:
A turning point.
“The spell I will use is—”
Even if the rest of the world dismissed board games as mere amusement,
Adela, at least, would never forget her first board game.
Having recognized her jealousy, Adela could no longer be the same person she had been before playing that board game.
And because of that, the board game was a turning point in her life.
I know.
Some might scoff, asking how a mere board game could possibly be a turning point in someone’s life.
But that too was a ridiculous notion. Or so Adela thought.
After all, there were countless people who had their perspectives changed by ordinary words, simple drawings, or chance events. Why should a board game be any different?
Thanks to the board game, Adela became aware of her jealousy and only then was she able to take a step forward. Away from being a child and toward becoming an adult.
It was a step that, compared to her peer Kyle, had come embarrassingly late. But to her, it was the most significant step she had ever taken.
…And so, this was her small act of revenge against Kyle.
In front of the man who had dismissed board games as mere amusement, Adela grew more serious than ever with her expression free of smiles.
With a confident voice, she glared at Kyle and shouted:
“—[Dragon Breath]!!”
“Dragon Breath………!!”
“…Adela!”
[Dragon Breath]. A first-rank spell of which only one stone tablet existed.
Given that Vermilly had already failed to use it earlier, the logical assumption was that neither Adela nor Kyle possessed [Dragon Breath] on their current stone tablets.
It was common sense. After all, if one of their stone tablets had contained [Dragon Breath], Vermilly wouldn’t have attempted to use a spell that only existed as a single copy.
Yet, even so, Adela cast [Dragon Breath].
It wasn’t an impulsive move.
This was her best chance to win.
If the effect of the hidden spell is applied, [Dragon Breath] will reduce six life units of the opponents.
And, coincidentally, Kyle and Vermilly had exactly six combined life units remaining.
It was, quite literally, a do-or-die gamble.
However, for her strategy to work, one critical assumption had to hold true.
Vermilly… knew I had [Dragon Breath] and cast it anyway.
Why? To fail on purpose.
Why would he do such a thing? To reduce Adela’s life units to exactly one while pretending to pursue his own victory.
So, how could she have noticed this?
…Truthfully, it wasn’t something she was entirely certain about.
But having recognized her jealousy and approached the board game with genuine seriousness, Adela had been able to recall one thing.
Right after Vermilly cast [Dragon Breath],
Kyle’s gaze had turned toward Adela.
Even though he already knew that Vermilly didn’t have [Dragon Breath], Kyle Byron had glanced at Adela’s stone tablet with a smile.
Adela had staked everything on that possibility.
Using Kyle’s mistake, she would hand him defeat.
Because that was the small revenge Adela had planned.
Grrrrrrrrr—
Once again, a dragon appeared beneath the ceiling of the Magic Tower. But this time, the dragon had two heads. It was a twin-headed dragon.
The hidden spell [Chain Spell] caused [Dragon Breath] to activate twice.
However, this time, no one raised their heads to look at the twin-headed dragon.
After all, Kyle and Vermilly already knew the outcome.
“Well done, Adela.”
“Congratulations.”
They simply smiled as they said those words.
Immediately afterward, the twin-headed dragon unleashed its breath from both mouths and swept across the board game.
“The winner is Adela!”
“””Wooooaaahhhh!!!”””
With the declaration of victory by Tower Master Olphin, the spectators who had been holding their breath erupted into cheers.
Adela turned to look at Kyle.
And he simply smiled brightly at her.
“Welcome to the world of board games, Adela. Not bad, right?”
“…I suppose you’re right.”
Truly.
Not bad at all.
***
And so, the first demonstration of Abracadabra came to an end.
Abracadabra had gained the approval of almost every mage. The only ones who opposed it were an elder mage who was utterly engrossed in the Magic Maze and a few individuals who were deeply obsessed with specific board games. In other words, it was practically unanimous.
This was partly thanks to the introduction of appropriate house rules. For example, the eighth-rank spell [Magic Potion], which originally existed in “Abraca….what” and could restore one life unit was completely removed. Instead, the only recovery method was limited to the third-rank spell [God Sanctuary], while the overall damage output was reduced.
Moreover, in the original game, both [Dragon Breath] and [God Sanctuary] involved rolling dice to determine the amount of damage or recovery. Those random elements were entirely eliminated. This change came about because some of the Magic Tower’s mages, after trying out Abracadabra themselves, felt that the randomness was far too excessive.
Instead, a new element called Hidden Spells was added, which did not exist in the original game. The reasoning was that the game needed to offer something new every time to maintain its popularity. Incidentally, this was a rule that Tower Master Olphin had strongly advocated.
Other rules were also modified. For example, only higher-rank spells could be cast consecutively, the addition of secret stones, or the rule allowing a player to win by chanting all the spells in front of them when no more spells could be replenished.
While the game had been finalized, I was still staying at the Magic Tower.
Just because the rules had been decided didn’t mean that they could be immediately applied to the giant board game. If it were just one person’s illusion, that might be possible, but the giant board game was supported by countless artifacts and magical structures. I heard that it would take a long time to overwrite it with new rules.
So, in the meantime, I was helping to review various elements of Abracadabra and helping with building its illusionary framework.
“[Reaper’s Whisper]… And with that, it’s my victory again.”
“…Don’t you ever get tired, Adela? It’s already been…. over seven hours.”
“When you played with the tower master before, it went on for more than thirteen hours. Let’s move on to the next round, shall we?”
“…Yes.”
A week had passed since we started playing Abracadabra.
I was glad that I had grown closer to Adela, who had seemed to avoid me at first, but…
No matter how much we played, the game just wouldn’t end…
If it were Halli Galli or Cockroach Poker, that’d be one thing, but “Abraca…..what” is exhausting to play for this long.
At this point, it was hard to keep up the energy to chant spells with enthusiasm. In fact, the reason the board game with the tower master lasted thirteen hours was largely because Olphin wouldn’t stop. By the midway point, I was holding on purely through sheer willpower.
I had even tried suggesting other board games at one point.
“How about trying a different board game?”
“No. I’m only going to play Abracadabra.”
“Oh, uh… okay…”
With her being this adamant, there was no way out.
Since I had started spreading board games to find opponents, in a way, my original goal had been achieved.
But… isn’t this a bit much?
Honestly, it would’ve been better to end Abracadabra quickly and decisively, like Vermilly did.
At that moment, I began to wonder if I had introduced an overly dangerous talent into the world of board games.
“By the way, Adela, do you really like Abracadabra that much?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you’ve never once smiled while playing board games. If you truly enjoy it, shouldn’t you find it fun at least… a little?”
It was just a random thought that popped into my head. I couldn’t help but find it suspicious that someone who claimed to love a game so much they could play it for over seven hours had never laughed even once.
At that, Adela stared directly at me and said:
“Kyle, you’re the one who said it. That board games are just a form of amusement.”
“I did say that, yes.”
“But to me, board games are a turning point in my life. That’s why I take them so seriously.”
…A turning point in her life?
Could the Abracadabra game she played for the first time just a week ago have been that impactful?
Not knowing her full story or perspective, I couldn’t quite grasp what exactly she meant by a “turning point”.
“Huh, that’s a pretty fascinating coincidence.”
“…A coincidence, you say?”
“Yes. Because when I first encountered board games… I thought the same way, in a way.”
Ah, it brought back memories. Not exactly pleasant ones, though.
Now, I believe board games should be fun, but back then, I was similar to Adela in how I approached them.
So, in a vague way, I felt like I might be able to understand her… maybe?
“Adela? What’s wrong?”
“…Revenge…”
“Huh? Revenge? What are you talking about?”
Could it be? Did she figure it out? That I had intentionally messed up [Fire Magic]?
At that time, there were six [Fire Magic] spells left. Three with Adela and three with Vermilly. Even though I knew that, I had intentionally messed up so I could pass the turn back to Adela.
But wait, Vermilly had done the same thing with [Dragon Breath], didn’t he? I even gave him a hint on purpose while pretending to glance at his stone tablet during the memorization phase!
“…One more game. No, let’s add six more hours.”
“H-Hey, Adela…?”
“If we’re doing this, then we’re doing it…!!”
What is wrong with her?
I thought we were starting to get along better… weren’t we?
As I stood there, dumbfounded by Adela’s sudden shift in attitude, as if she were fuming with anger, Sally came back from somewhere and handed me something.
“Sally? What’s this?”
“It’s, um, a letter… from your family.”
“A letter from my family? Did Father send it?”
Well, now that I think about it, it has been quite a while since I left the Byron Viscounty.
I had stayed at the Everts Duchy for almost two weeks, and it’s been over a week since I arrived at the Arkhe Magic Tower.
It makes sense that he’d send a letter around now, telling me to come back. Once I returned, I could also check how far along the rumors about Kyle Galli had spread—
“………”
“Young Master…?”
“…Kyle Byron?”
“…We’re going back, Sally.”
“H-Huh? Back to the family mansion?”
“Yes, right now.”
“W-Wait. Kyle Byron, the tower still needs your help. The illusion hasn’t been fully constructed yet, and we still need to continue Abracadabra…”
“I’m sorry, Adela. Really…”
[To Kyle.
How have you been? Since I usually receive updates through your letters, I’ll keep this brief and get straight to the point.
Your second brother returned four days ago.
Today, he gambled with Kyle Galli.
You remember the conditions of the agreement, don’t you?
Return to the family mansion immediately.
William Byron.]
“…It’s an urgent matter.”
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