First, I asked the knights, including the Knight Commander, who had shattered the bell to spare me some time.
The Knight Commander nodded his head in agreement but added,
“Young Master, the training schedule was directly ordered by the family head, so we can’t spend too much time with you. My apologies.”
“No need to apologize. I’m the one interrupting out of nowhere, after all.”
I decided to include three experienced knights from the Kyle Galli group and the Knight Commander, making it a total of four participants.
All it took was to grab an appropriate desk from the office near the training grounds, and we were ready.
Soon, a desk and a board game were set up on the training ground, creating an unexpected scene. The knights who had paused their training looked on with considerable interest.
Well, if it were me, I’d also enjoy watching a fun event like this pop up unexpectedly.
After setting up the deck of cards and bell Sally had prepared, I took a step back.
“For now, just… play normally, will you?”
“Hmm, so this time, we’ll do it without using Aura?”
“Yes, please.”
“Understood. You heard the Young Master, right? We’ll play without Aura this time.”
“””””””Yes!”””””””
It felt less like they were playing because they found it fun and more like they were doing it because I told them to.
Well, there wasn’t much I could do about that.
I’d have to make sure to reward these four later.
As I debated whether I should ask old Charles for advice, the Knight Commander began his turn.
Shuffle, shuffle.
“……………”
“…………”
“………………”
“……….”
Shuffle, shuffle. Ding!
“Ah, I was too late.”
“Indeed… haha.”
“………Hoo.”
“……………”
What could I say?
The energy in the air was plummeting.
Looking at their expressions, it wasn’t fatigue from their earlier training that bothered me.
Rather than boredom or disinterest, their faces showed frustration.
It was clear there was no point in watching any further, so I stopped them.
“Let’s stop here. Try playing with Aura again.”
“…Young Master, are you sure that’s alright?”
“Of course.”
“Understood. Then—”
—Crash.
“As you can see, it’s impossible to play the game properly like this. The moment we use Aura, controlling our strength becomes important. But since Kyle Galli is a competitive game, even when we try to hit the pieces as gently as possible… this is the result.”
“That’s right.”
“A knight can easily bend even the most heavy steel bars. A small bell made of this kind of scrap metal is….”
So, rather than controlling their strength, was the durability of the bell itself the problem?
In reality, even if they consciously controlled their strength to avoid breaking the bell, it would mean they couldn’t focus solely on the game of Kyle Galli. At that point, it would be better not to play the board game at all. A board game is only fun when you can focus entirely on the game without worrying about such things.
Still, there seemed to be a way to address this issue. Beside me stood another extraordinary individual, apart from the knights.
“Sally? Can you cast a hardening spell on this bell?”
“I-It’s possible, but… with my magical power, it won’t last for very long…”
“If it can hold out for even a single round, that would be enough.”
“Th-Then, in that case…”
Wooong.
Sally’s hands glowed with a blue light. As she quickly formed a simple seal with her fingers, the bell I had brought along reacted to the spell and was covered in a thin, blue membrane.
Good thing I’d thought to bring along the bell Father had confiscated from the maids when I left the office.
I placed the hardened bell on the table and immediately took a step back.
Just in case. You never know, right?
“Commander, I’ll leave it to you again!”
“A hardening spell… Understood. Let’s go again, are you ready?”
“””Yes!”””
And then—
A storm erupted.
Shuffle shuffle shuffle ding shuffle shuffle ding shuffle shuffle shuffle shuffle ding shuffle shuffle shuffle shuffle shuffle ding shuffle ding ding shuffle shuffle shuffle shuffle ding shuffle shuffle shuffle ding—
Once they were freed from the need to hold back, the knights struck the bell with abandon. Their movements were much faster than before.
It seemed they were being considerate by holding back slightly to let me see what was happening. But their speed was so overwhelming it looked as if they had sprouted extra arms.
I had no idea what was going on in the game. The knights, however, seemed perfectly used to this level of speed. They flipped cards, struck the bell, and collected cards again in quick succession.
In what felt like no more than two minutes—
Shuffle shuffle shuffle ding!!
“Whew, looks like I win.”
“As expected of you, Commander. You’re far faster than I am.”
“It’s much better now that I don’t have to worry about controlling my strength.”
“…But, Young Master, is Kyle Galli normally supposed to end this quickly?”
Of course not. Definitely not.
While the expressions of the commander and knights were much better than before, the aftermath was also much more dire.
The bell’s blue glow had nearly vanished as if the hardening magic was on the verge of wearing off. The table was cracked and wobbly, while the cards had long since turned into tattered scraps.
This isn’t some disposable board game.
I had heard that skilled Aura users could move faster than sound, but this far exceeded anything I could have imagined.
I wasn’t sure if this was proof of the skill of the knights under the Byron Viscounty, or if this was just the average standard for knights in general… Either way, they at least had to be able to play the game properly.
But it’s not like we can prepare a mage or replace the cards and table every time they play a game.
“Haah… haah…”
Even if we did bring in a mage every time, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. After just two minutes of gameplay, Sally’s complexion had visibly worsened.
Unless the mage was of an extraordinary caliber, there was no way they could maintain hardening magic during these knights’ lightning-fast game pace.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
“Do you think you’ll still be able to enjoy Kyle Galli if this continues?”
“Well, if it’s at this level… I still find it a bit lacking. Personally, I think it would be better if there were more physical movement involved.”
“Young Master! I wish the game lasted longer!”
“The cards tearing apart is also a problem. Even if the mage could sustain the hardening spell on the bell, they likely wouldn’t be able to do the same for the cards.”
“I’d like it to feel a bit more knightly.”
Perhaps because the commander had signaled them to speak up, the three knights who had been playing voiced their opinions one by one.
Simply hardening the bell wouldn’t solve everything. The goal was to turn this into a game the knights could thoroughly enjoy.
This meant increasing the length of the game, adding more physical activity to match their knightly nature, fixing the durability issues with the cards and bell, and making sure the game retained its core appeal as a board game.
…Is that even possible?
“Let me… think about it for a moment.”
“Haha, take your time. In the meantime, the rest of the knights will resume their training!”
“””””””Yes!”””””””
“Oh, by the way, Commander, I know you need to oversee the training, but would it be alright if I borrowed these three knights for a while? It won’t take too long.”
“…You have thirty minutes. Any longer, and we won’t have enough time to complete their training.”
“Thanks, Commander.”
“Not at all.”
Honestly, the ones who seemed truly grateful were the three knights themselves. Their eyes were sparkling with excitement.
Even if it was only thirty minutes, whether they were simply happy to join training late or not, their eyes radiated loyalty toward me.
So, this is how hard they’re pushed in training. That’s why they can move the way they do…
To avoid disrupting the training, I led Sally and the three knights to a corner of the training grounds.
“First, all of you take a break.”
“No! Following you is the duty of us knights!”
“Whatever you put us through, it’ll surely be less grueling than training!”
“Loyalty to the Byron Viscounty!”
“Then should I just send you back to training?”
“………We’ll rest! Everyone, rest!”
“”Rest!!””
Good, they quieted down immediately.
While the three knights rested under the shade of a tree, I sat in the chair Sally had brought and began wracking my brain… Wait a second.
“When did you bring this chair?”
“Um, with magic! Hehe…”
Didn’t she look completely exhausted earlier…? Now she seems just fine again.
Anyway, I smiled at Sally to thank her and fell into deep thought.
There are plenty of house rules for Halli Galli.
Rules like adding special cards to switch turns, similar to kings, queens, and jacks in other card games, or allowing additional plays under certain conditions.
There was also a rule where instead of stacking the cards completely on top of each other, they were only partially overlapped, so that the uncovered fruit images became part of the game.
And instead of a penalty that took cards away for hitting the bell incorrectly, there were variations where one hand would be “sealed” as punishment.
There were plenty of things I could test immediately, but none of them felt appropriate.
After all, the house rules I knew generally involved tweaking minor details while keeping the core gameplay intact.
The knights’ physical abilities exceed my imagination. Reaching the bell from their seats takes less than a fraction of a second.
On top of that, the knights seemed to enjoy the fast-paced nature of the game. Adding unnecessary rules could slow down the pace and make the game awkward.
Still, how could something already so impossibly fast become…
“………Huh?”
—Wait a second.
Just a bit more.
Think a bit deeper.
Fast? Why is the game so fast?
Because superhumans who use Aura have overwhelming physical capabilities.
Then why does the game end so quickly?
Because the entire process from flipping the card to pressing the bell happens in an instant.
Why do the knights feel dissatisfied despite playing this way?
Because, in the end, they’re only using their two arms and eyes.
Do the knights really want such a speedy game?
To be precise, they want a game where they can go all out. The speed is just a natural result.
In that case…
I had a simple thought.
“…Y-Young Master? Why are you looking at us like that…?”
“Hold on, everyone, come over here for a moment.”
“Huh?”
“I want to try something.”
It was a purely physical idea.
Wouldn’t it work if they just increased the “distance”…?
That way, they could use their bodies more and extend the game time as well.
***
“Ha! Haaah!!!”
“Faster! Move more powerfully! Don’t stop the circulation of your Aura!”
“””””Yes!!”””””
As always, the Knight Commander was diligently overseeing the knights’ training, but his eyes kept glancing toward the corner of the training ground.
He couldn’t help it. The Third Young Master Kyle had come to the training ground, and it was nothing short of astonishing.
Unlike the other young masters, he had no talent with the sword.
The first son had shown skill in both magic and swordsmanship, while the second son excelled in swordsmanship.
But Kyle? He had always been clumsy with physical activities. The Knight Commander vaguely recalled that the last time Kyle had stepped into the training grounds had been years ago.
Yet here he was now, bringing with him the game, Kyle Galli.
It was an entertaining game, no doubt.
To be honest, it was a good board game for ordinary people. However, for knights of their caliber, it was, in many ways, an ill fit.
The Knight Commander had tried it a few times with his subordinates under the strict orders of Sir Charles, but every time they played, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated or unsatisfied.
He could tell it was a good game. He could sense that much. But that was all there was to it.
Although Kyle had declared that he would adjust the rules to make the game fun for the knights as well, the Knight Commander remained skeptical.
I don’t know how far he’ll take this, but there’s no choice but to humor him.
Since the family head had approved the board game, it was the knights’ duty to go along with their master’s insistence.
It wasn’t as though Kyle Galli which was tailored for knights would emerge overnight. For now, Kyle would likely continue stopping by the training grounds.
Frankly speaking, wouldn’t it be more efficient to design a different game entirely for the citizens of the territory rather than paying attention to knights like them?
“…Hmm?”
—That was all the Knight Commander thought at first.
When the Knight Commander glanced toward the corner of the training ground, he rubbed his eyes and blinked. He started wondering if he had seen wrong.
But the scene in front of him didn’t change. No, it had shifted slightly, but not in the way he had expected.
Gone was the earlier sight of three knights resting under a tree while Kyle sat beside his personal maid, deep in thought.
Instead—
“How about this?”
“It’s still a bit off!”
“Alright… what about here?”
“Oh, this spot might take just a little longer to reach…!!”
They were setting up Kyle Galli.
But not in the usual way.
The bell wasn’t placed on a table; it was set on the ground.
And instead of sitting in chairs, the three knights stood ten meters away from the bell. They were each positioned in a different direction.
“Here I go, five circles!”
“Hup!!”
“I’ll get there first!”
“Not if I can help it, you bastard!”
Thud-thud!
As soon as Kyle drew a card, the three knights sprinted toward the bell at the same time; they even collided with one another as they tried to reach it. They shoved their bodies against each other, stretched out their arms to block, and actively worked to hinder one another.
Though it looked not much different from training at first glance, the three knights were far more absorbed in it.
To the Knight Commander, it was an utterly baffling sight.
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