Chapter 10: Board Games Beat Spirits – 3

I entered the spire.

It was the result of a week-long effort and not as difficult as I had expected.

‘If the princess is loved by the spirits, they would also want to please her.’

Naturally, there would be more than a few spirits lingering around the princess. And the princess can’t equally share her love with all of them.

Naturally, there would be spirits that are closer to her and those that are neglected. For those neglected spirits, Kyle Galli, which the princess is currently obsessed with, would be the best way to get closer.

Teaching the rules of Kyle Galli to the water tiger and the wind horse and making them play continuously to gain experience could be considered a form of bribery.

As a result, the tiger and the wind horse, who had become closer to the princess, also started to act more friendly towards me.

Interestingly, as I became more acquainted with the spirits, I started to understand their language to some extent.

[Growl.]

“I know. I’ll only go up to the front door.”

That growl didn’t sound exactly like human speech, but I could roughly understand what it was trying to convey through its nuances.

For the princess, it would probably sound like perfect speech.

Step. Step.

The spire I ascended with the tiger on my left and the wind horse on my right was silent in many ways.

There was no one besides the princess, so it felt desolate despite the spacious area.

At the same time, the silence was because those who filled the spire in place of humans kept their peace.

Spirits in various forms were watching me in silence from the hallways and stairs.

Small rabbits, birds, squirrels, pigs, cows, sheep, lions, leopards, elephants, and even giraffes.

There were large spirits that made me wonder how they could move around inside the spire, and spirits smaller than my feet.

All of them focused their gaze solely on me without the slightest movement.

They didn’t make a sound, so I couldn’t tell what they were thinking exactly.

But one thing was certain: their gazes were not friendly.

How long had we walked under those stares?

Soon, the tiger spirit, the wind horse spirit, and I arrived at the top floor of the spire.

Unlike the other floors with multiple rooms, there was only one door at the top.

A door larger, more antique, and more luxurious than any I had seen before.

And from inside, voices could be heard.

• Hmm… I won again.
• Whoosh…
• That’s 56 wins in a row. Hey, aren’t you guys too bad at this?
• Jingle.
• Just kidding. So, hmm. Shall we play another round?
• Meow!

From beyond the door came the voice of a woman, presumably the princess, and the cries of the spirits trying to get closer to her.

As I quietly listened to the sounds, the tiger spirit nudged me with its front paw.

[Growl.]

“Do you mean I can say it now? Hmm.. [Clip-clop?] Well.”

“Yeah, I did come here to talk. But.”

I don’t want to interrupt while they’re in the middle of playing a board game. That’s quite a rude thing to do.

There have been so many times when the flow and fun of a game were broken because someone interrupted in the middle.

Especially since I need to make a good impression on the princess just to have a conversation, barging in while she and the spirits are enjoying Kyle Galli could end up making her dislike me.

‘Although… it did seem like the princess’s voice was a bit subdued.’

For that reason, I decided to hold off on knocking on the door or calling out to the princess for now.

It wouldn’t be a long wait anyway, and standing here idly in the meantime felt awkward.

“Do you want to play some Kyle Galli for a bit?”

[・・・Growl!]

[Clip-clop!]

Great.

As expected, there’s no one like you two!

Laisia Everts.

The youngest of the Everts family, the duchess who is loved by the spirits, the princess who never leaves the spire.

All those titles refer to her, and Laisia didn’t care how anyone called her.

After all, her life consisted only of spirits.

So, a few years ago, she decided to block anyone from entering the spire and only kept the honest and straightforward spirits by her side.

Yet sometimes, she still felt this way.

Ding!

“I… won again, huh!”

[Whoosh, whoosh!]

“Yes, thank you…”

An unbearable boredom and ennui.

Of course, the spirits were kind and gentle, but that didn’t mean her days with them were always fun.

Just like even loving couples experience a period of boredom.

Even the closest of friends have awkward moments.

‘I’m bored.’

Laisia often found herself thinking that. It was a thought she had many times over the past few years, but it never made her leave the spire.

Life with the spirits inside the spire was mostly enjoyable, albeit sometimes boring.

Conversing with people outside the spire, however, was something she loathed.

Laisia had resolved to live in this spire with the spirits. Even if she were to be expelled from the duchy, she could always build a cabin in the forest and live there.

Anyway, until a few days ago, Laisia was feeling that ennui very strongly. It was particularly intense compared to what she had felt since entering the spire.

In the midst of this, her father had given her Kyle Galli and its rules, passed on through the spirits.

It was a rare gift from her father to his daughter, which made Laisia hesitant.

But she was so bored that she decided to try it with the spirits once.

‘It was fun, yeah. Really.’

It was more fun than Laisia had imagined. When she first played Kyle Galli, she played it all day long.

The spire wasn’t devoid of books or board games, but she had already read all the books, and there was only one one-on-one strategy board game. It was impossible to play properly with the spirits, and Laisia’s skill level was quite high, so it wasn’t even a diversion.

But Kyle Galli was different.

The rules were easy for the spirits to understand, the gameplay was simple, multiple people could play at once, and most importantly, it was genuinely fun.

She had been playing Kyle Galli almost exclusively for the past week… but.

Laisia was starting to feel the limits of Kyle Galli.

‘It’s boring because I keep winning.’

She had won 57 times in a row. Not just ringing the bell 57 times in a row, but fulfilling the victory conditions of collecting all the cards 57 times consecutively.

At this point, no matter how many more games she played, she knew she would win, so it wasn’t fun anymore. She had enjoyed the victories at first, but once it went beyond a certain point, it became less interesting.

Even now, she was playing Kyle Galli, but only because the spirits seemed to want to play; she was just going along with them.

Ding!

“Yeah, I won again!”

‘Won again.’

[Meow!]

[Woof!]

[Whoosh!]

[Jingle.]

“Thanks, everyone. But how about… we take a little break? I’m going to lie down for a bit!”

[Jingle?]

With that, Laisia put down the cards and lay on her luxurious bed. The spirits she had been playing Kyle Galli with climbed onto the bed and surrounded her.

Laisia loved these moments. Napping with the spirits was always a healing time for her.

But.

Growl!

-Clip-clop!

-It’s not cheating, you fools. Isn’t it proof that humans are superior to spirits? Hmph.

Growl!

• Clip-clop-clop-clop!

‘What is this?’

She had already known someone was outside the door. It was surprising that the water spirit and wind spirit guarding the entrance to the spire had let someone in, and they had escorted them all the way to the top floor.

But thanks to the spirits’ whispers, she quickly learned that the person they brought was the creator of Kyle Galli.

This was even more astonishing. The spirits had never once disobeyed Laisia’s requests.

She wasn’t worried about being overpowered. By this point, Laisia was naturally curious.

Of course, it was just curiosity. She had no intention of letting anyone from outside the spire into her room or talking to them. She had decided to ignore any knocks or calls from beyond the door.

Then, they would naturally leave, and she could ask the water and wind spirits what happened later.

‘Why are they sitting in front of the door playing Kyle Galli…?’

The creator of Kyle Galli hadn’t knocked or called out.

He was simply enjoying Kyle Galli with the two spirits who had brought him.

At this point, her curiosity was more than piqued. She felt a strong urge to see what was happening outside the door.

So Laisia deliberately lay down on her bed and pretended to sleep.

Then, she concentrated.

‘Synchronize.’

is one of the ultimate spirit arts that can be used when the bond between a spirit and a spirit master reaches its peak.

For a typical spirit master, this is a secret technique possible only with a spirit they have spent their entire life with.

But for Laisia, who is naturally loved by spirits, it was merely a playful act she could do with any spirit.

The effect of Synchronize is simple. Becoming one with the spirit.

From this moment on, Laisia became identical with the water spirit in the form of a tiger.

[…Growl!?]

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

[…G-Growl.]

“Oh, if it’s because of a bug, there’s nothing we can do.”

With her eyes closed, the pitch-black darkness of her vision was suddenly transformed. At the same time, the sensation of controlling her body was subtly altered.

The sudden Synchronize momentarily startled the water spirit, but knowing Laisia had entered, it calmly handed over control of its body to her.

Thus, while lying in her room, Laisia could come outside through the spirit.

‘Let’s see.’

When she looked around, she saw the wind spirit who realized Laisia had synchronized and a strange man.

This man was…

the creator of Kyle Galli.

She knew he was Kyle Byron, as the game was named after him and the spirits wandering outside had informed her that this man was in the Byron family’s carriage.

‘Kyle Byron, huh.’

Laisia had one curiosity about him.

What kind of person was he that the two spirits opened their hearts to him? And to the extent that he could understand the spirits’ language.

To understand him, Laisia shifted her gaze to the Kyle Galli game spread out on the floor.

She somehow felt that the two spirits had improved their Kyle Galli skills, possibly due to playing with Kyle Byron.

Shuffle.

Anyway, she turned the cards over according to the turn. Maybe she could understand what kind of person Kyle Byron was by winning a few games against him.

Although it had been years since she last synchronized and faced a human, and was now playing a board game with him, Laisia couldn’t help but feel somewhat indifferent.

After all, she was going to win.

Look, Laisia had five stars with her cards.

[Clip… clop.]

While the wind spirit, who was not as skilled as her, hesitated, she hit the bell.

Ding!

[…Growl?]

“Yay! What’s up, Tiger? Were you daydreaming? Why are you so slow?”

“Slow? Me?

No, more importantly…

Did I…

…not press the bell?”

“With this, I turn the tables! I’m going to win two in a row now…!!”

It must be a coincidence.

She just missed the bell once. Even when playing with the spirits, there were rare times when Laisia couldn’t press the bell.

Whenever that happened, all the spirits’ eyes would turn to the spirit who pressed the bell. It was probably encouragement.

Anyway, the game wasn’t over yet.

Still…

Ding!

“This one’s mine too!”

Next time…

Ding!

“Again?”

Why are you two like this? Tiger suddenly got worse, and Wind Spirit, you’re hesitating… Are you sure you want to play the game? I’m taking this round from you guys.

Ah, there are still cards left –

Ding!

“So, this is how it’s going to be? Then I’ll take these cards neatly. Is this the first time Tiger’s going to be in last place?”

No way I’m in last place –

Ding!

“This is the end! My victory! It seems like you were going easy on me this round, it’s too obvious. Ready for the next round? This time, let’s play seriously.”

I lost.

I tried my best from the middle. I even borrowed the superior physical abilities of the Water Spirit.

I really did my best…

But I lost.

And not a single card won from Kyle Byron.

…Ah.

The synchronization broke. The intense emotional change seemed to have forcibly interrupted the synchronization that required calmness.

Laisia opened her eyes on the bed, not in front of the door, and immediately got up from the bed.

[Jingle?]

“This can’t be..!”

I lost? Me, who had a 57-game winning streak? Even if he’s the creator, did I lose so miserably?

What did he mean by suddenly getting worse? What did he mean by going easy?

And more than that.

‘I’m furious!!’

Kyle Byron’s expression, tone, and gestures when he won.

Even though it was my first loss in days, every little detail about it infuriated me to no end.

Laisia, in a fit of rage, ran out and flung the door open.

Creak!

“You! Get in here right now!”

“Laisia, the Princess?”

“That’s right! I’m the princess you’ve been looking for, so get in here right now-“

“Then, please wait a moment.”

“What?”

“We’re in the middle of a board game, aren’t we? It’s rude to interrupt the other players. I’ll finish this round and come in… Ah, Tiger! You can’t switch cards while I’m not looking!”

[Growl…]

[Clatter]

“What? So I can go in right now? I’m in first place right now. If I go, you’ll become the spirits who lost three times in a row to an ordinary person.”

[Growl!]

[Clatter!]

“That’s the spirit! Just wait a little. I’ll definitely get my third consecutive win and then go in!”

Laisia didn’t realize it at the time.

But her expression was identical to how her father looked when he watched Kyle play board games.

Laisia could only wait silently, unable to say anything.