episode_0013

“I don’t understand.”

“Is that so?”

“Okay. really… … … I don’t understand.”

Click.

Duke Nicholas put down his teacup and looked very confused.

I worry about something, think about it, and then suddenly feel lost.

He was holding his forehead with his hand.

“How did you do it?”

“Yes?”

“I have tried every means possible so far. I tried to forcibly demolish the spire, I tried to drive out the spirits by inviting a spiritist who had made a contract with the Spirit King, and there was even a time when I begged outside the spire for them to just talk, saying I would grant any wish. It’s been over 5 years.”

“… … … … .”

“But in the meantime, my daughter… … … Not once, not even once, have I responded to even a short letter, let alone a voice message. But you entered that spire and met Lacia in just one week.”

The duke said that and was smiling.

Although he was smiling, it was clear that it was not a happy laugh.

The duke was genuinely curious.

Why had so many of his efforts been denied, but why did something as absurd as a board game open Lacia’s heart?

“Tell me, how did you do it?”

“I just wanted to play a board game with the princess, and we played together.”

“… … … And?”

“That’s the end.”

Even if you only think about cancer, is that really all you have?

It feels like Princess Lacia committed a foul in the middle and got closer(?), but in the end, it was Lacia who opened the door, accepted the request to play a board game, and told her to come tomorrow.

Rather than saying how I persuaded Lacia, it was the result of her own choice.

‘still… … I owe a lot to Kyle Galli.’

That was the reason I became friends with the spirits, and it was thanks to that that Lacia, who had been hurt by people, came closer to me.

And the duke glared at me as if he really had nothing more to say.

“Phew… … okay. Thanks to you, I see hope… … … You could invite famous board game players.”

“That is.”

“Anyway, you can’t stay here forever, right? How many days is it today?”

“… … It’s the 15th.”

15th. So, half of a month.

It’s already been that long since I left home and stayed at Evert’s Castle because of a sudden letter from the duke.

Of course, I exchanged letters with my father in the meantime.

‘There’s no problem if I don’t exist in the first place.’

I heard that Kyle Galli was spreading among the workers under the management of Grandpa Charles.

To begin with, since he was only the third son, he had no involvement in the family’s affairs, so there was no problem with him staying in the dukedom for a long time.

Rather, the problem was that my father implicitly asked me if I should take a seat there.

“It’s been quite a while. Do you plan to continue in the future?”

“That’s… … No.”

“Okay. To put it bluntly, unless you marry Lacia, I have no choice but to find another way after you leave.”

“… … okay. Well, if you’re a famous board game player, it’s probably something similar to chess… … You’ll probably get used to spirit poker soon.”

“… … … … … .”

“Your Excellency the Duke?”

“At a time when we are focusing on board games rather than marriage… … I don’t think I can find a way better than yours.”

anyway.

Duke Nicholas, who had properly summarized his words, stopped laughing and looked solemn.

“Since I first entered the spire a week ago, I have been going there every day and playing board games with my daughter.”

“It’s spirit poker.”

“I see. In the end, my daughter never came out of the spire, but it is true that thanks to you, there was a ray of hope. Tell me what you want. I will do anything for your benefit.”

“… … … … .”

It’s compensation.

I just wanted to play a board game with Lacia, but I didn’t think it would end up here.

However, the ‘compensation’ provided by the head of the Everts, the wealthiest family in the West, could truly be beyond imagination.

… … … Well, it’s still true.

If I were to receive a reward, what I wanted was always the same.

“I need support.”

“… … … Support?”

“Kyle Galli, and we are trying to spread spirit poker widely. And for that, money and manpower are desperately needed.”

I was allowed to play board games by my father, but that doesn’t mean I can spend the family’s money to make and distribute them. I didn’t intend to do that in the first place.

At first, I tried to use the prize money I received from the chess-like board game competition as capital, but when I looked at the estimated estimate, it was far short.

I didn’t know that no matter how simple the materials were, mass production would require a budget beyond imagination. In the end, I was just a person who liked board games, in a good or bad way.

‘It would be nice to have bells and cards made just for Kyle Gali, the manpower needed to engrave figures on the cards, and special cards and bells for house rules just for knights.’

I didn’t even know how much money I would need to prepare for the newly created(?) spirit poker.

That was the only reward the Duke wanted.

“Support… … … This is support for disseminating board games.”

“That’s right. I’m not asking for continuous financing, but if I just need some urgent money───”

“… … … ha ha ha! ha ha ha!! I, this ruler of the West, this Nicholas Van Everts, told me to say anything, and even that was a board game! Hahahaha!!!”

“… … Your Excellency the Duke?”

“Haha… … … Ha, it’s not like I’ve been trying in vain all this time. That’s only possible if you’re this crazy.”

After the Duke, who had been laughing so hard, finally stopped laughing.

He spoke with a grin at the corner of his mouth, unlike his complex, dejected, or solemn expression from a moment ago.

“Yes, I can provide as much support as I want. If money is needed, funds can be provided, and if manpower is needed, famous craftsmen can be dispatched. Moreover, you can spread those board games through the duke’s connections.”

“Oh… … … !!”

“However, there is only one thing I can do for you. Money, manpower, and connections. There is only one reward you will receive. What would you do?”

Although it seemed a little different from his initial declaration that he would listen to anything.

To be honest, it was beyond my imagination and beyond my imagination, so I nodded quietly. If you hope for more here and the duke gets in a bad mood, you’re screwed.

“If you want other things, you can stay in the castle for longer than you have done so far.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that can be helped. I wonder if Viscount Byron has already done something.”

“Good. If so, just pick one. I will definitely support that one under my name.”

As the duke said, you can stay in the dukedom and receive other rewards.

We are trying to receive compensation to spread board games, but it would be difficult if we were buried in the compensation and delayed the spread of board games.

Since Byron Viscount had already spread Kyle Galli to some extent, it was right to promote the board game from there.

If you’re in a hurry, you can come and stay in the duchy later. I wonder if they will accept it even then.

Anyway, if you have to choose between those three, there is only one answer.

“Please give me some connections.”

“A wise choice.”

That’s right, you can get money and manpower, but you can’t help with connections.

If you inform the aristocratic society and duchy of Kyle Galli and Spirit Poker in the name of Duke Everts, you can expect a great ripple effect. I don’t know if it would be a disaster or a hit.

However, in order to spread the word through your network, there is something that must come first.

It was money.

‘Once we make the board game in large quantities, we will spread it through the duke’s connections or not.’

Even if you spread out only a few hand-made Kyle Gali and Spirit Poker, the effect is obvious. In the end, mass production is a prerequisite for the duke’s connections to shine.

… … Somehow, I’m back to square one. It requires a lot of money.

‘What should I do?’

The first thing that comes to mind is borrowing money from a merchant association or receiving an investment.

The Merchant’s Guild is in the capital, and it is questionable how much it can borrow under Kyle Byron’s name rather than Viscount Byron’s name.

The problem with investing is finding investors in the first place.

I can’t believe I’m worrying about money like that.

“… … Well, I can give you more than just the right amount of help.”

“Your Excellency the Duke?”

“Please take this.”

Tuk.

What the Duke casually threw away was a letter.

Carefully sealed with amazingly luxurious decorations… … A letter bearing the stigma of the Magic Tower.

Wait, Magic Tower?

“This… … … ?”

“Letter paper sent to all wealthy families in the West. It probably went to your family too.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you open it, you will find out better. Rather… … .”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sudden letter made me, who didn’t understand the English text, and the duke, who was smiling excitedly, turn our heads at the same time.

… … To the sparrow spirit knocking on the living room window.

[Whirl, whirr!]

“What are you saying?”

“… … It’s almost time, so it’s running quickly.”

“It looks like your daughter has been waiting for some time with you. Come back quickly. Be sure to also say that today is the last day.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Worries… … I’m doing this to you. Lacia may really be trying to bind you with spirits. Ever since I was little, I was a child who never let go of my favorite doll.”

“… … … … You’re joking, haha!”

You’re kidding, right? I’m saying this while laughing, so it’s a joke anyway, right?

… … yes?

*

Magic Tower.

Unlike the Imperial Academy in the imperial capital, this is a place visited by those who are not at a sophisticated level but truly want to walk the path of magic.

Once you enter, it is famous for being a thoroughly meritocratic society where there is no distinction between commoners and nobles.

Whether it’s red blood or blue blood, magic is all about talent and skill… … Even if I say that.

In the end, the Magic Tower is also a place where people live, and it is a place within the vast boundaries of the empire, so noble wizards have a significant advantage, even if it is not obvious.

Although commoners start from level 0, which is not even possible to train, nobles start from level 1, and are given better teachers and opportunities, so there is implicit discrimination.

Nevertheless, it was clear that it was the most equal place in that the owners of four of the six major magic towers in the empire were commoners.

Arkhe, one of the six major magic towers in the western part of the empire.

In a place where magic about light and darkness was being studied, an old man and a girl were pulling their hair together.

“Again… … … Again? How many years has this been happening?”

“… … This is the 7th year. Top owner.”

“Damn.”

As was the case with those who learned the magic of the Arche Magic Tower, both of them had bleached white hair.

An old man frantically flipping through documents and booklets, holding on to what little hair he has left, and a white-haired girl assisting the old man with a blank expression.

Who would believe me if I told you that this old man was one of the six great magic tower lords and a great wizard? There were so many magic tower owners gathered around.

“You’re going crazy and jumping around. Money, so much money is coming in… … Even that is not enough?”

“To be precise, outgoing expenses are three times greater than incoming profits. Still, despite the huge deficit over the past seven years, I have survived with the goods I have stockpiled… … .”

“… … Please don’t hesitate. Adella.”

“If you calculate the current remaining goods and income expenditure… … It’s only one year.”

“1 year! One year!”

In one year, he will go down in history as a rare magic tower that reduced the 6th magic tower to the 5th magic tower.

The magic tower lord lay down on his chair, sighed deeply, and turned his head to the white-haired girl he called Adella.

“What happened to the letter I sent to the families in the west… … ? We have to sell that thing on the first floor somehow. Other than that, the answer is… … … .”

“We sent letters to a total of 134 places, of which 108 received replies.”

“A valid reply, not a formal reply.”

“Not a single place.”

“Damn it… … !!”

That moment when the magician grabbed the back of his neck as he felt his blood pressure, which he had somehow managed to lower, boil again.

The door to the office, which was covered with all kinds of documents and numbers, opened.

Shake!

“Ta, top owner! Someone from the Duke of Everts has arrived!”

“Is that really true!?”

Duke Everts.

This is the place where I put the most effort into sending the letter, but at the same time I thought there was no way they would help me.

Since he was a magic tower owner who knew Duke Nicholas well, I thought there was no way he would purchase the first floor, but I couldn’t give up hope.

I never thought you would betray me with such good intentions!

“Who, who came? Is it really the Duke himself!? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I have to go out there myself!”

“Top owner!? The Duke himself is not here, but the owner of the tower himself is moving… … .”

“Is that algebra now? If things continue like this, we will end up unfairly bankrupt!!”

The magic tower owner, who yelled at the wizard who was trying to dissuade him, quickly went down to the first floor of the tower.

For an archmage who studies light and recreates it with magic, that distance is only a distance that can be traveled faster than an instant.

The magic tower owner, who quickly reached the first floor, quickly looked around and frowned when he noticed something.

‘That guy’s a lot of damage!’

When you think of the Arche Magic Tower, it is something that comes to mind, and in the past, it is a huge board game board that made Arche a member of the 6 Greatest Magic Towers.

It was a great landmark in that it was possible to play a board game by moving pieces larger than most people through the magic of light and darkness.

At the same time, due to the enormous maintenance costs, it has now become an abandoned complex.

The Magic Tower owner, who looked away from the giant board game that made his stomach twist the more he looked at it, once again found the person who said he was from the Everts Duke family.

The gates of the Magic Tower were closed today for anyone from the family to visit, so it was easy to find people in the spacious hall.

At first glance, a man who seemed to be an outsider and a girl who seemed to have some magical powers caught my eye.

“Hmm, perhaps you are from the Everts family? Nice to meet you, I am the magic tower lord of the Arche magic tower───”

“Ah.”

“Master… … … ?”

“───Huh?”

The young, pale-faced young man and employee said to have come from the Duke of Everts.

Rather than being overwhelmed by the huge board game board like first-time visitors to the Magic Tower usually do.

“It was truly possible… … … ?”

“… … … … ?”

“Giant board game… … !!”

The corners of his mouth were raised to the limit and he was immersed in joy.

“Ma, that’s right! If you are a master, anything is possible!!”

A young man who laughs as if his mouth is about to burst, and a maid who approaches him without any hesitation and smiles.

In front of that crazy scene, the magic tower owner found himself inadvertently taking a step back… …