Black Hair
Translated by Raizu
[Sugoroku*] was what I came up with to relieve winter boredom. (TL Note: *Japanese board game)
Obviously not the board Sugoroku, but the picture Sugoroku.
Why, you ask?
Because it’s easier to make.
At first, I thought about using darts, but I gave up upon realizing that I’m basically giving a bored primitive man a knife.
In cooperation with Giroude, I drew simple squares on the board, and made dice and pieces that are slightly different to each other.
I made it very simple, so it was completed in no time.
By the way, the board was a repurposed washboard.
[Is the dice for betting? The arrangement of the stars is interesting.]
[Well, it CAN be used for betting.]
Giroude was fumbling with a square 6-sided die…..it seems that he’s seen something similar before.
There were only 27 squares drawn on the board, but this is a good place to start.
I didn’t know how to translate “Furidashi” and “Agari”, so I wrote “Battle” and “Victory” randomly. Along the way, adds bonuses and traps as needed, such as “roll the dice again”, “advance 3 squares”, “return 4 squares”, “rest 1 turn”, and “return to the start of the battle”.
[It’s done.]
The result was an extremely simple Sugoroku game. We managed to fashion 4 pieces to go along with it.
[Jiro, can you call Rona and Rolo over?]
[At once.]
Giroude quickly went to fetch the two of them out.
[Wow, is this a new game?]
[That’s right, isn’t it amazing?]
Giroude proudly lifted his chin when Rolo looked at the Sugoroku board and raised his voice.
…..Giroude and I hadn’t even playtested it…
I twisted my head and explained the rules to the three.
[It’s easy, isn’t it?]
Everyone nodded when I checked.
Before I knew it, the squires who were staying at home had gathered.
[Alright, let’s play it.]
When we started playing Sugoroku, everyone was watching intently.
Since it’s simple, everyone seemed to have understood it by the time they rolled the dice once.
Giroude was currently advancing his piece.
[Young Master, what is written in here?]
[Advance 3 squares.]
Giroude vigorously advanced his piece while excitedly saying [See ya!].
The surrounding squires cheered for him.
[Ah, it’s 1 again.]
[Hehe, I got 5.]
While Rona and Rolo were progressing smoothly, I stopped at the “Return to the start of the battle” square.
[What is written there?]
[Return to the start of the battle]
When I shrugged my shoulders, the audience clapped their hands and shouted, “Wow!”.
…..Hmm, what a mysterious tension…..
I returned the piece to the starting point while feeling a bit of excitement due to the unexpected tension.
[Young Master, if we win, what will happen?]
[Hmm, I haven’t thought about it, but… wouldn’t it be better for everyone to think about that?]
When I asked the squires, [Hey, what do you guys think?], they all started discussing with each other.
They basically get along well.
[Ah, return 4 squares…]
Rona sighed as she returned the piece, and Rolo said, [Alright, it’s a 6].
Rolo was running ahead of the rest of us.
[Kaah, it’s a 2!]
Giroude’s dice didn’t side with him, and Rolo won the very first Sugoroku game in the Kingdom of Amoros.
The good thing about Sugoroku is that the outcome is determined by luck.
Experience doesn’t really matter.
[What is the reward for the winner?]
When I checked with the squire, they seemed to have different opinions.
[Well… how about I, who is at the bottom of the ranks, talk to Rolo in honorifics for just one day today?]
[Ehh, Varian-sama is willing to do that?]
Rolo raised a surprised voice, but this is a game.
It would be a problem if the squires made unreasonable bets, and I think the reward should be something silly like this.
When I jokingly said, [How do you like it, Rolo-sama?], the squires burst into laughter.
For some reason, it felt like a punishment game for Rolo instead. But there’s no problem with it.
Then we let the squires try it out, while we’re spectating.
========
Half a day later
The dining room was filled with great excitement.
[Argh, it’s rest for 1 turn!]
[Fuck! It’s 2 again!]
The squires were playing Sugoroku without getting tired of it. Even Rudolph and his friends, who had just returned from the Royal Palace, were also participating.
[Milord, please switch over!]
[Well, it’s still my third time! I haven’t won once!]
Rudolph also quarreled with his squire like a child.
Apparently he intended to keep playing until he won.
…I didn’t expect it to be so popular…
Watching the adults get excited over a board game gave me a strange feeling.
Cheers resounded again. I didn’t know for sure, but it seemed that someone rolled 6 in a row.
[I was completely kicked out.]
Rona sat next to me.
Apparently today is her day off somehow.
Rona comes to my side more often nowadays.
I guess it’s a girl’s way of expressing affection. It really made me smile when I see it from the perspective of someone who has raised a child once.
[I never thought it would get so exciting.]
[Everyone looks happy. Varian-sama is amazing.]
Rona laughed when I smiled wryly, saying [You’re exaggerating].
[I will write you letter.]
Rona’s eyes widened at my sudden words.
[I, that…]
At that time, I didn’t know, but in the Amoros Kingdom, where the literacy rate was low, letters were mostly related to politics or military affairs. Personal letters were only sent between nobles or high-ranking priests.
It’s no wonder Rona is surprised.
[It’ll be alright. I’ll have a squire to deliver it.]
However, I didn’t hold back as I didn’t know the communication situation in the Kingdom of Amoros yet.
[I’ve thought of another game. I’ll make it with Jiro tomorrow.]
[I’m looking forward to it], said Rona shyly.
=========
During the winter, I will be thinking about playing games indoors.
Bowling using firewood and wooden balls… I couldn’t make a sphere, so I used sliced wood to make a ball, but it was very popular.
Chincirorin was also quite popular, but Reversi was a big hit.
Sugoroku and Reversi became very popular among the squires, so Giroude and I ended up producing several of them… Giroude is completely accustomed to woodworking and has the hands of a craftsman.
Me and Giroude were currently working on the third Reversi in the storeroom.
[Wouldn’t you like to bring Rona to Lioncoeur?]
[I can’t… at least right now. But, I’ll be an adult 5 years from now. I’m worried if I can endure having a woman by my side.]
Giroude’s eyes widened as if he was surprised by my words.
[Heh, Young Master, do you know the way of Socchi?]
[Well… when you’re 13 or 14, you can’t think of anything else, right? At that time, try to have Rona, who has grown into a beautiful girl, by your side… what would I do if I had a child that no one wanted?]
Giroude was lost in thought after hearing what I said.
While we were working in silence, he muttered, [I don’t understand].
[Are you really just an eight years old boy, Young Master? I don’t know anymore]
Giroude blew on the top of the Reversi to blow away the wood shavings.
[If it’s Roberu-sama who is talking about that, I can understand. He’s pretty smart. But when Varian-sama said it, it’s like I’m talking to my old man.]
[I see…maybe.]
Giroude was about 20 years old at that time.
It’s true that my mental age is closer to that of his father’s.
[What about your father? How is he doing?]
[Yeah, he’s doing his best. He’s old already, so he’s staying at Lioncoeur.]
Giroude smiled with a nostalgic look on his face.
[My old man, you know, when he’s serving the previous lord, he took part in the rebellion and went on a rampage…. He’s become a gentleman now though.]
[Eh, how come? Did my grandfather do something unreasonable?]
Giroude grinned.
[It’s the other way around… Young Master. Lioncoeur’s people have black hair and eyes. This is their pride.]
I simply nodded.
[Young Master’s ancestors attacked Lioncoeur and made it their territory…but the Lioncoeur people back then were so soft that they remained silent after being attacked by foreigners.]
It would be so.
There is no way the area will be brought under control if it is occupied and ruled by foreigners.
[So, Young Master’s ancestor thought, I should marry a lady from Lioncoeur’s powerful family.]
[I see, assimilation… no, political marriage.]
The ruler must have tried to assimilate them at the genetic level by having the daughter of a different race to give birth to their children.
It’s a common move.
[Well, I don’t know about difficult things like that… in any case, the people of Lioncoeur wouldn’t be able to do anything if a child is born.]
Giroude started to carve the next piece from a block of wood… he kept working while talking.
[It continued for generations and generations. Starting with the Young Master’s great grandfather, until the current lord was born.]
[Ah, my mother was certainly a noble of Amoros Kingdom.]
I tried to remember, but I can’t remember where my mother was from… I think it was Viscount Delaine…
[Yes, putting that aside… The Lioncoeur rebelled at every turn. It’s a different country from the beginning, so it’s not unreasonable…and then the rebellion stopped in the current lord’s generation.]
[Why?]
I lean forward with a jerk.
[The people of Lioncoeur thought that the current lord is their own kin due to the color of his hair and eyes. They believed that a true Lioncoeur had finally uprooted the foreigners’ blood.]
I groaned upon hearing that.
I can understand the feelings of the Lioncoeur people.
It’s like overthrowing a hateful conqueror who couldn’t be overthrown by using genes.
…that may have been the conqueror’s intentions…
I stroked my black hair.
Lioncoeur seems to have complicated circumstances.
[Roberu-sama is brown haired, while Varian-sama is black haired… this might be problem later on.]
Giroude’s word left an impression in me.
After that, we continued to play indoors, and when I tried sharing it with Reverend Rinel, he was very pleased.
It will be discussed later, but Sugoroku became very popular among the monks and was considered “the taste of the monks”.
If it’s God’s grace that decides fate with dice… I don’t know, but it seems that various variations have been born.
By the end of winter, the Lioncoeur family’s mansion was bustling with primitive people who enjoyed playing “blablahBasket”.
Before I knew it, the sun was getting warmer.
Winter is almost over.
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