First, I asked the knights, including the Knight Commander, who had smashed the bell to spare some time.
The Knight Commander nodded, but…
“Young Master, the training schedule was personally ordered by the Head of the Family, so we can’t stay for long. My apologies.”
“Apologies? I’m the one who suddenly interrupted.”
So, we formed a group of four: three Kyle Galli veterans and the Knight Commander.
All we needed was to bring a suitable desk from the office near the training ground, and that was it.
Suddenly, a desk and a board game were set up on the training ground, and the knights who had stopped training seemed quite intrigued.
Well, if such a fun event happened, I’d happily watch too.
Sally set up the deck of cards she had prepared separately, along with the bell, and took a step back.
“Let’s just play… normally, okay?”
“Hmm, should we do it without Aura this time?”
“Please.”
“Understood. You heard the Young Master, right? No Aura for this game.”
“””Yes.”””
Hmm, it feels less like they’re playing because it’s fun and more like they’re doing it because they were told to. Well, can’t be helped.
I should prepare something special for those four.
While I was debating whether to hint at Grandpa Charles, the Knight Commander started his turn.
*Clack. Clack.*
“…………….”
“………….”
“……………….”
“……….”
*Clack. Clack. Ding!*
“Ah, I’m late.”
“Indeed………haha.”
“…………sigh.”
“…………….”
What can I say?
The tension is completely dead.
It wasn’t just fatigue from the training earlier—the knights’ expressions bothered me.
They didn’t look bored or uninterested, but more… frustrated.
I didn’t need to see more, so I stopped them.
“That’s enough. Let’s try using Aura now?”
“……Young Master, are you sure about this?”
“Of course.”
“Understood. Then───”
───*Crack.*
“……As you can see, it’s impossible to play properly. Using Aura requires precise control, but Kyle Galli is a competitive game, so naturally… even if we try to tap the bell gently, it ends up like this.”
“Well, damn.”
“Knights can bend steel rods with ease. A small bell made of cheap metal is no match……….”
So, it’s not just about control—the bell’s durability itself is the issue.
If they have to consciously control their strength to avoid breaking the bell, they can’t fully focus on Kyle Galli, making the board game pointless. To truly enjoy it, they need to focus solely on the game.
Still, there was a way to solve this. Besides the knights, there was another superhuman by my side.
“Sally? Can you cast Hardening Magic on this bell?”
“I-it’s possible, but… with my mana, it won’t last long……….”
“I just need it to last for one game.”
“T-that much should be……….”
*Whoosh.*
Sally’s hands glowed blue, and as she formed a simple hand seal, the bell we brought reacted, coated in a thin layer of blue light.
Good thing I brought the bell my father had the maids retrieve from the office.
I placed the Hardening Magic-enhanced bell on the table and immediately…
It was far away.
Just in case, hmm.
“Knight Commander, I’ll ask for your help again!”
“Hardening Magic… understood. Let’s go again, got it!”
“Yes!”
And then.
A storm blew.
*Clang clang clang ding clang clang ding clang clang clang clang ding clang clang clang clang clang ding clang ding ding clang clang clang clang ding clang clang clang ding───*
The knights, now able to hit the bell with ease (?), moved much faster than before.
It seemed like a courtesy that I could barely see their movements, as their speed was so fast it looked like they had grown extra arms.
I had no idea how the game was progressing, but the knights, seemingly used to this speed, flipped cards, hit the bell, and collected cards repeatedly.
In just about 2 minutes.
*Clang clang clang ding!!*
“Phew, it seems I’ve won.”
“As expected of the Knight Commander. You’re much faster than me.”
“It’s much better when I don’t have to worry about holding back.”
“…But Young Master, is Kyle Galli supposed to end this quickly?”
No, absolutely not.
The expressions of the Knight Commander and the knights were much better than before, but the aftermath was equally devastating.
The bell’s blue light was almost gone, as if the Hardening Magic was about to fade, the table was cracked and wobbling, and the cards were long since tattered.
‘This isn’t some disposable board game.’
They say skilled Aura users can move faster than sound, but this is beyond my imagination.
Whether it’s because the knights of Baron Byron’s house are just that good, or if this is the average knight level… at least they should be able to play smoothly.
‘But we can’t prepare a magician every time we play, nor can we prepare new cards and a table every time.’
“Huff… huff…”
Even if we prepared a magician every time, Sally’s complexion noticeably worsened after just one 2-minute game.
Unless it’s a magician of considerable skill, maintaining Hardening Magic during the knights’ high-speed game would be impossible.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
“If we can keep doing this, we might be able to enjoy Kyle Galli?”
“Ah, if it’s like this… though it’s still a bit disappointing. Personally, I think it’d be better if we could use our bodies more.”
“Young Master! I wish the game could last longer!”
“The cards tearing is also a problem. The magician might be able to maintain Hardening Magic on the bell, but not on the cards.”
“I’d like something more knightly.”
Perhaps because the Knight Commander gave a subtle hint, the three knights who played also voiced their opinions.
So, just making the bell sturdy isn’t enough to solve the problem. The goal is to change the game so the knights can enjoy it satisfactorily.
That means extending the game time, letting the knights move their bodies more, solving the card and bell durability issues, and not losing the original fun of the board game.
…Is this even possible?
“Let me… think about it for a moment.”
“Haha, take your time. Well, the rest of the knights will resume training!”
“Yes!!!”
“Ah, since the Commander has to lead the training, can I borrow these three knights for a bit? It won’t take long.”
“…30 minutes is the maximum. Any longer and we won’t have enough training time.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Actually, the ones who seem truly grateful are those three knights with their eyes sparkling.
Even if it’s just 30 minutes late, they’re happy to join the training, and their eyes show a fierce loyalty towards me.
Is it because I push them so hard that they can move like that…?
Anyway, to avoid disturbing the training, I headed to the corner of the training ground with Sally and the three knights.
“First, everyone, take a break.”
“No! Following you, Young Master, is our duty as knights!”
“No matter how hard you push us, it won’t be as tough as training!”
“Loyalty to Baron Byron’s house!”
“Should I send you back to training then?”
“…We’ll take a break! Everyone, rest!”
“Rest!!”
Good, they quieted down immediately.
While the three knights rested under the shade of a tree, I sat on the chair Sally brought and wrapped my head… wait a minute.
“When did you bring this chair?”
“Uh, with magic! Hehe…”
Didn’t she look really tired earlier…? Now she seems fine.
Anyway, I smiled at Sally to thank her and then sank deep into thought.
‘Originally, Hali Gali has many house rules.’
There are rules like adding special cards to change turns like in Uno with Kings, Queens, and Jacks, or rules that allow drawing more cards under certain conditions.
There’s also a rule where when flipping cards, instead of overlapping completely, only half overlaps so the non-overlapping fruit pictures are also included in the game.
There was even a rule change where instead of losing cards for ringing the bell incorrectly, you’d have one hand sealed as a penalty.
There are many rules I could test immediately, but all of them are inappropriate.
Ultimately, the house rules I know are about ‘maintaining the existing game format’ while only changing minor rules.
‘The knights’ physical abilities are beyond my imagination, and reaching from where they sit to the bell takes almost no time.’
Plus, the knights seem to enjoy a speedy game progression, so adding unnecessary rules might slow down the game’s tempo and make it awkward.
By the way, it’s already insanely fast, how can I──
“…Huh?”
──Wait a minute.
Let’s think deeper.
Fast? Why is the game so fast?
‘Because superhumans using Aura have overwhelming physical abilities.’
Then why does the game end so quickly?
‘Because flipping cards and ringing the bell all happen in an instant.’
Why do the knights still feel unsatisfied even after such a fast game?
‘Because ultimately, only their arms and eyes are moving.’
Do the knights really want a speedy game?
‘To be precise, they want a game where they can exert their full strength. Naturally, the speed becomes fast.’
Then.
Thinking really simply.
“…Young Master? Why are you looking at us like that…?”
“Wait, everyone, come here.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something I want to try.”
Just, physically.
Isn’t it just about increasing the ‘distance’…?
So they can use their bodies more and extend the game time.
*
“Ha! Haa!!!”
“Faster! Move more powerfully! Don’t stop the Aura circulation!!”
“Yes!!”
As always, the knights…
While diligently overseeing the training of his subordinates, the Knight Commander couldn’t help but glance at the corner of the training ground.
It was only natural. The fact that the third young master, Kyle, had come to the training ground was that surprising.
“Unlike the other young masters, he had no talent for the sword.”
The eldest had shown talent in both magic and swordsmanship, while the second was talented in swordsmanship.
Unlike them, Kyle was clumsy with physical activities. The Knight Commander remembered that the last time Kyle had visited the training ground was several years ago.
But now, Kyle had come to the training ground. Along with a game called Kyle Galli.
“It was a fun game, though.”
Frankly, it was a board game that, while enjoyable for ordinary people, was somewhat lacking for knights like him.
They had played it a few times under the strict orders of Senior Charles, but each time, they only felt regret and frustration.
They could tell it was a good game. They could feel that much, but that was about it.
Kyle had said he would change the rules so that even knights could enjoy it, but the Knight Commander was skeptical.
“I don’t know how far he’ll go, but I guess we’ll just have to humor him.”
Since the Head of the Family had allowed the board game, it was the duty of a knight to go along with the master’s whims.
It wasn’t like a version of Kyle Galli that knights could enjoy would appear overnight, so Kyle would probably keep coming to the training ground for a while.
Rather than worrying about knights like that, wouldn’t it be much more efficient to devise another game for the territory’s people──
“………Huh?”
──That was about the extent of his thoughts.
But the moment he glanced at the corner of the training ground, the Knight Commander rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things, and opened them again.
But the scene before him didn’t change. Well, it had changed a bit from before.
Instead of the three knights resting under a tree and Kyle sitting next to his personal maid, deep in thought.
“How about this?”
“Still a bit ambiguous!”
“Alright………what about here?”
“Ooh, this might make it take a bit longer to reach!!”
They were setting up Kyle Galli.
However.
Instead of on a table, they had laid out paper on the ground.
And the three knights weren’t sitting on chairs but were standing 10 meters away from the paper.
“Here we go, circle five!”
“Hup!!”
“I’m first!”
“Where do you think you’re going, you brat!?”
*Thud!*
As soon as Kyle drew a card, the three knights simultaneously dashed toward the paper, tangling with each other while trying to press the paper. They bumped into each other, stretched out their arms to block, and constantly interfered with one another.
Despite looking no different from regular training, the three knights were far more engrossed.
To the Knight Commander, it was a scene he couldn’t comprehend……
