Chapter 49

The gathering of the Academy’s Magic Division.

The three major events of the Academy: the Duel Tournament of the Aura Division, the Festival of the Knowledge Division, and the Magic Division’s gathering.

With dazzling magic flying around, it was a feast for the eyes, so students from other divisions often attended as well.

But this year was a bit different.

“The event is Monopoly…? What’s Monopoly?”

“It’s a board game made by Kyle Byron.”

“Who’s Kyle Byron?”

“Ask the kids from the west. He’s pretty famous among them.”

The event, which excluded the main attraction of ‘magic,’ was a board game.

Not even the familiar Kill the King, but Monopoly, a board game no one had heard of, turned many students away.

Of course, the Magic Division students didn’t care. For them, winning the Monopoly gathering was all that mattered.

Though the audience was much smaller than last year, ironically, the enthusiasm of the Magic Division students was even hotter.

The grand hall, capable of holding thousands, was packed, and everyone was focused on the Monopoly game in the center.

“Ah, magic is definitely convenient. Floating a giant Monopoly illusion in the air makes it so much easier to see.”

“To be precise, it’s the magic of our Arkhé Magic Tower. Not just any magic.”

“As expected of Adela.”

Adela shrugged her shoulders, while I sat in the highest VIP seat in the grand hall, shoving popcorn into my mouth.

It was said to be a snack created by Emperor Justinia, but honestly, it was just popcorn.

As usual, the Water Tiger curled up around my legs, and Sally and Adela sat on either side of me. Lukesil, sitting next to them, muttered quietly.

“Kyle.”

“Yes?”

“Can we… win this?”

“Well…”

I had already shared all the Monopoly strategies and tips I knew.

If I had to say.

“It depends on how much they’ve studied Monopoly elsewhere in the past week.”

“…Why did it have to be public? This lowers our chances of winning at Astron.”

“If we had kept it a secret until the day of the gathering, there would have been a huge backlash.”

“…That’s true.”

In the end, Monopoly is an unusual choice for a gathering event. It’s a board game that relies solely on luck and strategy, with no magical elements.

At least it was announced a week in advance, so students and professors had time to play it. If it had been revealed right here, other magic towers might have boycotted.

And most importantly.

“Monopoly is just the beginning.”

Classics are classics for a reason. Honestly, I was confident Monopoly would be a big success.

Though there are many nobles, they’re still spirited students. Unlike Kyle Galli, Monopoly requires using your brain and negotiating with opponents, giving players a sense of intellectual satisfaction.

If Monopoly becomes popular in the Academy, it’ll be much easier to popularize other board games under Kyle Byron’s name.

“After all, the Academy students are the future of the Empire.”

If we get these students accustomed to board games now, when they rise to important positions, their resistance to board game trends will almost disappear.

I wanted board games to become popular, but not just a fleeting trend.

I want board games to become a major trend across the Empire.

That way, I can play all sorts of board games with new people until I grow old and die.

Just imagining a happy retirement made me smile, when a voice echoed through the grand hall.

“Then, let the gathering begin!”

“Wooooah!!!!”

The emcee was the Academy’s Student Council President.

He was the first to duel over Monopoly…

He applied and was also an enthusiastic player who enjoyed Monopoly every day.

[As everyone knows, the event is Monopoly! Six fields, six representatives from the Magic Towers will compete!]

“Agni! Agni! Agni!”

“Glesia! I’m betting on you! Be prepared to lose!”

“How did Arkhé become such a strong Magic Tower?”

“I am happy… I am happy… I am happy because of Astron…!”

“I love Professor Lukesil of Astron!”

[Now, before we begin! Kyle Byron, the creator of Monopoly, will give a speech!]

“…What? Kyle Byron?”

“Is he really here…?”

Ah, it’s my turn.

I pushed away the Water Tiger that was tied to my leg and walked up to the crystal ball set up in the VIP section.

Then, an illusion of me standing in front of the crystal ball appeared throughout the auditorium.

[Hello, I am Kyle Byron, the creator of Monopoly.]

“Really? Is that really Kyle Byron?”

“The devil is over there!”

“It’s him! I saw him when I went to the Arkhé Magic Tower last time…!!”

[Since the event is about to begin, I’ll skip the unnecessary details. I know that currently, Monopoly is only installed in the Astron dormitory, making it quite crowded and difficult to play.]

“…No way.”

“Something big is coming…?”

[I will donate an additional Monopoly set to the dormitory that wins first place in this event.]

In an instant.

The entire auditorium fell silent.

“Fuck, we must win!!!”

“If we lose, I challenge you to a duel!”

“Please, let it be our dormitory…!!”

The audience sent their sincere cheers.

And so, the event, Monopoly, began.

*

“…This is insane.”

Fiona, the representative of Astron, tightly closed her eyes at the threats disguised as cheers.

A third-year student at the academy, and also an assistant to Professor Lukesil, she was set to graduate this year and become a graduate student. It seemed like there couldn’t be a greater trial for her.

But seeing the other representatives whose eyes seemed to burn with passion at Kyle Byron’s final words, she could only sigh.

‘Of course, not everyone will like it.’

As a representative, she had played Monopoly with Kyle Byron dozens of times, so she knew. Monopoly isn’t a board game that everyone, regardless of age or gender, can enjoy.

However, it was unlikely that those who came as representatives of each Magic Tower would fall into the “dislike” category.

In fact, they were all crazy people who had thrown aside their magic studies and devoted themselves entirely to Monopoly for a whole week.

Just looking at the Monopoly board.

“I’ll put this land in the west up for auction. Professor, please take care of it.”

“Alright. Everyone, state your bids.”

“Agni bids 10 gold.”

“Arkhé bids 12 gold.”

“Glesia bids 20 gold.”

“Any more? Alright. Sold to Glesia for 20 gold.”

Everyone knows how important it is to secure as much land as possible early on, so they buy every piece of land they land on, but they’re also cautious.

It was Glesia’s representative who put the land up for auction. If she had just bought it, it would have cost 25 gold, but sensing that the others didn’t really want that land, she deliberately put it up for auction and bought it for 5 gold less.

Of course, 5 gold in Monopoly is just pocket change, but it’s true that she saved unnecessary money.

Even the representative of the Agni Magic Tower, known for their fiery temper due to their Fire Magic, maintained a certain level of composure.

Agni, Glesia, Arkhé, Astron, Natura, Terra.

The names of the six great Magic Towers, and the fields of magic their academy is divided into.

A name that also means something.

Everyone who came out as a representative is a fanatical player and a top student that Fiona knows well. Especially ‘Byron,’ the representative of Natura Magic Tower.

“…No, let’s focus on Monopoly for now.”

Before they knew it, they had passed the early stages of the game and each had built their own forces. But no one had achieved a monopoly yet.

Of course, that was natural. In a game where a monopoly is the starting point, they actively blocked each other from monopolizing.

To achieve a monopoly, you need to buy three plots of the same color, but everyone stopped at one or two. The rest of the plots were owned by other players.

You could say the situation was at a standstill.

But they couldn’t all keep this up forever.

“Eventually, if we keep going around, 200 gold will pile up. At some point, we’ll have to make a move.”

So, should they wait until they’ve piled up enough gold, 200 at a time, before making a move? Or should they strike first?

Fiona recalled Kyle Byron’s teachings.

──When you play Monopoly with players who understand the game to some extent, it’s really hard to achieve a monopoly unless you’re extremely lucky with the dice. Other players will block you through auctions.

──Then what should we do?

──There are two ways. Either wait for someone else to make the first move… or…

──Or…?

──Even if it’s a gamble, make the first move yourself.

“I’ll propose a trade to Terra’s representative.”

“A trade? Right now?”

“If you hand over that red plot in the east, I’ll give you a plot in the north and 400 gold.”

“……!!”

East, south, west, north.

The order you pass through in Monopoly when you go around the board, and the further you go, the exponentially higher the land cost and toll fees become.

The northern plot Fiona offered to give up was worth 50 gold just for the land itself, but the red plot in the east she wanted was the cheapest plot, located right after the starting point.

The pure land value was less than 20 gold.

‘But this plot…’

It was a plot Fiona already owned two of.

In other words, if this trade went through, she would achieve a monopoly.

Of course, Terra’s representative, being no fool, would know this, so the male student representing Terra fell into deep thought.

‘The trade will be rejected.’

According to what Kyle Byron had said, there was no chance this trade would go through.

But the reason she proposed it anyway was to leave an ‘impression.’

The impression that Fiona, the representative of Astron, is aggressive in land trades.

In fact, this was the first time Fiona had proposed a trade in this game. Even considering that Monopoly was still in its early stages, it was a pretty sweet offer.

‘Kyle Byron said… not to rush.’

Monopoly is ultimately a game that takes hours to play. It’s not a game that ends with one trade or one land purchase.

Moreover, trading is the core and most important function of Monopoly.

That’s why, unless you’re playing with people you know well, how you’re perceived by other players is extremely important.

Right now, Fiona was building the first step of that perception.

So even though the trade was bound to be rejected───

“Okay.”

“…Huh?”

“Hand over the deed and the gold. I’ll give it to you right now.”

“Huh? Uh, sure.”

──What?

In a daze, Fiona handed over the deed and gold, and as she received the deed from Terra’s representative, her mind was filled with questions.

Did I say something wrong? Did they misunderstand? But what she received was indeed the red plot.

“Astron can now build buildings with a monopoly.”

“…Yes, Professor.”

Even the professor in charge of the royal station declared it.

Do they not know what it means to achieve a monopoly first in Monopoly? But they’re all crazy about Monopoly, right?

For a moment, I wondered if this was the opponent’s trap.

“Why did the Astron representative make that deal? Are they stupid?”

“Of course, they should aim for the expensive monopoly while leaving the northern land untouched… That’s Astron for you.”

“They’re always in last place. Speaking of which, has anyone even seen that representative? I don’t think they’ve ever come to play Monopoly.”

“Never seen them. Why did Astron even make someone like that their representative? Is it because they’re always in last place anyway?”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Fiona realize another variable present in this gathering.

The variable of “Astron’s image.”

Astron had been in last place for five years in a row. In other words, none of the students gathered here had ever seen Astron *not* in last place.

The academy only goes up to the third year. Naturally, Fiona had also seen Astron in last place all three years.

Because of that, the students, even the representatives, looked down on Astron and Fiona.

Even the representative from Terra, who had just made a deal, was smirking as if mocking them.

It seemed like they didn’t even consider that her proposed deal might be part of a meticulous strategy.

“Thinking about it, they’re not entirely wrong.”

If Fiona hadn’t received private lessons from Kyle Byron, Astron wouldn’t have been able to wield much power even in the board game they brought themselves.

The thought that they were bound to lose was widespread, and even those who cheered for Astron did so more as a joke than with genuine support.

After all, there were hardly any students in Astron who volunteered to be the representative, aside from Fiona.

“And I’ve never gone to the Astron dorm to play Monopoly.”

In fact, Fiona herself wasn’t a particularly noticeable student. She only became Professor Lukesil’s assistant because she was the most decent option available.

On top of that, Fiona had spent the entire week receiving private lessons from Kyle Byron. Naturally, the Monopoly game was also created by Arkhé’s High Magician, and unlike the other students, she had never played it in the Astron dorm.

Which meant that the other students could see Fiona as a representative who “hadn’t even properly played Monopoly.”

Only Lukesil knew that Fiona had received private lessons from Kyle. The other students had no way of knowing.

“…I’ll build a building. One on each of the three properties.”

“Good.”

For the first time, she created a monopoly, and for the first time, she built buildings.

It was an overwhelmingly advantageous start, but it was easily achieved thanks to Astron’s image.

All the tips and strategies she had learned from Kyle Byron, the creator.

The image of Astron that even the representatives dismissed.

And above all, the first monopoly and building construction.

“Maybe.”

It might actually be possible for Astron to take first place.

Even Fiona herself was half-doubting this miracle.

Her fist clenched tightly under the table.

And that sight.

“………….”

The representative from Natura was watching.

…As were those in the VIP room above.