Chapter 51

Meeting 3rd place.

That was the final result Astron ended up with.

It was a disappointing outcome, but they could accept it.

“Astron! Astron! Astron!”

“Let’s send Fiona to grad school! Make her a professor!”

“Finally escaping last place before graduation…!!”

The reaction of the Astron students was beyond enthusiasm, almost madness.

Fiona, who was just an ordinary honor student and assistant to Professor Lukesil, had now become a representative figure of Astron, and even the professors couldn’t stop smiling.

Especially the third-year students, who were more familiar with Astron than the first-years, were particularly ecstatic.

“Huh? There goes 4th place. 4th place is good, right? Arkhé has talent, hmm.”

“There’s the last place! Huh? Hey, sorry! I thought it would be Astron, but it turned out to be Terra! Really sorry!”

“Agni? Arkhé? Terra? They’re all below us. Trash, right?”

As if trying to erase the stigma of being the perennial last place for three years, the third-years relentlessly mocked the magic towers below 3rd place in every lecture.

At first, they tried to brush it off, but it became unbearable.

“Hey! You guys were last place for five years! You just got lucky this time…!!”

“Yeah, you guys suck~ You’re still below Astron this year, right? Stop clinging to the past! The current result is what matters!”

“But it’s still only 3rd place! Not 1st, not even 2nd! Such an ambiguous rank──”

“So you’re not ambiguous, just clearly lower?”

“You bastard!!”

While worrying about being last place for six consecutive years, they managed to not just escape last place but even secure 3rd place.

Frankly, for the Astron students who had given up hope on Kyle Byron, Monopoly, and everything else, it felt like a miracle had happened.

And with Natura in 1st place and Glesia in 2nd…

“You lost to Astron? What the hell are those guys…?”

“Astron? Of course, they were strong. But not as strong as us. You guys… oh, Terra? I thought I smelled last place, turns out it was you!”

“You guys have talent too! Not as good as Astron, but still! You did well! Not as good as Astron, but aim for next year! You’ll have to beat Astron first!”

They were dead serious about mocking the 4th, 5th, and 6th places below Astron.

Unlike Agni or Arkhé, who could at least retort, Terra was filled with bitterness.

“Next year’s meeting event is our turn, right…?”

“Even if we beat Astron with magic… if we don’t beat them at Monopoly, we’ll have to endure this mockery until graduation!”

“It has to be Monopoly. We’ll train hard at Monopoly for the next year!”

Already, among the Terra students, it was taken for granted that next year’s meeting event should be Monopoly.

Despite being a place to learn magic, the bold declaration to make a board game the meeting event for two consecutive years.

Yet, there was no backlash. Monopoly had already deeply ingrained itself among the academy’s magic students.

As I had announced earlier, another Monopoly was installed in Natura’s dormitory after she won 1st place in the meeting, further deepening this trend.

Though hastily made, it was still of considerable quality, even if not as detailed as the one in Astron.

While the Astron students cheered and Monopoly gradually spread…

“Frankly, it’s a bit disappointing.”

“Still saying that, Lukesil?”

“3rd place is a good result, but… 1st place wasn’t impossible.”

The high magician of Astron Magic Tower, Lukesil, sighed in her office.

Of course, it was just a sigh of regret.

Fiona, sitting on the office sofa, seemed to take it differently.

“Sorry… Professor Lukesil…”

“Huh? Oh, no. Fiona, you did great!”

“Even Kyle and Lukesil are mocking 3rd place… I should have gotten 1st place with all the private tutoring…!!”

“Hmm, I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding here…”

“However.”

“Huh?”

“Board games are not about studying or exams. Just because you’ve been taught doesn’t mean your skills will skyrocket instantly.”

Well, if you teach various strategies or tips, the win rate might go up. But in strategic games like Monopoly, individual judgment is even more important.

Unless it’s a deduction board game, there’s no clear answer. Even in deduction board games, how you navigate the middle part varies from person to person.

In that sense, Fiona might have been a top student, but she wasn’t a great board game player.

“If it were me, I would have stepped in before Agni got eliminated, not in a three-way battle.”

“Huh…?”

“At the point where Glesia and Natura absorbed all of Agni and Arkhé’s land and gold, there was no hope left.”

I did use the strategy I taught to help Fiona land a surprise attack on Glesia.

In the end, Glesia lost one monopoly but quickly recovered and pressured Astron. It was a threatening move, but not enough to bring her down.

Because she took other lands from Agni and Arkhé.

To aim for first place, Astron should have eliminated Agni and Arkhé herself and absorbed their lands.

And also.

“Hiding your presence is good, but you didn’t make enough deals. Since it’s a six-player board game, making beneficial deals wouldn’t have been a problem. Or you could have acted like a fool to lure others into big trades.”

“Ah.”

“And you were too fixated on the first monopoly. You even built hotels, but considering the toll fees, it wasn’t a great decision. In the end, you lost more than you gained by not leveraging the advantage of being the first to achieve a monopoly.”

“Yes……”

“……And above all.”

Glesia and Natura’s level──was clearly higher.

Honestly, it’s hard to believe they’ve only been playing Monopoly for a week now.

‘Agni, Arkhé, and Terra’s representatives were exactly as expected.’

They had a sense of the game but didn’t fully understand Monopoly.

Honestly, even that level was impressive. If all the other representatives were at that level, Fiona would have won despite the mistakes mentioned earlier.

But Glesia and Natura’s representatives were different.

‘Glesia used aggressive investments well. She targeted the northern monopoly, which had the highest toll fees, and if she failed, she would have been last… but she succeeded in her gamble and grew her assets.’

And.

Natura’s representative… no.

Our eldest brother.

‘Unlike aggressive Glesia, he stayed in jail and played as defensively as possible. He also had good timing and luck, and he set up his strategy well from the start.’

Instead of targeting the competitive northern area, he aimed for the western monopoly and focused on landing on jail or cheap properties, waiting for opponents to falter.

In the end, while Glesia stumbled from Astron’s tricks and sold her hotels, he maximized draining Glesia’s gold, and that difference decided the final outcome.

From the start, he had a clear strategy, played defensively, and knew when to strike.

Honestly… it was impressive.

He was a truly great board game player.

It’s hard to believe it’s the same eldest brother I know.

‘He used to be so stoic.’

If he understood Monopoly to that level, he must have been obsessed with it day and night.

What could be the reason for our eldest brother’s intense focus on Monopoly?

Because of his sibling’s board game? Or purely out of interest? Or maybe it’s related to the second child currently in the silver mines?

He’s always been quiet and expressionless, like Adela, so it’s impossible to know what’s going on inside his head.

Neither I nor Frederick ever had much conversation with our eldest brother.

What on earth is the future head of the Byron family thinking?

Lost in endless questions, I leaned back on the sofa.

──…Gotta… go… Kyle…

──…F… off…

“Huh?”

I immediately got up from my seat at the faint sounds coming from outside the office.

Two voices.

Because I had heard all the sounds before.

“Sally?”

“Y-Young Master! I-I’ll handle it, so don’t worry…!!”

“Handle it? What do you mean by that…?”

Ah.

“Brother?”

“…Kyle.”

“Sally, you didn’t mean you were going to ‘handle’ my brother, did you?”

“W-Well…”

It must be because of Frederick.

After that guy’s second gambling incident, Sally seemed to hold quite a grudge against my eldest brother. Unlike Frederick, he didn’t bother me, but in Sally’s mind, the first or second brother probably didn’t make much difference.

After lightly tapping Sally’s forehead, I looked at my eldest brother standing in front of the office door.

A face far more handsome than mine or Frederick’s, a tall stature, long black hair, and an expressionless face that rivaled Adela’s.

He looked like someone who would have no interest in anything but studying and magic, which made it even harder to believe.

Why would a model student, who seemed like he wouldn’t even glance at games, focus so much on Monopoly that he became Natura’s representative?

Feeling a bit down, I re-entered the office with Sally, who was still sticking close to me and keeping a wary eye on my eldest brother.

“Lady Lukesil, is it alright if we have an unexpected guest?”

“Hmm…? You’re that genius from Natura, aren’t you?”

“That’s too much praise.”

“The professors at Natura were making such a fuss. They were going on about how it’s a loss for the magic world that you came to the Academy instead of the Magic Tower.”

After briefly looking at my eldest brother, Lukesil nodded and continued.

“Right, you’re from the Byron family. You must be here to see Kyle?”

“…Yes.”

“Then don’t mind me and have your conversation. Make yourself at home.”

It felt a bit strange. My eldest brother was being treated casually by Lukesil, while I was being treated with utmost respect.

It was natural, given the positions of an Academy student and professor, and the difference between the inviter and the invitee.

But it was still quite odd to see the professors showering my eldest brother with embarrassingly high praise, calling him a genius and a loss to the magic world.

Especially since I once dreamed of being a magic genius like him.

…Now that I think about it, this guy is a genius who can even use Aura, isn’t he?

Even if Frederick’s succession rights had passed to me, the family wouldn’t have been shaken much. With the eldest son already being such a genius, what use would the second in line be?

The promising eldest son of a baron family, a genius in both magic and Aura. It would be hard for anything to shake his position.

“…Professor Lukesil, would it be possible for me to speak with Kyle… alone?”

“Hmm? Are you asking me to vacate my office?”

“It seems like it will involve matters of the Byron family.”

“Brother?”

No, if that’s the case, why not just go to my guest room or his room? Why insist on having this conversation in Lukesil’s office?

A sudden request from a student to a professor of another department to vacate the office for a private family matter—an unprecedented situation.

The only reason Lukesil didn’t lose her temper was because I was there.

After briefly alternating her gaze between my eldest brother, the “student,” and me, the “noble,” Lukesil spoke.

“…Alright. I was supposed to go somewhere with Fiona anyway.”

“Thank you for your generous consideration.”

“But remember this. If it weren’t for Kyle, you would have been kicked out of the office immediately. You’re a genius, but Kyle is a… greater genius.”

Perhaps to boost my spirits, which were somewhat dampened in front of my brother, Lukesil overly praised me and left the office with Fiona, who was still bowing her head.

Now, only me, my brother, Sally, Adela, and Water Tiger remained in the spacious office.

“…Kyle, I’d like Sally and the others to leave as well.”

“Brother, what’s this about? Why exclude Sally, even if Adela and Water Tiger stay?”

“I’m asking you.”

It wasn’t me who answered, but Sally and Adela.

“I-I’m the Young Master’s guard maid. I-I can’t leave…”

“I also, as a High Magician of the Arkhé Magic Tower, have the duty to ensure the safety of that man, an honorary elder of the tower.”

Sally and Adela coldly refused.

[Growl.]

The Water Tiger clearly took a hostile stance.

Yet, my eldest brother kept looking at me until the end.

Still with an unreadable expression, as if I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“……Everyone, please leave.”

“Yo, Young Master!”

“You.”

“We’re family, right? What could possibly happen? Or……Brother, even if Sally and Adela are like that, the Water Spirit should be fine, right? Surely that’s not a problem?”

“…………….”

“Brother?”

“………Alright, I understand.”

“You heard him, right? Even if something happens, the Water Tiger will protect us, so just wait outside the door for a bit. Otherwise, it seems like he won’t talk at all.”

“…………….”

“……………….”

Even if my eldest brother were to turn against me like Frederick, having the Water Tiger around would buy me some time.

It’s not like they’re going far, just right outside the door, so it should be fine.

At my request, Sally, who kept fidgeting with the hilt of her dagger at her waist, and Adela, who was glaring at my brother, reluctantly went outside.

They definitely didn’t look convinced, so I’ll probably have to deal with them later, but whatever.

Frankly, I was curious about what my eldest brother had to say, going to such lengths.

“Now we’re good, right? There’s really no one else here except the Water Tiger.”

“……This is the last time.”

[Growl.]

“What’s this?”

“It’s a soundproofing spell. With this, Sally and that High Magician won’t be able to eavesdrop on our conversation by pressing their ears against the door.”

“Alright. So, what do you want to talk about? You mentioned something about Byron? What’s the story?”

Sitting across from my eldest brother on the sofa, I asked. I had a rough idea of what he might say.

‘It’s probably about Frederick.’

From my eldest brother’s perspective, while he was at the Academy, the second brother caused a gambling incident, got his hand cut off, and was sent to the silver mines, and the third brother took over the second brother’s inheritance rights. In that situation, since I came to the Academy, it’s natural he’d want to talk.

He must have received a letter from our father, but……maybe.

‘He might think I’m challenging his inheritance rights.’

Since I surpassed the second brother, he might be wary that I’m coming for him next.

After all, neither my eldest brother nor I really knew each other.

After a moment of seeming contemplation, my eldest brother spoke.

“………Kyle.”

“Yeah, Brother.”

“No, Lord Kyle.”

“……Huh?”

Wait.

What?

While I was momentarily stunned, thinking I must have misheard.

My eldest brother reached inside his coat.

[……Growl!]

Thinking he might pull out a weapon, the Water Tiger bared its teeth.

But instead, my eldest brother pulled out a pen and a Monopoly deed, holding it respectfully with both hands and handing it to me.

“Please, sign this…….”

“…………Brother? What about the Byron story? Wasn’t it about Frederick?”

“That……was a lie.”

“What? Then why did you send Lukesil, Sally, and Adela out?”

“I was……embarrassed……….”

“………….”

This guy.

What the……?