Chapter 186 Eternal Boys
"Adam, Christopher, come here for a sec~."
"Hmm~~? ."
"What's up?"
The two of them couldn't quite follow the conversation among the adults and were also feeling a bit full, so they were getting a little sleepy.
"Hey, can you guys play chess?"
"We can."
"We can."
It turns out that chess exists in this world too. By the way, Sara didn't know, but shogi also exists. It seems that both were brought over by reincarnators, but shogi has a complicated rule where you can use your opponent's pieces as your own, so it's not very popular.
"Why don't we play with this for a bit?"
Sara took out a small magic stone and created a small golem that looked like a chess piece using earth magic. Each magic stone had the range of movement, special rules, and motions for its corresponding piece engraved onto it. Even the subtle detail of the pawn's shape changing when it gets promoted was included.
Next, she created a chessboard using a marble-like material and carelessly placed the golems on it.
"Put your hand on this chessboard and flow your magic while saying 'align'."
When Adam put his hand on the chessboard and gave the command, the golem pieces automatically lined up in their starting positions.
"Whoa, they moved~~~."
Adam and Christopher were super excited. Yeah, Marquis, Edward, and Robert were also watching with great interest. I guess guys really do like this stuff.
"Now, let's give commands to the pieces we want to move."
Adam and Christopher placed their hands on the board and gave orders, and the Golems moved to the designated locations. Moreover, if they were told to move to a location where they couldn't, they would shake their heads from side to side and let them know that they couldn't. It was a thoughtful design.
Furthermore, when they moved to a position where the opponent's piece was, the Golems would fight each other, so even though they knew they'd be taken, they'd still try to support their own piece, which was kind of adorable.
"Sara, give me this chess!"
"No way, you're being too full of yourself."
Sara flatly refused the request, and the brothers looked dejected.
"But, if your friends who came to the hunting tournament are willing to play with this chess set, it wouldn't be so bad, would it?"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
And so, the brothers started playing chess again.
"Ah, but if you do this too many times, you'll run out of magical power... oh wait, it's already too late."
The brothers, who were getting too excited, collapsed onto the sofa.
"Uncle, Aunt, I'm sorry. I should have warned them earlier."
"It's okay, it's almost bedtime anyway."
"These children haven't developed their magical abilities yet, so it's hard for them to use magic until they run out. But if they do, their magical power will increase."
"Then, if they infuse magic into this chess set, it might increase their power, right?"
"Well, that's good, but as children of nobility, we want them to develop their magical abilities naturally."
'Hmm... maybe this chess set can be used as a teaching tool for magic enhancement...'
"By the way, I want one too."
Robert said with a big smile, asking Sara.
"What will you do for me, Father?"
Sara smiled back, even more brightly, and in a way, she was being a bit cruel.
If Robert's request gets approved, Marquis and Edward thought to themselves, 'I wish I could have that too!' But suddenly, they looked really disappointed. They're a father and son who are very alike.
"Sara, since this chess piece has a magic stone in it, what happens if we use up the magic stone's power?"
"It will stop moving, that's all."
"Is it disposable, then?"
"This is a prototype, so that's correct, but I can also make ones that aren't disposable."
"Can we play with it even if you aren't nearby, Sara?"
"The piece is bound to the chessboard, so if you infuse the board with magic, anyone can move it. However, if you remove the piece from the board, it will return to the earth and only the magic stone will remain. I can put magical constraints to prevent it from being removed from the board, but I can't predict what kind of accidents might happen, so I don't want to use it for children."
Edward thought for a bit.
"Wouldn't it be better to make one to present to the royal family? Can you do that?"
"A high-grade craftsmanship is necessary, so I don't want to do it."
"But you plan to show it off to the noble kids, don't you?"
"That's the plan."
"I think it's so cool that even Prince Andrew and Crown Prince Gerhart will be interested."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am."
'Are guys forever stuck in childhood or something? Losing their youthful hearts... or something... it's weird.'
"If someone comes up with a design and movement for the presentation piece, I'll make it. I can even add voice functionality if you want."
"Whoa, the piece will talk?"
"It will warn you when you're about to make a mistake, give voice commands during battles, and teach you special rules and check/checkmate."
"Hmm... can you make it right away if we have the design instructions?"
"I think I can do it in about 2 sets, even within an hour."
"Alright, let's hurry and prepare."
'But, with chess, small kids can't play, can they?'
Sara suddenly had an idea and used magic to prepare a larger table than the chessboard, setting up poles at the 4 corners and stretching 3 ropes between them. She created 2 30cm-tall (≈ 11.8in) golems inside and inscribed combat patterns from her past life's memories onto their magic stones.
Edward and Robert were watching Sara with sparkling eyes, just like Adam and Christopher earlier.
"This is a prototype. I don't plan to sell it yet, but try it out for now. If you two use your magic simultaneously, the golems will fight each other. They'll even fight on their own if you leave them alone, but they'll also listen to your instructions to some extent."
After a few minutes, the adults were completely absorbed in the golem battle. They were lying on the floor, shouting excitedly. Even Marquis joined in, making it a chaotic scene.
'Ah, this is... definitely something we can't bring to the noble's house. It's too rowdy.'
Rebecca and Elizabeth were watching their partners and their fathers from a distance, while Chloe approached Sara.
"Hey, Sara, what are our fathers doing?"
"I thought, since Adam and Christopher were having fun with chess, I'd create something that even smaller kids could play with."
"Instead, it's the big kids who are playing, huh?"
"This was completely unexpected."
"Is it okay to leave them alone? Will they become like Adam and Chris?"
"Ah!"
It was already too late.
And so, all the direct male descendants of the Grandchester family fell down one after another due to magic depletion, and were carried away by the servants.
'This is bad, we need a safety device or it's no good!'
"Hey, Sara, weren't we talking about beauty products earlier?"
"Yeah, but I can only sell hand cream for now."
"Hey, isn't there something that can restore hair shine?"
'Ah, I forgot. I put damage on Chloe's cuticles!'
"There's no product, but let's put magic on it?"
"Can you really do that?"
"Uh, yeah... I can."
For a moment, her eyes wandered, and her words sounded like she was reading from a script.
"Please help me! My hair has been tangling and hurting lately!"
"Just a minute."
Sara untangled Chloe's hair, which was tied up, and removed the water-attribute magic (the curse of the cuticle) that was cast before. Then, she cast a light-attribute healing magic, and finally, she cast a water-attribute magic to replenish the moisture.
As the sparkling magic light faded, Chloe's hair returned to its beautiful golden brown color. No, it seemed even more beautiful than before.
Sara had a maid bring a mirror and handed it to Chloe.
"How's this?"
"Wow, amazing! It's back to normal!! Thank you so much, Sara!!"
Chloe was overjoyed and hugged Sara tightly.
"I'm really sorry for being mean to you. I'm truly reflecting on my actions. When Sara fell into the pool, I was really scared, and I was relieved to know that you were saved. But when Sara was carried back to the mansion, you had a high fever and was delirious, and I was worried that you might die, which made my heart ache."
"I see. So don't forget how you felt scared and worried back then."
"I won't."
'This is getting crazy... I can't even call myself the culprit anymore!'
After that, Sara became slightly kinder to Chloe. Not that she forgave what happened in the capital, but just a little.
"Ah, Auntie. The princes' rooms are prepared in the west and east wings of the old castle, respectively. I made arrangements based on Mother's opinions, but please check later."
"Okay. Having more decorations is nice, but Prince Andrew has allergies to lilies and gets uncontrollable sneezes. Be careful not to use them."
"Are there other flowers that might cause similar symptoms?"
"I haven't heard anything about that."
Sara and Rebecca took notes of Elizabeth's information.
"This time, with Prince Gerhart coming, I expect there will be more knights than usual."
"Yes, I think so too. But I believe the Grandchester castle stables have sufficient capacity."
"Not just horseback riding, but we also have horse-drawn carriages, so we've prepared some temporary stables. We were in a hurry, so we used earth-attribute magic and wood-attribute magic to quickly expand the pasture."
The meeting continued in a dull and businesslike manner, and the chaotic family event where all the men got too carried away and collapsed finally came to an end. By the way, everyone agreed that the magic stone business shouldn't be rushed and decided to discuss it further in the future.
Sara realized something at this point.
'Meetings go so much smoother when there are no men around!'
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