EXTRA CHAPTER 2: CAPTURING BASES, PART 1

In the end, I didn’t expect that the game that I introduced from my old world would become a hit.

“…”

As the days of the season of ‘White Rain’ continued, a lot of Cherseans were forced to stay indoors. Bored from their routines, soon they were engrossed in playing ‘Uno’—known to them as the ‘Card Game’—those local indoor competitions became a thing. From the Holy Palatial Gardens’ maid, paladins, and nuns, to the common folk and nobles of the surrounding towns and villages, ‘Uno’ contests were held throughout the cold season.

And in most of those games, one winner emerged. Though she may be young, Eris soon found fame as the ‘formidable Card Game champion’ (even if it was not official). She kept on winning tournaments that the contest hosts realized that it’s better to have her coach fellow players instead of playing herself.

Of course, Eris gladly accepted the offers, as long as my academy was still unopened. Over time, a small, unofficial ‘school’ flourished inside the Holy Palatial Gardens dedicated to studying tactics and strategies in playing the game, and my young servant was the center of it all…

“…”

I’d say Cherseans are really weird. For them to become so fixated on such a game that they’d literally took the time to train for it…that’s just freaky.

In any case, that’s that. I wish I could say that everyone played forever and had a happy ever after…but it didn’t work that way, actually. Contrary to Eris, Maddie and Lily found themselves at the bottom rung of the Holy Palatial Gardens’ ‘Uno’ rankings. Well, for someone as spontaneous as Maddie, it’s not a big deal. Once she realized she had no talent in the game, she simply threw her hand into the air and called it quits. With a few moments’ worths of sulking, of course.

However, for the reliable and steady Lily, she’s incredibly indignant that she’s in the lowest ranks. No matter how hard she tried, she kept on losing, even to the most ‘beginner-level’ player trained by Eris herself.

“…”

Because of that, she asked me to introduce another game.

“It’s not fair that Eris is the only one who wins!” Lily would often reason out.

“Haha! Why are you so adamant about winning against her in that game?” I’d counter her, “It’s not like you’ll die if you lose!”

“I will not die, at least literally!”

“Well, you have many skills that, compared to Eris, would make you outshine her!”

“You wouldn’t understand!” Lily then would become annoyed and will stick a tongue at me, “Your game sucks anyway!”

Then why would you get so worked up about it?

But yes, I knew Lily was getting jealous of Eris for having all the spotlight. Though it may be childish, it’s perfectly understandable. I mean, it may be in some other forms, but adults were also capable of such childish actions if they get insecure…especially at work.

I already got something in my mind to appease Lily. In fact, I was only pissing her off because she’s cute when she pouts.

“…”

Anyway, for my plan to work, I just need favorable weather.

----------

Eventually, in the fourth month since the season of ‘White Rain’ began, the snow finally stopped falling. Snow layers were reasonably thick, but most Cherseans could now come out of their homes and resume in their daily outdoor businesses. The groups in-charge of clearing the snow could now take their well-deserved rests.

At the Holy Palatial Gardens, my sleep was rudely interrupted when…

“Kuuuurrrrrrrooooooo!!!”

“!!!”

I almost fell from my bed when my door suddenly burst open. Apparently, an excited Lily rushed to my room and kicked it down. She was all smiles as she shook me wide awake.

“The snow has finally stopped!” she told me.

“Eh, uh?” were my first words. The shock that she caused by barging into my room unannounced and shaking me awake annoyed me a little. But hey, seeing Lily that happy (her sparkling eyes and childish smile are so cute), I guess that’s enough to blow my irritation away.

“Big sis!” it was Eris, along with some other maids running after Lily, “Master Kuro is still sleeping!”

“It’s alright!” Lily quipped, “This is good weather to waste on just sleeping!”

Of course, it is a good day to waste in just sleeping…if not for me binge-reading that book I’m interested in before catching the snooze yesterday. Ah…in any case, I guess this wouldn’t end the longer I keep Lily hanging.

“Come on, Kuro!” Lily began pulling at my hand, “You said that you’ll introduce a new game once the snow stops falling!”

“I did?” I asked in a half-asleep manner. Honestly, I remember nothing I said about a new game once the snow stops. I was keeping it a secret from her.

“Maddie said you did!”

“Oh?!” Well, that answers my question. I guess Maddie read my mind and told Lily. Anyway, I got up and fixed myself…starting in combing my goatee.

“Uh…Big sis, I think we should let Master Kuro sleep a bit more…” Eris quietly told Lily as they watch me, “He looks out of himself.”

“Hmm…on a second thought, I think you’re right, Lady Braunhauer,” Lily helped me arrange my hair and wipe my disheveled face. Once she realized that I was still in a daze, she switched back to her prim and proper ‘head maid’ self, “My apologies Kuro, I let myself get ahead of me. Please get back to sleep.”

“Ah…thanks,” I answered as I wormed my way under my blankets, “But please wake me up after an hour. Until then, could you guys prepare a wide area cleared of snow?”

“Yes! Don’t you worry about it!” Lily said as she tucked me back to bed, “I’ll also have your breakfast served there, too.”

“Mhmm…” too sleepy to say anything else, I just muttered my agreement to her.

----------

Well, I knew I told Lily to prepare a wide area without snow, but still…

“Lily! Kuro thinks that the area is way too wide already!” Maddie called out to her friend, who was single-handedly shoveling the snow.

“Did I make a mistake?” came back the question.

“This is wide enough! Please stop already!” I shouted my reply, “Don’t tire yourself, or you won’t be able to play the game!”

“Don’t worry!” Lily waved her shovel at us; I also noticed that her eyes had that familiar red glow on them.

“Err…” I turned to Maddie, “She’s using Bloodbath?”

Maddie, with an amused look on her face, nodded, “Well, it’s one way of letting out her steam,” she said.

“A-Alright…” though Lily could control it nowadays, it’s still unnerving to see her use that skill that murdered many people so candidly. I don’t think Cassandra David had it in her mind for Bloodbath to be used in such a way, but…ah, whatever!

“Hey Kuro!” it was Maddie.

“Yep?”

“Just want to say thanks!”

“Hm?”

“Well, you know, for keeping up with our selfish requests.”

“Oh, that? I’m used to it,” I laughed, “My students do it all the time, see? At first, I’m annoyed by it. But then, when I realized that I’m the only one they trust enough to be that open, I told myself, why not? It’s not like I’ll die because of some concessions. My students’ respect for me even went higher than ever.”

“Ugh…” Maddie commented, a bit irritated, “You really look at us like we’re your students. But don’t worry, I don’t mean it’s bad. I guess we’re just pretty childish ourselves, getting overly hyped over some games.”

“Nah, it’s normal. Anyone can be passionate about things they love.”

“Haha! You could say that again!” Maddie had a nostalgic look on her face as she watched Lily wrap up her snow-clearing operation, “Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to give way a bit more for us then.”

“Heh. Bring it on!”

“That’s why I love you, you know?” Maddie reached for, and gently squeezed my hand, “You choose to understand us, even if you have your own needs too. You’ve seen our world before, and every Chersean alive rarely experienced the happy childhood the people in your world enjoy.”

Honestly, I have nothing else to say about that. Considering what Maddie just told me, I could now understand why Lily and the others take these games seriously. Cherseans of this generation only knew conflict and responsibilities like marriages and filial duties.

Ahh…Maddie’s pursuit of peace is really beneficial for the well-being of the people of this land.

“And not only that…” I heard her add, “A maiden’s heart is quite difficult to understand, you know?”

“You mean when Lily gets insecure about Eris?”

“That, and also, let’s just say that she’s trying to catch your attention by showing you what she’s capable of doing.”

“Oh…” Well, it’s a given that Lily’s competitive for the people she loves. That, and she’s jealous of Eris because the young maid dominated the game I introduced to them before.

After all, no one wants to appear weak before the person they love…

----------

“For starters, we’ll divide your group into two,” I began explaining before the crowd of paladins and maids that Lily has gathered in the field she cleared of snow, just right outside the walls of the palatial gardens, “How many people have you got there, Lily?”

“Twenty people…is that enough?”

“Hm…it’s okay for now since this is just a trial run,” I told her, “But the more people we have, the merrier this game gets.”

“I see…” Lily nodded, “Should I fetch more of the girls?”

“Nah,” I took two medium-sized stones and put them in front of them, “So, what we’re about to do is a game called ‘Capture Base’. Basically, that’ll be a running game, so if you got some health conditions, you better—”

“Ahem. If there’s anyone who has that, I would’ve dealt with it already,” Maddie suddenly interrupted.

Right…I forgot that she’s the Saint of Healing. Sorry, just my teacher-self kicking in.

“In any case, since you already grouped yourselves into two, these rocks here will be each group’s ‘base’. Both of you will take one, and every member of the team should protect it from being captured by the opposing side.”

“Easy peasy!” the new captain of the Paladin Corps, the Duchess of Henristone, whistled. (It’s the first time I noticed her presence in the crowd, really.)

“Well, what I mean by ‘capture’ is that you would just ‘touch’ or ‘kick’ the base. If you’re thinking that you’d yank it away from the hands of the other team, then it’s illegal, and you’ll be disqualified.”

“What?!”

“Err…this game is all about running and skills, Your Excellency, not of strength.”

“Sheesh!” the duchess was quick to back down from her question.

“Anyway, to ‘capture’ a base, your team has to touch or kick the enemy base. To do that, you have several options,” I taught them using Lily as my partner, “One is, you may run around together and confuse your enemy. Or, you may capture an opposing team member and dwindle their numbers. To do that, you just have to ‘touch’ the one you are pursuing and she’s captured, like this.”

The paladins and maids watched closely as I showed the rules of the game.

“To capture your enemy, you just have to be the last one who ‘touched’ your own base than her. Otherwise, if you try to capture her with her being the last one to touch their own base, you’ll be the one that’s going to be a prisoner.”

“A prisoner?!” the Duchess of Henristone exclaimed, “Oooh…I think I’m liking this game already.”

“Ah yeah…haha.”

“So, Kuro…” Lily was trying to confirm my rules, “If, for example, I was running around, and you come after me and ‘touched’ me, then I’ll become your team’s prisoner?”

“As long as I’m the last who touched my team’s base than you, then it’s a yes. If you’re the one who last ‘touched’ your own base, then if I touch you, whether on purpose or by accident, then I would be the prisoner.”

“Oh…so we need to watch who last touched their own team’s base and avoid them as we run, is that it?” a paladin asked.

“Yep. Avoid them until you touch your own base again. Then you can turn the tables on your pursuers as long as they don’t do what you just did.”

The paladins had weird smirks written across their faces. I could smell that something was afoot, and the maids might’ve detected it as well; they huddled together as if they planned on their course of action.

Hmm…the groupings will be the maids versus the paladins, huh? This will be an interesting match.

“Ah, to wrap up, it is possible to rescue your ‘captured’ teammates by simply running towards the enemy base and trying to touch them. Once it is done, your captured teammates can play again. Likewise, if you ‘captured’ your enemy’s base, then all the prisoners would return to their respective teams, and the round begins anew.”

“Yep,” everyone chorused in their answer.

“Don’t forget, your goal is to capture the enemy ‘base’, not only the enemy players. Am I clear on this one?”

The players nodded in agreement. And with that, the first ‘Capture Base’ game in Chersea was set in motion.