Chapter 1: At the Antique Shop

That day, Yuta was riding his motorcycle.
Then, an antique shop that suddenly caught his eye drew his interest.

It wasn’t that he had any interest in antiques, nor was there anything he was looking for.
Truly, he opened the door of that old shop on nothing more than a whim.

When he looked ahead, an elderly shopkeeper was sitting behind the counter.
Seeing Yuta, the shopkeeper called out, “Welcome,” so Yuta inclined his head slightly in return.

Closing the door behind him, Yuta looked at the shopkeeper and saw something like a small board game spread out.
He rolled the dice, moved a piece, and even seemed to be talking to someone.

He was old, so he probably talked to himself a lot.
Thinking that, Yuta decided to look around the shop.

There were tin dolls, vases, and tea utensils—of course, every one of them was an antique.

Even while he was doing that, the shopkeeper’s voice could occasionally be heard.

Since he was there anyway, he decided to look at each item carefully.
He rarely entered a shop like this, and there might be some hidden treasure.

However, that hope came to nothing, and nothing caught his eye.
After making a full circle around the shelves of the not-so-large shop, he found himself back in front of the counter.
The counter had been cleared, and the shopkeeper was now polishing a plate.

Their eyes met, and when Yuta stood there without saying anything, the shopkeeper spoke.
“Oh, this? Taking care of my merchandise is a hobby of mine.”
Even as he spoke, his hands never stopped working.

“What were you doing earlier? It looked like some kind of board game…”
Yuta asked.

“Oh, you mean this? This one is special. Once a week, I take care of it and play with it.”
The shopkeeper took out something like a folded piece of wood from a drawer in the counter.

When he released the lock and opened it, there was a hollow in the center where pieces and dice could be stored.
Spaces were drawn around the edges.

“This is called ‘Ghost’s Sugoroku.’ You can play with a ghost using this. Though I don’t know its official name.”

“That sounds interesting. What kind of game is it?”
Keeping his eyes on the board, Yuta asked the shopkeeper.

“That said, this is old. Young people these days might find it boring. Well, it’s just a slightly unusual sugoroku.”
The shopkeeper said with a smile.

“What are the rules?”
Even as he said that, his eyes were drawn to the pieces.
A kokeshi with long hair, dressed in a princess-like kimono, and another kokeshi with short hair.
A white cat dulled by hand grime, and an uneven stuffed cat that looked as though it had been made from leftover cloth.

“Just a moment. There’s an instruction manual.”
The shopkeeper took a handmade manual out of a drawer and handed it to him.

After Yuta finished looking through it, he said, “I’ll take this.”

“I’ll pack it, so just wait a moment.”
With slow, careful movements, the shopkeeper began wrapping it and continued speaking.
“Please handle it carefully. And I’d like you to play with it about once a month. Even if you don’t want it anymore, don’t throw it away. You can pass it on to someone, or bring it back here and I’ll buy it from you.”

Hearing that, Yuta thought, This is kind of an exaggeration, but he gave a pleasant reply.

“I’ve also put in the instruction manual and a paper explaining its origin, so make sure to read them. I’m counting on you.”
There was something slightly unsettling about the way he spoke, as though he were entrusting his own child to someone else, but Yuta accepted that it must simply be because the man was so attached to it and left the shop.