Chapter 102: Jenga In Between the Journey
It’s the second day after we depart from the city of Kikka.
We stopped at a forested lake between Kikka and Esport to give the horse some rest.
There are faint green-colored mountains in the distance, lined up as if to surround us.
When I look at them like this, I can feel differences in their same green color due to the sense of distance and type. Slight difference in color due to the different types of greenery. A little bit of yellow-green color from young leaves. A small number of leaves were about to wither. Or those green leaves situated in the middle.
Seeing those foliages being colored in such delicate colors is somehow pleasant.
The brightly colored flowers and trees bearing fruits are beautiful as if highlighting those green gradation even more.
The interesting part is that there are such subtle differences within the same mountain scenery, due to the different types of plants occupying the area.
If you listen carefully, you can occasionally hear the chirping of birds. The calm sounds of fishes jumping out of the water *chapon*.
You can enjoy nature not only with just your sight but also with your sense of hearing.
Aah, what a wonderful nature.
Now, it would be great to take a nap on the grass like this, but unfortunately, that would make it difficult for me to sleep tonight.
Even this morning I fell asleep for the second time, tempted by the comfortable sunshine. If I were to take a nap even after that, then I will certainly be unable to sleep tonight.
And if I’m awake at night, that will make me have a bad rhythm in my lifestyle of sleeping before the early hours.
It’s fine to take a nap moderately, but taking a nap excessively is something that should be avoided. I have to take it in moderation.
It is still a bit cold to enter the lake and play.
Because of that, I sat on the well-lit roof rack and made a certain something.
「Alfried-sama. What are you doing?」
Maybe he was interested after seeing me, Irvine approached me unexpectedly with a basket in his hand.
There are a lot of mushrooms and wild plants inside the basket. The other adventurers and the other in the caravans are going around to search for nature’s blessings.
「I’m making Jenga.」
「Jenga?」
Right now, I’m creating cuboids with Earth magic, and stacking them in a tower shape.
That’s right, I’m recreating a very famous table game in my previous life.
I put together eighteen levels of cuboids with three cuboids on each level, lengthwise and crosswise.
I’m wondering whether I can make these cuboids with Earth magic or not and since it’s easy to make I tried making it.
「Is it a game where you stack these square parts?」
Irvine climbed up onto the roof rack and took one cuboid part.
「No, that’s playing with building blocks. But well, you can also use it to play that.」
「Then, how do you play it?」
「Wait a sec, I’m going to prepare it so I can explain it to you now.」
「Ou!」
While receiving Irvine’s blazing gaze, I stack up the cuboids for some time.
And finally, the eighteen-level tower is completed.
「Ooh! You stack them up so neatly! Then, now what?」
「Pull out one cuboid part from the stack and stack it on top. And then you do it repeatedly without making this stack collapse.」
Seeing is believing. The rule is not that complicated, so I pulled out one part and showed him how to do it.
「Ohー! I see I see. It’s simple and easy to understand, isn’t it? Next is my turn.」
Saying that - and while laughing happily - Irvine stretched his hand but I slapped those hand away *peshi*.
「What are you doing? Even though it’s my turn.」
「You can’t take from the topmost level until you gather three parts.」
Well, there is no danger if you only stack them up. It wouldn’t become a game, isn’t it?
「I see, you’ve already thought about it properly haven’t you.」
Whether it be Reversi or Jenga, even though they have relatively simple to make and uncomplicated rules, I wonder why people found it interesting. I think the people who came up with them are a genius.
As expected, the secret to their popularity is that anyone can easily play with them.
「Well then, I’ll do it this time for sure!」
Irvine leaned forward and stretched his hand.
Irvine’s first choice is the lowest level part at the edge.
This guy, choosing such a safe part even though he’s a novice.
「Ooh, I pulled it out. I’m placing this now.」
Laughing proudly *hehe*, Irvine tried to place it casually.
It’s his first move. Of course it won’t collapse.
「By the way, if you make the tower collapse when you place your part down on top of the tower, then you’re out.」
「Say that sooner!」
Irvine withdrew his arm with a start *biku*.
Incidentally, Jenga is a game where it is important to calculate the center of gravity of the tower, so it’s extremely important to calculate the position where you place your part. So if the center of gravity is tilted to the right side, then it’s obvious that the tower will collapse if you stack your part on the right side.
Well, but it’s still the first move so it won’t be that big of a problem.
Irvine carefully places his part.
「Fuu…… Well, if it was just something like this then it’s easy.」
◆
And so we continue playing like that for a while.
「Ahh!? Aaaaaaaahh! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!」
Irvine made his second ‘huge’ collapse today.
Irvine’s tragic scream resounded in the lake.
「Okay, Irvine losー」
「Damn it! Again?! Why does it collapse!? Can’t you hang on for a bit longer!」
Scratching his head while screaming, bending his body like a shrimp, he looked gross.
「Don’t complain about the tower」
「Damn it! Once more!」
Irvine got up from his shrimp posture right away and drew near me.
His face is close.
「Okay okay, so stack them up quickly」
「Ooshha!」
Irvine gathered the parts lying around on the ground, while I also gathered the parts scattered that flew away.
But then I suddenly had a thought. Why do I have to gather them like this? The one who lost is not me, you know.
「Nn? What is it?」
Maybe he thought that it was strange that I stopped moving, Irvine looked this way.
Then I answered with a smug face.
「What do you mean ‘what is it’? Don’t tell me that I have to gather them as a winner? Haa! The one who made the tower fall is the loser, it’s you isn’t it? Hey, quickly gather those scattered parts!」
「Youu! I’m going to say that back to you next time! And I’m going to make noble-sama crawling on the ground like an ugly beggar!」
Irvine spat as his veins stood up.
If I let this guy win, then I’m sure that I will be awful, so I absolutely don’t want to lose.
But well, even if I lose I can just use Psychic magic to gather the scattered parts, and I can set it all at once with magic so there’s no problem. Still, losing to Irvine will be annoying, so I’m not gonna lose.
Irvine diligently gathered the cuboid parts scattered about on the ground, and started to create a level.
「Oh, this part here is falling, see. Hey, Irvine, take care of it. 」
「Nooaaaaa!? Youuu, you hit that level on purpose didn’t you! You think it’s fun demolishing something people desperately laid down, huh!?」
「It’s fu――*cough*! Of course that’s not true, right?」
「Oi, you said that ‘it’s fun’ just now」
「I didn’t」
Not good, I unintentionally said my sadistic thoughts.
「If I win later, and when you complete your tower I’m gonna throw some part on it……!」
I waited for an opportunity for a while, while hearing Irvine’s somewhat dangerous remark
「Hey, the two of you have been so noisy since a while ago, what are you doing?」
Aleutia and Ilya came to us, holding a basket in their hand just like Irvine some time ago.
It might be because there's a difference in their chest size, but Ilya’s chest had turned into something outrageous.
The thing at the edge of the basket, could it be a melon? You can gather melons in this forest?
「It’s Jenga, Jenga」
Irvine - who is currently building the tower - muttered, as if it was common knowledge.
Even though you know nothing until a while ago.
「Jenga? That, what is that?」
I tried to explain it to the interested women’s group.
「That sounds interesting! Let’s try it! I’m bored seeing the same scenery for a while now」
They’re more interested than I expected.
「Yes! Umm, can the two of us join in playing that?」
「Of course. This is a game that even four people can play. 」
After consenting to Ilya’s timid request, the two of them climbed up onto the roof rack.
「Hey! Climb slowly! The tower would collapse due to the vibration from your weight」
「Don’t be rude to a woman! We’re not heavy you know!」
◆
Because of the happening of Aluetia slapping Irvine’s face, the tower collapsed but he built it again.
「This is made using earth, isn’t it? Did Alfried-sama make these using magic?」
「Un, that’s right. It’s easy since I only had to shape it into a cuboid using Earth magic. 」
It’s the same as the one in my previous life, there are parts where the weight is different by a little bit. But when you change the earth mass, it would be that simple.
But I don’t know how much I should mix, so it’s kinda sloppy. I think we need to experiment while playing like this.
「……these cuboids are neat. Besides, there’s practically no difference on the other parts. I’ve heard that you can use magic, but it seems like you have considerable skill in it. 」
「Yes, I also can’t make this kind of precise works.」
Aleutia and Ilya said while staring fixedly at a part.
Is that so? Oh well, there’s almost no magician around me so I don’t know whether I’m good at it or not.
「Now then, let’s start!」
Aleutia put the part she’s holding back to the topmost level after hearing Irvine’s starting voice.
「Now then, The order will be from me, Aleutia, Ilya, and then Alfried-sama.」
「Okay!」
「Yeah!」
In short, we're going clockwise for our turn. It’s easy to understand, but he made me have the last turn so that it will be easier to have me bring the tower down isn’t he?
When I stared at Irvine’s face, he’s grinning meaningfully *niyari*.
This sonuva. This is a premeditated crime. To seize the initiative for himself, he made that starting voice from before, huh? Hmph, fine. What are you trying to do with complaining like this toward an experienced person like me? I’ll just forgive this kind of thing.
「Well then, let’s start!」
And then Irvine started the game. Irvine - who had already played this for the third time - started to pull out a part with a familiar movement.
Even though he was so nervous at the beginning.
「I’m next then」
Aleutia leaned her body forward excitedly.
「I wonder if I can pull this part?」
Pushed by Aleutia's white and slender finger, the part popped out *nyu*.
「Then you place it here, right……… Alright, Ilya is next」
「Ye, yes!」
After she finished with her turn easily, Aleutia urged Ilya.
Just like Aleutia, Ilya leaned forward.
ーーAt that moment, a tragedy took place for Aleutia.
As Ilya - who has a big breast - leaned forward, the heavy fruits swayed and crashed into the tower.
「Hyaa!」
The tower collapsed in the blink of an eye, because of the overwhelming mass and resilience of her breast.
Our views were filled with the collapsing tower, and the reformation of the fruits was being played in slow motion.
「「Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhh!」」
「What iss thaaaaaaaaat!?」
Irvine and I cheered, while Aleutia screams as if it’s the end of the world.
Meanwhile, the soft iron ball calmly smashed the tower. The tower fell, and a lot of parts scattered around.
「Aaaah! I’m sorry! I ended up knocking them down」
Ilya lowered her head apologetically.
However, contrary to her lowered posture, there is one part stuck above her bulging breast making it look like it’s trying to assert its presence.
As if to say, I pulled one part and built it here.
「Just what is this breast!? Even though you lost because you knocked them down, I feel that I lost because I didn’t knock them down! Even though I leaned forward……… Even though I leaned forward……… I……!」
Just when I thought that Aleutia stood up in anger, she burst out crying.
With Aleutia’s modest chest, it would be impossible to tear the tower down.
She would have no other choice than to directly ram it with her ribs.
「Eeeeeeh!? It’s my loss because I knocked them down right? It’s my fault for not adjusting the distance ーー」
The words from the person who should have done something sometimes sound like cruel words to the person who doesn't have to do something.
「But I don’t need to adjust the distance!」
Greatly perturbing herーーah, was it at the beginning? Aleutia shouted while drawing closer to Ilya.
Even though magicians need to adjust their distance.
But well, if Aleutia-san were to do the same thing, in that case, she had to put in a lot of padding or hit them at a zero distance.
「Hyaa! Hey, wait Aleutia! Please stop it! Don’t slap my breast! It hurts!」
「This! This breast did something bad!」
Aleutia became something like a horseman as she slapped Ilya’s big breast.
Please don’t forget there is a child here.
「……for now, let’s set them up, shall we? 」
「Un」
When we assembled the parts and played for some time, the carriage started to move and the tower collapsed again.
Let’s play Jenga when we have the time or when we’re going to bed.
Author note :
I didn’t play Jenga that much.
But I planned to do it later, so please look forward to the tactics that will be used at that time.
It might be a short chapter next one, but I’m going to post a chapter about Layla.
Visit freewe𝑏n(o)vel.𝑐𝘰𝑚 for the best novel reading experience