This chapter was a bit of a pain to translate…….so I do apologize if it’s a bit of a clunky read.

Just a side note, but the “board game” referred to in this chapter is probably some kind of war game on a board……I was tempted to just TL it as “chess”, but the word “chess” was never specifically used. The j.a.panese phrase they used was something like “board game sports”, but I honestly was at a loss of how to put it in English. Just imagine it as Shogi or chess, as that’s probably the image the author was going for.

When I entered father"s room, a man other than brother was also there.

"Romel-san!"

I……rather, I called the name of the person sitting with their back facing the entrance of the room.

"Ohh, so Jou-chan also came? Right now I"m in the middle of something with the Young Master, so wait a bit."

Romel-san turned around momentarily and said that to me before once again turning towards my elder brother.

It seems that they were playing a board game.

When I asked about the situation, it appeared that elder brother was at the disadvantage.

I stared fixedly at the game unfolding between the two, entranced.

It seems that Romel-san was father"s close friend.

I say that "it seems to be like that" because that was how he was introduced.

Apparently they met at a bar and hit it off, so he would occasionally come to talk with father, or play a game with elder brother like this.

Although Oji-san was a commoner……no, perhaps it was because of that?……it was easy understand, even from an outsider"s perspective, that he really got along well with father.

At a glance, he seemed like an uncle you could find anywhere.

……if you looked very carefully, you"d see that his facial features were actually quite well arranged, but because of his appearance and conduct, he didn"t stand out that much.

Elder brother gave up the game.

"Oi oi, Young Master. It"s still too early to give up. Isn"t there still a road left here?"

"Ah!"

After looking at the place where Oji-san pointed too, elder brother let out a vexed voice.

"Your move four turns ago was bad. If you put this there, then I would have had to go on the defensive. And if you had done this……see, it would"ve been a good match, right? At times like these, you choose the safe route. In our second match two weeks ago, you did the same thing, remember?"

One by one, Oji-san pointed out elder brother"s faults.

Elder brother listened seriously, not letting a single one of those words escape him.

It seems that board game sports were the origin of what was used during the making of a strategy.

Hence, ever since elder brother began to genuinely learn about military tactics, he began to have an interest in board games.

Elder brother"s skill continuously showed signs of going up, to a level where all the adults were astonished.

If it was the people who came for training, he had a complete victory against them in all matches. If those who took part in making military strategies were his opponent, then he would win 2 out of every 3 matches.

That elder brother of mine was always being beaten black and blue by Romel-ojisan.

I truly wondered what his brain was made of. If possibile, I"d love to be able to see what was going on inside of his head once.

"Now then. How about it? Is the Young Master satisfied?"

"……yes, I suppose so. Until you come again, I will also review this time"s battle as well."

"Ou, do that. Iyaa, every time I come, the Young Master gets strong, so it"s quite fun."

Romel-ojisan guffawed.

In contrast to that, while a smile surfaced on elder brother"s face, a strong will to battle burned within his eyes.

I unintentionally became spellbound by those eyes.

I have never really seen my elder brother become so attached to a single thing.

……rather, as expected, ever since mother died, the fact that he has only been moving while thinking of how to become a good family head of the Marquis house played a big role in that.

Not only that, but because elder brother was able to skillfully handle everything needed to become the family head, I haven"t ever seen him experience any setbacks.

But the elder brother in front of my eyes right now is different.

Somehow it seems like he"s having fun.

He was honestly displaying his emotions on his face like when he was younger.

Somehow, it made me feel things were becoming enjoyable as well.

……well, the contents of what was being said surprised me quite a bit though.

The "review" that elder brother spoke of involves a complete reproduction of how the match proceeded, and using that, he"d consider which moves were bad and how they failed.

In other words, without exception, he remembered every single one of the matches that he"s played.

It wasn"t only Romel-ojisan, but elder brother"s head that was made differently from my own.

"Why did Oji-san start playing board games?"

"Hmm? Well, of course it"s "cause they were fun."

"Oji-san, it"d be great if you became a strategist. I may be partial to him because we"re related, but there aren"t many strategists that can have such a complete victory against elder brother like this."

"War and board games are not truly similar, Jou-chan."

Oji-san played around with a game piece in the palm of his hand.

"Is that so?"

"Yup. The surface of the board is a level playing field. In addition, the pieces themselves have predetermined rules and do not possess their own thoughts……..if it"s the Young Master, then you understand the meaning of this, right?"

"On the battlefield, a more three-dimensional point of view is required of you, correct?"

"……for example?"

"The weather, terrain……Also, the scale of your own army, as well as its ability and morale. The same applies to your opponent."

"It"s like that. One must know the heavens, know the earth……and also know one"s enemy and know oneself. On top of that, you must know what you hope to accomplish before starting the war. Depending how you prepare for it, the conclusion will differ - is what I believe. Well, like your father, there are some guys that have the military arts capable of blowing away those kinds of plans entirely."

Elder brother earnestly listened to Oji-san"s words.

"……based on what I"ve heard from you, I really do think that Oji-san would make a good strategist."

"I"ve already found my own battlefield…….even while I drink, it is a splendid battle. Right, Gazelle?"

Saying that, Oji-san tilted the cup in his hand.

"That"s right. A battle from which you can"t retreat from is there."

"On that note, let"s have another cup. This is about to run out."

"Well, we can"t have that now."

As the two of them laughed loudly, they clinked their gla.s.ses.

……somehow, it feels like their words from earlier completely went to waste.

Elder brother hastily moved from his seat.

Yeah, the smell of alcohol was quite intense.

"Jou-chan. If you make such an irritable face, the G.o.d of Fortune will run away."

Oji-san rubbed my head vigorously.

"If you stay that tense all the time, you"ll end up snapping at an important time. If you want, how about drinking with us?"

"Oji-san, I"m underage."

"It"s a joke, just a joke. See, isn"t your old man glaring at me now?"

"Of course."

As father said that, he truly continued to glare at Oji-san, but even so he still appeared to be having fun.