Two weeks have passed since he returned to the capital. It was raining outside. It started raining three days ago and it's still raining. Apparently there is something like a rainy season in this world as well.
　The guild's work is closed until the rain stops. So, I'm studying magic. Well, I'm just picking up some non-attribute magic that I can use from the books I bought in the royal capital.
　I've been reading about 500 pages...about a third of the way through the book, but there are only 4 usable spells, about 50 spells per page, so the total number is 25,000.... Out of that, the one that could be used is 4 in 25,000 - 1 in 6250....
　Picked up by.

　Enchantment, which grants magical effects to matter.
　Paralyze, which paralyzes an opponent, paralyzing them and making them unable to move.
　Modeling", which is to reshape minerals and wooden products, and
　Search," which allows you to search for what you want

There are four of them.
　Among them, "Modeling" and "Search" were quite useful. Well, there are some inconveniences.
　The "modeling" is the art of modeling a material into what I imagine, but it takes quite a long time and if I don't have a good image, I can make a strange object.
　I tried to make a shogi board, but the board had a lot of squares in a row, and the pieces were too big to fit in the squares.
　It is difficult to make a board without a detailed image. I could make it while looking at the actual board, so I searched for pictures of the board with my smart phone, and I completed it while looking at them.
　I learned to use "search" because I thought it would be useful when I lost something or something, but I found out that this magic can actually do some pretty rough searches.
　I didn't think there was any vanilla in this world, but when I tried it out in the marketplace, I found it easily.
　It wasn't the vanilla that I knew, but a strange fruit called "Coco", which looked something like a cherry tomato. However, the taste and aroma of the fruit was the same as the vanilla itself, and it was a good enough substitute.
　Even if the name and shape of the fruit are different, the ones I can identify as vanilla are the ones that hit the spot. It's really sketchy.
　However, this one also has a drawback: it has a narrow effective range. The radius is about 50 meters. It's not so easy to use when you're looking for someone.

"I'm hungry...

　When I checked the time, it was long past noon. No wonder.
　I put the book away, locked myself in my room and went down the stairs of the inn. In the dining room, Doran and Barral, the owner of the "Weapon Shop Kumahachi", were sitting face to face in the dining room. The thing between them was a wooden, squared board.

''Are you playing chess again?''
Oh.

　I chuckle in disgust at Mr. Dolan, who is glued to the board and responds without even looking at me.
　I had made a chess game to test out the "modeling" and it was Doran-san, the innkeeper, who was most interested in it. When I taught him the rules, he got hooked on the game, and even dragged his acquaintances along with him. Similarly, Mr. Baral was also addicted to the game, and they played it whenever they had free time.
　Well, to be honest, I was glad that Baral-san got hooked. Until then, I was the only opponent, and I didn't know how many times I had to play with him.
　I knew the rules of shogi, but I wasn't that strong. I didn't have that much experience with shogi. I was able to win at first, but now I'm no match for Mr. Dolan. As they say, "You have to like it to be good at it.
　I ask Mika in the kitchen for lunch. I sat down at a table a little farther away from the cafeteria so that I wouldn't disturb them.

Baral, are you sure you're okay with this?
No one wants to come in this rain, you know. I left it to my wife. Anyway, Fuyao-san, can you give me another set of shogi board?
'What?　I've already given you one for Mr. Barral, haven't I?

　I had just made a set for Mr. Baral, who wanted to practice at home, and had just given it to him.

Simon, the toolmaker, said he wanted one too. Please.
Well, okay, but...

　I thought that I could have someone else make it for me, but it would take a lot of work to do it properly.

No, thank you. I'll just...
"King's Hand
Nuh-uh?

　At Dolan's words, who had been crossing his arms and staring at the board, Barral now crossed his arms and started to stare at the board. Really, I'm into it. I didn't expect it to go this far.
　While I was thinking about this, Mika came over with my lunch.

Here you go. I'm sure you guys can't be too cautious.
Nope. Just this one.

　Doran-san turns to Micah with a worshipful gesture. Well, if it weren't for the rain, even the two of us wouldn't be doing so much during the daytime. There's the idea of using the long rain as an excuse, though.
　Micah brought lunch, which consisted of pasta with wild vegetables, tomato soup and two slices of apple.

'Well, Micah-san, where is everyone else?'
I think Linse-chan is in her room, but Else and Yae have gone out.
In the rain?
I went to buy the new Parento candy.

　Oh, that. I found some vanilla dough, so Ael and I talked about what we could do with it, and I made a vanilla roll cake.
　Well, I just taught her the recipe and how to make it, and mostly just watched. But it was also delicious. I got on top of it and had them make strawberry roll cake as well.
　When I told Else and others about it, they choked on why I didn't bring it back. It's unreasonable.
　That new product was supposed to go on sale today. ...but that doesn't mean we have to go in the rain.
　I'm back.

I'm home! I'm home!
I'm home, that I am.

　Oops, what a rumor, the two of you are back. I folded my umbrella and put it up against the entrance.
　In this world, there is no such thing as a plastic umbrella. We do have umbrellas, but they are basically made of cloth. Even so, it is soaked in resin from trees to make it water repellent and so on.

Welcome back. Did you get it?
Perfect. It was raining and there weren't many people there, so that's a relief.

　Else lifts the bag and shows it to me. 'Nice smile, totally.

'It was delicious, that it was.
Hey,

　You've been eating. How much.

Here's one for you, Micah.
Thanks. I'll pay you later.

　Else pulled out a total of four white boxes from the bag and handed one of them to Mika-san. That's why Mica-san asked for it too.

''What about the rest?''
'One is Linse's and the other one is ours. Take the other one to the duke.
'What?　Me?

　I mean, you guys are still eating!

Who else could go to King's Landing in the rain? Who else is going to ride to King's Landing in the rain?

　I replied, "Then why don't you guys come too?" and he refused to be awed. What the hell is that?
　Well, I guess we'll just have to go. The thing is, the sooner you eat, the better.
　By the way, when I went to King's Landing the other day, you also showed an interest in chess, didn't you? Maybe I should give him that as a souvenir.
　I ask Dolan-san to let me use the scrap wood in the backyard. I fire up the modeling program and make two sets of chess boards and pieces. I'm used to it, because I've made them so many times.
　It takes me about ten minutes to make it. I'm going to check it. Yes, it should be fine. Because I have made one more flying wheel before.
　I return to the dining room and give a set to Baral-san. I put the box of rolls and pieces in a bag and held the chess board under my arm.

'Well, I'm off then,'

　I grabbed my umbrella and headed back to the backyard again to get around at the gate. It's better to be as inconspicuous as possible.
　We could exit... behind the gate of the compound.

The Gate.



'Oh my God!　This is amazing!
It's a piece of cake, Sue. But it's really good. It's called a cake roll.

　Master Ellen and Sue are eating their rolls with great joy. It was worth it to bring them. The duke is also eating them with a groan.

''No, I'm jealous of the people of Rivlet that they can eat these at any time. If I could use the 'gate' like you, I'd go out and buy one every day.
If you want, I can give you the recipe and how to make it to the house cook. It's not like it's a secret.
'Really, Winter's Night!　Mother, now you can eat every day!

　It was Sue who reacted abnormally to my words. Hey, you're drooling, Duchess.

Oh, God, Sue. If you eat every day, you'll get fat. Every other day.

　The Duchess tsk tsk tsk with a roll of laughter. I feel like every other day doesn't change much. I'll feel a little guilty the next time I come in if Sue is incredibly fat....

'So, is this the chess game you're talking about?
'Yes. It's a game for two people, would you like to try it?

　I line up the pieces in my own camp before the Duke looks at the chess board and the pieces.

''Father!　Straw too!
Well, wait. I'll go first.

　The duke imitates me and lines up the pieces in his own line. Oh, the positions of the flying wheel and the horns are reversed.

'First of all, it's the way you move your pieces. This is called a "step" and represents a soldier. You can only move one piece forward, but when you enter the opponent's position...
Hmm....

　The duke learns how to move the pieces one by one. He learns quite quickly. If this is the case, I should be able to improve quickly.
　But it didn't take long for me to regret it....



''One more game!　Just one more game!　I'll end it next time!

　I heard that line just now........ As a result, the Duke-sama was addicted to the same thing as Dolan-san, and for a long time I was forced to play the game. It's already well into the night........ I've gotten tired of waiting and Sue is asleep on the couch.
　Once again, I thought, this world doesn't have a lot of entertainment. I wonder if that's why it's like this.

This is interesting. I want to let my brother do it too!

　When I was finally freed in the middle of the night, the duke said something outrageous to me. I didn't think it was possible, but I don't think the king would be into it either. I'm not going to neglect the government by playing chess.

　Oh, I'll be back after the rain.