[Translator – Angel Dust]
[Proofreader – Prototype]
Chapter 157
“…Junior Lefia?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“This… Didn’t you say this booth was for traditional Lasker gas?”
That’s right. Lefia’s festival booth was called the “Traditional Lasker Gas Booth.”
The Empire and Lasker shared a border, but they weren’t exactly close neighbors.
Their natural environnts and ways of thinking differed slightly, so their traditional gas were bound to be different too! That was the starting point.
But sothing was strange. Really, really strange.
“Those… Are those four sticks you’re throwing… Are those—”
“Ah! Yes, you know it?! The other students had no idea! Did you perhaps hear about it from Baba Yaga… I an, Count Friedrich?!”
“Um… Yeah, I guess so.”
Over there, the juniors were throwing sothing into the air, shouting, ‘Please, just one more ti!’
If my eyes weren’t deceiving , those were definitely Yut sticks. They might be called sothing different in Lasker, but to , they were Yut.
Even the ga board looked exactly like Yutnori.
[TL/N:Yutnori is a traditional board ga played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year.
Please Don’t Skip or you won’t understand shit:
The sticks are cast to determine how far a token can advance. The score is determined by counting the sticks that are over, and those that are up. Each combination has a na. One stick over (flat side up) and three sticks up (round side up) is called “do” (도, pig). Two sticks up and two sticks over is called “gae” (개, dog). One stick up and three sticks over is called “geol” (걸, sheep). All sticks over is called “yut” (윷, cow), whereas all sticks up is called “mo” (모, horse). A “do” is worth one space advancent, a “gae” is worth two space advancent, a “geol” is worth 3 space advancent, “yut” is worth 4 space advancent, and “mo” is worth 5 space advancent. When the sticks co to the result of either “yut” or “mo”, the player has another chance of throwing the sticks up again (optional- so people prefer not to play with this rule). If you get “yut” or “mo” consecutively, you play (throw) again.]
The square outer path, the X-shaped shortcut inside. Each player had to return their two to four pieces to the starting point.
“Ah! Got caught again! This is so frustrating!”
“Hahaha! Didn’t I tell you, you get another turn if you catch a piece? Wow, Lasker has such fun gas! I love it!”
“Nonsense! You’re just happy because you’re winning!”
Even the rule of getting another turn for catching a piece was the sa. It was just a fantasy version of Yutnori from my past life in Korea!
‘Well, co to think of it, the basis of this world was created by a Korean author… So it’s possible. It’s possible— No, it’s not! This is crazy! What the hell?!’
A Western-style country with a hint of vodka, but the traditional ga is Korean? What kind of bizarre mashup is this?
I’d like to grab the author and ask them how they created this world, if possible.
“Senior Karl, would you like to play too?!”
“? I…”
I was about to say no thanks, that I already knew the ga and wasn’t that interested. But monts later, I found myself starting a ga with Selena.
Lefia’s eyes were sparkling with such enthusiasm, and Selena seed interested, so my job was to simply play along.
“I’m throwing, Karl! Hyah!”
“Oh! Senior Selena! It’s Mo! Five spaces forward and another turn!”
So they call it ‘Mo’ here. Well, at least they changed the word.
“It’s Karl’s turn!”
I took the Yut Sticks (they call them ‘yung’ here) from Selena.
Muscle mory from my past life kicks in, and I instinctively gather the four sticks, tapping them rhythmically against the ground.
“Just throw whatever.”
—Clack!
“Senior Karl got a Mo too!”
“Ah?! Does that an my piece gets caught?!”
“That depends on Senior Karl’s decision, but first, you have to throw again!”
Lefia handed the sticks, and I casually tossed them into the air.
“What?! Another Mo?!”
“Eek?!”
“…”
This can’t be good. And as always, my gut feeling was right on the money.
“Another Mo?!”
“Karl! What’s going on? How are you getting Mo every ti!”
“This ti it’s Yung!”
“You get to throw again with Yung too?!”
“Yes, yes! Senior Selena! You always get another throw with Mo and Yung!”
I decided not to capture Selena’s piece for now. But my turn just wouldn’t end.
Mo. Mo. Mo. Yut. Then Mo again. Mo. And another Yut. I was clearly throwing them haphazardly, but for so reason, these damn sticks refused to give a simple Do, Gae, or Geol.
“…It’s Yung again.”
“Junior Lefia, when does Karl’s turn end…?”
“Well, you see, Mo and Yung an you keep throwing… But they’re not supposed to co up easily, so it usually goes to the next person’s turn. But this! Even I can’t predict this!!”
This wouldn’t do. At this rate, even with four pieces, I’d be the only one playing.
“Junior Lefia, I think there’s sothing wrong with these Yung. Can you switch them out?”
“Ah! You might be right, Senior Karl. Just a mont!”
While Lefia disappeared behind the booth, Selena tilted her head and quietly took the Yut sticks from my hand.
“Hold on. Karl, let try throwing them.”
The sticks left Selena’s hand and fell to the ground.
Thud!—
“One more ti.”
Thud!
“…Just one more.”
Thud Thud!
Do. Gae. Geol. All the types ca up. And that was statistically correct. In Yutnori, Yut and Mo don’t co up easily.
“These seem normal, Karl?”
“They do.”
But why only for you? Selena’s expression seed to ask that question.
What could I say? The only thing left to do was to suggest, ‘Maybe we should call it a ga.’
* * *
The Lasker traditional gas booth experience was over.
For the record, even with the different Yut sticks Lefia brought, the result was the sa.
After seven consecutive Mo throws, Selena gracefully conceded the match.
And at Lefia’s booth, they gave the absurd title of ‘God of Yung.’
I wanted to tell them not to give such a title, but Lefia was smiling so brightly that I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Now, where to next…?”
“Over there. I heard Eloise and Lav are running a booth together.”
“The two of them are that close? Is that okay, Karl?”
Don’t ask , Selena. I didn’t put them together. Ask the organizers.
Selena had a worried expression.
It seems she already knew that Eloise and Lav were rivals. I’m starting to worry too. If they end up fighting, it’ll be a big problem.
Those two… No, one elf and one human aren’t like Selena or Lefia, who were raised gently.
They’re more likely to prefer cutting off an enemy’s head and putting a bullet in their heart than having a calm, reasoned discussion.
Lav even fought against elves. Even though they weren’t enemies, Eloise and I were initially a bit awkward, so they must be even more so.
“Are the two of them really on bad terms? They seed fine to .”
Lefia, who was next to , quietly voiced her opinion.
I’m not sure if she’s trying to state the truth or reassure Selena and .
‘…Why does it seem to get more chaotic the closer we get? Seriously, guys. Please.’
Last year’s was enough for festival shenanigans. Please don’t follow in my footsteps!
I prayed inwardly as we finally reached the booth where the two won were—
“Huh?”
I was surprised, but for a reason entirely opposite to what I’d been worried about.
“Oh, Karl!”
“You’ve arrived, S-Senior!”
“What’s this?”
Didn’t they say they were running separate booths? But no matter how I looked around, they were sharing the sa one?
And that wasn’t all. Looking closer, I saw elf exchange students and first-year juniors working together.
I couldn’t see clearly, but judging by the sll… Hmm. This is the sll of baking cookies. And this, what is it? It slls sweet and fragrant?
“Ta-da! What do you think! This is my booth, featuring special jam from the Southern Great Forest!”
“What are you talking about, Eloise? Your booth? It’s our booth. And the na isn’t ‘Southern Great Forest Special Jam Sales Booth,’ it’s ‘Academy Cookies Baked with Love and Topped with Southern Great Forest Special Jam Booth.'”
[TL/N: long ahh nas.]
[PR/N: Both Trash.]
“Sa difference! And honestly, our jam is the star of the show! Cookies are just dry without jam! We’re the ones making this work!”
“I don’t agree. What kind of flavor is there in just eating jam? And it’s not ‘star of the show,’ it’s ‘crowning touch.’ Get it right, elf.”
Hmm. They don’t seem to be on that bad of terms. That’s a relief?
“Eloise. Lav.”
“What!”
“Yes, Senior?”
“The booth na is too long, so I’ll give you a new one.”
Why this sudden change of heart? Well, watching the two of them and the students working together, sothing clicked.
“Let’s call it the Empire-Elf Grand Unity Booth.”
“…Your naming sense is terrible, Karl.”
[TL/N: 😑]
“The ‘Academy Cookies Baked with Love and Topped with Southern Great Forest Special Jam Booth’ is way too long. And ‘Grand Unity’! Doesn’t that sound impressive?”
“Senior, I don’t want to disagree with your opinion, but isn’t it a bit premature to discuss grand unity over re jam and cookies…?”
No, no. This isn’t just a booth selling cookies with jam.
I raised my hand, pointing past the two won, to the two groups of students working together.
“Just last year, it was hard to see sothing like this. Elf exchange students actively participating in the festival, and Imperial students running a booth together with them.”
“That’s because the war ended not too long ago…”
“Exactly, so this is the start of grand unity.”
Working together, struggling together, experiencing events and accidents together, and gaining sothing together—these things naturally create a sense of camaraderie.
In the military, they call it ‘comradeship,’ and in the academy, they call it ‘fellowship.’
And the fact that the Empire accepted elves from Hyzens as exchange students, and that Hyzens deliberately sent their elves to the Imperial Academy, all of it was possible because of a certain will to foster that ‘fellowship’ and strengthen their relationship.
“It certainly is a good sight.”
“Hmm…”
Eloise smirked, and Lav crossed her arms, lost in thought.
“Still, I think our booth mbers are doing a better job.”
“Huh? What are you saying? My kids are doing better!”
“Want to ask Senior Karl?”
“Why not!”
Hey, hey? Guys?
“Hey, Karl! Who’s doing a better job? Tell us!”
“We request your impartial evaluation, Senior Karl.”
“No… Why are you all suddenly doing this when you were getting along so well?!”
[Translator – Angel Dust]
[Proofreader – Prototype]
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