Chapter 440 Board Games, Spring Water, and Young Girls
The alchemy carriage endowed with magic could travel smoothly on the road without a driver. After Ig finished his meditation and a little daydreaming, he immediately stood up and walked towards the carriage.
Opening the curtain, the three young girls appeared in his eyes. However, the scene was slightly different from usual. The young girls were all kneeling in a seiza-like posture around a small wooden table that had been opened. Their beautiful long hair cascaded down their delicate bodies and onto the soft silk carpet spread on the floor.
Their slightly flushed faces and the excited tone of their voices indicated that they seemed to be playing a very intense game.
Fran, the silver-haired vampire princess, waved her small hand a little and greeted him.
Ig walked closer with some curiosity. Upon reaching Verafia, what appeared in the young man’s eyes was a scroll of parchment laid out like a “map,” explained by a considerable amount of detailed and complex lines and text.
However, unlike ordinary maps, it was divided into many “grids” of different colors and patterns by bold lines. On some of these grids, exquisitely crafted chess pieces made of metal were placed, as if each differently shaped piece had a different meaning.
“Young Lady and Little Fei are playing… War Chess?”
After watching for a while, Ig remembered that this was probably a board game called “War Chess” that Ophi had bought from a market in a city they passed a few days ago.
At that time, the Ice Dragon Girl seemed to be a little troubled by the rules of the game. He didn’t expect her to be able to play so skillfully now and even play with the Little Phoenix beside her?
Ig cast his gaze slightly, but the two girls only greeted him briefly before their slender fingertips moved the “War Chess” pieces, continuing their game on the large parchment map.
Ig gently smoothed a stray strand of hair beside the girl and sat beside her, observing attentively.
With the back and forth of the game, and the girls triggering corresponding effects and reading out the text descriptions, Ig gradually understood that this board game was about the “war” between different races and countries on a fictional map. Verafia and Ophi’s “War Chess” pieces had corresponding identities and even combat power and skill settings.
Naturally, Ophi chose the Dragon, which belonged to her own race, while Verafia used the Human powers.
Of course, although the game settings were quite balanced, the actual performance in the game naturally varied.
In one legion battle, Ophi’s carelessness caused Verafia to seize the opportunity to annihilate as many as five legions and three hero units. Then, taking advantage of the Ice Dragon Girl’s panic, she encircled the Priest Dragon again and finally killed the Dragon King, completely winning the entire game.
“Humph, humph, I told you you’re an idiot… You know how powerful I am now!”
Verafia lifted her long, slender, snow-white neck like a swan, her scorching gold big eyes sparkling. Her long eyelashes blinked provocatorily at the Ice Dragon Girl opposite her.
Dejected and mocked, Ophi’s snow-white little face flushed red: “Ugh… you hateful Phoenix, I wanted to play with Fran, not with you, you bad guy!”
Her ice-blue slender dragon tail swished on the blanket, and the little princess of the Ice Dragon made a face at Verafia, then pulled Fran beside her and squeezed into the corner of the carriage, sharing new knight novels together.
“Hey, you idiot, losing to me is not a big deal…”
Verafia puffed up her snow-white cheeks and shouted at the Dragon Girl’s retreating back, seeming very dissatisfied with her timely retreat. The girl’s bright big eyes suddenly turned to Ig beside her, and her slender eyelashes flickered up, showing a trace of interest:
“Well, how about it, Ig, will you play with me?”
“Play with the Young Lady? But I don’t really understand the rules of this game…”
Looking at the large parchment map on the table, the dense text alone, as well as the need to draw effect cards, made people feel intimidated. Furthermore, Ig had not understood much about this board game since Ophi bought it, and he couldn’t even be considered a beginner.
Ig looked at the girl’s delicate and porcelain-like snow-white face, which made one want to reach out and touch it. After thinking for a moment, he said, “However, if Veer wants me to, I can try to learn.”
“Like this… then, forget it.”
The girl’s interest waned. She pulled at the delicate hollow floral lace hem of her silk dress, and her white-stocking-clad delicate lotus feet landed on the soft silk carpet. As she tidied up the board game, her sideways glance looked out the carriage window, and the continuously passing scenery reflected in her eyes.
“Ah… speaking of which, Ig, aren’t we almost at your Kingdom’s capital, Lichen?”
Ig, who was tidying up beside the girl, looked up slightly and said with a smile:
“We are very close. Ahead is probably the territory of Count Reel, the territory of a noble family with a very long history, basically a enfeoffed state established on the edge of the Royal City’s walls…”
“According to the map, the Young Lady should be able to reach the capital of the Count of Reel this evening. It’s only two or three days’ journey from Lichen.”
—
After midday, the carriage stopped its continuously turning metal wheels during the journey.
The specific reason was not that Ig forgot to replenish the magic crystal gems, nor was it that they arrived at their destination earlier due to speeding up the journey. It was simply because Young Lady Verafia was bored and proposed to go out and play.
There were still more than half a month before the registration deadline for Aris Academy, so there was no rush. Naturally, no one would refuse Verafia’s request.
The lush trees of the forest cast shadows. Even though autumn had arrived, the scenery within sight was still lush and green, which was very pleasing to the eye.
“Ig, there’s a spring here!”
Ig, who had just finished setting up the tent, was disturbed by Ophi’s excited voice in the silence. Ig looked up, and the Ice Dragon Girl had already arrived in front of him, holding his hand with her soft little hand.
“Hmm… Hurry and come with me.”
Ophi’s voice was impatient, and without even waiting for Ig’s reply, she trotted towards the small forest.
Even for a high-level professional who had become a Gold-tier expert, keeping up with a Dragon Clan girl was extremely strenuous for Ig.
Fortunately, the destination was not far away. Feeling the softness of the soil and the increasingly humid air, the next time he opened his eyes, the faint sound of bubbling spring water touched the quiet air.
Verafia’s slender figure was reflected on the clear water surface. She was accompanied by the silver-haired vampire princess. A gentle breeze stirred ripples on the water’s surface, gently blowing a soft skirt corner.
