It had been a month since Peach started playing Heirokki for pastime.
Kousuke looked at the faces of the gathered people with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.
“I never thought it would be realized in just a month.”
“Isn’t it amazing?”
To Kousuke’s words, Floria puffed out her chest, and Towa gave a wry smile.
“Father may not know, but at least in Razek Amamiya, Heirokki is quite a widespread game.”
“Oh, really? Even so, to the point of holding a tournament led by the country?”
The Heirokki tournament that Kousuke had casually mentioned to Floria a few days ago had, before he knew it, been decided to be held under the leadership of Razek Amamiya.
Floria had listened with an unusually serious expression, but Kousuke hadn’t actually thought it would come to fruition then.
Although Floria had stepped down from the throne, he felt that her agility had increased accordingly.
However, in this case, Floria’s influence was not the primary reason.
“It’s widely known by people of all ages and genders.”
“It’s not often that the country has the opportunity to support something that anyone can get passionate about.”
It might be a world with limited entertainment, but in the Central Continent, Heirokki was a game beloved by many.
Because it had spread widely among the general public, the necessary tools could be obtained at low cost.
It was said that every household had a Heirokki board and pieces in their possession.
“When Mother brought this matter up, it was actually the senior management who were enthusiastic.”
When Floria, who had heard from Kousuke, put together a somewhat concrete plan and went to talk to Towa, the executives who were listening nearby apparently had their eyes shining.
On top of that, they regretted, “Why haven’t we done something like this before!” and from there, the matter progressed at a breakneck pace.
Kousuke, having heard the story from Floria and Towa, was half dumbfounded and half convinced.
That he was so starved for entertainment was likely part of the reason.
Furthermore, the plan itself was well-structured and even included substantial prize money.
Simply winning the main tournament would award an amount equivalent to ten years of income for an average household, which was quite a sum.
“How on earth did you manage to come up with such prize money?”
Kousuke couldn’t help but worry if the country’s finances were alright, but both Towa and Floria shook their heads.
“For Razek Amamiya, the income from the Teleport Gate alone is substantial. It’s more like we *should* be using it this way, to give back to the public.”
As Towa said, Razek Amamiya’s income from the Teleport Gate was even greater than the tax revenue from its citizens and guilds.
This indicated that the Teleport Gate was being used extensively, which was understandable given its convenience for traversing the entire continent in one go.
Currently, the Teleport Gates for passing through the cities on the fifth floor were operated in three categories.
The first was for residents of Amamiya Tower; the second, for citizens of Razek Amamiya; and the last, for foreigners.
Those residing within the tower generally used it for free, while foreigners were charged a higher fee.
At its peak, the number of people entering and exiting the cities on the fifth floor was likely unparalleled worldwide.
Accumulating all the income a nation received could negatively impact its domestic economy.
To encourage financial liquidity, a certain amount of money had to be spent on operating the nation.
… Towa explained that it was by asserting this very point that the executives enthusiastically set the prize amounts.
“Is it really okay to do it like that?”
Kousuke narrowed his eyes slightly at the story, which seemed to have some hidden agenda.
Seeing this, Towa and Floria also gave wry smiles, but Towa said with a half-sigh.
“Well, I can vaguely see their intentions, but that’s fine.”
“It’s easier to deal with them precisely because their motives are so transparent.”
Besides, this was a tournament that Floria had directly proposed, and Towa, as the King, was directly involved.
Even if they couldn’t win themselves, if someone they recommended won the tournament, they could make a name for themselves.
This was the role of a sponsor, and those with enough wealth to provide such support were desperately searching for strong players.
Towa and Floria could easily anticipate such moves, so they wouldn’t have trouble dealing with them.
In fact, individuals who did unexpected things could sometimes be more troublesome to handle.
“It’s still better with them, as their actions are predictable. The real problem is with the general participants.”
“Given the stakes, they sometimes act recklessly.”
There had been incidents where rumors of someone being strong led to attempts to threaten that person into withdrawing from the tournament.
Of course, Razek Amamiya, as the organizer, would not tolerate such behaviour and dealt with it strictly, but some incidents still occurred.
Furthermore, it was better when incidents came to light; the real problem lay with what happened behind the scenes.
The country could not intervene to resolve a situation unless it escalated into an incident.
Towa mentioned that how to support those facing such issues was the immediate challenge.
Incidentally, it was predicted that such disturbances would continue until the main tournament began.
Once the main tournament started, the number of participants would be limited, making it easier to manage.
Until then, it was a crucial period for the organizers.
“The preliminaries start in two more months. It’s a borderline duration, whether it’s long or short.”
“Indeed.”
Originally, they would have wanted more time for publicity and preparations, but having too long a period might cause the enthusiasm to wane.
It was a difficult judgment to make.
“If this time goes well, next time will be a year later. That should streamline things even further.”
“That’s true. And I suspect the strange incidents will decrease too, won’t they? Though I don’t think they’ll disappear completely.”
“What do you mean?”
To Floria, who tilted her head, Kousuke continued his explanation.
“Once they’ve experienced it once, they’ll quickly realize that it’s impossible to win through individual effort alone, given the time and money involved. So, as time passes, I think they’ll gradually become more organized.”
In this context, “organized” didn’t necessarily mean something grand; it could include even small dojos in towns.
Even if small, groups were easier to manage than individuals.
Kousuke believed that the more the tournament was held, the more this trend would accelerate.
Whether it would actually turn out that way was uncertain, but neither Towa nor Floria believed that participation would remain solely individual.
After all, it was only natural that those who could dedicate more time would become stronger.
“Well, let’s put aside future prospects for now and focus on making this event a success.”
“Indeed.”
“Oh? Speaking of which, isn’t Crown involved this time?”
Kousuke asked, tilting his head, as Floria and Towa nodded in agreement.
“Ah, this time the country is handling it completely independently. Although, it seems they have their own plans.”
When Floria mentioned this matter to Schmidt, he had a scheming expression with a smile, making her feel that he wouldn’t let it end without doing something.
Kousuke also nodded with a wry smile at the plausible story.
It was probably best to observe their actions for now.
At any rate, there was no doubt that the event planned by Razek Amamiya was attracting attention from various quarters.
Floria and Towa prayed for the event’s success, hoping it would lead to future iterations and conclude without a hitch.
Floria, who was plotting something in the previous chapter, got right to work!
And so, Razek Amamiya will be organizing the Heirokki tournament.
This is purely a sponsorship role for the tournament; they are not an organization that fields chess players.
