Published: August 1, 2025
We spread out the Sugoroku board on the floor and sat around it, the four of us.
For the player pieces, we used chess pieces as Kaede had suggested.
The black king was Lord Cyrus, I had the queen, Kaede held the white knight, and Mr. Angelo had a pawn.
Seeing this setup, Lord Cyrus half-closed his eyes.
"Normally, shouldn't the king and queen be on opposite colors? At least Angelo should have the knight, not a pawn."
"Oh no, that would be presumptuous. I am perfectly fine as an infantryman. The first line of defense, destined to fall disgracefully for my lord."
"But after being captured, you become part of the other side’s pieces, you know."
I had no idea what they were talking about.
"...I guess it doesn’t really matter."
Lord Cyrus picked up the black king piece and handed me the queen.
Honestly, I was excited. I’d had a vague feeling for some time that I liked these kinds of children's games. I even mentioned the goose game because I had enjoyed playing it with my sister once before. This Sugoroku had a lot of event squares and looked really fun. As I smiled while staring at the queen piece, Kaede chuckled softly.
"Alright then, Ms. Marie, you can start."
She handed me the dice. Yay!
I placed the queen piece at the start square labeled "Start."
"Okay... here I go!"
With a bit of unnecessary enthusiasm, I shook and threw the dice.
The number that came up was six—the highest number. I cheered, moving my piece forward step by step. But the square I landed on read: "Return to Start."
...I silently moved the queen piece back to the original spot.
"Then, it's my turn."
Lord Cyrus rolled the dice. A four came up, and the event on that square was:
"Shake hands with the person on your right...?"
Lord Cyrus cautiously glanced to his right. There stood Mr. Angelo, smiling cheerfully.
Lord Cyrus looked at Kaede pleadingly. Kaede smiled sweetly.
"Giving up already?"
"......"
Lord Cyrus silently clasped Mr. Angelo’s hand.
Next was Kaede’s turn. She rolled a one, moved the knight piece forward, and followed the instruction to eat some sweets, saying, "Oh, too bad," with a smile.
"Then it’s my turn."
Mr. Angelo rolled a five. He steadily moved his pawn and said,
"Shake hands with the person on your left... Lord Cyrus, please."
Lord Cyrus frowned but took his outstretched hand.
After Angelo, it was my turn again, completing a full round.
Gripping the dice tightly, I silently prayed.
Earlier I rolled a six only to be sent back to the start immediately. Even though I got the highest roll first, I was still at the very back—I really wanted to break this pattern!
"...Here goes. Take this!"
With a flash of determination, I threw the dice. It tumbled across the board and landed on... a three!
I moved the queen piece three spaces forward—only to land again on a square that said "Return to Start."
I quietly moved the piece back. Lord Cyrus comforted me with a gentle pat.
Next was his turn. He rolled a three.
The event on that square was:
"Touch the main mast of the ship."
"That’s one of the largest trading ships in the West!"
Lord Cyrus let out a scream and sprinted all-out. While he was gone, we relaxed and drank tea.
"Huff huff... wheeze wheeze..."
"Welcome back. Now it’s my turn."
Kaede's graceful hand rolled the dice. A six came up. The event read:
"Make a piping hot tea and serve it to the person who went before you. No choice—you have to drink it, Cyrus Granado."
"Huff huff... drink that? No way! Wheeze wheeze..."
That’s how we kept rolling the dice again and again, performing the events on each square we landed on. The events were diverse but mostly silly and exhausting.
"Sing the national anthem loudly."
"Move forward two spaces, then back three."
"Tell about a recent embarrassing mistake."
"Say what food you absolutely couldn’t eat as a child."
"Return to Start."
"Make a weird face."
"Turn around three times and bark."
"Imitate a cat."
"Return to Start."
"Return to Start."
...
"What kind of game is this! The stupid events keep me from getting anywhere!"
Outside the window, night had fallen, and finally Lord Cyrus shouted. Because he had landed on the "Change hairstyle" square earlier, he now had braided pigtails (which actually suited him quite well).