Translator: imperfectluck Editor: vb24

  Reo failed as well.

  The black-veiled woman was able to throw snowballs swiftly and accurately. There was no way for a little girl like Reo to compete against her. After failing, she was forced to go back twelve spaces, just like Kaede and Shika.

  It seemed that it would be difficult to defeat her, but Seiji had no choice but to try.

  'My turn, draw! Whoops, I meant to roll the die…'

  Seiji tossed the die and moved to a space containing a drawing of men drinking together.

  The black-veiled woman appeared once again. Seiji was sitting across from her, with a wine flagon placed before each of them.

  The wine flagon was approximately the size of two baseballs. It was open, but no smell of alcohol emanated from it.

  The rules were quite simple. The first to finish the flagon of wine before them would be the winner.

  'It's time to duel!'

  Seiji and the black-veiled woman simultaneously brought their flagons of wine to their mouths and began drinking!

  With Seiji's first gulp, he didn't feel anything. It tasted like water to him.

  However, right after that, he felt his lips going numb, and a fierce sensation welled up in his mouth, throat, and even stomach. It felt like there was a fire raging inside him—an unpleasant experience to say the least!

  'This flavor; this feeling…' Seiji recalled a type of alcohol that he had tasted out of curiosity in his previous world—Spirytus Rektyfikowany!

  The alcohol with the highest alcohol content in the world! It was 96% alcohol and bore the nickname "Water of Life!!"

  What was the meaning of a 96% alcohol drink?

  Even the disinfecting alcohol used by hospitals was only 75% alcohol, yet this was an entire 21% higher! It could be ignited simply by a lighter!!

  This was basically pure alcohol; it certainly wasn't something a person could drink directly.

  Seiji had only tasted it one time in his previous life. It left him a deep impression; it was a similar feeling to the flagon of alcohol before him.

  'Just one gulp is already so unpleasant…' In reality, Seiji would never even consider finishing an entire flagon.

  But this wasn't real. It was merely an illusion.

  In that case, Seiji decided not to worry about it. Not only could he finish a flagon, he could even try finishing an entire crate as long as he maintained his consciousness in this fantastical illusion!

  As for the "Water of Life," it appeared quite commonly in a comedy manga as the male lead and his companions' daily drink.

  That's right—a daily drink.

  Treating the "Water of Life" just like water… just this alone would make anyone want to comment on it. Seiji recalled that the manga had the same author as Baka to Test , and that it was quite amusing. Its name was…


  'Eh, why can't I recall? My head feels so dizzy… I can't feel my mouth anymore… My body is going numb…'

  Seiji suddenly returned to his senses and discovered that he was back in his living room.

  "Did I win?" he said uncertainly.

  Before anyone responded, he heard a voice in his mind.

  He had won. He managed to defeat the black-veiled woman in the drinking contest!

  "I won," Seiji said, "and apparently I can even roll my die again."

  If he rolled a four, he would reach the finishing point.

  If he rolled anything higher than four… well, he hoped that this board game didn't have a rule like starting over from the very beginning again if he passed the finishing point.

  'It's time for the critical moment of the duel! Come, heart of the cards… whoops, I meant dice roll.'

  "It's gotta be a four!" He tossed his die.

  With everyone watching, the die rolled and rolled and finally stopped, showing a… four!

  It was just the number he needed to reach the finishing point. Seiji smiled as he picked up his player piece and moved to the finishing point.

  Everyone entered another illusion.

  They saw… cherry blossoms covering the sky.

  They were in a large cherry-tree forest, where countless flowers were blooming. The endless flower petals seemed just like clouds, beautiful and romantic.

  Seiji was rather stunned by the sight.

  "So beautiful…" he heard someone murmur from beside him.

  He turned around and saw Mika dressed in pink Sakura Island clothing.

  "Indeed, it's so beautiful." Kaede appeared on his other side.

  Shika silently walked up to him, and Reo was exclaiming at this scene as well.

  All of them had entered this illusion!

  "Is… this the congratulations for beating the game scene?" Seiji wondered aloud.

  Right when he finished saying that, he saw the black-veiled woman appear and walk over to them.

  She stood in front of everyone before bowing deeply.

  The wind lightly lifted part of the veil covering her face, revealing delicate lips curved up in a gentle smile.

  "Who are you?" Seiji asked.

  He didn't receive a reply. The illusion ended.

  When Seiji returned to his living room, he discovered that the board's spell formation and gold-red glow had disappeared.

  When he tried standing up and moving, he no longer felt any restrictions. He was able to move about as he pleased.

  It was the same for everyone else. The invisible force that was forcing everyone to play the game earlier had completely disappeared.

  "It's over," Seiji said. "It looks like that this is just a harmless game after all."

  Judging from the result, it appeared that apart from draining their Mana, the game had done nothing to them. When compared to the fun they had while playing the game, Seiji felt that it was rather worth it.

  Seiji was even willing to play it again in the future, but first he wanted to understand its functions more clearly.

  "That was a wondrous experience… but who was that lady that appeared in the end?" Kaede asked curiously.

  "I don't know; it's all a mystery to me. I have no idea what this board game really is." Seiji shrugged. "Luckily for us, it was harmless. Things could have turned out bad if it was a dangerous artifact."

  "I'm sorry…" Mika lowered her head.

  "This was an accident, Mika. You couldn't have expected such a thing to happen either. I'm not blaming you at all," Seiji consoled. "If there's any blame at all, then I'm the one who should be blamed, as I asked you to bring some cards or a board game over to play with."

  "Seigo…"

  "In the end, this is just an accident. There's no need to mind something like this. What's important now is to understand the situation clearly." Seiji rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Mika… you said that your mother told you that this was something your father left behind, right?"

  Mika nodded.

  "Could your father actually be a Spiritual Ability user? Do you have any particular memories of your father?"

  Mika thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't… my father passed away when I was really young, and I don't really remember anything about him, so I can't think of anything special…"

  "In that case, we'll have to ask Miss Landlord," Seiji said. "I believe that Miss Landlord probably doesn't know about the mystical. If she did, then she would know what this board game was, and she probably wouldn't have casually let others play with it."

  After all this time, Seiji had never noticed the landlord, Nozomi Uehara, acting unusual in any way. Seiji didn't believe that she was actually a secret Spiritual Ability user or knew anything about the mystical.

  Of course, he could try confirming it by asking the landlord directly, but he didn't feel like he should do that. If the landlord turned out to be a normal person, she would only gain trouble if he informed her about the mystical.

  "Mika, try being natural about it and ask her about your father. I'll also contact the President and ask her about this board game."

  "Alright…" Mika nodded.

  Seiji looked back towards Kaede.

  "I'll keep what happened here a secret," the blonde teacher said, smiling.

  She knew about Seiji's true name and background already. Due to this, although she was surprised about the mysterious event that occurred today, she was able to accept it quickly. She knew what he wanted to say and what she should do.

  "Thank you, Juumonji-sensei."

  "There's no need to be polite."

  Kaede inwardly felt that this experience was quite valuable for her. No matter what the process was like, just experiencing such a thing with Seiji and the others was an excellent way of getting closer to him.

  Step by step, slowly but surely—that was her ultimate goal.