Side Story: Baseball Board
――In the dungeon.
“Hmm, this is…!”
I was casually looking through the DP catalog, and I found it.
It’s a bit expensive since it’s related to my previous life, but… the moment I saw it, I wanted it.
Then, I would not hesitate to buy it, because I was a Demon Lord!
But let’s not tell my wives how much DP I used!
Because it’s not a practical product at all!
**
“Lefi! Let’s play, let’s play!”
“Mhm, fine. I’ll add another page to your history of defeats today.”
“Let me tell you something, Leficios. It is a sign of weakness to speak like that. The strong do not say such words.”
“Well, so you say. Then you and I must decide who is the stronger one!”
Lefi, who had been lounging around as usual, got up and came over to me.
You’re really cute when you’re like that, you know.
“Fine! Let’s decide the winner with this one!”
With a bang, I showed Lefi a baseball board.
It was something that every man had probably played with at least once.
“What’s that strange board?”
“This is a game called a baseball board. You and I have played baseball before, right? This is a recreation of that but as a board game.”
“Hmm? I remember Baseball, but if that’s the case, why don’t we just play that outside?”
“No, because we would end up with casualties.”
The casualty mainly being me.
Any sports with this person would be superhuman sports, so if I wanted to avoid death, it should be limited to something with light hits, like badminton, table tennis, or something similar.
Volleyball, for example, would probably be the limit.
With a soccer ball, if a normal person were to get hit in the face by Lefi’s kick, their head would simply burst. Even I was not sure if I could stay conscious after being hit.
By the way, a baseball would easily kill someone when hit with a hard ball. As to be expected.
“Oh, well, I’m not in the mood to go outside today, so let’s play with this. Sit on the batter’s side – that side. I’m the pitcher, on this side. The rules are the same as in baseball: I shoot the ball from here, and you hit it back. And the sign here says… Uh, it’s probably hard to understand, so wait a minute. I’ll rewrite it.”
Lefi couldn’t read the Japanese on the baseball board, so I took out a pen and rewrote it in this world’s language, overwriting it.
My residents had already fully memorized the chess pieces and such, but they were remembered as ‘symbols’, not ‘letters’.
And even if they did remember them, it didn’t mean that they understood Japanese.
“Hmm… Those are Roman Letters, right? The characters from your previous life are numerous.”
“This is just similar to the difference between the scripts of the Dragon Tribe and the scripts of the humans. In my previous life, the cultures that used this Roman alphabet were dominant throughout the world. That’s why we can read the Roman alphabet normally in every country.”
“Hoh? As I recall, there are three different Japanese terms, aren’t there? Are they also used in different cultures?”
“No, that’s only used in Japan.”
“…I see. Well, I don’t really understand what’s going on over there.”
Well, Japan was not the only kanji-speaking country in the world, but there’s no need to go into that much detail. It would be too much trouble.
After teaching her the rules of the baseball board, we faced each other with the board in between.
“Now then, let’s go! Watch my pitch! Eat me, straight ball of fire!”
“Nuh!”
Lefi hit the ball straight back with a bang, but where it rolled across the board was marked as an out.
One out.
“Nuh, out. I thought I successfully returned the ball.”
“Well, that hit was half luck, you see. This is the kind of game where you have to take turns. Okay, let’s go to the next round.”
And so the round went on without incident, but neither player scored.
I didn’t do anything special either.
“Hmm, I understand most of the details. This is a game to see who can send the ball where they want it to go.”
“Oh, did you finally understand?”
“…what’s that smug smile on your face?”
“Well, next round, next round.”
I didn’t answer, just grinned and urged her to continue.
The first inning was over, so the next game was the start of the second inning.
Once again, the pitcher was me and the batter was Lefi.
–The real game starts here.
I was very kind and didn’t do anything in the first inning to get her used to the game, but… Lefi still didn’t understand the game yet.
Kukuku, here’s where I was going to give her a taste of the true grind of the baseball board…!
“Well, it’s the second inning. — Let’s go! Curveball!”
“Nuuh!?”
The ball curves in front of the batter, and the bat strikes out.
If anyone had ever played a baseball game, then they would have to know that this was a ball whose direction could be changed by manipulating a magnet.
“Hey, what was that?”
“It’s a curveball! Depending on the pitcher’s grip, the ball’s direction changes in a thousand different ways… Yes, I am the man with the golden right arm that changes the course of the ball in seven different ways…”
“That’s nonsense, how would grip even matter in this game! Now, explain what you did!”
“No, no, what are you talking about? Well, I’ll tell you, first I declared it as a curveball, then I demonstrated it, and then I kindly showed you how to handle it. Ha, I hate it when you make unreasonable demands.”
“Ugh, you certainly declared it…!”
By the way, I didn’t think it’s anything outrageous, my counter was also a legitimate objection.
“Fu, fuun, fine, I now understand your move! I’ll hit it next time!”
“That’s the spirit! You deserve to be my rival! I’ll definitely defeat you with this curveball… and then disappear!”
“Nuuh! What?”
With a snap, the area in front of the batter sunk downwards, and the ball disappeared inside it.
Again, the bat ended up swinging.
“That is not a Curveball!?!”
“Fufufu, I told you it changes into seven different moves, right? This is a magic ball that disappears! The ball disappears into the void, deceiving the batter. Only the sound of the swinging bat echoes through the air…”
“It’s not a void, the ball just disappeared physically!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Next, the third pitch! Hmm! You thought you had it in the bag, but you didn’t!”
“Nuuuh!?”
I feinted once in the pitching motion, and Lefi, caught in the feint, waved her bat, but the ball went through after that.
When the pitcher’s device that throws the ball was moved, the hand of the striker doll moved as well, so even a simple straight ball could become a feint.
It was quite irritating for those who were affected.
The person doing it (Me) was having a lot of fun.
Yes, this was how a baseball board should be played!
“Well, isn’t that, as I recall, what they call a blank in real baseball?!”
“This is a board game, not the real game, so there are no blank verdicts. Sorry about that. Anyway, come on, let’s keep it going!”
Lefi continued to play with me, and the game ended with a three-out inning.
I couldn’t even snag a bat, so no runs were scored.
“…”
“Oh, Lefi-san’s anger gauge has gone up by one. I’m sorry Lefi, I love your joy, anger, sadness, and everything else. That’s why I can’t help but want to see it…”
“I don’t want your twisted love, idiot!”
By the way, once Lefi’s anger gauge reaches 10, the Great Monster would be born.
Then, the Demon Lord and the Great Monster would engage in a slug fest.
The fight usually ended in the Demon Lord’s defeat, but I still wanted to see her get frustrated and angry…!
“Fufufu, next, the bottom of the second inning. You are pitching, right? But I know your game now, so I wonder if your pitches will work?”
Actually, it wouldn’t help her even if she knew the trick, because it was a bluff to get Lefi to be impatient.
Hurry, hurry…it would be your undoing…!
“…I see. If you are going to do that again, then I have an idea. If you have seven moves, then I have a hundred! You’ll be sorry for making me angry! Eat my 100 moves!” (Lefi)
“A hundred moves?” (Yuki)
It was at that moment the released ball suddenly stopped.
The bat, which was well-timed, properly hit the ball when it started to move again, resulting in a hit.
…This stop was not a function of this baseball board.
No doubt, Lefi must have done something with magic.
“Hey, that’s a foul!”
“Foul? I don’t know what you are talking about. If there is such a foul in this game, then the Curveball, the disappearing ball, and other moves should be considered fouls, too.”
“Ugh…! Well, well, I’m an open-minded guy! I’ll let your foul pitches slide, for now!”
“Oh, you’re so patronizing. I have a bigger heart than you, but I won’t reject it for your poor soul’s sake. –The real game begins here!”
And with that, Lefi became the pitcher for the next round.
I was bracing myself for what was coming, watching with the super eyesight of a Demon Lord, but… there was no suspicious movement in the ball.
I was a little dubious, but I timed it right and swung the bat… but just before the bat hit the ball, the ball bounced off the ground and avoided my bat.
Of course, this became an empty swing, a strike.
“Wait, wait, wait, isn’t that a little unfair?”
“What do you mean, if there is a magic ball that disappears, why can there not be a magic ball that bounces?”
“If you say that, then anything is possible, right?”
“Really? You did all kinds of things to win against me, someone who knows nothing of the game, and if I do something to you, you think I’m cheating? Isn’t that unreasonable?”
Lefi smiled at me, as if to say, “I have the right to reason with you.”
“…Lefi! It seems that there is something I need to teach you! You see, in baseball, it’s not just about having a lot of different pitches, it’s all about how you use them! It’s all about brains! Let’s give you a taste of the depth of the game, you shallow thing!”
“Oh, have at it! All you have been talking about is tactics and brains! But it all boils down to power, overwhelming absolute power is what will beat your opponent! I will crush your shallow wits as if I were twisting a baby’s hand!”
The battle heated up and never ended.
We kept screaming and yelling, and even though we were on the verge of a confrontation, we could not win or lose, and the battle ended with a truce when the outside forces said, “Dinner is ready”!
Well, this was just another day in our daily lives.
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