Path of Gold (2)
“Ughhh!! Ugggghhhh!!!!”
It had been years since I'd felt this embarrassed—probably not since I was eleven and pissed the bed.
Liana Aishinkiore kicked at the innocent blanket with all her might.
She'd gone and over-immersed herself in a silly little game.
Of all the rotten luck, the dice that never showed up when she needed them had rolled double sixes followed by a one and a two, landing her right on my priciest territory!
She was just two platinum coins shy of the ten needed for victory.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined I'd wipe her out completely from there.
And when her fully upgraded father's territory got ravaged by a Star of Fate card called Plunder, turning it into a wasteland as my building sprang up in its place? She nearly broke right then and there.
“Ugh…… ugggghhhh!!”
The humiliation of losing her composure in front of a stranger and bursting into tears was bad enough. But an even deeper shame burned hotter.
She was the Golden Duke's one and only legitimate daughter.
She'd shoved aside her greedy brothers who eyed her position and seized control of Liana Merchant Guild, the powerhouse handling the capital's distribution networks. She even inherited her father's prestige, earning the moniker Golden Daughter.
For someone like her to lose to a mere library clerk? Unthinkable!
If word got out, it'd be endless teasing fodder. Worse, it might give her brothers the perfect opening to exploit any tiny flaw.
“UgggghhhhAAAAAHHH!!!”
“M-Miss……? Are you alright?”
“I'm fiiiine!! Just leave me alone! I'm stretching!”
To shake off the shame and seething defeat bubbling from within, she let out a scream that was practically a battle cry.
“I'll challenge you again tomorrow.”
Grinding her teeth at the vision of that infuriating face dancing in her mind.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Let's play again.”
“……??”
I barely had time to register the early morning visitor before I had to whip my gaze away in a panic.
“Whoa, what the hell? It's barely dawn—what's with the outfit!?”
Liana Aishinkiore wasn't in her usual baggy casual clothes she wore to the library. No, she was decked out in a skin-tight cheongsam that hugged every curve.
And that side slit—what the hell? One wrong move and her underwear's on full display!
“Oh, this? It's my work uniform. When you're dueling with real stakes, you've gotta commit body and soul, right?”
“No…….”
“Yujin, is that really the point right now? Let's play again. I won't lose this time!”
Her red eyes, thrust right in my face, burned with fiery determination.
“After bolting like that yesterday, I figured you wouldn't show.”
“Ugh…… I just didn't grasp the rules properly since it was my first time!”
Even she seemed embarrassed about yesterday, her ears flushing crimson as her body trembled.
In the end, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
“Fine by me.”
“W-What is!?”
“You seemed to really enjoy it. That's what games are for, win or lose.”
I meant it.
Sure, I go all-out to win once we start, but as a game dev, the whole point of making them is player fun.
Path of Gold might be a proven classic, but I'd sprinkled in my own twists—like the fine-tuned rules and Stars of Fate. Call it a creative reinterpretation.
This was my creation, born from these hands.
I pulled the carefully stowed Path of Gold board from the bottom drawer.
“Come on in.”
Liana plopped down across from me without hesitation.
I grabbed the red piece; she picked the yellow one again.
Dice roll. One plus four.
I advanced five spaces and snagged the land deed.
Liana's roll: five plus four.
She barely skirted the Great Forest but passed on buying the deed.
Steering clear of the cheaper southern and western tolls, huh?
Roll again. ……And another.
How much time passed like that?
Liana's face grew grave.
She held fifteen properties now.
But only six were the high-value eastern and northern cities.
The rest of the northeast? All mine.
And most of my cities were guild-upgraded, forcing her to cough up at least one or two platinum coins in tolls per visit.
With just three platinum to her name, a double roll landing on two consecutive spaces could bankrupt her outright.
Even if luck smiled and she hit her own turf for a breather, landing on my maxed-out Charleston or Adenburg meant shelling out twenty platinum and instant bust.
No wonder she was tense.
But my situation wasn't rosy either.
Lots of properties, sure—but at the cost of burning through capital. Not even one platinum left; eight gold was my whole stash.
We were both one brush away from disaster.
Her palm shook as she gripped the dice.
“R-Roll……”
Clatter-clatter-roll.
Three, three. A double.
Liana jolted, hastily counting spaces. Her piece stopped on her own city.
“Huuuuh……”
Relief washed over her as she clutched her chest and exhaled deeply.
That said, the steamed-bun-like swell jiggled oh-so-softly up and down.
Former dev's guarantee: silky smooth at about 240fps.
Damn it, a gaze attack!
As I struggled to look away, she rolled the second die.
Two plus one—three. Not my land, disappointingly.
“Yes!”
Liana pumped her fist. How'd she thread the needle like that?
My turn.
Dice roll! Six plus four.
Ten spaces back—my turf.
Just two from the Romanium Palace start. Any roll next turn laps the board, buying me breathing room.
I'd just escaped checkmate and was handing her the dice when—
“……Gotcha.”
“??”
Liana lifted the card in front of her.
A Star of Fate. She'd drawn it three turns back.
“Star of Fate activate: Dragon Landing. Effect: Force opponent two spaces back from their current landing spot.”
“W-What!?”
“Two back from Charleston lands you on my Scorpion. Fully controlled—toll's twelve platinum.”
I looked up at her again.
The anxious worry from moments ago? Gone. In its place, greedy crimson eyes coiled like a serpent ready to devour its prey.
Even knowing it was just a game, a chill raced down my spine.
No wonder she outmaneuvered her brothers. That killer instinct ain't messing around.
She crossed her legs, flashing thigh, and giggled wickedly.
“Hand over the deed. You knew you'd have to cough up a prime piece or two anyway, right?”
“……Then I'll activate my Star of Fate too.”
“????”
“Palace Protection: Pay the cash, but keep the territory. The imperial bank covers it.”
“What!? N-No cheating!!!”
“Drew it five turns ago. For real.”
Liana's eyes iced over.
And on her next turn, she rolled two plus three—straight into Adenburg, the board's toll king.
Thirty-six platinum due. Glorious explosion into bankruptcy.
Of course, Liana didn't quit.
After nearly crying again from snatching defeat from victory jaws, she bit her lip and held it together, cat-who-lost-its-treat face and all.
She challenged me two more rounds after that.
“I-I won!!!!!”
Finally, she pulled off the special victory Golden Age, claiming a miraculous triumph.
“Kyaaaaah!! I won! I wooo on!!!”
Liana leaped from her seat, hopping like mad.
Problem was, unlike the empty first round, the library was packed with mages now.
Her high-pitched squeals echoed off the walls, and those emphasized assets bounced wildly, yanking every studious mage's aggro hard……!!
I rushed to hush her—
“Shh! Too lou—Guhk!?”
“How 'bout that! I'm awesome, right? How was my first win!?”
She lunged and hugged me tight, yelling.
That vivid, soft-squishy-mushy feeling against my chest.
The library air turned frosty in an instant. No way it was my imagination.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In the end, right after the barrage of complaints from salty mages, I had to cough up two high-grade magic stones to placate Wiki, who insisted on tattling to my master.
“You didn't buy those with operating funds again, did you?”
“N-No way~ Got 'em with my own cash. How much is one even worth? Even Master wouldn't let that slide.”
“Very well. Just this once.”
Wiki snatched the stones, perked up, and hummed back to the spirit corridor.
Sorry, Wiki, but yeah—those were public funds.
I'll refill the ledger once payday hits…….
Another day of twists and turns before closing up shop.
“……Ahem……”
Someone stood in front of the library.
Golden blonde side-tail gleaming in the moonlight.
“Lady Liana?”
“Here to apologize for my rudeness today, Librarian.”
She bowed her head, then flashed that expression I'd seen mid-game and added,
“But…… as head of Liana Merchant Guild, I have a proposal for you.”
I remembered it now.
“I'd like to sell this Path of Gold game through our guild.”
Exactly the face she made when swiping bankrupt land.