090: Hit and wear, rock-paper-scissors, pop!

An alternate explanation of the game in this chapter

“Hey, you” Eleanora

As usual, Eleanora barged into my room without knocking, this time she sounds suspicious.

“What?” Al

“What is the idea behind rolling up that cloth?” Eleanora

“I’m rolling it around a stick” Al

I turn my attention back to my current project and roll the last of the cloth around the stick, just tucking the cloth end should secure it for now. Then I sew up the edges so it it won’t unravel for real. I got relatively good at this work when I was making slippers, I could probably make simple clothes and mufflers now. Well, I’m not going for high quality here.

“Done!” Al

“So, you rolled cloth around a stick? If you want something to swing, you could just use the wooden sword over there.” Eleanora says as I hold up the stick.

The wooden sword I use for sword practice is leaning against the wall in my room. I don’t really have any use for it now, so it’s just sitting there. I’m not making a different sword at the moment.

“I’m not going to use this for training, it’s for a game” Al

“A game? How does it work?” Eleanora

Eleanora bites at the bait when I said game. She may be assuming I have something like Reversi, but that’s not what this game is like. Eleanora might like this game better.

“Well, this is a game that rewards dexterity, Eleanora may be good at it.” Al

“Really, tell me then” Eleanora

Eleanora comes over and sits down in front of me, her eyes are full of expectations.

“There’s only two items, the bowl and stick here. We’ll play rock-paper-scissors, and if you win you can try to hit the opponent’s head with the stick.” Al

I’ll demonstrate the action by putting on the bowl I had prepared.

“What about your chest or stomach?” Eleanora

“The rules is that the stick can only be aimed at the head!” Al

What exactly does my sister want to do in this game? Were you listening to my explanation?

“Hmm, that’s fine. It sounds fun. So if I win, I hit your head with this stick, right?” Eleanora says as she swings the stick with an innocent smile.

“That’s right. This is important, so I’ll say it again, you have to aim for the head and you can’t avoid it.” Al

I can protect my head, so I don’t want a jab in my stomach. Well, it’s no wooden sword, it’s a small stick covered in cloth.

“I get it, let’s play already” Eleanora

So, with that, we started Hit and Wear Rock-Paper-Scissors. We had a cloth-wrapped stick and bowl in front of use, for a handicap, the stick was on my right side. That way, the older and more dextrous Eleanora has to pick up the stick with her left hand or move her right hand more. Well, it’s not much of a handicap for Eleanora. In sword practice, her left hand is nearly as fast as her right hand. Swordsmen don’t want to die if their dominant hand gets injured, so they make sure that their other hand has some power. Isn’t that a manly way of thinking?

“Then, let’s start?” Eleanora laughs confidently.

It seems like she believes her sword skills will give her an edge in this game. She doesn’t care that the stick is on her left side. That’s nice. She considered the handicap and still challenged me. That way she can lose and not feel bad, right?

“Yep, let’s go” Al said with a fearless laugh.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Eleanora

I’m Rock, Eleanora went Scissors. Since I got the initiative, I grabbed the stick as quick as possible. Actually, I used Psychic magic to assist my speed in grabbing the stick. Then I moved my arm in a nimble manner, releasing the sharpest downswing I’ve ever done!

Pan! A dry sound echoes in the room.

I got one, hey! It’s a hit! A critical hit! I think that’s the first time I’ve ever scored a hit on Eleanora’s head. Look at it! Eleanora couldn’t foresee that I would be the first to get the initiative.

I’m scared now, how is she going to retaliate… but that was really cool.

A few seconds later, I was still drunk on my success when Eleanora’s arms reached out. She grabbed my arm and leg and knocked me over. She straddled me and picked up the stick I had dropped and tried to hit me back.

“Wait! Eleanora! This is part of the game!” Al

In response to my desperate voice, Eleanora’s arm stops.

“That’s right. Al just got a point from hitting my head, sorry I retaliated without thinking.” Eleanora gets off of me, while calming herself.

If I had done that with a wooden sword during practice, she wouldn’t have stopped. It’s good that we were playing a game. Also, the stick is covered with cloth to damped any impacts.

Even so, she knocked me over so fast. I could hardly see it happening, to say nothing about me trying block it. By the time I realized she grabbed my arm, I was on my back and the stick was approaching my head.

I don’t think I could have escaped using Transfer magic. I can move large distances instantly, but there is some amount of time setting up the magic before it activates.

What a terrifying older sister…

“That being said, why was that downswing so much quicker and cleaner that you normally do?” Eleanora

“Well, was it that good? The stick is lighter than a wooden sword, I’d guess that had something to do with it?” Al

Eleanora looks at me somewhat suspiciously, but she nods appropriately. Of course, I had picked out the stick to work well with my strength. I had worked hard to practice the actions before today, from the physical parts to how much magic assistance I could get away with. It’s natural that this was my best showing. Well, I think I did about as well as I could.

“Well, that’s ok. I won’t let it happen again.” Eleanora

“Wait, Eleanora! Don’t swap the cloth-wrapped stick with a wooden sword!” Al

I made various arguments like it’s easier to swing the initial stick, it’s unlikely to cause injuries, and it’s just a game, which convinced Eleanora to keep laying.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Eleanora

I’m Scissors, Eleanora goes with Paper.

“Watch out Eleanora!” Al

I shouted as I swung as quickly as I could go.

“That’s good!” Eleanora

I thought I would hit Eleanora’s head again, but the bowl covered it in time. A sound of a stick hitting a wooden bowl rings out.

“Dang” Al

Damn it! I got caught up in trying to hit hard and I failed to hit at all. Even my magic assistance wasn’t as good as the previous time.

I need to calm down. I want the feeling of hitting Eleanora back, but I can’t be impatient. I have to hit more efficiently and accurately, think back to my practice.

“Hey Al! You don’t get a point this time, right?” Eleanora

She moved the bowl away from her head, her eyebrows look worried.

“I didn’t say I got a point” Al

“Well, that’s ok. I’m getting the hand of this, next time I’ll hit your head.” Eleanora

“I guess I’ll be careful of that” Al

If I miss this opportunity, I may never get another chance like this. We laugh as we start another round.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Eleanora

I’m Paper, Eleanora went Scissors.

Augh! What have I done?

When I realized what had happened, I felt sick to my stomach. It was like I had a sixth sense crying out. I had a vision of Eleanora’s hand holding the stick fly into my head so hard it breaks in half…

“Hey!” Eleanora

I listened to my sixth sense, so I grabbed the bowl and rolled to the side before putting it on.

Dangerous! The situation is code red!

I’m sure if I didn’t try to dodge my vision would have come true.

“Hey! You said you weren’t supposed to avoid it!” Eleanora

Eleanora swings at me with the stick as I wear the bowl and roll away. At least she is properly aiming at my head. When I think about it, isn’t it bullying?

“What are you two doing?” Silvio

A gentle voice comes from the direction of my room’s door. Eleanora also stops trying to attack. When I took the bowl off of my head, I could see Silvio standing at the door.

Translation

Good Job!

Do Better!

Chapter

Love It!

What?

FFS!

Really?