Monopoly.
As a game that has flourished since the early twentieth century up to the present, there are several different accounts regarding its origin.
It is said that the game was originally developed to expose the inherent flaws of capitalism. Therefore, there could only be one winner in the game, and victory could only be achieved when all players except the winner went bankrupt. However, precisely because of this highly competitive and entertaining format, the game became extremely popular, and its original intent has long since been completely forgotten.
Of course, the Monopoly game modified by Chika in the Tabletop Games Club was much simpler. Players only needed to complete the game content in four zones—"Youth Zone," "Young Adult Zone," "Middle-Aged Zone," and "Elderly Zone"—and at the end of the process, rankings would be determined based on each player's individual points.
That being said, judging from Takumi's impression of the original work he had read, the heavily modified version of Monopoly designed by Chika seemed to include various bizarre operations such as "being run over and killed by a car at the start" and "giving birth to nine children in a row." It was hard to say what kind of altered Monopoly Chika in this world would come up with.
"All right, so in short, this game is about rolling dice and moving across spaces, right?"
Sitting to Takumi's left, Maki spoke while casually tossing the two dice in her palm.
"That's right, that's right. The rules are very simple."
Sitting to Takumi's right, Chika let out a silly laugh. She seemed to be glowing, her face entirely filled with anticipation.
"In that case, who goes first?"
Sitting opposite Takumi, Kaguya forced herself to maintain a calm expression as she asked, yet her gaze simply could not move away from the three people in front of her.
Why are you all able to sit together so naturally?
How did it turn into this situation where I'm sitting alone in one row while the other three are facing me at the same time?
Why do I have the feeling that this isn't four people playing a game together, but rather me alone accompanying the three of you while you play?
There must be something wrong somewhere, right!?
Kaguya very much wanted to raise her voice and question the three people sitting opposite her, but in the end her brow merely twitched. She endured the dissatisfaction in her heart, maintained a normal expression, and pretended to speak calmly as she asked, "I'll go first then. Mm, if I roll a six, that means I move forward six spaces, right?"
Holding the die, Maki spoke as she tossed it onto the table.
"That's right. Maki-chan moves forward six spaces, right? Let me see…"
Chika nodded somewhat excitedly, leaning forward to look at the position Maki's character card had reached.
At this moment, the four of them had gathered in Chika's room, accompanying the girl as she played a game. It was worth mentioning that when they had first learned that Chika wanted to invite everyone to play a game together, Kaguya had immediately expressed her refusal and said she did not want to participate. Only after Takumi stated that he wanted to join, and after Maki refused to let Takumi and Chika stay alone in the same room and thus also joined in, did Kaguya helplessly choose to participate as well.
'I just hope nothing too strange appears.'
Fully aware of Chika's airheaded personality, Kaguya could only pray like this in her mind at this time.
"Oh my, Maki-chan drew a misfortune event card. Let me see… if the number rolled is this one. Mm-hmm, the event Maki-chan drew is "Encountering a bad man who deceives her feelings", and from now on she will "no longer trust men"."
The next moment, accompanied by Chika's somewhat surprised voice, Maki's brow gradually furrowed.
"Wait a second, no matter how I look at it, this event feels wrong, doesn't it? Aren't we still in the "Youth Zone"? How could we encounter this kind of event so early?"
The somewhat annoyed girl turned her head to look at Chika, but the latter openly showed her the event table written in the notebook, leaving Maki no choice but to swallow her displeasure.
"Encountering a bad man during one's youth is actually quite reasonable, you know? Aren't there quite a lot nowadays? Those cases where young girls are deceived emotionally by older men."
Takumi, meanwhile, was trying to understand how the events Chika had set up could be considered reasonable.
"Are you talking about yourself?"
Then, following Maki's sharp gaze, everyone's eyes turned toward Takumi.
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm the type who faces my own desires directly and frankly—I don't lie. Seriously, when I went on dates with you, was there ever a time I deceived—"
"Alright, you don't need to say anymore. Who's number two next?"
Before Takumi could finish his self-defense, Maki reached out and covered his mouth. Her face slightly red, she gave a light cough and signaled for the others to continue.
That unconscious gesture, along with the intimate behavior of not minding the distance between them, made Chika, who was watching, curl the corner of her mouth slightly, while Kaguya's brow faintly furrowed. However, neither of them said anything; they simply took the die in turn and rolled.
After several rounds in the Youth Zone, Maki and Kaguya, one because of a windfall from the heavens and the other because of an unexpected inheritance, were tied for first place in the rankings. Chika had progressed smoothly without encountering any major events, gaining a small number of points from a minor investment. In contrast, Takumi had consecutively drawn two "Scumbag Cards", obtaining a large amount of money by deceiving girls' hearts, and was currently in third place in the rankings.
"Even though I looked through Chika's rulebook beforehand and know she isn't secretly manipulating the game, isn't this dice luck a bit too outrageous? Or is some character like a god of fortune targeting me?"
Looking at the two Scumbag Cards placed in front of him, Takumi found it difficult not to complain with a dark expression.
"I actually think those two cards suit you quite well."
Maki said quietly from the side. She then tossed the die and looked at her next move.
A second misfortune event card.
Maki frowned, rolled the die again, and selected the event type.
The event type was—encountering a bad woman who deceives her feelings, losing one-third of her assets, and gaining a "Distrust Women" status card.
"What kind of situation is this? Does my character really have to live this miserably?!"
Maki was furious.
"It's just a game, no need to mind it. Compared to that, I feel like I'm even more innocent, having drawn two "Scumbag Cards"."
Takumi said with a laugh from the side. Immediately after, Kaguya began her turn and moved into a new space.
This time, she drew a "Marriage Card".
Marriage?
Maki, whose mood had just calmed somewhat, froze for a moment.
Chika, holding the rulebook at the side, was also briefly surprised. She then announced that Kaguya, who had drawn the Marriage Card, could form a husband-and-wife relationship with the nearest player. As for the player nearest to Kaguya—well, that was Maki.
"…"
At the same time, both girls showed expressions of mutual disdain.
"Ah, but Maki-chan has the "Distrust Women" status card, so she can't marry a woman. In that case, Kaguya-san can only marry the second closest player, which means marrying Takumi."
In the next moment, accompanied by Chika's voice tinged with a bit of mischievous intent, Kaguya froze in place. Her gaze lifted instinctively and met Takumi's eyes, as he had also looked up at the same time.
Marriage?
Am I marrying Takumi-kun?
No, no, this is just a game. Don't take it too seriously. My plan hasn't even begun to unfold yet. There's absolutely no need to be proud of this small victory in a game.
Struggling to keep the corners of her mouth from curving up too obviously, Kaguya took a deep breath. Then she noticed Maki, seated beside Takumi, her eyes widened and her fists clenched at some point without anyone noticing.
"After getting married, the other players on the board each have to give the married pair 50,000 yen as a congratulatory gift. Hehe, congratulations to you two."
Then, at Chika's next sentence, a layer of mist covered Maki's eyes.
Subconsciously, she took out her wallet and pulled out five ten-thousand-yen bills.
Kaguya also subconsciously reached out her hand, about to take the money Maki was handing over.
"Not real-world money. Snap out of it—it's just a game."
Takumi, sitting at the side, quickly gave a light cough to remind the two of them not to get too immersed. He also swiftly glanced at Chika beside them and, as expected, saw the faint trace of concealed delight on her face.
"Y-yes, right. A game. It's just a game."
Maki took a deep breath, then another, and stared fiercely at her character card on the table as if she were glaring at an enemy.
Kaguya, meanwhile, lowered her head somewhat absentmindedly. A faint blush appeared on her face, and it was unclear what she was thinking about.
The game continued.
After a while, Takumi and Kaguya, now "Husband and Wife", landed on a "Production" space. After rolling the die, they directly "gave birth to a pair of twins". When it came time for the other players to give congratulatory gifts again, Maki almost took out real money once more.
Chika's character, however, did not seem to have very good luck. She kept stumbling along—one moment getting into a car accident, the next having her company go bankrupt. By the time she reached the "Middle Age Zone", she was already more than one billion yen in debt. Yet she herself remained cheerful and completely unbothered or angry, probably because there was too much entertainment happening on Kaguya and Maki's side for her to even keep up with.
"If we count this Production space as well, that makes seven children."
Takumi was already too exhausted to complain about the fact that, even though his character had entered the "Old Age Zone", he could still land on a "Production" space. He was merely somewhat surprised that he had consecutively drawn so many "Production" spaces. Could it be that he was actually a man particularly good at getting girls pregnant?
"Y-yes, but this is only a game, after all. There's no need to take it too seriously."
Kaguya followed in a small voice. Ever since drawing the second "Production" space, her head had lowered; by now she was hardly lifting it at all, only staring at the game cards laid out on the table.
"…"
Maki remained silent.
Her posture at the moment was rather similar to Kaguya's—she too was fixedly staring at the cards on the table.
After completing the gameplay flow of the "Youth Zone" and the "Middle Age Zone", Maki, having consecutively drawn several good cards, now had the highest points and had become the top tycoon in the game. It could be said that the other players were completely outmatched.
However, she had no sense of enjoyment from the game at all.
For Maki, who kept watching Takumi and Kaguya land on "Production" spaces again and again, such a first-place ranking simply held no game experience whatsoever.
"Then it's my turn to move next. Mm, this is… a misfortune event space?"
But in the next moment, things seemed to take a turn.
Kaguya, who had drawn the "Infidelity and Divorce" space, discovered that Takumi had committed "Infidelity" and thus chose to "Divorce" him. As a result, not only did the two separate, but Takumi also had to pay enormous compensation for the seven children from the previous "Production" spaces. It could be said that his character's wealth plummeted to the bottom in an instant.
"Divorced… because of infidelity…"
Kaguya took a deep breath, clearly having been dealt a considerable blow.
"What is with this strong sense of déjà vu and this feeling of being maliciously targeted?"
Takumi once again looked toward Chika. This time, however, he could not discern any flaw in her expression, and had no idea whether this was truly the inevitability of fate or whether she was simply hiding it too well.
"Well, well, so you can be this pitiful too, huh~"
As for Maki, who immediately brightened up and began laughing cheerfully again—forget it. There was no need to expect too much from this girl.
Speaking of which, this game really is that modified Monopoly that appeared in the original work, isn't it? Up to this point, the events that have appeared all seem faintly familiar, at most with some minor changes in the details. According to my impression, the original work should be nearing its end around here. There aren't many steps left in the game flow. In just these few short rounds, Chika probably wouldn't pull off anything even bigger, right?
While thinking this, Takumi then saw Maki draw a "Marriage" space.
Chika's lips curled upward.
Kaguya had already sensed that something was wrong, yet she could not figure out how exactly that misfortune would descend.
Maki's cheeks instantly flushed red, and she secretly glanced toward Takumi, whose character card was currently closest to hers.
"Normally, you would marry the player closest to you. But Maki-chan has the status card "Distrust Men", so she can't marry Takumi."
"And then, as a substitute, she would originally marry the second-closest player. But Maki-chan also has the status card "Distrust Women", so she can't marry Kaguya either—nor can she marry me, who's the third closest."
Holding up the notebook that recorded the rules to hide the corner of her mouth, Chika looked at Maki and spoke slowly.
"What does that mean? Does this card's effect just get nullified?"
Maki couldn't understand, so she asked directly.
"How could that be? I'm a game master—how could I design something like a "Dead End" situation?"
Putting down the notebook, the pink-haired girl's pleased smile was no longer concealed at all.
"Considering the extreme case where a single character obtains both the "Distrust Men" and "Distrust Women" status cards, the reversal plan I designed is—such a player will directly marry all players present and form a prosperous big family, dong~"
Waving her hand, Chika excitedly announced the result.
At that moment, Takumi smiled, fell silent, and applauded, thinking it ingenious.
Kaguya's whole body stiffened; her brain was once again undergoing a Windows 11 automatic update.
Meanwhile, Maki—whose mind had already been thrown into chaos—was grabbed by Chika and had her head kneaded. Several seconds later, she finally reacted and loudly shouted, "What kind of bizarre reversal plan is that?" Then, in the next round, she drew the "Production" square.
By the way, according to Chika's rule sheet, drawing the "Production" square at this time didn't mean Maki herself became pregnant. Instead, it meant that all the players she had married would become pregnant—yes, the kind where everyone becomes pregnant regardless of gender.
"So you're actually the legendary light-novel protagonist?"
After confirming the effect of this rule, Takumi fell silent for a long time and finally tried asking Maki to verify.
"It's not like I wanted it to turn out this way!?"
No longer knowing whether she should collapse or lose her mind, Maki took a deep breath and shouted.
"Hehe, I rolled a six—wow, that means I gave little Maki a pair of twins. So impressive."
Sitting beside Takumi, Chika continued to fan the flames.
"Stop talking already… By the way, Takumi-kun, why are you rolling the dice?"
"Suddenly got a bit curious whether I could roll twins too."
"W-wait, don't roll—don't you dare roll!"
"By the way, Kaguya hasn't responded for ten minutes. Did she fall asleep sitting there?"
"No, no—I'm pretty sure she's crashed."
"How can a woman and a woman have a child…"
"Did your train of thought only just finish processing that step? I haven't even started worrying about the issue of men getting pregnant yet."
"Ah?"
"Don't 'ah'—it's your turn to roll the dice and have a child."
"Ahhh?!"
…
At least in terms of how cheerful the atmosphere was, Takumi felt that Chika's bizarre game had been fairly successful.
Although neither Maki nor Kaguya felt anything but physically and mentally exhausted by it, and had absolutely no intention of playing again.
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