Chapter 176: And, So He Liked Us

Translator: Blushy

Editor: SenjiQ

After playing hide-and-seek a lot, they got bored. Then, “Okay, let’s play tag!” it turned out like this. Well, of course. But there was a problem.

The odds of winning at tag are proportional to the speed and nimbleness of one’s feet. This means that the two and three year olds are at a disadvantage. So, I had a strategy meeting with Nico.

“Nico, weth’sh do thhath.”

“That, huh.” Nico groaned and crossed his arms. Even at the castle, there were times when we went against Chris, and even if we made Chris our ally, we had to go against Felicia, Nii-sama or Gill, or against other unfavourable conditions. Therefore, Nico and I plan and practice our strategy each time.

“The problem with that is that we can only do it once.”

“We can’th win againshth big widsh in thag in thhe firshth pwace.” (We can’t win against big kids in tag in the first place)

“Especially not you Lei.”

It’s annoying how he made it sound as if I was slow.

I glanced at Lawk and Jeff. They were talking about something. By the way, Nii-sama and the others were looking at us with a smile while in deep conversation. It’s good that they seem to be enjoying themselves.

“I think it’s fine if we have fun even if we lose.”

How upright is this three year old? But the reality is that it’s not all about having fun. The world of little kids is tough. We have to make a big impact from the beginning.

“Ith’sh noth fun tho woshe aww thhe thime.” (It’s not fun to lose all the time)

We should still try even if we know that we’re going to lose. It’s important to be acknowledged.

“Jushth once. If we win jushth once thhen ith’ww be oursh.” (Just once. If we win just once, then it’ll be ours)

“Is that how it is?”

“Yesh.”

“Then, let’s do it.”

We had to have special rules for tag to do this. We will definitely lose in an ordinary game of tag.

“Gib me wong wniththed woow.” (Give me long knitted wool)

“Knitted wool?”

The maid looked at me curious when I asked for this, but she prepared it for me. Nico and I took that and laid the wool in the shape of a big gourd in a wide area. Everyone looked at us curiously. I had the feeling that Hans, Natalie, Nii-sama and Gill were smiling wryly. Nii-sama and Gill were probably remembering what had happened to them once.

“‘It’ will be outside of these lines, and the others will be in the gourd. If ‘it’ can touch the people inside the gourd then ‘it’ wins. If ‘it’ can’t touch the people inside then ‘it’ loses,” Nico explained.

“Alright, I’ll probably catch the people inside this narrow space in no time!” Lawk, who was ‘it’, said lively.

“Then, we three will be inside. Alright, begin!” At the sound of Jeff’s voice, Lawk ran around the gourd, but I moved in a straight line for the gourd’s thickest part, where he wouldn’t be able to reach me. I did get caught eventually, but the game lasted for a while and it was quite fun.

On the other hand, even if I become ‘it’, I can eventually catch them as they move if I wait at the narrow part of the gourd. It’s a very child-friendly game of tag.

The time had finally come after we changed ‘it’ a few times. As expected, Lawk realised that he didn’t have to run around and just wait at the gourd’s narrowest point.

“Nico.”

“Ready?”

“Ai!”

Operation time. Nico and I began to move inch by inch to the thinnest part of the gourd.

“Quickly!”

Lawk grinned, since he was convinced that he was going to win. Nico approached close to him and quickly shifted to the side. Lawk reached out and lost his balance a little.

I quickly got down on all four and crawled past him in a narrow space.

“B-bug.”

Rude. You’re always like this even though you’ve seen me done this many times. How are you a guard? Honestly, it’s just that I still crawl faster than I run. I didn’t practice crawling just for the sake of it.

“Ah, that’s not fair!”

“There’sh no ruwe shaying I can’th craww.” (There’s no rule saying I can’t crawl)

“Ah!”

Nico quickly moved to the thin place while Lawk was distracted by me. He won’t be able to catch Nico now even if Nico just waits there.

Nico and I folded our arms and grinned at the gourd’s thickest place. But we let our guard down and Lawk caught us from the other side. What a shame.

“You guys are good.”

However, this made Lawk like us, and Jeff also liked us since we gave Lawk a run for his money. Thus, we had to come up with interesting games to play while we were in the mansion.

“If onwy I shthayed quieth from the shtharth…” (If only I stayed quiet from the start)

I regretted it but, “You’re not very quiet in the first place, so what could you have done?”

“Tsk.”

That’s not true. I am. But it was the winter of my second year when I realised that I might be a little bit competitive.