CHAPTER 76: THE ROYAL GARDENS TOURNAMENT, PART I

Yuri went first. She picked up a stick and threw it – only about a meter and a half away.

"Oh no, that was so bad..." she muttered, worried.

"Don’t stress, Yuri, that was actually pretty good," Sayaka comforted her.

"I don’t know about Maldie, but I’m not going easy on you," Gari grinned as she grabbed the stick.

The half-dragon walked up to the garden entrance. Sayaka brushed the sand with her shoe to redraw the line Yuri had thrown from.

Gari didn’t even wind up. She just pushed the stick forward and it slid all the way to the bench, tapping against it with a soft clack.

"Heh. One–zero for us."

"We’ll get you back!" Yuri shot back, then burst out laughing. "Round two! Sayaka versus Asahi or Shion!"

"Oh, right, there’s too many of us..." the half-dragon boy muttered. "So what, rock–paper–scissors to pick who throws?"

"I’ll sit this one out. We’ll rotate," Maldie said with a warm smile.

"Alright," Asahi nodded, and Shion nodded too. "Want to go first?"

" No. You can do it if you want."

"Okay."

While they talked, Gari brought the stick back and handed it to Asahi. The boy focused hard. He threw with all his might, yet it only went a little farther than Yuri’s.

"Hey, what was that?! You toss like a girl!" Shion shouted.

"Oh yeah? Then let’s see how you throw!" Asahi snapped back.

"Boys, what did I say about fighting? You’re supposed to be working together," Maldie scolded gently.

Gari fetched the stick again, now it was Sayaka’s turn. The maid rolled up her sleeves.

"Before I started working here, I used to do sports. I might be clumsy, but I can still throw things, hehe."

She swung with all her strength.

Everyone’s jaws hit the floor. Tiny, unassuming Sayaka had sent her stick almost as far as Gari’s – just a few centimeters short.

"No way..." Shion muttered. "Grandma Maldie, you have to take my turn! I can’t beat Lánshuò!"

Maldie sighed.

"Alright. You can take my spot in the next game."

"Okay! I’m counting on you, Grandma," Shion the Second said, hope in his voice, and gave her a small nod.

"One to one!" Yuri said happily. "We’re catching up!"

Gari handled the stick to Maldie.

"Don’t mess this up," the half-dragon said, staring at her as seriously as if it were life-or-death... but everyone could tell she was joking.

"You can count on me," Maldie replied with a grin.

She took her place, wound up, and threw. The stick smacked the bench again.

"Heh." She planted her hands on her hips. "Good luck beating that."

"You’re forgetting we’ve got Lánshuò," Sayaka smirked as she retrieved the stick.

Lánshuò silently approached the line. Just before launching, she turned to Yuri.

"Shall I win this for you, my lady?"

"Yes! Give it your best! Toss as hard as you can!"

"As you wish, my lady." Lánshuò bowed.

Her eyes sharpened with focus.

"Oho... this is gonna be a big one," Shion the Second muttered.

Lánshuò threw the stick like she was launching a paper airplane.

Everyone’s heads tilted up at once.

Not only did it make it far past the bench –

It flew over the palace walls and vanished beyond the horizon.

"...Ah. I may have used too much strength," she said flatly.

"Two to one, hehe!" Yuri cheered.

"That’s not fair! Having Lánshuò is basically cheating!" Shion the Second argued.

"Don’t worry! No way she’ll be good at everything," Gari replied. "We just need to pick a game we can win. So, who picks next?"

"Let’s do rock–paper–scissors again, just to be fair. And Asahi’s the judge," Sayaka suggested.

"Good idea!" Maldie agreed. "Alright, gather up! Ready? One, two, threeeee – go!"

They played several quick rounds.

Finally, Sayaka won.

"Oh! I’ve got an idea! Charades, but with a twist. I’ll go grab a few things."

"Sure," Maldie nodded.

After a moment Sayaka returned with a quill, a stack of paper, and a small headband.

"We’ll draw the order like last time. A player from the opposite team writes a word, which the opponent has to wear on their head. Their team can give them hints, but the person with the word on their head has to guess it. And of course, you can’t say the word out loud".

"Sounds great," Gari said.

"Yesss! This’ll be fun! And Lánshuò won’t have an advantage this time!" Asahi cheered.

"So, drawing again?" Maldie grinned. "Alright, give me a second, I’ll make the slips again, haha."

She plucked seven blades of grass.

Meanwhile, Sayaka brought out an hourglass to make things more tense.

And so it began – the first round of guessing: Shion the Second versus Yuri.

Yuri stepped forward first, with a piece of paper saying "eel" tucked behind her headband.

"You like swimming," Sayaka said.

"Fish?" Yuri guessed.

"Nooo, um, how do I say this..." Sayaka said, keeping an eye on the falling sand.

"You swim, but your body is like a snake’s," Lánshuò added.

"Oh. An eel?"

"Yes! You got it at the very last moment!" Sayaka smiled proudly.

"That was easy," Yuri smiled.

"Oh suuure! Bet you wrote something stupid for me!" Shion groaned as he swapped with her.

His scrap of paper read monkey, with a little arrow pointing down. Maldie tried not to laugh, but she failed.

"Huh? Am I something funny?" Shion asked, confused.

"Nah. You’re just... you," Asahi said.

"Huh?!" Shion got mad. "What’s that supposed to mean?!"

"Don’t listen to them," Gari said. "Okay, focus climbs trees and eats bana—"

"Monkey," Shion snapped, eyes burning as he glared at Asahi, who was making a stupid face. "You little...!"

He chased him, but Asahi ducked behind Maldie, who immediately stopped them.

"Alright, good job!" Gari cheered. "One to one!"

Round two: Maldie versus Lánshuò. Maldie went first. Her piece of paper read fog.

"Oh man, that’s going to be tough," Gari said.

"Huh? What did she write?" Maldie asked, watching the hourglass.

Asahi and Shion started brainstorming.

"It’s something light," Asahi began.

"Okay, but am I an animal, an object, or food?" Maldie asked.

"An object... kind of," Gari said quickly.

"But not something you can hold," Shion added.

"And it can wrap around a person!" Asahi threw in.

"Hmmm..." Maldie put a finger to her lips, thinking.

"Hurry up, sweetie, time’s almost up!" Gari said, watching the last grains trickle through the hourglass Sayaka was holding.

"Fog?" Maldie guessed – just as the last grain fell.

"Yes! You got it!" Gari cheered and immediately ran over to hug her.

"I think they’re having more fun than we are," Yuri whispered.

"Maybe, but it’s still so much fun!" Asahi grinned.

Sayaka laughed at that.

Then Lánshuò stepped forward. Her scrap of paper read porcelain doll.

"That’s what you reminded me of the first time I saw you," Sayaka began.

"Doll."

"Yes, good. So... we’re halfway there," Sayaka continued.

"But it’s made from expensive stuff," Yuri said.

"And fragile, breaks easily," Sayaka added.

"Glass. Glass doll."

"No... something white," Sayaka tried again.

"And you can dye it lots of colors!" Yuri added.

"Ceramics! Think ceramics!"

"Clay doll?"

"Time’s up!" Gari cheered. "Two to one, hehe".

"I have failed you, my lady. I’m useless... please destroy me," Lánshuò said, walking up to Yuri and bowing deeply.

"D-don’t be silly, it’s just a game," Yuri giggled.

"The important thing is you tried," Sayaka tried to comfort her.

"Last round in this category," Maldie said. "Sayaka versus Asahi! Sayaka goes first."

Sayaka stepped forward with dragon on her piece of paper.

"Oh, that’s easy," Yuri said. "Half Auntie Gari. Or half Asahi."

"Human?" Sayaka guessed.

"No, the other half!"

"Oh, dragon!"

"Yesss!" Yuri cheered and hugged her when Sayaka took off the headband.

"You really had to give them something that easy, you idiot?" Shion hissed.

"I couldn’t think of anything..." Asahi muttered, embarrassed.

"Shion, don’t call your brother names," Maldie scolded him. "I get that you want to win, but it’s just a game. We’re here to have fun."

"S-sorry."

"Don’t apologize to me, apologize to him, once we win," she said with a soft smile.

Asahi stood before everyone. His scrap of paper read hornet.

"Okay, this one isn’t too bad," Shion muttered. "Asahi, think of a bee, but meaner!"

"Wasp?" Asahi guessed.

"Close, but not quite..."

"Bigger. Meaner," Maldie added with a grin.

"And its sting really hurts. It can even kill you," Gari said.

"And it buzzes super loud! And it’s huge for a bug!" Shion added.

Asahi thought hard. He looked at his team, then at the falling sand.

"Hornet?" he finally said.

"Yes! I didn’t think you’d get it, but you did! Nice job!"

"Oh, awesome!" Asahi laughed happily.

Sayaka started picking up the items she brought.

Shion walked up to his brother.

"Sorry I keep yelling at you. I just... really want win."

"It’s fine," Asahi smiled, shaking his hand. "You apologized, so we’re good."

"What’s next?" Yuri asked hopefully.

"Time to head to your rooms, wash up, and get ready for bed," Gari said gently. "That’s all for today. It’s getting dark, and we’ve been playing long enough."

"Nooo, cooome ooon!" the three siblings groaned together.

"We’re stopping already?" Asahi asked, disappointed.

"Yeah, afraid so," Gari said. "But don’t worry. First, it’s a tie. Second – tomorrow’s another day, right?" She flashed them a wide smile.

Gari high-fived everyone one by one, even Lánshuò, and then she and Maldie said goodnight and headed to their room.

The three siblings, silhouetted against the orange sunset sky, returned to their rooms under the watchful eyes of Sayaka - and the even more watchful eyes of Lánshuò.