“I will travel outside the city for the couple of days. You can either return to Silvercrest or come with me.”

“But you will come back here after that?”

“Yes.”

“Then can’t I just stay here then?”

“You could, but… do you want to stay here?”

“I still have some unfinished business to deal with and debt to settle.” I look out of the window with my hands behind my back. My hair sparkles as the sunlight from the windows illuminates it.

“Alright then, be good and don’t cause trouble.”

Without a response, I kept looking out of the window and watched the approaching carriage down on the road with an intense glare. It’s time for me to take what is rightfully mine.

“Also, be careful not to overeat on sweets. It’s not good to eat too many.”

“Yes.”

“And don’t stay up too late.”

“Yes.”

“Also…”

“Just go already!”

---

 

I stand on top of the staircase and watch my target in the hall below. There he is, the candy stealer guy. Standing next to him are two other people, probably just some background characters. From what I heard from the servants, he is supposed to leave for a trip today. Can I use it to my advantage?

Multiple servants walked past me. One of the butler dudes is holding something. Wait, are those golf clubs? I followed behind them, trying to check if seen correctly?

“Lord Harold, we are ready to depart.”

But where is he going? Let’s just ask the guy. “Where are you going?” I asked innocently.

“We are going to a newly established golf course at the edge of the city to play a few games.”

Golf? So, they really have a golf in this world. Wait, this is a good opportunity! “I’m coming too and if I win, I want back what is rightfully mine or its equivalent!” I point at him full of determination.

“Very well. But if you lose, I am expecting the same…” He smiles back.

“Fine! Let’s do it.”

---

 

I sat on the left side of the carriage, and to my right were two background characters. The Harold guy sat in front of us, taking up the whole seat by himself. After we stopped, he stood up to disembark first. But for some reason, my seating companions braced themselves, tightly griping their seats.

I looked at them with a questioning gaze. “What are you?...”

The entire carriage shook, moving up and down rapidly. The metal parts made creaking sounds and there were shouts coming from outside. I reflexively stabilized myself with the gravity skill.

What the hell, how heavy is he? That felt like an earthquake, it really took me off guard.

I slowly kept increasing my weight with the skill even after the shaking stopped. We all stood up, prepared to leave. But I hesitated and stopped in the doorway.

“Come on, kid, we don’t have all day…”

“Alright.” I jumped off and canceled all of that extra gravity.

“Whoa!” “Whoa!”

I only heard surprised shouts behind me. When I turned back, back in the carriage were two people plastered on the floor. While they were recovering, I used it again, this time on the carriage itself.

“What was that?”

“How did that happen?”

“What do you mean? I jumped off, It also happened when he left.” I point at Harold. “So obviously, it will happen again when somebody else leaves too.”

It looked like one of them wanted to respond, but he decided to step out of the carriage first. As he did, I again released the skill. The carriage jumped, throwing the last guy back to his seat. One of his shoes loosened, flying out of the door, almost hitting the other guy.

“What!? Again?”

“What is going on?”

“What is taking you so long? I am here waiting!” Harold shouted out from the distance, clearly impatient.

“We are coming!” After getting back his shoe, the last guy stood up and carefully left the carriage. He kept looking back at it, but nothing happened.

“It stopped?”

“What was it anyway?”

They both stopped to think it over. Observing the carriage as if expecting something to happen.

I also put on a thinking expression just to convey the sheer brainpower I am spending to figure out this conundrum. And of course, it didn’t take me long to figure out a plausible explanation for this phenomenon. “I know! I figured it out! This happens when a person is too heavy, right? So maybe he’s just very lean.” I point at the last guy.

In response, both of them looked at me with baffled expressions.

“What? Do you have a better explanation? If so, I would like to hear it.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

In the end, no better explanation was found.

---

 

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know how to play?” Both of them shook their heads, and I did too. I mean, I never played golf, but it looks self-explanatory. It shouldn’t be too different in this world, should it? “Great. We will play until one of us gets fifteen hits, and that’s how we decide the winner.”

Hits? Didn’t he mean to say… ah well whatever, it’s another word, terminology may be slightly different.

Harold picked up the golf club and readied himself for a swing. “I will go first.”

He swung his golf club, aiming for the ball. But even after reaching the end of the arc, the ball remained firmly on the ground. All of us were looking at its expected trajectory, only for nothing to happen.

“…”

“My lord, maybe if you held…” The butler tried to suggest something, but he was interrupted by Harold.

“The grass is too long.”

“Pardon.”

“The issue.” He dramatically pointed at the ground below. “The grass is not short enough. Fix it.”

Butler looked where he was pointing, only to be seemingly struck by a realization. “Right away sir.” It didn’t take long before everyone with hands was mowing the lawn.

Is it alright to send all of your escorts away just to do this?

“…”

Evidently yes. Not gonna argue with that, I am a child, after all. Why would I find something like that weird? No need to look deeper into it.

Gardeners, butlers, even knights started mowing the grass. It’s a peculiar sight. But speaking of peculiar, is that knight using his sword to cut grass? Wait, he’s actually doing quite well, wow that’s just impressive, he’s a real talent. Does he have experience with stuff like this?

 

“The previous attempt didn’t count. To keep it fair, I will go again.” Harold proclaimed before picking up his golf club.

We watched as he readied himself for his second attempt. Raising the golf club into the air, he swung it down towards the ball. The club barely missed the golf ball by the shortest of margins, and it flew past it. Harold frowned as he tried to recover from the missed swing. But his grip on the golf club loosened, and it flew out of his hands at a high speeds.

“Look out!” “Careful!” A few people shouted out from surprise.

Everyone watched as it flew across the sky. But then…

“…”

A tragedy has occurred. One of the gardeners was struck down by the golf club. He’s now laying on the ground, motionless.

“…”

Harold motioned towards me with his hand. “Your turn.”

Are we going to ignore that? I looked back at the motionless body in the grass.

“…”

Apparently, so.

I picked up my golf club and looked towards the hole in the distance. As long, I don’t miss the ball, I will be ahead. No pressure.

Here goes nothing. I hit the ball and watched it shoot out across the field. The ball flew for around ten seconds before falling on the ground and rolling forward, slowly approaching the hole. Close. Just a bit closer…

“Got it!”

Hole in one! Wow, dexterity is overpowered. This could be fun.

Right, it’s the background character guy’s turn. We watched as the ball disappeared behind one of the hills. That seemed normal. It went into generally the right direction, he might need a few more shots. But I don’t know, maybe I was just expecting him to hit someone too. The other guy went after that, and he did about as well. Next up, Harold readied himself for another attempt.

I watched silently as he missed his shot, and again, just like the last time, the club excited his hands prematurely. It flew to the side, cruising through the air for a few seconds before taking down one of his escorts.

“Again?”

I watched as another person collapsed. Hitting two people accidentally, what are the odds. But I have to give it to them, they are still working. I watch as everyone else is diligently mowing the grass as if nothing happened.

Still, it’s a large area, to hit two people by chance and to take them down… No wait, don’t get fooled, there’s no way for that to be a coincidence. Now that I think about it, he said first to get fifteen hits wins… wait hits! Does that mean…? I looked at the person on the ground, did certainly hit him.

Not only that, he can do it consistently and make it look like an accident, what a monster. As expected from my arch nemesis, I almost fell for it. I looked towards him with a look of realization, only to receive a light smirk back. I gasped in horror. He’s two points ahead!

I am trying to mull over the newly received information. What kind of otherworldly golf version is this. Is this some kind of experimental patch? What am I supposed to do in here?

“Your turn.”

Already? My eyes dart across the field. Yep, there’s one more person on the ground.

I can’t panic, I can turn this around. My eyes locked on the most nearby bystander. As I scanned my unsuspecting victim, I got into position. I can’t say I have ever done this before, but everything for the first time is the first time, so there’s no need to worry about it.

Here we go. As I swung the golf club, a loud swishing sound reverberated through the air. At the end of the arc, I released my grip and watched as my golf club turned into a missile, making its way towards one of the targets.

One point acquired, fourteen to go. I added one more person to the ground.

“Not bad.” Complimented Harold as he was leaning against the golf club.

Well, at least I am not last. I looked over at the other two of my competitors. It’s a curious sight because they are actually hitting the golf ball. Although I can barely see them from here because as they played they moved further and further away from us. Ultimately, what they do doesn’t matter, I should focus solely on winning.

I have a good shot on a knight. But will it count if I don’t take him down? Better to put extra power into this one. You cut the grass well, but you happen to be in a good spot. I swung the club on an extra wide arc before releasing it.

---

 

The time slew down, and the surroundings darkened, all the sound disappeared, only to be replaced by a static noise. In the distance, directly in front of me, was a spear of light. It’s moving towards me, leaving behind a trail of light.

Resurfacing in my mind we the memories long forgotten. Burning buildings lighted up the dark night. I was a child facing a pillar made of flames.

No, I can’t go, they are still in there! I have to. I have to… I got another glimpse of approaching light.

I take a step forward, only to hesitate. High flames surge towards the sky. Panicked screams fill the surroundings, people run around aimlessly.

I am forcefully tugged back. “We can’t help them!”

“But!”

“It’s too late!”

The light is quickly approaching closer and closer. I can feel tears in my eyes. “Mother, father,… I…”

---

 

The knight got hit to the forehead. He fell over to the side, turning unconscious.

“Headshot! Man, I am on fire!” No armor can stop me!

Not too long after, I received back my golf club with seemingly no damage on it. How durable are those things anyway? I mean, they should be, considering how they are being used.

But how can I get a lead? If he makes no mistake, I can’t catch up, even if I hit every shot. Extreme measures require extreme consequences. Wait… did I say that right?

I watch every single lawn mower guy with an intense glare. Two of them got pretty close to each other. There’s my chance! I swiftly readied my golf club. It’s now or never. I need to bring both of them to the ground. Double the hits, double the points!

I have to pull out all the stops. This is not something I can afford to lose, there’s a pride on the line. Pride… pride and candy.