Inside Castle Hall, Ed is still drawing and writing at the long table, but he's not preparing to start Bubble Company; instead, he's drawing the table and chairs that will be used under Grape Arbor.
Ed designed the tables and chairs from Cement, so there's no need to worry about rain when they're outdoors. If everything goes well at the castle, he plans to make more in other parts of the estate.
For example, the wooden tables under the big tree in Windmill Village, which I visited last time, aren't a long-term solution, and there's also the Statue Square in Taoyuan Village...
Ed was also considering what to make to provide some entertainment on the table.
He wanted to make a checkers game, but digging holes in the table wasn't ideal, so he gave up.
He had also considered chess as the first form of entertainment in the territory, but the rules of chess were too complicated for the people of the territory at present, and too troublesome to understand. It simply wouldn't serve its purpose of entertainment.
"Should I draw a Go board?" Ed muttered to himself. He was out of ideas. Go's rules were more complicated, which would make it even less entertaining.
Huh? You don't have to play Go just because you draw a Go board, right? Gomoku works too! It's simple and easy to learn, perfect for our current territory.
Okay, that's settled then. This Gomoku will be the territory's first entertainment activity. Now we need to teach a few people the rules first. Ed looked up at the hall.
" Lord Ed, are you preparing a method for making soap bubbles? Or are you preparing to start a bubble company?"
Ed was delighted to see Carly run in. He thought to himself, "She's just in time."
"Yes, Carly, I'm working on some new methods for making soap bubbles, but that will take some time. Right now, I have a fun game here, would you like to play?"
Ed believed that once Carly learned it, he wouldn't need to teach the others in the territory. In a time when entertainment options were limited, he was confident it would quickly become a popular trend.
" Lord Ed, what game is it? I'd love to try it." Carly's answer did not disappoint Ed.
Ed drew a simple chessboard, made some black and white paper pieces as chess pieces, and explained the rules of Gomoku to Carly in detail.
Since Gomoku is relatively simple, and Carly is quite clever, she soon became impatient.
"Hurry, Lord Ed, I already know, when do we begin?"
" Carly, are you in such a hurry to lose?"
"I'm really good at this game, it's too easy for me. Come on, let's see how I beat you." Carly was very arrogant, and it seemed that she no longer took Ed seriously.
So the two started playing chess, and Carly lost within ten moves in the first game, which she found very unfair.
" Lord Ed, again, I was a little careless just now."
The two continued, and Carly lost within ten steps once again.
"I was a little careless again."
Carly continued to lose within ten moves.
"Haha, Carly, want to continue? Let's see how you beat me!"
Carly lowered her head, somewhat unable to believe that she had lost without any recourse.
"Wait, I was just thinking about how to beat you." Carly looked up and said firmly.
"Haha, so how's it going now? Have you figured out a way to beat me?"
"Heh, yes, I'm incredibly strong right now." Carly's chess skills weren't great, but she was still very stubborn.
"Haha, then let me see how strong you are."
Thus began the fourth game between the two.