"I'm black, so I go first. Put it here," Lilia said, pointing to the square in the center of the floating board.
Rhode flicked his finger lightly, and a black stone appeared out of thin air in the designated spot.
"Wow, that's amazing, Rhode!" Lilia clapped.
"Then I'll play here," Sally said, pointing to the square below the black stone.
A white stone appeared as well.
"Here for me."
"Then I'll go here."
Lilia and Sally were already used to the strange spells Rhode so often cast, and soon they focused entirely on the game.
As the two girls kept calling out their moves, more and more stones filled the board.
"Haha, I won!" Suddenly, Lilia gave a delighted laugh, then pointed at the board and told Rhode, "Put my stone here, and victory's guaranteed!"
Rhode took a look. Sure enough.
That spot would create two intersecting lines of three stones, one horizontal and one vertical. There was no way Sally could turn things around.
Sally saw it too, so she smiled and said, "All right, I concede."
"Yay!" Lilia jumped for joy.
Then she wrapped her arms around Rhode's neck. "Whenever Sally and I play from now on, you have to be here. I love this floating board!"
"No way." Rhode shook his head. "If I spend every day being your game board, when am I supposed to do anything else?"
"Please? Pretty please?" Lilia shook Rhode by the neck. "Rhode's a good man, a wonderful man, the most wonderful man ever, and so handsome..."
Sally couldn't help bursting into laughter.
This little girl really would lay on the flattery to get what she wanted.
Rhode could only reply helplessly, "You little... I said I couldn't be your game board myself. I never said I wouldn't give you a