As soon as the first round began, the character controlled by Eriri launched a fierce attack. Judging by the action, it was an almost one-sided beatdown. (Continued)

"That was so badass, Izumi-chan! How did you come up with that?"

After class, Fujiwara Chika came over to his desk.

"Ah, I want to try that too! Saying 'You're all trash' in front of everyone must be so much fun!"

She imagined doing it, bringing both fists close to her chest as she struck an eager pose.

She was one of the few people in the entire school who would dare entertain such an idea.

"It just came to me."

Hasegawa Izumi answered casually.

"Then you really are a genius, Izumi-chan! You're so good at looking cool! I want to learn from you."

As she spoke, Fujiwara Chika struck a pose she thought was really cool.

"So the Far East Magic Society is the club Izumi-chan and Takanashi-san started?"

She brought the topic up again.

"It's our base of operations at Shuchiin, and the name of our organization for now."

Takanashi Rikka interjected.

"Base of operations? That's so cryptic."

Fujiwara Chika tilted her head, looking adorably baffled.

"Speaking of clubs, I remember you joined the Tabletop Game Club, Chika. You're so good at the piano, I thought you'd join the music club."

The thought suddenly occurred to Hasegawa Izumi.

"I've already given up playing the piano."

She only smiled as she said this.

"Given it up? Well, there's no need to stick with something you're not really interested in."

He didn't ask why.

"Why aren't you following the script, Izumi-chan? Weren't you supposed to ask me why I gave it up?"

Fujiwara Chika instead pouted in dissatisfaction and complained.

"Uh, then why did you give it up?"

He played along.

"Because Kaguya-chan said something to me back then. She told me to stop playing the piano..."

Fujiwara Chika happily explained at once.

"That sounds like something she'd say. But it seems like it was a good thing for you, Chika."

He agreed.

"Do you know Kaguya too, Izumi-chan? I've never heard her mention you."

The girl's eyes lit up as she leaned her little face toward him, as if she'd caught the scent of a scandal.

"We're not that close. We've only met once."

His tone was indifferent.

The opening move was Tengen!

By now, the story of some clueless hotshot challenging every club at Shuchiin was common knowledge.

Most people were angry, but still treated it as a joke. Nobody believed he could pull off something like that.

Hasegawa Izumi, at the center of the controversy, went to school as usual, completely unaffected by the gossip.

After school, the three of them headed to the school's animal enclosure.

"Are you really good at Go, Izumi-chan?"

Even though she was excited, Fujiwara Chika was still a little worried.

"I wasn't before. I am now."

He gave a rather cryptic answer.

"Really? I heard the Go Club president passed the professional exam. It won't be easy to beat him."

"I'm confident. Don't worry about me, Chika."

"Okay, then."

Fujiwara Chika could see the confidence and seriousness in his eyes, so she decided not to second-guess him.

"I tried playing Go once before, but it was too hard, so I gave up. I can still follow the rules, though... Can I watch tomorrow's match?"

After walking a few steps ahead, she turned her face toward him and asked.

The girl wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Go counted as a tabletop game, right? So watching it would count as club activity too!

"Come if you want. As long as the Go Club doesn't stop you."

He answered casually.

"Great."

Fujiwara Chika turned around and smiled, showing her teeth.

"Requesting backup! Sage! Chimera is trying to escape!"

Suddenly, Takanashi Rikka's panicked voice came from a nearby cage.

They turned to look. Tom the cat had wriggled free of Rikka's grasp and was dashing toward the cage's exit.

"Leave it to me!"

Fujiwara Chika volunteered to intercept it.

"Meow~!"

She bent down and held out her hand, making a sound like she was trying to communicate.

But Tom the cat didn't even look at her. It ran straight in the other direction.

"What? My charm didn't work!"

The girl looked crestfallen.

Just as Tom was about to slip into the grass outside and disappear, a hand suddenly appeared from above and grabbed it by the scruff. Its body instantly went limp, and it lost the strength to escape.

"Thanks to your help, Sage, the Chimera has been contained. Otherwise, its escape would have brought disaster upon the world."

After putting the cat back in its cage, Takanashi Rikka dusted off her hands and stepped outside.

"You're still too careless. Losing your powers doesn't mean you should lose your vigilance, too."

Hasegawa Izumi reminded her.

"Yes."

Takanashi Rikka hesitated, then stammered out a reply.

Beside them, Fujiwara Chika listened to their conversation and tilted her head back and forth, unable to make heads or tails of it.

That sort of talk was still way too advanced for her!

The moon gradually faded away, and the sun rose as usual.

A new day began.

Today was the day of the challenge, the first one issued by the Far East Magic Society. They absolutely couldn't afford to fail!

"Rikka, let's go."

When the bell rang, Hasegawa Izumi shed his usual demeanor, a calm and confident expression appearing on his face.

"Our battle begins."

Takanashi Rikka followed close behind, chanting under her breath.

Under the curious stares of their classmates, they headed out the door.

"Wait for me, Izumi-chan! Takanashi-san!"

After saying goodbye to her friends, Fujiwara Chika quickly caught up with them.

By the time the three reached the Go Club, its members were already on high alert.

As soon as they stepped inside, almost everyone glared at them with hostility.

Of course, nobody liked being challenged like this. Especially when he'd made such outrageous claims in the News Department's announcement—it was a blatant slap in the face!

And putting them first on the list of clubs to challenge obviously meant he thought they were the weakest. The nerve!

"Scary~!"

Seeing the members glaring furiously at them, Takanashi Rikka and Fujiwara Chika both nervously took a small step back.

Only Hasegawa Izumi remained unfazed by the pressure. Instead, he stepped forward and asked, "May I ask who the Go Club president is?"

The members of the Go Club couldn't hold back after hearing that.

"What? Are you looking for a beating?"

"You're challenging the Go Club without even doing the slightest bit of research?"

"I can't take this anymore! President, let's beat him up first!"

"Ahem, I'm the Go Club president, Watanabe Yoshitaka."

Seeing the situation descend into chaos, Watanabe Yoshitaka, the leader of the group, had no choice but to step forward and say something.

"Then you're the best player in the Go Club, right? I don't want someone else coming out to whine after I beat you."

He looked toward the speaker. The boy had brown hair and a resolute gaze. He certainly seemed like someone who could be president.

"As the president, I'm naturally the best player. If I lose, that means the Go Club has lost to you. Nobody will give you trouble over it."

As he spoke, Watanabe Yoshitaka glanced at the other members. As president, he was rather magnanimous.

"We accept the president's decision."

The other members quickly responded in unison.

The club was fairly traditional, with a clear hierarchy. They also had complete faith in their president's skill, so they were sure he could teach the arrogant brat a harsh lesson!

"Since that's settled, let's begin our match. I hope we'll have an exciting game. I'm really looking forward to it."

Watanabe Yoshitaka was clearly excited.

"Wait a moment. The person recording the match results hasn't arrived yet."

He raised a hand to stop them.

His goal wasn't merely to defeat his opponent. He wanted to make the Far East Magic Society famous!

Without publicity, the result would be completely different.

It wasn't long before Asahi Shizuku, the News Department president, arrived.

To be honest, they hadn't taken this matter very seriously. They'd only sent their president to confirm the result because the other side had insisted.

According to the information they'd gathered, Hasegawa Izumi had never taken Go lessons or joined a Go institute, while Watanabe Yoshitaka was a professional-level player. The outcome of this match seemed obvious.

"Unless something unexpected happens..."

Asahi Shizuku adjusted her glasses. Sunlight streamed in through the window, reflecting off the lenses.

The two of them sat on opposite sides of the Go board.

Takanashi Rikka and Fujiwara Chika sat behind him to watch, while Asahi Shizuku sat opposite them to record the match. The other club members stood nearby, waiting for the game to begin.

"Black goes first, so I have the first move."

During the stone-guessing process, Hasegawa Izumi won the advantage of playing black.