Soon, Kazehara Tetsu found what he was looking for in the System Store.
[Skill: International Chess Master Level] [Effect: Grants the host the skill, tactical repertoire, and mental fortitude of a world-class International Chess grandmaster.] [Price: 80 Points.]
The price wasn't too steep, but when he looked further down, he spotted another option with an absurdly good value.
[Skill: Grandmaster of All Chess] [Effect: Grants the host Master Level skill in all board games, including but not limited to International Chess, Go, and shogi.] [Price: 250 Points.]
Two hundred and fifty points for top-level skill in every board game was practically a giveaway. He could use it now, and it would come in handy if he ever faced other board games in the future.
But there was a problem. He currently had 223 Points in his account.
That left him in an amusing loop: he needed to win competitions to earn Points, but he needed Points to buy the skills that would help him win competitions, and he needed those skills to win competitions... An endless cycle.
Before they started playing chess for real, he had to "earn" some startup capital from Sakayanagi Arisu.
Kazehara Tetsu's expression didn't change in the slightest. He still wore the same easygoing smile.
He looked at Sakayanagi Arisu but didn't immediately accept her challenge.
After all, the system's task had a loophole. It required him to beat Sakayanagi Arisu, but it never specified what they had to compete in or how.
Kazehara Tetsu's mind raced, and a plan quickly took shape.
He looked at Sakayanagi Arisu. "But before we play chess for real, Classmate Sakayanagi, would you be interested in a simple logic game? We can use it as a warm-up."
"Oh?"
Sakayanagi Arisu was clearly intrigued. "Let's hear it."
Kazehara Tetsu borrowed a white Pawn and a black Pawn from the Senpai sitting nearby. He held one in each hand behind his back, then extended both fists in front of Sakayanagi Arisu.
"The game is simple. Here are a white and a black Chess Piece. I'll put them behind my back and either switch their positions at random or leave them as they are. Then you just have to guess which hand is holding the white one. If you guess right, you win; if you guess wrong, I win."
The rules really did sound very simple, even a little childish.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't underestimate him. "How many rounds?"
"One round would leave too much up to luck."
Kazehara Tetsu smiled. "Let's play ten rounds. Whoever guesses correctly more often wins. How does that sound?"
Sakayanagi Arisu stared into Kazehara Tetsu's eyes, as if trying to read something in them.
She was silent for a few seconds before saying, "That sounds interesting. I accept."
She didn't think the game was particularly complicated. It was simply a contest of probability and psychology, and she was confident she wouldn't lose at either.
"Then let the game begin."
Kazehara Tetsu put his hands behind his back. After a faint clatter of Chess Pieces, he brought both fists in front of Sakayanagi Arisu again.
His expression was perfectly calm, giving nothing away.
Sakayanagi Arisu watched his face and the subtle movements of his arm muscles, but found nothing. After a moment's thought, she chose his left hand.
Kazehara Tetsu opened his left hand. A black Chess Piece.
"First round, I win." Kazehara Tetsu smiled.
In the second round, Sakayanagi Arisu chose his right hand. A black Chess Piece.
Third round, left hand. A white Chess Piece. Sakayanagi Arisu won one back.
After the first five rounds, Sakayanagi Arisu had guessed correctly three times and incorrectly twice, putting her slightly ahead.
But her brow furrowed faintly.
She realized that Kazehara Tetsu's expression and movements were almost flawless. Her choices felt more like random guesses, with a fifty percent chance of success. The score so far was entirely within expectations.
In the sixth round, Sakayanagi Arisu chose his right hand. A black Chess Piece.
Seventh round, left hand. A black Chess Piece.
Eighth round, right hand. A white Chess Piece.
Ninth round, left hand. A black Chess Piece.
After nine rounds, Sakayanagi Arisu had guessed correctly four times and incorrectly five times. She was one round behind.
Sakayanagi Arisu began to feel that something was off.
In theory, their chances of winning should be very close in a game based purely on probability. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.
The final round. The deciding round.
Kazehara Tetsu put his hands behind his back again. This time, he seemed to take slightly longer than before.
When he held them out again, Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze swept over both fists.
She fell silent for a moment.
She quickly reviewed the previous nine rounds, trying to find a pattern in Kazehara Tetsu's behavior, but found nothing. He had done an excellent job of keeping things random.
In the end, she followed a flicker of intuition and chose his right hand.
"Are you sure, Classmate Sakayanagi?"
"I'm sure." Sakayanagi Arisu's tone left no room for doubt.
Kazehara Tetsu slowly opened his right hand—a black Pawn lay quietly in his palm.
A black Chess Piece.
Four to six. Sakayanagi Arisu had lost.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't speak right away. She simply looked at the black Chess Piece, then raised her eyes to Kazehara Tetsu, her expression complicated.
"I see. I did lose." She admitted it calmly. "You exploited a loophole in the rules."
Kazehara Tetsu grinned, a hint of sly satisfaction in his smile. "As expected of you, Classmate Sakayanagi. You figured it out so quickly. The rules I gave were: 'You just have to guess which hand is holding the white one.' I never said I had to have one white and one black Chess Piece in my hands every time I moved them behind my back."
He opened his left hand, which he had kept clenched the whole time. It was empty. The white Chess Piece had never been in his left hand at all! It had been tucked into the cuff of his right sleeve!
In other words, this could have happened in the final round, and perhaps in other rounds too.
When he moved his hands behind his back, he hadn't necessarily been switching the Chess Pieces. He could have put both in one hand, leaving the other empty!
That way, no matter which hand Sakayanagi Arisu chose, he could show her the empty one and declare her wrong. After all, she had guessed which hand held the white Chess Piece, and an empty hand obviously couldn't hold it.
He only needed to use this trick in two or three key rounds out of ten to secure his victory.
Indeed, the rules only said she had to guess which hand held the white Chess Piece. They never explicitly stated that each hand had to hold one!
It was a linguistic trap, a logical loophole carefully concealed in the wording!
After a long pause, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly chuckled.
It wasn't a laugh born of anger. Rather, it was an expression of admiration for the way Kazehara Tetsu had cleverly exploited the loophole to win.
She wasn't annoyed by what seemed like a less-than-honorable tactic. On the contrary, she liked this ruthless way of winning even more.
[Ding! The host has defeated key figure Sakayanagi Arisu in a game of wits. Reward issued: 500 Points.]
A notification sounded in his mind. The Points had arrived! Kazehara Tetsu felt reassured. The first step of his plan had gone perfectly.
"Thank you for indulging me, Classmate Sakayanagi."