Sakayanagi's Invitation

The morning classes had just ended when Konoe received a text message.

Kamuro: "Sakayanagi asked me to invite you to the Chess Club activity room for lunch. She said she has a way to resolve the incident stirred up by Class C."

Konoe understood that Sakayanagi already knew Class C had initiated an attack on Class D.

Konoe: "Kamuro, how am I supposed to have lunch at the Chess Club activity room? Do I need to bring my own bread?"

Kamuro: "She's prepared food for you, just come over. Oh, and she said your idea is very interesting."

'Who cares what you think...' Konoe searched for the location on his phone and headed towards the club building.

About ten minutes later, Konoe arrived at the entrance of the Chess Club. He peered through the small window on the door, but the dim light inside made it impossible to see anything.

As if sensing someone standing at the door, Kamuro suddenly opened it.

"What are you standing there for? Come in quickly." Kamuro moved aside, gesturing for Konoe to enter.

Although Konoe was a bit concerned about the environment inside, he had no choice but to go in: "...How rude, you invited me, Kamuro."

"Sakayanagi invited you, get that straight."

The windows in the activity room were covered by curtains, allowing only a few beams of sunlight to filter through. The space inside was surprisingly large, with dozens of small two-person tables and chairs haphazardly piled in a corner – that was likely where they usually played chess.

Konoe walked further inside until he reached a room door. Kamuro opened the door for Konoe to enter and then left immediately, disappearing somewhere.

Despite it being daytime, the curtains were drawn, and the lights were on. The illumination wasn't very bright, but it was more than enough to light up the small space.

This place seemed to have been a pantry or a club prop storage room before, but it had clearly undergone some modifications. A leather sofa surrounded a slightly too-short glass table on three sides; neither seemed like standard school furniture. A high-backed chair was also inexplicably placed against the wall.

"Welcome to my 'castle.' Are you happy, Konoe, to be the first male to enter here?"

Sakayanagi Arisu sat in the center of the sofa, looking at Konoe with a half-smile in her purple eyes. She placed her beret on her legs, which were clad in white stockings, but the hat seemed a bit small, not quite covering the exposed skin.

Looking at the petite, silver-haired girl before him, Konoe suddenly had a peculiar feeling: it was as if he had stumbled into a tarot card shop deep in an alley, and this girl was the owner and fortune teller.

"Sakayanagi seems to have become the Queen of the Chess Club."

Sakayanagi patted the space beside her. "Konoe, why don't you sit here first?"

Konoe pulled the chair from the wall and placed it opposite Sakayanagi, then sat down. "I'm curious, where did the other club members go? Were they driven away by the 'Queen'?"

"For some reason, after playing chess with me, the seniors went elsewhere, and then they let me use this place. But this is the first time I've heard the title 'Queen'." Sakayanagi closed her eyes and placed her hands on her chest, feigning distress.

"But unfortunately, I can't move in all directions like a Queen in chess. Some classmates have taken to calling me 'Princess' without permission, perhaps you could call me that too, Konoe?"

"...Didn't Sakayanagi ask me here for a meal? Where's the food?" Although Konoe knew her demeanor was an act, he changed the subject.

"Heh heh, Konoe, you really are an interesting person." Sakayanagi chuckled softly. "I've already asked Kamuro to help get the food from the restaurant. Instead of that, would you like to play a game?"

"Play chess? But I don't know how at all, not international chess."

Sakayanagi clasped her hands together, her fingertips touching in a cute pose, and pleaded, "It's okay, I'll teach you slowly. Please get the chessboard from that cabinet over there. I can't find my cane, so I can't get it myself. Please, Konoe."

Konoe opened the cabinet Sakayanagi pointed to. Inside was a chessboard, and strangely, the pieces seemed to be already set up on it. Konoe carefully lifted the chessboard horizontally and slowly moved it to the glass table in front of Sakayanagi, placing it down gently.

Konoe glanced at Sakayanagi's face; she seemed even happier than before.

"Ah, well, I don't have anything else to do, so teach me then."

"That would be wonderful. I get quite bored around this time, having to play chess by myself." Sakayanagi said excitedly. "The piece with the most numbers is the Pawn; it can only move forward. On its first move, it can go one or two steps, but after that, it can only move one step..."

In a short while, Sakayanagi finished explaining the basic rules of chess and how the pieces move.

"I think I understand. Let's start the actual game then." Konoe found chess surprisingly interesting during his learning process.

"So proactive. This teacher doesn't dislike students like you."

The two began to play. After a short while, Konoe used a Pawn to capture Sakayanagi's Pawn by moving it straight forward.

Seeing this, Sakayanagi quickly said, "No, no, you can't move like that. I'm sorry, Konoe, I forgot to mention earlier, only the Pawn's capture method is different; it can only capture diagonally forward one step."

Konoe looked at Sakayanagi suspiciously. "...You're not tricking me, are you? If I capture your Pawn, I'll break through your defense."

"Absolutely not, it was my oversight. Shall we start over?"

Five minutes after restarting the game, Konoe's King was captured by Sakayanagi's Rook.

"...If only I hadn't made that move earlier." Konoe said with a look of regret.

"Heh heh, I know which move you're referring to, Konoe. Even if you hadn't used your Knight to capture my Bishop, my Queen would have created the same situation later. It's quite good for your first game, Konoe." Sakayanagi said happily, her feet swinging beneath the glass table.