The Chess Game in the Library

"I recall you mentioned wanting to play chess. Wouldn't it have been perfect to just borrow a set from the chess club earlier?"

On the way out of the gymnasium, Amasawa Yuto asked Arisu Sakayanagi.

Sakayanagi didn't offer an explanation, instead speaking in mysterious riddles: "You'll know in a moment."

"So, where are we going now?"

"To the library."

"Sakayanagi, have you been to this school before? Today is supposed to be the first day of school, but you seem quite familiar with the campus."

"Hmm, that's right. Because my father is the chairman, I sometimes come to the school. Naturally, I've been to the library before as well."

"I see."

The two crossed the central plaza and walked along the path lined with ginkgo trees.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting patches of flickering light onto the ground.

A gray-white building appeared ahead. Sparse ivy climbed the walls, and the windows reflected the brightness of the sky.

Above the wide-open oak doors was an inlaid bronze plaque with the word "Library" engraved on it.

Upon entering the library, an air mixed with the scent of paper, wood, and a certain musty age rushed to meet them.

Sunlight cut bright bands across the dark floor, and countless dust motes became visible in the Tyndall effect, rolling slowly.

The borrowing area was empty. The librarian was behind the counter.

The collection was quite substantial, with rows of bookshelves extending deep into the building.

Occasionally, the sound of turning pages could be heard. Some people were studying in the study area, though not many—it was the first day of school, after all.

By the time midterms and finals rolled around, it would likely be packed to capacity.

However, what was interesting was that Amasawa Yuto had expected the people studying here to be second or third-year students; he hadn't expected to see another classmate.

—Shimazaki Ikkei.

Running off to the library to study on the very first day of school? It seems he truly is worthy of Class A.

"This way, Yuto-kun," Arisu Sakayanagi said, lowering her voice—this was a library, after all.

The two climbed the open-work spiral staircase to the second floor. There were many books here as well, but Yuto glanced over them and saw that they were mostly classic works unrelated to their studies—mystery and suspense, fantasy and adventure, romance and family dramas.

Agatha's And Then There Were None, Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera...

It was just a high school library, yet it was surprisingly well-stocked with so many classics for students to read.

Beyond another bookshelf, there was even a section dedicated to Japanese authors.

Yuto even spotted a copy of A Lost Paradise by Watanabe Junichi. Was it really appropriate for high schoolers to be reading this?

Between the bookshelves, a petite girl with long, water-blue hair and two black ribbon accessories in her hair seemed to be a librarian, as she was busy shelving books.

However, she was wearing the uniform of Advanced Nurturing High School, which was a bit strange.

The girl seemed to sense someone watching her; she turned around, looking puzzled, and her gaze met Yuto's.

Realizing he had no intention of striking up a conversation, she turned her head back and continued shelving her books.

Arisu Sakayanagi led Amasawa Yuto all the way to a table in a corner on the second floor of the library.

It was right by the window, providing excellent lighting, and a pot of pink and white moth orchids sat on the windowsill.

A chess set was laid out on the table.

"I had someone help me clean this place up," Sakayanagi said.

"It's impressive that you managed to find a spot like this," Yuto said as he began setting up the pieces.

"I discovered it by chance. Thinking back, I'm truly lucky. Because I found this place, I'm able to play chess here with Yuto-kun." Sakayanagi sat down in the seat by the window.

She left the task of setting up the pieces to Yuto, raised both hands to gently cup her cheeks, rested her chin in her palms, and just watched him.

"Perhaps this place exists solely so that one day, you and I could play a game here."

"Given how deserted the chess club is, I suppose not many people use this area anyway. Though, hearing you say that does give it an inexplicable sense of destiny."

"That is only natural. My reunion with Yuto-kun must have been fated."

The pieces were placed, black and white intermingling, and the two played in silence.

As the sun began to set, the match finally reached its conclusion.

It ended with a victory for Amasawa Yuto.

"That was a truly wonderful match." Arisu Sakayanagi closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "Congratulations, Yuto-kun."

The nearly two-hour-long game had been a significant strain on her body.

Deep thought consumed a vast amount of energy.

"Not at all. You're very strong too, Sakayanagi. My win was nothing more than good luck."

This was Amasawa Yuto's honest opinion: Arisu Sakayanagi was truly strong, and her chess style combined both aggressive sharpness and defensive stability.

Winning the world chess championship was by no means a matter of luck; it was the result of possessing the corresponding strength.

If they were to play ten games, the outcome would likely be five wins to five.

That was the level of pressure Sakayanagi exerted on him.

Yuto took out his phone to check the time. About twenty minutes ago, Tsubaki Yuki had sent him a message asking if he wanted to go to dinner together.

Sakayanagi was still resting where she sat, recovering the energy drained by the match.

"Do you want to go get dinner together, Sakayanagi? There's someone I want you to meet."

Sakayanagi opened her eyes. "Who?"

"She's a kid from my year, though she left before you met me, so you didn't get to see her. She took good care of me, and I hope you two can become friends."

The "kid from his year" Yuto referred to was, of course, not a student from the first year of Advanced Nurturing High School, and Sakayanagi understood this.

"Is that so?" Sakayanagi slowly straightened up from her languid posture on the chair. It seemed she had rested enough. "I did think you didn't look like someone who had just come out of that place, Yuto-kun. You were a bit strangely normal. It seems she helped you quite a bit. I would very much like to meet her."

"Then I'll contact her."

Twenty minutes later, the three of them met at the restaurant.

Because it was quite late, there were far fewer people in the restaurant than expected.

Tsubaki Yuki's mental state was much better than it had been at noon, and she wasn't as resistant to interacting with students from other classes as she had been earlier.

The interaction between Tsubaki Yuki and Arisu Sakayanagi was more harmonious than Yuto had imagined.

"Eh, Yuto actually beat the world champion, Sakayanagi-san?" Yuki bit her chopsticks in surprise. "Though, I suppose it's not that hard to imagine..."

"Yes, Yuto-kun is very impressive!" Arisu Sakayanagi was also happy, seemingly more pleased by Yuto's victory than she would have been by her own.

"By the way, Sakayanagi-san, this is your first time meeting Yuto today, right? How come you're calling him by his first name?"

"Hmm~ for me, it has been eight years since I last saw Yuto-kun, so calling him Yuto-kun is perfectly fine. However, since today is the first time Yuto-kun has seen me, it's understandable that he feels shy about using my first name." Arisu Sakayanagi looked quite pleased with herself.

"How cunning. I won't be shy; I'm going to call you by your first name directly."

"That's no problem. Then let's address each other by our first names, Yuki-san."

"Why are you still using honorifics after switching to first names, Arisu?"

"Why, you ask? It's just a habit."

Amasawa Yuto ate his meal in silence. Their interaction was going much more smoothly than he had anticipated; at this rate, things might go even more smoothly in the future.

Yuki didn't really interact with the students of Class D, preferring to associate with those from Class A instead. Yuto didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

After all, Yuki needed some kind of motivation or goal while at this school.

For instance, saving up enough points to transfer classes.