The Winner Is Decided

"The fact that you even asked that question shows that you, Arisu, haven't really taken that victory seriously. Actually, we played Chess once before, but it was a long, long time ago."

After resuming her seat opposite Sakayanagi Arisu, Amasawa Ichika also dropped the smile that usually graced her lips, revealing a rare focus and seriousness:

"I will apologize to Suzune in person afterward, but at this point, I'd rather thank her first, since such an opportunity doesn't easily come twice."

"My past game of Go with Ichika? I remember now, it was that time in the White Room, wasn't it?"

Following Amasawa Ichika's words, Sakayanagi Arisu also recalled some fragments from that time deep in her memory, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, revealing a natural smile.

Of course, she hadn't forgotten that day, but all her memory was used up on subsequent experiences, on Hotaru, who was like the rabbit with the pocket watch that took Alice through the border between Wonderland and reality in the fairy tale, and who also opened the door to a new world for her, and even more so on her first encounter with Kitagawa Ryo.

Without a doubt, this natural smile is one of the biggest ironies for Amasawa Ichika himself.

Children's thinking is always based on the simplest syllogism.

She lost to Sakayanagi Arisu that day.

Ryo was taken away from the White Room.

The test subjects who left the White Room were doomed.

So, she killed Liang herself.

But if the truth is filled in:

She lost to Sakayanagi Arisu that day.

Ryo was taken away from the White Room.

Sakayanagi Arisu replaced her and became Ryo's closest person.

Therefore, she personally lent out the coolness.

Or:

She lost to Sakayanagi Arisu that day.

Ryo was taken away from the White Room.

Sakayanagi Arisu saved Ryo from dying.

Therefore, she ultimately failed to save the person she most wanted to save.

In truth, regardless of which idea it was, it was a logic that had genuinely appeared in Amasawa Ichika's mind.

They may be full of loopholes, sophistry, or self-righteousness, but no matter what kind they are, their fundamental premise is the same.

She lost to Sakayanagi Arisu that day.

Therefore, Amasawa Ichika still stubbornly believes that the world line started to change from the moment she lost.

This is, of course, the most self-deceiving and arrogant idea, placing all the responsibility on oneself alone—an arrogant and flawed notion.

However, the long-term education provided by the White Room has shaped Amasawa Ichika's thought process, which is incomprehensible to ordinary people. Or rather, it is because of this personality that she was able to stand out among the Fifth Generation of the White Room.

Although Kitagawa Ryo's only opinion on this is that he should really die completely in the White Room to end Amasawa Ichika and Yuki's completely unrealistic fantasy.

To put it bluntly, the reason why the two of them are still able to go back to that absolutely unbearable experience in the White Room, and persistently search for, reminisce about, and even emphasize the bright spots in it, is mainly because he didn't actually die inside.

From any perspective, it was the right decision for Sakayanagi Arisu to take him out at that time, and if Amasawa Ichika and Yuki were truly thinking of him, they should be grateful for Arisu's actions.

But these two people weren't just thinking of him anymore; they were so obsessive that they thought, "I'm the most special one, so even if it's about Salvation someone, only I can be allowed to Salvation it."

However, this is also largely due to the brainwashing-style education specifically targeting the two of them in the White Room, so it's really not easy for Kitagawa Ryo to say this outright.

On the other hand, it was precisely because he didn't die in the White Room that the two of them were able to face that painful memory with a more positive attitude, becoming one of the very few who experienced the White Room education but didn't completely break down, and were instead able to live like ordinary people.

It can only be said that there are gains and losses, and this is an aspect that simulations inevitably have to be evaluated.

Incidentally, another reason why the final simulation became a major ward, and why none of the three participants survived, was because the female protagonist of this chapter was Sakayanagi Arisu, making them evenly matched opponents in every sense.

"It seems you take that victory or defeat very seriously, or perhaps you're still holding a grudge to this day?"

Whether she genuinely didn't care or wanted to use this to preemptively attack Amasawa Ichika's psychological defenses, Sakayanagi Arisu maintained a nonchalant tone, full of provocation.

"Yes, so I also want Arisu to hold a grudge for a long time, preferably as long as mine or even longer."

Amasawa Ichika simply responded with a smile.

"To be honest, I've always found your competitive spirit ridiculous, especially the part about Ryo. What exactly are you trying to prove by defeating him? Who is the real genius? But all I know is that without Ryo, a certain self-proclaimed genius has already proven himself, proven himself to be helpless."

She was referring to her congenital heart disease, which was something Sakayanagi Arisu herself brought up, just to prove how hard he had worked for her. Like the Mad Hatter who froze his own time in a fairy tale, he searched through countless timelines for the only way to save her. In essence, it was just a way of showing off their affection.

But this wasn't what stung Sakayanagi Arisu.

Amasawa Ichika's words inadvertently touched upon her painful memories of her first simulation, Matoba was countless times more unforgettable than the second one, where she was just one step away from marriage.

Faced with a real predicament, she was truly helpless. No matter what she did, she couldn't keep the person she wanted to stay. All she could do was curl up in her memories, clutching their belongings, unable to do anything else.

"Shut up."

"I like Arisu's expression now. It's countless times better than when we played against each other back then. It gives me the feeling that we are now on equal footing on the chessboard."

Completely unable to understand the cryptic conversation between the two, and only sensing the increasingly gloomy atmosphere around them Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki distanced themselves further. Anyway, they weren't needed here anymore. Although it was a bit difficult to keep up with the routine after a week of rote memorization, with the main characters taking the stage, their Class 1-B's chances of winning should be much better.

"... I envy your ability to so easily attribute everything to the outcome of a game of Chess."

During a break from contemplating the game, Amasawa Ichika overheard a muttered remark from Sakayanagi Arisu.

"If only sometimes everything could be decided by the outcome of a single game of Chess."

"The fact that Arisu could say that means he still believes he will win."

Amasawa Ichika continued to sneer:

"That's Arisu's greatest arrogance, in my opinion."

"To someone who lacks self-confidence, the confidence of others is indeed equated with arrogance, just as a child locked indoors fears the sun's brilliance."

Sakayanagi Arisu retaliated just as fiercely.

Neither of them is the type to easily admit their mistakes or failures, yet both have experienced major, unforgettable failures.

That's arrogance.

Amasawa Ichika kept repeating the same answer.

"Not just in Chess, but in everything."

"I hate this about Arisu, and I hate everything it brings me."

"Arisu is wrong, Yuki is wrong, in my opinion they're all wrong. If Ryo isn't willing to say it outright, then I'll say it for him."

She pushed the chess piece forward.

For the first time Sakayanagi Arisu didn't immediately follow up, instead falling into a long period of hesitation and silence, unsure whether it was because of the opponent's move or those words.

In the simulation, Amasawa Ichika is the one who is a step behind, but in reality, she is the one who is a step ahead.

Just like the 'unique' birthday gift and reflections she gave Horikita Suzune in advance on Valentine's Day, one fact has become increasingly clear in her countless relationships with Kitagawa Ryo:

Love is never a struggle or conflict about the contest for subjectivity.

There is no need to actively suffer or seek pleasure in artificially created shame and self-imposed feelings of inferiority.

There is no need to actively inflict pain or to find pleasure in the increasingly emphasized guilt and amplified sense of remorse.

Chapter 516: The Victory or the Defeat is Over

Inside the multimedia classroom, half an hour had passed since the Chess lesson began.

"The time has come for the Commander to intervene. Doesn't Suzune plan to say anything to Arisu?"

"I'm not very good at Chess, so joining in rashly won't have any good effect, and might even interfere with Arisu's thoughts."

As the game progressed, Horikita Suzune found it increasingly difficult to decipher the details of the match. Consequently, she stopped focusing so intently on every detail on the screen as she had at the beginning. After taking off her headphones and placing them on the table, she leaned back in her chair, appearing to have relaxed considerably.

Although she did feel some psychological pressure at first because of the possibility of losing this Special Exam, as Kitagawa Ryo said, this Special Exam, compared to the Commander, focused more on testing the students' overall qualities, and she didn't need to blame herself for everything.

Moreover, the Fate of Class 1-A now rests on Sakayanagi Arisu. Horikita Suzune knows her personality well. If she loses a game in Chess, her proudest and most confident subject, and consequently Class 1-A loses this Special Exam, Sakayanagi Arisu will readily take responsibility. After all, she's never been one to be a sore loser. This would greatly reduce the pressure on Horikita Suzune.

"... I'm getting more and more curious about what exactly happened between Arisu and Ichika."

Even though she couldn't hear the specific conversation between the two on screen, even through the screen, Horikita Suzune could still notice that they were constantly talking in hushed tones, and their expressions were changing little by little as they talked. If this were some kind of supernatural Go-playing world, their Stands, the Hikaru no Go spirits, would probably be fighting each other in mid-air by now.

"I'll tell Suzune everything later, but Ichika and Arisu will probably explain it to you on their own, Suzune. After all, no matter what the outcome of the competition is, they need to give Suzune a reasonable explanation, right?"

"After all, this was the last item in the final Special Exam of the school year, and it was a life-or-death battle that would determine the outcome between Class A and Class B. How could it have turned out like this..."

Horikita Suzune rubbed her forehead in exasperation upon hearing this, but immediately glanced in Kitagawa Ryo's direction:

"Feeling cold can be quite difficult sometimes."

"Since that choice was made, there's no going back on it."

Kitagawa Ryo simply smiled at this:

"So Suzune makes things so easy for me. I even really like that awkward part of your personality that used to be."

"Whispering sound--"

Although she wasn't quite sure what Kitagawa Ryo, she felt like she was being casually dismissed like a monster automatically spawning in a newbie village, or like a child being coaxed. So Horikita Suzune mumbled something under her breath, venting her dissatisfaction in a small way.

"Actually, I've always felt that excessive and heavy obsessions never bring any special charm to girls. Perhaps that's true from Bystander's perspective, but like a tragedy on stage, it's never so pleasant when it happens to you; in fact, it's quite troublesome."

"So I was genuinely praising Suzune just now. Why actively pursue a more difficult path when you can find happiness more easily? Do you think that only what you obtain through such means is truly real, better, or more worthy of cherishing and showing off?"

If Kitagawa Ryo were to summarize his after-sales service over the past few years, he could proudly say that the first three female protagonists, Ichinose Honami, Karuizawa Kei, and Horikita Suzune, have been basically successfully completed, and Amasawa Ichika is also showing signs of improvement. The final challenge is only Sakayanagi Arisu and Yuki.

Kitagawa Ryo never considered himself a perfectionist, but for these girls whose Fate were intertwined with his, he would still strive to improve, rather than regarding those few clears as proof of completing a strategy, especially since the current situation was much better than before.

Putting everything else aside, let's just rewind to last year's Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

At that time, Ichinose Honami had been reborn for many years, was still anxious and drifting along with the tide. Sakayanagi Arisu had just finished her simulation, was still unable to reconcile with the current situation. Amasawa Ichika's mind was full of topics that could not be described. Yuki was still outside the school, counting down the days until the next spring.

So many problems have already been solved.

Honami has reconciled with her family and herself; Arisu has overcome her poor physical condition through persistent training; Yuki will be enrolling in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School in a week; Ichika...

Hmm, it seems like nothing has changed?

It's not that bad.

Kitagawa Ryo turned his gaze back to the screen, banishing the indescribable images that had been flashing through his mind, and focused intently on Amasawa Ichika, whose demeanor was completely different from usual and more akin to her appearance during the White Room era.

Completely different from the lively, cheerful, and quirky Amasawa Ichika of today, Amasawa Ichika back then was actually more indifferent and even crazy. Just like a self-centered child who would pour boiling water into an ant nest without any psychological burden, he had a similar attitude towards anything related to him.

Kushida Kikyo should have a lot to say about this.

Just then, he suddenly saw Amasawa Ichika stop holding the chess pieces and say something to the person next to him.

Then, Himeno Yuki, who had been squeezed out of the live broadcast frame, suddenly poked her head in. Because of the angle, her face looked a bit flat, which made Kitagawa Ryo unable to help but chuckle.

However, Himeno Yuki couldn't see the screen in the multimedia classroom. She simply pointed to the location of her headset and then returned to a position outside the camera's view.

The other side is requesting intervention from the Commander.

Realizing this, Kitagawa Ryo put on his earpiece and sent an application to the school to intervene. The signal was successfully established the next second, but the earpiece that should have been worn by Himeno had been taken by Amasawa Ichika.

"What's wrong? Weren't you eager to Arisu?"

"Hmm... because Arisu is weaker than I thought, or maybe I prepared too much?"

Amasawa Ichika's voice came clearly from the other end of the earpiece. Even though it was her turn now, and every second was wasting precious time on the game, she still chose to use it without hesitation to chat with Kitagawa Ryo, continuing to speak in front of Sakayanagi Arisu:

"So I think it should be fine to chat and play chess with Ryo like this."

As if to prove her point, Amasawa Ichika lightly moved her piece one step further, another flawless move that solidified her advantage, leaving Sakayanagi Arisu, whose turn it was, in a long period of hesitation once again.

"Looking back now, if Ryo had been talking to me like this back then or watching me live, I probably would have performed better?"

Is it really that mysterious?

"It's not mysterious at all, because I like it cold the most."

While Sakayanagi Arisu thought, every word from Amasawa Ichika, who was sitting opposite her, came through with perfect clarity. The other person had even turned the volume of her headset up to the maximum. In this quiet room, Amasawa Ichika, who was so close, could even hear Kitagawa Ryo's words and the faint static.

Without a doubt, although both were experiments in the White Room, Amasawa Ichika and Xue were two completely opposite extremes in their way of thinking.

She never dwells on, doubts, or tries to prove whether her feelings are real or not. Nor does she care, complain, or hate whether her past experiences were manipulated by someone else. Amasawa Ichika only knows that she herself is real, the person she likes is real, and every day from now on will be real, not a dream that will disappear after waking up or a self-deceiving premise.

Perhaps realizing that Sakayanagi Arisu could also hear their conversation, Kitagawa Ryo hesitated for a moment, but still chose not to provoke her with words. That wasn't his personality, especially when it came to such issues; he preferred the "boiling frog in lukewarm water" approach.

Even so, Sakayanagi Arisu still subconsciously experienced emotional fluctuations.

If love could truly create miracles, then Kitagawa Ryo wouldn't have died in front of her because of ALS.

The dividing line between fairy tales and reality appeared before Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes the day she realized this fact was unchangeable, which is why she gave up her fantasies too early, at an age when she was still willing to believe in Santa Claus.