Your Horse Is Gone

It was early Saturday morning, and the dormitory building was still quiet.

However, Uesugi Hara's door was being pounded on with a rhythmic "thud, thud, thud."

He was still buried deep in his blankets at the time, his head tucked into his pillow, discussing butterflies with the God of Dreams.

"Thud, thud, thud... thud, thud, thud..." The knocking grew more urgent with every strike, eventually culminating in one final, heavy "THUD!"

The person outside was clearly losing patience.

"Who is it... so early in the morning..." Uesugi Hara grumbled in a daze, letting out a long, drawn-out yawn. A few involuntary tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes as he raised a hand to rub them.

He fumbled for the terminal by his pillow; the screen displayed 8:30.

Saturday was supposed to be a day of rest, and being woken up at this hour was enough to breed genuine resentment.

"Stop knocking, stop knocking! I'm coming, I'm coming!" He sluggishly threw off the quilt and shuffled out of bed.

He walked toward the door barefoot.

As for his slippers, he had no idea where they had flown off to.

"Oh, it's Kamuro? Morning." Uesugi Hara leaned against the doorframe, looking at the impatient Kamuro Masumi standing in the doorway. "Knocking on my door this early, is something up?"

Kamuro Masumi's gaze fell on him first—he was wearing a loose, green cartoon dinosaur onesie, the collar askew. She couldn't hold back her irritation, and the corner of her mouth twitched. After holding it in for a long moment, she finally squeezed out, "Very tasteful." With that, she stepped aside to reveal the person behind her.

Sakayanagi Arisu was leaning on her cane, her silver-white hair shimmering with a soft luster in the morning light. A familiar smile hung on her lips as she gave a slight nod, her voice soft and clear: "Good morning, Uesugi-kun."

Uesugi Hara blinked, his sleepiness mostly vanishing. He straightened up and said, "Sakayanagi? Morning to you too. Is something the matter?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze lingered on his onesie for a moment, and her smile deepened. "Uesugi-kun's taste is indeed unique." Before he could respond, she continued, "You really are a forgetful person, Uesugi-kun. Today is the day we agreed to play chess."

"My taste is naturally beyond reproach." Uesugi Hara looked quite proud, patting his onesie. "I've wanted to buy this dinosaur style for a long time, but I was short on cash before. I saw it while browsing the commercial district yesterday and just had to grab it. How is it? Looks good, right?" He changed the subject, offering a recommendation, "The shop had a few in pink that would look good on you girls, though for someone with your build, Sakayanagi, they might not have your size."

The hand Sakayanagi Arisu used to grip her cane tightened, and a faint vein seemed to pulse on her temple. Who wanted to discuss the style and sizing of pajamas with him?! She was here to play chess, chess!

She took a deep breath, struggling to maintain the smile on her lips, though her voice carried a hint of imperceptible tension: "Uesugi-kun's pajamas are certainly... 'special.' But could we perhaps discuss the chess match first?"

"Fine." Seeing that Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't interested, Uesugi Hara couldn't be bothered to keep up the sales pitch and dropped the topic. He looked at Kamuro Masumi, who was pursing her lips to suppress a laugh.

His gaze shifted downward to the chessboard Kamuro Masumi was holding, and he paused before looking back at Sakayanagi: "Sakayanagi, are you planning on playing in my room?" He had originally assumed she was there to summon him to the Chess Club, but looking at the setup, that clearly wasn't the case.

Sakayanagi Arisu's smile remained unchanged: "Is that not allowed?"

"It's allowed, I suppose," Uesugi Hara let out a lingering yawn, "but isn't it a bit too early for this?"

"It is not early at all." Sakayanagi Arisu leaned forward slightly, her tone brimming with undisguised anticipation. "Besides, the thought of defeating you later, Uesugi-kun, makes me so excited that I simply couldn't wait any longer."

Uesugi Hara glanced at her upon hearing this. She was certainly full of confidence, even bringing Kamuro Masumi along as a witness. He wondered what kind of expression she would have once her mental state shattered from the loss.

"Fine." He stepped aside to clear the doorway. "Come on in."

Uesugi Hara poured them some water before turning to wash up. When he returned, he was still wearing the dinosaur onesie, which hung loosely on his frame, though he looked a bit more alert than before.

In the time it took him to wash up, Sakayanagi Arisu had already directed Kamuro Masumi to set up the board on his desk. The black and white pieces were lined up neatly on either side.

"What are the stakes?" Uesugi Hara wiped his hands with a towel, walked over to the desk, glanced at the board, and asked casually.

Sakayanagi Arisu sat in the chair, twirling her cane on her knees, her smile tinged with calculation: "I'll give you 50,000 points before each game. If you win, I'll give you another 100,000 points; but if you lose—" She paused, glancing at Kamuro Masumi standing nearby, "—you have to do things for me 'voluntarily,' just like Kamuro. How about it?"

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. Was this little girl really that confident? Still, it was fine; 150,000 points a game. Dealing with her would be a piece of cake. He agreed readily: "Sure."

"Uesugi-kun is quite straightforward." Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes curved, and she signaled for Kamuro Masumi to step aside. "Then let us begin."

"Let's go." Uesugi Hara sat in the opposite chair, pushed the board half a turn with his fingertips, and said, "You go first. Don't say I didn't give you a head start when you lose later."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't stand on ceremony. Her fair, delicate fingers picked up a white pawn and placed it firmly in the position of the King's Pawn. The piece made a crisp sound as it hit the board, and the smile on her lips didn't fade: "Then I shall not decline."

Kamuro Masumi pulled up a chair and sat between them, resting her chin on one hand. Her eyes followed the pieces on the board, watching the two of them trade moves.

The first few steps were merely probing, but before long, Uesugi Hara made a decisive move, using his Rook to capture Sakayanagi Arisu's Knight.

"Sakayanagi, your Knight is gone." Kamuro Masumi immediately pointed at the board. Even though she didn't understand the strategy, she could recognize the simple pieces.

"Kamuro, if you don't know how to play, just watch quietly." Sakayanagi Arisu gave her a faint glance.

She calmly "licked" away Uesugi Hara's Rook. She looked up and smiled at Uesugi Hara, her tone teasing: "Is this... Uesugi-kun giving up on struggling?"

"Sakayanagi, you don't understand." Uesugi Hara looked perfectly calm. "There's an old saying in Huaguo: 'To catch the bandits, first catch their leader.' I'm taking out your Knight now so that when I go to finish off your King later, it'll be a simple matter of reaching out and grabbing it."

"Is that... what that saying means?" Sakayanagi Arisu blinked, looking at his confident expression. Her brows furrowed slightly; she remembered the original meaning being quite different.

"Of course it is!" Uesugi Hara slapped the table, full of conviction. "Just wait and see."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't press the issue, merely picking up the Rook that had just been captured. "Is that so? Then I shall wait and see."

A few moves later, Uesugi Hara used his Bishop to decisively trade for Sakayanagi Arisu's other Knight.

"Sakayanagi, your Knight is gone again."

Sakayanagi Arisu ignored the vocal Kamuro Masumi, her gaze fixed on the board before she looked up at Uesugi Hara. "Uesugi-kun really is obsessed with Knights."

Uesugi Hara just smiled at her dismissively, signaling for her to hurry up and move.

Seeing this, Sakayanagi Arisu said nothing more, composing herself and refocusing her attention on the board.

However, the tide of the game began to shift. She, who had initially held the advantage, found her pieces dwindling, and her pace of play slowed significantly. Her fingertips hovered over the board, and she would ponder for a long time before every move, her eyelashes lowered to hide the expression in her eyes.

Uesugi Hara, on the other hand, remained the same as he was at the start, moving his pieces decisively as if he hadn't thought at all, playing entirely on instinct.

In the midst of the stalemate, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly looked up at Kamuro Masumi beside her: "Kamuro... go to Palette and buy me a latte."

Kamuro Masumi was immediately displeased. "Sakayanagi, are you sick?"

She pointed at herself, then gestured around the room. This was a dormitory, for heaven's sake!

Run all that way to get you a latte? And then run all the way back?

Kamuro Masumi decided that was not even worth considering.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't speak, just watched her quietly. Her eyelashes were lowered, her face expressionless, and she remained silent, but that gaze and the faint pressure radiating from her felt like a silent ultimatum—are you going or not?

Kamuro Masumi felt uncomfortable under her stare. She curled her lip, muttered, "Fine, fine, what a pain," and stood up reluctantly, shuffling toward the door.

Uesugi Hara suddenly raised a hand to stop Kamuro Masumi as she was leaving: "Kamuro, bring me an orange juice." He paused, then added, "Put it on Sakayanagi's tab." He turned to look at Sakayanagi Arisu, his expression clearly asking, "That's fine, right?"

"Get whatever you want to drink yourse—"

"Get it for him."

Kamuro Masumi's words were cut off by Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Got it..." Her reply was reluctant, yet she had no choice.

When under someone else's roof, one must bow their head.

After Kamuro Masumi left, Uesugi Hara thanked Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at him, then refocused her attention on the chessboard.

It would be even better if his offensive were as polite as his words.

Before long, the pieces on the board were gradually cleared.

"checkmate," Uesugi Hara said calmly, as if there were no need for him to feel happy about the victory.

Sakayanagi Arisu's expression was not so pleasant. Without a word, she cleanly transferred 150,000 points to Uesugi Hara and looked up, saying, "Again."

"You got it!" Seeing the points arrive, Uesugi Hara beamed and quickly began resetting the board.

The same opening.

The same knight attack.

The same... ending.

The same 150,000 points.

Sakayanagi Arisu had lost once again to Uesugi Hara's bizarre strategy.

"Again."

"Can you stop obsessing over attacking my knight!" Sakayanagi Arisu's fingers tightened around the chess piece, her voice finally betraying a hint of suppressed temper.

"Sure." Uesugi Hara agreed readily—one must naturally listen to the requests of a benefactor.

Since he couldn't attack the knight first... he would attack the bishop instead.

This game indeed bypassed the knight at the start, but the momentum on the board didn't shift; the ending was identical to the previous ones.

"checkmate"

The terminal "dinged," and another 150,000 points were transferred.

Sakayanagi Arisu stared at the decreasing number on the screen for two seconds. When she looked up, her tone was filled with stubborn refusal to admit defeat: "Again!"

"Insufficient balance."

The terminal's cold notification tone rang out in the empty, quiet room, sounding exceptionally clear.

The atmosphere between the two froze instantly; even the air seemed to hold a palpable tension.

"Um..." Uesugi Hara's voice was cautious, his eyes stealing a glance at Sakayanagi Arisu's expression. "Should we call it a day for this game?"

No sooner had he spoken than Sakayanagi Arisu's face, which usually wore a faint smile, began to flush with a thin layer of red—whether from anger or something else—even the tips of her ears turning crimson. She lowered her eyes and said nothing, her fingers gripping the handle of her cane until they turned white.

Seeing this, Uesugi Hara quickly changed his tune, his tone softening: "How about... you owe me? Just pay me back when the points come in next month."

Sakayanagi Arisu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, she had regained her composure. The loss of control had vanished, though her voice still trembled slightly: "Very well."

"Take a breath, have some water. Winning and losing are normal; there's no need to get so worked up." Uesugi Hara picked up the untouched glass of water beside him and handed it to her, fearing she might not be able to catch her breath.

"Thank you, Uesugi-kun." Sakayanagi Arisu didn't take the water, her fingertips resting on the cane handle, her voice steadier than before. "I will make up the points as soon as possible. Let's end the chess for today. I'll be going now."

"Eh? Not waiting for Kamuro?" Uesugi Hara was stunned, asking quickly as he saw her move to stand up.

"Kamuro..." Sakayanagi Arisu paused, as if she had just remembered such a person existed. "When she returns, tell her to go straight to my room."

With that, she stood up with her cane and turned toward the door. However, her retreating figure lacked the calm elegance she had arrived with.

"I... see?" Uesugi Hara watched her back disappear through the doorway, still holding the glass of water he hadn't managed to give her.

Not long after, Kamuro Masumi finally returned, carrying two drinks.

It was already past 11:00. (Business at Palette was good on the weekend, so queuing took time, and the trip back took time as well.)

"Where's Sakayanagi?" She shoved the orange juice at Uesugi Hara and asked casually, her face still showing the impatience of having run errands.

"She left. She said for you to go straight to her room to find her."

Kamuro Masumi wore a sour expression. "So, who ended up winning?"

Uesugi Hara didn't answer her directly, merely shaking his head. "If you dawdle any longer, Arisu Sakayanagi is going to get impatient."

"Oh." Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips, deciding not to press the issue. She had arrived in a rush, and now she left in a rush, still carrying the latte she hadn't managed to deliver.

With Kamuro Masumi gone, Uesugi Hara was left alone in the room once more.

He tapped his terminal with his fingertip, staring at the balance on the screen as he counted: "One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand..."

"654,321."

Looking at this number, Uesugi Hara couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Sakayanagi still has 150,000, which means I have 800,000 points on hand right now."

Uesugi Hara felt a surge of excitement; for the first time in so many years, he was seeing this much money.

Arisu Sakayanagi really was his number one benefactor.

Next time she comes over to play chess... hmm, I'll have to make sure she truly experiences what it means to feel right at home.

On the other side, Kamuro Masumi, still holding the undelivered latte, hurried into Sakayanagi's room.

"Sakayanagi, why did you leave without waiting for me?" She set the coffee down on the table and pressed on, "And who ended up winning in the end?"

Arisu Sakayanagi didn't respond to her question, instead raising her eyes to ask, "How many points?"

Kamuro Masumi was stunned for a moment, but she honestly opened her terminal to check: "2,530."

"...Insufficient balance." Arisu Sakayanagi looked at the screen, repeating the terminal's prompt in a low voice, her tone as soft as a sigh.

The air went still for a few seconds.

Watching Arisu Sakayanagi's expression, Kamuro Masumi realized what was happening, and her interest in pursuing the answer vanished instantly. She silently shrank back.

Kamuro Masumi: I suddenly don't want to know who won or lost at all... Is there any hope left for me?