Is he starting to stop me from expanding my offensive?
As Hikigaya Hachiman moved his bishop, Sakayanagi Arisu furrowed her brow slightly.
On the second day after enrolling, Arisu had invited the boy she'd met on the first day—a boy she found quite intriguing—to play chess with her in the library.
After playing against him, Arisu judged that Hachiman had the skill of an intermediate player.
His tactical system was beginning to take shape, but his ability to calculate and anticipate moves was still immature.
Based on that assessment, Arisu began laying the groundwork for a broader offensive, intending to defeat her opponent in one fell swoop.
But just as her attack was about to take shape, he cut off one of her surprise moves—and it was a subtle one that most people would have failed to notice.
Was it a coincidence, given the skill he's shown so far? But he's far too lucky... Wait?
As she pondered this, Arisu suddenly noticed Hachiman staring straight into her eyes with a dull, unwavering gaze.
His eyes were dim, yet they fixed on her gaze as firmly as nails.
Could he be... figuring out my moves by watching my eyes?
People did unconsciously direct their attention toward the direction in which they were about to act, but using that physical reaction to predict moves was an absurd notion.
In that case...
Arisu deliberately moved her knight to test him.
Hachiman first stared at the area where the knight stood, then shifted his gaze between the board and Arisu's eyes before finally moving his rook sideways.
Seeing this, the silver-haired girl was finally certain: the boy in front of her was predicting her moves by picking up on the unconscious shifts in her gaze.
A laugh nearly burst from her throat.
The boy's skill was modest, yet he kept dismantling her plans. That only made him all the more interesting to her.
Just as I thought, you really are incredibly interesting...
The laugh she could no longer suppress rang softly through the library.
When she had happened to hear the boy's remarks yesterday, she had merely found them novel.
Now, she was genuinely glad to have met him.
Arisu had no intention of denying the curiosity she'd developed about Hachiman, a person unlike anyone she'd ever encountered.
Still, it wouldn't be fun to let him hold me back one-sidedly. It's about time I got serious, isn't it?
Though her attempt to expand her attack had been thwarted, Arisu still controlled the game.
All Hachiman had done was slow her down as she built a new offensive. He hadn't actually dismantled her established chain of tactics.
Besides, there was a way to counter Hachiman's terrifying powers of observation: since he relied on her gaze, she could simply close her eyes or look away from the board when it wasn't her turn.
But Arisu did the exact opposite, meeting his gaze with an even fiercer one.
Looking away now would be tantamount to admitting that she had to avoid eye contact to maintain her advantage. That was something she absolutely couldn't accept.
So the girl placed another piece on the board, wearing a smile whose intensity she could feel herself.
(The atmosphere's changed...)
Just as I was doing my best to stop her from expanding her attack, Sakayanagi suddenly smiled and made a move.
(She's moving her rook now? I can't see how placing it there would pose a threat...)
We'd only known each other for two days, but anyone could tell that Sakayanagi never made pointless moves.
A move that seemed meaningless was bound to conceal some kind of threat.
I looked up. The silver-haired girl was smiling with delight.
Though she said nothing—
Go ahead and watch. I'll always be one step ahead of you.
It was as if I could hear her making that declaration.
For now, I decided on what I thought was the best move after checking where her gaze unconsciously fell.
After all, I had no chance of winning if I tried to calculate things properly against a genius like her.
During the game that followed, once I began watching Sakayanagi's eyes, neither of us lost another piece.
It looked like an even match on the surface, but it gave me the creeps.
In the end, all I was doing was stopping her from building a new attack. My position hadn't improved at all.
That balance would eventually break, and when it did, I'd be completely crushed.
Just as I cautiously moved a piece, Sakayanagi's smile widened sharply.
Ah, I was going to lose.
With that certainty came a devastating checkmate.
"How do you like this move?"
Her bishop had set up a deadly attack on my rook.
I should've retreated, but... there was nowhere to go.
To be precise, retreating was possible, but it would leave my king exposed to attack.
So while expanding her offensive, she'd already planted a hidden move aimed straight at my king.
Worse, even if I sacrificed my rook, I couldn't counterattack and take her bishop.
After weighing my options, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and sacrifice the piece. After all, losing my rook was more bearable than losing my king.
As I helplessly moved another piece away, Sakayanagi predictably took my rook.
This was bad... My key pieces were being picked off one by one.
Even worse, I had no way to counterattack.
It wasn't that I couldn't take one of her pieces, but doing so would either get me taken immediately or leave my king's defenses wide open.
(Should I shore up my defenses? No, against a strong opponent, a defensive stand is bound to crumble eventually. I can only stake everything on attacking.)
Having made up my mind, I moved a piece and charged forward from my desperate position.
Ten minutes later...
"Checkmate."
"I know. You're making fun of me, aren't you?"
I lost.
I'd launched an attack, but after only a few moves, she completely crushed me with an even more powerful offensive.
What made it even more infuriating was Sakayanagi. She had the skill to end the game quickly, but deliberately left my king as my only piece, taking all the others one by one.
There was no more humiliating ending for the loser.
I'd known I couldn't win, but losing like that really pissed me off.
"No, no. This is my way of thanking you for letting me enjoy such an interesting game. Partway through, you tried to figure out my moves, and you were watching my behavior the whole time too, weren't you, Hikigaya?"
"That's a pretty obnoxious way of saying thanks... But I won't deny it. I did try to figure out where you'd move by watching where your gaze wandered."
"I knew it. Your powers of observation are commendable, but your ability to read the board still has a long way to go."
I couldn't argue with that.
Every time I tried to attack, she countered me in an instant. She'd anticipated every move I made.
But chess skill came from experience in the end, so there wasn't much I could do about it.
"Anyway, I had a wonderful time. How about another game?"
"...It's still early in the school year, so I don't need to rush into studying, and I do have plenty of time... But when I think about getting utterly crushed by you again..."
I didn't dislike chess, but losing badly every time didn't exactly motivate me.
"Then how about I give you some incentive?"
"Like what?"
"Hmm... How about this? From now on, if you manage to beat me at chess even once, I'll grant you any one request, no questions asked."
"Anything I want?"
"That's right. If you want points, I can give you some. If you want to cross the line, I can come to your room too."
From the look in her eyes, she was serious.
If I won, she'd really keep her promise.
But it also showed just how confident she was that she couldn't lose. The sharp glint in her eyes made that more than clear.
...Since it was a rare opportunity, I might as well give it a try.
It didn't cost anything to play chess, anyway.
Besides, I really wanted to see Sakayanagi look crestfallen, even if it was just once.
"...All right. I accept."
"Mm. I look forward to playing with you."
Sakayanagi gave a faint smile and began setting up the pieces again.
I guess all I could do was take it one step at a time and slowly get stronger...
After that, I played five more games with Sakayanagi. The result went without saying: I lost every one.
"Hmm... I guess it's still like this?"
At seven in the evening, I sat at the desk in my dorm room.
But the things spread across it weren't textbooks and notes. They were a chessboard and a book of chess problems.
Playing against Sakayanagi had made me want to study chess seriously, so I'd bought a chessboard and an instruction book as soon as we parted.
Now I was trying to solve the endgame problems in the book, but they were far more difficult than I'd expected.
I'd spent quite a lot of points on them, too. Strangely enough, I didn't even feel bad about it.
Just as I was repeatedly moving the pieces around, trying to recreate the position in the book, the phone on my desk suddenly vibrated.
Shiina had sent me an email:
"I joined the Tea Ceremony Club. I'm still unfamiliar with the etiquette, but once I've learned the basics, you and Classmate Sakayanagi should come have tea with me."
Looks like there was no getting out of it.
I sighed and replied that I'd go. A new email arrived soon after:
"Thanks. Also, I tried on a kimono. Does it suit me? I'd really like to hear what you think."
There was a photo attached.
Shiina in a kimono... It probably suited her, right?
The moment I opened the attachment, Shiina in a white kimono with pale pink patterns appeared before my eyes.
By the time I came to my senses, my fingers had already saved the photo and replied to her email: "It suits you really well."
I'd saved it without thinking. She'd looked stunning.
(And here I am, having such a lively time after only two days at school.)
Ever since I'd run into Shiina on the bus during the opening ceremony, I'd gotten involved with Sakayanagi too. My peaceful days were over.
But unlike back at Sobu Middle School, there was no bullying here, and I didn't have to put up with hostile stares. That was something to be grateful for.
Maybe I could get through school life without any trouble.
(For now, I'll look forward to Shiina's tea ceremony and work on closing the gap between Sakayanagi's chess skills and mine.)
Since I'd gone to the trouble of buying a chessboard, I might as well study seriously.
The board and book had cost nearly 4,000 points. Even though I had over 80,000 points in total, it was still a considerable expense. It'd be a waste to leave them unused.
Having made up my mind, I turned back to the chessboard and resumed studying the endgame.
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