Before Sakayanagi's terrible mood could send her completely over the edge, Sawahara left with Sakura, leaving only one parting remark.
"Every single thing I said today was true, Classmate Sakayanagi."
"Um, Sawahara-kun, was it really okay to do that?" On the way back, Sakura hesitated before asking. Always kindhearted and timid, she couldn't help feeling that Sawahara's earlier behavior had been a little out of line.
"Classmate Sakayanagi looked like she was about to cry..."
"Well, there wasn't much I could do. After all, I'd already 'gone easy' on her, hadn't I? In the last game, I could have won, but I still chose to draw." Sawahara smiled at Sakura. "It's just that her pride is too great. She didn't realize it right away. Once she thinks it through, she won't be sad anymore."
"I see." Something about it still seemed a little off, but that was probably just her imagination. Sawahara-kun really was a kind person. Even now, the girl who thought so highly of him still hadn't noticed his nasty side.
"Phew... So that's what happened." Meanwhile, Sakayanagi sat beside the table and went over the three chess games she'd played against Sawahara. It didn't take long for her to realize something was wrong.
The first game had been both a counterattack and a trap. It was Sawahara's response to her earlier provocation, when she'd used his own methods against him. At the same time, it had been a strategy to stir her emotions and lure her into a trap.
When she reviewed the second game, she realized there had been at least three moves that could have changed the course of the game. But she hadn't been calm enough to notice them, and Sawahara had deliberately dragged her into a long, grinding battle.
Before the third