"Can you bury me? That's quite the confidence—one could even call it arrogance."
The surrounding crowd erupted in waves of astonishment.
"Those insults of yours mean nothing to Princess Sakayanagi. You just need to be crushed without mercy."
Standing behind Sakayanagi Arisu, Kamuro Masumi could not stand it any longer and spoke with open disdain.
She had been looking for a chance to use Sakayanagi's name to give Tatsuya Sakuya a beating.
The freshmen and upperclassmen watching nearby could not help exchanging glances.
"That's Sakayanagi Arisu, the acknowledged core figure of Class 1-A, someone destined to stand at the pinnacle of this school."
"Trading trash talk is an indispensable part of a match. Anyone else feel the same?"
"Is that so? Then you—the one who only knows how to hide behind Sakayanagi—do you dare come up here and face me?"
Tatsuya Sakuya did not call Kamuro Masumi by name. He merely pointed at the person behind Sakayanagi, but his meaning could not have been clearer.
Could this guy know I can't play chess and be deliberately trying to humiliate me?
Or is he still holding a grudge over the red envelope I took from him before?
Don't tell me he's holding it against me just because I didn't agree to be his girlfriend.
Kamuro Masumi considered all sorts of possibilities, yet she could not find a suitable response. After all, she truly was not good at chess.
Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to notice that something was off and stepped in to defuse the situation.
"Classmate Shiba, victory or defeat in words is meaningless. Let me utterly destroy you on the board."
While Tatsuya Sakuya and Sakayanagi Arisu traded trash talk, the chessboard on the table had already been set up.
"Please, Classmate Sakayanagi. Classmate Shiba."
The president of the Chess Club had finished the preparations. He also wanted to see just how far these two could take their game.
In chess, White moved first.
Sakayanagi Arisu elegantly picked up a white pawn and steadily advanced it two squares.
Pawn to E4.
"Consider it a little diversion before noon."
Sakayanagi Arisu added this, though it was unclear whether she meant to distract her opponent or was simply bored.
King's Pawn Opening.
A standard yet highly aggressive choice.
"A diversion, is it? I was just about to go have lunch, so let me finish you quickly."
Tatsuya Sakuya did not care in the slightest about Sakayanagi's provocation. He answered casually.
His fingers swept swiftly across Black's side, and a black pawn likewise advanced two squares without hesitation.
Pawn to C5.
"The Sicilian Defense? Isn't that as famous as the Italian Game and the Spanish Opening? Those are all openings professional players like to use, right?"
One of the Chess Club members recognized the opening.
The moment the first moves were played, the atmosphere abruptly changed.
Tap, tap, clack.
The sound of pieces striking the wooden board continued without pause.
Tatsuya Sakuya discovered that whether he played slowly or chose aggressive, fast-paced tactics, Sakayanagi Arisu could handle them all.
Sakayanagi's moves were precise, like a net woven through meticulous calculation, fully displaying the Class 1-A leader's grasp of the overall situation and her fixation on victory.
A white knight leaped over the line of defense, while a black bishop cut diagonally across the middlegame.
The pieces on the board underwent exchanges and clashes as violent as a storm.
The eyes of the surrounding crowd widened further and further. Even the Chess Club members who had been explaining the match were left dumbfounded. The position had completely surpassed the limits of their understanding, and for a time they could not keep up with the players' train of thought.
"Wh-what kind of calculation speed is that?"
"Have they already calculated their next move while placing the current one? No, maybe several moves ahead—even ten or more."
A game on this level had completely exceeded the comprehension of ordinary college students.
This guy really does have some skill. It's my first time seeing someone push Sakayanagi this far.
Kamuro Masumi's expression shifted from casual indifference to solemn focus.
Move forty.
The game had entered its fiercest stage. One slight mistake could bury the entire position, while a single opportunity could reverse an overall disadvantage.
Sakayanagi Arisu decided to launch an attack on Tatsuya Sakuya.
The white queen in her hand attempted to forcibly tear open Tatsuya Sakuya's kingside defenses.
That seemingly irregular defensive formation was, in truth, impregnable.
Every heavy blow from White was deflected by the slightest shifts in move order, each one shedding all its force with effortless precision.
And even...
Without anyone noticing, one of Tatsuya Sakuya's black knights had silently entered a blind spot in White's defenses.
"Check."
"So you calculated this far..."
Sakayanagi Arisu adjusted her breathing, trying to calm herself down.
She seemed to have already seen it.
As long as Tatsuya Sakuya moved his black knight to F3 on the next move, paired with the black queen's diagonal pressure, White's king would have nowhere to escape within three moves.
Tatsuya Sakuya's hand, holding a piece, paused in the air for half a second.
Clack.
The black knight did not land on the deadly F3 square. Instead, it settled on a seemingly ordinary yet extremely solid square.
At the same time, it captured one of Sakayanagi's pawns that had ventured deep into his territory.
The previously decisive attack immediately slowed.
Over the next five moves, the two swiftly exchanged the final few pieces of the endgame.
Only two solitary kings and scattered pawns incapable of creating a mating net remained on the board.
The game was over.
"King versus king?"
Tatsuya Sakuya rose to his feet.
"Ah, what a pity. I was just a little short. Looks like my luck runs out here today."
"Going easy on someone... is hardly gentlemanly conduct, Classmate Shiba."
Sakayanagi Arisu had seen it perfectly clearly.
This man had chosen a draw despite holding complete control over life and death on the board!
"What are you talking about, Classmate Sakayanagi? I gave it everything I had just to avoid losing."
Tatsuya Sakuya put on an innocent expression.
"Now that we're done, I'll excuse myself first. My stomach is already protesting."
"As it happens, I'm rather hungry as well."
Sakayanagi Arisu spoke.
"Would Classmate Shiba mind if Kamuro and I joined your table? Regarding that move just now, I have an entire meal's worth of questions I'd like to ask you."
Kamuro Masumi's eyes widened beside her. "Hey, Sakayanagi, why are we eating with him...?"
"Masumi."
Sakayanagi spoke those two words flatly.
Though Kamuro Masumi was extremely unwilling, she could only grit her teeth and concede in the face of Sakayanagi's unquestionable attitude.
Tatsuya Sakuya shrugged. "If someone's treating, then of course I don't mind."
"Sure. I'll pay for lunch today."
Before you continue