Dialogue

"No." Miyama Saku remained firm.

"Besides, Classmate Sakayanagi, you just finished playing against the upperclassmen in the club. You must be exhausted, and you're still using a cane. Your health might not be great either. If I played you now, it'd be bullying."

"My, is Classmate Miyama worried about me?" The seated girl continued smiling sweetly, an unreadable glimmer flickering in her eyes.

"Don't worry. That little bit of exertion is nothing to me."

Miyama Saku grumbled inwardly. Maybe you're not tired, but I'm hungry. I barely ate lunch.

He had just wanted to find a more reasonable excuse to refuse again when the upperclassmen around them, who had quietly been preparing to watch, could no longer hold back. Their low murmurs surged over like a tide.

"Why did Miyama Saku refuse?"

"Could it be... he's scared?"

"I think so too. Sakayanagi just won three games in a row. Even the club president wasn't her match, and she's on a roll right now. This kid probably doesn't have the confidence to take her on."

"Ugh, I thought he was something special. Who knew he'd chicken out at the critical moment? He's really going to embarrass himself in our club now."

Those whispers, mixed with regret and contempt, entered Miyama Saku's ears without the slightest restraint.

"So, Classmate Miyama, would you like a game?"

He lowered his gaze slightly, sweeping his eyes over the pieces already arranged on the board before looking at Sakayanagi, who sat opposite him with a composed smile.

Faced with Sakayanagi Arisu's relentless pressure, Miyama Saku sighed.

"Classmate Sakayanagi, I have a temper too."

The moment Miyama Saku said those words, carrying both helplessness and warning, the previously quiet air seemed to freeze for an instant.

"Saku, are you alright?"

Shiina Hiyori's gentle voice broke the delicate silence.

Her lovely brows furrowed slightly, and her clear violet eyes were filled with undisguised concern. She instinctively stepped half a pace forward, leaning slightly toward Miyama Saku.

Only then, as if she had finally gathered her courage, did she turn her gaze toward the calm Sakayanagi Arisu across from them.

"Classmate Sakayanagi, could you please stop pushing Saku like this? He doesn't actually like this sort of thing."

After saying that, she turned back to look at him. The worry in her eyes gradually transformed into a faint, almost imperceptible trust, as though silently telling him that no matter what happened, she would stand by his side.

Meanwhile, Sakayanagi Arisu, seated opposite them, did not spare Hiyori even a second of her attention.

She merely watched Miyama Saku quietly, her pale, slender fingers resting lightly against the cold edge of the chessboard. Her fingertips tapped twice against the wooden grain with careless ease, producing two soft knocks.

"A temper?"

Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head slightly, as if savoring a particularly amusing word. A teasing curve rose at the corner of her lips.

"How adorable. But at this school, a 'temper' is useless."

Sakayanagi Arisu leaned forward slightly, her eyes openly aggressive and appraising.

"Since you have a temper, prove it to me. With your chess, with your brain, rather than..."

Her gaze seemingly brushed past Shiina Hiyori, who stood nearby nervously protecting him, and her tone gained a meaningful trace of mockery.

"Hiding behind someone else's kindness."

She leaned back against her chair again, resting her cheek on one hand. Her posture was elegant, like she was enjoying a play about to begin.

"Come on. Let me see how many moves your 'temper' can last."

Faced with Sakayanagi Arisu's relentless attitude, Miyama Saku first turned to give Shiina Hiyori, who looked worried beside him, a reassuring glance. His voice was gentle yet certain. "I'm fine, Hiyori."

Then he turned his gaze toward Sakayanagi Arisu across from him, his expression as calm as though her provocation had been nothing more than a passing breeze.

"A provocation?"

He chuckled, then waved a hand. "Forget it. That isn't important. I accept your challenge."

"As for why it's a challenge... you'll find out soon enough."

"It seems you're very confident, Classmate Miyama."

Sakayanagi Arisu rested her exquisite chin on one hand, a playful curve on her lips. Interest gleamed in her deep eyes.

"Of course."

Miyama Saku leisurely pulled out a chair and sat down. His tone was as relaxed as if he were discussing the weather, yet it carried an unquestionable confidence.

"Still, people normally have to pay me if they want to play Go with me. After all, my time is valuable. I wonder what price Classmate Sakayanagi can offer?"

The amusement in Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes deepened at those words. As though she had heard an especially amusing joke, her bell-like laughter echoed through the air.

"Oh? You've already agreed to play against me, yet you still want to charge me... Could this match perhaps include some special service?"

She leaned forward slightly, her tone carrying a faint hint of teasing and probing.

"Not at all."

Miyama Saku met her gaze frankly, his expression as calm as still water.

"Ha ha, interesting."

Sakayanagi Arisu lightly tapped her fingertips against the table, producing crisp sounds as though she were calculating something.

"In that case, how about fifty thousand points as an appearance fee? If you can defeat me and prove that your ability matches your confidence, I'll add another two hundred thousand points. How does that sound?"

Two hundred and fifty thousand points was undoubtedly an enormous sum for a first-year student who had only just enrolled.

Miyama Saku nodded. "Fine. But so no one says I bullied you, if I lose, I'll pay you eighty thousand points. That's all the points I can currently afford."

"Still, I thought first-years only received one hundred thousand points per month. How can you guarantee that you have enough to pay? And how can I know your promise isn't empty? If you refuse to pay later, I'll have nowhere to complain."

Faced with Miyama Saku's doubts, Sakayanagi Arisu merely smiled lightly. Her smile was elegant and unhurried, as though everything were under her control.

"You don't need to worry about that."

As she spoke, her gaze casually swept over the upperclassmen in the club some distance away. A meaningful smile curled her lips, carrying an almost imperceptible trace of wicked charm.

"Before you arrived, I already got quite a few points from the club's upperclassmen."

The upperclassmen around them seemed to notice her gaze. Some awkwardly looked away, while others gave helpless bitter smiles.

"As for the promise, words alone are no proof. We can ask the Chess Club's faculty advisor to witness it and sign a formal contract while we're at it."

Sakayanagi Arisu's voice remained unhurried, as though the person who had just put forward enormous stakes with a faintly wicked look in her eyes had not been her at all. She elegantly turned her head and looked toward a female club member.

"Senior, sorry for the trouble, but could you make a trip and bring the faculty advisor here?"

"Alright, I'll go right away."

That girl clearly held Sakayanagi Arisu in great awe. Faced with the genius girl's instruction, she did not hesitate for even a moment. She immediately nodded in agreement before quickly leaving the Chess Club room.

Only a few minutes later, accompanied by the sound of steady footsteps, the Chess Club's faculty advisor pushed open the door and entered.

"Teacher Majima."

Sakayanagi Arisu was the first to speak upon seeing him, her tone carrying just the right amount of politeness and composure.

Mashima Tomoya stood at the entrance of the Chess Club room, his burly frame filling most of the doorway. There was little extra expression on his sharply defined face. His eyes moved between Sakayanagi Arisu and Miyama Saku, clearly somewhat puzzled as to why these two first-years had called him here.

"I remember you're Sakayanagi Arisu from the class."

His voice was low and deep, carrying the steadiness unique to a teacher.

"Yes, that's right."

Sakayanagi Arisu nodded slightly, the smile on her face always perfectly measured—neither ingratiating nor cold.

"Sorry to call you here so abruptly, but we do have a favor to ask."

She turned slightly, displaying both the prepared game on the chessboard and the contract agreement that had just been drafted on the table. Her tone was open and clear.

"Classmate Miyama and I are planning to play a game of chess, with points agreed upon as stakes. To ensure fairness and make sure neither side reneges on the agreement, we hope you can serve as a witness and sign the contract."

Mashima Tomoya's gaze fell on the agreement, and he fell silent for a moment. He was not the sort of teacher who enjoyed meddling in others' affairs, but since this involved a transaction of points between students, he could not simply ignore it as a school teacher.

"...Points as stakes?"

He picked up the agreement and skimmed it for a few moments, then looked up, his gaze once again moving between the two of them.

"Sakayanagi, are you sure this is voluntary?"

"Of course." Sakayanagi Arisu answered without the slightest hesitation.