After placing all of the small wooden pieces on the board, she stared at the black and white checkered squares for a little while before finally making her first move. Gently picking up the white pawn, she moved it up two squares.
As expected, she had sothing prepared.
Her first move was not E4 or even D4. It was C4, The English Opening.
Well, it wasn't the first ti I'd played against this opening either.
I had never seen this girl on the world stage before. For all I knew, she was an amateur. However, for so reason, sothing didn't feel right. I couldn't let my guard down, like that one match against Mizuhara.
Taking a mont to think, I responded with a pretty standard Knight F6, the Anglo-Indian Defence.
As the ga went on, I decided to observe the pattern of Fujiharu's moves. They were completely different to the ones that Mizuhara played. Instead of aggressively trading pieces and trying to beat with pure calculations, Fujiharu was extrely reserved, slowly building a defence with no holes.
However, there was a good reason why I stayed undefeated for almost ten years.
ticulously, she slowly positioned her pieces around her king, covering any possible chance for to break through. Her moves were not those of an amateur. Every move had a purpose, linking up the pieces like a web, an impenetrable web.
I guess I'll just have to slowly peel down her defences, one layer at a ti.
Fujiharu, you're like a naked king hiding in a castle.
If that's the case, I'll just have to act as a battling ram and smash down your entrance.
***
I looked up and saw Fujiharu's face suddenly light up. She scanned the entire board, checking for any mistakes. In the end, her eyes were glued to my rook, which was hanging, right beside her impenetrable castle.
'She blundered a rook' is probably what Fujiharu's thinking right now.
However, like sacrificing a group of berserkers to smash down the enemy's walls, I was sacrificing my rook to open up her king.
Because the king's safety is important.
But not only that, her king was trapped by her own pieces.
All I needed to do was add a little bit of pressure.
As she took my rook, I played my next move. Move after move. We continued the ga.
Until.
"Checkmate."
***
"That was a nice match."
Suddenly, I heard the voice of a girl I had never seen before. With long, foreign white hair, she looked down at with distant yet familiar eyes. Resting her arms on my shoulders, she laughed. I had just defeated Fujiharu, but it seed that this girl was also watching.
"You're good. You remind of a leopard, pouncing on your prey."
"Who are you?"
"Ah, ? I'm just a nobody~"
For so reason, her way of speech reminded , ever so slightly, of Mizuhara.
Taking a quick look at the board, the white-haired girl reset the board. She was moving all of the pieces back to their original positions, disregarding what had just happened prior.
"Wait, what are you doing?" asked Fujiharu.
"Oh, were you still looking at it?" she replied.
Fujiharu seed confused
"Um, I guess not. Are you wanting to play a ga?"
"Not really."
"Then why are you resetting the board?"
"I just feel like it."
Looking at the white-haired girl in confusion, Fujiharu got out of her seat. Running her fingers through her hair, she waved at .
"I guess I'm not at your level just yet~."
With that, she walked away, looking sowhat dejected.
I looked over at the girl who had just finished resetting the board.
"Kanako, is it?"
"Yeah..."
"How about you team up with for the special exam."
I wasn't expecting to suddenly be offered to team up like that. I didn't even know who this person was. They extruded an aura of confidence, but I knew nothing about them. Noticing that I was hesitating, she continued, taking her student card out of her pocket.
"I'm Hasegawa Mio~ check my Preseqta. I'm sure you'll be able to make up your mind."
Hasegawa Mio?
I looked up her na
-
Hasegawa Mio - Second-Year Student
Overall Intelligence: **Unreleased**
Athletic Ability: **Unreleased**
Interpersonal Skills: **Unreleased**
Spatial Awareness: **Unreleased**
Lateral Thinking Capacity: A (Ranked #3 out of 417 in school)
_
Appearance: **Unreleased**
Cooperative Reliability: B (Ranked #54 out of 417 in school)
Creative Ability: **Unreleased**
~~~
Overall Score: A
Consistency: **Unreleased**
-
Her attributes were incredible. They were even better than Fujiharu's. Looking at the ranks, I saw no reason to reject her invitation. In this special exam, your teammate's abilities were almost as important as your own. It's impossible to make it far if you have a poor teammate. With that in mind, I spoke up.
"I'm willing to be your teammate, Hasegawa."
"Perfect, it's settled then~ I knew you'd co along."
She tapped on her phone a few tis before I received a notification. She must have inputted the team into the Preseqta Special Exam tab.
-
National High School
To the student Kanako Hanae,
You and Hasegawa Mio have been confird as teammates. You have five minutes to reply if you wish to cancel. Otherwise, it will be inputted into the system.
-
That was it.
"I look forward to playing with you, Kanako."
"Aren't we going to practice?"
"Practice, do you feel the need to?"
"I an, just in case?"
She pouted and looked up at .
"If you want... but I want to go play the piano now~"
"Uh, well, that's fine then."
I guess I could gamble on her ability. There shouldn't be a large issue if her Lateral Thinking Capacity was so highly ranked. I need to report back with Fukuda anyways.
"See you~"
Hasegawa left, giving a little wave. I also decided to go back to the dorms. Fukuda was probably sorting his own teammate out. Father sent a few more students here, so he could probably group with any of them. Although, I would eventually like to stop relying on things that Father provide with.
This special exam will be the first one where I will truly use my own strength.
***
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