Volu 11, Epilogue: “The Line Between Winner and Loser” Part 3
The match began, and ti flowed by without so much as a word from either of us.
As the sun began to set, the only sound was the repeated clatter of the white and black pieces on the chessboard.
But that didn’t last for very long.
There was no need to spend much ti on the match since it was already at the final stages when it began.
And before long, the match ended. Sakayanagi quietly let out a sigh as she stared at the board in front of her.
A way to avoid checkmate was nowhere to be found.
“As expected of you, Ayanokōji-kun. It’s my loss.”
It had been a life and death match, move for move.
It didn’t seem like she was discontent or anything, she just acknowledged her loss with satisfaction.
“You sure are honest about it.”
“Do I look like so haughty lady who can’t acknowledge her own defeat?”
I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t see it.
“What I wanted to know was where things stood between the two of us. Who stood above the other. I’d never sit here and complain about the result.”
“Though, while I may have won, this was just a recreation. There’s no guarantee that the match would’ve progressed like this at that ti and at that precise mont.”
I couldn’t discount the possibility that it was a move I had managed to think of due to the extra ti given to .
No, even more importantly—
“This match was the outco of the advantageous situation Horikita had created during her match with Hashimoto. As far as I see it, I intervened while we still had the upper hand. I don’t think it was a very fair match.”
The match had only developed the way it had because Horikita had passed her advantage onto . The fact that Sakayanagi had been able to overco that while at a disadvantage was a testant to how strong she truly was.
If we played each other from scratch, there was no guarantee that I’d win.
Even if she proposed to have a rematch with , I’d want to avoid it if I could.
“Is that your way of comforting ?”
Sakayanagi chuckled, finding my response strange.
“That’s not it. I was just objectively stating the facts.”
“I’m satisfied with this result. Isn’t that enough?”
If she was satisfied, then that was certainly alright. That being said, it still didn’t make feel better.
“When this special exam was announced, you could’ve chosen to face directly by restricting the one-on-one event even further. If you had proposed sothing like that, I still would’ve accepted. But even so, you didn’t. Why was that?”
Of course, it would’ve still been a random battle fought using only seven of the ten events, so there would’ve been no guarantee that it’d get chosen. But, if the two of us had co to an agreent surrounding both of our one-on-one events, the chances of everything working out would’ve been rather high.
“The reason is simple. As you must have reasoned, there was no guarantee it would be chosen. Also, if you indiscriminately competed with in this one-on-one match, the people around you would surely be suspicious. I wanted to avoid letting either of those things happen. Though, it was taken advantage of by the Acting Director in the end.”
Sakayanagi had planned out the special exam while also being as considerate to my circumstances as possible.
That was probably the reason why she had gotten so furious over Tsukishiro’s intervention.
The seven events chosen today and the order they were chosen in were most likely not randomly generated at all.
It simply hadn’t been a fair match from the start.
“Besides, Hashimoto-kun was the most talented chess player in Class A, and yet he lost to Horikita-san after being taught by you. That just ans that I lost in that respect as well.”
Sakayanagi peacefully bowed her head to .
“Ayanokōji-kun. It was a pleasure to face off against you. The answer I was looking for is clear to now. You are certainly a genius. Your skill is by no ans fake.”
“You don’t plan on taking revenge with chess again?”
“Do you want to?”
“…No, I don’t.”
“Fufu, how honest.”
The fact we managed to have this ga just between the two of us was, in and of itself, thanks to the extrely rare situation we were in.
The special exam was over and tomorrow marked the beginning of a long break. Thus, we had been able to find a place without anyone else around.
“As for the reason why I’m not planning on taking revenge… Honestly, I got the impression that you and I are fairly evenly matched when it cos to chess. If we played ten gas, it wouldn’t be strange if we each ended up with five wins and five losses. Would you disagree with that?”
“No, I agree completely.”
Interestingly enough, our true abilities were a perfect match.
If we were to face off again, it would definitely play out the way Sakayanagi predicted it would.
“But, I get the feeling that the winner of this first bout was you, Ayanokōji-kun. I think I would’ve lost back then, during the critical monts. Well, you have a slightly longer history with chess than , after all. Perhaps that made the difference.”
A slightly competitive look showed on her face, emphasizing the importance she placed on winning.
“If I were to take revenge using chess, that would take the fun out of it. For , chess is a leisure activity, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
As she spoke, she picked up one of the knights from the chessboard.
“Seeing as though you brought up my history with chess, that ans you did see back then after all?”
“Yes. I was watching as you relentlessly overwheld your opponents in the White Room. I’ve been fond of chess ever since, believing the day would co when I’d face you myself.”
The hunch I felt when I saw the list of events Class A proposed had been spot-on.
That, it wasn’t a re coincidence that chess had been chosen as an event.
“Well then— let’s hurry back, shall we?”
“I’ll put it away. Just sit there and wait for a bit.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll gladly take you up on that.”
I went and returned the pieces and board back to their original places.
“It’s with regret that must I say this, but I will be keeping my distance from you from now on. If I were to continue fixating myself on you, our classmates would probably start to suspect sothing. Furthermore…”
“Furthermore?”
“I’ve been dying to get to know you for so long now. To , you’re like a childhood friend I’ve never t; One I’ve always, always chased after. If it’s easy for us to compete with one another, it would probably end up losing so of it’s value to .”
A faint smile appeared on her face as she looked at with affection in her eyes.
“Though, knowing Acting Director Tsukishiro, this is no ti for students to be fighting amongst each other anyway.”
A perfect example of the school getting it’s priorities backward. Under normal circumstances, this school is supposed to have students fighting one another.
Even if we competed in similar ways later, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t interfere again at so point.
It’s probably more accurate to say that he’d do whatever it takes to get in my way.
In that respect, I was grateful that I only needed to be careful of him now.
If I was surrounded by enemies on all sides, the exhaustion that would co with it would be considerable.
The two of us left the library.
“Co to think of it, this is the first ti we’ve left the school together like this.”
“Now that you ntion it, you’re right.”
There was always sobody else together with her.
Moreover, the idea of the two of us walking side-by-side together like this wasn’t the most natural one out there.
“I must apologize for being such a slow walker.”
“You don’t have to apologise for that.”
Her walking speed was certainly slow, but it was because of her handicap.
And strangely enough, today, I felt thankful for that.
If I walked as I usually did, I would reach the dorms in no ti at all.
“What are you thinking of doing from now on?”
“It just depends on what Tsukishiro does next. He may just be filling in for your father, but he’s still the director. Ordinary thods won’t work for him.”
“You’re right. Given the current situation, Father’s reinstatent doesn’t seem like it’ll co easily after all.”
“What are you planning on doing?”
As I asked, Sakayanagi pondered for a bit.
“For the ti being, I’ll spend my ti enjoying myself as I always have. If Katsuragi-kun starts opposing again, I’ll act as his opponent. If Ichinose-san cos chasing after my position, I’ll have fun crushing her back down as I play with her. If she got herself expelled, I’d have the pleasure of watching as Class B falls apart as well.”
She smiled like a little girl who was innocently playing with her dolls.
“I didn’t foresee Ryūen-kun’s move but… If he’s co back to the battlefield, I’d like to face off against him as well. Thinking of it, it seems like it may not be such a boring school life after all.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“What about you, Ayanokōji-kun?”
“I’d like to avoid doing anything that would make stand out if possible. Other than that, just keep making Horikita do her best.”
“And I’m sure she’s going to have quite a lot of growth to show for it. I’ll look forward to it.”
Soday, Horikita may just be able to get her na on the list of opponents that Sakayanagi was willing to take seriously, right alongside Ichinose and Ryūen. If that were to happen, Sakayanagi would surely enjoy her school life here all the more.
“…There’s one thing I have to apologise for.”
“Apologise?”
“Earlier, I told you about why I wanted to avoid a one-on-one match with you, but that was a lie.”
She had said it was to avoid putting under the spotlight, her consideration so to say.
But now she withdrew that statent.
“To tell you the truth, I just wanted to be together with you, even for one second longer.”
As she spoke, she extended her right hand out to .
I took it, thinking it was a handshake, but when I squeezed back, she put her left hand over, enveloping mine.
“People learn of warmth when they touch each other, and that’s a very precious thing. The warmth of another human is by no ans a bad thing. Please rember that.”
“What do you an?”
“It’s a belated ssage from to you.”
Before I was able to understand what she was saying, she slowly released my hand and started walking once again.
“Co now, let’s go back.”
It didn’t seem like she was willing to explain it any further.
Together, we watched the sunset as we slowly made our way back ho.
“Oh by the way, have you heard? Yoshida-kun from class A—”
We didn’t have the type of relationship where we’d reminisce about the past.
There were no objectives or ulterior motives. The two of us simply exchanged tales about our daily lives.
All the way until the very mont we arrived at the dorms.
ILLUSTRATION = simgur/a/uTNX4Z2
(Volu 11 End)
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