Vol 1 Chapter 3 (2/2)
”The pieces reflect the player's 'charis ability', 'right to be
king', andto that—don't you think it's a suitable ga?”
”—tch”
Sora clicked his tongue—but there was no need to panic ”d2 pawn, d3”
Simply and calmly, shi+ro continued to play ”Ara, is that okay, to be playing so leisurely?”
However, provocations have no use against shi+ro once she starts playing
Also, there was the brother in reserve shi+ro's overwhel concentration Can even destroy
Gods
And then In reality
Unfazed by Kuraainst the rules Not even falling into danger
once, shi+ro continuedher pieces—
”I see”
Fearing a certain thing, Sora
If it was as Kuraame the 'pieces with their oills' were the key, then—
that fear was very soon brought to reality
”pawn 5, forward”
The commanded piece—
Did not move
”Eh?”
For the first ti here, shi+ro showed a confused expression Similarly, Steph and
the audience had the same confusion
”—As I thought, it's like that huh”
Clicking his tongue because his prediction came true, Sora In other words The key to this chess
ga the rules—rong 'That
the pieces won't h charisma' was the real key If the pieces were real
'soldiers' then first of all a strategy that could not be used normally— that was,
”We can't 'sacrifice pieces', huh”
—For the sake of the war, happily giving up their lives, such soldiers normally didn't exist The
thorough commands, orders—combined with the madness that was the initial burst of morale had
But now that 'sacrificing pieces' had been sealed—
”—”
shi+ro bit her nails, and for the first tiht
That's right—the tactics available were htly
s to moveIt was the first time they were
pushi+ng back against shi+ro, who had an advantage, but it didn't take long
—The situation quickly worsened With their
coly frustrated The frustration of the
co the situation even worse—If this continues,
then there was no hope
””
She probably realized it herself—that there was no longer any way for shi+ro to win However—
it was enough
shi+ro held the match, which allowed Sora to observe
With the eyes like a zombie, filled with self-scorn, no matter how you look at it there was no
sign of anything like charisma The movement of Kurami's pieces told him 120 of the real
for
—Placing his hand on his sister's shoulder, Sora said ”shi+ro, let's switch”
””
His sister's downcast eyes were hidden by the long white hair But, he could tell that she
probably hid a thin layer of tears
—That was to be expected 『 』 does not permit any losses Especially in chess—which his
sister had not once lost in
”Nii Sorry”
”—What's wrong”
”I lost so rr y”
Saying this, shi+ro buried her face in her brother's chest But, hugging that head, Sora said
”Huh? What are you saying, we haven't lost yet” ””
”—The two of us together are 『 』 —until I lose too, it doesn't count as a loss”
shi+ro looked up at Sora, who said this The expression that he shoas his usual arrogance—
that it was impossible to lose, confidence
”Also, this isn't chess—in this game, you have not beaten me even once”
”eh?”
”Well, just watch—this game is in my field of responsibility” Sniff, sniff, then
Rubbing the tears fros, Sora He couldn't tell her
expression from her lowered head, but he could tell she was still down The sister started getting
up froed—but Sora stopped her
”A crybaby, huh A child that leaves in the middle of a match, and a naive brother that thinks he
can make a comeback at this point it does seem like the two of you have the qualifications to
be King That is, the qualifications to be a joke of a king”
Ignoring those words by Kuraround, Sora ”?”
shi+ro's body stiffened due to suddenly being carried
—Raising the overly light, even if she was only eleven, sister Reached the table and sat her on
his knees, Sora
”?”
”Didn't I say, the two of us are 『 』We are here And, if I lose ive me a
hand” To the speechless sister, Sora said
With a smile, but with a bottomless eeriness, Sora spoke towards Kurami ”Whehat a
pinch”—then
”—Was that said towards me?”
”In this cheating ga this hole or that hole, I'onna
beat you, so you better start thinking about apologies—the price for h,
you prostitute”
Kuranored that
Facing towards the board, Sora Taking a big breath of air—and then
”TO ALL SOLDIERS!”
Including the sister sitting on his lap Everyone in the hall covered their ears, in a voice that
shook the walls, he yelled
”THOSE WHO EARN AN ACHIEVEMENT IN THIS BATTLE—BY THE AUTHORITY OF
THE KING, I GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO HAVE INTERCOURSE WITH THE GIRL YOU
LIKE ONCE!”
——
Suddenly, a silence like the bottom of the sea wrapped around the castle What the silence
signified was—confusion, conte about this, Sora continued
”Furtherht on the front line, after this battle is won you will be
freed from further military service, and from the responsibilities to pay tax for life! The country
will guarantee you veteran benefits! Therefore—don't you die a virgin! Also, those with family
or loved ones waiting—you must all return alive!”
Due to the exceedingly vulgar speech, once again the castle replied with silence
—However From the chess board ”UwooooOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHhHHHH!!”
—A war cry resounded
A strict contrast to as going on inside the castle But the speech had not ended
”To my army, to my men! Lend your ears to my words! This battle is ours—Alkia's, mankind's!
It's a battle to decide who rules this city, our last fort, and thus one that decides the fate of
of that country—”
Then, suddenly, at his opponent—Kurami, he pointed and yelled
”Leaving it to this zoence, are you really okay with
that!” ”Wha—”
Then, ignoring the stunned Kura head
Sweeping away her bangs, exposing her face Peeking out from behind the pure white, albino
long hair was a skin white like snow Also revealed were her beautiful ruby-like eyes, filled with
a redness that seemed to suck one in—but they were dyed with sadness
”If we achieve victory, then she will be the queen! That's right, think about what happened back
then! To guide us to victory she closed her heart and commanded you, but each of you dismissed
her as 'ruthless' and caused her to cry! I'll only ask once—”
”CAN YOU STILL CALL YOURSELVES MENNNNNNN!”
Then, iave an order to a pawn
”To the seventh pawn squadron! The ene our front lines! If we just wait in this
stalemate, then we'll be hit from the sides 'rush and flank them!'—secure the initiative!”
Then, as if responding to that shout The pawn moved forward 2 squares, then continued and
flanked the ene it
”Wh—impossible!?”
Towards the bewildered Kurarin
”H that you've done too, is there so to be surprised about?” ”—
Grrr”
But, the sister on Sora's lap muttered
”If this was a real battle then with this the soldier should be tired and can't move for a
while”
”Yeah, it's as you say, but—second cavalry teao of the opportunity that the seventh
pawn squadron opened! No matter what protect the 'heroes' that cut open the path!”
Then, without waiting for the opponent's turn, he continued
”And then the king and queen over there! In other words you are the two of us but hurry and
move towards the front lines”
—At these co to chess's rules, the audience, and even
shi+ro, opened their eyes wide
Well—in the first place
”H, hey! What are you doing ignoring my turns—!”
—Kura, Sora said
”Huh? Are you an idiot? Is there anyone aits for their opponent's turn in a real war?”
In the first place, the pieces werethe commands
”If you're worried about your turn, then why don't you give commands before I do, stupid♥”
If you have a problem then say it to the chessboard, is what he left it with In one breath,
throwing out absurd arguments one after another like they made sense, Sora But—the reality is
that the pieceswith this In that case—
”Guuuu—pawns, advance in order! Build a defense wall!!”
Urgently throwing out counter-commands, Kurami
Immediately, Sora found a flaw
”Hah! Look, their troops are hiding themselves behind walls, look at their cowardly form!” With
an exaggerated wave of his hand, in perfect acting, he yelled
”Leaving the soldiers to fight in the front lines and waiting in the back, what kind of king, what
kind of queen are you! The king and the queen—the rulers, are the ones who should guide the
citizens —To everyone we continue, the proud knights, bishops, and rooks! Now is the time to
work according to your titles! Protect the infantry and 'prove yourself'!”
—Slandering the opponent's tactics, though underhanded, it raised ed by the
speech which would've been called 'propaganda tactics' in the real world, the pieces hurriedly
ain towards Kurami—and also towards the pieces that she led, he said
”Hic to forcefully raise the morale of your own troops—it could be
said in a real battle that—this would be called 'brainwashi+ng ic', huh?”
”—”
Kurahtly
If you think that wouldn't have been enough for him to realize he hit the bull's-eye, then you'd be
way underesti the boy named Sora
”I see, it would be hard to prove, and would bring a crushi+ng advantage in this game Even if the
opponent is an expert in chess, unable to predict the movement of the pieces, unable to even
sacrifice pieces, they would fall into disorder”
He placed his hand on his sister's head ”But, you'miscalculation'”
Then, once again he resumed his speech in a loud voice
”Since antiquity, there had never been cases where kings who commanded their army
tyrannically were referred to as great kings, because ht only for
justice—and, there is only one absolute justice in this world!”
Usually, the spiritless younger sister with eyes half closed The continuation of the situation
where she suddenly opened her eyes In that face—her eyes snapped open, showing the face of a
beautiful girl ould enchant anyone who looked at her
”You are in the presence of the queen! If you bastards are men then don't let those eyes be filled
with tears again!”
—As if in reply
Once again from the board, a war cry that shook the table resounded ”—That's right
'Cuteness', that is the only unchanging justice in this world” Hugging the sister sitting on his lap,
Sora boldly declared
The only response ca temperature difference compared to
the room—but he paid no attention to that There was no way that the residents of this world who
knew no battles would understand
—The reason ht, no e That
is, for their loved ones For the honor in order to charm their loved ones To say it bluntly
—It was for the sake of 'eroticism' there was no other way to say it ”—pawn number 5!
Destroy the opponent's knight!”
The pawn that Kuraht—but
E his sister in one hand, he stood up fro his arm Sora
yelled!
”Oh honourable knight, trained by us and bestowed by the queen with the title of knight, are you
at the level of being defeated by a measly pawn! With the name of the queen, as well as your title
on the line, I will not allow you to die without perle soldier, it
can't do anything but take your back Turn around and retreat, maintain the line—break open a
path to survival with your sword and shi+eld!”
As the pawn that should've been attacking captured the knight— Right before that, instead, it
broke apart ””—Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!?””
From Steph to Kurami, everyone in the castle let out a similar sound However, that sound did
not reach him
Really placing hiain yelled
”You have fought well, you have endured well, oh valiant knight! That is what it truly means to
be the sword of the people! —But, for now you should rest that sword for a while and recover!
The reward for your actions on the battlefield today, I swear on my name to provide it to you!”
As he did so, the knight—a mere chess piece Turned towards Sora—no towards the 'king' An
action as if giving a bow—poof, disappearing fro to the side of
the table
—A situation which is impossible in chess, 'simultaneous kill' At a loss of words, Kurami, and
as ifher, Sora responded
”Ha ha ha, you idiot A chess that eainst an opponent like me who has
never lost in Civilization or Daisenryaku, did you think you could win in a simplified version
like this game?”
That's right—this was not chess This was a 'strategy gaic that maintains the
ic But so like that orth no more
than so that maintains the statuses of the social systems or the wonders of the world
Also—the weaknesses of those systems, he was also familiar with
In essence, that was the playing style that results fro on those effects— If the
opponent's playing style could be grasped—
It could not longer be called a match
”Third pawn squadron! Seize the chance—take down the enemy bishop!”
Confidently, aiht for checkmate, Sora yelled out a command, and the piece faithfully
the bishop—
—The paas dyed black ”””—Wha!?”””
The audience let out a shocked voice But that had already beco of a norm But, for
the first tiroup Kurami could clearly tell from Sora's expression
that the phenomenon had been out of his expectations Hehe with a thin, dark smile, Kurami
spoke
”Brainwashi+ng—it can cause so then it's
definitely possible, so like this”
Forcibly turning the attacking piece black 'Forced brainwashi+ng' —
In other words, all of the attacks from this side were completely sealed
shi+t
——shi+t shi+t shi+t shi+t shi+t shi+t shi+t shi+t shi+t!
Without showing it on his face, Sora realized that he had made a fatal mistake He arbitrarily
believed that the cheat the opponent had been using was to 'st
the troops'
—The antly pointed out to Steph a few days ago had come and bitten
himself
I failed—failed failed failed failed! What a grave blunder—! That is, when the threat of losing
approaches iic becomes exposed—the
possibility of risking a cheat that ht have been detected as abnormal in the face of loss—!
Why didn't I consider this—I'm such an idiot!
”—All units, retreat! The eneic, do not approach them!”
With Sora's overwhel leadershi+p, even the pieces that should not be able to retreat started to
retreat However, ”Fufu, trying to be a war king? A king trying to be a rear guard, stop
around”
Seeing the tides change, Kura'—in other words, at 'Sora' The
enemy queen approached
”Behead the ene, my queen! Checkmate!” ”Brother”
The hall grew noisy, even shi+ro felt the danger, and raised her voice But—towards the
approaching piece, Sora said ”—Oh queen, please lower thy sword for thou art—beautiful”
”””—Huh?”””
With the audience, Kurami, and even shi+ro stunned, Sora passionately and fervently started to
coax the piece—the queen
”Ahh, dear queen Dost thou serveth that king of thy oill, or hast thee other reasons—but
prithee, listen to thy heart Is that king one worthy of thy service?”
Like a first-rate theatrician With a sweet voice like the playboy of the century, Sora unleased his
beautifully woven words It was as if he was a handso on the battlefield
”Brainwashi+ng the soldiers, the citizens, and using them as swords, as tools— moreover, for he
who htened within, is such a king worth
swinging thy sword and flaunting thy beauty for?! Oh dear beautiful queen, it is but cursed fate
that brought us to meet as this, as eneood look—
your people, those who should be protected—your king! Where are they now!”
—Clang—
A sound as if a sword dropping to the ground echoed
—This tile sound could be heard any
longer froallery The only sounds came from Kurami as at a lost for
words, and the slightly snickering Sora
”——Wha——”
”Kukuku, galge[20] are one of the few games where I'm better than my sister” ”—Y-you”
Hearing Kurahed, as if relieved As long as Sora could do
the sa as the enemy, the situation is back to a drahat they probably thought
—But that was not true It was co that could
only be done because it had been Sora and the eneh it could not
be confirmed, but it see off his attacks
co back The only thing that awaits ahead—
are the tords 'certain defeat'
—What do I do What do I do Sora, you 18 year old virgin—!
Sora tried with all his power to keep the co His mind
fiercely searched for a way to somehow overcome this situation Well—to be accurate, he had
found a way
There is—a way It's a possibility but will the opponent fall for it!?
—It was an all or nothing ga on But if it
failed—then his chance of victory would be completely crushed Compared with the risk of the
gaood choice? While the excessive
secretion of hormones in his brain even compressed time, Sora continued to think
But this tiently—enveloped her brother's face with those two small hands ”——
Wh?”
Suddenly feeling the warhtly However, shi+ro looked
Sora in the eyes, and in a small voice continued
”Nii, you said calm dohen you're back, help” ”——”
”The two of us are 『 』 ” Ahh
”—Yeah, you're right”
”Are you, okay?”
—Do you think it ork?
The brother's eyes silently asked, and the sister, slightly, but strongly,
Nodded
—Right, shi+ro—this genius girl—his proud sister Against an opponent who moved without
regards to the rules, using only pure chess moves she had once held the upper hand That could
not be possible unless she could read what the opponent—Kuraical
tactics, the brother was largely superior to the sister—however
Once again, Sora thought to himself
—Don't forget His sister—had even defeated God That sister, fro the
situation, had asserted that it ork Then, what he must do is believe in his sister, and with
that as the prey! Then—Kura
”—Knight! Cut down the double-crossing queen!”
——She fell for it The thoroughly rigged—trap The coht shook as if in
inner conflict, and then—
It turned white
”W-why hat did you do!?”
—This was it This was the one and only way to survive So that Kurami would not be
able to stand if she was really fighting for humankind, and her 'reaction' towards that betrayal
Also that she was even now thinking that ere also using some kind of cheat That was—
the outline of the only re way to achieve victory Ahh, to be expected of my sister
Conveying this by patting the sister's head, the sister closed her eyes in comfort as if she were a
cat Then, as if it was all as planned, Sora spoke with an indomitable smile
”Oh King, oh foolish king To have thy vassal to slay thy queen what a cruel command Thou
would doest well to caler—they are not what the
citizens should see”
”You—traitor!”
Believing Sora to have sold out the hu the assistance of other countries to
cheat, Kurami On that face was not the zombie-like sense of helplessness or sense of
responsibility that had been there until now, it was pure anger In comparison, Sora's face was
arrogant, fearless, and filled with confidence
But ould have sensed it at that time
That even right at thiswith a force as if it would
break, was ht power Sora's brain was still lie he
gained through various quiz ga battles to the limit of what he
knew, and running simulations
—That's right, the situation hadn't turned for the better in the slightest
This tactic was not so that could be repeatedly used It was merely a one time bluff to
plant the seed of doubt in the opponent It was a dangerous tightrope where just another attack
could cause everything to fail In that case—the only way is to ithout fighting——
Win without fighting?
——
—And then
In this situation that was equal to 'certain defeat' Sora finally saw a speck of light
”—shi+ro I'll leave the command of the troops to you Can you maneuver them so they will not
be brainwashed?” ”No, problem”
Without asking for the reason, the sister saluted and took control of the troops
—This was, once amble for a
guaranteed win There were only tays to come out victorious in this situation As far as
Sora's knowledge goes, the way to ithout fighting—which is
”Oh dear queen—”
Leaving the sister in control, Sora started to talk to the now allied, ex-enemy queen
”I cannot bring hts who lowered their swords,
to turn thy weapons towards thy own citizens—thy brethren This battle, this situation that it is
no longer but a —is now but a crucible of
madness”
Then, Sora, within the span of the seconds handa full revolution Several thousand lines
of words spun through his brain, and caamble of the century
”Thy citizens are thy citizens—the one to guide the' can be no other
than thee—are there any objections!”
Sora's speech Its aim Not one person in the castle, not even Kurami could uncover it Thus the
castle replied with silence—just like thefor
the so that would exceed all expectations—they waited in silence Then—finally, a result
that was probably the answer to those anticipations
The originally black queen—but what is nohite queen
—This time became dyed in red
In addition, the black pieces in the front line mostly turned red ”———Huuuuuh!?”
Kurami was the one and only person who screamed out Probably, none of the other audience
members had been able to comprehend what just happened However, with the continuation of
Sora's act—they were finally able to grasp the situation
”I co a stand, oh respectable and brave queen! Righteous ones who
overca to follow thy queen! I shant telleth thee to cut down thy brethren!
Furthermore, I doth not believe that thy brethren wishes to cut thee! The ones who shall mark the
end of the tyrannous reign of thewho steals the freedom of his subjects repeatedly
through brainwashi+ng, is none other than thee!”
That's right, this is
Inciting a 'revolution'—the advent of a third power
”I doth not wish for bloodshed! Like what any would wish for—I wish for peace! I wish for both
sides to lay down their swords I will not allow any more blood to flow!”
Following the pronouncement, one by one, the number of red pieces by the red queen's side
increased
—Though theydown their enemies But
”—Y-you, it doesn't matter! Dispose of all traitors!”
Consu the situation, Kuraain—fell into a trap
”You havewith revolutions
through 'Military Oppression' is the worst possible strategy”
—Though they have no hesitation in cutting down their enemies Even under the effects of
brainwashi+ng ic—it is not easy to cut down a comrade-in-arms As Sora spoke, the pieces
that Kurami commanded turned red one by one
”—Wh this what happened, what kind of tricks did you pull!”
She who tried to protectas far as to borrow the elves' power, Kurami That
feeling, strengthened by the feelings fro betrayed, stole her composure
” All units, support, the red queen expand the perimeter don't, let anyone, die”
Following Sora's intentions, through precise orders, shi+ro was able to even mobilize the red
pieces strategically It wasn't anything spectacular It was just to use the pieces that Kurami's
ar, the red queen's forces, as a shi+eld To put it another way,
she manipulated the pieces in the red queen's forces to create a situation where attacks from both
sides would be ineffective
—The result
”To all soldiers, take the ene's head at all costs you should all justto
my commands—cut down and dispose of all traitors”
Sora couldn't—I But, probably an even stronger brainwashi+ng
ic had been cast Eerily, silently, the black army started its advance Red pieces or white
pieces The aura exuding fro pieces clearly showed that the black army would
annihilate everything, as those in the castle held their breath
”Brother, to block off the path of retreat of a weakened enemy, ends like this”
As a slight amount of cold sweat started to form, even the sister pointed and said However, Sora
replied with a smile
”I know—that's why I did it” Crack—
Such a sound, without any reason, suddenly resounded The black king, in other words Kurami's
king
—Cracks started running across ”—Eh—hat?”
The cracks spread across the black king Towards the confused Kura stupefied, Sora
answered disinterestedly
”A tyrant that continues oppressing, ruling through fear, and brainwashi+ng—is a strange thing”
This was 'the second way' that Sora knew—of how to 'ithout fighting'
”It's fine while he continues winning, but if ever he lost, no matter which world it is, for some
reason the end of that ruler, as if set in stone, is known”
That is
”Their end will be due to an assassination by someone close to them who is not even a soldier”
—This was so that