Chapter 4 (1/2)

Day 10: A Match with Mary-san

'I use my queen to take that pawn'

”So you're going to check me next move… hmm, hoeet! You’re sweeter than black tea seasoned with honey, Mary! Don't look down on !”

'I see, then I use my promoted pawn to put you in check'

”Hah? Oh, then I… oy, there's nothing I can do here”

'Yes, I've got you Checkmate'

Now then, the free use of Mary's clairvoyance ame of chess possible, but… at present, I stand with 3 wins and nine losses Mary's gotten quite the jump on me

”Da isn't defective?”

'A defective chessboard or piece won't change the outcome'

”… Tsk, since it's co to ask you straight out, as the cause of my defeat?”

I could only wonder When we started out, I easily won the first three But ever since then, the star of victory refused to shi+ne onout on the reason

'… No, um, are you serious?'

”Dead serious From that tone, it looks like you knohat's up”

When I urged her on with a self-iot a tired voice in response

'I le ti without fail Even if it looks like you're about to win, you 's castle If you're about to lose, why not castle? Because of that, you're always one move behind, your setup is easy to read, and theare strictly li?'

”What? … What!?”

'The tactic called castling is undoubtedly a valid tactic But, you see, if you do it every single tier a tactic, it's just a routine'

Following on fro at my tactics

I spit out a sigh, good grief, I shrug my shoulders

”Mary, poor, poor, Mary You don't understand a thing”

'Um, about what?'

”In the world ofchess, you see, there doesn't exist a single strategy cooler than castling”

'Oh?'

”Listen well, Mary In castling, the very castle that's sworn loyalty to the king, at the end of the end, in order to protect the king pushed to the brink, it ht to provide one final escape route”

'A castle's sworn loyalty!? Is it a tsuku!?'

”What exists in it is a high and noble devotion to protect the king, even if it means to sacrifice its body Ever since the moment Rook resolved himself for his own annihilation in order to protect Hadlar-sa became the coolest tactic in the world to me”

'Ah… I guess you could call it a tsukuami after all…'

Just as I was explaining how- bywas impossible, Mary offered some sort of incoherent babble of, 'Then you really don't have to do it if you're going to win, right…?' but that's irrelevant It's cool, so I have to do it

”But, well, I no the cause Next time, I'll use it to turn the tables on you… on to the next match I won't let you run aith a win under your belt”

'I don't reallythe penalty?'

”You're gaining awareness…”

'I have no doubt in my mind that's your fault…'

Leaving a click of ue, I reach into the emptied-out tissue box and pull out one of the jumbled scraps of paper

Inside the box were papers detailing various penalties The loser would have to pull one and carry it out

Of course, there wasn't anything particularly harsh included Unlike me, Mary was outside, after all They were all the sorts of things one wouldn't be troubled to do as long as they threay their shame

… But, well, there are sos people are just not suited for

My personal hell hen I got the Act like a baby (5 mins)' one I want to sucker-punch the me back from when I held the naive notion Mary would be able to awaken some paternal instinct in me Consider what'll happen if you're the one that becomes the baby

What was so bad about it? The fact Mary see it all only o to take a look atain

Noharsh experience

Thinking over such things with hollow eyes, I open the paper to find, 'Dance aa piece of useless trivia,' had come out

'No one sees to gain anything from that one…'

”Who the hell wrote this stupid suggestion?”

'That would be you'

Yeah, yeah It's because I got bored of thinking up new penalties along the way, and just started writing things at random

There's nothing I can do about it, so I stand toa trifling piece of knowledge

Just before I could open ht of my own silhouette on the wall What was projected was the for his heart and soul into a dance with no

”… Then let me tell you a bit of trivia you'll never find any use for That's my field of expertise”

'If that's your expertise, I'o ahead'

Steel…! My heart is made of steel…!

For now, I can only dance like my life depends on it…!

I e

”Mary, do you know about the article of clothing known as bloo in japan?”

'Yes, I've at least heard of it before…'

”Then thatthat provides a full range of ly wholesome intentions, but they were bathed in eyes so sexual as to make a market for 'Used Bloomer sales' Do you knohy?”

'Um, how should I put it… isn't it just because the sleeves are so short?'

On that answer from Mary, I loosen my fist as I nodded

”Right Of course, that is a single element of the equation The shape it takes up with the lower cloth completely severed- as if a mischievous play by God and the devil- intentional or not, bloohs… the sexuality expressed by its pure design, slight as itone is inclined to find fault in”

'Um, Akira? Could it be you just wanted to talk about bloomers?'

On Mary's query, Iform as I shake my head

”Perish the thought, Mary The useless trivia starts here About those blooarments?”

'… It wasn't as exercise clothing?'

”Unfortunately, you're wrong… the truth is, e call blooarments”

'I see… wait, what?'

”At the ti was considerably difficult to wear I think you'll understand if you picture victorian dresses and corsets, but the undergarments around were excessively stiff and heavy, definitely not the sort of clothing practical to move around in Whether they liked it or not, wos couldn't go on like that, and what caarments known as bloomers”

'I-is that true?'

”It is Well, even if I say that, the bloomers back then weren't the short ones we have now, it see to the knees, and they wereit's a little off to say the ins directly traced to undergarments Whatever the case, a part of their creation story is definitely ingrained in underwear…to say?”

'… I have an inkling, but I don't want to say it'

”Then it cannot be helped I'll have to be the one”

I give a bow as I offer my conclusion

”Blooarments In that case, it's perfectly natural for theht”

'Wah That really was absolutely no use at all'

”Is this not why you are here?”

'You do have a point But Akira, this is your area of expertise…?'

Ignoring Mary's tre words, I face the chess board

”Now onto the next gao It's tiet your repense”

'I get the feeling you said that last time, but… very well'

Clinking the pieces into their initial positions, I casually tried asking Mary a question

”… Come to think of it, Mary”

”What is it?”

”How asaki?”

I've been talking with Mary over the phone day after day, and while I've lostquite some time has passed

Over the line, I heard Mary counting, 'One, two, three…' on her fingers before passing on the result

'This should be the tenth day'

”For real? It's already been that long?”

Ten days A week and three days A third of a months

Iat a life as a whole, it's no time at all, but when you experience it, it's a considerable amount

Especially for Mary, who's been walking every day of that time

I'etic conversations with me

”So where are you right now?”

'Now? Let's see…'

I stoppedsome arbitrary calculations

If Mary's walking speed is around three kilometers an hour, and she walks around ten hours a day, then ten days puts her at three hundred kilo off those numbers, it's incredible I doubt that's the sort of distance a young girl should be walking

”… Souchi, perhaps?”

Just how did she bridge the Kanmon straits[3]? No wait, as I recall, you're supposed to be able to walk across…?

Well anyways, my estimates were somewhere around there

'Not at all I think I'm just about to reach Koube Station'

”Haah!?”

… My estimates were splendidly off

That's a surprise The pieces I had finally finished setting toppled over across the board

”What? You're, where? Koube?”

'Yes, I'? Ah, I can see Koube Port Tower! Do you want me to send you a commemorative photo?'

”S-sure…”

'Got it! I'll get right to it~'

A fewthose words, as sent over was definitely a photo of Mary with Koube Port Tower in the backdrop

As expected, she was covering her eyes, but there was no way I would mistake her

It feels as if I've been entranced by a demon

'Did it come out well?'

”Y-yeah It came out fine… Eh? Why? Why are you in Koube?”

I let my surprise flow into the phone line that connected once more

I mean, no matter how I look at it, it doesn't and up That's more than twice my approximations From Mary's tone when she talked about the turbo baba and such, Mary's walking speed shouldn't be too different from my estimate…

'? No, that should be about right I o around seventy kilometers per day'

”Oy, I don't want to ihout the day?”

'Yes, that's right We're in business twenty-four seven, every day of the year… hat's wrong?'

Dumbfounded, blankly, I open my mouth like an idiot

All day? 24 hours? 1440 minutes? 86400 seconds?

”T-twenty four hours, you… what about sleep!?”

'Wah! D-don't raise your voice all of a sudden…!'

”Ah, I'm sorry…”

”Umm, sleep, was it? I don't need it Even like this, I'ularity, after all”

… Oh dear, oh my

I thought I understood the fact Mary was an urban legend But since ere able to talk nornition of her had flown out theUnderstanding and experience are separate, or rather, I see, she's right She's an irregularity, I see…

Perhaps noticinginto the distance, Mary opened her mouth in a fluster

'… Um… am I creepy?'

… Creepy, eh Hmm

When she actually poses the question… I' it