"Then, that would be quite simple, I think."

Monica's statement brought chills to the atmosphere in the classroom.

——How fearless… and shameless, this little girl.

Elliot lifted the edge of his mouth, his droopy eyes narrowing fiercely as he glared at Monica.

"Do you understand what you are saying, Miss Norton? You've just made enemies of everyone in this classroom."

Monica didn't answer him. She just stared at the board in silence.

"You're not going to move that pawn forward one square and say, ‘See, I could have easily moved this pawn!', aren't you?"

Monica still didn't say anything. But the blank expression on her face as she stared at the board reminded him of something he had seen before. It was the same expression as when she was reviewing the accounting records she assigned to before. At that time, she gave no reaction when Bridget slapped her on the cheek, instead, she kept staring at the numbers with her eyes.

Elliot felt a strange, unfathomable eeriness in the same blank expression as that time. What came to mind was something Felix had said to him before. When he asked Felix why he had chosen Monica Norton to be student council accountant, Felix replied,

——Because I don't know where Miss Norton's ‘standing' is.

Then I'll measure her ‘standing'… in this place.

Elliot then rearranged the pieces on the chessboard that Monica was staring at so that the white pieces were lined up exactly in her direction. Monica, who had been staring at the board, slowly raised her head and looked at him. He returned Monica's gaze with a fearless grin.

"Why don't we play one game? I'll play without the queen."

"…who will move first?"

"The play starts from the white piece. How about you go first?"

Monica looked at him with wide eyes as he removed the black queen from the board.

"Then, I'll go first, is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

While nodding leisurely, Elliot felt a strange irritation in his chest. Even as a beginner, Monica Norton has noticed that in this game, the first one to move has the advantage.

"…okay, I'll make my move."

With that, Monica didn't hesitate to advance the pawn in the center by two squares. The way to proceed with a pawn seems simple, but it is more complicated than it seems.

Basically, it can only move forward one step at a time, but it also can move two squares from its starting point if there are no other pieces in front of it. In addition, the movement becomes unusual only when taking an enemy piece, sometimes moving diagonally, and if it advances to the far end, it can be ‘promoted' to another piece.

…I doubt she can understand it after just one explanation.

Moving the center pawn ahead was a common move. If the front pieces were not moved quickly enough to open the way, the back pieces will not be able to get through.

…an amateur approach, I guess.

Looking down at the board with cold eyes, Elliot also moved his pieces.

The pleasant clicking of the pieces was a sign of someone who was used to playing chess. In comparison, Monica's manner of playing was that of an amateur. Even the way she held and placed the pieces seemed awkward.

——And yet, there was no hesitation in the way she moved her pieces.

When Elliot played his piece, Monica followed quickly with her next piece.

This game was just for fun. It wasn't timed, and there was no time limit, to begin with. Then, she should have taken her time and think about it as much as she wanted, but when Elliot moved his pieces, Monica moved hers without pause. It was so fast that he wondered if she was moving it blindly.

…is that how you're going to put pressure on me? …wait.

Looking down at the board, Elliot furrowed his brow. Monica's strategy was like a theory written in a textbook. If this had been any other person, he would not have been so surprised. But Monica was someone who had just learned the rules for the first time.

…even so, will using theory alone could make her hold the game this long?

Elliot pondered for a moment and then moved his piece. Again, Monica quickly moved her piece. It made him couldn't help but open his mouth.

"There' s no time limit on this game, you know. Why don't you take your time and think about your move?"

"………."

Without replying, Monica just stared at the pieces on the board. Elliot frowned slightly and directed his next move. Immediately, Monica made her next move.

*    *    *

At some point, people began to gather around their tables.

But the current Elliot didn't pay attention to the gallery around him. His gaze was fixed on the board, and his mouth, which was now covered with one hand, was tensed under his hand.

…how could it become like this?

He was one of the three most skilled players in this classroom. Despite the disadvantage of having no queen, he did not slack off. He was going to beat Monica thoroughly with a handicap, and then checkmate her thoroughly after he got rid of every single piece of the white camp.

And yet, he was the one who was now being cornered. That much was apparent to everyone.

Monica Norton did not play any strange or bad moves as beginners often do. Her moves were as clean as a textbook—very precise and without any waste. She read all of his moves and then crushed them one by one before collapsing his camp. If this continues, it will only be a matter of time before it falls apart.

…no, wait.

Staring at the board, he realized that there was one thing that could turn the tables. In his camp, his king and rook have not moved yet. And there are no other pieces in between.

I can use castling.

Only under certain conditions can a king and a rook be moved simultaneously in a single move. That's what castling is. However, he had not yet taught her how to use castling. He thought he could easily beat her without using castling.

…If I use castling, I can win.

But she didn't know about castling.

Still, do I have to use it against her?

His pride wavered. Should he continue to be defeated? Or win by using the castling that he hadn't taught Monica? The moment his hand stops, the people around him start to stir. They were probably wondering why he hadn't used castling move.

——That's right. These guys didn't know I haven't taught Monica Norton how to do castling.

When he realized this, his hand moved unconsciously to move the king and rook simultaneously… to do castling move.

Monica, who had been staring only on the board, blinked and looked at him.

Stop. Don't look at me.

Trying to escape from Monica's gaze, he turned his gaze away. And yet, his mouth fluently spouted out his excuses.

"What I just did was a castling, which can be used when you have a king and a rook you haven't moved yet, no other pieces between them, and the king isn't being checkmated…"

"I lost."

Before he could finish his explanation, Monica declared defeat.

"If that ‘castling'? is valid under the official rules, then I don't think I will able to win."

He was astonished.

Why is Monica Norton not angry? She had been beaten by a rule she had not been taught. She has the right to be angry that this is not fair. She has the right to do that.

And yet, Monica gave him a faint smile without a hint of anger.

"I'm sorry for saying it was easy… but chess was harder than I thought… no matter how hard I tried to make the best move, my opponent was human… so there were a lot of uncertainties."

He was the winner of this game. But what he felt in his heart was a bitter sense of defeat… and self-loathing.

If only Monica have blamed him for being unfair in using a move she had not been taught, that would make him feel better. But, seeing none of this as a significant issue, she rearranged the pieces and pondered about castling.

He was about to say something to her. Whether it was an apology or a questioning voice asking why she didn't blame him, he couldn't tell for himself. Still, he felt he had to say something.

But before he can voice it, Boyd, a teacher of this classroom, interjected.

"A female student over there. What's your name?"

Monica's gaze wanders left and right, but this classroom has only a few female students in it. And she was the only female student in Boyd's line of sight.

"Mo, Mo, Mo… Moni, Moni, Moni…"

She was wincing as she tried her best to move her mouth, but she could not say her name very well, only repeating the same sound of Moni Moni.

Boyd was a bald tough-looking man. His muscular and robust body made him more suited to be wielding a sword or spear than a chess teacher. It was no wonder Monica was frightened.

Elliot let out a slip voice of ‘good grief' then interjected.

"This is Miss Monica Norton. Like me, she is a student council member, Professor Boyd."

"I'll remember."

Boyd said briefly in a low voice as if came from the bottom of his stomach then handed Monica a sheet of paper… it was an application form for a chess course.

Still making strange Moni-Moni voices, Monica alternately looked at Boyd and the application form with teary eyes.

In response, Boyd told Monica in a low voice.

"Be sure to take the course."

Monica still whined Moni-Moni as she could only agree to him before motioning her head up and down stiffly.

That probably is a face that doesn't understand what she's getting into.

Elliot closed his eyes as he let out a sigh exasperatedly.