"has won all her games in the tournament." "Is there no one left to challenge her?" "Sora." "Are you serious?" "You're going to crash the coronation?" "I just got reborn into this world." "I can't lose my place to live." "But... and take back our lost territory! 420)\an1}Expert" "I will crown Kurami Zell as our new king." "speak now or forever hold your—" "Objection!" "Objection!" "I object!" "A-Are you saying you wish to challenge her?" "Yup." "Sending your servant after me just because you lost?" "Stephanie Dola." "either." "Especially one who's getting help from another country." "Shiro?" "One." "Anyone else hiding their ears?" "No." "That piece of flat scrap..." "I've seen it before." "What do you mean?" "You don't know? if you gave the crown to someone who right?" "Elves?" "!" "Wh-What is the meaning of this?" "then?" "Please." "Didn't you hear me say it was just an example?" "Or does it actually ring a bell?" "All right. just as you wish." "Yes!" "I'd appreciate that so much!" "B-But... you'd better kick your helper over there out of the room." "E-Excuse me!" "That's an elf!" "Which means..." "She was..." "What?" "The con artist trying to play the cool beauty won't save her friend?" "I see." "You're working with some random elf to try to make me out to be an enemy of Imanity." "That's not a bad excuse you just came up with." "elf "helper"?" "right?" "Sure." "I'll decide the game." "I'll pick a game where cheating is impossible." "Pledge five:" "The challenged party has the right to decide the rules of the game. 'cause I'm just that nice!" "You're not very photogenic." "You'd be cuter if you smiled." "We'll have our game somewhere else." "I'll call you when it's ready." "she was using magic on us?" "You're too loud!" "Yeah." "Both Shiro and I noticed in the tavern." "Shiro noticed." "little sister." "then?" "What kind of magic did that elf use?" "No idea." "Magic's amazing. there's no way to prove it." "Play and you're sure to lose." "There's no way whatsoever to beat her." "Which is why we avoided that." "Listen." "I'll explain this as simply as I can." "this round-robin-style tournament to become king is full of holes. they can interfere with the games. so they're sure to win. and they can do as they please with the country." "It's so simple that anyone could think of it." "And you know what the other races would think then?" "I knew someone like that would come." "Don't worry." "like me." "This was not unexpected." "will you be okay without me?" "I'll be fine." "So Kurami's convinced that another race is helping us!" "Yup." "She's got it in her head that there'll be a diplomatic war between two other nations taking place in Elkia." "Which means Kurami can't use magic like she did before!" "Hey!" "That means we can force her to play a game right?" "Do you have flowers growing in your brain or something?" "Why are you being mean to me?" "They expected another country to intervene." "or something." "Then doesn't that just make things worse?" "They'll have planned out a game that at least appears fair on the surface. like altering our memories or what we can see." "it won't be a game that's fundamentally impossible to win." "So what are you saying?" "As long as it's not an impossible game to win..." "Blank will never lose." "There you have it." "I'll tell you the truth." "I'm working with the elves to secure a place for Imanity to live." "I'll break ties with elves." "Wow." "Wow." "little sister." "You're saying this to someone who might be a foreign spy?" "Are you stupid?" "Do you want to die?" "Think about it." "The only way for Imanity to survive then give up on all games and shut themselves off from the rest of the world." "It's the only way! right?" "Well..." "And Elvengarde is the largest nation in the world." "Their magic is unbeatable by any race. so I want you to withdraw from the game." "I swear I won't let the elves make me their puppet." "Sora..." "I see." "We earn the right to live under another nation's protection." "It's not a bad plan." "Right?" "Then you'll withdra—" "But I refuse!" "M{\cHA540E3}e{\cHE8D3E7}n{\cHBD3E7A}a{\cHE8D3E7}c{\cHA540E3}i{\cH9FE062}n{\cHCEC466}g" "One of the things Blank loves best is saying "No to people who think they've got an absolute advantage." "#4!" "We actually got to say it!" "Brother!" "Looks like I was wasting my time." "just as you wish." "Right here." "Why?" "Why what?" "What she just said!" "I thought it made sense... isn't it about time you learned not to be so trusting?" "what proof do we have that anything she said is true?" "why did she ask us to withdraw?" "I might be a spy from another country." "Anyone dumb enough to tell me all that has no business running a country." "if we go along with her and she finds out we are screwed!" "Okay?" "you put all that thought into what you said?" "!" "that's not all..." "She and you are both underestimating humanity too much." "Chess?" "Yes." "But this isn't a normal game of chess." "The pieces have wills of their own." "Give them orders and they'll move." "Just say the word and they'll do as told." "So that's it." "Shiro?" "Chess is no different than tic-tac-toe." "right?" "Brother... but the two of us are a single player." "while we don't..." "They'll never figure out the trick." "As you wish." "do you think I'm going to lose?" "Shiro." "There's not a chance in a million you'd lose at chess." "But this isn't normal chess." "Don't forget." "The two of us are a single player." "The two of us together are Blank." "I'm sorry." "I'll be careful." "Okay." "Are you done?" "You can make the first move." "Then let the game begin!" "250)}Aschente (I swear by the pledges)" "Aschente!" "Kurami..." "D-2 to D-4." "Chess favors the first player." "the first player is more likely to win." "It moved!" "There's no way she doesn't know that. forward." "It moved three spaces!" "That's against the rules!" "I told you." "the pieces have wills of their own." "I get it. and potential as king when they move." "That's right." "Don't you think it's the perfect game to decide who will be king?" "Knight to C-3." "forward." "Forward"?" "What kind of order is that?" "Just shut up and watch." "E-2 to E-4." "take her piece." "You mustn't forget:" "take E-4." "she has incredible concentration." "H-2 to H-3." "take H-3." "That's how she could defeat even a god." "H-5." "Check." "Th-That's amazing!" "and she's still destroying her!" "There's nothing strange about it at all." "a first-rate player is capable of defeating his opponent with nothing but his king and pawns." "Breaking a few rules isn't enough to overtake that kind of skill." "F-2 to F-4." "But..." "F-2 to F-4." "It's not moving." "I knew it." "What do you mean? the pieces won't move." "No soldier would gladly go to a place where he knows he'll be killed." "Only a level of morale that borders on madness could make them do that." "Then..." "That's right." "She can't sacrifice any of her pieces." "What will you do?" "You're running out of time." "take H-7." "A-2 to A-3." "forward." "Take the enemy knight." "take H-5." "D-4 to D-5." "A-3..." "Bishop..." "Sh-Shiro..." "I'm sorry." "Brother..." "I lost..." "I'm sorry..." "Sora..." "Shiro!" "Sora?" "Attention all forces! anyone who fights valiantly in this battle will earn the right to bang any woman they like!" "To do what?" "!" "And all of you soldiers fighting on the front line: as well as a monetary reward from your country! do not die! come back alive!" "Th-That's irresponsible!" "I realized that the game we're playing isn't chess." "This is a strategy game." "I'll handle the rest." "help me." "Just watch." "This game is right up my alley." "Pawn squad 6!" "The enemy is advancing from the front line!" "Intercept them and cut them off!" "He can't do that!" "Cavalry squad 2!" "Don't waste the opportunity the pawns gave you!" "king and queen!" "Get your asses to the front line!" "W-Wait!" "It's my turn!" "what fool waits for their enemy's "turn"?" "Pawns!" "Advance!" "Form a defensive wall!" "Look at them!" "hiding themselves behind their soldiers!" "What kind of king makes his men fight at the front line while he sits behind them relaxing?" "What did you say?" "soldiers! the final fortress of Elkia... of humanity!" "This battle will determine the fate of our people!" "Open your eyes!" "Do you really want to give the nation's crown to a stupid girl like her?" "But if we win..." "She will be your queen! to lead you to victory!" "who is crying inside because you refused her as merciless!" "And you call yourselves men?" "!" "Wh-What is this overwhelming power?" "rooks!" "Show me deeds befitting of your rank!" "Back up the pawns so they may do their duty!" "This is impossible!" "That's right." "You're using elf magic to force your own troops' morale higher." "You explain it all away by saying you have more charisma than we do." "Of course." "It's the perfect way to cheat." "But you made one big mistake." "What? no wise king has ever forced his army to obey him through oppression." "People will only truly fight for what is right." "And there is only one thing that is truly right in this world!" "One thing that's truly right?" "unchanging righteousness in the world is... cuteness!" "Cute makes right! and it is for cuteness that we will give everything we have!" "That's just the way men are!" "That..." "That's not... there's a chance they'll find me out." "But..." "I have to do it!" "King to E-6!" "What?" "What happened to that piece?" "This is bad." "Retreat!" "All forces retreat!" "The enemy is using brainwashing magic!" "He found out?" "Wh-What's happening?" "Just don't let them touch you!" "It's okay." "They don't have proof." "Hurry and retreat! Retreat!" "I win!" "advance!" "Crap." "Crap." "Crap." "Crap." "Crap." "I screwed up!" "I screwed up!" "I screwed up!" "I thought she only had one cheat up her sleeve and eliminated any other possibilities." "I just made the same mistake I lectured Steph about!" "Why couldn't I figure out that one last thing?" "Brother... queen." "This is checkmate." "Queen!" "Wha—" "Sora!" "put down your sword." "You are beautiful!" "Huh?" "queen... consider this:" "Is that king worthy of your service? and even forces you to bear the brunt of the assault?" "Is he worthy of your sword?" "Please reconsider!" "Who are your people?" "Where are those you must protect?" "Romance simulation games are one of the few genres where I'm better than my sister." "He got us the enemy queen!" "He's turned it around!" "No." "They're using magic that lets them brainwash others just by touching them." "Adding one piece to our ranks changes nothing." "No... 18-year-old virgin?" "but... we're done!" "is it dangerous to wait?" "Maybe I should make the next move..." "No!" "What do I do?" "There's no time to correct my mistake and come up with something el—" "Brother..." "Shiro?" "The two of us are Blank together." "It's okay!" "No." "I mustn't be intimidated." "Knight!" "Slay the traitor queen!" "She took the bait!" "what's wrong?" "This is it!" "This is the one way to win!" "you command the army!" "Keep their forces from brainwashing us!" "Piece of cake!" "What are you going to do?" "Steph?" "There's more than one way to win a game." "You can win without fighting!" "Grandmaster" "How can you not take this game seriously?"