Opening

Though three days passed by in a flash, I never stopped playing chess with Stella.

Every single day, I called Stella out to continue playing chess.

Until she could definitively beat me. Until I was certain she’d broken her habit of overusing the Queen.

However, Stella seemed to find this strange.

“…Is there any meaning to continuing this?”

“Of course.”

“No matter how I think about it, shouldn’t we be training instead of doing this?”

“Tsk, that’s the wrong way to think.”

This isn’t a game where your stats permanently increase with each training session. True growth requires time.

Rushing into training recklessly could ruin your body, leaving you with nothing. Cultivating the right mindset was far more important.

“Do you really think you can achieve dramatic growth in just three days? You’re not some manga protagonist.”

“…I suppose you’re right about that.”

“Rather than that… Teaching proper mentality through chess seems much better, don’t you think?”

Well, though she wasn’t a manga protagonist, she was one of the main characters in this game.

No need to mention that explicitly though.

“Your opponent will clearly have a significant advantage over you, Princess.”

“That’s likely true.”

“Still, don’t worry. As we keep playing chess, you’ll naturally come to realize…”

*Tap*

Whether it was Stella’s mistake or not, after capturing an isolated Rook, I grinned brightly.

“…that even the weakest piece becomes stronger than anyone when protected by allies.”

“…And I suppose the follow-up would be that even the strongest piece becomes weak without allies?”

“Ah! How did you know?”

“I’ve heard it enough times over three days to be sick of it. Check.”

“?!”

My joy at capturing the Rook was short-lived.

While I’d been distracted, Stella’s pieces had naturally closed in, surrounding my King as the tide of battle rapidly turned.

Huh? When did this…?!

Frantically moving pieces to find an escape route only hastened the approaching defeat.

Realizing I could move no further, I hung my head low.

“I… I lost…”

“Mmm, good game.”

Ugh, ever since that first loss, nothing works against her…

As expected of someone who actually knows what they’re doing, unlike a casual player like me.

I’ve reached a point where I can’t win no matter what I try.

Forget winning – keeping up is exhausting enough.

At this point, my pride’s gone – all I feel is admiration.

“Teacher Ophelia.”

“Yes?”

“I know this might sound ridiculous but… May I ask one favor?”

“You want my help?”

“…How did you know?”

“Oh please, we’ve known each other more than a day or two. I can tell that much.”

Though Stella had become more docile, she’d never hesitated like this before.

The moment she showed uncharacteristic vulnerability while mentioning a “favor,” the conclusion was obvious.

“I’ll help. I can’t just ignore my cute student, after all.”

“…Thank you, Teacher Ophelia.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Truthfully, I’d planned to help even without being asked.

If I’m stuck here, I can’t respond when variables arise.

While I trust the students, unexpected situations can always occur.

Being positioned to handle emergencies is more important than one might think.

The problem was my weakness preventing me from confidently offering help…

Fortunately, Stella made the request first.

Was this the trust I’d earned through my actions?

Being acknowledged by Stella made me genuinely happy.

“However, I might not be much help in combat? As you well know, I’m incredibly weak.”

“That’s fine. Just advising me during critical moments is enough. We’ll handle the rest.”

“Alright. Shall we head out then?”

I glanced at the clock.

…The time had come.

The time to overcome Stella’s final obstacle.

If we safely navigate this incident, I’ll finally see the scene I’ve longed for.

Not children struggling with past trauma, but living fully in the present while playing together.

Anticipation welled up at the thought of seeing that future.

***

“You came, Sister. I’ll commend you for not running away.”

“I don’t run.”

“…Right, you never did. Your pointless confidence was always your strength.”

“And your strength is being unnecessarily gloomy, Brother.”

At the familiar location where everyone had first gathered long ago.

Two siblings born from the same womb exchanged barbs while sizing each other up.

“I never thought that personality of yours would gather people to help in this situation.”

“…Whereas you’re exactly as expected. Bringing the Imperial elites? Have you no shame?”

“Consider this mercy, dear Sister. Had I brought the entire Imperial force, you’d stand no chance.”

“Hmph. You didn’t hold back for my sake – you’re just worried about political backlash.”

“What does the reason matter? People only see the surface.”

But this exchange was brief.

After scanning the people gathered behind Stella, the Crown Prince smiled as if finding something absurd.

“By the way, I’m surprised you brought her – the newly ascended Pope.”

“Why? Is that not allowed?”

“It’s permitted… Though I must say it’s rather cunning.”

Even if someone died here, it would legally be a duel outcome. No one could dispute the result.

But if the casualty was the Watcher currently suppressing the chaotic Church?

Even without legal issues, the controversy would spark massive backlash.

While confident of victory, the Crown Prince grew anxious at the thought she might use this as a shield to escape.

“Planning to use her influence as a shield to survive?”

“‘To the pig’s eye, only pigs appear.’ I’ve no interest in living as wretchedly as you.”

“Good, that’s fortunate.”

Fortunately for him, Stella had no such intentions.

To her, death was preferable to surviving through such disgraceful means.

“Then I’ll bid farewell. Goodbye, Sister. It’s been entertaining.”

“Hah. Those are my lines.”

After exchanging words unimaginable between family members, the two moved to their designated positions while cursing each other.

“Your family doesn’t get along well, does it?”

“Most nobles and royals are like that. Limited positions but too many people. Competition naturally breeds distance.”

“…Do you think you can win?”

“Hmm. Not sure. I’ve always lost to that damn brother before.”

Stella’s personality could be called arrogantly bold or straightforwardly simple.

Thus, she’d rarely beaten her brother except on a few occasions.

Even in chess – her favorite and most confident game – she’d frequently lost to his unexpected moves.

Eventually failing in political battles too, Stella had drifted all the way to the Academy because she couldn’t match her brother.

Hence she couldn’t confidently claim victory.

“However, I believe the current me is quite different from before.”

But that was before coming to the Academy.

Since arriving, Stella had experienced numerous incidents.

Though less than half a year, it was intense enough to change her values.

Stella had experienced countless new things during that time.

She’d made friends – something she never imagined doing.

She’d grown strong enough to beat Teacher Ophelia in chess when she couldn’t before.

Thus, she believed she wouldn’t lose helplessly like before.

“So don’t worry. If you all do your best, we can definitely win.”

“Who’s worried?”

“Right, right. Now prepare yourselves. I’ll apply the buffs.”

Stella’s enhancement magic was unique.

Rather than simply boosting abilities like others, it assigned special roles and enhanced stats accordingly.

Hence Stella sought help from Teacher Ophelia who lacked combat skills.

To fully utilize her power, she needed at least six people.

Without hesitation, Stella assigned roles to her companions.

“Eileen will be… the Rook. Anastasia as Bishop.”

“Reasonable.”

“I’ll be Queen. Teacher is King.”

“Understood.”

“Teacher is too weak for direct combat. I’ll grant buffs, but avoid engaging unless necessary.”

“Got it.”

Everyone accepted their assigned roles as previously discussed.

…Except one.

“Orca. You’re Knight. Leo is Pawn.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

“I wanted to be Knight too…”

“You agreed to follow my instructions. …Please.”

“…Fine. Alright.”

She knew the knight-aspiring boy wanted to be Knight, but it couldn’t be helped.

He needed a more crucial role.

Fortunately, Leo only complained briefly before accepting.

“Good. Then let’s begin.”

The enemy had sixteen including her brother, while they only had six.

Though severely outnumbered, Stella smiled.

She didn’t feel like losing.

“Well, normally I should move a Pawn first, but…”

They only had one Pawn now.

Then starting with a strong piece should be acceptable.