Chess

It didn’t take long for the two people to notice us.

I don’t really know since I’ve never been in combat like other students…

But apparently they could sense our presence.

Leo seemed good at hiding it, but I wasn’t.

“If you’re here, you should say something.”

“Well… you looked like you were enjoying yourself too much…”

“What?! I wasn’t enjoying it at all?!”

Liar.

She was clearly having the time of her life.

She might fool others, but not me.

Though her blunt demeanor remained unchanged, I could tell.

But if I pointed this out, Orca would just change the topic out of embarrassment.

Maybe I should pretend to accept it and move on here.

“Alright, whatever. If you say so.”

“…That feels irritating somehow.”

“So? Why is Miss Stella here?”

I ignored Orca’s dissatisfied muttering and looked at Stella.

I could understand Leo and Orca being here.

Orca comes daily, Leo visits the counseling room frequently.

But Stella doesn’t.

It’s not like we’ve never met, but is her situation serious enough to visit the counseling room?

Impossible.

Most academy students have strong pride.

Naturally – it’s where kids who’ve always been called geniuses in their hometowns gather.

And if asked who has the strongest pride in this academy, everyone would name Stella.

Because she’s a princess.

And prideful kids inevitably avoid counseling.

Of course, that changes if they’re pushed beyond what they can handle alone…

Considering the timeline of Stella’s main quest, her crisis should be far in the future.

The Emperor is still alive.

She shouldn’t be experiencing mental difficulties yet.

“I came to see Teacher Ophelia’s face.”

“…Me? Why?”

“Homework.”

“?”

“…Don’t tell me you forgot? You gave me homework.”

“No, I remember that but…”

Of course I remembered assigning it.

The principal literally came running to the counseling room just earlier saying it gave him chills.

I’m not stupid enough to forget something that happened less than a day ago.

…But why?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Stella sighed.

“You did forget. The deadline for the homework you assigned was too vague. ‘Before we meet again’?”

“…Ah.”

“I heard you’re always in the counseling room, so I made time to visit.”

Now that she mentioned it, I did say that.

I blurted out the homework without thinking, giving an arbitrary deadline.

Did she think “lifetime” was unreasonable and came to resolve it?

My mistake.

“Homework?”

“None of your business. …Teacher Ophelia?”

“Yes, yes. Understood. Why don’t you two play chess together? I need to start counseling now.”

I felt slightly guilty toward Leo.

Making him wait only to kick him out.

…Not sure if it’s fortunate, but Leo didn’t seem bothered.

“I’ve never really played chess… But watching you two makes me want to try! How about you, Orca?”

“…Fine. I’ll take out my frustration on you.”

“Haha, go easy on me.”

Fortunately, even Orca who’d been thoroughly beaten by Stella seemed enthusiastic.

Though her tone remained sharp, I smiled seeing Orca like this.

Orca who was destined to wander friendless her whole life.

She seemed to be gradually realizing the joy of doing things with others.

“This seems like a good opportunity. What do you say, Teacher Ophelia? Shall we talk while playing chess?”

“Good idea. I like it.”

***

“Checkmate.”

“…So you were going easy on that girl?”

“Who knows? I always play seriously.”

“Hah, liar.”

But I am serious.

Stella didn’t seem convinced at all.

Well, after being thoroughly beaten by me who had lost Orca then , that reaction was understandable.

“Care for another game?”

“…Yes. This time I’ll win.”

Of course, I hadn’t always gone easy on Orca either.

It’s true my chess skills surpass hers.

But my losses were genuine too.

Because I’d never played chess with real people before…

Getting crushed by computers was my daily routine despite liking the game – there were no chess enthusiasts around me.

So how could I beat Stella?

Simple.

I had the strategy guides.

When occasionally encountering Stella as other playable characters, chess would start as a mini-game.

The rewards weren’t great even if you won, but gamers are creatures who hate missing even minor rewards.

Countless gamers played chess against her, compiling countless strategies until…

They discovered it.

Stella’s play patterns.

I subtly moved my Queen forward.

To a position where the opponent’s Knight could capture it.

What judgment would she make seeing this?

“…”

Perhaps because she’d been tricked before?

Stella began pondering if she’d missed something.

But she soon resolutely captured the Queen with her Knight.

…Yes, she took the bait.

Moved the Knight that shouldn’t have been moved.

“There, checkmate.”

“Ah, ah…?!”

“Another game?”

“…No. I lose.”

With the Knight that protected key pieces gone, her other pieces began falling like dominoes.

Was it because she became human instead of a game program?

Her habits seemed more extreme now.

“Alright. I’ve decided.”

“What?”

“This time’s homework.”

“Wh-what? But the homework was finished…”

“Students should obediently accept assignments from teachers, no?”

“Grr…”

Of course, she’s good at chess.

I don’t know exactly how good – I’m not that knowledgeable about chess.

One thing certain is that it was unnecessarily difficult for a mini-game.

Hence strategy guides being created just to beat this mini-game.

Without the countless guides compiled from playing against her, someone like me could never win.

Conversely, this meant her playstyle was formulaic enough for guides to exist.

Unlike typical chess AI that makes situational judgments, she had human-like fixations.

Stella obsesses over strong pieces. Mainly the Queen.

Given choices between Queen and Bishop, she always moves the Queen.

Simple reason.

Because it’s the strongest piece. Queen is stronger than Bishop.

Many users loved how her personality showed in her chess style.

I was one of them.

“At least twice a week. Visit the counseling room to play chess with me. No fixed schedule.”

“…Hmm?”

“Do you object?”

If her personality shows in chess, conversely changing her chess style could slightly alter her values.

It might sound absurd…

But personalities are shaped by small things.

Changing how she plays her beloved chess game could shift her perspectives.

“…Fine. You better prepare. Next time won’t be this easy.”

“Glad to hear it.”

She’s prideful.

Having lost several consecutive chess matches to someone she considered skilled must have wounded that pride.

She’d be grinding her teeth determined to win next time.

But what if she keeps losing?

She’ll realize.

That her chess style is flawed.

That she’ll never win this way.

…If she ever thinks that – if Stella stops falling for gamers’ strategy guides –

Her values will change.

Whether big or small…

Well. At least a small change already occurred.

I’d already witnessed it through the door – her praising Orca.

“Ah, and I’ll reduce the praise homework to once every two days.”

“Wh-what…?!”

“You seemed a bit stressed, so I’m making it easier. Don’t overthink it.”

“Is that assignment disappearing…?!”

“I never said that.”

“Ugh, this is a disaster. I’ve run out of ways to praise Grandma and Charlotte…”

“Have you only praised those two until now?”

“Wh-what else could I do?! A princess can’t just praise strangers…”

…How clever. Or perhaps misguided?

Not bad, though.

Praising familiar people is harder than it seems.

Having done that, maybe she’s grown a little?

“In that case, Your Highness Stella. You can praise the children who come here. Like how you praised Orca earlier. Since you’ve already done it, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“…I praised someone? Truly?”

“Of course. Student Leo heard it too.”

Only after Princess Stella nodded slightly did our counseling-disguised chess game end.