Promotion

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Eileen lightly retorted to the knight’s scream as he wailed from the pain of his severed arm.

“Don’t worry. I cut it cleanly, so the Watcher will fix it soon. With rehabilitation, it’ll attach perfectly.”

“Eileen, are you angry?”

“Yes. I’m angry. I’m a bit upset that Teacher was attacked.”

“…”

This feels oddly embarrassing.

It’s nice that she cares, but saying that in front of so many people… It’s a bit… embarrassing, you know.

“You knew there’d be no problem though…”

“That’s separate from this.”

“Ah, right.”

We’d switched positions instantly using castling to launch a surprise attack, but castling isn’t omnipotent.

After all, it’s a technique that can’t be used in dangerous situations.

I recalled that in the game, restrictions were placed – like not being usable when the king’s health fell below a certain level.

Probably due to chess rules prohibiting castling while in check.

Anyway, since there’s no health bar in reality, the conditions for disabling castling changed significantly.

The new condition: the user must not feel threatened.

That’s why I could use castling without issue even with a knife at my throat.

Because with just one word from me, I could make him stab that knife into his own neck.

But since Eileen didn’t know this, she must have worried I might succumb to fear.

Hence her intense reaction.

“Damn it, change of plans! Target the isolated one first!”

“Huh? But…”

“Shut up and do it! Who knows how many more times they can use that technique!”

…Huh? They’re making a strange miscalculation.

Seeing me and Eileen teleport instantly must have confused them.

They probably think there’s no way to catch us if we keep doing this. But we can only use it once. What a delightful misunderstanding.

Leaving us who’d naturally gathered due to castling behind, they rushed toward Leo.

“Ha, foolish bastards. Can’t even recognize a trap.”

“Eh, can’t blame them. Stella’s magic is quite unusual. It’s not unreasonable they don’t know.”

The reason I remained here with Eileen after being assigned the king’s role:

To use myself as bait for the crown prince and eliminate the swarming enemies.

Now, a question.

Why is Leo here when just me and Eileen would suffice?

Maybe they thought Eileen alone might not be enough?

Then another question: Why Leo specifically?

Anastasia could have returned after the initial ambush.

…It was precisely for this moment.

“Hup!”

“Ha, an attack like that… Kyaaaak?! M-my leg…!”

“I-it clearly missed! What the…?!”

Leo swung his sword wildly at full speed.

Naturally, the imperial elite knights could easily dodge an attack focused solely on power.

The targeted knight snorted and lightly evaded before swinging his sword at Leo’s neck…

Only for his posture to instantly collapse, his blade veering wildly off course.

“Damn it, chase them! They’re heading for His Highness! We must pursue!”

“Sorry, but I can’t allow that.”

“Grr…! Don’t interfere! I’ll cut you down first!”

The pawn – an ordinary piece with no special abilities.

But perhaps because of that? Unlike other pieces, pawns possess two unique abilities.

This attack was one of them: en passant.

(T/N: For anyone interested in chess: https://www.chess.com/terms/en-passant)

I don’t know the exact rules. I just remember a chess-obsessed player criticizing its implementation in the game’s community.

Something like: “They implemented castling well but completely butchered en passant.” He eventually gave up, muttering “Well… games will be games… en passant is hard to implement…”

Back then I just noted it and moved on.

“Four of them… Teacher, stay behind me. You might get hurt.”

“Wow, so cool.”

“…Stop joking. I’m serious.”

“Yes~”

Anyway.

The effect of this poorly implemented en passant was simple:

No matter where you attack, your strike lands wherever you want within sight. Guaranteed hit.

In the game, it wasn’t as good as it sounded.

Rooks got attack/defense buffs, bishops magic resistance/attack, queens received enhanced versions of both. Knights got agility, kings HP/MP.

Stella’s buffs emphasized each role’s strengths, letting you enhance advantages or cover weaknesses.

But pawns… Well…

This might sound harsh, but their buff was for cannon fodder… Other roles had limited slots, but pawns were unlimited…

With lower stats than other roles, guaranteed hit wasn’t that great.

Sounds amazing, but low attack power makes it meaningless.

If all attacks were guaranteed hits, it’d be overpowered, so each pawn could only use it once.

That’s how it worked in the game.

But now in reality? While other buffs are threatening too, even a single-use attack like this is practically a one-hit kill.

Especially since the user isn’t some extra, but Leo himself.

“…”

“What? Not attacking? Weren’t you going to cut me down first?”

“Grr…”

Even for Eileen, fighting the imperial elite knights alone would be somewhat difficult.

Anticipating this, we specifically placed Leo here.

One with castling. One with en passant.

After eliminating at least two enemies, we’d decide how to proceed based on the situation.

If too many remained, I’d join the fight. If manageable, leave it to Eileen.

Only four enemies now – thoroughly demoralized after two inexplicable attacks.

Eileen can handle this easily.

In normal state maybe not, but she’s buffed now.

She’s the talent that shocked the Sword Saint, one of the world’s strongest.

With buffs compensating her physical limitations, she can definitely win.

Even if she struggles, it’s fine. I’m here.

“Phew… Wonder how things are going over there.”

Relieved things were proceeding as planned, I lay down on the ground.

Nothing left for me to do now.

It’ll work out, right?

***

“Huff… Huff…”

“Your mouth works fine, but your skills don’t match.”

“Shut… up…”

“Tsk tsk. As royalty, you should maintain decorum. Vulgar language is unbecoming.”

He’s disgustingly strong.

Stella muttered while glaring at her infuriating older brother.

“As I said earlier, dear sister. Whether I fall for traps or not is irrelevant. What matters is whether I kill you or not.”

“…”

“You’ve never beaten me even once, haven’t you?”

“Yes… That’s right…”

Stella glanced around.

Anya, caught gathering holy power from afar and subdued.

Orca, knocked out after taking a gut punch during a momentary lapse while constantly moving.

Neither could help anymore.

Though they didn’t go down without a fight – only two enemies remained including her brother…

Ultimately, she was the first to fall.

“Yes… That’s right. I could never beat you.”

It was always like this.

She’d think she landed a blow, only to be overpowered by her brother.

Today was no different.

She thought she’d read his moves well initially, but ultimately lost due to being outnumbered.

She struggled desperately to win. Had two reliable allies.

Still lost.

“Keuk, kuhaha. Ahahahahaha…!”

“…Have you finally gone mad, sister?”

“No, it’s just… This is kind of funny.”

“Funny? How?”

The situation was unbearably hilarious, making Stella laugh uproariously.

Curious why she’d laugh now, her brother asked before delivering the final blow.

Well, if he’s asking, she might as well answer.

“This is the first time I’ve made plans anticipating defeat.”

“…What?”

“It’s humiliating, truly shameful. But everything’s proceeding exactly as planned – including my defeat – so I couldn’t be happier.”

She’d always lost to her brother before.

Too proud to admit it, she fought hard each time – and kept losing.

That humiliation now brought joy.

Because everything was going according to plan.

“What nonsense…”

“Kyaaaaaaaah?! Princess Stella?!”

“Finally here.”

Hearing the shrill voice calling her, Stella smiled.

Seeing only six enemies here, she immediately realized:

Leo would come running.

People perceive numbers differently, so he might not have come, but Stella didn’t entertain that possibility.

Leo would come. She believed it.

And true to that belief, Leo arrived.

…Though his appearance had changed somewhat.

“What is this?!”

“What else? Promotion. Haven’t you played chess? When a pawn reaches the far side, it transforms.”

“I know that! But why am I a woman?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Stella looked at Leo as if he’d asked something absurd.

Though battered and torn, the sight was so amusing she struggled not to laugh.

“A man can’t become a queen.”

“Knight!!! Knight!!!”

“Queen is stronger than knight.”

“Aaaaaaah!”

The pawn’s second special ability:

Using Promotion, Leo became the second queen.

Perhaps because he was already short? He made quite a cute queen.

Though he clearly hated it.