"Hyoudou Issei."
Every eye flicked toward me, and I felt a dozen different gazes pierce my back. Sona adjusted her glasses and gestured toward the chessboard. "Would you like to go for a game?"
The suddenness caught me off guard, though not enough to rattle me. I chuckled lightly, raising both hands. "I don't know anything about chess, Sona-kaichou. You'll crush me before I can even touch a piece."
That earned a murmur from the crowd. Some looked amused, others curious. Rias tilted her head, watching me carefully, while Akeno covered her mouth with a small smirk, clearly entertained by my predicament.
But Sona's eyes never wavered. "And yet," she said, adjusting her glasses again, "the strategy you pulled in the Rating Game against Riser was… fascinating. I doubt someone who can make decisions like that is truly bad at a strategy game."
Her words silenced the murmurs and put the spotlight squarely on me. My reputation had already shifted after the Riser match; I wasn't just the pawn who fought recklessly anymore.
I exhaled, shaking my head. "You're really putting me on the spot here."
The crowd began to chant. Rias's peerage started calling my name, and even some of Sona's members joined in, amused at the thought. Koneko, from her seat near the food table, casually raised her ice cream like a flag. "Do it, Senpai."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Alright, alright. If everyone wants a show, I'll give them one."
Sliding into the seat across from Sona, I studied the board. The pieces were already reset, standing tall like soldiers waiting for command. Sona, calm and graceful as ever, gestured toward the pawns.
"White or black?" she asked.
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'll let you decide."
"Then you'll be white," she said smoothly. "After all, it's the beginner's privilege to move first."
The game began.
I stared at the pieces, trying to recall the rules I'd half-absorbed watching Rias earlier. Pawns moved forward, knights curved oddly, rooks went straight, bishops diagonally… I forced myself to move without overthinking, relying on instinct rather than knowledge.
To my surprise, I didn't blunder immediately. Some of my choices mirrored the way I'd fought in the Rating Game—direct, aggressive, unpredictable. The crowd reacted to each move, Kiba giving me quiet nods of encouragement while Asia clasped her hands, whispering prayers under her breath as though I were about to enter a battlefield again.
But Sona… Sona was on another level. Her moves were precise, calm, each one cutting away my scattered attempts at forming a plan. She didn't rush, didn't mock. She simply dismantled my position piece by piece, like a surgeon with a scalpel.
Still, I fought hard, refusing to fold early. Every capture I made earned small cheers from Rias's peerage, and even Akeno leaned in close, her voice sultry in my ear. "My, my… you're lasting longer than I expected, Ise-kun."
I smirked without looking at her. "You should know I don't go down easy."
The game stretched longer than anyone expected, but inevitably, my inexperience caught up to me. My king was cornered, the last of my pieces scattered helplessly.
"…Checkmate," Sona said softly, her tone carrying no malice.
The crowd applauded, though this time it was more for the effort than the outcome. I leaned back in my chair, exhaling with a crooked grin. "Guess that makes it official. You're the queen of strategy, Sona-kaichou."
To my surprise, she shook her head slightly. "No. It was a good game. For someone who claims to know nothing, you held out longer than expected. I can tell you're a beginner… but you have raw instincts. If you wish, I could teach you."
The poolside went silent.
Even I blinked, caught off guard. "Teach me?"
Rias, who had been standing at the edge of the crowd, raised a sharp eyebrow. Her crimson eyes flicked between Sona and me, a subtle tension curling in her stance.
Akeno tilted her head, her surprise showing for once. "Ara? That's unexpected."
But the biggest reaction came from Tsubaki. She stepped forward, her composure slipping as her eyes widened slightly. "Kaichou…" she murmured, almost as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard.
Because everyone knew—Sona Sitri didn't offer to teach anyone. Not in chess, not in strategy, not in anything.
I leaned forward, meeting her gaze across the board. For a moment, the chatter faded, and it was just the two of us. Her expression was calm, but her eyes gleamed with genuine interest, like she'd discovered something worth nurturing.
"…I'll think about it," I said finally, a small smile tugging at my lips.
~~~
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