On an August afternoon, sunlight draped over the campus like golden silk, filling the air with a zy yet fervent warmth.

  Meanwhile, the cicadas in Advanced Nurturing High School buzzed tirelessly, their cries echoing across the campus. Inside the library, the occasional sound of pages turning intertwined with the cicadas' relentless calls, forming a unique symphony.

  Uesugi Gen rested his head on his hand, feeling drowsy as he gazed out the window.

  Maybe I should grab a co after this…

  Tap! Tap! Tap!

  A crisp, rhythmic tapping sound pulled Uesugi’s attention back inside—it was the sound of a cane knocking against the table.

  "Sorry, sorry. Are you ready?"

  He turned to face the frail-looking girl sitting across from him, her head adorned with a bck beret.

  "Oh my, are you saying that in Uesugi-kun’s eyes, I’m not even as interesting as the cicadas outside?"

  Sakayanagi Arisu’s voice was soft and delicate, carrying a hint of frailty, yet ced with an unmistakable confidence, as if everything was within her grasp.

  "Uh…"

  Uesugi gnced at the girl before him again.

  Silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing a fwless face that held a faint, unreadable smile. Her porcein-white skin exuded an astonishing smoothness, and from his angle, she appeared especially petite.

  The contrast between her graceful, unhurried demeanor and the unexpectedly seductive sight of her white thigh-high stockings—along with the subtle rise and fall of her chest—was…

  Suspicious. Extremely suspicious.

  One gnce, and I’d bet money—middle schooler!

  "#&@!"

  Sakayanagi’s composed smile faltered slightly as she noticed Uesugi’s very questionable gaze.

  "…I have a feeling Uesugi-kun is thinking something inappropriate."

  "Of course not. That’s absurd."

  Uesugi shook his head vigorously, brushing away the stray thoughts in his mind.

  "Back to the main topic. As per our agreement, I helped undermine Katsuragi’s influence in your css, and in return, you provided me with assistance. After the uninhabited isnd exam, we both achieved our respective goals—win-win. That should be the end of it, right? So why did you call me here? Why are you dragging things out like this? Can’t we just part ways amicably?"

  Uesugi strongly objected to Sakayanagi's post-battle clinginess.

  "That won’t do, Uesugi-kun. While I’m not particurly concerned about css affairs, I still have to prove my abilities to my cssmates. Even I didn’t expect your css to pull ahead by over 400 points in one go."

  Sakayanagi, seemingly unfazed by the underlying meaning in his words, merely smiled and expined her reasoning.

  Uesugi remained expressionless as he retorted,

  "And what does that have to do with dragging me here to py chess?"

  "Well…"

  Sakayanagi gently pushed a chessboard with an already set-up endgame toward him.

  "Naturally, it’s to see if you’re worthy of burying me!"

  "…"

  Uesugi scrutinized her again before turning to another girl nearby.

  "Kamuro, where did you even find this middle schooler? And why does she still have chuunibyou at her age? This disguise is impressive—so much so that even the director wouldn’t be able to tell she’s fake."

  Kamuro Masumi, as usual, showed Uesugi no kindness. However, even she struggled to hold back a smirk as she replied,

  "Why don’t you ask her yourself?"

  Sakayanagi’s smile twitched for a split second, but she quickly recovered, issuing a challenge instead.

  "Then let’s see if Uesugi-kun’s skills are as sharp as his words."

  "Fine, fine. Might as well get this over with—I’ve been sitting here for too long, getting bored."

  Uesugi stretched his arms and yawned.

  "That’s why I set up an endgame scenario for us. Since Uesugi-kun has been so reluctant from the start, I figured this would be a good compromise."

  "However, I would prefer a full game with you one day. After all, an endgame is ultimately not our match—it’s merely a remnant of someone else’s battle."

  Sakayanagi extended her hand toward him with a gentle smile.

  "Please, take your turn."

  "Haah~"

  Uesugi yawned again, zily responding, "Yeah, yeah, we’ll see about that."

  Resting his head on one hand, he gave the chessboard a quick gnce. Then, with a seemingly careless motion, he picked up a piece and pced it down.

  Sakayanagi’s eyes widened slightly at his choice, but that brief moment of surprise was swiftly repced by deep intrigue.

  "The king?"

  "My, my, Uesugi-kun’s style is certainly… unconventional."

  In chess, if a king is pced in a position where it must be captured on the opponent’s next move with no escape, the game ends immediately—this is called "checkmate."

  Typically, even in an endgame with few pieces left, the king, as the most valuable piece, should be moved cautiously to avoid unnecessary risks.

  Yet Uesugi had moved his king first—a move so rare it was nearly unheard of.

  "Someone once told me, ‘If a king does not lead, his soldiers cannot follow.’"

  "…"

  Sakayanagi may not have known, but Kamuro definitely did.

  Uesugi had definitely stolen that line from Code Geass.

  You’re no different from her. This is just chuunibyou versus chuunibyou.

  Kamuro stared at them both with barely disguised disdain.

  "Well then, shall we begin, Sakayanagi-san?"

  Uesugi gestured toward the board.

  Sakayanagi responded with a cssic pawn opening.

  Uesugi immediately followed up with a knight move.

  Back and forth they went, exchanging moves in a tight, calcuted battle across the chessboard.

  Gradually, Sakayanagi’s pace slowed. Meanwhile, Uesugi seamlessly made his moves almost the instant she finished hers, even finding the time to gnce out the window and daydream.

  By this point, Kamuro’s expression had shifted into one of genuine astonishment.

  She had known Sakayanagi for a long time, and in all their matches, Sakayanagi had never lost.

  And yet, now, she was being pushed to the brink.

  Rather than looking discouraged, however, Sakayanagi’s smile only grew wider.

  This particur endgame scenario had been carefully chosen by her. She knew that, in theory, Uesugi held the advantage.

  But what she hadn't expected was that he would instantly recognize the winning path—and not only that, he had chosen a completely new method of achieving victory, one she had never encountered before.

  It all stemmed from that very first move—the king!

  In an endgame, with fewer pieces on the board, the king becomes significantly more powerful.

  By leading with his king, Uesugi had immediately taken control of key positions and routes.

  In other words—

  He saw through this entire scenario from the start.

  Sakayanagi stared at the bored-looking boy in front of her, idly spinning a chess piece between his fingers.

  She wanted—

  Right now, she desperately wanted—

  A proper match against him!