Memoirs of the Returnee
chapter-106

Human Chess (5)

“This is……”

Elise stared at the chessboard in silence. She couldn’t comprehend how this reversal of fortune had occurred.

A defeat that seemed inevitable had been overturned because of a mere pawn.

……Shion Ascal.

He had swallowed up the enemy’s black golem, and even triumphed over Kielli, the rook.

She hadn’t even dared to hope.

“Advance one square.”

Elise commanded Shion to move forward.

Now, he was a pawn deep within enemy lines.

From one end of the chessboard to the other, only two squares remained.

A pawn may be the lowest Artifact on the chessboard, but a pawn that has infiltrated the enemy’s base is different. A pawn that has landed there holds a value comparable to a higher Artifact.

Because of the system called ‘promotion’.

When he reaches the end of the chessboard, Shion Ascal can be promoted from a pawn to a queen and charge forward.

From the weakest piece to the strongest, capable of killing the opponent’s king.

“…… We’ve won.”

Therefore, Elise was certain of victory.

Gerkhen Kal Doon had lost two turns of attack with only five Artifacts remaining and had his black golem destroyed.

Kielli, the ‘rook’, was still alive, but he had no opportunity to defend. Even if he did have a chance to defend, he wouldn’t be able to kill Shion within the two turns it would take for Shion to be promoted to queen.

Shion Ascal would certainly be promoted to queen, and therefore…….

[Gerkhen Kal Doon team: Surrender]

Gerkhen Kal Doon’s thoughts seemed to mirror her own, as he cleanly surrendered. It was so calm that it left the victors feeling somewhat uneasy.

Weeeing─

Several messages floated up on the magic barrier.

[Elise team wins.]

[All matches have ended.]

[There is no closing ceremony.]

[You must have worked very hard to fight so many battles, well done.]

[We cheer for your evaluation exam.]

[Please disperse.]

Four matches, four victories. The task ended with a clean sweep.

All the magic barriers crumbled, and Elise returned to the cramped waiting room.

“It’s Elise as expected!”

The chess pieces, no, the team members who had arrived in the waiting room earlier, praised her without knowing anything. They had no way of watching the progression of the chess game, so they only saw the fact of ‘victory’.

“Everyone, cheer! Elise!”

“”””Eliseeeee──!” ”””

Despite their zombie-like praise, Elise didn’t react and just stared somewhere.

Soon, the door in the farthest corner opened, and Shion Ascal, who had survived the longest, advanced to the deepest enemy lines, and overturned the final game with a victory, walked out.

Elise’s gaze focused on him.

No other sound could be heard, and all other forms seemed blurry, as if they were out of her focus.

But he left the waiting room.

“Wait a minute. I’m going to the restroom.”

“Cheers for Elise!”

““““Eliseeeee───!””””

Taking advantage of their celebration, Elise quickly followed Shion. She grabbed his shoulder, which was trudging down the corridor, and stopped him.

“Whoa, you startled me. What’s up?”

He turned around and blinked at her.

Elise asked hesitantly.

“How did you do it?”

“What… Ah, hmm.”

Then, Shion made a smug face.

“How about it? Wasn’t it your best choice to put me in as the first pawn?”

“……”

Elise glared at him silently. Whether it was the best choice or not, he should answer properly.

“……I was full of energy because I didn’t move in all three games. It seemed like Kielli was injured somewhere?”

Only then did Elise let go of Shion’s arm.

Shion chuckled and walked down the corridor.

Elise quietly watched him as he walked away.

“Strategy. It was good.”

But there was another voice coming from behind her.

This time, it was Gerkhen Kal Doon.

“Did you deliberately save Shion Ascal for nine hours?”

“What are you… What?”

Elise asked with a tired face. Gerkhen Kal Doon casually raised his eyebrows.

“I had some idea from the moment you chose Shion Ascal as the first pawn.”

“What are you saying……”

The reason she chose Shion as the first pawn was simple.

To put him on the same team and ask about Yael when the opportunity arose.

“Then why didn’t you pick Gerkhen Kal Doon? Not as a pawn, but as a higher Artifact.”

“There was a risk in choosing him as a higher Artifact. From what I’ve observed so far, Shion seemed to have a peculiar weakness in stamina. He’s the guy who collapsed during swordsmanship class.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon seemed to have analyzed Shion Ascal. Well, he was a guy who stood out strangely.

“Higher Artifacts had to move significantly in all four games, so stamina was the top priority.”

“Then.”

Elise looked up at Gerkhen Kal Doon and crossed her arms. Her lips twisted involuntarily.

“If there was no ‘stamina issue’, what Artifact would you have chosen Shion as?”

A question thrown out of annoyance at his tone, which seemed to acknowledge Shion.

Gerkhen Kal Doon answered immediately.

“Queen.”

“……?”

As he said such a strange thing, that he would put him in the queen’s position, Gerkhen Kal Doon left to his opposite side.

Elise blinked her eyes and returned to her team’s waiting room.

───Eliseeeeee!!

Inside, the Elise party without Elise was still going on.

─Don’t think about going home today! I’ll buy everything! I’m going to spend 100,000 Ren today and get scolded by my dad!

─Wowwwww!

─But isn’t the exam next week?!

─……Okay, let’s just play until midnight!

─Wowwwww!

Listening to them was tiring.

In the end, Elise also came out of the stadium. She stood on the roadside and made a call to someone.

─Yes, Miss. It’s Lauren.

She was curious. She was also suspicious. Gerkhen Kal Doon had just confirmed it.

Shion Ascal.

He definitely had something.

He had a connection with Yael, and he had a hidden side.

Among them, ‘Yael’ was too fatal for the family, so now she should not consider her own circumstances.

“Tomorrow… no, please prepare a vehicle right now. It’s time to leave.”

─Yes. Understood.

Orphanage in the northernmost part of Edsilla, Arman.

A company that helps Shion Ascal launder money.

Elise is thinking of starting from there.

The college board holds exams at the end of the first and second quarters. The meaning is similar to midterms and finals, but it differs in that it is a much more practical and dangerous test.

The safety measures are minimal.

However, since it allows for more accurate evaluation than ever, the university association sends out invitations every year. Not only university officials, but also families looking to scout talent, HR teams of large corporations, or simply famous celebrities.

Of course, this includes Libra.

[College Board: First Quarter Evaluation Test Invitation]

[Recipient: Lady Johanna of Libra]

“……”

Eldest daughter Johanna was lost in thought as she looked at the invitation.

Libra does not get tied down to young prospects. There are many talented commoners on the continent, and the family ‘Libra’ is no different from their dreams.

However, the qualifications to be selected by Libra are too high.

The most recent was Belingham.

He was a 6-star prospect from elementary school, and since he was considered a talent of the generation, Libra gladly chose him. He was accepted as a member of the family.

Of course, there are rumors that the talent pool of this college board class is deep.

Even excluding Soliette and Elise, who are from other families, they might be able to find 2-3 useful guys.

However, among them, there is only one senior that Johanna knows.

Shion Ascal.

Knock… Knock…

A slow knock sounded.

In this bloodline mansion, there is only one person who knocks on her office like a sloth.

Johanna brushed her hair back and spoke.

“……What is it, Zia”

Then a letter slipped under the door and landed on the desk. Johanna looked at it.

[Can you lend me some money……]

Her eyes narrowed.

She had heard that Zia was running her own business. She didn’t receive a penny of the Libra estate. She just picked up hundreds of thousands of Ren in cash, stocks, and a few real estates as if she was picking them up.

She had to inflate those as much as possible to maintain the life of a noble.

“Are you outside?”

─……Yes.

Zia’s voice is always slow. Like a stretched tape.

“Is it because of business again?”

─They’re late with the construction payment……

“How much do you need?”

She didn’t think badly of her trying to find her own way to live. After all, Zia is excluded from all succession structures.

─2 million Ren… I can pay it back next month…

She’s in this state over a mere 2 million Ren promissory note.

As Johanna wrote the amount on the check, she spoke.

“Zia, did you also receive an invitation to the evaluation test?”

─Yes… just one…

Her voice was truly tiresome to listen to. She took three seconds to say something that could be said in one.

“Watch it remotely at least once. There’s a senior who wants to work under you.”

These days, the world has improved, so most of the evaluation test observations can be done remotely.

─Under me…? Are you sure it’s not a mistake…?

Johanna smirked slightly.

“Watch it at least once. You need someone for you. Didn’t your escort knight quit again?”

─Ah… the salary… was delayed…

Johanna slid a 3 million Ren check under the door. 1 million Ren was for living expenses.

─Kyaa…!

The sound of Zia jumping in surprise from outside could be heard. Johanna chuckled.

“……Your kind of life must be comfortable.”

The three siblings of Libra, including Johanna, didn’t even know Zia’s exact age.

Zia was always like that.

When Derek was in college, and when Johanna and Jade, who were of the same age, were constantly at each other’s throats, Sherlock suddenly brought a newborn baby and said, “This is your youngest sibling.”

She was an ‘illegitimate child’.

The moment she appeared, the three siblings momentarily called a truce.

At that time, Derek was already planning to kill Zia. Johanna and Jade were also planning to assist.

The fourth direct descendant of Libra. No matter how young, she would undoubtedly become a threat, and they couldn’t accept an illegitimate child as their direct descendant.

──However.

When the three siblings, filled with murderous intent, entered the nanny’s room and faced Zia for the first time.

When they tried to stop the breathing of a baby no bigger than an arm with a pillow.

They couldn’t deny it.

She had the bluest and clearest eyes. The hair of the baby, not even a year old, was as blue as if it held the sea.

It was the proof of the ‘Libra’ bloodline. It was the color that inherited the Libra blood more deeply than anyone else.

Zia seemed like a child born to survive.

“The senior’s name is ‘Shion Ascal’. Look him up when you have time.”

─Shion…

“Do you know the name?”

─From the Orphanage… once…?

“Yes. He said he wanted to work under you, to Belingham. Now go. If I keep talking with your slow voice, all my hair will fall out.”

─Hmm… yes… thank you, sister…

Thump… thump… thump… Even Zia’s footsteps were slow.

With that slowness, I wonder if she can survive in this harsh and fast world.

“The casino’s profits are stagnating these days.”

Johanna immersed herself in her work again.