The Author's Playground
Chapter 57: Black and White Kings (2)

Chapter 57: Black and White Kings (2)

(’Boring... this is boring...’)

Calliope toyed with a fallen black pawn in her hand, clicking her tongue as she eyed her opponent.

(’Chess, huh... I thought learning the mechanics would make it challenging. But now that I’m playing, it doesn’t seem that hard’)

Across the board sat a brown-haired guy, frowning as he contemplated his next move—a black knight looming ahead.

With a small sigh, Calliope slid her white bishop forward, capturing a pawn and cracking open his defense.

"Mate." Calliope spoke.

"Ugh, I didn’t see that coming! Now I have to move my king..." the brown-haired lad, Alduin, blurted out.

Calliope simply nodded and swiftly adjusted the positions of her white rook and king.

’Castling’.

The game heated up as each chess piece found its place in the battle. Alduin’s brow knit in concentration as he scrambled to fend off Calliope’s relentless onslaught.

With every move, his hesitation grew, and the tension in the room became almost tangible.

The small crowd leaned forward in their seats, their chatter fading into a silent, watchful interest.

Calliope struck first—her knight swept in to claim his bishop.

Alduin countered by advancing a pawn to capture her knight, a desperate bid to regain control.

Undeterred, Calliope pushed her queen into a daring, if questionable position.

The lad took the bait.

Alduin’s eyes sparked with a fleeting hope as his second bishop leapt into action, snatching the queen from the board. "Hah, you let your guard down!" he jeered.

But the tide of the game was far from decided.

In that exact moment, Calliope’s impassive face broke into a confident smile as she slid her rook forward, sealing the match.

"Checkmate."

"..."

The room exploded with cheers as the whole crowd erupted in applause. Faces lit up with admiration, and voices rang out.

"As expected!"

"This is a great match!"

and so on, and so forth.

Alduin, momentarily stunned, could only watch as his match ended before his eyes. Slowly, he stood up and bowed.

"Hah... you can solve a Rubik’s Cube in seconds, learn Go effortlessly, and even dominate in chess? You’re truly gifted! Thank you for the match. I promise to find another game that might intrigue you someday."

Calliope regarded him for a moment before nodding. "This chess match was indeed interesting. Mind if I keep this board a bit longer?"

The brown-haired lad smiled warmly. "Of course!" he replied before bidding his farewell.

Left alone with her thoughts, Calliope mused, "Hmm, it’s still interesting nonetheless. It piqued my curiosity right from the start," as she absentmindedly played with a white pawn.

Meanwhile, after few minutes, the murmurs of the crowd shifted into a different buzz.

"Who is that girl?" someone whispered. "What is she up to?" and "Hey, is she nuts?" floated through the air.

Suddenly, the chair in front of her was pulled out, and someone sat down.

A girl with dark blue hair, ocean-blue eyes, and tanned skin greeted the room with a broad smile.

There was no ID badge on her robe, leaving Calliope puzzled about her identity.

After a brief pause, the stranger spoke with an inviting tone, "Want a match? I promise to entertain you."

*******

"Want a match? I promise to entertain you."

(Calliope Revenant—based on what I’ve seen, this woman is something else.)

Elijah, disguised as a woman to blend in, observed Calliope intently from across the table.

Every gesture and expression was analyzed. In his mind, he noted,

(’Her strength is unmatched by any ordinary S-Class student. And on top of that, she is incredibly knowledgable. Honestly, she almost sounds like a Mary Sue character in a novel.’)

(’I really don’t remember a character like here exist’)

Calliope met his gaze with a calm nod before speaking in a low tone, "What side do you want to play?"

Elijah considered the options for a moment.

"How about we decide with a coin toss?"

Calliope flicked a coin high into the air. It landed with a decisive clink, settling down on the table.

It was a tail.

"You choose," she replied.

With a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Elijah declared:

"I’ll take black, and you get white."

He began immediately fixing his pieces in position.

As soon as Calliope fixed the white king in her board, Elijah spoke.

"Let’s start."

<<<The author left a chess move in bold letters. So you can see their match for better understanding.>>>>

The game began with Calliope confidently advancing her king’s pawn two tiles ahead, establishing immediate control over the center. (E4)

( ’For what I’ve understood from the rumors, it was Calliope’s first match in chess... I needed to test her limits’)

Elijah mirrored her move, pushing his own pawn. (E5)

Without hesitation, Calliope deployed her knight beside the pawn in an attempt to threaten the black pawn. (Nf3)

Elijah took notice of it with a smile.

(’Hoh...? I wonder if I could do ’that’ then)

In response, Elijah launched his pawn forward on the left side of the bishop (F5), which caused Calliope’s eyes to widen a bit.

"You... let your pawns in a tough spot," Calliope spoke, seemingly showing disbelief in his attacks.

"Why not? Pawns are merely disposable after all."

"Hmph, looks like I overestimated you then." Calliope seized the opportunity and captured the pawn on e5 with her knight. (Nxe5) "Even if these pieces are small, they can change the tide of the battle."

Elijah, in turn, brought out his light-squared bishop to c5, an attack that cause confusion from Calliope’s position. (Bc5)

"You left your pawn again." Calliope struck again, capturing the pawn. (exf5)

"Looks like I overestimated you as well," Elijah replied, covering the smile of his lips with his left hand. "You will see why I tell you, in this match, these pawns are just disposable ones."

The blue-haired student immediately counterattacked, pushing his dark-squared bishop forward, launching a check against the White King. (Bxf2)

"..." Calliope’s expression froze for a bit, eventually letting out a small chuckle. "Indeed, you prevented me from castling, but you just wasted another piece."

The white king captured the bishop. (Kxf2)

"No... from the moment you took those baits." Seizing the moment, Elijah took hold on his black queen on the side of the board, prompting another check. (Qh4) "Tik tak to dear senior, this last move will doom you."

"...." The black haired lass continued. Her mind began crumbling in pieces, as sweat flew down in his cheeks.

(’I... miscalculated’)

Indeed, she never expected that those moves had its own reasons at all.

Is this what he meant for disposable pawns?

Eventually, she retreated the king inside. (Kg1)

"And that’s the bad move."

Elijah sealed the match by moving the queen to the side. (Qd4)

Checkmate.