"Are you being honest?"
Yukima Azuma lightly tapped Sainokami Ika with his foot as she lay face-down on the tatami mats. Then, he sat beside her.
Sainokami Ika slowly regained her composure, the arrogance that once clung to her expression now greatly diminished.
"That girl… I just slipped up, that's all!" she snapped, clearly frustrated.
Azuma reached out and flicked her forehead with a pak!
"Be sure to thank Ai. She woke you up—gently. Far more gently than most would've."
At those words, Sainokami Ika blinked in confusion.
Azuma turned his gaze to the shogi board nearby, casually resetting several pieces.
Following his gaze, Ika saw the final position from her match with Hinatsuru Ai.
Azuma reversed the board by forty-five moves, back to a crucial turning point—when Ai had still been at a disadvantage. He picked up Ai's pieces and began to play from there.
Then, he played her own side too.
It took less than ten moves.
Checkmate.
Ika stared at the board, stunned.
These moves shattered her understanding of shogi.
The variations Azuma had executed with her pieces were almost exactly the best countermeasures she herself could imagine. Yet… even so, she lost.
She remained frozen, unable to recover.
Only when Azuma casually swept the pieces off the board did she finally lift her head again.
"Now do you understand?" Azuma said quietly. "You're lucky to have faced Ai. If you'd kept your earlier attitude and played against someone like me, it's not just your ego that would've been crushed—it'd be your spirit."
"And if you'd faced the Meijin… well, let's just say you might've quit shogi altogether."
It wasn't an exaggeration.
That man—the Meijin—was a shogi player operating on a level no one else could even see.
His current obsession was simple: determining, through perfect play, whether the first or second player ultimately had the advantage in shogi.
To do so, he mirrored his opponents—using their own signature styles and optimal strategies against them. He didn't just beat them. He disproved them.
It was like this: you believe an apple, when falling from a tree, will land on the ground.
But the Meijin walks up, slaps you in the face, kicks the tree, and the apple flies into the sky instead.
Every opponent left the board questioning not just their play—but their reality.
Against someone like that, a proud, reckless player like Ika might never recover.
And now, Sainokami Ika—so haughty just minutes ago—was sitting quietly in front of Azuma, like a scolded child.
The monster of the shogi world had tamed her, at least a little.
If she behaved, Azuma wouldn't mind playing her again.
After all, she had potential. Enough to be a worthy rival to Hinatsuru Ai.
And Ai needed that—an equal.
Azuma was too far above. No matter how Ai improved, if she only played him, she'd never feel the urgency of someone catching up from behind.
The weekend passed in a blur.
Monday arrived.
Toyogasaki Academy plunged into the dreaded midterm exams.
Grading happened almost instantly. By Tuesday afternoon, scores were up. By Wednesday morning, the top 100 rankings were posted on the massive announcement board outside—the same one used during admissions.
Azuma arrived at school and made his way through the growing crowd to look at the list.
Third-Year Rankings
As expected, Kasumigaoka Utaha sat at the top.
She wasn't just the best in her year—she was the highest scorer across all grades.
Azuma smiled faintly.
"Senpai really is terrifying when it comes to academics."
Despite dozing off in class now and then, she always reviewed her weak points seriously. Once she mastered the material, then she allowed herself to get distracted.
With her results, the University of Tokyo was a sure thing.
She wasn't aiming for medicine either, so the Faculty of Literature would probably be her choice.
Azuma then shifted his attention to the second-year list, then finally to the first-year rankings.
"Seriously?! You skip class all the time, and you still score that high?"
"This is the wall… the wall called genius. I can't stand it!"
A familiar voice erupted behind him.
Satou Kazuma launched himself at Azuma, attempting a chokehold.
Azuma calmly sidestepped and countered with a smooth arm-lock.
Kazuma groaned in defeat. "He's smart and good at fighting…"
Kunimi Yuuma laughed as he clapped his friend's back. "Told you it was pointless."
Their reactions told Azuma all he needed to know.
He glanced at the board again—and sure enough, there it was:
Yukima Azuma — top of the first-year rankings.
Not only that—like Kasumigaoka Utaha, he ranked first in composite standardized scores across all participating schools.
Just beneath his name was another long, elegant one.
Not Eriri's.
But Alya Kujou.
Second in Toyogasaki. Third in composite score overall.
A flash of white caught his eye.
Alya walked by, elegant as always.
"Kujou-san," Azuma called out. "That was incredible. You came from Russia not long ago, and you're already scoring this high."
She turned, her expression calm but her eyes glittering faintly.
"You're the incredible one, Yukima-san. Your composite score is far beyond mine."
She smiled politely.
Then turned away and muttered under her breath—in Russian.
"So frustrating!"
Azuma pretended not to notice.
Class 1-E
Kirisu Mafuyu, absent recently, had finally returned.
Usually cold and aloof, today she looked… cheerful?
The classroom buzzed with energy.
"Everyone did great. No one failed this time."
"And—Yukima-san topped the composite ranking across all schools. A round of applause!"
Applause erupted.
It wasn't just about Azuma.
To beat out prestigious schools like Shuchiin and Hyakkaou… and to have someone from Class 1-E—Toyogasaki, no less—achieve that?
Everyone felt a little proud.
"And Kujou-san too," Kirisu added. "Second in the grade. Third overall. Well done."
Alya blinked, then slowly raised her hand.
"Yes, Kujou-san?"
"I have a question, Kirisu-sensei. Who's second in the composite rankings?"
"Ah—Shinomiya Kaguya from Shuchiin," Kirisu replied. "Her score is just slightly below Yukima-san's."
Alya nodded, then lowered her hand.
Then lowered her head.
In Russian, so quietly that only Azuma caught it, she whispered:
"So frustrating… really frustrating…"
Azuma turned to look at her.
He'd started to notice things about her over time.
This girl…
She was serious about everything.
Too serious, perhaps.
She'd only just moved to Japan. The language barrier, new education system—it all affected her. Yet she still landed in third place.
And she still wasn't satisfied.
Class eventually settled down.
Kirisu continued, "The rest of the week will be exam reviews. But most importantly… the school festival begins this Friday!"
"You have two days to prepare. What's our class theme again?"
"A butler café!" the class shouted in unison.
Azuma blinked.
Wait—when did this happen?
Kirisu gave him a knowing look and smirked.
That's what you get for skipping class.
"Ahem. Anyway, after the festival, you'll all get a well-deserved break."
The day flew by.
After school, Alya sat at her desk, face buried in her arms.
She wasn't upset about losing.
She was upset because she hadn't given it her all.
She didn't want to accept that gap between her and the top scorers.
Why didn't I try harder…?
Tears silently soaked into her sleeves.
Then—
Poke.
A finger jabbed her gently in the side.
She jerked upright, startled. Her silver hair lifted like a waterfall behind her.
In her fluster, she wiped her tears hastily and glared at the culprit.
Then—
Bump.
Her cheek hit something cold.
"Uwa!"
She let out an involuntary squeal and stepped back.
It was…
A chilled can of red bean soup.
In summer, no less. Condensation clung to its surface.
She looked around it—and met Yukima Azuma's eyes.
"Yukima-san… what are you doing?"
Azuma gave the can a little shake. "I saw you looked a bit down. Thought this might cheer you up."
"I've seen you buy red bean soup before. Figured you liked it."
Alya's face flushed red.
She hadn't realized her little habit had been noticed.
And now—he was handing her her favorite drink, at just the right time.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
In Russian.
"This kind of timing… this kind of thoughtfulness… it's too unfair… it makes a girl's heart flutter."