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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 17

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 17.

Tak! Tak!

Chess pieces moving in a chilling silence.

Juras seemed to be either enjoying this tension, or perhaps he didn’t feel any tension at all, as he continued to chatter.

“Personally, I don’t like chess. I have some unpleasant memories associated with it.”

“…”

“Huh, aren’t you going to ask why?” Juras continued speaking while moving a piece, unbothered. “It was when I was eight years old, I think. My master who was teaching me military strategy introduced me to chess. As you might expect, I lost. It was a battle I couldn’t win.”

He said it took only a month for him to eventually beat that master.

“After that, the way my master looked at me changed. Before long, he began to envy me. Chess was the catalyst. He realized he was becoming inferior to his disciple in all aspects. Three years later, he took his own life. That’s how I lost my master. Don’t you think it’s a truly sad story?”

“What a farce. To feel intimidated by a child and take one’s own life.”

“Hahaha! I understand. It’s certainly ridiculous. I too thought that perhaps my master was just an inadequate person. But that wasn’t the case.”

“…?”

“Well, since then, I’ve never lost a single chess match. So, my master turned out to be the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

Hearing this, some of the nobles shuddered as if getting goosebumps.

I responded with a sneer.

“That’s not the part I’m calling a farce. What’s ridiculous is feeling intimidated by such mediocre skills. Juras Pamilion. Do you know the saying about a frog in a well?”[2]

“Hmm, from the context, I suppose you’re saying that’s me?”

“You catch on quick.”

I declared.

“44 moves from now. You’ll be in check for the first time.”

“…”

“And 8 moves after that, another check. Then 16 moves later, it’ll be checkmate.”

“Anyone can make claims with words.”

Juras maintained his relaxed smile, probably thinking it was just bravado.

However, after 20 moves.

“……”

His mouth closed.

He started staring intently at the chessboard.

Now it was my turn to be relaxed.

“Well, my predicted check might be off. That is, unless you’re even more foolish than I thought.”

The banquet hall buzzed. The nobles who knew chess well were watching the game with eyes full of wonder.

Finally, the predicted 44th move.

Tak! I used a knight to put a blade to the king’s neck.

“Check.”

Woooah!! Exclamations erupted in the party hall.

There were signs of confusion from the Crossing delegation’s side.

“No way. Is the Prime Minister being pushed back?”

“There shouldn’t be anyone who can match lord Juras except maybe Kaien of the Four Strategists…”

I was about to curl my lips into a sneer, but… Since I was wearing a helmet anyway and others couldn’t see, I deliberately laughed out loud. “Hahaha! You didn’t do anything stupid like making bad moves just to avoid my predicted check. Yes, I’ll praise you for that. Well done.”

“…”

This game is already over. Juras had no moves left to turn the situation around.

This was why chess was quickly conquered by artificial intelligence.

Chess doesn’t have as many possibilities as Go.

Even Go has now been conquered by AI, and in chess, it’s said that the outcome is determined as soon as the game starts, as there aren’t that many paths.[3]

That’s why the opening in the early game and the move battles in the middle game that follows are crucial.

No matter how talented Juras might be, he’s no match for me, who has learned countless times what the best moves are through hundreds of games with AI.

After all, I’ve honed my skills by competing with AI, a being that has transcended human talent.

Juras made many mistakes. It’s because he lacks experience in top-level games compared to me.

Well, even excluding that, my skills were superior, so I would have gained the advantage comfortably anyway.

“Now then, shall we see the measure of your character? Will you make even worse moves to avoid the predicted checkmate? Or will you accept the result as is? The choice of Juras Pamilion, one of the Ten Heroes. How interesting.”

“You…”

Juras shows anger for the first time.

Because this is a double-edged sword.

If he makes other bad moves to avoid my predicted checkmate, he becomes a fool who chooses the worst over the second worse, and if he accepts the result as is, he becomes a fool who doesn’t think about overturning the situation.

In the end, he’s a fool no matter what he chooses.

Juras chose the former.

“Checkmate.”

“…I’ve lost.”

He acknowledged my move calculation and accepted the checkmate.

***

The chess match ended with my victory. 

The people at the party openly showed their disbelief at mercenary Wade’s victory.

“One of the leading Ten Heroes, Juras Pamilion, was defeated…?”

“Amazing. Truly amazing!”

“It’s chess skill on a completely different level. It’s astounding!”

Juras’s eccentricity of accepting any challenge was well-known.

Both the fact that he accepted challenges and that he had never been defeated were famous.

That reputation has now been shattered.

By a mere mercenary, no less.

“Would you like a rematch?”

Juras requested a rematch with blazing eyes.

I replied smugly.

“What are the terms?”

“Terms… You say?”

“Haven’t I already received the slave you put up? Then you should offer something new, right? For instance… That left arm you were blathering about earlier…!”

“…!”

Juras flinched at my threat.

He knew it too. Even if they had a rematch, his chances of winning weren’t high.

The risk was too great to stake his left arm on the match.

“How insolent! A mere mercenary dares to speak such nonsense to Lord Juras!”

“Be quiet, Kiam.”

“But Lord Juras…!”

“I said shut up. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I, I overstepped my bounds.”

Juras’s demeanor changed completely.

He points at Eonia and says, “What you and Ilya Anfei want is Eonia Mirabel, right? If you win again this time, I’ll give you this Fensillon’s youngling too. How about it?”

Is he offering to give the protagonist?

To be honest, I wasn’t sure about that.

I thought Eonia would be fine since she wasn’t related to the main story, but not the protagonist.

For Ars, who should be the protagonist’s loyal subordinate, to instead enslave the protagonist.

It would go beyond derailing the story and become a crucible of shock and horror.

At that point, all the stories I knew would disappear.

‘It would be right to refuse this match.’

Just then, Duke Hellian lent a helping hand.

“That’s enough. Both of you, stop ruining the party’s mood any further.”

He declared the end of the slave auction.

“Juras Pamilion. I won’t tolerate any more rudeness. You can take back your slave if you want, but withdraw.”

“…Very well. I don’t have a hobby of deliberately making the atmosphere chilly either.”

“You’re saying that after you’ve already ruined the party mood sufficiently?”

“Hah, I apologize for that. Then I shall take my leave. You may take the slaves as discussed. I won’t charge for them. Please consider it a gift of apology and goodwill.”

“Hmph, do you think I’d gladly accept people who might be spies?”

“That’s for you to decide…”

Juras left the party, taking only the protagonist with him.

It seemed he had released Eonia Mirabel as promised.

“Eonia!”

Master Ilya immediately grabbed Eonia’s hand, rejoicing in her safety.

Eonia stood there bewildered, as if she never dreamed Juras would be defeated.

But what to do now?

Although it was unavoidable to protect master, the situation has grown quite large.

***

After finishing the confrontation with Juras, I hurriedly left the party venue.

If I had stayed, I felt I would have been caught and forced to reveal my face.

With the help of the Mercenary Association members and my master, I exited the party venue and heaved a deep sigh.

“Master, please promise me one thing. If something like this happens in the future, you’ll definitely consult with me before making a decision. I know a warrior’s pride is important, but there’s also practicality to consider. I’ll try to lead things in the best direction possible, so please trust me and consult with me.”

“Heh, alright. That does seem better. I’ll definitely do that from now on.”

“Master?”

“I knew you were good at chess, but to think you’d actually defeat Juras. I prided myself on accurately assessing you as a clever child, but it seems that wasn’t quite right. You’re an even more special one.”

Master patted my shoulder proudly.

Why is she patting my shoulder instead of my head? I thought, belatedly remembering the existence of the helmet.

After confirming there were no prying eyes around, I took off my helmet and returned my voice to normal, dropping the modulation.

“Whew! I thought I was going to suffocate. On the battlefield, it blocks blood splatter so I can bear the discomfort, but wearing it indoors is pure torture.”

“What…!”

Eonia’s eyes widened as I revealed my face.

“How can a child…?”

“Well, I’m actually old enough to be considered an adult this year. Though I haven’t had my coming-of-age ceremony yet. More importantly, shall we introduce ourselves properly? I’m Ars Chasing Elaine.”

“E-Eonia Mirabel. No… It’s Mirabel.”

Why did she suddenly switch to formal speech?

Anyway. I needed to decide what to do with Eonia.

She was such a famous figure that I couldn’t carelessly place her anywhere. That Juras fellow might even have people trailing her.

However, my master offered a neat solution to this part.

“I’m not sure if this should be considered fortunate, but right now Eonia’s face is unrecognizable due to the burns.”

“That’s… True.”

“So, we can gradually treat her while changing her appearance to be different from before.”

“Is that possible?”

“It should be. I know someone who was in a similar situation. Becoming a completely different person is difficult, but changing one’s impression is certainly possible.”

Of course, for the time being, she would have to live while hiding the name Eonia.

She accepted this readily.

“I’m a person who might as well have died a year ago. Hiding my name is no big deal. Besides… If I can repay the debt I owe you, I’ll do anything.”

“Debt? Let me say this in advance, but you don’t need to worry about such things. I only competed with Juras to save my master. I didn’t care what happened to you. So from now on, you should just live the life you want.”

“Yes, that’s what I intend to do. …My once-broken spear will once again aim at the enemy’s throat, following your will. Please allow me to serve by your side.”

“Oh, come on.”

Eonia met my gaze with an unwavering and intense look.

I felt a headache coming on.

‘This is similar to the oath she made to the protagonist in the game.’

It actually felt even more intense. In the game, it felt like she acknowledged the protagonist as a comrade, but this was more like a pledge of fealty between lord and vassal.

To think that I, who wasn’t even the protagonist, would receive a loyalty oath from an SSR-grade character.

I had jokingly called my helpers the Seven Vassals, but now it seemed I had actually gained a true vassal.

Still, I decided to rationalize it by telling myself it wouldn’t matter since she wasn’t a character involved in the main story.

 

Footnotes:

1] Preamble means statements made before the event.

2] There is always someone better

3] Take this with a pinch of salt


TL NOTE:

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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
I ended up possessing Ars Elaine, a supporting character in the game. Struggling to prevent my death, I pave my way.

Comment

  1. RoxasKn says:

    It seem people that get transported into game or story, are usually stuck at the idea that everything revolve around the story.

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