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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 3

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 3

The elementary academy I would attend was located in Legram, an hour away. 

I got on the carriage of my older brother Max, who was commuting, and headed towards Legram.

“If you have any difficulties, consult with me. Don’t suffer in silence.”

“It’s okay. It’s just an elementary academy.”  

“Even if it’s elementary, there will be many people gathering. Among them, there will be many children from prestigious families.”

My older brother Max kept rambling on about his academy experiences.

Thanks to the memories of Ars inherited within me, I already knew these facts, but it was still helpful.

The academies are divided into elementary, middle, and high levels. Until the elementary and middle academy levels, commoners and nobles take classes together by default.

“So there are often power struggles between commoners and nobles. In the end, no matter what happens, it’s the commoners who are blamed and have to bow their heads.”

“I see….”

“But remember this. They are just the same humans as us. You must not look down or despise them just because we are nobles. That’s an outdated way of thinking.”

“I know.”

“Right, that’s all then. …Ah, it seems we’ve arrived. Well then Yumir, I leave Ars to you.”

Max got off midway to go to his workplace, and I got off 2 km further down the road.

What came into view was the academy division of the Legram Elementary Academy.  

In front of it, children who appeared to be my age were lined up.

There were 70 of them including me. The ones who looked like nobles, including me, were 8.

“Hmm, it seems everyone has gathered.”

I must have been the last one, as the man who seemed to be the leading officer nodded his head and began guiding us into the training hall.

“Work hard, young master.”

“It’s fine. It’s only the first day after all.”

I thought we’d just sit and listen to explanations, but that was merely a hopeful thought.  

Even in the army’s training centers, they don’t start training on the first day, or so I’ve heard.

Here, the training began relentlessly from the very first day.  

“Ha-nat!”

Chak!

“Two!”  

Chok-chak! The children moved in perfect unison with the commands.

The education on the first day was, as expected, formation drills.

The children moved with a desperate expression, as if they couldn’t afford to make even a single mistake.  

For me, who had been through actual military training, it was just something to yawn at.

“The formation is getting disorderly! Focus your mind! Again from the start!”

The children’s movements began to become sloppy halfway through the training. Their concentration seemed to be waning as the formation became messy.  

The faces of the children, who thought they would be scolded for this failure, gradually became glum.

As if this always happened, the officers ended the formation drills right before the children burst into tears, and brought in some entertainment to change the mood.

A carrot and stick strategy.[1]  

“Everyone pay attention. Do you know what this is?”

What the officer pointed at was a black and white checkered board. A chessboard.

The children nodded, indicating they knew.

The officer continued speaking.

“Chess, a game widely popular across the continent, is also related to our military. Is there anyone who knows why?”

Many children raised their hands, but the officer deliberately pointed at a noble boy standing at the front.  

“It’s because the chess pieces represent soldiers!”  

“Correct. To be precise, they represent an entire army guarding the king.”

In this world, chess was considered part of a noble’s education. Thus, nobles skilled at chess gained prestige.  

Just as a child good at math is called a prodigy in the modern world, in this world, a child good at chess is called a prodigy.

“Heh, it’s the first day of training today, so I don’t intend to be too harsh. Now then, is there a student who would like to come play chess?”

In the ensuing silence, one child immediately raised their hand.

It was the same boy who had answered loudly earlier.

Seeing him, the instructor narrowed his eyes with interest.

“Oho, Casper Millias. So you’re volunteering… Very well. Come on up.”

The boy walked towards the chessboard with graceful movements.  

The instructor asked again with a look that suggested he didn’t expect much.

“Are there no other students who will be his opponent?”  

Some commoner children raised their hands, but the officer paid them no heed.

His gaze was solely focused on the noble children.  

However, those noble children seemed wary of the boy seated before the chessboard and were hesitant to raise their hands.

“It’s fine even if you’re not good, just raise your hands.” 

When the officer said this blatantly, the commoner kids who had raised their hands lowered them with dejected expressions.

‘Well, it seems fine as a way to kill some time.’

Since it seemed like we’d be delayed in getting dismissed at this rate, I decided to raise my hand.

“I’ll do it.”

“You are…?”

His gaze seemed to be asking who I was.

He had immediately recognized which household the previous boy belonged to, so he probably assumed I was someone he should know too.

“Ars Chasing Elaine.”

“Elaine…? Ah, I see. You’re the son of the Baron Elaine family. Very well. Come on up.”

Seated before the chessboard, I followed the other boy’s arrangement of the pieces just in case the setup was different in this world.

When my opponent saw this, he sighed as if thinking I was a beginner and that it would not be fun. Then, without consulting me, he rotated the chessboard, placing the white pieces in front of me. He was giving me the first move.

“You go first.” 

“…”

Have you ever seen such a rude person? I tried to go easy on him since he is a kid, but it seems better to be strict with him.

“I’ll go first then… But don’t cry in the middle, okay?”

“Cry? Ha! Like I’d lose to a kid like you?”

“Yeah, yeah. If you’re really a genius, even I couldn’t beat you. If you really are a genius, that is.”

Tap! I advanced a pawn to begin the opening. Chess was a complex and nuanced game for me. It was the game that allowed me, who had failed at Go, to be called a genius for a little longer, but in a sense, it also completely ruined me.

If I hadn’t started playing chess in middle school and had lived as an ordinary student instead, my life could have turned out differently. Back then, with my father insisting I study normally and my mother insisting I at least play chess, our household fell apart.

It was a bitter past for me, but I didn’t really regret taking up chess now. I knew that even if I had studied and become a judge or doctor, my life satisfaction would have been the same anyway.

So unlike Go, which made me shudder just looking at the board, I played chess occasionally to maintain my skills.

“Check.”

“Yikes!”

Tap! My knight took out my opponent’s bishop, declaring a check. I unleashed aggressive moves, leading into a complicated melee.

In cases like this where the position becomes complex due to a melee breaking out, kids tend to show one of two reactions. Either they boldly break through with daring and creativity, or they lose their composure and expose weaknesses. 

The former case is that of a true genius, the stories of someone becoming a world chess champion at age 10 are about those types.

On the other hand, fake geniuses show the latter reaction.

“Ugh…!”

“No, if you move there, you’ll be checkmated in six moves.”

“Sh-Shut up!”

The fidgeting kid eventually makes the worst move possible to put out the immediate fire.

Tap! My bishop and knight completely surround his king.

“Double check. No matter where you move next, it’s checkmate. Game over.”

“Oh, no…”

“Good effort. You play pretty well. Your skill level is…let’s see. Maybe between low and mid artificial intelligence level?”

For that age, that level of skill is quite good.

Cheers erupted from all around.

“Casper Millias has been defeated? How is this possible!?” 

“Who is that kid?”

“They say he’s from the Elaine household.”

“Never heard of them.”

The atmosphere became quite noisy. The instructor who had been carefully observing our game spoke to me.

“You said your name is Ars Elaine?”

“That’s correct.”

“You have considerable skill. To think you suppressed and mocked Millias’s prodigy like that.”

“…Prodigy?”

I was dumbfounded. These days there were at least ten trucks full of kids with that level of skill. To go around calling that level prodigious would just invite ridicule.

It seemed that in this world, while chess had a broad base, the average skill level was not particularly high.

***

On the evening after the first day at the academy, the dinner gathering of the Elaine family became noisy.

My older brother Max carefully asked me, “Brother, did you happen to play chess at the academy?”

“What? What are you talking about, Brother Max?” I continued eating while acting sarcastic.

However, as Max kept persistently asking, our father, unable to stand it any longer, spoke up, “Max, what’s going on?”

“Well… It seems this kid caused an incident at the academy.”

“He caused an incident? Did he hit someone? Well, kids can scuffle, I suppose. If he hit a high-ranking noble, I’ll have to go apologize in person…”

“It’s not that kind of incident. Apparently, he defeated the son of Marquis Millias at chess.”

“The son of Marquis Millias? If he’s around Ars’s age, then surely…”

“Yes, Casper Millias. I’m talking about that prodigy.”

At this, even Father and my older brother Miller opened their eyes wide.

“Is that true, Ars?”

“I’m not sure. I was just moving my hands, and somehow I ended up winning.”

“Hmm? Chess isn’t something like that. Was it just a game between children?”

Father tilted his head in doubt.

I regretted having played the game so carelessly.

Leaving aside making a name for myself after meeting the protagonist, I didn’t want to be called a prodigy from a young age.

I disliked hearing that annoying prodigy remark again. There was now a possibility that things would progress in a completely different direction from the story I knew.

‘I didn’t know he was such a famous guy.’

It seemed that in this world, unlike the modern era, not just anyone was called a prodigy. Perhaps due to the nature of nobility, prodigies wielded quite a significant influence.

Father nodded his head, seeming interested.

“Come to my room after dinner. I want to see it for myself.”

“Yes…”

As I disliked being called a prodigy, I decided to hold back appropriately and let him win.

However, even this seemed like decent skill to Father, and he wanted to hire a chess tutor for me despite our modest means.

“It’s okay. I have no intention of pursuing chess.”

“What a pity. Reconsider. I can see you have talent.”

“Even if you ask me to reconsider…”

A chess tutor? There couldn’t be a greater waste of time than that.

After all, in this world, there would likely be no one skilled enough to teach me.

 

Footnotes:

1] Hard and soft approach

 

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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.

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