Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Kat

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 3

Author Note:

I’m amazed by the number of likes registered. Thank you very much.

I never thought there were so many people reading this work of mine.

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“It’s been a long time, Ayanokouji-kun.”

“I don’t know about you, though.”

Arisu-chan was unfazed by Ayanokouji’s sudden appearance and began to speak in her normal tone.　

“White Room.”　

The moment Arisu-chan spoke those words, Ayanokouji unleashed an intense killing intent.

To think she just told him straight…

So this is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.　

An ordinary person like me shivered, unable to move from my spot. It felt as if I was being constricted.　

I kept getting goosebumps. It was painful—the muscles in my body didn’t listen to me. 

I was overwhelmed by the pressure Ayanokouji exuded.

I already knew it, but when I actually confronted him, it felt extremely unreasonable.

This person was crazy. There was no way I’d want to be his enemy.

“Aah, I have no intention of doing anything to you in particular. I just want to tell you that I know about you.”　

However, our Arisu-chan was not much different.　

She talked with a smirk as if she wasn’t affected by it.

“…Tell me. What do you want?”　

Perhaps he realized we had no hostility toward him, so Ayanokouji dispersed his killing intent.　

My body could finally move. I took a deep breath and relaxed my shoulders.

Although the killing intent was gone, he still kept his vigilance and urged me to continue while glaring at me with sharp eyes. Even that felt painful to me.

Arisu-chan unexpectedly fell silent and turned to me, prompting me to answer.　

I forgot because of the earlier pressure, but I was the one who set up this meeting.

After thinking for a while, I opened my mouth.

“Let’s see. Please be our friend.”　

“What did you say?”

It seemed that Ayanokouji didn’t expect my answer. Arisu-chan seemed surprised as well.　

Ayanokouji might be scary, but he wasn’t a bad person. It should be fine to offer our friendship.

I decided to explain my intention without being careful with my words.

“This Arisu-chan already feels dull about the school life here. I also feel the same.”　

“Both of you already felt dull on your first day…?”

“And in such a situation, I learned that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the person with a top-class ability, is in this school. I thought Arisu-chan won’t feel bored if we befriend you. That’s all.”

“…Aah, you knew about that after all. But is that okay? I have no intention to be conspicuous. I don’t know if it can keep both of you from being bored, you know?”

“It’s okay. Anyway, I just want to tell you that we have no intention to become your enemy. Besides, you don’t have to be conspicuous at all. If anything, it’s plenty if you just play chess with Arisu-chan. I’m not good enough to be her opponent after all.”

By the way, I could play chess to some extent.　

If I were to play with Arisu-chan, then Arisu-chan would give me a board advantage like a pro chess player. Of course, she wouldn’t go all the way to set it up right before checkmate, but she would set up the board to where pro chess players would concede early since they knew they couldn’t turn their situation around.

I was to play on the winning side, Arisu-chan on the losing side. The rule was to continue playing from that state. Obviously, the game started with my overwhelming advantage.

But even then, my ability (or lack of it) still made me lose 90% of the time. I supposed Arisu-chan was pretty bored of that.

Arisu-chan seemed to be satisfied with my answer and nodded several times.　

“I’ve been wanting to ask for a game with you for a long time. Is it okay to do that now?”　

“You mean here? Well, there’s still some time until the entrance ceremony, so I guess we could fit in one game.”

“Yes, since it’s Ayanokouji-kun and me, we could imagine the board in our heads, right? Please make your first move.”

After saying that, Arisu-chan and Ayanokouji started to play mental chess.　

They smoothly spoke the name of the piece and the destination one after another. They were currently clashing in a chess battle in their minds. I couldn’t see how the match turned out since I was an ordinary person, but the two seemed to have fun.

I was completely excluded.　

However, it had been a long time since I last saw Arisu-chan looked so happy. Seeing her face flush, it seemed she made full use of her intelligence as she thought of her move. It was an opponent she couldn’t fight unless she went all out.

I couldn’t give her such excitement in the end.

As expected, I felt that Ayanokouji was the only person I could entrust Arisu-chan to.

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The match took about twenty minutes to finish.　

“I resign. It’s my defeat.”　

It seemed Ayanokouji, who made the first move, won the match.　

“…You’re amazing. I totally went all out halfway through. Even then, I only won by a tiny margin. If you were the one who made the first move, I’d have no idea how the match would’ve turned out.”　

“I guess I couldn’t even make it a draw. It seems there’s a difference in ability between us. I have to admit that.”

Chess was a game where the player who made the first move had the advantage. I thought Arisu-chan allowed Ayanokouji to take the first move so she could show her composure. Ayanokouji also said he had no idea how the match would’ve turned out if Arisu-chan made the first move, but it seemed that Arisu-chan didn’t agree.　

I guess there was something she realized because of her high ability.

“I see.”　

“But it’s a good match.”

…That was unexpected.　

She recovered faster than I assumed. I thought Arisu-chan would be depressed since she has never been defeated before. This felt as if she’d already experienced terrible defeat in the past. Though as far as I knew, there shouldn’t be such a thing.

I guessed that just meant her mentality was strong. Thinking I was rude, I reflected inwardly.

“If Ayanokouji doesn’t mind, could you please have a match with Arisu-chan again?”　

“Of course. We’re friends, after all.”

With that said, Ayanokouji asked for a handshake. Arisu-chan responded, their hands clasped tightly.　

It was about time for the entrance ceremony.　

Ayanokouji seemed to sense that as well and was about to wave his hand as he left, so we exchanged contact information on the terminal we received earlier.

“Okay. We’re officially friends with this. Please take care of us from now on.”　

“Likewise, please take care of me.”

It was hard to sense the change in Ayanokouji’s expression, but he looked somewhat happy.　

“I won’t lose next time.”　

“I see. Let’s have a match again when we have the time… You don’t have to worry, you’re strong. More than anyone else I know about,” Ayanokouji said as he left.　

After finishing the encounter with the strongest monster, I let out a deep breath.

Anyway, I was glad it worked out well.　

Building good relationships with Ayanokouji at this time should have great benefits. The huge risk of being attacked by Ayanokouji in the future would be prevented, after all. That said, it wouldn’t completely eliminate such a possibility, but it should be fine as long as we didn’t show any hostility.

“How was it, Arisu-chan?”　

Arisu-chan sat on the bench once again. I sat next to her.　

“…He’s a man-made genius. You’re aware of that, right?”　

“Of course. And I also know that Arisu-chan is a born genius.”

I knew it well.　

Ayanokouji was the so-called genius from hard work. He was thoroughly educated in the abnormal environment of the White Room, where he acquired his abilities without hereditary traits.

Arisu-chan, who was a born genius, didn’t want to lose against that.

“That’s right. Rather than being frustrated, it was more that I was at a loss for what to do. To think my belief was denied this easily and overwhelmingly.”　

“You mean you couldn’t prove your superiority, right? Well, isn’t that okay? You can always have more matches with him from now on.”

“…Perhaps I could learn something if I have another match with him.”

“You may be right.”

Did she really understand?　

Well, she was defeated in a serious match. Moreover, to someone she considered a nemesis for years. I thought she would have never expected the sudden meeting that led to a match and a defeat. 

Even then, she accepted her defeat quite easily. I thought she wasn’t someone who was quick to move on, though… Let’s stop here. It was nothing but my own speculation anyway.

“Can I stay like this for a while?”　

“Ou.”

Arisu-chan seemed a little tired when she leaned against me.　

“…I see that you’re still on my side even after I lost.”　

“Of course I am. Whether you win or lose, Arisu-chan is still Arisu-chan, right? I thought it was not a bond that would falter just because of the result of a game, but is that wrong?”

“Fufu, you’re right. And that won’t change from now on either.”

Her small stature leaned closer to me. We rested on the bench for a while.　

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The entrance ceremony after that wasn’t particularly interesting and ended normally.　

My life here finally begins.　

I was thinking about how things would progress from now on with my stupid head.　

Now that Arisu-chan found her perfect playmate, she wouldn’t be so interested in the class battle and its result. That seemed to be the case from the beginning, but it was almost certain now.

Arisu-chan was an indoor person (which was obvious considering her physique). I doubt she could find something more enjoyable than a mental sport with players of similar level. I think Ayanokouji was stronger than computers regardless of what game they were playing, so even if they were tired of chess, they could always play something else.

In that respect, there were many special exams in this academy that required athletic ability, and it was NG¹ for her to begin with. Even regarding her knowledge, I couldn’t find anything else other than it was used for the game with Ayanokouji.

What would happen in Class A?　

I thought about it for a moment but realized I didn’t give a damn. I didn’t find that class likable anyway, and I had no attachment to it. I was surprised that I didn’t care at all whether Class A stayed as it was or dropped in the future.

As long as Arisu-chan showed me her happy expression, everything was fine.

Once again, I was cold when it came to things I wasn’t interested in.

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Author Note:

Ayanokouji: “(I never thought I would make friends on my first day).”

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