'Despite being utterly powerless, you command us, the saintly sword wielders, with such composure, you won’t let Shion be lonely.'
'I'm not commanding you guys! You’re the ones making me cross dangerous bridges!'
'I truly respect you in a way. I couldn't be so bold to order people stronger than me.'
'That’s not respect, that’s just being appalled...'
Well, I can't deny it.
'Anyway, Crow. I'm not forcing you, but seriously consider what I've said.'
'Consider marrying an eleven-year-old girl? Are you asking me to become a lolicon?'
'If you don’t want to marry her, being her boyfriend is also fine.'
'...'
I opened my mouth so wide in shock, it felt like my jaw would dislocate, staring at Iris.""I guess she’s also a pretty crazy woman.
Holly, Shion, and the saintly sword wielders like Instructor Cattleya, Iris, and Saffron.
They're all exceptional in combat, but as confidants, they're all a bit hopeless.
I should've known, given that even I, not the brightest, end up taking on the mental work.
Sigh...
I really wish I had a wise companion who could provide sound advice.
Someone normal who doesn’t immediately suggest killing or seriously tell me to marry a young girl. 'Hey Holly, I won’t ask you to get along with Shion anymore, but please stop provoking her unnecessarily.'
'...'
While playing our nightly game of chess, I brought up the topic with Holly.
'Why did you even mention that we bathed together in the hot springs? And then you made it sound like not bathing with Shion was some sort of trust issue.'
'...'
'Well, you don’t differentiate between what should be said and what shouldn’t, right? Whatever you think just directly comes out.'
'...'
'Even so, don’t rile up Shion unnecessarily, just be a little more careful, okay?'
'...'
Huh?
Why isn’t she responding?
She’s been focusing on moving her chess pieces without engaging in any conversation.
Well, she moves her pieces right after I do, so she doesn’t seem to be in a bad mood.
In fact, she seems intensely focused on the board, arms crossed.
'...'
Unusually, or rather for the first time, I was actually ahead in this game.
Does that mean she’s really concentrating on chess?
No need to get this serious over a casual game during our conversation.
Every time Holly moves a piece, I respond without much thought.
And strangely, Holly starts taking longer to make her moves.
'Huh? I seem to be winning. Ha, I might beat Holly for the first time.'
'...'
Holly didn’t reply but just stared at the chessboard, frozen.
It seems like the game is almost decided in my favor.
'Holly? What’s wrong? You look pale. Are you not feeling well? No, that’s not possible.'
'...Impossible...'
'What?'
'That I, of all beings, would be defeated by a mere human...'
'What? Hey, calling me a mere human...'
After being together for over a year and playing chess daily, I’m surprised she would say something like that. But understanding her nature, I couldn’t even get mad.""‘Well, maybe you were just off your game today? These things happen.’
‘Impossible... impossible... impossible...’
‘Hey, don't take it so seriously, Holly. It’s okay to lose once in a while.’
I mean, how many times have I lost to her?
We play chess when we’re free, averaging about ten games a day, which would be about 3,600 games a year.
Having played for about a year and a half, I must have lost around 5,000 times.
And now, after losing that many times without complaint, she flips out over one loss...
‘KIEEEEEEEEEEEE!’
‘GYAAAAAAA!’
Holly let out a strange scream, flipping over the chessboard and smacking it into my face.
‘What are you doing!’
‘Could you not get carried away just because you were slightly ahead for once!’
Holly, her face red with anger, crossed her arms after flipping the board.
‘I wasn’t getting carried away...’
‘My intellect is a special creation beyond human limitations! In both beauty and intelligence, I don’t have a single inferior aspect compared to humans!’
‘Ah, I see...’
‘Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for me to lose a battle of wits against a human!’
‘Okay, okay, I got it.’
Muttering, I started picking up the scattered chess pieces from the floor.
And by the way, it hurt when the pieces jabbed into my face.
She flips the board just because she's losing? How childish.
‘So, should we stop for today? You seem off...’
‘Hah!? You think you can just walk away with a win!?’
‘But I didn’t win... You ended the game.’
‘I can't stand ending like this, all irritated! Set up the pieces again!’
‘Fine, but don’t flip the board again if you’re about to lose.’
‘Ah!? Getting cocky just because you were winning once, you octopus! I’ll show you the difference in our class!’
‘Okay, okay, don’t get so heated. It’s just a game...’
I set up the pieces again and began another round with Holly.
Well, Holly is incredibly strong, so she probably does surpass humans in terms of intellect.""She really plays her best moves almost instantly.
So, if we play another game and I lose as usual, she’ll probably cheer up.
'...'
'...'
That was what I thought, but in the next game, I was ahead again.
Every time I moved a piece, Holly’s face grew darker.
And then,
'Impossible... impossible... impossible...'
She started muttering to herself again.
'Ah... you’re really off your game today, Holly. Everyone has off days.'
'...'
'So, let's call it a day...'
'KIEEEEEEEEEE!'
'GYAAAAAAA!'
Holly flipped the chessboard again, smacking it into my face.
'Stop that! It actually hurts!'
‘Don’t you get cocky with me, damn it!’
'I’m not getting cocky at all! Seriously, not at all!'
‘Shut up, shut up, shut up! How dare you win against me!’
‘Don’t take it so seriously... You’re just off your game today.’
Isn’t the unpredictability of winning or losing what makes a game interesting?
I wouldn’t know, having never won before.
‘So, let's end here for today...’
‘Don’t mess with me, you idiot! Set up the pieces again!’
‘You’re kidding, right!? I can see the painful outcome already!’
‘Ah!? You think you can win again, huh!? Miracles don’t happen three times!’
‘Well... okay, but don’t do the same thing again. It’s childish...’
Then, we played for the third time, and,
'...'
'...'
Once again, I was ahead...
'KIEEEEEEEEEE!'
‘Stop that!’
This time, I prevented it.
As Holly tried to flip the board, I held it down.
‘KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!’
Holly shrieked, spinning in the air.
What a childish woman.
‘If you hate losing that much, we should just stop...’
‘No!’
‘But, "no" means...’
‘I hate losing! Absolutely hate it! I can’t stand not winning!’
‘So, you want me to lose on purpose?’
‘No, no, no! I can’t stand not winning!’
‘Ugh...’
‘I absolutely refuse to be inferior to Crow! Waaaaaaah!’
Holly covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.""Seriously, her way of being a sore loser is infuriating.
Every day, without a break, I’ve played with her, and she’s always been so condescending.
'Hey Holly, put yourself in my shoes for once. I’ve been losing to you in every game for over a year. Don’t I deserve to win occashionally?'
'I refuse. You must always lose.'
Holly suddenly stopped crying and went back to her usual self.
She's quick to anger, but also quick to calm down.
'That’s ridiculous! How is it fun to keep playing if you always win?'
'I always choose games that I’m sure to win.'
'That’s the worst mindset!'
'How dare you! My ideas are always the best!'
'...Listen. Do you know how many thousands of times I've lost to you? Even if I win two or three games today, your win rate is still over 90%.'
'I refuse. I want a 100% win rate.'
'...'
What a piece of work she is.
Well, maybe that’s why she always defeats the Demon Lord.
'Well, chess is just a game, so even if you lose, it doesn’t tarnish your record, right? If you were defeated, it would mean the end of humanity.'
'Hmph. Of course.'
'Your misshion is to raise the hero and defeat the Demon Lord, right? So, allow someone to beat you in chess.'
'Hmph! Don't preach to me, you idiot!'
'...'
This woman... She's beyond just not differentiating between honesty and politeness.