Chapter 257: A Game of Chess

"Let’s play hide and seek!"

"Eh? This is the central plaza, where will we hide?"

"Right, what if we get lost?"

"Then what will we play?"

"Oh, look! Old Man Pio and Old Man Fidel are playing chest again!"

"Let’s watch!"

...

As the children ran toward the old human man, Pio, and the seemingly young adult elf in his mid twenties, Fidel, Regis and Marzana sat together on a wooden bench not too far away.

"So, what did you look for me?" Regis asked as his eyes did not leave the children.

Marzana kept silent for a second, "What do you mean? The children merely wanted to see you again."

"You don’t think I’ll be that easy to fool, do you? It’s hard to believe that an elven royalty would suddenly approach me despite what happened yesterday, don’t you think so, Ms. Marzana?"

The elven girl’s pitch black eyes seemed to dilate in shock, but she was able to calm herself in the next moment.

She had not yet introduced herself to Regis, but his knowing her name despite that only meant one thing.

’He was able to investigate me as well...’

After a moment of silence, Marzana said softly, "Isn’t it quite rude for you to suddenly investigate me? After all, I’m still a citizen of Harmonia."

"As if you didn’t do the same to me. And for the record, I didn’t really investigate you, I just asked around who the new people were since I’d been gone for quite a while." Regis calmly replied.

Marzana heaved a deep sigh, "You’re really annoying to talk to, are you aware of that?"

"Yes, I’m annoying to people who annoy me."

"Tsk."

Regis then asked straightforwardly, "What do you want? I’m sure you know where my hometown is, so I don’t really like beating around the bush."

"About the Sanctuary of Gol—"

Just as Marzana was about to speak, Regis looked at her, "I’m not sure what you found out, but Aurelia was the one who resolved that issue when she controlled her gift."

"But I know that you played a major part in it." Marzana had a stubborn look in her eyes.

’This is my only chance, I can’t just let it go.’

And so, she spoke once again, "I want you to help me—"

"Not interested."

His outright refusal made Marzana’s hopeful eyes dimmer.

"Haaa, alrigh—"

Regis interrupted her once again, this time with a slight smile, "I’m an adventurer, not a good samaritan."

Marzana’s eyes widened as she quickly connected the dots, "Then, I want to employ you."

"Are you sure? Hiring an Expert Adventurer is quite expensive." Regis’s smirk widened a little bit.

The elven girl somewhat felt a foreboding sense of worry, but nonetheless said, "The price is not an issue."

"Then I’ll take that as you saying that you’re willing to pay any price as long as I helped you, right?"

"Yes."

Regis slowly stood up and smiled at her, handing her a card. "I’ll be taking your word for it, Your Royal Highness. You can visit this address tomorrow if you’re available."

He then approached the children, who were currently watching the game of chess between Pio and Fidel.

Marzana looked at the card for a while before putting it in her pocket and standing up, following Regis with her fists clenched, ’I have nothing to lose anyway...’

***

"You’re really good at this!"

The old human, Pio, praised loudly as he focused on the chessboard in front of him.

"Well, if I’m not good at chess despite living for hundreds of years, then I might as well die. Haha!"

Fidel, the young-looking old elf, chuckled heartily.

However, Pio looked at him, "Hey, easy with the jokes. There are children here."

"Oh, sorry..." Fidel replied as he covered his mouth.

He glanced around and saw the children of many races watching them with big, curious eyes.

However, his gaze landed back on the chessboard in front of him as he placed his focus back on their game.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

The chess pieces produced tapping sounds as the two reached the climax of their game.

Sweat trickled on Pio’s temple, while Fidel had a serious expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Regis and Marzana both watched quietly on the sides.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

The two people gradually slowed down as they took more time thinking in between moves.

Tap—!

And finally...

"Argh, I lost again!" Pio frustratedly caressed his long white beard.

Fidel heaved a sigh of relief, "You almost got me. You would’ve won if you didn’t make a blunder..."

"I’ll win the next game! Wanna grab something to eat first?" Pio scowled before looking at his playmate.

In fact, the two of them haven’t been friends for long.

They merely met each other in this very same spot in the center plaza, and became friends after repeated games of chess.

Fidel smiled, "Thought you’d never ask. By the way, our score is 78-35 now; you have some catching up to do."

"Oh, shut up. My score’s just half of yours."

"Not really..."

"Are you coming with me or not!?"

"Haha, let’s go."

Just as the two were about to leave, Pio looked at the children, as well as Regis and Marzana, "You young’uns can play some rounds while we eat."

"Just be sure not to lose the pieces." Fidel added, gazing at Marzana and giving her a subtle nod.

Regis smiled as well, "Thank you, Uncles."

Pio laughed, "Uncle? What a polite young man, I’m old enough to be your grandfather."

Fidel laughed even harder, "I know, right? I’m old enough to be his great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather. Though I can’t say I dislike this politeness of you humans."

"Whoa, Brother Regis, you know chess?" The beastkin boy practically had stars in his eyes.

Seeing the shining eyes of the children, Regis scratched his cheek, "I don’t..."

"Pfft—" Marzana was about to laugh when Regis glanced at her.

She sat on Fidel’s seat before she gestured, "Sit down, I’ll teach you."

Regis followed as he examined the chessboard with scattered pieces before him.

Then, with the children watching from the side, Marzana spoke, "Let’s start with the proper arrangement first. This piece is called the rook; it can move horizontally and vertically across the board. This one’s the knight..."

Regis placed his attention on her words as he followed her actions and arranged the sixteen pieces on the board.

After a minute or so, the chess pieces were already neatly arranged on the board.

"Let’s play a practice game first." Marzana suggested, to which Regis nodded, "Alright."

Tap— Tap— Tap—

The children watching from the side felt strange as they saw Marzana take Regis’s pieces one by one.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

"Checkmate."

Marzana’s calm voice resounded in the area, "The way of capturing the king and winning the game isn’t as simple as taking it. You need to put the enemy king in the position where it’s checked, but doesn’t have any way to escape."

"Hmmm, okay. I think I kind of understand the game now." Regis said with a nod.

Marzana smiled, "Let’s go for another round."

They arranged the pieces accordingly before beginning once again.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

"I think I’m kinda understanding it too..."

"Me too!"

"Ehh, really? It’s making me sleepy."

...

The children murmured amongst themselves while Regis and Marzana became absorbed in the game.

Some had interested gazes, while others began to doze off.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

The rhythmic sounds of the intricately carved wooden chess pieces resounded in the area.

However, one could see that Marzana’s brows began to furrow as her movements slowly started to increase in intervals.

She began glancing at Regis’s face, wanting to know if he was just tricking her.

’Is this really just his second game?’ She couldn’t help but think as her hand finally came to a halt.

Regis had a dumbfounded look on his face as he said, "EH? What do we do now?"

At that moment, the chessboard was in complete chaos.

It could be seen that all Regis had were some pawns, while the enemy still had a queen, a rook, a knight, along with some pawns.

"Stalemate."

Marzana then explained, "This is what happens when the king isn’t checked, but the player has no other moves. It’s essentially a draw."

"Oh..." Regis nodded with an enlightened look on his face.

After observing the chessboard for a little while, he looked at Marzana with bright eyes.

"Let’s go for another round again?"

Marzana felt something amiss, but her prideful self also did not want to end with a draw, "Sure."

’He’s new to the game. He must’ve caused the stalemate through luck.’ She said inwardly.

And so, the third round began.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

Fourth round.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

Fifth round.

Tap— Tap— Tap—!

"T-This can’t be..." Marzana’s eyes were shaking.

She was an elven royal. Chess had been a pastime for her since childhood.

It was a game that nobles and royals often played; she even had a tutor to help her memorize numerous strategies as well.

Even though she was hated by mana, her being good at chess was something she had been complimented on since she was a child.

"I-I lost three times in a row!? To a complete newbie nonetheless..."

Marzana could not believe it.

Regis, however, felt like a door to a completely new world had opened up to him, ’Chess is fun.’

"Wanna play another rou—"

"I don’t." Marzana interrupted him.