"Let us begin then."

The original name of the tactical game was 'Imuran Yute Mesis.' A complex and lengthy name derived from archaic words, few ever pronounced it correctly.

The game's pieces consisted of eight types, twenty-four in total. When played by two people, most often two types would be excluded, leaving six types with eighteen pieces. Yuder surveyed the set before him: a king, a general, a minister, a knight, a priest, and a common piece.

Made from smoothly polished stones with wave-like patterns, Yuder had handled these pieces multiple times in his previous life, when he had learned the game.

When Kishiar left his position as Commander to go to Peletta, he had left most of his belongings in his office, including these pieces. Yuder subsequently tucked the unused game board into a drawer, never to take it out again as Kishiar never took his position again.

It was strange how, even though these were certainly the first pieces he had touched in this new life, they still felt familiar in his hands.

White and black pieces. The view of the Commander's office where they both sat facing each other. And Kishiar La Orr before him. Everything was both the same and different.

Yuder moved a piece. As he advanced a common piece, Kishiar also lifted his hand and moved his white common piece. The graceful way Kishiar held the piece, the expressionless look on his face until he placed it down, everything was as Yuder remembered.

'Yes... you may not know, but I do.'

How Kishiar initiated the game to lightly gauge his opponent's intentions. Which pieces he used under what circumstances. How he moved each type of piece. Yuder knew it all.

Information gleaned from the countless games he had played with Kishiar resurfaced in his mind, one by one. Without hesitation, Yuder dove back into those familiar patterns.

Snap. The white piece Kishiar placed was promptly captured by Yuder's black piece. Then, another white piece behind it attempted to seize the opportunity through sacrifice. But even that move was anticipated, and the black piece gracefully dodged it.

Though Kishiar seemed to take his time placing his pieces, Yuder barely hesitated as he swiftly countered each move. As a result, the game progressed unusually quickly.

After losing three pieces in quick succession, Kishiar finally paused and slowly spoke, his eyes fixed on the board.

"This… You’re not thinking about tactics and strategy before moving, aren’t you?"

His gaze shifted to Yuder's hand, and then to his face.

"It seems more like you're anticipating my moves and countering accordingly."

For a moment, a thrilling sensation coursed through Yuder's heart.

'As expected.'

He had believed that Kishiar La Orr could discern the hidden truth from this game alone.

Hiding his rapidly beating heart, Yuder tightened his grip on his piece.

"Would you like to concede defeat?"

"No. That's not an option."

Kishiar placed a new piece. The piece landed on the board with a click, its orientation subtly different from before.

"Let's see how you respond to this move, shall we?"

This time, Kishiar made an unusual move with his priest piece—a piece that traditionally stayed between the king and the general and scarcely moved until the game's latter half. It was as if he had thrown out this piece to see how well Yuder could read him, employing a tactic he wouldn't usually use.

‘True, the usual Kishiar would never play such a move.’

A typical person might have assumed that Kishiar had recklessly played a suicidal move and would immediately take advantage of the opening by advancing other pieces. But Yuder did the opposite. He also deployed his priest piece, positioning it to protect the other pieces on the board.

‘If I had advanced, I would've been captured instantly. I already know he's adept at using his priest piece when pretending to be careless, all the while hiding a knife behind his back.’

A faint smile crossed Kishiar's lips when he realized Yuder had once again seen through his move.

"So you've figured this out as well. Then…"

All of a sudden, Kishiar's pieces began to move haphazardly across the board. The movement seemed random, as if meant solely to create chaos. Half the moves appeared genuinely thoughtless, like they were just to sow confusion, while the other half were deceptive moves with hidden intent. The board became as chaotic as if played by children learning the game for the first time.

From that moment on, Yuder also took more time to think about his moves. The number of his black pieces being captured by the white pieces began to increase. Yuder briefly exhaled, watching his black pieces fall one after another to Kishiar's rapidly moving hand.

‘Creating chaos to keep me from reading his strategy makes his task doubly difficult. Yet, he's managed this far.’

Should he credit that to Kishiar being Kishiar? Although the odds were clearly in Yuder's favor, he felt a hint of peril. Kishiar's skill at quickly swinging the board's momentum in his favor was indeed remarkable. Had Yuder shown even a trace of confusion or made an error, he might have lost control of the game.

‘But… that can't be a reason for me to lose.’

Yuder meticulously recalled how Kishiar played in their previous games and matched his moves accordingly. No matter how chaotic the board became, the strategy was still fundamentally Kishiar's.

The answer was definitely in his memory.

The black pieces advanced unabated across the chaotic board. The two sets of pieces, facing off and baring their teeth, seemed almost mirror images of each other.

After Yuder effortlessly captured the chaotic pieces, Kishiar was left with too few pieces to turn the tide. The most straightforward path to victory was now clear: capture Kishiar's last remaining king piece, called "Imum."

Yuder toppled Kishiar's king piece and declared the end.

"I declare victory."

"How unfortunate."

Kishiar smiled and dropped his last remaining common piece. Yuder furrowed his brow, realizing that if that piece had moved as planned, it would have taken his own Imum, his king piece.

"When did that piece get there?"

Even if Yuder lost a king, it couldn't compare to Kishiar losing both his. But if this were a real war, it wouldn't have been an entirely satisfying victory, having lost one of his king pieces.

Yuder silently gazed at the man before him who had managed to get this far in a situation where he was at a disadvantage, facing an opponent who seemed to read him all too well, and on top of that, without having slept properly. Kishiar broke the silence, his tone tinged with jest.

"Shouldn't you be happier about winning?"

It was his first victory in this game, but he hadn't won by fighting his way; he didn't start the game to win in the first place. Therefore, he had no reason to be jubilant.

"You of all people know that I didn't truly fight," Yuder retorted.

Kishiar responded with a silent chuckle.

"In the second round, we'll use special pieces."

Yuder sorted the two sets of pieces by color once more. This time, the board was rotated so that the white tiles came to him and the black tiles went to Kishiar. Before starting the game, each placed their tiles in their respective positions and secretly selected a special piece.

Yuder picked one of the standard tiles and designated it as a special piece, then set it back in place.

'Kishiar's special piece will most likely be the knight tile,' he thought.

The second game commenced.

"Not applying the special piece rule in the first round was your way of showing how well you understand all this, wasn't it?" Kishiar made the first move, his piece meeting the board with a small clack.

"You know exactly how I play this game, don't you?"

"Yes," Yuder acknowledged, sending his own piece out to meet Kishiar's. Clack.

"That's a separate matter from skill," he added. Clack.

"If you already know your enemy, you won't struggle," Kishiar declared. Clack.

"Yes. And that dream is similar to this for me," Yuder spoke up. Silence.

Kishiar's fingertips, which were to move the next piece, hesitated for a moment. Yuder kept his gaze fixed on the piece in front of him as he continued speaking.

"The dream you saw signifies the end of a game I lost. Are you not going to make your next move?"

"...I was momentarily contemplating a clever move," Kishiar finally said, his fingers picking up a piece and placing it gently on the board. Yet the sound of the tile meeting the board this time was softer, almost inaudible.

Without waiting, Yuder quickly grabbed his own piece and moved it. Clack.

"I may not be very good at games, but I've never lost the same way twice. I intend to keep it that way this time as well," Yuder declared.

Kishiar picked up a new tile, and with a slow motion, his fingers let out another soft clack as he placed it on the board.

"...But you have lost before."

"Nobody wins every game they play," Yuder countered.

"The way you played earlier, it was the way of someone accustomed to it after overcoming numerous defeats," Kishiar lifted his head.

"That's my way," he affirmed.