Three days passed in the blink of an eye, but I never stopped playing chess with Stella.

Every day, I called her to play, continuing until she could definitely beat me, and until I was certain she had broken the habit of relying too heavily on her queen.

However, it seemed Stella found this a bit strange.

"…Does doing this really have any meaning?"

"Of course."

"I feel like I should be training instead of wasting time on this."

"Ah, but that’s where you’re mistaken."

This wasn't a game where you gained fixed stats just by training. Real strength requires time. Trying to rush and overexert yourself in training can backfire, leaving you injured or worse. It was more important to train her mindset.

"Do you really think you can achieve dramatic growth in just three days? You’re not the protagonist of some comic book."

"…I guess you’re right."

"Instead, teaching you strategy through chess might actually be more beneficial."

Well, she might not be the protagonist of a comic, but she is the protagonist of a game. No need to mention that, though.

"Your opponent will have a significant advantage over you."

"I figured as much."

"But don’t worry. You’ll come to understand this as you continue playing chess…"

With a clack, I took Stella’s isolated rook and smiled.

"No matter how weak a piece is, if it has allies supporting it, it can become stronger than anything."

"…And the next thing you’re going to say is, no matter how strong a piece is, if it has no allies, it becomes weak, right?"

"Ah, how did you know?"

"I’ve heard it countless times over the past three days. Check."

"?!"

My momentary satisfaction at capturing her rook was cut short. In the meantime, Stella had moved her pieces to surround my king, turning the tide against me.

Wait, how did that happen?!

Frantically, I moved my pieces around, trying to find an escape route, but every move only brought me closer to defeat.

Realizing I had no more viable moves, I hung my head.

"I… lost."

"That was a good match."

Ugh, ever since that first defeat, I haven’t been able to beat her no matter what I try… I guess it’s because she knows more about the game now. At this point, I can’t even keep up, let alone win.

Instead of feeling humiliated, I just felt admiration for her progress.

"Teacher Ophelia."

"Yes?"

"I know this might be a ridiculous request… but could I ask for one favor?"

"You’re asking for help, aren’t you?"

"…How did you know?"

"Come on, we’ve known each other for a while. Of course I’d know."

Even though Stella had mellowed out recently, she had never been one to hesitate or stumble over her words. The fact that she was acting like this now made it obvious what she wanted.

"I’ll help. I can’t ignore my cute students, after all."

"…Thank you, Teacher Ophelia."

"Don’t mention it."

In truth, I had planned on helping her anyway. If I stayed out of it, I wouldn’t be able to respond quickly if something unexpected happened. Although I trusted the students, it was always wise to be prepared for the worst. Being in a position to intervene was important.

The only problem was that I wasn’t strong enough to offer help directly, but fortunately, Stella was the one to ask first. Maybe I had earned her trust through my actions so far, which made me feel pretty good.

"Though, I might not be much help in a fight. You know how weak I am."

"That’s fine. Even just offering advice when things get dangerous will be enough. The rest of us can handle it."

"Alright then, shall we get going?"

I glanced at the clock.

…It was time.

Time for Stella to face her final trial.

If we could get through this safely, I would finally see the future I’d been hoping for—a future where the children weren’t trapped in the pain of their past but could live freely, playing and laughing together.

"You’ve arrived, sister. I’ll commend you for not running away."

"I don’t run."

"…Yes, I suppose not. You’ve always been like that. Your unnecessary confidence is your one redeeming feature."

"And your unnecessary secrecy is yours, brother."

In the same place where they had first met, the two siblings from the imperial family stood, exchanging sharp words.

"I didn’t think you’d manage to gather people to help you, with that personality of yours."

"…And yet you brought the elite of the imperial family’s forces, just as expected. Have you no shame?"

"You should recognize that I’m still showing you mercy, dear sister. If I had brought the full force of the imperial family, you wouldn’t stand a chance."

"Hmph. You didn’t hold back for my sake, but rather to avoid the gossip that would follow. Don’t try to act noble."

"Even if that’s true, what does it matter? People only care about appearances."

But his attention soon shifted. The prince glanced at the people gathered behind Stella, then let out a laugh, as if in disbelief.

"Well now, I didn’t expect you to bring someone who’s recently ascended to the position of high priest."

"What, is that a problem?"

"It’s not a problem, per se… but it’s certainly shrewd."

Even though any deaths here would be the result of a legal duel, and no one could question the outcome, what would happen if the person who died was the one keeping the church’s turmoil in check? Even if it was legal, the resulting controversy would be massive. If nothing else, the one person he couldn’t afford to kill was her.

He didn’t doubt his chances of winning, but the thought that Stella might use the high priest as a shield began to make the prince anxious.

"Do you intend to use her as a shield to escape?"

"Only a pig would think of something like that. I have no desire to live as disgracefully as you, brother."

"Well, I’m glad to hear that."

Luckily for him, Stella had no such plans. She’d rather die than live in disgrace like that.

"So, I suppose this is farewell, sister. It’s been fun."

"Ha. That’s my line."

With that, the two, who barely seemed like family, spat final insults at each other and made their way to the designated battlefield.

"Your family doesn’t seem to get along very well," I said.

"Noble and royal families rarely do. The positions are limited, but the people are many. Competing for them naturally drives them apart."

"…Do you think you can win?"

"I’m not sure. I’ve never beaten that damn brother of mine before."

Stella had always been confident and bold, but in truth, she was too straightforward. That’s why, except for a few rare occasions, she had never won against her brother.

She had even lost at chess, the game she was most proud of, repeatedly falling into his traps. It wasn’t just chess, though—she had lost political battles, too, which had led her to the academy in the first place.

Even now, she couldn’t say with certainty that she would win.

"But I do believe that the Stella of today is very different from the one back then."

However, that was all before she came to the academy.

Since arriving at the academy, Stella had gone through many experiences. In just half a year, she had grown enough to completely change her outlook on life.

In that short period, she had faced many challenges she never imagined before.

She had even made friends, something she had never thought possible.

She had even managed to beat me at chess, a game where she had once struggled.

So, she was confident that this time she wouldn’t be defeated as easily as before.

"So don’t worry. As long as you all give it your best, we can win."

"I’m not worried at all."

"Alright, alright. Let’s get ready then. I’ll start casting buffs soon."

Stella’s reinforcement magic was unique. Instead of simply enhancing a person’s abilities, she assigned each person a specific role, then amplified their stats based on that role.

That was why she had asked for Teacher Ophelia’s help, despite her lack of combat abilities.

To bring out her magic’s full power, she needed at least six people.

Without hesitation, Stella began assigning roles to her allies.

"Aileen, you’ll be the rook. Anastasia, the bishop."

"Fair enough."

"I’ll be the queen, and Teacher, you’ll be the king."

"Understood."

"Teacher, you’re too weak for direct combat. I’ll give you a buff, but you should avoid stepping in unless absolutely necessary."

"I understand."

Everyone accepted their assigned roles, as it had been discussed beforehand.

…Everyone, except one.

"Orca, you’ll be the knight. Leo, you’ll be the pawn."

"Got it, leave it to me."

"But I wanted to be the knight…"

"You agreed to follow my instructions, didn’t you? …Please."

"…Alright, I get it."

I knew Leo had dreamed of being the knight, but I had no choice. There was a more important role for him to play.

Thankfully, he only grumbled a little before accepting it.

"Alright, let’s begin."

Their opponents, including her brother, numbered sixteen in total, while they only had six.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, Stella smiled.

She didn’t feel like she was going to lose.

"Normally, the pawn moves first, but…"

Right now, they only had one pawn.

In that case, there was no harm in starting with the stronger pieces.