"This was the mistake that cost you the game." Fiona quickly rearranged the position from memory and showed Cato just how greedy his rook move was.

"The engine will be able to tell for sure, but overall I agree." Cato nodded. "I should've waited a few more turns with that."

"If I had to share my honest opinion," Fiona said. "No offense, but your skills have dulled."

"Did they?" Cato smiled wryly. "Maybe you just became that much better this year."

"I don't believe that's the case. At the very least, I haven't had an easier time against anybody else in particular. However, matches against you have been disappointing as of late."

"Haha, harsh..." Cato tried to shrug it off with a laugh, but he couldn't deny that Fiona’s words pierced through his chest like a knife.

So, what did this mean, exactly? That, instead of getting closer to his ultimate goal of beating Fiona, he was only drifting farther and farther away. And worst of all, he felt that too even without Fiona saying that in his face. 

"It seems that managing a competitive team is taking its toll on you."

"I guess it does." Cato sighed amd threw his back at the comfy sofa. "It's no easy job, especially now that we have a scrimmage every other week. I'm busier than ever. We have to review every enemy team, strategize against them, and then practice all these strategies. There's no end to the amount of work."

"Sounds rough." Fiona nodded in understanding.

"Heh, weakling." Karen lifted her chin. "Sis is also a captain now but she doesn't make excuses like that."

"Karen." Fiona placed a hand on her sister's head as always.

"Meow~" Karen rubbed her head against the hand like a kitten. It almost made her look cute, if not for the rest of her personality.

"Speaking of being a captain," Cato said. "How is your fresh team doing? I heard you finally got approval to play at the regionals?" 

"Yes, that we did."

"And here I thought it was a lost cause. Didn't they say it was too late to apply with a new team at this point?"

"It was just a matter of their personal convenience," Fiona said. "They have already started preparing for the upcoming season, so they didn't want to make any last-moment adjustments. Lazy of them, if you ask me. The sport is far from thriving in our region, so they should be thankful for any additional talent they can get their hands on."

"I'm with you there." Cato nodded. "To be honest, I'm even more surprised that your school allowed you to form a Mancers club. I was sure that 'video gaming' is as far as you can possibly get from the image of a 'proper lady', or whatever they’re preaching there."

"Times are changing," Fiona explained. "Sports were traditionally considered a men's activity, but nowadays it is not politically correct to disregard women's sports. Even an old-fashioned school like ours has no choice but to adapt to the times, or else they will hear complaints." 

"For real, though." Karen spat a sigh. "I wish they hurried up with that 'adaptation' thingy. This school is like a fossil."

"Don't say that." Fiona patted the cat's head. "It's a prestigious school with a long history."

"More like, it’s stuck in history." Karen pouted for a moment, but soon dropped the topic in favor of rubbing her head against her sister's hand.

"All in all," Fiona said. "Things are proceeding smoothly on my end. We successfully arranged three scrimmages, one of which is against your team."

"Oh, so Rodriguez pulled through, huh."

"Yes, he was very helpful throughout the entire process," Fiona said. "As the only middle school coach in our region, and one who consistently delivers his team to the nationals, his words carry considerable weight. I'm very thankful for his hard work."

Well duh, of course he'd work hard. Cato snickered. I bet there was a fine sum involved in the process.

Fiona, or maybe her father, must've come forth with a juicy offer in order to convince Rodriguez to join this expedition. After all, Coach already had his hands full managing the Leopards and the gigantic club, so he shouldn’t have time for anything else.

And yet, Rodriguez agreed to serve as Fiona's personal coach and even negotiated with the tournament organizers to enter Fiona’s team into the regionals. Surely, no adult man would go to such lengths without appropriate compensation.

Well, I'm sure part of it is passion. Cato gave credit where credit was due.

Rodriguez wasn't some clout-chasing coach who only cared about crowning his personal team as the champions. He genuinely cared about the competitive scene in the region and worked to promote it at any opportunity. Therefore, adding a prestigious girls' school like St. Mary to the competitive scene must've been an appealing opportunity for him, regardless of any potential cash involved.

Of course, Fiona deserved much of the credit as well. This girl successfully convinced her father that Classmancers was a legitimate modern sport, and she somehow pressured for old-fashioned school into allowing a Classmancers club to exist. As always, It felt like this girl could achieve anything she set her mind to. Truly, a human from a higher plane of existence.

Then again, with enough money and the right connections, nothing is impossible.

As a renowned politician, Fiona's father could make many unthinkable things happen thanks to his reputation alone. Fiona merely had to introduce herself as the man's daughter and people would roll out a red carpet for her. Indeed, the nickname "princess" sounded quite fitting here.

"So, you'll have a scrim against us, huh." Cato smiled impishly. "Don't worry, we'll go easy on you." 

"No need for that," Fiona asserted. "By the time we get to face you, our team will already be at a national level."

"My, that's quite the declaration. Is your team filled with a bunch of geniuses?" 

"Not at all. I simply believe that, as long as our team trains hard enough, it will reach that level. You do not have to be a ‘genius’ to get results."

If only real life was that simple. Cato smiled wryly. There are plenty of people out there who don't achieve their goals no matter how hard they work. Then again, I guess a true genius wouldn't understand the struggles of us commoners.

There was no chance that Fiona Landberht, the natural-born genius, would relate to the struggles of normal people. She was the type to succeed in anything she tried her hand in, no matter how difficult it was or how many such activities she was busy with at the same time.

Even now, she was active in track-and-field and volleyball at school, as well as practiced piano and chess. She also apparently had regular swimming lessons, alongside other fitness activities. And, these were only the things Cato was aware of. Who knew what else Fiona squeezed into her packed schedule.

On top of all that, she recently set her eyes on Classmancers as well. This girl was like a machine. She was a master of both sports and strategy, the kind of perfect being that wasn't allowed to exist in this world.

Whenever she claims she can do something, it always feels like she'll definitely achieve that goal, no matter how unrealistic it seems. Cato thought. So, she’s right. I better not take her lightly just because her team is filled with greenhorns. She might catch me off guard.

Of course, Cato didn't really believe that a player with less than one year’s worth of experience would pose a real challenge to the Leopards. Nevertheless, a little bit of extra caution never hurt. There was no question that Fiona Landberht wasn't a girl to be underestimated, regardless of her experience.

"So," Cato continued the conversation, hoping to distract his opponent some more during the game. "What's your impression of Mancers so far?"

"It's an interesting game," Fiona said as she shot a strong move that stumped Cato on the spot.

She isn't losing her focus at all! Cato ranted internally. In fact, it felt like Cato’s performance was the one that dropped the most during the conversation. My, what an ironic example of 'you reap what you sow'. Well, no matter. At least, I can use the chit-chat to distract myself from this agony.

"So, you like Mancers more than Chess?" 

"Hard to say," Fiona answered. "They're completely different games. But, Classmancers does demand an acceptable combination of study, practice, and skill in order to master it. In that regard, I fully understand how it became a competitive game."

"That's right!" Karen tuned in. "It's one heck of a deep game! Sis and I gonna master it and win nationals this year!"

"You'll try," Cato retorted with a smirk. "Honesty, I expect much more from Fiona who just picked the game, than from you who’s been playing it for years."

"What was that!?" Karen shot him a glare, but soon relaxed after giving it some more thought. "Well, of course sis is amazing at anything she does. I'm sure she'll reach pro-level in no time, so yeah, I guess I kinda agree with that."

"My, no faith in your own skill?"

"Of course I got skill," Karen asserted. "Enough skill to beat some kids' team like the Leopards."

“My, the slander.”

“Just you watch, we’ll mop the floor with you!” Karen asserted. “You’re small fry for sis. She gonna reach pro level real soon.”

"These are very high expectations." Fiona smiled softly as she patted her sister's head. "I doubt my level will reach that of a professional player in just a year. However, within the realm of rivaling other players my age, I am quite sure I can reach the top."

"My, such confidence. Keep in mind there are some scary players even at our age," Cato warned. "Even at our very club, we got one guy who is... special, for the lack of a better word."

"Yes, I've heard about the Korean transfer student," Fiona said. "According to Rodriguez, he can hold his own against C-League professionals."

"Indeed, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. In the few times we got to scrim against pros, that guy actually gave them a hard time. He’s something else." 

"From what I have heard of his backstory, I do not think I will be able to reach his level in a single year. Apparently, he has been working himself to the bone for many years to reach his current level."

"That's what I’ve heard too." Cato shrugged. "I dunno how brutal the training regime in Korea is, but the guy is definitely a beast. There's even one very proud player on our team who really hates losing to others, but even he had to admit the Korean player is on a whole different level."

"Heh, no problem!" Karen grinned. "By the time we get to the regionals, sis will be ten times better than that Korean dude!"

"I appreciate the faith you have in me.”

"Real talk though," Karen said. "I still can't believe sis and I gonna compete together in a video game of all things. I never thought you'd give them a try."

"Admittedly, due to the way I was raised, I have never held video games in high regard," Fiona explained. "I was taught that video games are a cheap form of entertainment that solely exists to lure kids into spending all their time and money. As such, I always imagined video games as some evil creature that wanders around, tempting kids into braindead fun in order to suck dry their souls and wallets."

"My, that's quite the image." Cato giggled. The picture Fiona painted was entertaining enough on its own, but Cato had even more fun imagining a small Fiona living with that image in her head.

A small and honest little girl, traversing through the foggy darkness all by herself. Behind her, a cackling wrinkly wizard chasing her, his words echo throughout the area: "Come play this video game, little girl~" Truly, it was a thing of nightmares~

"Little by little," Fiona continued. "My opinion on video games started changing after I watched Karen play them."

"Mhm." Karen puffed her chest. "That's right, I'm the one who introduced sis to the fun world of video gaming!" She was really proud of herself for some reason.

"That's true, though I still do not play them much," Fiona said. "I simply do not have time to get into them."

Imagine a middle schooler saying they have no time to play video games. Cato shook his head. Worst of all, it’s 100% true in her case. I don’t know where she even finds the time to BREATHE with her schedule.

"You could say Classmancers is the first video game I am seriously getting into. Karen fervently recommended it and you picked it up as well. And, also..."

"Yuel plays it too," Cato completed the sentence for her. "Admit it, you started Mancers just to get back at him~"

"Not at all," Fiona said evenly. There were no visible cracks in her stoic expression, so it was hard to tell whether it was a lie or not.

But, my gut is telling me I'm on the money here. Cato snickered. She got extra interested in the game after I mentioned Yuel was also playing it.

Throughout Fiona Landberht's impressive chess career, there was one stain she couldn't wipe away no matter how hard she tried. It was her infamous match against Yuel, a one-in-a-million incident in which she lost her cool and cracked under pressure.

For this proud lady who held composure in the highest regard, losing herself during a match was perhaps the highest degree of disgrace. And, Yuel was the one lucky opponent who drove her into that dark corner, tearing her apart limb by limb.

Naturally, being the sore loser she was, Fiona sought revenge against that offender. She practiced, practiced, and practiced some more, aiming to improve tremendously for their inevitable rematch... that never came.

In the following year, Yuel became a completely changed man. His interest no longer laid with chess and he didn't even reach the finals that year. Needless to say, Fiona was fuming over the fact. No matter how hard she tried to conceal her true feelings on the matter, it was clear as day to Cato.

After all, I felt it on my own flesh that day. She lashed hard at me. Cato smiled wryly as he recalled the finals from that day. It was a massacre, pure and simple.

Fiona one-sidedly mopped the floor with Cato on that day. It was a tale of horrors.

All the pent-up frustration Fiona accumulated throughout the year came gushing out, sweeping Cato away like a tsunami. He almost considered quitting chess after that crushing defeat. In fact, that soul-crushing experience was probably what gave him the push to pursue Classmancers more seriously, for it was an alternative for satisfying his competitive fix.

Anyway, that was the entire tale of Fiona's revenge story. Or, more correctly, it was a tale about undelivered revenge. In the end, Fiona never got a chance to enact revenge on her target. And, she pretty much lost the chance to do so forever that day.

Yuel openly stated he was going to focus on Classmancers from there onward, which explained why his chess skills fell so flat that day. And, his skill might never improve in the future, not as long as he was so deeply invested in Classmancers.

In that sense, Fiona will never be able to get “true” revenge on him anymore. She'll never get to face Yuel at his peak. The guy became a shadow of his former self after getting into Classmancers. At present, he was nothing more than a lowly being who wasn't worth Fiona's time.

And so, Fiona had to find another way to deliver that pending revenge. And, what better way was there to get revenge than to beat the guy at his own game? That's why the Landberht Princess was now trying her hand at Classmancers.

At least, that's the way I see it. Cato smiled impishly. Even if I’m only half correct on this, I’m still very proud of myself for how much oil I added to this fire~

Cato felt like a puppeteer, manipulating Fiona into joining the Classmancers scene. And now, the proud queen found herself as an amateur in a complex game where Cato was already an expert.

It's time for my sweet sweet revenge, muhaha! Cato barely held back his laughter. Finally, he got the chance to compete against Fiona in something other than chess. He'll drag that amateur through the mud in front of everybody! It’ll be so fun~

At long last, Cato will make up for all the years he suffered under the queen’s merciless reign in chess. She had no power in Classmancers! Muhaha! 

"Checkmate."

"Geh..." Cato's shoulder slumped. It was a nice dream he had there. But for now, in the real world, he was still under Fiona’s heel when they competed in chess.

Regardless, the tables will turn once they face off in Classmancers! There, Cato will be the bully~