A few minutes later, a bewildered Sol was playing chess with Khali. The game was already underway and Khali seemed to be filled with glee as she set this up.

In the first place, where did she even get this? Was something Sol wondered as he watched the small crimson witch.

In the end, as confused as he was, Sol had a guess. But why guess when you could simply ask the culprit?

“So. Care to explain why we had to stop the discussion for you to go take a chessboard and come back?”

Khali's eyes were twinkling as she moved her piece. Her joy was for something else very different, “The mood! My dear friend. The mood! It’s a law that an evil mastermind's plan must be explained while moving chess pieces. Now come! I am ready.”

She looked at Sol up and down, “Sadly your clothes and the room are a little too bright but heh in a way this is even better. The prince filled with light is in fact an evil mastermind behind the scenes.”

“I say this is pretty cliche.”

“Well. Is there anything not cliche nowadays? So shut up and no whining. You are currently the evil prince about to reveal his mastermind plan to the audience in the most dramatic way possible. So now, we play.”

Sol had a headache just watching Khali move. He knew very well that once she became like this, there was no way to stop her.

‘Well…I guess one match won’t be bad?’

He had been so busy lately and the way things were going made him uneasy and fidgety. Every time his plan moved ahead, he was waiting for the sword of Damocles to drop.

Force brought counterforce and the more he tried to manipulate fate, the bigger it would be.

“You do know that as a prince I have been trained all my life in this, right? Don’t cry later on.”

“I have been living for nearly 100 times longer than you. Heh, trust me. I am no slouch. You will be the one who cries.”

“Bet?”

“Kay, what do you want?”

“Hum. If I win, you will work as a Maid again for a week and call me master.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you had such fetishes…No scratches that. I should have guessed. With Milia and all the maids you nailed.”

“Heh.”

“Okay. When I win, you will be my maid for a week as well.”

“...Butler you mean.”

“No no. My Maid.”

“You evil monster.”

Khali cackled, “Game?”

Sol shrugged as he took one of her pawns, “I am in.”

“Gah~ Okay. This is just the start.” She focused, “Now, would you mind sharing your evil genius master plan?”

“When you say it like this, I feel like I am the bad guy.”

“I mean. Wratharis may have been the one to declare the hostility but Lustburg was the one who baited them on it. Starting with Camelia’s Saint Fall. Everything started from there.”

A kingdom without a supreme daughter could not erect the Holy Barrier that served as the last bastion. So for other countries, attacking Lustburg at that moment would have been the best if Camelia had indeed lost their power.

Wratharis was merely the first one to rise to the bait.

“We are the victim you know. We threw the bait for the Wing of Freedom. Not our fault others fell for it. It’s like attacking a woman who is wearing sexy clothes for her husband or boyfriend.”

“Weird analogy. But whatever. Now, my evil plan. Fast.”

“My plan–”

“Evil plan.”

Sol simply took another of her pieces and continued, “ —Is honestly very simple.”

“Continue.”

“Though as the Blessed I am bestowed with Divine authority, having the cheer of the population is important. People are what run a kingdom. But as you know, the relationship between the citizen and Lustburg has been strained since Neptune’s era. Things got better during Mars’s era. But he died too soon and when Lilith took the throne. Well…It didn’t go well.”

Lilith had started with many handicaps and had never been as respected as a Queen as she was as a warrior. The population had been easily manipulated back then by the nobles and this created many small problems.

In the end, Lilith managed to work it out in a way. But one had to remember that from Neptune’s Era to Lilith’s and now his, the time that passed was ridiculously small. People from the time of Neptune were still alive and many feelings were still raw.

“This is why Lilith made all this plan with Camelia. Killing all nobles rebellious and I finished this plan recently by killing off the nobles who refused to pay taxes or increased the taxes too much on the citizens. You could say that Lustburg is as clean as it could ever be.”

“But…”

“It isn’t enough. We dealt with the top but the bottom is still crooked. The perception people have of me is not good. Being closed in a tower for years didn’t help and now this war. People are not stupid. Well…They are. But they can be pretty smart when they smell complot.”

“So you decided to smear your reputation?”

“I don’t have much reputation to begin with. Giving them the cord they need to hang themselves is the best way. The Crown’s shadows are moving the rumors, slowly but surely and soon…”

“A reversal.”

“Heheh. The more they doubt me now, the more they will be sorry for me afterward as they need to prove that they are not traitor who unjustly insulted the king. Well, in the end, this is just a small game. My reputation will take a dive when the true alliance with the witches is announced. So might as well dive now.”

Khali whistled quietly and looked at Sol with new eyes, “All you need now is a book and a pen or wing-shaped pupils and I would call you mastermind sama.”

“Do not forget the music background and the rain alongside the roar of Thunder.”

“Heh. How could you? Add some deep evil laugh and the picture would be perfect.”

The two laughed a little. In a world where few people could get their jokes, talking to each other always made them happy.

This was a special moment for them where they could chat and relax.

***

The game was continuing and Khali, while having taken a few pieces from Sol, was having a hard time.

Even so, the prospect of losing did not dampen her current amusement. If Khali still had her morality from Earth, she would have seen Sol as an evil bastard in the truest sense and may have even insulted him.

Sadly, Khali, despite her appearance, was no kind-hearted soul. She had been ready to join the Wing of Freedom and Blast lustburg just to find a way for the curse. This was one of the reasons she was friends with Sol.

He was not a goody two shoes who used useless morality. He may not be a realistic monster but he could do anything for those he cared about. He would never betray them for his pride or some greater good bullshit.

Only such a man was worthy of her sisters. Only such a man would do something as crazy as having a physical relationship with beings who sucked out your life. No matter how nearly immortal you may be. You needed a very special mindset for this.

‘Sometimes, I forget this guy has not even entered this world for two decades.’

She heard that Sol was just a university student on earth but she was starting to call this bullshit. He honestly felt even more like a resident of this world than her.

“Don’t daydream and say you lost because you weren’t paying attention.”

Khali groaned as she came back to the harsh reality of the massacre that was occurring on the chessboard. Sol was toying with her. Making her slowly shrink her defense and take down her piece one at a time.

‘Truly a sadistic bastard.’

“Still, I never deemed you to be such a strategist.”

“So you mean you only saw me as some mindless brute?”

She looked at him with a funny look. As if asking. Really? Do you want me to answer that?

“Can you blame me? Your solution when fighting is basically tanking and hitting back until you win.”

“Ouch, no need to answer, I could already see it on your face.”

Sol sighed. It was difficult to change the formula that won. However, ever since he got his Zone, he became less of a brawler.

“Honestly, I am not a strategist. Someone like Bai Hu, or Clara and Athena are. They are very smart and in a straight army vs army against them, I would most likely lose 8 out of 10.”

This was the simple truth. He had been trained as a general for the military but this was where it stopped. He was no genius.

“The difference between them and me is that they must deduce and adapt. Meanwhile, I simply have to read the thread. This is the difference between someone playing blind and someone having 60% or 80% of the answers”

“Not 100%”

Sol gave a small smile as he moved the chess piece on the board, “The day I can see 100% might be the day I await the most and the day I dread the most.”

Even now, the world in his eyes was changing, shifting. Like a long river, like the trunk of a large tree. The strings that were attached to everything and the sounds of gears turning as if a machine was regulating everything.

Sol did not show it on his face but…It was maddening.

What would it feel like to be truly omniscient? To know everything that could happen and would ever happen before they even happened.

Sol could not imagine it but he thought…

“This might be a very boring life filled with madness. Check.”

“Ah…”

Khali groaned before chuckling, her King piece was currently made in check by the Queen piece of Sol, “You timed this so perfectly. So now; what should the King do since it’s in check?”

“Ideally surrender. Though the King is in check he can still escape, chances are narrow. Surrender might at least give a peaceful and respectable death. Thankfully, the King this time is pretty stupid.”

“Oh. Are you talking about me or a metaphor?”

“Guess.”

He laughed and they continued to play, “Honestly, the Queen could checkmate the King any time. Sadly this would mean more chess matches and more sacrifice I am not ready yet for. Furthermore…Some intruder might act.”

“Oh…An acquaintance of mine?”

“I do not know. I cannot see that far. This is mildly surprising but not so much as a deduction is possible. Either way…”

He took his king piece and started fiddling with it as he watched the board, his eyes glimmering slightly.

“It’s time for the King on this side to move.”

“...So, it’s finally time…”

“Indeed. The war has lasted long enough. The pawns, the two knights, and even the rooks and a Bishop all moved to reach this particular result.”

Sol looked at the two rooks. They were very surprising. Both the White Knight and Nuwa had brought good things in this war. Aurora was also a very good surprise. Clearly, he would not have to threaten her more for the time being.

“What about the last bishop? Will it stay in defense? It seems like it’s the only piece that was not used at all.”

“No…”

Sol looked at the remaining bishop with hesitation. His relationship with her had been slowly going back to normal and stabilizing after their discussion when Lilith escaped.

But because of the war, he had been living in his office. Thankfully, Milia would sometimes help him “relax” in some interesting and let’s say very imaginative way.

“I guess before moving the King needs to visit the Bishop.”

“Visiting, heheh…”

Sol ignored the very obscene movement Khali was making with her fingers and finally moved his last piece,

“Checkmate.”

Khali looked down and exploded in laughter, “I am pretty sure that there are no rules in this game that say two knights, one rock and one King can surround another king like this.”

Sol stood and patted Khali’s head, “Nowadays…I believe making the rules is much better than simply following them.”

He started walking, “Also, I already had you check mate you one move ago. So, I didn’t cheat.”

“Hah…”

Khali could indeed see that.

“Your maid uniform is still ready. See you later.”

Khali once again laughed. This had truly been a spectacular defeat.

She wondered if the King of Wratharis would be able to laugh like her.