OOO

"Afterall we are nothing more or less than what we choose to reveal"- Francis Underwood

OOO

(Masamune pov)

Damn! We are rich! Well, I already knew that but damn! We have a mansion in every arcology even if they are smaller than the one in Tokyo.

The servants get to utilize it as they can better take care of it unless one of our family will be visiting, they usually stay in the guestrooms or servant quarters, it doesn't need too many servants since there are droids here to take care of it.

The next day already came so we started exploring some points of interest in this archeology since we had a few days before the candidate tournament begins which will be followed by the world chess championship.

It was interesting seeing and seeing all the attractions here, but nonetheless, it was soon time for the tournament.

We entered the big hall where the matches will take place, to qualify the participant had to have above 1600 Melo in their online chess account, thankfully both me and shouri had around 2400, which did shock the person responsible for registering.

Thankfully they were already informed, we will be participating and it wasn't weird to see kids here, I could already spot some kids around twelve-year-olds, but the shocking factor came mostly because I and my sister were five years old.

We were both then successfully registered, tomorrow the rounds will start and soon we did, we were both placed in different rooms, and we were given headsets which according to them they will monitor and record our matches to prevent creating.

The matches are as follows, there will be 20 minutes time limit per person, the person defeated will leave and the person who won will stay, if no tie happened then will be given a ten minutes break before the next match begins.

In total there would only be fourteen people selected for the World chees Championship, so only fourteen rooms were available, there were two extra spots but they were only reserved for the previous World Champion and the winner of the losing bracket that will be decided by next week.

At first, the matches were a bit fun yet predictable but it soon got boring, so my matches' pace was rapidly increasing, each room would get around 112 matches in total by the end of the week, thus 16 matches per day per room.

Obviously, it would have taken a lot of time, like approximately 8 hours but shouri and I agreed to at least wait two hours before trying to speedrun them, unless we found an interesting opponent...

Which we both unfortunately didn't find by the first day, we both finished around ten minutes of each other since we informed each other how close we were to finishing the quota for the day.

The people outside at first thought we were defeated which I saw both made them relieve and also disappointed, as only three hours have passed, they felt relieved because they already heard how difficult we were from the people who lost and disappointed because they wanted to at least try playing against us once.

 They quickly found out though, our matches were already finished for the day, as an announcement rang outside, to not disturb the matches in the other room, they were very shocked.

especially considering how long it has been, some did try to complain if we cheated or not but the staff members responsible already clarified we did indeed have sixteen matches.

Soon the week went by, and we usually finished around three hours, as by that point people already gotten used to it, but it has already caused ripples in their hearts, for the competition made them wanna have a match with us, some even wanted a rematch after we finished, we sometimes accepted if they were deemed competitive or skilled enough.

The weak-willed, they only stared with jealous eyes, but they could only complain about how unfair life is as if they did anything drastic, forget about the association behind this tournament, our mom absolutely wouldn't spare them, I shivered a bit because of that thought and I pity the fool who would ever try it.

We already met the other fourteen participants, some were dubious but didn't express anything negative surprisingly most of them only appeared to be praising us, but that didn't stop them from stating how they are looking forward to playing with the next generation of chess grandmasters.

As even among the other fourteen contestants, there were some people younger people, they were more direct about having a match with us soon.

We received four days of break before the world championship truly begins, we usually spent it here or by going to some other parts of this arcology, and ate different sorts of foods.

Until finally, the true game began, each match had around three hours, but the game would get fast as time passed, so we decided to take our time playing the matches since it was only one match per day.

The first day had eight matches in total, the bracket was already displayed, we were oddly placed at both corners of the bracket, they probably thought one of us will lose, as usual, we needed to both move the chess piece and also state the position of them as the tournament is being broadcasted all over the world.

Soon the first match began, and the match was interesting, I got to play with one of the older ones, she was composed, fast-paced, and managed to defend against me pretty well, but alas she fell for my traps in the end, so she inevitably lost. We shook hands and she sent me a friend request on the chess website... Should I call the FBI?

Anyways I accepted it after she explained it's a tradition the losing contestant usually sends a friend request to the winner, as a way to form a connection and for further matches in the future, so I accepted it even if I was suspicious about her behavior, is she a shotacon? We will find out in the next episode of Dragon Ba-cough tomorrow.
 

Shouri also had a similar experience, but she rejected the friend request since she didn't trust anyone, she only said to send me the request instead... Ah, the betrayal~ oh well at least that lady wasn't lying.

Later that day Mom celebrated our first victory by cooking our second favorite meals, her reasoning being, we must win the championship to eat our favorites along with the new dish she has been experimenting with recently, after arriving in England.

We gladly took it as a challenge to win.

Soon the next day already arrived, on this second match, I was against one of the younger ones, but his play style was very calculative and smooth, almost flawless.

He tried to break my rhythm and game flow by using a variety of openings to lure me in, it intrigued me a lot since I have very rarely come across this playstyle in my previous life.

But inevitably what made me win the match was how chaotic I made the match with my rapid moves.

He let out a sigh he forwarded his hand as he said "That's the most fun I had playing this game since I started when I was young, thanks dude, oh my name is Magnus Lothkid" with a genuinely happy smile.

I smiled back while shaking his hand while saying "Nice to meet you, Magnus-san, I am known as Hayashi Masamune although I usually play chess online, I haven't come across one such as you, it was indeed a fun game " which is true considering every one of them had a different approach to how they utilized this playstyle.

He didn't seem surprised by my surname but only gave a knowing smile, which means he knew my name beforehand, not surprising since the Lothkid family is one of the prominent families in Europe, they are in the banking industry and we weren't trying to hide our names.

Soon we exchange friend requests online and agreed to have a rematch later today.

With that, the semi-finals are tomorrow, honestly the days felt like it was moving fast, but I guess we were enjoying the experience here so much that we lost track of time.

But it wasn't without benefits as One of my main interests in coming here was to 'borrow' the technology of Europe... Advance Holograms, they have managed to make a breakthrough into the holographic industry recently, a hyperrealistic look into it that nobody would be able to tell the difference between reality and 3d except due to the flicker in between them.

Although I already have access to it, what I am looking for... Is the one they use in this world chess tournament, besides the tech at Their source will inevitably have enough subtle differences that it will be different than what is commercially available.

We already explored the malls selling such holo-tech before the start of this tournament and I was right there were many holo-devices here that weren't available in Tokyo, although I could have ordered it at home, it would have raised suspicion.

Especially in the future when our ingenuity is exposed to them, but this trip would act as one of the decoys in the future, I couldn't wait to see how ugly their face would turn as I smiled at the thought of it.

<<nii... You are smiling like a villain again...>> Shouri said to me via the soul corridor, my mouth twisted but I continued to smile knowing she is only teasing me as she also has a similar smile on her face after knowing what my thoughts are.

Anyways even then It wouldn't have even been possible to 'borrow' their technology as they had many encrypted firewalls and security measures in place but unfortunately for Europe and fortunately for me, I have S.S (Superior Sage).

I pretended to be excited and went around like a kid who discovered a new toy as shouri and I explored the shops which sold any sort of holo-tech, even if it might be obscure, they will be shipped to Japan after we order is taken since we won't be staying in this place for too long.

My trip was already worth it for this, but soon the real reason I came here, had arrived, at the third day of the match, in the semi-finals, I faced against HIM, my target... The owner of the conglomerate who controls the entirety of Europe... One of my future obstacles...

I already found out, he is a grandmaster at chess and tends to come here sometimes to play against other players, especially in the tournaments, the only reason I was sure he would come is because of our performance in the candidate tournament and also because of what my surname entails.

A man like this would immediately want to probe to find out if we are potential dangers or not, ...but he might have other plans as well.

Considering he chose me over shouri to talk to while having a match, the conversations taken here are censured and only the positions if announced will be recorded.

"Hey, kid, let's have a fun game, I was very eager to have a matched against one of you when I saw how good you played in the previous matches, ah reminds me of the olden days when all of this shit didn't happen," An old voice said to me with a tone of enthusiasm and reminiscent.

"Nice to meet you, Grandpa Samuel!, I am looking forward to this match as well since I saw on the Internet,  you are the highest rank grandmaster to ever exist!" I said with as much enthusiasm as I could as if I were a fan meeting his favorite celebrity

"Ah, those were old news, the new generations have already surpassed me, surely I would lose to any of them if I fought them" he replied with a chuckle as if he didn't take my words too seriously while he sat down on the chair opposite of me.

"Nah, I bet you could still cause ripples in this playground, after all, you would have already lost your title otherwise," I said with a hint of a double meaning.

" Cheeky kid,...it seems you already know my other identity, I guess I was right to have to a talk with you instead, but let me introduce myself properly, I am known as Samuel Shepherd, Proud owner of Shepherd Enterprise," Samuel said with a dignified tone.

" I guess I need to introduce myself now as well, My name is Hayashi Masamune, please take care of me, Grandpa!" I said after scratching my head a bit.

"Well, let's talk while playing the game, I believe in the philosophy, the true nature of someone is revealed when they play chess or similar games," He said after nodding at my introduction.

I started the game as I won the coin flip, so I played a similar pattern to the game I played with shouri when I was explaining those things to her, as we talked, we had a great time, sometimes he laughed, sometimes he made jokes, it almost seemed like a normal granda and his grandson having a lovely conversation...

That was until, the more serious talks started being slowly said, at the end, Samuel asked me a tricky question

"So Tell me, which piece in this chessboard is your favorite?" Samuel asked, I knew he was testing me

So I said casually" That's a hard question, as I like them all in their unique ways but if I had to pick it would be a pawn"

"Oh, mind telling this old man, why?" Samuel went with it and asked

"Simply because they have the highest potential in this entire chessboard, obviously as long as the king is competent he can utilize every piece to their full potential, but pawns are special in the way they could save even the most idiotic kings because they are loyal and can become truly powerful given enough time, they are the most dangerous piece, even more than the queen" I slowly explained.

"interesting... Oh, it seems I lost, ah I missed this feeling, it has been a while since I lost seriously" Samuel suddenly stated while reminiscing.

"Well it was nice meeting you, kid, oh think my student is playing against your sister right now, I don't know who won, but you might want to be there for her" Samuel subtly hinted and at the same time, I received a soul corridor message.

<<nii... Help... Me...>>> That made me furrow my brows a bit when I could sense the sadness and sense of urgency in her tone but I instantly calmed down

We walked outside of the room, as I could see on the big holographic screen, my sister's face was pensive as she was slowly losing, I could see her shoulders trembling...

"It might appear selfish... but can I stand behind my sister to emotionally support her? I won't cause any problem, I promise " I asked Samuel without looking at him.

"Ah, family is important, just as told me, good good... I think I will look forward to you two's growth, go ahead, they won't stop you" Samuel answered with a smile so I started moving towards the room, and as expected they didn't stop me.

I quietly entered the room, and I saw a young man, probably around sixteen years old, playing against my sister, I directly went next to my sister and placed my hand on her back.

As I told her < don't lose, not because of me, not because [] never loses but simply because I know you can win> with a confident tone and that seems to do the job.

As I could hear her reply <<... Un!>>> As her eyes turned resolute, she started being crafty, calculative more, the game was tense for some time until... She finally won!

The young man just smiled and congratulated her and then left the room.

Soon she stood up and hugged me tightly which I return as she slowly started to sob as she whispered "... I thought I would lose..."

"Shhhh... It doesn't matter if you win or lose, I won't ever be disappointed in you if either of us ever loses, it just means we need to unite to win next time, nobody can stand in our way, got it, baka?" I told her as I patted her head she simply hummed to indicate she understood.

OOO

(Third pov)

"So how was she? Is she also a prodigy?" Samuel asked his student

"...Yes, but she only turned truly fearsome when her brother arrived next to her" The boy replied with a nodded

"he was right... Hmmm, I guess I have to keep my promise then, tell the others that they are under my protection until they have grown... And going by how cheeky that brat is, his next target should be that Shogi tournament, let's go" Samuel replied with a smile on his face as he turned around to walk away

"Yes!" The boy replied with a military salute as he looked one last time at Masamune, deeply engraving his image into his mind,

Because his bestial instinct told him, that Masamune was dangerous, if he was considered to be at the top of food chain in the jungle, then that kid was simply a greedy monster waiting to devour the whole forest... No, the entire planet...

"sigh... The world is about to be chaotic once more..." Samuel said after entering his vessel outside...

OOO

Word count:- 2945

Thankfully managed to write another chapter, yes double chapter today, it might take a bit depending on how fast I can post it in etc websites

What did you think about the chapter?