As I sipped the tea served on the balcony of Paloof Castle, I finally regained my composure.
　I'd been in a bit of self-loathing earlier, you know. I'm sorry that I overdid it. I'm sure he would have hated me. Well, it's not a problem if they don't like me.

I'm sorry that my cousin Rachel was rude to you...
No, no. That's what children do.

　I'm sure I was quite rude, but this makes me say, "Rude! Behead that kid! I don't know how small-minded you are when you say that. That's what a tyrant is. I don't want to be that kind of person.

That match has nothing to do with your status. If you're going to complain about it, I've already said no. That's not a problem.

　Well, I can flush it clean, but I don't think they can.......they're kids.

I'd appreciate it if you could say that. Ernesto seemed to be pleased with it too, so thank you for today.
"What did His Majesty think of King Paloof?

　At King Linier's statement, the gazes of the two men sitting at the round table on the balcony turn to me.

''Well........ I thought he was an honest person. I'm not sure if he lacked self-confidence or was a little backward in his thinking, but...''

　The point is that it's negative. Well, it's not that bad, and it's a lot better than that duchess-like one.
　It's a bit scary to think that their personalities are opposite. It doesn't matter that they're the king, they're going to do whatever they want.......can't you say that about people? I'm just doing what I want.

What is it that you're good at?
'Are you good at this? Not to mention this......... She's not very good at swordsmanship or magic. She can play the flute a little bit, but she's not that good at it either.

　Hmm. The mediocre boy? No, I'm not ordinary just because I'm a king.
　Well, a long time ago, he said, "I'm Senkougu Kamui. I'm an ordinary high school student! I once tweaked a novel that started with "What's so ordinary about it?" and said, "What's so ordinary about it, except for the name?" ... it's kind of like that. ...but it's not.

"Oh, but...
What's going on?

　As if she had thought of something, Princess Lucienne returned from the balcony to the room and came back with a small box and a folded board. Eh, could that be.....

''A chess game, sir?''
Yes, Your Majesty. Did His Majesty know this?

　It was me who brought this into this world.
　I spread out the board and put it on the table, opened the box and took out the pieces. It's shogi.

"Did King Paloof do this?
Yes, sir. For a while, I did it from morning till night. But he was having trouble finding opponents, though.

　Well, I don't think the king would be able to catch those maids and play chess with them. What's more, with her personality, it would be difficult for her to say such a thing. She may be shy.

"He did it solely with me or his uncle. But I think I was too weak to deal with them.
'You didn't do it with Miss Rachel?'
'I did, but Rachel lost it completely, flipped the board over and said she'd never do it again...'

　A child? Oh, you were a kid. I can imagine the scene.
　But now you play chess. I'm a little curious to see how good he is at chess.
　Whether or not he knew what I was thinking, the boy king came on the balcony.

I'm sorry to keep you waiting!
'No, no, don't worry about it. Has Rachel settled in?
Yes. Well, sort of. I locked myself in my room, but I'm always like that when I'm in a bad mood...

　Hmm. I hope you're okay. I don't want you to become a recluse because of it.

"Huh? That's....

　The boy king looks at his chess set in my hand.

Oh, Princess Lucienne told me that King Palouf was fascinated by this game. 'Actually, I made that one myself. I'm surprised it has made its way to Paloof.
'Really?!'
What do you think? Would you like to play a game?

　When I asked him to play a game out of a bit of curiosity to see how good he was, King Paloof shook his head with a twinkle in his eye.
　It was difficult to play at a round table, so we sat face to face at a small table in the room and lined up the pieces for each other.
　Let's see, let's play a bit then. It's been a while, but I think I can handle it.





''I'm here.''
Thank you.

　I bowed first, followed by King Paloof, who also bowed. Mm-hmm. This was my third consecutive defeat.
　I'm not proud of it, but I'm not a good shogi player by nature. But I know my opponent's strength in a certain way. Isn't this girl pretty good?

He's pretty good. He's one of the best fighters I've ever played against.
Oh, really? I've almost exclusively played against your uncle.

　So does that mean the Duke of Rembrandt is strong in his own right?
　Hmm. This could be a bit interesting. Maybe it will give this kid some confidence. A moment later, I was speaking out the idea that came to my head.

''Actually, there's a chess tournament in ten days at Brunhild, why don't His Majesty join us secretly?''
'What? So, but is it okay for me to participate in this?!
'No problem. Other aristocrats and royalty from other countries will also join us secretly. I can absolutely guarantee your safety.

　I just thought of the tournament itself, because it would probably be attended by the King of Belfast or the Duke of Ortlinde or something. I mean, if I didn't tell them I was holding the tournament, they would certainly complain about it later.
　If I seed the people I think are the strongest, and then gather the rest of the people who are free to participate, I think it will take shape.

"Dude, what should I do...

　His sister, Princess Lucienne, spoke to the dazed and thoughtful King Palouf.

She said, "Don't you have to think about it so much? Think of it as going to Brunhild for a bit of fun. Of course I'll go with you, so it's okay, okay?
Well then, let's join in....
Okay.

　I clap my hands, yes decision.
　I'm going to be busy. Well, it's going to be interesting to include that, and that's fine.





''Well well, it's kind of sudden, but we're going to hold a chess tournament.
This is really fast.

　The head office of the inn "Silver Moon" in the town of Riflet. In front of me is a red-haired, bearded man. This is Dolan, Micah's father.

"So, you want us to participate in this tournament as an invitee?
Well, it's not really an advantageous position to be in, though, since it's only an exemption from the qualifying round.

　Including Dolan from the innkeeper Ginsuki, Baral from the weapon shop Kumahachi, and Simon from the tool shop, I gave them a seed entry. They are early players who started playing shogi in this world, and at least they are much more skilled than me.

''So, do you want to participate?
It's you. In the name of Rivlet, the cradle of chess, I'm going to win for sure.

　When did they come up with that name? It's true that it's the birthplace of the event, but...

What else is going to be in the competition?
Only a few invitees have been selected yet, but they are all talented in their own right. The first day will be the preliminary round and the second day will be the main competition. Dolan-san and the others will start on the second day, so it's okay if you come a day late, but what do you want to do?
I'm not kidding. I'm not going to miss a fight with a guy who might be my opponent. I'll be there from day one. And Micah's got a place to stay.

　Mr. Dolan has been there since day one, you know. I told him that I would be coming to pick him up on the day of the qualifying round, and left the riffle.
　After returning, I called the King of Belfast, the Duke of Ortlinde, and other kings and asked for applicants.
　I also asked the knights of each country to participate in a martial arts and baseball tournament at the same time, if they would like to.
　I asked the knights of each country to participate in the tournaments.
　As a result, we ended up with an unbelievable line-up.

What is this list of participants...?
Yeah, well, I know the feeling.

　Yumina smiles with a drawn-out smile as she looks at the list she has written out.



Applicants for the Shogi Tournament

　King of Belfast (Belfast)
　The Duke of Ortlinde (Belfast)
　Emperor Regulus (Regulus)
　King Leafyreth (Leafyreth).
　King Paloof (Paloof)
　The Duke of Rembrandt (Paloof)
　Lord Mayor of Rhodomeer All State (Rhodomeer)

Applicants for the martial arts competition

　Mismid, the Beast King.
　The Knight King of Lestia.
　Knight Commander Gaspar. (Regulus)
　General Leon. (Belfast)
　Knight Lyon. (Belfast)
　Captain of the Galung Guard (Mismid)
　Nobuharu Baba (Brunhild)
　Masakage Yamagata (Brunhild)
　Kuju Shigetaro (Yisheng)

Teams in the baseball tournament

　Brunhild
　Belfast
　mismid
　Regulus (Greek goddess of love)
　Restia.
　leaflet
　Linie.
　roadmere


　There are so many people involved in each country (who I know) alone. This was a bit unexpected.

'Is it safe for security or something?'
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. You're going to have to wear a magic tool that will make you look different, except for certain people, and there will be guards from each country who will be there to keep you out of sight. Of course, we'll also be guarding them from the shadows. We'll also have Nantaro's cat squad to help us.

　And I'll have Ember and her family members to help me with that. That part is fine, but I'm more worried that Dr. Babylon will start saying that Dr. Babylon will participate in the chess tournament and Morohane and Karina will participate in the martial arts tournament.
　I'll manage to get them to stop, but I'm a little afraid that they'll ask me to do something unreasonable in exchange.

''It's a festival when it comes to this, isn't it?''
Well, you're not wrong. There will be stalls and all sorts of little events. The only regret is that the preparation time is so short.

　I just started with an idea. I'm sorry for getting everyone involved, but they seemed to enjoy it in their own way, which helped, though. If we're going to have a second event, let's give them a little more time to prepare.
　Mr. Takasaka-san complained to me that we could have had at least one month to advertise abroad and get more money. No, I understand.

I heard that Yae, Hilda-san and Else-san also participated in the martial arts tournament.
I'll have security come around this time. You'll have to be patient.

　I think these girls have already become quite strong. They are trained by Morobane Sis, the god of swords, on a daily basis, and they may also be under the influence of the 'divine blessing'. It's probably, but there's a possibility that she's been blessed by me, Hanakoi's sister, and Morobane's sister.
　This means that we are under the protection of that god, if you want to put it that way. I receive various benefits and gain abilities that are far from ordinary people.
　However, even if you receive the blessing of the sword god, it does not mean that your skill with swords will improve or anything else direct, and it seems that the impact of this is very different for each individual. In fact, the Yumina in front of me has the ability to foresee the future a few seconds ahead of me. Perhaps this is my blessing, but I'm not sure why such a power has appeared.
　I feel it's a bit unfair for these girls to participate in a martial arts tournament. This time I want everyone, including the participants, to have a good time, and I'm sorry, but let's ask them to refrain from doing so. Otherwise, there would be no point in stopping the Morohana sisters from participating.
　Old man Baba and old man Yamak Prefecture were pushed aside in the name of security for the venue. Well, it's true that there are not always people who have bad ideas among the contestants, and it's necessary. I'm going to use magic tools and wards to make that part of it neat, too, but there's no such thing as an absolute.

''Oh, and His Eminence Pope Lamish and Hanakoi's sister-in-law said they'd like to rent the church under the castle.
The church? Are you going to worship?
'They're going to have a counseling center for everything. And then we'll talk about God.

　You're asking for trouble, huh? Well, I don't mind. They seem to be people who could give you advice about love and life. However, does this mean that His Holiness is going to participate in this conference by hiding his status?
　As I crossed my arms and tilted my head, the phone in my pocket began to vibrate. Hmm? An incoming call.
　I took it out and looked at the screen and saw the words "Incoming call God". What?

Hello?
Oh, Fuyao-kun. I would like to participate in the festival for a little while. I don't want to bother you, I just want to watch a little and have a chat with you at the church.
Really....
"I'd like to meet the gods that have come down. Give them my regards.

　I felt my face tighten as I heard the voice on the other side of the phone laughing, ho ho ho. It's getting outrageous.
　In a sense, the strongest guardian will descend, but is this festival going to be okay? Of course, he won't be coming as a god.
　Of course he's not going to come here as a god.
　It's a big deal.