My best-of-three match against Megiddo-san... After a break of about ten minutes, it was time for the second round.
"Now then, defying the prediction that the War King held the advantage, the challenger claimed victory in the first round... Fate-san, as our commentator, this puts Megiddo-san in a tough spot, doesn't it?"
"That’s true. I think winning the first round is a massive deal. The War King is suddenly cornered... In contrast, Kai-chan can still afford to lose once, so he’s likely feeling a lot more relaxed mentally."
Actually, the mental damage I’d sustained was quite severe. I never wanted to do an Arts Battle ever again as long as I lived. A new entry had been officially added to the black history chronicles of my life.
"Hmm. Usually, in stories like this, this is where Megiddo-san would win to drag things out to a final showdown. As a broadcaster, that’s much more exciting, so I’d personally like to see it go the distance."
"Hmm. As for me, I’d prefer it if things finished up quickly... By the way, No-chan? That clay sculpture Kai-chan made earlier... can I, like, have it?"
Fate-saaaaaaan! Stop it, seriously! Why are you acting like it’s perfectly normal to try and take my dark past home as a souvenir? No, absolutely not!
"Ah, about that, we’ve actually been flooded with requests... So, once this match is over, we’ll be holding a 'Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament,' and it’ll go to the winner."
Hey! Why are you turning it into a prize without my permission!? And you, you red gorilla... why are you giving me a thumbs up? Don't give me that "As expected, many people have a discerning eye for quality" look! That isn't what's happening here!
I mean, who on earth would actually want such a thing?
"Oh, by the way, the people who have currently expressed interest in participating are... Underworld King Kuromueina-san and Death King Isis-san, along with World King Lilliwood-san... Well, I assume Lilliwood-san was just dragged along by Isis-san. Also, the God of Life and the God of Space-Time... it seems they were told to participate by the Creator God-sama."
"I just realized, No-chan, you just casually revealed my name, didn't you? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter..."
"It was a slip of the tongue. My apologies, I’ll treat you to something later. Moving on... Emperor Chris-san of the Arclesia Empire, King Laguna-san of the Hydra Kingdom, Duke Lilia-san of the Kingdom of Sinfonia, and many others. Also, the 'Mysterious Angel who causes 90% Death just by talking to them'... those are the big names so far."
"...This is incredible. It’s a boss rush on a level that could destroy the world."
There were so many of them! Wait... No, what on earth was everyone thinking? If that thing fell into the hands of my acquaintances, my life would be nothing short of hell.
Also, Eden-san! What in the world are you doing!?
"Anyway, we can get into the details of that later. For now, let’s get the second match started immediately!"
How did it come to this? No, okay... I would worry about it later. Actually, I needed to participate in that tournament myself. I had to prevent that cursed legacy from falling into the hands of someone I knew, no matter the cost.
As I stared off into the distance, feeling the cold indifference of the world, Alice urged us to begin the second round. Hearing this, Megiddo-san pulled a giant... board? from seemingly nowhere.
"Alright! The second match will be... a test of reading the opponent and maneuvering! We’re playing 'Double Color'!!"
"...Double Color?"
"Hmm? Oh, what, it’s a simple game. Even a kid could do it. But it’s deep, and fitting for a duel between us!"
I see... Set before Megiddo-san and me was a large board with a grid. So it was a board game.
In the center, two red stones and two blue stones were placed. It looked like those were used for the game... Hmm. This looked incredibly familiar.
"The rules are simple. I’m Red, and Kaito is Blue... We take turns placing stones on this board. If you sandwich the opponent’s stone with your own, the stone you sandwiched changes to your color. We repeat that, and the one with the most stones of their color at the end wins!"
"..."
Ah, I see... It was Othello.
Compared to the Othello boards I knew, this one was about four times the size, but other than that, the rules were almost exactly the same. Apparently, it was a magic tool where the stones changed color automatically when sandwiched without needing to flip them, so it was basically a more convenient version of the game.
"You understand the rules, right? Then let’s get started! Let’s have a heated battle!"
"...I look forward to it."
And so, my second match with Megiddo-san—the Giant Othello Showdown—began.
Dear Mother, Father—The expression on Megiddo-san’s face as he smiled fearlessly was not that of a man who felt cornered. He was challenging me with everything he had, his fighting spirit burning. However, there was one thing he was overlooking... No, for me—there was a secret Megiddo-san didn't know.
A while after Kaito and Megiddo began their match, Alice and Fate started their play-by-play and commentary.
"Now then, let’s get to the commentary... Basically, our voices are set so they won’t reach Kaito-san and the others. Otherwise, we’d be giving them hints. Let’s take a look at the opening phase."
"There aren't many big moves in the opening. But from the looks of it, is the War King in the lead?"
"Indeed. The key to this game isn't changing a lot of stones at once, but rather maneuvering into a position where it’s difficult for the opponent to make their next move... This move by Megiddo-san is quite good. He’s keeping an eye on a wide area while making it easy to cover other spots."
While displaying magical images of the match in the air above the arena, Alice and Fate commented on the offensive and defensive maneuvers of the early game.
"In that case, Kai-chan’s move here is a blunder. Because of this, the War King has taken a significant lead..."
"Hmm. In this case, we should probably praise Megiddo-san. He’s baiting him into taking this formation."
"I see... So Kai-chan should have endured here and focused on establishing a color in the bottom right instead."
"Exactly... Well, even if it was a mistake, it’s still the early game, so he should be able to recover... Hmm."
"What’s wrong, No-chan? You have a rather complicated expression."
"...No, I mean, well... to be brutally honest, even though I’m doing the play-by-play, I already know the outcome of this match."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
With the match only just entering the mid-game, Fate asked curiously after Alice declared that the result was already decided. Alice’s expression became even more pained as she spoke in a slow, murmuring tone.
"Well... you see. The truth is, Kaito-san is super weak at these kinds of board games where luck isn't involved."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes... I mean, it’s not that he’s stupid or can’t read the opponent or anything... but everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, right? How should I put it... Kaito-san just has a fatal lack of sense for these specific board games. According to him, he loses about ninety percent of the time."
"...T-There’s still that ten percent... s-so he’ll be fine..."
"You’re right! Let’s look forward to how it develops!"
Alice knew. Since she often played with Kaito, she had challenged him to board games before. However, Kaito was terrible at strategic board games like Chess. He was so bad that even Alice started to feel awkward and found herself holding back.
And currently, it was the same for Megiddo, his opponent.
(H-Hey now, Kaito!? Not that way! Why would you put a stone in a place like that!? If you do that, the entire top left will...)
Megiddo was currently on pins and needles with every move. However, his anxiety wasn't for the state of the board.
(You idiot! One space further to the right! Placing it there won't lead to anything next! ...K-Kaito... Sorry. I see... were you just bad at Double Color...?)
Unaware of Megiddo’s state of mind, which had reached the point of feeling genuine pity, Kaito once again placed a stone in a completely misguided location.
Kaito’s Weakness: Board games with no luck involved. Shogi: Has won maybe twice in his life (his opponents went easy on him). Chess: Doesn't know the rules. Othello: Frequent experience of a total wipe (all stones turned to the opponent's color) before reaching the end of the game.
There are people who are intelligent but weak at strategy games. Kaito was the textbook example. He simply lacked the sense for them.