Chess? (No Game No Life Part 11)

"Why'd you let the girl with weird ears go?" Esdeath said, looking at Ryu. She appeared confused that he spared her so simply.

"There's no need to go that far. Everything's going well in terms of the plan" Ryu said.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked, burrowing her brows.

"Let's start with this. If another country wins over one of the Imanity by promising to make them King, they can interfere with the games. And given Imanity can't detect magic, anyone using it is bound to win. Now they've got their own puppet king, and they can do as they please with their country." Ryu said, stroking his chin. "And do you know what the other races would think then?"

"So Clammy is convinced that another race or two other races are supporting us!" Stephanie said, overcoming a realization.

"Yup. That's correct! She'll believe that other races are going to interfere for the throne. Which means that Clammy won't be able to use magic. However, they'll probably still cheat in the form of something undetectable"

The group of villains paused, staring at Ryu with different eyes.

It was as if everything in this world was a chess piece to him and he was the game master. His cunningness held no bounds.

If they found out that Ryu was actually just copying Sora's speech from No Game No Life, they would cough out blood.

—

"I knew someone would show up and expose us," Fiel, the elven girl, said with evident worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry. It's simply an Imanitys who are getting help from another race, just like me. This was not unexpected." Chlammy put her shoulder on top of Fiel's.

"Chlammy. Will you be okay without me?" Fiel asked with the same worry.

"I'll be fine" Chlammy replied. However, she was slightly scared.

—

It wasn't long before Chlammy invited everyone to the game.

Pandora, Sora, Shiro, Chlammy, Ryu, and Stephanie were all riding in one carriage, while the rest were on a different one due to a lack of space.

However, Gilgamesh had his own carriage due to a personal request. Something related to not wanting to sit next to disgusting mongrels.

"I'll come clean with you two groups. I've joined forces with the elves to secure a place for the Imanity to live. Once we got the bare minimum territory we need, I'll break ties with them" Chlammy said, sighing out loud.

"Wow," Shiro replied.

"So you're spilling your plans to a potential foreign spy? You stupid? Suicidal?" Shiro said.

"Think about it. Imanity can only survive by earning the right to live under another race's protection, then giving up all the games and cutting ties with the rest of the world. We have no choice!" Chlammy said with corner evident in her voice.

"Stephanie Dola, you understand this, right?"

"Well…" Stephanie was uncertain.

"And Elvengarde is the largest nation in any world, with their magic unrivaled by any other race. There is no way you can beat me, so please, withdraw from the game. I swear I won't let the elves make me their puppet" Chlammy said

"I see. We earn the right to live under another nation's protection. Not a bad plan"

"Right? Then, you'll withdraw…"

"But I refuse! One of the things that we, Blank, love best is saying no to people who think they have the upper hand!" Sora and Shiro suddenly did a Jojo Pose.

"That's number 4 on our bucket list, Sis! We actually got to say it." Sora said.

"Great job, brother," Shiro said.

They clapped their hands against each other.

"I don't plan to either" Ryu said, smiling meaningfully "You underestimate humanity. You are selling us humans short"

Sora and Shiro stared at Ryu for a solid second before feeling a sudden fire in their eyes. They had the same thoughts.

"Hmph! Whatever. Looks like this was a waste of time. I'll defeat you with force, the, just as you wish. For our first game, we'll be playing a game of chess"

"Chess?" Ryu replied. He thought the game would change.

"Yes. But this is no ordinary game of chess" Chlammy continued. "It's a three-player chess game following a triangular board format."

Ryu paused. He didn't account for this. As he looked at Sora and Shiro, it seemed as if they didn't also account for this.

However, they still grinned. Shiro closed her eyes and started memorizing all the possible combinations for a chess game with three players.