「Yamada, prepare to face my king’s attack! Absolute Power Force!」
「GWAHHHHHH!」
「Yosh, since it’s my win, your juice is mine!」
「ARGHHHHH! I LOST AGAINNNNN! Why can’t I ever beat Andouuuuuuuuuuu!?」
Such a pain in the ass though. Yamada’s really bad at it yet he’s so worked up that he just keeps challenging me… (Andou)
「Ooo… Andou, Yamada, what are you up to?」
「Hey, if it isn’t Yoshida! As you can see, it’s shogi!」
「But shogi nowadays isn’t as exhilarating… Heh. So it’s a shogi phone app? But wow, Andou, you’re really good at shogi.」
「Well, I used to play this board game alone a long time ago so I’ve learned the ins and outs of the game.」
「You mastered shogi on your own…Is that even possible?」
Well, I didn’t have any friends! It’s embarrassing to admit it out loud though…No, for realsies. (Andou)
「And therefore, Yamada lost?」
「Yeah, he seems really weak at it even though I played with a 4-piece handicap …」
「You cornered his king with just that? Amazing…」
「What gives? How is it that Andou won even when I had my rook and bishop?! That’s just impossible!」
「「Nah, it’s possible!」」
((Given that Yamada lost with those circumstances…)) (Andou & Yoshida)
「Well then, Andou! How about playing a round with me? Yamada, pass me your phone.」
「Eh!? Yoshida, you can play shogi?」
… even though you’re a baldie!? (Andou)
「Oi… Andou, your face has『You can play shogi even though you’re a baldie!?』written all over it.」
「Nah, I mean…Aren’t you in the baseball club?」
「Wor~~~d! Yoshida may be a baldie, Andou but as you can see, he’s also the captain of the baseball club! Hence, he may be a baldie but he’s surprisingly one smart cookie! Word!」
「Sawatari! You said too much!」
「Yoshida! Yoshida! Yoshida! Instead of dueling Andou-kun, duke it out with me! I’ll surely ace this if you’re my opponent! You’re a baldie afterall!」
「Yamada! Hand over your phone and butt out!」
Ah, I see. Yoshida’s always hanging out with Yamada and Sawatari so it’s no wonder that he’s perceived as a moron but he’s surprisingly quite level-headed. Certainly, in his position as captain, he would be familiar with coming up with strategies… (Andou)
「Alright, shall we? We’ll play on equal terms.」
「Great~ Bring it on!」
We were supposed to have drama practice after class has ended, but the girls are busy taking down Asakura’s measurements for her outfit and since the boys have nothing on their plates, we’re just loitering around. If they don’t drag it out for too long, I believe a round should suffice to kill time… (Andou)
20 minutes later
「Grrr…… Oi, Andou! You … Are you that obsessed with the ranging rook?」
「No, not particularly? I’m not fixated on having my rook in a specific position. I just felt that playing against someone like you in shogi, the ranging rook would be a good challenge.」
「… You have a pretty nasty side of you, huh?」
「Hereupon, I call forth my silver general from the drop! And now, checkmate!」*snaps fingers*
「What!? You— You’re checkmating me here!? Eh, is it even… a checkmate?」*snaps fingers*
「Adding to this, I summon a knight from the drop pile!」*snaps fingers*
「Amazing! You forked my king and rook!? Even if my king had escaped, the rook would have been captured… No, even if it hadn’t, the silver general would have done the same— Ugh, it’s my defeat…」
「Thank you for the high praise.」
All the boys in the class:『WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH!』
「It’s Andou’s victory!」
「Awesome! That was so one-sided!」
「But ya know, that didn’t seem like shogi. For a minute, I thought it looked like that other card game!」
Holy mackerel … Before I knew it, all the boys had started gathering around us… Shouldn’t all of you be rehearsing the play? (Andou)
*rattles~*
「We’re done taking measurements~~ Hmm? What’s with the uproar…」
「Phew, it’s finally over… Haa, they didn’t grow much.」
「Geez, Sakura! You don’t have to be so concerned about them. Having these large babies ain’t a good thing either, I’ll tell ya!」
「Hah… People like you who have them will never understand how people like me feel.」
「Asakura-san, welcome back!」
「Ah, Andou-kun! I’m terribly sorry. We were so caught up that we didn’t realize the time… Everyone, sorry to keep you guys waiting.」
「It’s alright. I was wasting time playing shogi.」
「Eh, you know how to play shogi!?」
He knows how to play shogi? So coooooolllll! (Asakura)
「Hoh~ …Andou-kun. You’re the leading star of this play yet instead of practicing, you deign to play shogi?」
「Oh, Class Rep! Welcome ba-」
「『Welcome back』, my foot! Hey, Andou-kun! Did you make progress rehearsing for the play? Do you remember your lines?」
「It’s fine! I have it all under control.」
After all, I did come up with the script therefore of course, it’ll be a walk in the park when it comes to memorizing my lines and as for acting… It doesn’t matter if I can’t act. It’s enough that I understand Romeo’s feelings. (Andou)
「Oh really? If you say so, then why don’t you show us. Let’s see, how about you act out page 12.」
「Eh? You mean here? Right now?」
「If there’s no issue, begin.」
Hmm, because I played around, there’s no room for rebuttals, huh… Can’t be helped then. (Andou)
「A— Hnn, Ahem…『O Juliet… Why, oh why art thou Juliet…?
Had thou been an ordinary inconspicuous girl but Juliet, I would reveal my heart to thou this very instance. Alas, thou are Juliet and I cannot!
For if I were to reveal these emotions deep inside of me, thou will have to part with many things!
These… These are things that I am unable to give thee…
Therefore, I shall take these feelings to my grave.
O Juliet …』」
「…………」
「…………」
The entire class:『…………』
*silence*
Ah, Hnn…? Did I bomb it? (Andou)
Guhuhu… If he had been the slightest bit shitty, I was going to call him a worthless piece of shit but the heck? He pulled it off perfectly! (Class Rep)
Andou-kun! You’re so handsome!!! (Asakura)
The entire class:『(Holy shit, that was an amazing performance…)』
「Hmm, hmm! Well, I suppose I’ll count that as a pass.」
Phew… I somehow made it. (Andou)
「I’m glad I met your assessment, Class Rep!」
「Next, since Andou-kun did his, let’s have Asakura-san rehearse hers as well. Asakura-san, have you memorized your lines?」
「Yup, I have! I have all the lines memorized completely!」
「Then, Asakura-san, please recite the lines from page 5.」