"That's probably impossible."
The one who said this with a smile was the Go instructor to the Emperor — a man known as the Chess Saint.
"Until you can win at least one game against me, there's absolutely no hope."
The early middle-aged man with the inscrutable expression placed a white stone with a crisp click.
"Ngh..."
He was utterly lost for words.
He had known this all along. Jinshi was the sort who suffered from being a jack of all trades. He could do most things to a passable degree, but in each case he was only marginally better than the next person — never truly outstanding.
Even if people called him a gifted student, no one would ever call him a genius.
Still, it was better than doing nothing.
"You've thoroughly internalized the standard patterns. But when it comes to creative play outside those patterns, you're firmly in the realm of an ordinary player. And when you see a move you've never encountered, you panic."
"...You really don't pull your punches, do you?"
"You did ask me not to hold back, if I recall."
The Chess Saint popped a steamed bun that Suiren had prepared into his mouth. It seemed at odds with his refined appearance, but eating sweets was apparently standard practice among Go players. Come to think of it, the very thought made her crave something sweet. Was that why a certain eccentric military strategist ate nothing but sweets?
It had been several days since he had borrowed the Chess Saint from the Emperor, and Jinshi had done nothing but play Go after work.
"You lack talent."
"Your moves are far too simplistic."
"A model student's tedious style of play."
He was berated relentlessly.
He had asked for no mercy in the preamble, and mercy was certainly not what he got.
When he asked whether the Chess Saint spoke this way to his other opponents as well, the answer was: "I make it a point to choose people who won't punish me for saying such things."
"With skills like those, how do you expect to beat that eccentric?"
He was also quite skilled at knowing how to push Jinshi's buttons.
Jinshi held a black stone, agonized over which was the correct move, and placed it on the board.
The reason Jinshi had enlisted the Chess Saint as his instructor was that there was no one else who could defeat that eccentric military strategist, Raohan.
"I believe you just said you couldn't win?"
"Indeed, I cannot. The Moon Prince is too upright. Shall I say, entirely too honest?"
"Even so, you are still searching for a way to win."
"I too have come here to teach you. However, it is simply not possible."
The Chess Saint ate another steamed bun.
"Even one in a hundred. Just make it so I can win."
"Even for me, defeating Lord Raohan at full strength is a coin toss. And that's if I'm at full strength myself."
"...I don't quite understand what that means, but..."
The Chess Saint was stronger than Raohan—hence why he was called the Chess Saint.
"No, it's not incomprehensible. When you, the Moon Prince, stand alone and unarmed before a bear, do you think you could win?"
"That would be impossible, obviously."
"What about a wolf?"
"...Depending on the circumstances, I might be able to win, but it would be difficult."
"What about a dog?"
"I think I could manage."
This was something he had learned during a hunt. Humans were surprisingly weak for their size. They could only win when armed with tools; bare-handed, they could barely hold their own against a single dog.
"What would you need in order to win?"
The Chess Saint placed a stone.
At a move that could only be described as seeing right through Jinshi's play, he groaned once more.
"If I were unscathed,
a flying strike,
but I probably couldn't make it land. A familiar sword would be ideal. Or perhaps a short blade and gauntlets to protect the arms."
In a confined space, a sword would do. In an open area, it would be difficult. He would need to lure the opponent somewhere they couldn't maneuver freely, bait them into grabbing the gauntlet, and then go for the neck.
"For someone of your refinement, you seem to favor rather crude methods."
"...I don't favor them. I simply lack the swordsmanship to do anything else."
Bashan would have handled it more skillfully. He might even be able to hold his own against a bear.
"Hmm, well then, it should be easy enough for me to share a secret strategy."
"A secret strategy?"
"Nothing all that impressive, really. I'm just going to tell you the conditions under which you'd have the best chance of beating Lord Lakan."
The Go Saint grinned slyly—nothing at all like the composed intellectual he usually presented himself as.
"There's nothing against the rules about it. It's all perfectly legal—fighting outside the board."
Jinshi swallowed hard.
"If this doesn't work, you'll never beat Lord Lakan for the rest of your life."
The Go Saint stated this flatly.
"...I lost."
No matter how he tallied the territories on the board and the captured stones, his own territory could not possibly exceed White's.
Only two points of difference. But they were significant two points.
How large a lead had she built during the mid-game? Once Jinshi's territories had crystallized, overturning them had seemed impossible.
And it wasn't as though Jinshi had made any obvious blunders afterward, either.
The person now crunching away on baked sweets had closed that gap with staggering speed.
Nearby were,
Bashan,
and several guards.
A few days after the go tournament, while Jinshi was working in his office, the one-eyed strategist with the monocle suddenly showed up.
"Let's continue."
If he'd been slacking off, it would be one thing, but it was lunchtime.
Not far from the office,
in the pavilion,
a go board and stones had been set up. They were arranged in the exact same configuration as when the game had been suspended days earlier.
Spectators watched from a distance, but there was no reason to refuse.
Since then, Jinshi had thought over and over again how he could widen the gap further and clinch the victory.
He had believed that with such a commanding lead, there was no way he could lose.
"...Impossible."
Ma San let out a voice of disbelief.
Impossible — that single word said it all.
What on earth was going on inside that head of his?
*"You will never beat Lord Rakan for as long as you live."*
He remembered the Go Sage's words.
Why had he compared his opponent not to a "human" but to a "beast"?
Jinshi regretted it. Bears, wolves, dogs — Rakan was none of those. He was a monster called Rakan, and Jinshi had failed to understand that.
The man put his monocle back on and gulped down fruit water. His complexion had completely recovered. His sleep deficit was gone, and the fatigue from the consecutive matches had vanished. Neither his drinks nor his snacks contained anything alcoholic, and he wore a refreshed expression.
Jinshi felt utterly wretched.
He had resorted to every underhanded trick in the book, yet in the end, he had lost anyway.
There was no room left for saving face, and his appearance was too pathetic for words.
If there had been no spectators around, he would have buried his face into the board right then and groaned.
What little pride he had left was all that kept Jinshi's elegant exterior intact. He genuinely wanted credit for the thick skin he had forged during his time in the Rear Palace.
He had to raise his head.
He had to maintain the appearance of a man who had been given a tutorial and lost.
Just as he slowly began to lift his face, a fingertip appeared on the board.
"This move in the late game. If only you had played it here instead."
It was Rakan's voice.
"..."
Jinshi raised his head.
The eccentric stroked the stubble on his chin while explaining with his fingertip.
"If you had gone here like this, then White would have had nowhere to go —"
His mumbling was difficult to make out, but he was clearly explaining something.
"A post-game review from Lord Rakan?"
The one wearing a puzzled expression was Rakan's attendant.
"He said a post-game review."
The surrounding crowd began to stir at the news.
"Father basically never holds post-game reviews."
It was Rahan, who had appeared from somewhere.
He must have hurried over upon hearing they would continue the game. His breathing was slightly ragged.
"That only goes to show how much he acknowledged the Lord of the Moon."
He deliberately emphasized the word "acknowledged."
The spectators murmured among themselves.
"I wonder why he played here at this point. Hmm."
The eccentric strategist claimed to be holding a post-game review, but he was really conducting a one-man postmortem. He seemed to be talking about that one failed move, yet even he didn't seem to understand why he had placed it there.
Despite being foggy from drowsiness, exhaustion, and drink, he remembered every move in sequence.
Jinshi could only laugh.
"...Well, at least I enjoyed it."
The eccentric quietly drew close to Jinshi.
"I don't know what your aim was, but your methods were entertaining."
Leaving the board as it was, he wandered off while swinging a sake flask around.
Jinshi could only stand there dumbfounded.
The gathered spectators dispersed. Some seemed eager to approach Jinshi, but Ma'en and the other guards kept a sharp watch.
Rahan alone stood before Jinshi with an easy, unhurried air. Ma'en wore a look of distolerance but nonetheless permitted Rahan's presence. Jinshi had rarely seen the two of them hold a conversation — they didn't seem to get along well.
"I'm terribly sorry that I couldn't be of more help. However, Father appears to be satisfied."
"...Satisfied? With such a crude strategy?"
Jinshi's lips twisted into an ironic grimace — was he being made a fool of?
"No, any method is fine. As long as he finds it interesting, that's what matters."
I didn't quite understand.
But whether it was bloodline or the affinity between those who possessed unusual talent, she seemed to know something that Jinshi himself couldn't grasp.
I decided to voice a question that had been nagging at me.
"Lady Raohen — why did she decide to hold a go tournament? Honestly, she strikes me as the type who'd prefer to play go however she likes, whenever she likes, regardless of money."
"Yes, that's right. If it were just Father alone, that would certainly be the case."
Rahan pulled a book from inside her coat. It was one of the go books that had become a trend.
"The game records in here are mostly games Father played with a certain woman. He still remembers records from over twenty years ago — even though he can't remember who he met just yesterday. That's how irreplaceable they were to Father. They're relics of the past that can never be added to again."
"...Ah."
Jinshi had a pretty good idea who "a certain woman" was.
She must have been a courtesan of the Ryosei-kan — Maomao's mother.
"There is no one else like her left. Father knows that. But perhaps he wonders whether, based on those old game records, someone who plays like her might yet appear."
"...Is he seeking the past?"
"If anything, perhaps he's seeking something that leads forward to the next chapter. No, I wonder if Father has even thought that far ahead."
Growing anxious, Rahan scratched the back of his neck.
"...Still, it would help if he gave post-game commentary to other opponents too, like he did in the match just now. If we end up having to refund consultation fees, that will put us in a difficult position."
"Consultation fees?"
Come to think of it, she had mentioned that one could play go with Raohen for a fee. It had supposedly been postponed due to Raohen's poor health.
"For the past several days, consultations have been given priority. My goodness, it was a struggle just coordinating schedules. Until a moment ago, she was playing a game with another opponent — then she suddenly vanished. When I heard she'd come here..."
So that was why she'd been out of breath.
"I have a question of my own."
"What is it?"
"Was it the Go Sage who put the idea in your head, Lady Jinshi?"
There was no question mark — he had been at the match too, so it was obvious.
"I received some of my lord's time and had the Go Sage provide instruction."
"I see, that makes sense."
Raohan nodded.
"When he played the Go Sage, my father-in-law always complained about only being served bitter snacks."
"I see."
It seemed to be true that he had no intention of fighting a bear with his bare hands.
"Well then, I shall take my leave now — oh, but before that."
Raohan glanced around for a moment.
"There were two people among the earlier spectators who appeared to be the fence-sitting type. Their attitude may well change going forward. And one more thing."
Raohan twisted his mouth into a grin.
"That baked sweet I recently sent over — my father-in-law seems to have taken a liking to it. He'd like you to teach him the recipe. Ah, preferably one with the alcohol removed."
Having said this in a low voice, the small, eccentric man took his leave.
"You seemed to be having quite the conversation. How did it go?"
Maaken approached with a slightly sour look on his face and asked.
"Oh, it was just small talk. Could you ask Suiren to write up a recipe for those baked sweets for me?"
"Y-yes, I understand."
"With the alcohol removed. Got it?"
"Very well."
Maaken tilted his head in puzzlement but followed after Jinshi.