<h4>Chapter 38: The Return of the Real Deal (2)</h4>


    “He’s called you in.”


    As Henry had expected, the door to the city hall opened slowly.


    Vant Larson.


    He was an honorary Noble who had been crowned by the Empire, and at the same time was the mayor of Vivaldi. Of course, he was not supposed to be mayor in the first ce. He had reigned as the chess champion for nearly ten years, and in recognition of his reputation, he had been selected as the manager of Vivaldi, a symbol of nightlife and gambling.


    <i>‘Who the hell could he be? Not only does he have the same name as Henry, but he also knows about Baguess?’</i>


    Vivaldi’s city hall was a tower that soared high into the sky. People called this tower the Vivaldi Tower, and Vant, who managed the tower, was referred to as the ‘Prince of Vivaldi.’


    At that moment, Henry arrived at the living room located on the second floor of the tower.


    Seeing Henry, Vant asked sharply, “Are you the person who calls himself Henry Morris?”


    “Yes, I am.”


    “Excuse me, but can I see your identity tag?”


    Vant’s eyes were full of disbelief. An identity check had already been done at the entrance to the tower, but Vant was the kind of man who needed to see things with his own eyes to truly be convinced of something.


    “Please, feel free.”


    Henry handed over his silver identity tag, which Vant quickly took and inspected.


    <i>‘Three stars…’</i>


    In an Empire that valued honor as its highest virtue, the number of stars embedded in one’s identity tag represented power.


    A ck-grade Noble.


    Vant pretended to inspect the identity tag while ncing up at Henry.


    <i>‘No way. Is he wearing clothes by Sylvia?’</i>


    Vant was the mayor of Vivaldi. He could immediately tell that these were no ordinary clothes.


    But that made it all the more strange.


    <i>‘If he has a silver identity tag, he’s obviously a Bar… perhaps he’s from a wealthy family? If not, how can he be just a Bar and afford to wear Sylvia’s clothes?’</i>


    Most Bars were awarded medals, making them honorary Nobles, and most of these Bars had all their wealth concentrated in one small estate. Therefore, it didn’t make sense to see a Bar wearing expensive luxury goods like Sylvia’s.


    “If you’re done checking, please return it.”


    “Ah, yes, here… I apologize for my rudeness.”


    From what Vant could tell, the man before him was a Noble and appeared to be quite wealthy. In addition, he was using the name of the former Archmage, and had brought up the topic of Baguess. With this information alone, it was clear that this was someone Vant had to be wary of.


    “Everyone, out.”


    Vant gestured to the servants waiting in the living room, who quickly scurried toward the exit. Soon, only Henry and Vant were left in the living room.


    Vant spoke first.


    “Before I ask you why you’vee to find me, can I ask you something else?”


    “Of course.”


    “Baguess. Do you know what that word refers to?”


    “Of course I do. Isn’t it the name of the inn?”


    <i>‘H-how does he…?’</i>


    “Have all your questions been answered? Now, it’s my turn to speak.”


    Vantz didn’t provide a specific answer, but based on the expression on his face, it was clear how he felt.


    “What’s the purpose of your visit?” asked Vant.


    “y chess with me.”


    “...Excuse me?”


    “y a round of chess with me. That’s all I want.”


    “Do you know who I am?”


    “Of course I do. Aren’t you Sir Vant Larson, mayor of Vivaldi and the greatest chess champion of the Empire?”


    .


    Vant was taken aback once more.


    At this, Henry raised his right finger and said, “Of course, this might sound a little ridiculous from your perspective, Sir Vant.”


    “Of course.”


    “That’s why, if you y a round of chess with me and win, I’ll tell you the truth about how I got to know about the Baguess Inn.”


    “I beg your pardon?”


    “Actually, you only epted to see me in person because it was bothering you, wasn’t it? How about it? Isn’t my proposal pretty lucrative?”


    Henry decided to ce a bet on the game that he knew Vant was most confident in, wagering the piece of information Vant was most curious about. Anyone could have seen that this was a highly suspicious bet, but it was also an offer that Vant couldn’t refuse.


    <i>‘What the hell is this guy up to?’</i>


    Vant was confused by Henry’s radical proposal, but the more he thought about the deal, the greater his headache became. In the end, Vant decided to think through it simply.


    “You do know that my nickname is the Undefeated Champion, don’t you?”


    “Of course I do. That’s why I’m challenging you. It’s only normal to want to dethrone the champion.”


    “Very well. So what does Sir Henry want if he wins? I hope you didn’t cause all this uproar just to y a friendly game.”


    “I think I’ll probably lose, so what good would deciding on a prize for me do?”


    “Then if you win, I’ll grant you any wish. How about that?”


    “Good. Then shall we begin right away?”


    With that, Vant jumped from his seat, then pulled out a chess set from a drawer on the other side of the living room.


    “I’m the challenger, so I’ll take white.”


    “Sure.”


    Chess was like war, but miniaturized. It was a game in which each yer had to use different abilities and tactics in a limited space to defeat their opponent. There were many other simr games, but the reason chess was the most famous game in the empire was that it was a true traditional game that had been created by the empire.


    <i>‘And I’m the one who made this traditional game.’</i>


    Yes. It was Henry who had invented chess.


    In fact, chess was nothing more than a neighborhood game that Henry had yed with the locals, but with his hometown gone and the empire in its ce, the game had spread across the nation.


    The game started.


    Henry made his first move in a leisurely manner, and Vant began the game with a calm mind as well.


    Then, a long time passed.


    “...Huh?”


    “Checkmate.”


    “W-w-wait. Huh?”


    Vant had been ying chess for more than ten years. He knew it like the back of his hand. However, as the game had progressed, he couldn’t erase the feeling that he was slowly getting led on by his opponent. When that feeling had reached its climax, Henry had made his move, cornering Vant into a checkmate.


    Vant began to break out in cold sweat. He had held the reputation over the past ten years as the undefeated champion, but it had been shattered in an instant by Henry. He got up and looked around, covering his cold sweat and sweaty hands. He ended up scattering the chessboard as his hands shook violently.


    “Sir Vant, are you okay? You don’t look very good.”


    “I-I-I’m okay. L-let’s y one more round.”


    “Then, this time, I’ll take ck.”


    It’s the first time Vant had started as white in ten years. Now <i>he?</i>was the challenger.


    Some time passed.


    “It’s my victory again.”


    <i>Scatter—</i>


    The second game ended much faster than the first, and in an even more overwhelming manner. As soon as the game was over, Vant tossed the chessboard aside in a hurry, afraid that somebody might see it. As if he was suffering from some sort of mental illness, he trembled violently in his seat.


    “H-how could this be…!”


    He had dedicated his entire life to this game, and his efforts and sess had all been ripped apart in an instant. Such a response was only natural.


    Seeing Vant trembling, Henry smirked and said, “What a shame. If this was an official match, I would have been able to get a ton of prize money, and the title of Kingyer as well.”


    Their two matches had just been unofficial matches, without any spectators. In other words, no matter how many times Henry had beaten Vant, there was no evidence to prove it.


    At Henry’s words, Vant finally came back to his senses.


    “T-that’s right! This is an unofficial match! I’m quite tired now, so I’ll have to call it a day. S-so, please leave.”


    Seeing how Vant was bumbling and mixing together honorifics and casual words, it was clear that he was in a great state of shock.


    Henry stared at Vant for a while.


    “W-why are you looking at me!”


    “Shall we have another round?”


    “W-what?”


    “It’s always a best-of series, right? It seems that you’ve yet to fullyprehend the results.”


    “Y-you mean, a rematch?”


    “There’s plenty of time. Please start as white again.”


    Henry understood that Vant was in shock due to the loss. However, that made it difficult to have a conversation with him. Thus, Henry decided topletely destroy Vant and break his mind, giving him no mental capacity left to even react to the loss.


    The match began.


    Vant started as white, Henry started as ck, and the result was yet another overwhelming victory for Henry.


    “T-this cannot be!”


    <i>Crash!</i>


    Unable to contain his anger, Vant struck the chessboard with his fist.


    “Sir! Did something happen!”


    “Don’te in!”


    His servant and secretary, who had been waiting outside the living room, tried to enter in a hurry. Vant took out his anger on them.


    <i>‘There must be no eyewitnesses!’</i>


    In order to maintain his reputation of being the best in the empire, this situation could not be revealed to anyone at any cost.


    Seeing Vant fall into chaos, Henry grinned.


    * * *


    It took Vant quite a while to calm down, but even the hottestva eventually must cool.


    However, despite regaining hisposure, Vant was exhausted from his helplessness, rather than regaining his calm.


    “Have you finally calmed down?


    “You… who <i>are</i> you?”


    “You’ve already seen my identity tag, haven’t you?”


    “Stop messing around. I’m in no mood to y along with your nonsense right now.”


    It was quite fun for Henry to avoid a direct answer when he knew exactly what Vant was asking.


    <i>‘Fool, he’s still as timid as ever.’</i>


    Looking at Vant, Henry found himselfughing subconsciously. Despite how long it had been since theirst meeting, his disciple’s character was the same as ever.


    Yes, Vant had been the only disciple to learn chess under Henry, and the ce where he had learned it was at the inn called Baguess.


    Henry continued to tease Vant for a bit longer, before finally deciding to turn serious.


    “Sir Vant.”


    “What?”


    “I’m actually the second chess apprentice of the Archmage, Henry Morris.”


    “...I beg your pardon?”


    It was yet another unexpected im by Henry, enough to light the fire in Vant’s soulless eyes once again.


    “Baguess is where you first andst learned chess from our Master, isn’t it?”


    “Y-yes, that’s right. Don’t tell me…”


    “I learned chess at the Morris estate. I was able to be his second disciple simply because I shared the same name as him. Of course I’ve heard of you, Sir Vant. How could I not have heard of the senior who learned chess from the Master before I did?”


    Vant quietly listened to Henry’s story.


    “I’m now an adult, and I’ve worked my way up to three stars in order to further my goals. That is why I havee to Vivaldi.”


    “Huh? Why Vivaldi of all ces… Don’t tell me that your great will is…?”


    “Ah, don’t get the wrong idea. I have no dreams of bing the chess champion.”


    Vant sighed with relief.


    “Then what is it that you want…?”


    “One hundred thousand gold.”


    “Excuse me?”


    “One-hundred-thousand gold. That’s what I want, Sir Vant.”