Chapter 641

"But this kid, he hides it so deep. I definitely have to roast him hard when we meet!"

Nomura Masaki mused:

"He really should be. This kid has the strength; he hides it so deep."

Yasui Ryouto was dumbfounded:

"How could it be like this..."

"Did he really win?"

Yasui Ryouto had originally felt that it would be quite good if Natsume Chikage won.

After all, Natsume Chikage's character was indeed quite good.

But now, seeing his current strength... it seemed to exceed his imagination somewhat.

In school, he, who was comparable to a quasi-professional, was still quite famous in shogi.

But with Natsume Chikage doing this now, he feared his own spotlight had been partially covered.

Yasui Ryouto was somewhat annoyed, but after thinking about it,

he understood that the strength of a Women's 3-dan was, after all, only comparable to a 1st-grade member of the Promotion Society.

Although he hadn't expected him to have this strength,

when it came down to it, it was still far from his own quasi-professional level.

And now, with Natsume Chikage having almost lost while winning against Asahina Akatsuki, he feared he would truly stop at the next fifth round.

Mm-hmm, it must be like this!!

The Kondo household.

Kondo Masasuke had just finished wiping his hair with a towel and walked out of the bathroom, intending to come to the living room to drink some water and then go to sleep.

However, the moment he stepped into the living room,

he heard the excited voices of the commentators on the television, who were replaying and praising the brilliant moment of Natsume Chikage's great comeback victory.

He also saw his own wife, Kondo Miyuki, cheering at the television with extreme excitement:

"That's great, honey!"

"It's really great, Natsume-kun actually won!"

"I didn't even expect Natsume-kun to actually use that god-like move of 'dropping,' directly achieving a great comeback. It's really too brilliant!"

Kondo Masasuke was completely stunned.

His hand wiping his hair stopped in mid-air.

No way!

Wasn't it still being commented as a huge disadvantage just a moment ago?

How did it get announced as a victory just in the time it took me to take a shower?!

Does the opponent even know how to play?

Can you lose even with such a huge advantage?

Just messing around because you're ahead, right?!

Kondo Masasuke gave an unhappy 'tsk'.

Although he had absolutely no idea how Natsume Chikage won,

he instinctively and from the bottom of his heart disliked the news of Natsume Chikage's victory.

Even if this kid really had some strength, since he was described by the commentators as struggling so much earlier, he definitely wouldn't be able to win the upcoming fifth round!

He could only convince himself of this...

The Natsume main family.

In the vast and cold living room,

Natsume Chunhui sat alone on the sofa. After catching sight of the scene on the screen where Natsume Chikage finally won, that perpetually indifferent expression of hers couldn't help but be slightly startled.

Apparently, she hadn't expected such a reversal to occur.

But she only remained silent for a moment before reaching out to pick up the remote control on the side and turning off the television.

The screen went dark, reflecting her expressionless profile.

No one knew what she was thinking at this moment.

In the center of the competition arena.

Asahina Akatsuki looked at the position of the chess clock and discovered that she had spent about thirty minutes.

And on Natsume Chikage's side... he had actually only spent about one minute?

This huge gap caused her to fall into an even more dazed and immense shock.

Why could he win against her while playing so fast?

Does he really not need to think?

Or is it that he is simply used to playing fast chess, so when facing her, he formed a fixed routine?

Had he seen her playing style early on?

Or was it a flash of inspiration?

No... it should be that by playing fast chess, he used her thinking time to think?

She couldn't figure out what it was for a moment.

But regardless, what was certain was that Natsume Chikage was stronger than she had imagined.

Since he won against her, it meant his strength indeed exceeded Tanabe Yuuto's, and his current level should be about the same as hers, or stronger, otherwise it would be impossible to use such a short thinking time...

At this moment.

Thinking about her own defeat...

Asahina Akatsuki slowly and extremely arduously raised her head.

Her gaze crossed the chessboard and looked at the boy opposite who had remained calm throughout.

Natsume Chikage was still in that unruffled state, as if that reversal just now was merely brushing a speck of dust off the chessboard.

Her lips trembled as she moved them, wanting to say something, but she couldn't make any sound.

Finally, she took a deep, cold, and trembling breath, forcibly holding back the tears of humiliation and unwillingness surging in her eyes.

With slightly trembling fingertips, she gently, yet with immense heaviness, pushed over the "King" in her formation.

The chess piece made contact with the wooden chessboard, emitting a slight yet clear "tap" sound.

Like the tolling of the final bell.

She had conceded.

At this moment—the game was over.

Natsume Chikage, victory!!