Chapter 138: Sword Debate Chess (1)
Sword Debate Chess is a game that reflects the highest honor of human Kung-Fu and wisdom.
-Voltaire-
Thirty minutes later, after finishing my Breath Control and steadying my spirit, I returned to where the royal attendant awaited.
“Discharged Medical Maiden, please wait here until the Sword Debate Chess match concludes.”
The royal attendant escorted Watson to a comfortable bedchamber.
Sword Debate Chess is a game that, when masters clash, often continues nonstop for days.
Since I could not know how long the match with Her Majesty would last, providing Watson a comfortable place to stay was, properly, the etiquette of the martial world.
Watson would eat, sleep, and wait here until the Sword Debate Chess match ended.
“Then I shall go and return.”
“Good luck, Holmes.” Watson balled her small fist and offered her encouragement.
Because I had expended internal energy to maintain my Sword Qi during dinner, I was in a state where I could collapse at any moment.
Even so, watching her fill her eyes with fighting spirit and bolster me felt strangely moving.
“…You should rest without worry. You must be tired. No one here will mind if you snore.”
“W-who are you saying snores!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Watson’s flustered reaction.
“It will take a long time.”
“Her Majesty won’t let you go easily. By the way, can it be that you’re nervous?”
“It would be a lie to say I’m not.”
When I said that, Watson nodded and took a small leather pouch from her chest, drawing out a round candy.
A silver-wrapped candy by Zuckerberg & Co., made by coating a pill combining elixirs, other medicinal ingredients, and sugar.
…I remembered it as a rather expensive item.
What on earth did she buy that for?
“I expected as much, so I prepared.”
Watson placed the candy in my hand and said.
“It supposedly has a psychoactive effect that eases nerves. I tried it before the London Grand Examination and its effects were not bad. It’ll also save you time since you won’t need to perform extra Breath Control…”
“…”
“What are you waiting for? Swallow it.”
My small companion blinked and stared at me vacantly.
Having such a friend by my side was not due to my reputation.
This was pure luck—such great fortune that one rarely encounters in life.
There was no other way to put it.
“Watson.”
“Yes?”
“I will certainly return victorious.”
“Bold words against Her Majesty.”
Perhaps conscious of the attendant’s gaze, Watson immediately reproached me.
“…But it’s very like you to say that.”
As Watson smiled, I realized something.
The burden and tension that had weighed on my mind had, somehow, vanished without a trace.
“Truly a remarkable psychoactive effect.”
“Hm? You mean the candy?”
I gave no answer and turned away.
“Her Majesty awaits.”
“Very well. I shall go.”
Leaving Watson in the room, I stepped into the corridor and heard her mutter from behind.
“Strange. It seems he hasn’t even swallowed it yet…”
I immediately put Watson’s candy into my mouth and let it dissolve slowly.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“You are Her Majesty’s guests, so it is only proper to treat you accordingly.”
Although his expression showed little change, the attendant’s voice as we walked to the audience chamber was noticeably brighter than before.
Perhaps, as one who serves the Queen, he was pleased that someone had finally appeared to engage in Her Majesty’s pastime.
Or perhaps this attendant, like many in London’s martial circles, simply could not resist Sword Debate Chess.
Being a formal royal attendant rather than a footman suggested he was born into a fairly respectable family.
If so, the latter was likely. Could I use that fact to my advantage somehow?
Perhaps I could learn in advance how Queen Victoria regards Sword Debate Chess and what her style was.
“Her Majesty seems to enjoy Sword Debate Chess.”
“Indeed. When Prince Albert was at court, she often enjoyed duels and sword debates, but afterwards she came to play mainly Sword Debate Chess.”
I had asked, thinking perhaps I’d get nothing, but he answered more readily than expected.
Of course, this much I already knew.
Unless it touched on Her Majesty’s private life, the attendant would have no hesitation discussing it.
The problem was what came next.
Depending on the answer to my next question, I could gauge how likely I was to defeat Her Majesty.
“Then, do you often invite masters from home and abroad to play Sword Debate Chess?”
The royal attendant nodded.
“Among them is one whom I believe the Little Heavenly Demon also knows well.”
“…You mean my master.”
The fact he knew of the disturbance my master caused at the Royal Palace meant this attendant had served Her Majesty for a long time.
Moreover, he likely knew that Her Majesty had been defeated in duels and Sword Debate Chess by my teacher.
That would make him one of those trusted by the Queen.
However, his answer was unfortunately not what I had hoped for.
My master’s way of playing Sword Debate Chess was something I could not imitate, and I had not heard how he had won against Her Majesty.
What I wanted to know was Her Majesty’s opponents other than my master.
If I could learn about Her Majesty’s past matches, I could infer her style.
I had narrowed the candidates somewhat, but I needed confirmation.
With a single solid clue, I could think up dozens or hundreds of ways to tilt the match in my favor during this short walk to the audience chamber.
‘There will be much to gain from winning this Sword Debate Chess match.’
If I could get close to Her Majesty, I could warn her about the threat of James Moriarty.
Given Sir Harcourt’s cautious nature, the fact that the Church Of Asteroid stood behind the string of telephone murders and that James Moriarty led them had likely not yet reached Her Majesty’s ears.
If I could make a strong impression through Sword Debate Chess, then even if I bring up what seems like a far-fetched story, such as the existence of dark shadows lurking beneath the surface of the martial world, my words will carry weight.
If I could somehow learn Her Majesty’s style through the attendant, forming a pre-match strategy quickly wouldn’t be difficult.
Shall I pry a little further?
“I wonder if Her Majesty has ever competed against masters other than my teacher.”
“I cannot say.”
To my casually posed question, the attendant smiled for the first time.
The intent had been so blatant he couldn’t help but smile.
“Those who wish for their sovereign’s defeat cannot serve in the Forbidden Palace.”
“My apologies, I have committed a grave indiscretion.”
“Be grateful that certain regulations’ enforcement has been relaxed recently. This is all thanks to Her Majesty personally inviting the Little Heavenly Demon to play the match.”
“I am always grateful to Her Majesty.”
Watching the attendant’s expression, I caught the strong certainty in his eyes.
A belief that, come what may, his sovereign would not be defeated.
To defeat Her Majesty would be to triumph over this whole vast palace.
Even if it isn’t a contest of raw force, exceptional martial artists typically demonstrate their worth in sword debates and Sword Debate Chess alike.
For a mere Peak Realm debutant to defeat a master of the Unrestrained Realm would be beyond ordinary imagination.
And such thoughts create…
…a small gap for complacency.
“Shall we make a wager?”
“How could I commit such impious words regarding Her Majesty’s match—”
“I assure you, the victor of this match will be me.”
“…?!”
The attendant’s facial muscles moved markedly for the first time.
As if shocked by an insult beyond belief.
“It may be impertinent to say, but you are arrogant.”
His true feelings spilled out amid heightened emotion.
At last, the answer I sought began to leak from the attendant’s lips.
“Her Majesty reached such an exceptional level that she contested close matches in direct confrontation with Lord Joseph Blackburne and Lord Adolph Anderson, who were called the strongest of their time. I do not think someone like you, who has never mixed moves with true masters, can understand the subtleties of genuine attack, tactics, and sacrifice.”
Graciously, the attendant listed not only Her Majesty’s former opponents but additional necessary information at length.
“Is that so.”
Contrary to his rapid prattle, I merely smiled and answered.
“You mean to say that she had ‘direct confrontations’ with those two masters?”
“Ah…”
Only then did the attendant, realizing he’d been toyed with, lower his head and flush.
“I’m looking forward to it. A match with a master is always an exciting experience.”
Joseph Blackburne and Adolph Anderson are masters who employ aggressive tactics.
They are celebrated Sword Debate Chess virtuosi who create passionate, romantic masterpieces admired by many.
To have faced them directly meant Her Majesty’s style was similar to theirs.
‘It is striking, but the history I knew is being replayed exactly as before.’
The Queen walked exactly the same path as the mainstream of her era.
In this London, where Kung-Fu and struggle were deeply woven into daily life, it was understandable that an aggressive chess valuing valor and sacrifice would be held in higher esteem than in its original world.
Besides, it was still 1881.
Wasn’t it still the time when ‘that man’ had retired from the forefront and was living in the countryside?
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
I expressed my gratitude to the attendant, whose face was dumbfounded.
Whether it be chess or Sword Debate Chess.
If Her Majesty adhered to an old-fashioned approach, I too had a chance.
If Her Majesty favored brilliant attacks born from deep calculation, I would simply counter with the exact opposite style.
“Thanks to you, my chances of victory have improved.”
Having returned from the future, I knew well.
“So, as a form of thanks, allow me to show you in this match.”
A pariah of low birth who had never been properly treated because chess was viewed as the preserve of nobles and capitalists.
Yet eventually a great Grand Master who overturned the Age of Romance and wrote a new history.
“A new era of Sword Debate Chess the world does not yet know.”
The style of Wilhelm Steinitz1.
- TL/N: the first World Chess Champion. ️