Chapter 139: Sword Debate Chess (2)
Although the essence of sword debate chess is a game modeled on a duel between the righteous and the wicked; its form is the art of Kung-Fu, and its process is Kung-Fu Science.
-Baron Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa-
“Little Heavenly Demon Sherlock Holmes has arrived.”
“Open the door.”
When Royal Secretary Sir Carroll gave the order, the attendant waiting in the office opened the door.
“The Little Heavenly Demon requests an audience with the sovereign of Great Britain.”
Sherlock Holmes bowed politely in greeting.
Meanwhile, the attendant who had escorted him wore an oddly solemn, subdued expression.
Something must have happened in the meantime—had he been bested at the outset?
Unlike previous British monarchs, Queen Victoria, who kept close knowledge of those working in the Forbidden Palace, attendants and ladies-in-waiting included, watched the scene with eyes full of curiosity. The opponent was the Little Heavenly Demon.
There was no doubt he had used some trick to toy with the attendant.
Victoria guessed what intent lay behind that action.
In the masters’ world, it was common to use any means to discern an opponent’s style and seize an advantage before a sword debate chess match.
The attendant, fooled by Holmes’ petty tricks, had almost certainly divulged clues about the Queen’s play style.
But.
“A suitable handicap,” she thought.
It was, at most, a shallow gambit.
“I have been waiting.”
Sword debate chess is not a simple game you win just by knowing your opponent well.
Victoria was confident of her victory.
“Come and sit.”
The Queen pointed to two transparent crystal chairs set in the center of the office.
They were to play sword debate chess, yet strangely there was no table between the chairs.
Of course, there was no sword debate chess board there either.
“Hoho.”
The Queen smiled as she looked at the Little Heavenly Demon, who sat with a composed expression, hiding his surprise.
The Little Heavenly Demon must have heard.
That his master, Phileas Fogg, had once come here and faced the Queen across an ordinary sword debate chess board.
But that was long ago.
The Forbidden Palace’s sword debate chess had advanced beyond all comparison with the past.
“Do you intend to play blindfold sword debate chess? I don’t mind, but…”
“How rude. Do you take me for one unacquainted with the finer graces?”
“I merely thought, given Your Majesty’s level, it would not be so difficult.”
“Hmm. You know well. But are you not a guest invited by me? Even if it is a mere pastime, I always insist on only the best.”
When the Queen snapped her fingers, her attendant Melanie Poppins, standing nearby, walked to the wall and pulled a cord.
-Kugung
The next moment, the floor split and a massive sword debate chess board three yards across rose up between the chairs.
On it were enormous chess pieces nearly a yard tall.
♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟龍脈♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♖♘♗♕♔♗♘♖
“Ho.”
Sherlock Holmes looked down at the magnificent game board with evident surprise.
“It must be of this scale to avoid embarrassment when facing other masters.”
“Indeed, it’s a sword debate chess board fitting the majesty of the royal palace.”
“You should have said it befits my dignity, not the palace’s.”
“Indeed.”
Sherlock Holmes seemed to enjoy the sword debate chess board and studied it for a long time.
“Truly a perfect composition.”
As Holmes said, the pieces Victoria had prepared were uniformly beautiful.
As the Queen expected, he slowly began examining the white pieces.
The sword debate chess pieces of the Forbidden Palace were not simply carved wooden forms like ordinary chess pieces.
The figures, sculpted from white Italian marble into human shapes, each held weapons forged from durable alloys such as cold iron and black iron.
Even the eight pawns, the first-rate warriors, wielded differently shaped weaponry, with distinct builds and armor styles.
And what of the principal pieces behind them?
As if to show differences in value and strength from the pawns, the squares on which the rear pieces stood varied in elevation.
At the highest rise sat the deciding King and the strongest piece, the Queen.
At slightly lower positions on the board’s ends stood the Rooks, and on the lower terraces the Knights and Bishops.
Yet even the lowest stood higher than the flat plain reserved for pawns, who symbolized first-rate secular disciples.
The Knights and Bishops—symbolizing peak-realm disciples—wore more ornate armor and carried weapons of precious alloys.
Moreover, the ornaments on their armor were pure silver works, refined by highly skilled artisans.
Some weapons even bore small gems. Selling these pieces alone could likely fund a poor four-person family’s living expenses for two years.
By the time one beheld the lofty Rook, symbolizing a great disciple, and the Queen, representing the ultimate master, words like “luxurious” or “extravagant” no longer sufficed.
They were at a level where they could be considered works of art.
No matter how the ranks differed by piece type, the gaps between them were immense.
Pawns symbolized first-rate warriors.
Knights and Bishops represented the Peak Realm.
Rooks represented the Transcendent Realm.
The Queen represented a transcendent of the Unrestrained Realm.
Thus, it was natural that the Rooks and Queen were adorned with gold and platinum.
Perhaps it signified a warrior who had begun to surpass human limits, reaching the realm of Social Facade.
The Rook wearing armor embossed with battlement motifs and the Queen holding a slender two-handed sword bore calmer expressions than the resolute-faced Pawns and Knights.
It was impossible to tell which master’s hand had shaped them, but they looked so vivid one could suspect an artisan’s spirit had been infused into them.
Having inspected every piece, the King, seated with a sheathed sword, gripping his command scroll with the dignity of a Murim alliance leader, Little Heavenly Demon spoke.
“Among marble sculptures I’ve seen, this is the first with such completeness. Of course, I’m speaking only of those completed in this century.”
Some might call them expensive toys, but for the curiosity-and-inquiry incarnate, Little Heavenly Demon Sherlock Holmes, they provoked considerable interest.
“If you wish, take your time. After all, you’ll be here serving my amusement for a while.”
“I can postpone it until after the match.”
Holmes courteously declined and turned to examine the pieces before him.
Unlike the pure white pieces he had just seen, those before him were black.
Because sword debate chess is a condensed martial duel, the black pieces represented the Black Chess side.
Naturally, the black pieces’ weapons, stances, and armor details differed markedly from the white side.
Given that in sword debate chess, the white chess pieces representing the orthodox is the first mover, the Queen taking White as a ceremonial gesture meant she intended to win from the very first game.
“She’s going all out from the start, then.”
Sensing she was still stung by a past loss to the Heavenly Demon, Holmes decided to resolve a question that had come to mind.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty, but the pieces look quite heavy. In this match, when a move is declared, will a lady-in-waiting or attendant move the piece on the board on the player’s behalf?”
“Of course not.”
Queen Victoria smiled, her eyes bright as if she had been waiting for the question.
“Of course they will be moved by Poltergeist.”
“…?!”
“My attendants and ladies do not remain in the Forbidden Palace to perform such trivial tasks. If the use of Poltergeist is difficult, carry them yourself.”
For a brief moment, Holmes’ straighter features twisted.
It was because, at the Queen’s mention of the attendants and ladies-in-waiting, he noticed the very people had averted their eyes.
It was an obvious, barefaced lie.
Joseph Blackburne and Adolph Anderson, whom the Queen claimed to have faced, were not particularly of a high realm.
They surely could not have sustained Poltergeist-driven play all day.
No matter how he thought about it, the rule had been hastily concocted to beat him.
But this was Queen Victoria’s domain, so Holmes could voice no complaint.
“…Is that so? Very well. Then moves will be enacted by Poltergeist as much as possible.”
Victoria inwardly chuckled as she watched him, tongue-clicking at the opponent’s petty attitude while trying to hide his true feelings.
She had originally intended a fair confrontation, but upon learning what the Little Heavenly Demon was hiding, her thinking changed.
This match was a perfectly designed trap.
Everything had been planned to secure what Victoria wanted.
On the surface they were merely beautifully decorated marble statues, but they were filled with dense black iron within.
Moving them by Poltergeist was harder, and moving them directly would consume considerable internal energy.
If the match proceeded by Poltergeist-moving each piece, the Little Heavenly Demon would not last a night before declaring surrender.
Victoria felt a twinge of conscience, but to defeat that annoying man’s disciple she was prepared to use any means this once.
Moreover, beyond pride, there was a secret Victoria wanted to extract from the Little Heavenly Demon at any cost.
“You’ve had your fill of looking, so let’s begin the match.”
“…As you command.”
“Regardless of the outcome, if you sufficiently entertain me, I shall grant a fitting reward.”
“Your grace is boundless.”
Watching the Little Heavenly Demon repeatedly answer curtly and show his displeasure, the Queen brought up a topic she had kept in reserve during the ball.
“By the way. Have you considered my offer of a grant?”
“An offer…… you say?”
“I will grant you gold of equal weight to yourself in exchange for yielding the secret of the indulgence talisman.”
“That—”
Victoria smiled as she noticed a flicker of confusion cross Holmes’ face.
“You intend to refuse, do you?”
“…It’s not an easy decision to make, after all.”
It was a natural reaction.
If someone with power beyond the Vatican learned the indulgence talisman’s secret, they could gain enormous benefit.
By buying secondhand indulgence talismans circulating in Europe cheaply and simply erasing their residual magic, one could siphon off revenues that the Zion Clan’s main temple had earned from exorcism rites.
Beyond monetary gain, the political advantage would be incalculable.
It was a secret worth not merely gold equal to the Little Heavenly Demon’s weight, but gold equivalent to the weight of a Little Heavenly Demon who had unfolded a thousand-pound scale.
Therefore.
“Let’s make a wager.”
She could first use her power to seize it, then grant whatever elixirs or weapons he required until he was satisfied.
“If I win this match, you will accept my offer. I will triple the grant.”
The indulgence talisman’s secret should be used for the right purposes.
Its true worth would be realized in the hands of a nation’s ruler rather than a lone detective.
That was Victoria’s conclusion.
-ROOOOAR!!
The Queen released the aura she had been suppressing and began pressuring the Little Heavenly Demon.
Call her cowardly if you like.
As the leader of a vast empire, she was prepared to bear any disgrace for the national interest.
“Now. What will you do?”
A small hesitation crossed Sherlock Holmes’ eyes as he looked at the Queen demanding an answer.
Victoria inwardly rejoiced at the sight.
But the next moment.
“Very well. It’s the height of tastelessness to play sword debate chess with the sovereign of Great Britain and stake nothing.”
A smile appeared at the Little Heavenly Demon’s lips.
“…?!”
He shouldn’t be swayed by gold, so why did he accept so readily?
She should have held the initiative.
Seeing the Queen frown at the unexpected response, Holmes spoke up.
“However, it seems unfair for me alone to bear the risk. If you don’t mind, Your Majesty, I ask that you also put up a stake.”
“What do you want?”
“I ask you not as the Queen of Great Britain, but as the Head of the Westminster Ancient Tomb Clan to grant my request.”
Dropping the act, the detective who had been wearing a contemptuous smile answered the Queen’s question.
“If I win this match—”
Only then did Victoria realize.
“I ask that you grant one Kung-Fu and one treasure of the Ancient Tomb Clan.”
That it wasn’t the Little Heavenly Demon, but she, who had fallen into a trap.