Issei returned home with his head lowered. What he had gone through wasn't pleasant, and honestly, he knew it would eventually happen.
(Partner, forget about it. Think of it as if you took away her pain.) Ddraig spoke in his mind.
'I don't want to talk about it,' Issei replied with a defeated sigh.
As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a hug from his mother.
"Welcome home, son. I made your favorite meal," Mrs. Hyoudou announced cheerfully, but Issei simply looked at her and smiled.
"Mom, I'm really tired today," Issei said with a small laugh as he hugged her back. "I'm going to sleep, and when I wake up, I'll eat, okay?"
"Alright," Mrs. Hyoudou replied, somewhat surprised.
Her usually energetic son now looked completely defeated.
"Poor Issei... he must have gotten his heart broken by some girl," Mrs. Hyoudou muttered sadly to herself.
---+++---
— Being depressed isn't going to help you, kid. — Vlad spoke in Issei's mind.
"I know. I just want to rest for a while," Issei replied, giving a small nod.
Vlad understood.
The only one who said nothing was Satanta, who simply watched the scene from afar.
Scathach and Morrigan didn't appear that night.
And so, Issei lay down on his bed and fell asleep.
_
The next day, Issei woke up and hugged his mother with all his strength. His experience with the Fallen Angel had made him realize what truly mattered.
Mrs. Hyoudou didn't understand what had gotten into him, but she simply accepted the hug and embraced him back.
Then Issei grabbed his school bag and headed to school.
As soon as he arrived, he saw his friends talking about something perverted and greeted them.
"Issei, have you heard the rumors about you and Kiba?" Motohama asked, gesturing wildly.
"Yeah, they even said you two had sex in the bathroom," Matsuda added, pointing at him.
"Nooo! Who the hell started those rumors?!" Issei cried while scratching his head and shaking it frantically.
"We did!" The two of them struck a superhero pose. "To teach you a lesson for being such a womanizer!"
"You sons of bitches!" Issei pointed at them. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
"You think we don't know about the transfer students?!" Matsuda cried in outrage. "They were all over you!"
The argument continued for a while until Issei finally managed to convince the two boys that he didn't have a girlfriend.
After surviving an extremely boring philosophy class, Issei headed toward the student council room.
"Sona, your charming prince has arrived!" Issei shouted as he kicked the door open.
"Hyoudou... what have I told you about entering my room like that?" Sona sighed while playing a game by herself.
"Oohhh, let me play too!" Issei said excitedly.
(Are you really going to play, partner?) Ddraig asked in his mind. (With your luck, you're going to cause trouble just by touching the game.)
'Relax, oversized lizard. I learned how to play with Vlad,' Issei replied mentally.
Issei practically threw himself into the chair beside Sona, resting his arms on the desk while staring at the computer screen.
The student council president didn't seem bothered by his presence. She merely glanced at him before returning her attention to the chessboard displayed on her laptop.
Issei's eyes sparkled.
Without asking for permission, he pulled his chair even closer and leaned so far forward that he was practically over the desk.
Sona sighed, already used to this kind of behavior.
After several seconds of insistence and an incredibly excited look from him, she eventually started a new game.
The boy smiled triumphantly.
Ddraig laughed in his mind.
— You're really doing this?
'Why not?'
— Because your luck is legendary.
'I learned a few things.'
Vlad, who had remained silent until now, simply watched.
The game began.
Sona made her first move quickly and naturally, like someone who had played hundreds of times before.
Issei, on the other hand, stared at the board for several seconds.
He rested his chin on his hand.
Frowned.
Then moved a piece.
Sona didn't react at all.
Another move.
And another.
Little by little, Issei's carefree smile disappeared, replaced by a look of concentration.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
Sona noticed.
She looked up from the screen for a brief moment.
Normally, Hyoudou would lose interest in something like chess after less than five minutes.
But there he was.
Silent.
Thinking.
Even his moves were taking time.
She returned her attention to the board.
Several moves passed.
Then she realized the center of the board was balanced.
None of Issei's pieces were poorly positioned.
In fact... he was developing them correctly.
The president blinked once.
Then twice.
She looked at him again and found Issei staring at the board with a seriousness that seemed completely out of place on his face.
That was... strange.
On the other side, Issei didn't even notice her gaze.
His mind was entirely focused.
The words Vlad had once taught him echoed in his memory.
He moved a knight.
Sona responded immediately.
He advanced a pawn.
She answered again.
The exchanges began.
A bishop fell.
A knight was traded.
The game was... even.
Hyoudou Issei was evenly matched with the president.
That made no sense.
Then it happened.
Sona advanced a pawn on the flank.
It was a simple move.
But it left a small opening.
Issei's eyes widened.
He leaned even closer to the screen.
For a few seconds, he remained completely still.
Then a small smile appeared.
Sona noticed immediately.
She narrowed her eyes.
Issei moved his bishop.
The smile disappeared from the president's face.
She looked at the board.
Then looked again.
A sequence of attacks had formed.
Her king was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
She responded quickly.
Issei continued.
One piece.
Then another.
The pressure increased.
Sona's expression became more serious.
She placed her hand on the mouse and analyzed every possibility.
Meanwhile, Issei maintained a strangely confident smile.
For several minutes, nobody said a word.
Only the sound of mouse clicks filled the room.
Then came another move from Issei.
Sona stopped.
She analyzed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Her hand remained motionless.
One of the girls behind her swallowed nervously.
The position was lost.
Not immediately.
But inevitably.
Every response led to more losses.
Every defense created another threat.
The president leaned back in her chair and stared at the board for a long moment.
Then she looked at Issei.
He was grinning from ear to ear.
He didn't even seem to realize how good his sequence of moves had been.
She returned her eyes to the board.
After a few seconds, she let out a small sigh.
And clicked the resign button.
The victory sound echoed through the room.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Issei blinked.
Then blinked again.
And pointed at the screen.
"Did... I win?"
"You won," Sona said incredulously, her face slowly turning red.
"Ahhh, well... I guess I just got lucky," Issei replied, scratching the back of his head as he slowly stood up. "Bye!"
Issei ran as fast as humanly possible without using his powers and opened the door to leave.
Only to crash straight into Tsubaki and the other student council members.
"Hi, Tsubaki. You look beautiful today," Issei commented before immediately running away.
"Thank you," Tsubaki replied awkwardly as she watched the boy sprint off.
"Kaichou!" Saji came running when he saw Sona completely frozen and bright red. "What happened?"
"I lost," Sona replied in a daze while staring at the chessboard.
Only Tsubaki covered her mouth, fully understanding what that meant.