Chapter 124: Who's the real winner?

"I'm sorry. I just got lucky." Louis waved his hand nonchalantly, a sly smile on his face.

Hazel narrowed her eyes as she tapped something on her NEP. At the same moment, a message came through on Louis's phone with some credits forwarded.

"Nice doing business with you." Louis narrowed his eyes.

Hazel waved her hand, "I don't like to lose, but it can't be helped. By the way, do you know where Alexia is right now? I wanted to talk to her."

Louis nodded.

"Sure. Go to the north end of the fairgrounds. You'll see everything there."

Hazel's eyes went wide.

"Wait... You don't mean to say that..."

Before Hazel could finish, the show host interrupted her, walking in front of her holding a wooden playing board.

Louis just waved his hand, showing that he would not tell her anything more about Alexia. Although Hazel was not familiar with Alexia, almost every captain of a sufficiently large squad knew about one of the strongest K1-Phantoms.

Hazel had to hurry up and recruit Alexia for at least a few missions before Alexia moved to K2. Then, they would no longer be able to work together, only rare joint missions and promotion to K2, as well.

The final game of the three was chess!

Unlike card games, chess had no room for luck, it was pure strategy with the need to think dozens of moves ahead to ensure victory.

"Oh, I'm afraid explaining the rules of chess won't be easy..." Jena muttered, turning to Adam.

"You don't have to. I know about chess. My father is quite good at it." Adam said seriously, "It's probably the only board game I'm familiar with, though. However... what is it...?"

Adam was a little puzzled since the set of pieces was not exactly standard. Each player had one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, and two bishops. However, there were seven pawns instead of eight.

Thus, instead of a pawn that should stand in front of the king, there was a piece unknown to Adam - a dragon.

The dragon had two wide wings, a long tail, and a wide open mouth as if it was ready to unleash its fiery breath.

"I see that some of you are puzzled!" The man vigorously exclaimed, "These are the special pieces, usually used at fairs and other entertainment events. The only change is the new Dragon figure!"

The man continued, pointing at the dragon:

Louis responded to the handshake.

Adam and Jena looked over at each other. They were both pretty good at chess, enough to realize that Louis had given in on purpose. Obviously, Silvana saw it as well, but she had no choice but to accept victory, for Louis had only given her one chance, after which she would lose.

"We have a winner!" The show host exclaimed, "Winner, please choose one of the two awards!"

The man pointed to the stands behind him where there was a dragon statuette, a piece enlarged several times, and a special chess set with exclusive black and red coloring and pieces.

Many in Silvana's place would have chosen the unique chess set, however... when Silvana saw Trici's shining eyes, her decision changed.

Trici was looking at the huge dragon with incredible desire, and Silvana just couldn't resist the sincere childish joy. However, one could hardly blame her.

"A dragon? I didn't expect such a stern-looking lady to choose a statuette, but it's your decision! Once again, congratulate the winner of our little game!" The show host exclaimed.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Applause spread throughout the crowd, making Silvana feel slightly proud.

Louis, just leaned back in his chair, watching Silvana, who with a dragon statuette approached Trici.

"Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Silvana smiled.

"Yes. It's so good to see you!" Trici jumped up happily.

Silvana nodded, handing her the dragon statuette.

"Here. This is for you. Consider it my gift to you for your long absence."

Trici's eyes went wide as she jumped at Silvana, ready to explode with happiness.

A wave of emotion went through the entire area, leaving no one indifferent. Silvana, Ama, Jena, and the people in the crowd were genuinely smiling. Someone even decided to clap to appreciate Silvana's act.

"Unbelievable! I didn't even expect such sacrifice from our winner!" The show host exclaimed, handing Silvana a chess set as a bonus award.

"Here. This is the best I can offer. Moreover, whoever wants to buy interesting board games, figurines, and costumes, come into my store! I'm sure everyone will find something suitable!"

The crowd, with radiant smiles, streamed toward the entrance.

The only one who wasn't smiling was Louis, but not because he was resentful of defeat. He was staring intently at the two silhouettes in the distance that didn't notice him, though they were gazing at Adam.