By Zephyria 
A writer? Not a doctor? The first person who appeared when he searched was a doctor. But the James Barry this man mentioned was the writer listed below him.
“Then….”
He wanted to ask more, but that was the limit. Chrissy shut his mouth and looked down at the chessboard. There weren’t many pieces left. Nathaniel now had only one rook, one bishop, one knight, and one pawn. The reason he had been answering Chrissy’s questions half-heartedly and staring only at the board was likely to find a way to win. The long fingers stroking his chin looked somewhat troubled. Chrissy had no intention of giving him the leisure or an opening to escape.
“Please make your move; time is running out.”
At Chrissy’s urging, Nathaniel frowned and silently moved a pawn. The small movement of the pawn, struggling forward only one square at a time, felt somehow laughable. Chrissy played innocent and moved his bishop as instructed. Good, just two more moves like this and it’s checkmate. Then, move the knight to block the bottom and….
Just as he thought that far, Nathaniel moved a piece. Stopping his calculations and looking down at the board, Chrissy froze for a moment. With the movement of the knight, two of his pieces were suddenly in danger. He only had one chance to move a piece. He had to give up either the queen or the bishop.
I can’t give up the queen.
His mouth tasted bitter, but he made his decision. As he lifted the queen to avoid the knight’s attack, just as expected, Nathaniel’s piece knocked over Chrissy’s bishop.
Uh.
It was then that Chrissy realized he had made a colossal mistake. By the time he realized that the knight had taken the bishop’s place and what result that brought, Nathaniel spoke.
“Checkmate.”
Damn it, for fuck’s sake!
“Oh, shit!”
Chrissy almost let out a pained groan unconsciously. Almost simultaneously, he heard a curse in his ear. It was clear that the man had not expected this situation either. Why hadn’t he noticed the bishop guarding the king? It would have been better to clear the bishop.
Regret washed over him, but he soon regained his composure. It was a simple matter of moving the king to the side. Protecting the queen was the right decision. Affirming his choice once more, Chrissy looked at Nathaniel, as if asking what he would take off this time.
“Let’s save the rest and do them all at once; I don’t like it when the flow is interrupted,” Nathaniel said in his characteristic leisurely tone. To Chrissy, who hesitated at the unexpected words, he added nonchalantly,
“Because it’ll be over soon.”
“Ha.”
A breath that sounded like a sigh escaped him in disbelief. He wanted to slap that arrogant face, but he knew well that it was impossible. Instead, he took a short deep breath and focused his attention back on the chess. There was no need to wait for the collaborator’s instructions. There was only one choice. Chrissy silently moved the king. But immediately after, something unbelievable happened. As soon as he took his hand off the piece, Nathaniel moved his next piece and declared,
“Checkmate.”
Chrissy looked down at the chessboard with wide eyes. Checkmate again? How?
Nathaniel’s rook was positioned in a straight line with the king. When did it become like this? Flustered, Chrissy blinked several times. He needed to take the rook, but there wasn’t a single piece capable of doing so. Moving the king wasn’t easy either. A knight guarded one side, and a rook guarded the other. There was only one direction left. He was clearly winning, so how did this happen? He couldn’t understand it at all. He had even taken the queen, yet now he was desperate just to escape.
But the final move also failed. Nathaniel moved the bishop to take Chrissy’s rook and whispered under his breath,
“Checkmate.”
“…Ha.”
In disbelief, Chrissy finally let out a sigh-like lament. His pieces were scattered everywhere, yet he could do nothing. The king was completely trapped. How could this happen?
“This is impossible… how, why?”
He heard a murmur in his ear that mirrored his own thoughts. Since he was competing using a computer, the other person must be even more appalled.
How, without a queen, and with only one rook.
As he thought that far, something suddenly occurred to him. Could it be, perhaps.
“…Did you give up the queen on purpose?”
At the suspicious question, Nathaniel smiled casually.
“It doesn’t require such a monumental decision. If I can win, giving up a queen is nothing.”
Chrissy couldn’t say a word. He just stared blankly down at the chessboard. He was certain he could win. How could this….
Looking at Chrissy’s face, which had turned pale with emptiness, Nathaniel smiled more brightly than ever with a satisfied expression.
“The game is over. Then, before I embrace my trophy….”
For some reason, trailing off, he glanced at Chrissy’s ear.
“It would be best to have the other man exit now. I don’t have a hobby of showing off to other people.”
…What?
At the sudden words, Chrissy’s entire body froze.
4 |
A heavy silence descended. It was a short span of time, only a few seconds, but to Chrissy, it felt longer than ever. His mind went blank and his lips felt as heavy as stones, making it impossible to utter a word. What did he just say? He knew? No, he must be just guessing. There’s no way that man knows. Yes, it’s probably just a bluff. He must be trying to test me, yes….
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His voice flowed out calmly. Chrissy boldly looked straight into Nathaniel’s face and even managed a smile.
“Who else is here besides you and me? Is this some kind of old secret friend of Mr. Miller’s?”
When he compared it to an imaginary friend that children have, a small snort of laughter escaped Nathaniel’s lips. However, he absolutely hated stalling for time and changing the subject like this. And Chrissy found that out immediately.
“Chrissy Jin.”
Looking at him with a face where the smile had vanished, Nathaniel spoke. To Chrissy, who flinched for a moment, he continued quietly.
“If I’ve played along with your stupid antics, you should have ended it reasonably. I’m not so idle that I can spend time on useless wordplay.”
Then, staring at Chrissy with a cold gaze, he commanded,
“Remove all the devices you have; this is my final warning. I’ll give you 30 seconds. Remove them all within that time. Whether you’re ready or not, I’ll be taking my trophy in 30 seconds.”
Nathaniel glanced at the watch on his wrist for effect and added,
“I don’t care if that man hears all your sobbing.”
Of course you wouldn’t.
Chrissy bit his lip, but he had no choice. He had already prepared for this. He just hadn’t expected that the man would play the game to the end even after noticing, but regardless, he had to accept the result. He stood up abruptly and tilted his head to one side. As he pulled the thin string connected to the outer ear, the earphone fixed inside came out. When he pressed a small groove on the device that was receiving signals with a blinking light, the light vanished and the power turned off. Then, he tilted his head and removed the lens from his eye as well. He placed the now-useless lens carelessly on the table and looked up, at which point Nathaniel, who had been watching, spoke.
“Is that all?”
Chrissy nodded.
“There’s nothing left, that’s all.”
Nathaniel glanced over the small tools scattered on the table and laughed as if it were absurd.
“You prepared quite diligently. I’m impressed.”
Of course, his expression didn’t look impressed at all. If anything, he looked like he was mocking Chrissy.
His gaze swept over Chrissy’s entire body once before returning to his face. To Chrissy, who had unconsciously tensed up, Nathaniel spoke.
“Now, then.”
Whispering in a strangely low voice, he held out a hand to Chrissy.
“Shall we open my trophy now, Prosecutor?”