The smell of coffee filled Altair's nostrils, and the young man closed his eyes as he enjoyed the aroma. Sona, sitting next to him, calmed down a little with the smell. They were together, although Altair tried hard not to show too much closeness, just enough so as not to look like an idiot.
They sat down at a table. One of the waitresses left the menu and quickly walked away, as if she sensed the awkwardness at the table.
The menu consisted only of drinks and desserts. There were some sandwiches, but he paid no attention to them.
When the waitress returned, Altair ordered an Earl Grey, while Sona ordered a black coffee. Altair ordered two slices of cake, although Sona declined dessert. They both remained silent until their order arrived.
"Does the place have a chessboard we can borrow?" Altair asked. If they didn't, he would have to take one from his inventory, which would end up with him having to cast Confundus around him.
"Yes, I'll bring one right away," the girl said, blushing when he smiled at her in thanks.
"Chess?" Sona asked quietly. She seemed extremely uncomfortable in his presence.
It was something Altair liked about her. Despite not feeling entirely comfortable, she did not shy away from what she considered her responsibility. The girl could have refused to speak to him again, or only done so for political matters or their joint business. But she decided it was worth approaching him to clear things up.
"Here you go, call if you need anything else," the chess set came with a small note.
Sona took it, read it, and threw it away. Then she reported the girl to the manager; it was a brief conversation, lasting just a few minutes. She described everything as harassment. The young waitress ended up crying, and in the end, Sona intervened so that they would let her go with a warning.
"So I can't have her phone number?" Altair asked.
Sona ignored his comment: "I didn't know what my father was trying to do. I apologize for that; it was never my intention to make you feel humiliated." Sona ignored his question and bowed her head in apology.
The girl was wearing a purple dress. She seemed strong and fragile in some way.
"I knew it from the moment I saw your face," said Altair. Sona's eyes became sad.
He placed the game between them. The white pieces were on his side. This time, he would start the game. In addition to his first game, he had always allowed Sona to start, giving her the initial advantage.
Sona started with d4, Altair replied with e6.
"Honestly, I was surprised too. I should have spoken up at that moment," said Sona, moving another pawn to e4.
"There's not much you could do," Altair wanted to provoke her a little, moving to d5.
Sona thought as she looked at the board, part of her annoyed by the comment. Another part is wondering how to continue the game. She took a sip of her coffee as she moved the Knight to c3.
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"Your father is Lord Sitri; you can't contradict him," explained Altair, moving another pawn to c5.
Sona frowned, not at all happy. She moved her other knight to f3.
"My father forbade me from contacting you unless it was strictly professional, about our business," she replied, somehow wanting to tell him that her father's orders did not bind her.
"Lord Sitri seems quite sure that we are still partners, eh?" said Altair, moving his knight to c6.
At that, Sona opened her eyes in surprise. She cursed herself for not considering the possibility that Altair might not want to continue the business. She had expected that his connection to Rias would be enough to keep the Sitri family as Phoenix Powder's leading buyer. Besides, there was Serafall.
"Aren't we?" She tried not to sound anxious as she moved her pawn from e4 to d5, capturing.
"I've been considering offers." Altair took d5 with his pawn.
He had indeed been considering offers. However, none of them were as attractive or secure as the Sitris. A clear mind would not change them, Sona should know that, but what if he was a proud man who had been disrespected?
Sona's slightly trembling hand slid her bishop from f1 to e2.
"What offer could be better?" the woman asked, a little worried.
"Katerea has contacts, with them I could..." he began, but stopped.
He had thought about trading the product himself; the Sitri family wasn't the only one with hospitals in the underworld, and he could even sell to other races. Azazel was interested. Altair moved his knight to f6.
"Could...?" Sona tried to resume the conversation, making a hasty move to castle short.
"Forget it, I was just rambling," he apologized. He moved his bishop to e7.
Meanwhile, Sona moved her bishop to g5.
"Do you want to stop using the Sitri as intermediaries?" she asked with a frown. She looked adorable in Altair's eyes. He had never seen her fight, so it was hard to imagine her hurting anyone.
"It just seems like your father doesn't value our relationship that much," he replied, neither admitting nor denying anything, protecting his king by making a short move.
"But I do," she murmured, adjusting her glasses as her cheeks flushed. "The Phoenix Powder has saved many lives, prevented many devils from being crippled. I'm not just talking about the upper class; the lower-class devils have enjoyed the benefits more than anyone else," her voice was soft and sweet. She finished by eating c5 with her pawn.
"You care a lot about the lower-class devils," said Altair. He moved his bishop to e6.
"I think everyone deserves a chance to become stronger," said Sona, a little shyly. "Imagine if more devils like you appeared."
A feeling of pride welled up in Altair's chest. 'You won't find devils like me,' he wanted to say, but he remained silent.
Sona moved her knight from f3 to d4.
Several moves passed in silence. Altair captured on c5 with his bishop. Then Sona moved her knight to e6, exchanging it for a bishop. Altair captured it with a pawn. Sona attacked by moving her bishop to g4. Altair moved his queen for the first time to d6. Sona moved her bishop to h3. Altair moved his rook to e8.
"What was the reason for your call?" Altair asked. "Why did you want us to meet?" he asked again.
"Why?" Sona moved her queen to d2 while she thought. "Because I didn't want there to be bad blood between us," she said.
"I see," Altair sounded a little disappointed, as if he had expected a stronger reason. Sona seemed to sense this, at least from the way she blushed. He moved his bishop to b4.
"Once... once I promised I would marry a man who could defeat me in a game of chess," she didn't even know why she said it, but the words came out of her mouth like a waterfall.
Altair smiled.
He didn't know if it was Sona's desire. Or if it was the prospect of him leaving her family that led her to confess that. Although deep down he hoped it was the former.
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Sona took f6 with her bishop, and Altair retook f6 with his rook. Sona placed her rook behind her queen on d1.
Altair moved his queen to c5. She responded by moving her own queen to e2. Altair captured her knight with his bishop, taking c3, and she captured that same bishop with her pawn. Altair moved his queen to c3, gaining control of the square. She moved her rook to d5, capturing, and Altair moved his knight to d4.
She moved her queen to h5, targeting the rook on e8, which Altair ended up moving to f8. Sona moved her rook to e5. Altair threatened the queen by moving his rook to h6. Sona moved her queen to g6.
Altair captured the bishop on h3 with his rook. Sona moved her rook to c5, threatening Altair's queen.
He ended up moving his queen to g3.
Sona frowned. Her heart was pounding against her chest. Until recently, she felt like she was winning, but Altair somehow turned the board upside down. The apparent sacrifice of the queen was unexpected, but magnificent.
She looked at the boy, who was calmly drinking his tea. The way his Adam's apple moved as he drank seemed a little attractive to her.
She shook her head, concentrating on the game. She had to capture the queen, but there was no future where she wouldn't lose. If she captured with the h2 pawn, she would then lose with the Knight moving to e2. If she captured with the f2 pawn, then the Knight would come to e2, forcing her king to h1, and then Altair's rook would capture on f1, ending the game.
If she exchanged queens, the knight would end up back on e2, forcing the king to h1 and then taking the queen on g3. It wasn't an immediate check, but Altair would end up with a huge advantage, one that Sona knew he could exploit if he wanted to.
She could continue playing, but something told her that if she did, Altair might resign.
She didn't want to win again, not with him surrendering again.
She moved her finger over the king's piece, a simple movement, and it fell with a thud.
She lost. What bad luck for the Sitris.
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Chess game:
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1094915