“You need your sleep o lion.” She confirmed.
What was this woman? She was crazy, one moment she was about to explode, the next she was doting. Her stomach growled.
“This isn’t over.” She said, “But I need to eat and being angry hurts. I’m very angry with you.”
“But the queen moved it just reminded me that you are going to move me. Soon, I don’t want to leave. My handsome lion… I do wish you cared more!” My queen concluded quietly.
It was rather shocking to me that she might actually feel anything regarding loss.
But for now, if she legitimately cared, demon that she was, she was safe for I was to move another piece.
Truth be told I never quite gave up on chess.
It was my go to airplane seat entertainment.
But that was against computers who don’t play like humans.
No, it was rare that I played against the human. Sometimes I would, and I saw a devilish move. Devilish for the large portion of humanity that did not regularly play chess.
Entirely well known for all those jokers who would always beat me
Like I said, I’m not that good. I never made an account to figure out an ELO score. But I have seen how a computer scored the game.
I knew that sometimes the most innocent of moves could be the most damaging.
Chess never seemed super intuitive. Yeah, as far as systems go it was hard to be less intuitive than chess. You just had to be patient.
Which is why timing was such a big deal.
Sure, the modern world thought they were beyond the small solution space of sixty four squares. Indeed computationally they had, why dither when the problem is only a 10 to the 10 size the nugget.
Surely by giving all the pieces hit points and the day night cycle. You would make the game more interesting.
They had taken my bishop at F seven with their queen. Which opened up my knight at C seven. Attacking their king and their rook.
What was the name for that again? I used to know…
It would only take two turns and preventing it would require what seemed like sub optimal moves at least at the moment.
I already had an advantage for my opponent had already committed one cardinal sin
He moved his knight back
That wasn’t to say he wasn’t going to completely destroy me.
It was entirely possible.
I don’t think I was over one thousand ELO. I don’t think I could be if I tried. I’m too much of a scatterbrain.
My knight, from C three to B five.
That would be a great idea, but I could also suppress the enemy queen, that might be a good idea.
Pawn to F Four? It would support the pawn at E five, The knight could always go for the assault later The double black bishop was dead, So C three wasn’t really a liability anymore…
Gosh I couldn’t decide here.
And sadly, this time my decision was important.
Was it?
What do I even want?
My queen was right, I don’t care about anything but food, and wars that I’m not involved in. Perhaps she was an angel not a demon.
Who am I to differentiate between the two?
A server brought out the apple sauce.
The Dove was in a much better mood now, I figured food would do it.
“Are you sure?” The queen asked.
“Yes that body loves applesauce.”
“So it does!” She was happy suddenly. “How did you know?”
“Yesterday.”
“Ooohhh… So you do care about some things.” Her voice was suddenly sly, like she was telling a naughty joke.
How perverse, but I should try to play along.
“If I’m going to move you soon we should find a reason to enjoy ourselves before you go.”
“I thought you forgot!” She gushed.
I hadn’t known, what was I remembering? Uh oh...
“Forgotten what?”
“Today was our survey day I thought you had forgotten!”
“I had.” I replied.
She hugged me, “I don’t care!”
Well she was probably over twenty five yesterday. Now she looked a naive freshman just into the dorms.
Acted like it too, but that was what was so scary. If she was a smooth operator yesterday she might be a wrecking ball now.
I guess I wanted to get out of this castle, go build a cabin… but sadly I can’t take my cute demon wife with me if I do that somehow, we are bound by the rules of a chess game.
Just play patiently and win… then what?
A normal Isekai where I teach the peasants the convenience of electricity and become grandfather to a nation?
What do I do with this strange, but delightfully obsessed wizard who kept finding her way into my arms?
I didn’t want to hurt her anymore, which hurt the logical part of my brain, but the logical part of my brain happily agreed that keeping her happy, as happy and satisfied as possible was best for everyone.
Is this what you call a toxic relationship? I had avoided all those in my past life.
She leaned into me and I pulled her close, and we hugged for a gentle moment before her focus turned to the table.
“Could my lion cut me a slice of cake?” She asked.
“Of course cute stuff.” To my horror, I meant it.
We remained practically on top of each other, skin to skin, clothing to clothing appreciating each other’s warmth, but we gave each other just enough space to reach over the table and cut food.
A slice found it’s way to her plate, next to the applesauce I had predicted would satiate her.
She ate a slice of cake. “I never really appreciated this sort of food before, I’ve got a new palate and it does love this food. You stopped to ask that servant what she craved?” She asked.
Literally, I thought.
“By the light of day I am starving!” She was now completely distracted, part of my brain finally relaxed, was I safe?
“What is survey day?” I asked feeling relief at her happier demeanor.
“You and I take an account of our lands! We ride up the mountains and we observe the provinces together!”
“Can we really see everything from one mountain?”
“No, but that’s why I’m a mage!” she said shuffling another, somewhat larger slice of cake to the little plate she had emptied.
“Leave some for me.” I urged
“A knight does not need cakes!” Suddenly my queen was cross, “Cook!” she yelled, “The king needs eggs and meat for breakfast!”
I craved carbs.
“Bring some pastry as well. Perhaps some hardy grain product.” I wasn’t going to be denied food by a spoiled queen.
“Product?” that was not the language of the dark ages.
“O Lion, must you always try to overrule me?” The girl played at pouting.
In the past life dogs had tried to train me with such behavior. As if I was a monster for not wanting to dote on them, as if I was a monster for having any kind of desires or time to myself.
“You are going to get fat O lion eating other than meats!” She continued with more certainty.
I was going to get fat in a few years anyway, I may be the Lion but I am sure I would not escape the terrible thirties.
“Should the chance I visit the war arise perhaps I will eat healthier.” I bargained.
“That’s impossible.” my queen was shocked briefly.
I struggled to comprehend, a mono-diet of meats would cause me to develop gout and failing kidneys, the disease of… disease of kings, oh… it was entirely possible to eat healthier.
“What of fruit do we have?” I barked at the cook.
“You can’t get to the lines in time!” The queen was on a different line of thought.
The cook had brought in two sad looking tangerines, shredded pork and a sort of cream of wheat. I guess I was going to have to learn to like un-squeezed citrus.