‘Last year, Yong Je-geon was in charge of the opening show.’

I thought as I moved to the entrance reserved for the selected participants, guided by the staff.

There were more students than then, but Yong Je-geon was not here now.

Yong Je-geon enjoyed teasing the students, but he also liked making them happy, so when he had this opportunity, he used his spatial skills to direct the stage without holding back.

Last year, he used spatial skills to create chess pieces and arranged them in the shape of Eun Kwang High School’s school emblem, but even with the contract with Hwang Ji-ho and one teacher, it was still about the same.

If he had come as a judge and host today, he would have announced the start of the competition more splendidly.

“What? Teacher Yong is not here. There’s no way he would miss this kind of event.......”

“He didn’t come to school today.”

“Other teachers came as substitutes. So the kids who heard the news late couldn’t get seats and made a fuss about moving to a bigger place.”

My heart grew heavy as I heard the disappointed voices.

When the dragon tribe of the entertainment world speaks to him with a smile, the students of Eun Gwang High School usually run away, but teacher Yong Je-geon was quite popular.

Yong Je-geon was not only excellent at teaching, but also used his special ability to the point of abuse to provide things to see and do, and he played well with the students.

The students who had been looking forward to Yong Je-geon’s opening show expressed their disappointment.

I also felt disappointed and sorry.

In the midst of all this, my heart grew heavier when I saw Kim Shin-rok, who tried hard to have a bright expression on his face, on stage.

Kim Shin-rok greeted them calmly and recited his opening speech.

“......In this place, we will select Eun Gwang High School’s chess representative ahead of the military academy exchange competition. I would like to thank the players who participated in the selection competition and the audience who came to watch.”

There was nothing particularly wrong with what he said, and Kim Shin-rok did not show much emotion.

However, perhaps because I had known Kim Shin-rok for a long time, I could feel that he was enduring the hardships.

Kim Shin-rok’s disciples, who were more sensitive to this than I was, were shaken.

Of course, Andain was among those disciples.

My heart ached when I saw the faint shadow on Andain’s face.

‘It was only yesterday that I was happy to reconcile with my parents.’

It is said that the masked couple miscarried Andain because of the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ evil darkness.

This is the story of when the enemy destroyed the enemy’s tomb and the Ung tribe betrayed them, causing war to break out on the Korean peninsula again.

At that time, the foreign enemy who had been wielding the evil darkness was said to have disappeared, but its remnants still remained.

In particular, the Ung tribe had once joined hands with the foreign enemy, so they were deeply intertwined with them.

There were Ung tribe members who wielded the evil darkness that was strong enough to take away lives, although not as pure as the sleeping Jinung Palseon.

The couple was struck by the evil darkness and lost Andain.

The bear who caused Andain to be taken away was captured on April Fool's Day last year and became the target of revenge in the time-distorted garden.

The revenge was successful and Andain returned, but they still feared that the evil darkness would take Andain away again.

However, I was sure that Andain had the power to push away the evil darkness.

―I believe what Yishin said. There's no way I didn't do anything for thousands of years. I must have prepared so that I would never be separated from my parents in that way again.

When I told the nobles what I thought, Andain was the first to agree.

However, the noble couple immediately expressed their concerns.

―I don't doubt the words of our child and our benefactor. But we cannot accept that evil darkness.

―We have seen the evil darkness they deal with firsthand. It has become more evil, more vicious, and darker than when they took you away.

The noble couple were terrified.

I was afraid that the relationship between Andain and I would grow even worse, so I tried to hold back from expressing my anxiety by making loud noises, but the mood was so tense that it wouldn’t be strange if they started fighting right away.

The couple of the nobles looked at Hwang Ji-ho as if pleading, worried that he might send him to the front line to utilize Andain’s abilities.

On the other hand, Andain gave me a look of firm trust.

It seemed that he wanted me to trust him and let him fight.

The faces of the couple and Andain were very similar, but their eyes were different, which made me feel sad.

Hwang Ji-ho made a suggestion after the three of them finished speaking.

―I have a way to test it. The blue dragon and the black tortoise have secured the feathers of the red bird that were soaked in the evil darkness.

The couple were shocked when they felt the box that Hwang Ji-ho had wrapped in a barrier and the evil darkness inside it.

―Hwang Ho! This is close to the center of the new realm, and it’s your mansion! How could you bring something like that up!

―Hey, step back quickly! The evil darkness carried by the feathers of the falcon can instantly burn and envelop a person in darkness!

The noble couple finally couldn’t hold it in and jumped forward with a loud scream.

The couple blocked my path as if they were trying to protect not only Andain but also me.

Even though Andain didn’t know, it was surprising that they were trying to protect me.

I told them the story of how I used Andain’s power to make the palace guard who controlled the evil darkness let go.

I brought up a topic that would have drawn Andain into the fight and also revealed that I had the power to drive away the evil darkness, so I guess I still need to protect them.

I couldn’t open my mouth because I didn’t know what to say to the couple’s attitude, so Hwang Ji-ho spoke.

―Even if this feather could exert that much power, as you said, this is my mansion and my friends are here. Are you so blinded by fear that you have forgotten what is right next to you?

Hwang Ji-ho spoke sternly.

It seemed that he spoke strongly to remind them of what they had forgotten rather than to reprimand the couple’s attitude.

The couple still stood in front of Andain and me, but they had stopped screaming.

But they were still gasping for breath.

―When Jo Ui-shin tried, he easily pushed away the evil dark power contained in this feather. Even if Andain failed, Jo Ui-shin was here, and I and my friends were here, and you too. You will not be swallowed up by the evil darkness.

Hwang Ji-ho unfolded a stronger barrier, and Cheong-ho released his hand, and the white tiger took out Baek-ah again.

Even if you didn’t take it out in advance, if something were to happen, it would materialize and instantly cut through the darkness, so why would you do that?

Red Tiger seemed to agree and looked at White Tiger in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Black Tiger glanced at what his other friends were doing, but there was nothing he could do, so he sat quietly.

When the couple, who had been looking around at the other tigers, finally calmed down, Andain said.

―I don’t remember anything before I was born. But I trust myself. And I trust everyone here.

Andain looked at the tigers and me, and then looked at the couple for the last time and concluded.

When Andain realized that I was one of the people she trusted, she immediately wanted to express her endless gratitude and emotion, but she held back with difficulty.

Soon, the couple took a step back with difficulty, and Andain passed through the path that had been opened for her and approached Hwang Ji-ho.

And when Hwang Ji-ho's barrier was released, and the box made by Eun-ho containing the feather was opened, and the evil darkness was about to disperse into the air, Andain reached out to the box.

Paaaaa... ... .

The evil darkness that was about to spread was blocked by Andain's hand and could not escape the box.

The evil darkness that greedily tried to swallow up any life it felt could not reach Andain.

It was like a palace that had been so happy to hold my hand but eventually let go of my hand.

Andain smiled happily and looked back at the couple, but the couple hugged Andain even faster.

The couple hugged Andain and apologized for a long time while sobbing.

It was an apology for losing Andain and not trusting her.

‘After I had a hard time reconciling with my parents, I laughed while talking about my date with Joo Soo-hyuk to change the mood.’

I heard the information about Joo Soo-hyuk and Andain’s proper first date from Moon Sae-ron.

Moon Sae-ron couldn’t hide her excitement and told the story of the two of them being friends and seeing each other outside of school.

I also became happy when Andain told me that story.

That’s how Andain finally smiled and everyone became happy, but then she made that sad expression again.

In addition, that sadness quickly spread to Joo Soo-hyuk, who was sitting a few seats away.

The two of them had sad faces, and it felt like watching heavy rain pour down, flowers falling, and frost freezing the ground.

“Don’t laugh. It’s an official event.”

“You haven’t laughed yet.”

When Eun-ho pointed it out, the white tiger responded.

Was the white tiger reading my mind again?

My playable character can't even open his eyes, and the title hero and heroine are sad, so why are you laughing?

Even though he hasn't laughed yet, he must have already laughed at the moment Eunho said that.

That white tiger, who happened to learn from me, is so good at chess that it'll be hard for him to win, but I hope the contestants today do their best and give him a hard time.

No, that white tiger was about to read this thought and laugh again!

"Introducing the contestants who participated in today's preliminary round!"

After the opening speech, Jegal Jae-geol, who was in charge of the assistant emcee, spoke brightly.

The opening speech itself given by Kim Shin-rok was perfect and there was no room for criticism, but Jegal Jae-geol delicately tried to read the depression of some students and change the mood.

Jegal Jae-geol began to use his talent to write the names of the contestants in large letters in the air.

Then, letters glowing aquamarine appeared in the gymnasium, and when the Stalemate Club implemented a 3D hologram of the profile and chess records, cheers of ‘Wow!’ came from all over the place.

Now, it felt like the opening showdown of a chess competition hosted by Stalemate.

“Oh, if I had known that Teacher Jegal was coming sooner, I would have gotten a new outfit!”

“I got the chess-themed accessories airlifted in a hurry, but I didn’t get the clothes.”

“But are those kinds of accessory designs common? They don’t seem to be ready-made.”

“I heard that the sly hyung has been making all sorts of things as starters these days. He keeps throwing out the ones he doesn’t like, so I got a few.”

The sound of Geumchanwangchan and his gang, who were serious about decorating their homeroom teachers, grumbling loudly could be heard all the way to the stage.

The seniors were on stage, it was nice to see Jegal Jaegyeol up there, but he kept talking nonsense because he couldn’t watch it with them.

He was watching it with Gong Cheong-hwan, and his juniors from Class 0, Grade 1, looked at him with a sense of calm superiority.

Since Eun-ho, who was in the same class, was confirmed to be participating in advance, they prepared to cheer with their team uniforms and tools.

There were many star-shaped cheering tools, perhaps because the word ‘Galaxy’ in ‘Cheon Eun-ha’ means a group of celestial bodies, and Gong Cheong-hwan was holding a headband, scarf, and cheering tools of the same shape.

“No, are you waving them around so that they can see us and be jealous?”

“Wow, you’re still acting like that after losing!”

“But I’m a little jealous.”

As the immature Geum Chan-wang-chan gang started to have a fit, Jegal Jaegyeol immediately used his voice to create a sound barrier so that no more could be heard.

Meanwhile, the kids in our class looked envious of both the seniors and juniors.

Since there were many participants in our class, we thoroughly prepared to cheer, but Mr. Ham Geun-hyung was not there because he was on a business trip to Hongcheon.

Fortunately, the first game was something that our kids could enjoy.

“The participants in the first game were Ong Gil-dong, 2nd grade, class 0, and...... Baek Ho-gun, 2nd grade, class 0!”

The players in the first game were both from our class.