Yoshiro: This is literally a chapter itself and not side-chapter…..

Tired… hope….zz…you …..like…it…as…uzua……zzzzzzzzzz

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Arc 2: The Reconstruction – Change Chapter 3.5

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Everything you think of is connected. As Kaguya watched Yukito teach her not just the affairs of the military, diplomacy and domestic and also knowledge and train of thought, Kaguya suddenly recalled the past and floated a slightly depressed expression.

Not missing it, Yukito stopped for a moment and called her out while looking at her face.

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“What’s wrong?”

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Discovered. Thinking of that, Kaguya smiled bitterly. As she thought of Yukito as a really attentive person as usual, the fact that he could react to her subtle change also made her happy.

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“Apologies. Just….recalling something”

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Having his interest slightly probed, Yukito asked Kaguya who covered her eyes, while deciding to take a break at the same time.

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“I have never heard of Kaguya-sama’s past. If you are fine with it, would you tell me about it?”

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After making a slightly astonished expression, she nodded while smiling slightly blushed.

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“It’s not that interesting, you know?”

“To make an uninteresting story interesting is good practice, you know.”

“Even if you ask such an absurd request….? I won’t make just a past story interesting.”

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Though she said that, Kaguya started reminiscing nostalgically..

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“When we are still children, Dio and I had the same teacher teaching us the same things.”

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Kaguya is 18 this year. Dio is 17. Though the ages seem close, Dio who just celebrated his birthday the other day and Kaguya who is about to approach her birthday, actually have a difference of almost 2 years. And to have the same teacher teaching the same thing would usually result in one side being considerably inferior and the other side being extraordinary.

Yukito who knew of Kaguya’s wisdom stats of over 90, smiled bitterly after remembering Dio’s original numbers.

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“Since then, was Dio-sama that brilliant?”

“Very. Though older, I was always his second. That’s why I hate studying. I prefer practising my sword outside and moreover…..I don’t fit well with my teacher.”

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Though Kaguya started showing her slight annoyance and gave a displeased expression, Yukito did not mind it and urged her to continue.

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“Then? What does that have to do with the current situation?”

“….that teacher was unable to understand why I do not understand. And I couldn’t understand why the teacher was so irritated.”

“Well, even though you know the answer, the process is always messy. But Kaguya-sama knows that it fits together so you know that it’s right. Am I right?”

“It’s as you said. And what awaits the teacher and me was a confrontation. The teacher never praise me. I started to not go for the teacher’s lessons. At that time, I met the escort of the royal castle, Raior”

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That mercenary that we met when we attacked the royal castle. Yukito recalled that scene and the conversation at that time.

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“I was told that that person was the one that brought you out of the royal castle?”

“Before Raior served my father, he was a travelling mercenary and had various connections around the world. Bayd was one of them and he promoted me to him who just succeeded house then. It worked and after getting consent from my father, I was taken away to the borders.”

“I see. I understand the reason for Kaguya-sama to leave the royal castle. But why did you recall that right now? It couldn’t be that you see the teacher in me, right?”

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As Yukito asked that, narrowing his eyes, Kaguya flapped her hand panickingly.

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“NO!? It’s not that! Etto, it’s the opposite! I was thinking if I had a teacher like Yukito that time… I wouldn’t have left the royal castle….”

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Yukito sighed as he watched Kaguya’s dispirit state. No matter how many times you recall the past, you would not return to it. What exists today is because of what happen in the past, and if anything really happen, the current might no longer exists.

Even if that teacher is similar to Yukito, a person with his own way of thinking and could see through the talent of Kaguya, it is by no means a good thing. After all, Kaguya would stay in the royal castle in that case and grew up as it is.

That ex-king would never leave a beauty under his eyes and nose for even a second. Having pondered to that point, Yukito shaked his head.

It’s not the time to think of such things.

Yukito showed a smile to Kaguya who was inquiring his expression and questioned.

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“Did you regret leaving the royal castle?”

“….I wonder. There’re good and bad memories after all.”

“Even if you stayed in the royal castle, perhaps it won’t change much. That’s why rather than think about what might happen like this and that, you should change to thinking about how to do things better right now.”

“…..could you be angry….?”

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Don’t think of unnecessary stuff during lessons, concentrate.

Having such impressions of Yukito’s words, Kaguya showed an anxious expression and implored to the standing Yukito again.

Though her expression brightened after Yukito shaked his head, she sank her shoulders after listening to his words.

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“Nope, I am scolding you.”

“….. I see…. I am being scolded at right now….”

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Seeing that Kaguya was depressed, Yukito smiled while thinking that he might have overdid it.

To Yukito, her reactions are very refreshing and interesting. Now that he think of it, even though he knows of what reaction she would make, he thought of trying out various stuff, betraying that.

What reaction would she make with such words. What reaction would she make with such actions.

Yukito is always enjoying the expressions and reactions of Kaguya. Though due to having too much fun, there are quite a few cases where she gets depressed like how she is right now, Yukito prepared a few rewards for times like this.

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“It’s just a joke. I was just teasing you.”

“Me. You, you bully me again!?”

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Finally realizing the truth, Yukito smiled while watching Kaguya started making complains and pointed to a  wooden board in the office.

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“It’s unthinkable to bully you, but as an apology, shall we do that again?”

“…..though you think that by bringing out a topic that I like, my mood would turn better, doing the same trick again and again….”

“Then, let’s restart the lesson, shall we?”

“It, it’s a mistake! Please forget about that just now! Let’s do it! I want to do it!”

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Grabbing hold to the arms of Yukito who is about to get new teaching materials, Kaguya stopped Yukito while saying that.

However, seeing such a Kaguya, Yukito grinned and signaled.

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“You want to do it?”

“…..please let me do it……” (TL: Didn’t want to do it this way, but it’s made to be ambiguous and it’s hard to make it that way in English except like this.)

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Feeling satisfied from the Kaguya who hung her shoulders and is probing for his expression, Yukito advanced to retrieve the board while feeling unknowingly scary about himself enjoying the reactions from his teases recently.

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■■■

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The wooden is about 50cm in length and width, just slightly bigger than a shogi board.

The sides are finely drawn in a straight line, forming a box. On it are various sizes of pawns lined up alongside each other.

It’s a board game named “Gunki”. It’s similar to chess. You can’t use the pawns as you own that you have taken like in Shogi.

Other than the pawns, there are other things in the form of hills, rivers and other terrain obstacles, and to cross such obstacles require conditions to be broken, making it difficult to pass.

As it’s really faithful to representing a battlefield, the pawns’ assigned role are of the actual representations and even their nature is similar. The result is deemed where the one that took the commander pawn of the other side is the winner and the point of the game is how to corner such commander pawn.

Kaguya loves this Gunki game and she would think of new strategies when she’s free, and she’s quite good actually though.

Remembering the basic rules and having getting used to the game to some extent, Kaguya could no longer win.That’s why when Kaguya requested for a rematch with Yukito, he rejected it. In exchange, Yukito would invite her to a match at times.

Kaguya is always waiting for such a chance.

But

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“Uu….”

“Please. It’s Kaguya-sama’s turn.”

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Looking at the situation of her own army in front of her eyes, Kaguya’s eyes started to cloud.

Her vanguard pawn has been isolated after penetrating through the enemy’s formation, and the pawn sent to save the vanguard was ambushed by Yukito and is already out of the board.

Her formation has a large wedge knocked in it by Yukito’s pawns, being separated to both left and right and one side having losing its functions. The other side is desperately protecting the commander pawn but having been split up and losing the pawns to attack, she is starting to not be able to defend against Yukito’s fierce attack.

But if she can stop his attack, there’s still a reversing chance. Thinking that, Kaguya moved the pawn as she thought.

Though she was about to urge Yukito’s next move, as if already decided on what to do, Yukito quickly moved his pawn.

Yukito’s pawn is getting closer to the commander pawn by one more step. An opening has been made due to Kaguya moving her pawn just now.

Just as Kaguya looked at the board while thinking what to do, she quickly know that she cannot reverse her situation. Kaguya’s brain simulated a few moves and promptly came out with an answer.

As she skipped the process and reached her answers, Kaguya found it hard to explain it to other people. However, right now, there’s no need to explain to anyone. It’s sufficient that she knows she lost after all.

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“…It’s my loss….”

“Yep. Now let’s tidy up.”

“W, please wait! One more time! Let me have a chance of rematch one more time!”

“It’s the same no matter how many times we do it, so let’s end this today. For the sake of victory in the future, please do ponder more.”

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Having that said, Yukito unsparingly started to tidy up the pawns of Gunki. They were placed on the desk of the office and it changes to studying desk during lessons. If they do not tidy up, they can’t study.

As he tidied up, he looked at Kaguya who was stricken and leaking out words of grief. Yukito is actually not strong in Gunki. And furthermore, he’s also not stronger than Kaguya in a real war as well.

Just that, limiting to Gunki, Yukito has the confidence to not lose to her. As Yukito remembered the rules of Gunki, he remembered a few of Kaguya’s tactics and he even looked carefully at Kaguya’s habit and trends from the matches later on, grasping her traits. Yukito did not try to become good at Gunki but thought of how to win Kaguya.

In a normal battle, the commanders would not be sitting facing each other. But, in Gunki, you can’t do that. That’s why Yukito who has grasped Kaguya’s thoughts could just look at her state and pretty much know what she’s going to do. In regards to this, Kaguya did not realized this at all. After all, she’s only looking at the board.

‘Maybe it’s time to let her know.’ was what Yukito thought. But the only thing where Yukito have the confidence of beating Kaguya is Gunki. Teaching her that, Kaguya would immediately start to survey Yukito’s expression and actions and using those as actions, she would form up tactics accordingly. And Yukito would lose.

That is not really interesting in its own way so he swallowed the words of advice and said this to Kaguya.

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“If you managed to answer the lesson later well, I don’t mind being your opponent again, you know?”

“Really!?”

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Looking at Kaguya who got up, ‘Gaba’ from her prostrated state, Yukito grinned.

Having raised her eagerness, and awareness towards studying, Yukito tidied up the Gunki board and started brainstorming what kind of difficult question to give her.

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