Before the game began, I was even more suspicious thanks to Itsuki's words. I needed to be sure about some things, otherwise I could suddenly lose the game. I turned my face to the small flying system robot. I wanted to ask it a series of questions.
"What degree of magic is forbidden in the game?"
"No clear agreement has been made on this matter. Therefore, only first-degree magic can be used."
"How does first-degree magic work? How can one tell if a magic is first-degree?"
"First-degree magic generally requires a condition or a cost to be used. They are not very powerful."
"I understand. Well, can you detect every magic used outside of this?"
"Of course. We are the system, after all. We have the power to see all magic."
"I see. Well, what degree would a magic related to the playing surface be?"
"It could be considered first-degree. It depends on the situation."
When I asked the robot this question, I saw Yuto's toes twitch for a few split seconds. This could be a sign. Then I turned my eyes to Ren. I looked at him for a brief moment. When I looked at him, Ren could tell that I was suspicious of him. He chuckled lightly. He turned his face to the system robot.
"It seems Rei is suspicious of me. System, let's arrange something. Place a magic seal on me until the game is over. That way, I won't be able to use any magic."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
The system robot sealed Ren's ability to use magic during the game. This way, Ren couldn't interfere with magic in this game. The fact that he was giving me an advantage still made me suspicious. I kept thinking while staring at the stone floor by myself.
Why did he do that? It could be consistent because of his sympathy for me. It benefits me to know he can't use magic. He probably can't go outside the system. Or else, could it be that a magic was placed beforehand and is working on its own? In such a situation, since he performed the magic beforehand and it's working on its own, the magic he cast might not be considered a rule violation since it wasn't cast now. I need to be careful about this. At the same time, since he might know I'd think this, he might have deliberately applied it to leave me in doubt...
What kind of thing could it be? If it were a magic working on its own, what could it be like? Maybe I'm already being watched from behind somehow. Yuto might be seeing this side. This way, he could see the squares I'm placing. But according to what the system said, there needs to be a condition or a cost. The condition information is very important. When I encountered Madoka, her magic also had a condition. The condition was that concentration was required. I should proceed with the same logic. I need to search for a condition...
The game was beginning. As we sat facing each other, a blue digital screen appeared in front of us. I was looking at the blue screen. Yuto slowly raised his head and looked at me with sharp eyes. He also seemed ready to play. Ren continued watching us with enjoyment.
"Calmness is everything, Rei. I will show you this in this game."
This quiet kid is now talking about calmness. Maybe it's his own philosophy. When I mentioned the surface, I saw a small twitch of his foot. It could also be a bluff. If he's smart enough to defeat Itsuki, a bluff is more likely. But still, this could be a magic related to the surface. I need to be careful. At the same time, there might be something underlying what he's saying. Usually, they say such things, things that seem absurd, to make them appear consistent. That is, they say them to hide their deceptions. I need to be careful.
Meanwhile, the robot's face turned into a small screen. Our names were cycling one after another. It was probably randomly selecting who would start the game first. The two of us kept looking at the small screen to see who would start first. Shortly after, the person who would start first was Yuto. It seemed like I had started unluckily.
"Yuto will start by selecting the first square. There's no time limit, but don't take too long. You can decide on your first square, Yuto."
Yuto nodded lightly at the robot. Then, within a few seconds, he brought his finger to the digital screen and tapped somewhere. I couldn't see the angle of his finger, so I couldn't guess where he had tapped from this angle. The visual in front of him might not even be the same as a precaution.
"It's your turn to select a square, Rei!"
I looked at the blue screen in front of me. I saw a visual with the same layout as the drawing on the ground. There were eighteen squares. Numbers from one to eighteen were written on the squares in the same way. I had begun to think. Meanwhile, Ren took a gum out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.
This part can be seen as the information phase of the game. Both sides' goal is to try to place their squares where the opponent has placed theirs. This way, the system will give you a warning and you'll be able to learn the square your opponent has placed. At the same time, there are several possible paths forward. He probably chose one of the numbers one, eighteen, or nine. Nine is one of the simplest openings here. If he chose nine, it can be understood that he wants to win the game by placing on nine three times. For that, he will select the ninth square as his first square. That makes one placement. Then he will create two diagonals, gaining two square relocation rights. Then he will aim to place on nine two more times. He'll want to win the game this way. Ah, now I understand!
Placing on nine two more times doesn't seem sufficient at first glance. Because you need to take nine and place it elsewhere. That uses one right. Then you select the ninth square again. That means you've used your second right. This way, using two rights, you've only placed on nine twice. Having one left seems good. But after that, he probably won't be in a position to make more diagonals. Because he would have already placed on the ninth square one more time using his rights. The other eight squares have to be in a selected state. He can't make more diagonals because he doesn't have more square selection rights and doesn't have more square relocation rights. But the crucial point is right here.
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The game never told us we can't place the square back where we moved it from. So after selecting the ninth square, with two square relocation rights, we can take our ninth square selection once and place it back on the ninth square. We don't have to place it on another square before putting it back. This way, when we use our first right, we've placed on nine for the second time. We have one more right. When we do the same thing again, this time we've placed on it three times, and the game ends.
Now I understand. This must be what he's aiming for. A quite powerful strategy, after all, it exploits a rule loophole. He must be thinking this. He'll probably place his mark on the ninth square. Then with his remaining eight square selection rights, he'll try to create two diagonals. Then he'll place on nine three times and win the game. That seems to be his winning strategy. Even if I can understand it, I need to guess the locations of his diagonals. There are eighteen squares. It's going to be hard for me. At the same time, after talking about calmness, he's sitting in front of me with his eyes closed as if he's meditating. What does this mean? It's consistent with what he said. But could the problem here be that it's consistent with what he said?
I was talking about a condition. This kind of thing could be a condition. Maybe he needs to close his eyes. Closing his eyes, under the guise of talking about calmness and meditating to avoid suspicion, could hide his deception. This is consistent. Even if I can understand that he's hiding something, I need to understand what he's hiding.
Anyway, first, I'll select the ninth square. Even if he can see my screen, selecting this won't mean anything. I'm sure he chose this square. I want to get information from the system.
I brought my finger to the digital screen. My face was gradually taking on an emotionless expression again. I tapped the ninth square with my finger. When I tapped the square, a message appeared in front of me. The message said that this spot could not be marked. This meant that Yuto had chosen the ninth square, just as I thought. I had to choose my square again.
I can't remove nine. Should I then play for eighteen and one? But he could foresee this. He'll probably want to choose either one or eighteen. Also, he's still sitting with his eyes closed. This is suspicious. I don't know what he's doing, but I want to play as if he knows the square I've chosen no matter what. In this situation, where should I choose?
Okay, I've got it. I'll choose number one. If he can see, there are two possibilities. He'll either tap there and get information from the system, but if he can see the squares I'm choosing, there's no need for that. Then he'll choose square eighteen. Actually, this is to my benefit too. If he chooses square eighteen, he also needs to choose four and eleven to make a diagonal. If I place my square on one of these two numbers, he can't make a diagonal from that side. But I'll have placed squares in predictable locations. Still, it seems like I have to do it. If I don't block his diagonals, I could lose the game quickly. If he foresees this and doesn't choose eighteen, then I'll gain the right.
I brought my finger to the digital screen. I slowly selected square number one. The system showed me on my screen with a message that my square selection was successful. The system said it was Yuto's turn. At the same time, it announced that two squares had been selected. When the selection turn came to Yuto, he opened his eyes and began looking at the screen. Ren continued watching us with a bored facial expression. When I looked at him briefly, he winked at me. I ignored his gesture and kept looking at the screen.
+----+----+----+
| R | 7 | 13 |
+----+----+----+
| 2 | 8 | 14 |
+----+----+----+
| 3 | Y | 15 |
+----+----+----+
| 4 | 10 | 16 |
+----+----+----+
| 5 | 11 | 17 |
+----+----+----+
| 6 | 12 | 18 |
+----+----+----+
Yuto looked at the screen for a short while, then decided on the square he would select by tapping the screen. The system stated it was my turn. When I heard it was my turn, I focused once again. I kept looking at the digital screen and thinking.
He marked the number nine. Because of this, he can more easily make a diagonal from squares four and fourteen. But this is predictable. Either he'll mark one of those two spots, or he could also mark a random spot where he can make a diagonal. But he wouldn't want to do that because he could give me eighteen to hide where he'll place his diagonal. But that way, I would gain the right to learn one of the opponent's marked squares. The system should be fair in this situation. When I use it, it will show me his second chosen square, not the nine we already know. In such a situation, I would see whether he chose four, fourteen, or some other number and block his diagonal no matter what. For this reason, he needs to choose square eighteen and prevent me from gaining the right.
I brought my finger to the digital screen and tapped square number eighteen. When I tapped it, a warning message appeared in front of me again, saying I couldn't select this area. He had chosen square eighteen just as I thought. Even though there might be magic involved, I now knew the locations of two of his squares. This time, Yuto's eyes were open. I looked at him.
His eyes are open this time. What could this mean? To avoid suspicion, he might not be using it this turn since the square I'd choose was already obvious. But if we think like that, the previous situations were also obvious positions. Then why did he close his eyes? There can only be one reason. It could be because he didn't know about my intelligence level. Apparently, he hadn't told Yuto about me. I might have shown him my intelligence level by noticing the rule loophole. Because of that, he must have thought I'd choose square eighteen no matter what.
Yuto closed his eyes again.
Now he's closed his eyes again. This time, he might be thinking that since I chose square eighteen, he needs to see the square I'll choose. He must be able to see the screen somehow. This many coincidences are absurd. How he sees it, I'm not entirely sure, but I want to play assuming he sees the squares I choose.
One square is mine. The ninth square is his. The eighteenth square is also his. Now I need to think about where to choose. If I want to block his diagonals, my options should be four, fourteen, and eleven. The most logical one here seems to be number four. After all, it blocks two diagonals at once. But this is predictable even if he can't see my screen. But I'm very suspicious that he can see the screen. So I need to manage the risk correctly. If something like that is the case, he'll already be constantly seeing the squares I choose. When that's the case, the value of him being able to guess the squares I choose becomes meaningless. After all, he'll be able to see them with high probability no matter what. Blocking two of his diagonals in one move should be equivalent in value to him guessing one more of my squares. So I'll choose square four.
He opened his eyes just a moment ago. Maybe one of the conditions is that when he uses it once, he can't use it again for a turn. But if that were the case, he could just close his eyes and pretend to be seeing. That is, he could bluff. He wouldn't need to reveal his condition. Or maybe he doesn't have such a condition, but he's making it seem like he does. When he pretends to close his eyes, he might not necessarily have to see the screen. That's why it might be easier for him to hide it this way. But I'm not sure. Fuck it. There are too many possibilities. My brain is tired. I wish I had come after learning magic, damn it. Whatever. Fuck it. I'll choose square four.
I was getting tired because of the possibilities. Thinking about superhuman things was wearing me down. That's why I was getting emotional. My emotionless face was starting to fade. I was aware that I needed to focus more. I had to overcome the magic with pure logic. There was something going on. I could feel it. I had to trust Itsuki's warning. I extended my finger and tapped square four on the digital screen. A message appeared in front of me saying that my selected area had been successfully accepted. The first four squares had been placed. The system announced this. The fifth square selection was Yuto's turn.
+----+----+----+
| R | 7 | 13 |
+----+----+----+
| 2 | 8 | 14 |
+----+----+----+
| 3 | Y | 15 |
+----+----+----+
| R | 10 | 16 |
+----+----+----+
| 5 | 11 | 17 |
+----+----+----+
| 6 | 12 | Y |
+----+----+----+