Kaito could be said to be playing a very clever game. Not only could he deepen his relationship with the beautiful lady Akina, he could also interact with the adorable Ai. This was simply killing two birds with one stone.
As for his Shogi skills?
He wasn't particularly strong.
But he had Baal.
He could recreate the trick from Hikaru no Go… let her possess him and guide him while he played.
Bringing a support along for the match. As long as Ai didn't notice, it would be fine.
What?
Despicable?
No, no, no. This was simply using the power of knowledge!
After all, Baal = His Guardian Spirit = Him.
A perfect conclusion!
Soon, Akina agreed. But Ai was still in class, so the meeting time was pushed to the evening.
During that time, Kaito got bored and went out for a walk. Originally he planned to buy a Shogi set, but unfortunately there weren't any nearby. He would have to take a bus or subway to another district to find one.
Then again, Shogi wasn't even as famous domestically as international chess. Naturally, fewer people played it.
'Forget it. I'll just make one myself…'
'Come to think of it, should I prepare a small gift for Hinatsuru Ai? Then I'll make another Shogi set.'
He stroked his chin and thought.
Baal still hadn't returned, so he had no choice but to make it himself. Luckily, the abilities of the Geo Archon could be used to create all kinds of stone constructs.
Kaito thought the idea was pretty good, so he started controlling the Geo elemental power inside his body (collectively referred to as magic power) right there in the living room.
Using that power, he generated a raw Geo stone cube out of thin air. After checking the dimensions of the board and all the pieces on his phone, he quickly completed a full Shogi set made entirely of stone.
But he felt that just a Shogi board wasn't enough.
So he modified it further, and finally the work was complete.
It combined four major board games: Xiangqi, Go, Shogi, and international Chess. The Go board could also be used for Gomoku.
Inside the stone board were imitation Sunset Opals in a pale golden color. The surface looked polished and glossy, and if you leaned down to look at the cross-section, it almost seemed as if a crystal film had been layered over it.
All the pieces were the same, smooth like jade.
Both the color and the texture were perfect.
Kaito believed that if this set were sold, it could easily fetch at least a million.
If it met a truly passionate collector, selling it for ten million wouldn't be exaggerated. After all, Sunset Opal really is beautiful… well, actually that's just the natural color of Geo elemental energy.
Although it wasn't made from a real massive chunk of Sunset Opal, it was still a replica created entirely with Kaito's own Geo power. The craftsmanship alone was worth that price.
Even if you made something like this with resin casting, it would still be extremely expensive.
Craftsmanship, technique, and artistry—the three classic "money-burning" words.
Looking down from above the board, the lower layer resembled thick, irregular clouds, while the upper layer looked like the sunset sky shining across those clouds.
It's as if the player played chess right in that sky.
It gave the feeling of using the world itself as the chessboard.
To be honest, some chess enthusiasts really did care about their boards.
The more precious the material, the better—but ultimately, the finer and more luxurious the craftsmanship, the better.
This was especially obvious in the international chess community. There was once a rich enthusiast who spent over ten million using crystal to commission a master sculptor to create a chessboard and pieces.
Later, another wealthy person in the same circle loved it so much that he offered fifty million to buy it.
Besides, Kaito's board even had a mechanism. After pressing a button, the lines on the board's surface would change. Those lines were formed with Geo elemental energy and stored inside the stone plate.
Pretty magical… or even sci-fi, right?
The pieces were stored in compartments around the base of the stone platform. Open them and drawers would slide out with the pieces inside.
Conclusion: the board Kaito created with his ability would definitely be liked by Ai.
If others saw that Ai owned such a board, they would surely love it too—maybe even try to buy it.
Kaito had spent more than three hours making this set. He constantly searched information on his phone, studied stone carving techniques, methods of purifying crystal ores, and more before finally finishing it.
It was difficult.
Also very mentally exhausting.
As for the Geo stone cube that glowed like crystal and could be created casually? The reason he could make that so easily was experience.
Experience like muscle memory. With just a thought, a Geo stone cube would appear above his palm.
But creating a chessboard like this really required serious brainpower.
Still, he treated it as practice.
In the future, when creating other items, he could rely on this experience to build them quickly.
For example, a stone version of the Spear of Longinus, or Excalibur, or even the Thousand Demon Daggers.
After spending another hour copying the design, he made a second set.
One board for himself, and the other to give to Ai.
"Huh? Baal still hasn't come back?"
He checked the time. It had already been five hours since the two Raiden sisters left.
'Could it be that they still hadn't finished fighting?'
Kaito stood up and stretched lazily. He walked into the kitchen and checked the refrigerator. After confirming that there weren't enough ingredients, he simply took out his phone and ordered groceries from a nearby supermarket.
As long as the order exceeded a certain amount, delivery was free.
"Master… I'm back."
Another hour later, just as Kaito was putting the newly delivered groceries into the refrigerator one by one, Baal returned to the living room in a flash of golden lightning.
When she left, she had been wearing casual clothes.
But when she came back, she had changed back into a kimono.
Apparently, her battle attire really was a kimono.
"Where's your sister?"
"…She already went back. I lost."
"Alright, I understand. You've worked hard. I'll cook tonight. Though it might not taste as good as yours."
Seeing the obvious injuries on Baal's body, Kaito felt a bit heartbroken.
He didn't ask for details, but he knew that the result must have been hard for Baal to accept.
After personally going to the kitchen and using his best cooking skills, dish after dish of delicious food was soon placed in front of Baal.
"Master… there's something I want to tell you…"
"Heh, go ahead. What is it?"
Wiping his hands, Kaito sat across from her and prepared to eat. Seeing her suddenly lowering her head shyly, he grew curious.
"Well… my sister said she wants to duel you in a few days."
"???"
'What's up!?!?'
"I-I mean… if you want me to marry you… you have to defeat her first…"
"…."
'Damn it!!'