"Stupid new room in the stupid new apartment in the stupid new place in Cetrene-City or whatever this dump is called. Ugh. Why do we have to move so much? It's almost as if I'm being punished for something. I'll have to find new friends again."

Those were my thoughts as Dad opened the door to our new abode. It looked fine, actually. Pretty spacious as there was little furniture. The living room had a giant fancy chandelier for some reason. "Probably costs more than everything else", I thought to myself.

"You know", Dad said suddenly, "it's been quite some time since you last took part in a chess tournament. Perhaps you'd test your skill in today's one? I have a good feeling about it!"

"Why not", I replied absent-mindedly.

"So I'm paying the fee, right? You'll definitely for sure will attend, and won't forget? Well, that's settled, then."

So I was going to play. Huh. I hadn't played since Mom died — a year before we moved to Cetrene-City. A year without practice. Well, I'd just tell my opponents I'm rusty because of the lack of practice because of reasons. Or not tell them anything at all. Why should I be all apologetic? They're probably all nothing compared to my friends from Arsene. Making friends is exhausting. Why do I even bother if I know how it'll end?..

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I sat at the table thinking whether I should solve a few chess puzzles. I imagined a little courtroom in my head. The side of "not doing puzzles" was clearly losing. Their only argument was that I could get tired and perform even worse — the side of "doing puzzles" probably thought their opponent a hack. Okay.

It was worse than I'd imagined. The first puzzle, an easy one, stumped me. I vaguely recalled seeing a chess set somewhere on the kitchen floor. I opened the box and the pieces fell down — along with an ancient-looking piece of paper. "Valentine Sono" was written on it with large calligraphic letters. That was my name. That obviously caught my attention — to have your name inside a box that used to belong to a stranger is quite strange.

I decided to read what the fine print said.

"There will be a lady of uncommon wit and intelligence, by the name of Valentine Sono. She is to fulfill the prophecy which is defined in the last scroll. From the moment of her finding the first scroll she is to know the nearest future — on the second day she will defeat her competition in the game of chess; she may be secure in her winning after 34.Bf3. She must not tell anyone of her knowing the prophecy, but she is to find the next scroll on the fourth day and it will be given to her by her friend Lisa."

I scoffed. Obviously, I was not to tell anyone. They'd think me insane. "Do I even know a Lisa? Eh, probably someone I'll meet as foretold. Was the move from the most important game or—?"

Stupid fake prophecy.

Although the box had looked like nobody had touched it for centuries...