In the Student Council room, Stella is sitting at her desk. Rhys and Liliana sat on the couches facing across each other with a coffee table in between them. Their faces showed how exhausted they are.
“Rhys. Liliana. Why do you guys look tired even though I was the one doing all the work?”
They giggled a bit and that helped lighten the mood.
“Stella, I didn’t know you were so good at chess!” exclaimed Liliana.
“Yeah. You never told us anything. You really surprised us.” said Rhys.
“I’m not good at chess.”
"Eh?” Liliana and Rhys shouted at the same time.
“Well, I guess that’s not true. Kastille really is the champion from the national chess tournament.”
Stella leaned back on her chair.
"I was second in that tournament. He utterly defeated me.”
“Whaaat?” Liliana and Rhys shouted at the same time again.
“I didn’t know that…”
“Kastille never realized?”
“I suppose I'm not noteworthy enough for him. It’s a good thing, though. If he had chosen something other than chess, I don’t know if I could have won.”
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Stella propped her legs on top of the desk in front of her.
“Honestly, I would have lost if he was just a bit more serious. He’s beyond a tough opponent. It would have been impossible. I got lucky. His own arrogance proved to be his downfall.”
Liliana interjected, “Wait. You weren’t sure if you were going to win? It was all just a gamble?”
“Yup. Chess was the best chance I had at stopping him. It was a pretty high probability that Kastille would pick chess over anything else. The data I have of him showed that was the only thing he really got a first place trophy kind of thing. Good thing his ego is just as I expected.”
“Speaking of his ego,” Rhys interposed, “how do you know he’ll keep his side of the bet? Honestly speaking, I think you went too far. Taking everything from him and all. What’s to stop him from running away?”
Stella removed her feet from the desk and replaced it with her elbows. Leaning on the desk, she now gave her comrades a serious expression.
“His pride and ego won’t let him back down from an already established agreement. In addition, that crowd will further enforce the agreement. If he decides to cancel the agreement, it will tarnish his name and ruin everything he’s worked for.”
Rhys then continued his thought, “And why would you want someone with such a sour personality like him?”
“We need him. He’s someone very skilled and talented at what he does. I’d go as far to say he’s a genius at what he does. For all this time that I’ve known him, I’ve seen him bring people up from such a low standing and turning them into leaders. I’ve seen him bring the strong who prey on the weak a taste of their own medicine. I’ve seen him turn the dejected into the joyful. I’ve been watching him all this time.”
Rhys interrupted her, “But he only does those things only for his own selfish reasons. Just a few days ago, he blackmailed someone into giving him money!”
Stella raised her hand to stop Rhys.
“And that is why I had to get him. While he does all these things to help himself, I have another plan for his skills.”
She leaned back on her chair.
“I’m going to have him join the student council. Of course, we’ll stop any of the extortion and operations he’s been doing. It is my duty as the elected student council president to help the students in need. He must use that talent of his not for himself, but for those who need help. A philanthropist who uses their talent for good. I think Kastille is the perfect man for that job.”