[H.B] Ch 1: Renji Amatsuki

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"Checkmate."

The voice was calm, almost casual, as it echoed through the quiet tea room.

Beside the faint aroma of steeping tea, Renji Amatsuki flipped through a book with one hand while absentmindedly placing the final piece on the board with the other.

In front of him lay a shogi board. With that single move, his black pieces closed in like a tightening net, cornering the opposing king completely. There was no escape, no trick left that could save it.

"Impossible?!"

His opponent, a middle school girl with short light blue hair and a crisp JC uniform, stared wide-eyed. Her delicate features twisted in shock.

Ginko Sora—the so-called "Snow White of Naniwa," already a rising star in the shogi world. Even at her young age, she owned two of the six titles attainable by female shogi players. Among the pros, her name carried weight everywhere.

And yet… this girl, hailed as Japan's best female shogi player in centuries, had just lost in under two minutes.

"H… how?"

Ginko sank to her knees, palms pressed against the tatami, her slender legs folded weakly to either side as her body trembled.

"He gave me a handicap—ten pieces! He wasn't even paying attention, reading a book with one hand while making moves with the other… and I still couldn't last two minutes?!"

The shock on her youthful face was so raw and overwhelming it erased every trace of her usual proud, aloof demeanor.

For a pro to be demolished this easily, even with a ten-piece handicap… it was absurd. Not even the strongest player in history had ever managed to suppress her like this.

Watching her world crumble, her spirit nearly broken, one might think she wouldn't even react if someone shook her by the shoulders right now.

But Renji—the villa's owner—wasn't surprised. Neither was the blonde twin-tailed maid who stood quietly nearby. They'd both seen this scene play out countless times.

The maid, still clumsy but eager, placed a freshly brewed cup of black tea before him. Renji gave her a small nod of approval, ignoring the dazed girl on the tatami as he calmly turned another page of the book covered in strange, arcane symbols.

Several minutes passed before Ginko managed to pull herself together.

She bit her lip, raising her eyes to the man across from her—handsome, but hateful, carrying a quiet gravity that made her breath catch. The shock in her gaze slowly shifted, melting into awe.

"As expected of the one they call the greatest chess player of all time. Renji-sama… even across the span of human history, you stand unmatched!"

"Someone like you must have endured unimaginable hardships to reach such heights, right?"

The proud girl who never bowed her head to anyone now spoke with reverence.

After all, the man before her wasn't just a shogi player. He was a legend who had conquered Go, Janggi, international chess, and shogi alike.

Even Magnus Carlsen had gone from slamming his fist on the table after losing to falling silent at the mere mention of Renji Amatsuki's name. Like all Chess grandmasters, he felt hopeless trying to defeat Renji.

After all, Renji was the man who had even forced AI to bow before him—the strongest chess player in history—the Chess King.

In front of such a figure, arrogance was meaningless. All Ginko could feel was worship.

Her tone carried complete sincerity. To her, only someone who endured unimaginable hardships could stand at the summit of such perfection.

Yet Renji merely shook his head with calm indifference. "No."

"Ehhhh?"

"In truth, I only played back then because I needed money. The prize pool was good, so I went for it. Before that, I'd barely even touched shogi. Forget years of training—I had none."

"W-W-What?"

Ginko froze. That… wasn't what the news reports said.

Wait.

"So you'd never even studied shogi or any chess before, and just for the prize money… you became the Chess King?!"

That… that was absurd. Impossible.

Renji, noticing the new maid staring at him like she'd seen a ghost, added offhandedly. "As a pro, you should know this better than anyone. A person's character has nothing to do with their skill on the board. It isn't about discipline. Chess, at its core, is just a contest of calculation."

His words stripped the game bare, exposing its essence.

"As long as your calculation ability is enough, conquering any other board game is child's play." He said it so calmly, like it was the most natural truth in the world.

"You mean… no memorized openings, no set plays. Just pure raw calculation to cover every possibility?"

Even the most advanced supercomputers couldn't manage that.

Most people believed Renji defeated AIs by exploiting weaknesses in their programming. But if what he said was true… he hadn't relied on tricks or preparation at all. He'd just crushed them with sheer processing power.

Could a human really do that? 

"If something like that is simple for you, then what on earth could possibly count as difficult?" Ginko muttered in disbelief.

But Renji answered instantly. "Of course there are harder things."

"…Like what?" Ginko felt she had to ask.

"For example… surpassing humanity itself."

His tone carried a weight she hadn't expected.

"Huh?"

By the time she looked up again, Renji's focus had already shifted back to the book in his hand. Unlike the indifference he'd shown on the board, his expression now was sharp, intent.

Her eyes flicked to the books scattered around him. Titles like Hermeticism: The Alchemical Society or The Emerald Tablet: Halls of the Dead.

Why was the Chess King so obsessed with mythology and esoteric religion?

She wanted to ask, but remembered the rules. Instead, she quietly reheated the tea prepared by the maid Eriri, packed up the shogi board, and bowed out, leaving the room in silence.

Once she was gone, Renji flipped to the final page, exhaled, and set the book aside.

"The framework is sound… but there's still no result. Not even Hermeticism—the so-called 'heresy among heresies'—produces a reaction. Could it be this world really has no trace of the supernatural?"

Renji, after all, was a transmigrant.

Ever since arriving in this seemingly ordinary slice-of-life anime world, the only cheat he'd gained was an absurdly powerful mind—talent and insight far beyond human limits.

And with that alone, he'd risen to staggering heights.

The Chess King title that so impressed Ginko? Barely worth mentioning.

With his brilliance, he had already achieved success in economics, politics, culture, and technology. His influence rivaled entire nations, powerful enough that even the prestigious Shinomiya conglomerate dreamed of marrying off their daughter to him.

But standing at the peak of worldly power only made him hunger for something greater.

If transmigration was possible, then surely some higher force existed.

Yet despite years of chasing every hidden cult, dissecting every scrap of mystical lore, he'd found nothing.

At this point, he was the world's foremost expert in occult studies, fluent in every theory and system ever devised. But the truth remained: this world was ordinary. Magicless.

No matter how high his talent, if the world itself denied the supernatural, there was no path to transcendence.

"Don't tell me… even as a transmigrant... even after getting a second chance, I'm just going to live and die like everyone else. Just another pile of dust in a hundred years?"

The thought weighed heavy, but he refused to give up.

If no path existed, he would create one himself.

The agony of dying once was enough. It forged his resolve never to surrender, no matter what.

Just as he was preparing to reorganize his notes, a mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind:

[Welcome to the Dimensional Chat Group.]

『Madoka Kaname』: "Welcome, newbie!"

『Kanae Kocho』: "Welcome, welcome~"

『Rin Tohsaka』: "Welcome!"

『Erica Blandelli』: "Welcome."

A translucent screen blinked to life before his eyes. Names and greetings scrolled across it like ripples in a pond.

Renji's breath caught. His hand clenched tight.

The chance he'd been chasing, the key to transcendence… had arrived at last.

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