If I don't have money to go to college, I can only go to slay the dragon.

"Checkmate."

On the black and white chessboard, the white king was defeated. The old fingers let go of the chariot and looked at the player on the opposite side of the chessboard.

The slender white fingers were raised on the chessboard, holding one chess piece, and then released it after a few seconds, then moved to another chess piece, but did not catch it. They just froze in mid-air for a while, and then took it back. The back of the desk was placed on his knees.

"You lost," he said.

"I lost." Mandy took back her hand and nodded.

Opposite the chessboard, Mandy, who was sitting on the chair, stretched out her hand again and gently pushed her 'king' down on the chessboard, surrendering in front of the black 'king'.

"It stands to reason that we should shake hands now." He said this, but he had no intention of reaching out to make peace. The fingers of his right hand gently supported the side of his forehead, leaning his elbow on the edge of the chessboard and looking at Mandy with a smile.

"There's no need to shake hands in a one-sided massacre, right? At this time, no matter what the winner does, it's like ridicule and pity for the loser. The most important thing to do is to stand up, raise your arms and shout to celebrate your victory, and completely defeat the loser. Forgotten in the corner of the chessboard." Mandy said as she reset the pieces on the chessboard one by one.

"Don't be so frustrated, it's just a game of chess," he said.

"Before I was eighteen, this game of chess was everything to me. At that time, you defeated me mercilessly." Mandy retracted her hands and put them on her knees under the table, looking into his eyes.

"in a bad mood today?"

"A little bit."

"Why?"

"Auntie."

"You should be in a better mood. You are about to move from the front to the back." He turned his eyes away and changed the subject casually, "When you leave the 'Prince's side, the risks of your exposure and the dangers of surveillance will be It will be significantly reduced.”

"But I heard that little Paco and the others behind the scenes seem to be busier, and they work all year round." Mandy said.

"Who said that? This makes me seem like an unscrupulous capitalist who advocates 996."

"996?"

"Go to work at nine in the morning and get off at nine in the evening, a cannibalistic system of working six days a week."

"Of course you are not this kind of capitalist." After receiving the explanation of the professional term, Mandy retorted in surprise and raised her eyebrows, "You are a feudal emperor. How can 996 restrict your imperial order? If you are willing, in one sentence, paco And Wonderpus would be 007.”

"007?"

"The lyrics I'm writing now, I'll work from 0:00 in the morning to 0:00 in the evening, seven days a week." Mandy shrugged.

"I just like your humor, so I couldn't bear to send you from the front to the back. I feel so relieved that you are following the 'Prince'. There is no one more suitable for you to contact him and gain his trust!" He said with emotion.

"Actually, there is no difference. If you are willing, I can even enter Cassel College as a freshman this year, enrolling in the same batch as the 'Prince', or you can let me be a double agent with the school board and Angers Just like that, I was forced to repeat the grade for a few years just to get into school for that special guy." Mandy played with the 'Queen' chess piece and said, "Arrange for me to enroll and graduate early. You want me to join the executive department, right? After all, with my senior sister's status As a person, you can only come into contact with the 'Prince' on weekdays, but if you are a specialist of the Executive Department, you will have many opportunities to go out with the 'Prince' on missions, thereby monitoring his growth and changes in his mental journey. "

"Smart, you are worthy of being my girl." He applauded.

Mandy held the queen's piece and said nothing.

After applauding, he lowered his hand and remained quiet for a few seconds, "So I always feel it's a pity that you couldn't go with him when he went back to his hometown last time."

"That time at the trading party?" Mandy raised her eyes and looked at him, "Even if I was there, I can't seem to change the will of the 'Prince'. Leeches are certainly a good thing, but because of his character, he didn't put slices of this stuff in the first place. Paco's temper is well controlled."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. It wouldn't be a pity to destroy the leech. What is a leech compared to the 'Prince'? You can have as many of those things as you want. If the 'Prince' is willing, I can even make him a domino to push around," he said with an amused smile.

"Then what are you regretting?"

"There are some things that are beyond my control," he said.

Mandy raised his head slightly and looked at the person opposite, and then he found that the person opposite was also looking at him.

"Nothing is beyond your control," she said.

"Have I ever mentioned to you that I have always wanted to find someone, but after so many years, I have never found her?"

"Yes you mentioned it."

"Then it's obvious." He smiled and said, "Only people who have always been beyond my control can continue to reproduce this miracle."

"What did she do?" Mandy asked intently.

"She gave the 'Prince' a knife," he said.

"That Ju Yiwen Zongzong?" Mandy frowned, "I always thought it was your handwriting."

He waved his hand, "Forget it, just think of it as a provocation that she hasn't seen for a long time. Many people thought that I used that trading party to announce to everyone that I was on stage, and she did the same thing, only It was just a declaration made to me alone.”

"What are you going to do?"

"Give her a beating and kill her if you can," he said.

"But you have never done this in all these years, why did you suddenly..." Mandy looked up at him in horror.

"I recently found an interesting chess piece." He reached out and rubbed Black's 'bishop' on the chessboard a few times. "Maybe this is a rare opportunity."

"Do you want to do it yourself?" Mandy lowered her head and her whole body gradually became tense.

Because she knows that once the opponent's answer is yes, it means that this long, too long chess game is about to end, and there will always be a tragic bloody storm before the end, creating a bloody storm. .

"No." His subsequent reply made Mandy pause, "I'm going to let you come."

Mandy paused, "Me?"

"It will be your birthday in a while." He smiled and said, "This honor will be bestowed on you."

"This" Mandy didn't know what to do and reacted, sitting there blankly.

"The time to take action will be on your birthday." He said, "You will know exactly what to do then."

Mandy did not refuse, because she knew that this was a royal order, and no matter what her thoughts and attitude were, she could only accept it silently, even if death was likely to be waiting for her.

"Okay," she said.

"Paco has something to do in Russia right now. Wonderpus will assist you in this mission. If you need anything, just ask her." He nodded.

"Can I ask one more question?" Mandy said suddenly.

"Just ask."

"Is the bigger reason that drove you to plan this operation because of the abnormality that happened to the 'Prince' during the 3E exam?"

"Does it bring you any comfort if I answer this question?" he said.

"I'm sorry, I overstepped my bounds." Mandy lowered her head and said softly.

The room was quiet for a few seconds, and all you could hear was the caressing sound of autumn leaves falling on the window. The sunlight cut through the leaves and cut on the chessboard, like a line of black sky in the canyon.

After Mandy fell silent, the person on the other side stopped talking. They were just so quiet, so quiet that you could hear the heartbeat and the autumn wind.

About half a minute later, an old hand stretched out in front of Mandy, and it was this hand that killed her and then gave her a royal order.

She looked up at Professor Manstein across the table, who was rubbing his smooth head with one hand and looking at her with admiration.

"Sure enough, I can't beat you in chess no matter how much I practice!" Manstein looked at his student with a look of conviction.

The chess game on the table was reversed. The chess game that had been reset by Mandy was restored to its original appearance, except that it was replaced by Mandy holding the black chess to checkmate the white chess.

"Hey, I just rely on this skill to make a living. Not to mention you, mentor. Even if I replace you with a younger brother, you may not be able to defeat me after practicing for several years!" When Mandy raised her head again, she had a different expression on her face. , smiled so triumphantly, and shook his hand with Professor Manstein as a sign of peace.

"I still don't believe it in other aspects, but you are indeed talented in playing chess." Manstein gave a rare nod in recognition of his unsatisfactory student, "Are you ready to participate in the graduation internship? Execute There is already a seat reserved at the Ministry, I can help you greet them."

"It's alright. Sooner or later, you won't be able to escape this, so it's better to admit it earlier." Mandy lay on the chair and stretched her graceful figure. The close-fitting school uniform cast the traces of lines on the ground in the sunlight. The silhouette is stunning. During these days, I was chased and beaten by my junior brother every day, and all the little fat I had managed to gain was lost due to my hard work and sweat.

"I'm very happy that you have such an awareness. After all, you are the student I brought out. I still have full confidence in you." Manstein looked at the unformed Mandy and nodded slowly, "I am more confident than you." Everyone knows that you actually have great potential, but many times you don’t want to compete for that fierce limelight. But sometimes people always have to move forward, and the biggest fear is not having the belief to move forward.”

"Beliefs are so fake and empty. I just want to graduate and find a random class. If there is anyone who cares about me and doesn't mind me eating potato chips in bed, I will just marry him." Mandy leaned against her He folded his hands on the chair and looked out the window at the golden sycamore leaves. His eyes reflected the rising and falling of the pigeons on the church in the distance. "I don't have any lofty ideals. I just want to be ordinary."

"Sometimes being mediocre is the most difficult ideal to achieve." Manstein stood up, "I also hope you can graduate successfully and receive a gift from the principal at the graduation ceremony in the Hall of Valor."

"hope so."

"I have something to do in the afternoon, so I won't stay any longer. Lin Nian reported to me that he caught a few third-year bastards who were trying to use the casings of alchemical bullets to extract alchemical metals. I have to spend time dealing with them and give them warnings." Man Man Stein picked up the coat hanging on the chair and turned around to leave the chess room.

"Professor, did you really ask your junior brother to work for the Disciplinary Committee? Everyone in the school has been a bit disturbed recently." Mandy asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's not that serious, and we can't just keep running to the execution department just because he's short of money. What he needs recently is to keep a low profile. Finding something for him to do can just help to take some of my pressure off. Anyway, the budget of the discipline committee is always enough. It doesn't matter if you give him some points." Manstein hurried towards the door of the chess room and said casually.

"In comparison, I really picked him up, and my junior brother is my biological child." Mandy couldn't help but sigh.

"It would be great if he could be his biological son." Manstein turned back and glared at Mandy, said angrily, opened the door and walked out, "Let's go."

Mandy lay lazily on the chair and waved goodbye. After Manstein's figure disappeared among the fallen leaves of the sycamore tree, she lowered her head and looked at the chess pieces on the chessboard. The light outside the door illuminated The black king is facing the dying white king, and his shadow stretches very long on the black and white chessboard.