Kneel before queen Jadwiga

"Hello! Why'd ya'll leave me to the wolves?" Ginji smiled as he swung open the door to the hotel room.

The other members of the men's team stopped their strategy meeting for a second before shaking their heads.

"Ah, Inohara-dono. We were merely discussing our strategy for the next round since the pairings have gone up," Ryonosuke stated.

"Arere? They're up already?"

"Just for the men's side. Oh, and you're the one that chose to stay and chat with your bony buddy," Okisato growled.

"The kaiser's a good ole friend. Why, I'd love to face him again-"

"No, I'M facing him tomorrow."

A brief scowl formed on Ginji's face before vanishing a second later. He had seen the pairings prior and knew Japan would be facing Prussia in round 3. As such, he figured Okisato would push to play on board 1 since he'd beaten Red Reaper thrice before. But if that happened, it could cause Japan to beat Prussia, which Ginji didn't want.

However, the team was likely to agree to have Okisato play on board 1, thus Ginji decided to go with option 2.

"You're not going to have me sit out again? I'm the country's top player."

"Fine, then play on board 2," Okisato grumbled.

After the incident with Iceland, keeping Ginji on the sidelines when facing a Desperado-heavy team would be a risky move. Now that his method was exposed, he might try to do something bolder that could land the team in trouble with the arbiters. Thus, the plan was to have him play, but that too came with risks. Yet the team felt that at least for this round, having him play was the better option.

Yet this decision to allow Ginji to play in round 3, would later come back to bite the others in an unexpected way. As soon as Ginji had been given the go-ahead to play on board 2, that was checkmate. Now, Prussia would win the match, if he executed his plan perfectly.

"Think I'm gonna strip down n' turn in for the night," Ginji sneered as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

That was the que for everyone to take their leave.

"I apologize, but since Inohara-dono is sharing a room with me, we must respect his right to rest," Ryonosuke bowed.

The others nodded and headed out. They had managed to make good progress at least on their meeting before Ginji arrived, but the true challenge would be tomorrow.

With Ginji on board 2, he'd likely be facing Diederich, which might actually be for the best due to Diederich's chunibiyou nature. Okisato on board 1, would likely guarantee a win as he knew how to beat Red Reaper with ease. Though that wouldn't set things in stone just yet as Hans-Ulrich and Volkner were likely to be on boards 3 and 4, respectively. Ryonosuke had decided to sit out the round in order to give his mind a break, meaning Zago would likely take his place on board 3 against Hans-Ulrich, with the masked man going against Volkner.

The masked man certainly had proven his skill, and could likely get a win, but even if both him and Okisato won, they'd need another half point for Japan to win the match. Hans-Ulrich was a tricky opponent, and would likely know how to confuse Zago, but he was by far the easier opponent for him compared to Volkner.

Even though Volkner looked like he was miserable all the time, he didn't have a rating of 2743 for nothing. He was a young prodigy that consistently performed well at tournaments regardless of how much stress he endured off the chessboard.

Ginji was also a wildcard as he'd likely try to throw the game, but since his opponent was Diederich, that might be easier said than done, as due to Diederich's nature, he could be the one to get handed the loss if Ginji resigns on the argument that Diederich was acting unprofessionally and childish. That meant Ginji would likely have to play through, and since Diederich had a habit of annoying friends and enemies alike, there was a fair chance his behavior might piss Ginji off enough that he'd go for a win.

The gameplan was solid, but there were still some holes in it. But if all went according to plan, a draw was the worst that would befall team Japan. Yet Ginji's maniacal plan to guarantee Prussia's victory was about to be set in stone.

"Allura sees him! He must be the one!" a woman with long black hair exclaimed.

"I laid eyes upon the strong one," a girl with short green hair glared.

"Welp, have fun you two," the masked man nodded as he made his getaway, leaving Okisato and Zago to fend for themselves against these two women.

Okisato attempted to leave, but the green-haired girl parkoured along the walls to get ahead of him, bringing him to a halt by slamming her foot into the wall.

"You dare try to shaft your queen?"

"Sorry, got places I need to be."

"Douth thou not know who I am!? I am Jadwiga Abgarowicz, future queen of Poland and daughter of Jarosław Abgarowicz, prime minster of Poland!"

At a glance, none would take Jadwiga for an noblewoman. She wore capri jeans, sneakers, and a strapless tank top that exposed her midriff. Her opening her mouth and talking seemed to better sell the point she was a noblewoman, but after witnessing her parkour, it was difficult to come to terms that she was a high-ranking noblewoman.

Okisato wasn't well versed in Polish politics though, so him hearing her name didn't garner much of a reaction. But he did know that regardless of if she was a noble or not, he needed to be careful so as not to cause an incident between Japan and Poland.

"No fair! Allura wanted that one!" the black-haired woman pouted.

"There is another for you, yes? The take him. I only want the strongest."

The remark earned Jadwiga some ire from Zago, but it quickly took second priority to escaping from Allura, who had seemed to have completely tossed aside the matter of wanting to get with Okisato.

"Come to Allura! Allura wants to date!"

"N- No way!" Zago cried as his face went red.

In addition to her beautiful long black hair, Allura also had a beautiful face and body. In contrast to Jadwiga, she wore a long black sleeveless dress paired with a black leather jacket and some slip-on sneakers. A pair of sunglasses also perched atop her head, giving her overall celebrity vibes.

"Allura has caught you! Now we date!" Allura exclaimed as she managed to catch Zago.

"Gah! Oi, st- stop pressing your breasts into my back!"

Poor Zago was barely able to control himself as his face became redder and redder. Okisato decided not to help him either by saying aloud, "Relax, she said she wants to date you, so no need to worry if she shoves her tits into your face."

The remark brought the fantasy to life, as Allura immediately buried Zago's face in her breasts, before whipping out her phone and taking a selfie. That action put Okisato on guard, yet it was Jadwiga who ended up clearing the air.

"That girl is aloof, so I've heard. And in case you're on guard thinking we're trying to sabotage your team with a scandal, we aren't, or at least, I'm not. You see, I was told by a man from your team that there was a suitable mate for me, and that woman so happened to be in the vicinity. She's not from my country either, so anything she does will have no bearings on e or Poland."

"Oh? Then who is she?"

"Man, do not ask about another woman in the presence of your queen. You are to become my mate, and-"

"No thanks."

Jadwiga clicked her tongue. "You interrupted me... HOW DARE YOU!"

"That's my line. Why should I have to be forced to date you?"

"Because I'm Jadwiga Abgarowicz, future queen-"

"Yeah no thanks."

"YOU INTERRUPT ME ONCE MORE!? INSOLENCE! YOU MUST BE HOUSEBROKEN POSTHASTE!"

"Then we should play in chess," Allura smiled as she hopped over with Zago's face still trapped in her cleavage.

Both Okisato and Jadwiga could agree to that, though Okisato threw in the condition that Zago would also get to fight for his freedom against Allura, to which Allura agreed to with a smile.