The Kawaguchi chess center

Once school let out, the chess club convened in their usual spot, only to be met with two surprises.

"Hey Mimoko, I came to school," Daria smiled.

Mimoko had expected this, but what she didn't expect was for Daria to show up in her spare uniform.

"O- Okaa-chan, why-"

"Why not? It fits," Daria smirked as she twirled around.

"Making me jelly. All Yuusuke's got is spare boy's uniforms, and I sure as hell ain't wearing his shit even if it's bleached," Hagemi quipped.

"AHEM! Ladies, you are guests, and are expected to act with some decorum," Maida glared.

"Got it, teach. So, how about we first start off with some introductions. I'm Mimoko's sister-"

"DON'T TRY AND PASS OFF AS YOUNGER JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE WEARING MY UNIFORM!" Mimoko fumed as she smacked Daria on the head with a paper fan.

"Ahem, I'm Mimoko's mother, Maestro Himitsu," Daria mumbled as she showcased her WWCF card.

Everyone gaped in shock, with the exception of all who already knew.

"As you can see, Maestro Himitsu is the real deal. So is Miss Shousen as some of you already know. Today, they will directly be supervising club activities. This also means you are free to challenge them both," Maida stated.

"Yup, normally you first gotta beat my SPCMs, but this is a special chance to try and beat a maestro outright! That being said, I won't go easy, and you only get one shot. Oh, and if you've already beaten me, I'll have to ask you to refrain from challenging me so others get the chance," Daria smiled as she turned towards Mimoko and Okisato.

"That means I'm first in line!" Iori grinned as she stepped forth.

"Not yet. There's still more. See, if you've actually got some skill, first ya gotta get through me," Hagemi grinned as she blocked Iori's path.

"Sounds easy."

"I ain't shit like Yuusuke."

Poor Yuusuke fell to his knees in despair, yet his troubles weren't over yet.

"You're the vice-president. Show me your skill," Daria demanded as she dragged Yuusuke to a board.

"... I pray for ya, Yuusuke," Rodeo mumbled.

"I'll say. The poor boy's up against a woman with a 3300-rating. It's bad enough when Tanabe-kun whooped him, now he's just gonna become an example," Yuzuha frowned.

"An example for how to learn from failure," Jackie proudly huffed.

"Um, why are you here?"

"I'm Numakawa, don't you know."

...

After beating everyone that came her way, Daria smugly lounged in a chair, fanning herself. "I liked the spirit I saw from some of ya, but don't get down. I've only ever lost to 4 different people, and two of them are here in this room."

Getting the cue, Okisato and Mimoko showcased their WWCF cards.

"Ugh, I'd be the 5th if you didn't draw me," Iori growled at Hagemi.

"That's my spot. You can be 6th or back. I've been trying to crack her for years," Hagemi grinned.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but thanks to the Chess Olympics, everyone's marked me as the one to beat. My SPCMs are being overwhelmed by everyone challenging them to get to me. Some have even managed to beat everyone already, and might have a good chance at notching a win off me. Not to mention, there's still plenty like you who can play me, but still have yet to beat me," Daria smiled as she began to leave.

"Heading home? Or is it to a challenge?" Mimoko asked.

"Nope, I'm gonna take you all on a field trip, then I'll- Hmm, actually, think I'll change first. I wanna be in something more stylish for this," Daria nodded as she warped away without saying another word.

"I got an idea on where she's heading. Come on, I'll take you all there," Hagemi smiled.

Everyone stared in surprise as they stopped at a familiar sight. It was the park by the river which served as the original unofficial meeting point for the chess club before Maida began supervising it. It was also Mimoko's go-to hang-out spot as well as near where she had that fateful encounter with Okisato and first learned about the DESPERs after Inojin took her prisoner.

What was grabbing everyone's attention though was the presence of a circular pavilion. It resembled an outdoor bar with stools and a bar table, but people could also sit on the inner ring and appeared to be playing chess with those on the outer ring. And seated on one of the stools was none other than Daria, now decked in her iconic drippy attire she had worn throughout the course of the Chess Olympics.

"They finally started setting these up. Welcome, everyone, to Kawaguchi's own chess center," Daria smiled as she turned to face everyone.

"Chess centers? What do you mean?" Mimoko asked.

"I've long felt that there should be places like these scattered throughout the world so that more people can connect and play chess. Guess I should give you the full tour n' rundown. First off, these are manned by robots from the WWCF 24/7 365 or 366 days a year. Here you can gather and play chess, teach chess, or just watch chess. It's like a downsized secret puzzle cafe. And just like in one, you can challenge people from all over the world and if you're in chess centers in different places, you'll show up as holograms just like with the secret puzzle cafe. You can also play most variants here, with the exception of dive chess and chess boxing."

"But you can't do those in a secret puzzle cafe either."

"True, but we've now added a feature that'll warp you to special rooms at the WWCF HQ for those. You'll just get warped back to where you came from when it's done, just like with these."

"Wait, so then can you also challenge-"

"Nope, can't challenge SPCMs, DSPCMs, or maestros unless they feel like playing ya. And maestros will only play you if you've actually beaten them. But we can all warp to anyone of these in the world, and so can those with the ability to warp to any secret puzzle cafe in the world. Those without the ability can gain the ability to warp to any ones they find for a lower price of WWCF points compared to it's upgraded secret puzzle cafe cousin, but buying it will deduct it's price from said cousin, so keep that in mind. Lastly, there's a 5 Km anti-DESPER radius around each chess center. That's a good thing to keep in mind if a bloodthirsty Desperado is on your heels. And with that, intro's over. Have some fun. Oh, and the robots here are challengeable."

"Any prizes for beating them?" Yuusuke mumbled.

"Yes. They're officially known as Chess Center Bots, or CCBs, and should you best them all, you might be able to challenge a secret Final CCB, the FCCB. And unlike SPCMs and DSPCMs, there's no limit, with some exceptions, to how many of them could be in a country. You can even find them in a city that already houses a secret puzzle cafe or even multiple ones in the same city if the city's big enough. And now that really is everything. Oh, and just like with a secret puzzle cafe, refreshments are available to purchase in both WWCF points and local currency, with it usually being cheaper to buy in WWCF points. You also don't need to be a WWCF member to hang out here, so bring your friends and hang out. And... Now I think that's it. Have fun."