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, are you? 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. The team, however, 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. 

"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 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 increase the chances of 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 Mori would 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 Mori, 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 since Diederich had a habit of annoying friends and enemies alike, raising prospects that his behavior might piss Ginji off enough that he'd go for a win. The gameplan was solid, albeit with 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.

As Okisato and Mori walked down the hall, they were confronted by two women, each garbed in bright blue and yellow attire with dyed hair to match. 

"Lookey here, Lina, we got ourselves some boys," one of the women grinned. 

"You sure? I'm only seeing one hunk, one dud," the other smirked. 

Okisato was quick to scan the two with his WWCF card and discover their identities. "Alina Japarova and Allura Zhumagaziyeva. You're both from the Kazakh women's team." 

The two women scowled and shook their heads. "Move aside. So, Hunk, wanna have some fun?" Allura asked as she and Alina approached Mori. 

"Would I!? Take me out to the ballgame," Mori grinned. 

And thus, Mori found himself strung between the two women as he was dragged off. Okisato wouldn't be single for long though as a girl with short green hair suddenly approached him. 

"Those two have bad eyes. I can tell thou hath suitable genetics for breeding." 

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 a noblewoman due to her style choice of a black tracksuit and boots. 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.

"Perhaps 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 those Kazakh woman so happened to be in the vicinity. Anything they do to your teammate will have no bearings on me or Poland."

"Oh? Then mind if-"

"Man, do not talk back to 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 settle it in chess."