Dec 06, 2025
Author's Commentary #31:
Time to talk about Chapter 31: Tenju and Taira.
Like its counterpart in Season 3 of the original, this chapter showcases Tenju and Taira's backstory. Unlike it though is how things play out after the reveal, largely thanks to the revising of events here in the volume.
In the original, Taira was brainwashed to become a proxy with corrupted will, forced to say and do things she'd never think of doing. As a result, she and Taira originally challenged Okisato and Iori to a DESPER match, which was actually the Fool's Mate 4-player game. As a result of losing, the twins were scorched with blowtorches with Taira dying and Tenju surviving.
Here I decided to shift gears drastically as I was not a fan of the SPCMs getting corrupted and brainwashed plotline. As a result, Mizuse now lives where as in the original, she was killed following her losing a DESPER 4-player game, which was actually the same game that was featured in Chapter 25: Beauty and the bitch, here in this volume. With Taira though, she needed to die as her death is central to Tenju's character development.
At the start of Season 6 in the original, Tenju is able to acquire Taira's chess prowess due to her winning a DESPER match. Here, I decided to revise things to have it set that thanks to Taira having a prior winning condition in effect, her consciousness was passed on and merged with Tenju's. This also means Tenju doesn't get her entire body burned like in the original. I was considering having Haruki have his way with her, but ultimately felt it would be better to have her escape further harm thanks to Taira's foresight.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
