Sora Ginko was completely confused after hearing Shiro's words, then pointed at herself and spoke in a doubtful tone:
"Are you sure I have that qualification and talent?"
"Do I really have to fall to such a state?"
Sora Ginko had once been very confident, but recent failures had made her question life. Not to mention the things Shiro had been teaching her; she felt that even if she became a student of some genius or even a celebrity, she might not be qualified enough to learn it. And he said she could. Had he overestimated her too much?
Shiro looked at the girl's expression and, recalling her personality, immediately understood. It seemed this blow had been quite heavy, not to mention that his actions had caused her to directly doubt life and herself.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem, there's no need to doubt yourself. First of all, your talent isn't bad at all. You've probably suffered a hard blow recently, and on top of that, you have a brilliant younger colleague, so that's why you started doubting yourself, isn't it?"
"Mmm…"
Sora Ginko still nodded. It was a fact, and it wasn't strange that this guy knew such things.
"And have you ever thought about this? Your own ability isn't bad at all. By your expression, what is it called? Shogi Star Person?"
"And you can awaken that ability, you know? You just haven't had the proper method and opportunity yet."
Sora Ginko was completely stunned when she heard that. It was a terrifying thing, capable of planning very, very far ahead.
Honestly, top-level chess players don't necessarily have to be Star Persons, but Star Persons are definitely top-level chess players.
Moreover, she had never heard of any female shogi player of that type, but Shiro said she was, which left her a little lost.
"I'm not lying to you. Today, I'll guide you to awaken it by slowing down time, and then we'll start formal lessons. After all, I really can't teach you as you are now."
Sora Ginko felt underestimated, but she had nothing to say because it was the truth.
"And don't think that nobody can learn it or that nobody has the qualifications. The main reason is that nobody teaches them. If they had to figure it out on their own, they might never succeed in this life. But with someone teaching them, it's different."
"So, if you have talent and someone to teach you, why worry that you can't learn it?"
After hearing that, Sora Ginko's heart was filled with strong emotion, and she spoke honestly:
"Please, start."
When she said that, she even bowed, very formally.
Shiro originally wanted to say there was no need, but considering her personality, he thought it over and gave up.
Immediately after, the two of them sat opposite each other. This time, Shiro turned into a very strict teacher, showing no leniency, or rather, he strictly reprimanded her for every mistake.
Sora Ginko was on the verge of tears several times, but she held them back, bit her lip, and continued. When the block was removed, just over three hours had passed, approaching dinner time.
Sora Ginko was now slumped back without any elegance, her hands resting on the floor. However, due to extreme fatigue, she lost strength and nearly fell again when Shiro supported her.
"Are you okay? You're a little too weak."
"I made sure you stayed at peak condition the whole time, so what's going on? How can you look this exhausted?"
Shiro knew it would take time, so the two of them remained inside for a very, very long time. But she still looked the same as when she had entered, exclusively because he had done a small trick, fixed her time, and maintained her energy, spirit, and the like in a certain state.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be like this.
Sora Ginko thought about her state after his words and couldn't help but shake her head.
"It's not about mental or physical strength; it's just a simple feeling of fatigue. I can't explain it."
"I feel like my physical strength is actually quite abundant, but I still feel terribly tired."
Shiro thought after hearing that; it was probably related to willpower or something similar.
He couldn't help her with that.
"Study diligently. We'll continue tomorrow. I'll help you finish training over the next few days so you can win the competition this week."
Sora Ginko nodded slightly. At that moment, Shiro suddenly spoke.
"You look so weak now that it awakens a desire for crime in people. What should I do about that?"
When Sora Ginko heard that, she forced herself to compose and gave Shiro a sharp look.
"If you break your promise and try to do something to me, I can't stop you, but I can guarantee that even if you get my body, my heart will never be yours."
Sora Ginko realized what this guy in front of her wanted. He didn't just want to obtain her person through the contract; he also wanted to win her heart.
For her, if he won the wager, her person would belong to him, and then she would give him her heart. But if he broke the promise, then everything would fall through.
Shiro pressed his lips together, then spoke with a very helpless expression:
"I really don't understand. Am I really that transparent? How did you figure it out so quickly?"
"Or are you all worms in my stomach?"
"Vulgar!"
"Don't you know that everything you want is openly written on your face? Or you just can't be bothered to hide it. For you, nothing really matters; you just do what you want."
"That's also the state most envied."
Shiro looked at her, seeing how she, in a way, opened her mouth, and felt a slight confusion.
"What is there to envy?"
Sora Ginko looked at that particular man who really seemed confused and couldn't help but sigh.
"After all, everyone has to maintain an image and such. And a man who says what he wants to do and does it, showing everything openly on his face."
Shiro only then realized what she meant.
"Ahem, actually, you can do that too."
Sora Ginko didn't understand his allusion; he was actually implying that after she followed him, she could do whatever she wanted. But that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes dramatically. Every day he led the conversation in that direction; couldn't he be a little more serious?
"Looking at you like this, beautiful and exhausted, first I'll make something for you to eat. When I finish, I have to go back. That alien princess is probably coming to me today, so I have to go back to deal with her."
Sora Ginko, after hearing that, seemed to remember something.
"You mean the one with pink hair you saw the other day?"
"Yes."
"I'm quite curious, what's your relationship with her? It looked like you two fought over her, didn't it?"
Sora Ginko rarely showed such curiosity.
After all, she was a normal girl, and curiosity certainly existed, especially when it came to the alien princess.
"I met her just yesterday, or rather, her spaceship was shot down yesterday, and she accidentally ended up at my place."
"The killer also followed her there. So as not to affect Mikan, I just took him further away."
"And as for the relationship?"
"You can consider it as two people who just met. One party, because I protected her, has a good impression of me. And the other, driven by desire, we made a betrothal, understand?"
Sora Ginko was completely stunned after hearing that. She realized her brain wasn't processing the information quickly enough.
"Wait, wait a minute. Are you saying you two met for the first time yesterday, or that she, shortly after meeting, was ready to get engaged to you just because you protected her?"
"Are you sure this isn't a novel? Even novels wouldn't write something like this, right?"
Shiro shrugged, indicating that this was really something even novels wouldn't write, but anime and manga would! And he simply took someone's scenario. Honestly, wasn't she his official partner?
"Aren't you looking at it with your own eyes now?"