Chapter 52: Win the Tournament!
"Fucking finally..." Sheva cursed inwardly, letting the weight of his shoulder slump against the chair. The mental exhaustion he suffered from this game was definitely the highest, even though this wasn’t the longest game he played in this tournament. He didn’t even notice the sudden silence around him or the stares that everyone gave, still busy trying to recover. After a few seconds, he finally realized that the atmosphere was quite wrong here. "Um... Is there anything wrong?" He asked awkwardly.
"Congratulations, Boy." In the end, it was an old man on the sideline who came at him first, breaking the long silence. "That was a brilliant game. You’ve done very well here."
"Yeah! The opening is so badass! I will give it a shot at it later!" A boy, probably around Claudia’s age, suddenly also stepped forward with a huge grin, still feeling excited over the game. Right after that, all the people who watched the game live also came to him, patting his shoulder firmly and giving him their heartfelt congratulations.
"This should be your first time winning the tournament, right?"
"Heck, he is an unrated player! This should be his first time playing in a formal tournament, right?"
"Damn, if you are right, this is going to be legendary!"
"Hey, can I take a photo with you?!"
"Don’t push around, please!"
Between the exhaustion after winning the game, the shock due to the exaggerated reaction from the crowd, and the confusion since everyone spoke English so quickly, Sheva was dumbstruck, not knowing how to react. He just stood—or sat, to be more exact—stupidly in his chair, having his mouth gaping like a fish.
Fortunately, the security team in this tournament worked fast. The moment the commotion started, they went straight to table one where Sheva played the game to calm down the masses, driving away the audience with the excuse that they were disturbing the tournament. In the end, not a single one complained as everyone knew that they had made a disruption, especially since the other games were still running. Hell, some of the players even complained to the arbiter about it. Fortunately, even though Sheva was the indirect cause of the commotion, he was also the victim here, so no blame fell on his head.
However, Sheva was still stuck in his place, his body frozen on the spot. Even though he couldn’t understand what the crowd was talking to him earlier, one thing stuck inside his head, hammering his brain like a thunder in broad daylight.
"I... Win the tournament?" He muttered to himself unconsciously, still not realizing it. "Wait, is this even real?!" Even though he had already expected to win it all, the boy thought it would have to wait until the last round of the tournament. After all, even though he managed to beat Cao Van Binh, Claudia was still trailing with only 0.5 points behind. If the girl somehow managed to win her last two games and he lost the last game, the girl would be able to overtake him and stand tall in first place with 8 points.
The fact that everyone had already congratulated him only meant one thing here.
’No, I have to get out first and look for Claudia.’ A grin suddenly cracked on his face. ’She should be in a bad mood after failing to beat her opponent and let her game be the decisive factor for me to win the tournament, right? Celebrate later, but gloating should come first.’
Yeah, Sheva had his priority here. After all, he still proceeded inside his head the fact that he won the tournament, and it would take quite a long time before everything finally sank in. Hell, it would probably take him to stand on the podium to realize the gravity of the first place for him. However, until that time came, it was easier to distract his mind by teasing Claudia over her failure.
"Hey, I heard someone helps ease my path to win the tournament!" Sheva grinned, speaking his mind bluntly when he saw that Claudia was sulking outside the hall. "Do you know who I should thank?"
"Oh, shut up! It is not my fault that my opponent uses such a cheap trick to get a quick draw for me!" The little girl grumbled, throwing a food wrap at him. However, Sheva could see that she was not really angry at him. Hell, there was even a genuine smile formed on her face. "So, how do you feel after winning the entire tournament?" She asked, changing the topic.
"Honestly?" Sheva arched one of his eyebrows while also throwing his body back against the seat next to her. "It is still not registered fully inside my brain, so I don’t really feel anything about it." He answered.
"Oh, yeah, that is because your journey is so fucking smooth." Claudia cursed under her breath.
"Ia! How could you curse like that?! Where did you learn something so nasty like that?!" Sheva gasped, clutching his heart dramatically.
"Oh, shut up, will you!" She swatted his shoulder with her tiny hand playfully.
They both chatted for a while, yet agreed silently that they wouldn’t touch the topic of their last game. Even though Claudia was happy for his win, there was a spark of envy inside her heart, and even Sheva could see that too. Although he was okay with banter, poking her insecurity would be too much, crossing the invisible line. It was better to leave that untouchable.
"Anyway, do you know how Anna is faring against her opponent?" Sheva suddenly remembered the girl’s big sister. "Her opponent should be another Vietnamese player, right? A WGM?" He asked, trying to recall his memory.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about her!" Claudia slapped her forehead comically, trying to ignore the deadpan gaze from Sheva. "Anyway, I need to get my phone first!" Since phone was forbidden to be brought into the hall, both Sheva and Claudia left theirs in their own room, so they rose and dashed instantly to go back to their room. In the end, just like in the last double-header game, Sheva and Claudia met in the boys’ room and sat together there.
"Okay, let’s see how your sister is going right now..."