Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!

After debating for more, things were finally settled. Both Sheva and Anna would take a day off for tomorrow's round to avoid burnout. However, the process to make that decision was so bad that it created a crack in the team. Well, the crack should've been there since the beginning, but the meeting tonight just widened it more so that it became visible to everyone.

Of course, not a single person would talk it out loud. No, they were Indonesian, where direct confrontation was never an option. They would opt for talking shit behind people's backs while also putting their best smile in front of those whom they were talking about, acting like they were the most innocent angel in the world.

However, even though nobody mentioned this discussion, everyone was conscious enough to recognize that the argument really split the group into two smaller ones.

Master Susanto, Taher, Irene, and Arfan joined the group that supported Novendra in this situation. Even though they knew that what the man said was too much, they still couldn't bear abandoning Novendra here, especially after they had been sticking with him as Master Susanto's successor for so many years. While they recognized Sheva's talent and the results that he achieved in the last couple of tournaments, the boy was still too green for them to gamble on, so it was a wiser option to stick with the person they had been rooting for from the beginning.

Well, at least that was the veterans' argument. As for Arfan, he was in a dilemma. The boy wanted to support Sheva so badly since he heard how Novendra talked about him being a player who just filled the blank, but the man who said that was also the coach who had been mentoring him for a while. In the end, he just apologized to Sheva quietly, but still followed the arrangement that Master Susanto and Novendra had made.

Meanwhile, Medina, Sheva, Anna, Claudia, and Laysa were on the other side of the group, disagreeing with what Novendra said here. Bagas and Sarah were also there, but since they were not really a player, both streamers decided to keep their opinion to themselves, not wanting to fish in such muddy water.

Their argument was simple here. They didn't care about a lot of non-technical things like the team's face, balance, or even seniority. Everything should be based on the player's performance on the board. It didn't matter whether Master Susanto was more senior or had the higher rating, but when he didn't perform well, he should've been replaced by anyone else.

This worked when they were playing against Romania, where Master Susanto was brave enough to replace Novendra, who had two bad games with Sheva. However, it seemed that Master Susanto had a change of heart right then, as even though Novendra still hadn't improved his performance, the man was still willing to trust him for the next round.

Well, this decision was understandable, since Master Susanto himself also had a bad tournament. It would be weird to replace someone who didn't do well when he himself was on the same boat, so the best decision here was to support Novendra, not just for the man, but also for himself.

Still, this decision stung, and Sheva was a little bit infuriated by Novendra's childish and arrogant behavior now.

"Are you okay, Shev?" Anna couldn't help but ask, somehow noticing his ugly expression.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just feel like this is an eye opener for me." Sheva smiled wryly. "Even though I heard about this kind of story happening in a lot of sports from the Internet, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would experience it directly like this. It is quite strange to be suppressed by the veterans with the seniority excuse, and I have to say that it is an unpleasant feeling."

Anna's gaze softened as she held Sheva's hand tightly. Even though she was still shy over the teasing from the others, the girl was brave enough to show affection in public like this, making the others speechless over their lovey-dovey behavior.

"Anyway, since tomorrow is our day off, how about another date?" A goofy smile suddenly formed, wiping away all the unpleasant thoughts inside Sheva's head. "I haven't done a great job in Biel, right? Hell, I didn't even buy you anything as a souvenir, right?"

"A—Ah! You don't need to do that!" Anna stuttered a little bit, her cheek reddened in shyness. However, the smile blooming on her face basically told that she liked the idea. "B—But if you insist…" Her voice was barely a whisper, and she even bowed her face to hide it from Sheva.

*Cough!*

Suddenly, a little cough snapped them from showing off their affection. When they turned around, both Sheva and Anna could see that Claudia was pouting at them, while Bagas, Sarah, and Laysa were holding back their laughter. Seeing them like this, both teenagers felt heat rising through their cheeks, somehow wanting to bury themselves alive for getting caught offhandedly like this.

"While I am happy that you both are comfortable enough to do this in broad daylight, I don't think that Claudia is happy here," Bagas explained with the corner of his mouth trembling, holding back a laughter that was already on the tip of his mouth. "Well, that is your problem, anyway! Let's go, everyone! Let Sheva and Anna deal with the mess they create here."

Sheva cursed inwardly, glaring at his three friends who were gloating at him. They were definitely his best friends here; always willing to have his back when he was attacked, but also being the first ones to betray him in a situation like this.

Before he could even complain, though, the chilly glare from Claudia was enough to freeze him on the spot, and the boy could only smile awkwardly as even Anna was turning her head away from him. So, in a desperate attempt to save himself, the boy could only utter nonsense promises rapidly, hoping that it would be enough to distract Claudia's attention from her own rage.

"Um… The day after tomorrow should be a day off for all of us, right? What about hanging out just for the three of us? This should be our first time in Chennai, right? We should go out and explore this city together!"