That Time I Got Reincarnated as an Underground Labyrinth Manager

Chishiya patted Walther on the shoulder with a meaningful look.

Just not interested in you.

If she were interested, that would actually be dangerous, bro.

You're too normal. It's fine. It's not your fault.

Walther didn't understand what Chishiya meant at all.

But Darkness caught the meaning in Chishiya's eyes immediately.

This guy…

"Um…"

Just then, Iris stepped down from the carriage.

She looked at Chishiya with her almond-shaped eyes.

"Hello, Chishiya-san. I'm the girl who played chess with you before.

Last time, for personal reasons, I hid my identity. I want to apologize for that.

Also, during that chess match, I lost my composure. I want to apologize for that as well."

Iris bowed to Chishiya.

All of the surrounding knights turned their sharp gazes on him at the same time.

Princess Iris was their beloved treasure.

And they had already heard about the time Chishiya bullied her so hard she cried.

Their favorite person was bullied, so of course they wanted to take it out on him a little.

"It's fine."

Chishiya waved a hand. "Playing chess is a way to hone your willpower.

If you couldn't hold yourself together, that just means your heart isn't strong enough.

If you still want me to practice with you, I happen to have some free time recently."

The eyelids of all the watching knights twitched violently.

If you can't be magnanimous, just say so!

And you still made up some nonsense about willpower!

A grown man bullying a little girl for thirty games straight… Is that something a normal person can do?!

Darkness turned to look at Chishiya in surprise.

How could he say that with a completely straight face?

She had really underestimated just how shameless he was.

But to everyone's shock, Iris raised her head with excitement.

"Really? You're still willing to play with me?"

"That's great!"

???

Now everyone was confused.

What was going on?

Didn't she lose thirty games in a row? Why did she look so happy?

Iris clutched the chessboard, looking at Chishiya with bright eyes.

"So when do we start?"

As a royal, she always had to maintain a princess-like image in front of others. Most of the time, she had no choice.

Especially after everyone found out her true identity, they became too polite and started keeping their distance.

She had no friends since childhood.

Even though she lost so many times last time, she had actually been happy.

Because it had been so long since someone treated her like a normal person.

She thought that if she revealed her true identity, Chishiya would distance himself from her.

She never thought he would still be willing to play with her.

She had really poured her heart into this.

Iris said earnestly,

"I'm not very good at chess, but I practiced really hard after I went back. I hope you won't look down on me."

She didn't even like chess that much.

She just thought Chishiya liked it, so she trained hard, hoping to make him happy when they met again.

Chishiya paused.

His eyes landed on Iris.

This… isn't this girl way too lonely?

"Do you even like playing chess?" Chishiya asked.

"I do."

Iris answered without hesitation.

Because she thought Chishiya liked it.

Having no friends, she just wanted to fit in.

Chishiya didn't say anything.

What he saw in front of him was his former self, forced to wear a fake mask even as a child.

In order to survive, in order to work, he had to hide his real self and please every single customer.

That was the survival strategy he had learned in his past life.

But after wearing the mask for so long, you forget how to take it off.

Even now, he still does it out of habit.

But Iris… she shouldn't be like that, and she doesn't need to be like that.

"Do you know what a true friend is?"

Chishiya crouched down and rubbed Iris's head.

"..."

Iris was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

Chishiya pointed at his chest.

"It means you can be yourself in front of them.

We wear masks because we're afraid to show weakness in front of others.

But a true friend won't laugh at your weaknesses, and you don't need to pretend to be strong.

In front of a true friend, you don't need a mask. You just need a sincere and innocent heart."

When Chishiya finished speaking, the looks in everyone's eyes around him slowly changed.

A sincere and innocent heart.

That… that was well said.

It's true. A true friend won't laugh at your weaknesses, and you don't need to pretend in front of them.

Meeting such a person in life is a blessing.

Everyone glanced inward. Did they have a true friend?

They had probably been wearing masks for so long they had forgotten.

But, her Highness Iris was a princess. She carried more responsibility on her shoulders than any of them.

Having to learn how to disguise yourself from such a young age… it must have been painful.

When they looked at Chishiya again, there was a new layer of respect in their eyes.

Chishiya looked at Iris.

"You can be yourself in front of Lalatina, and you can be yourself in front of that barbaric female knight.

If you like, you can be yourself in front of me too."

At that moment, Chishiya looked like a gentle older brother, patiently explaining things to Iris.

Darkness looked at Chishiya, surprised.

Was it possible for Chishiya to say something so… positive?

But… she could see sincerity in his eyes.

Could it be that he had been pretending all this time?

Or was he just using this situation to say what he really wanted to say?

...…

At the front of the group.

Claire's eyes fell on Chishiya.

Chishiya was right.

She also wished Princess Iris could be herself in front of her.

But she had never thought of it that way before.

As her teacher, she only thought about how to make Iris an excellent royal, not how to make her a healthy, happy girl.

Even though she didn't want to admit it…

Chishiya had done better than her in this regard.

But…

Claire looked up and glared at Chishiya. Was that "barbaric female knight" supposed to mean her?

---

"I think…"

Iris froze.

Be yourself?

She had never thought about that before. What did she want?

"It's fine."

Chishiya patted her head.

"You might not know what you want. But you definitely know what you don't want.

We can take our time thinking about it together."

This little girl was so sensible. Looking at her felt like looking at his past self.

After thinking for a while, Iris cautiously asked, "Then… is it okay if I don't want to play chess?"

Chishiya smiled.

"Of course.

I'll take you inside the labyrinth. It's very lively there. We'll figure it out together."

"Okay!"

Iris set the chessboard down, smiling as she grabbed Chishiya's hand.

At that moment, Darkness leaned close to Chishiya's ear and whispered.

"Hey, where did you copy those lines from?"

"Was it that obvious?" Chishiya turned to her.

"I knew it… I knew you couldn't come up with something so deep."

Chishiya waved it off.

Just as he was about to leave, Darkness grabbed him.

"Listen…

If you ever want to talk to someone… I can be your audience."

She didn't know whether what Chishiya just said was true or false.

But he had saved her life.

In case it was true, maybe he really needed someone to share the burden.

She could at least help with that.

Of course… this was just to repay him for saving her life. Nothing else.

Chishiya froze for a moment, then smiled.

"Got it. If I need to, I'll come find you.

Thanks."

(To be continued.)