Sheva was dumbfounded, not expecting that his opponent would throw a tantrum like this. Even though he knew that Claudia was younger than him, he didn't expect that the girl would be so childish as not to be able to accept the defeat. After all, in his mind, he always believed that girls always matured faster than boys, so this was definitely beyond his expectations.
Before he could even react, the little girl pushed her chair first, storming away from the table with tears flowing from her eyes. This only made Sheva more confused, not knowing what was going on here. When he regained his consciousness, though, Sheva realized for the first time that he was surrounded by almost all the people in the room. Even though they hadn't spoken anything yet, their stunned and amused reaction was enough to wreck his nervous system.
"U—Um… Can you believe me that I don't have any idea of what is going on here?" He asked weakly, trying his best to hide his nervous tone. Even though it was unreasonable, he was afraid that the people here would blame him for making Claudia cry like that. After all, he was just a newcomer here, so every worst possibility had already come to his mind.
"Eh, why would you try to apologize?!" It was Bagas who broke the awkward silence here. The fat boy clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as he came over to the table, patting Sheva's back firmly. "No need to apologize, Shev! You did great! It should be she who has to do that! Don't worry, Master Irfan has already gone to talk to her, and I am sure that he wouldn't blame you."
The other people there also gave a nod of agreement.
"Your friend is right. Master Irfan is not that narrow-minded." A bearded man with thick glasses also tried to reassure him. "Anyway, good game. Besides her sister and Master Irfan himself, not a single player here has been able to defeat her, and it seems that her head is swollen with pride because of that. It is good that you can knock some sense into his head. I am Aziz, by the way. Nice to meet you." He offered a handshake.
"Um… Sheva, nice to meet you too…" Sheva accepted the handshake instinctively, not knowing what to comment about Claudia's little tantrum.
"Oh, I am Fahri! Nice to meet you!" Suddenly, another man with a lean and athletic build, who made him look like a gym brother rather than a chess player, came forward while introducing himself enthusiastically. "Boy, you are so awesome! I still remember that the first time I was here, she beat me with only seven moves! It seems that you are more talented than I!" He sent a thumbs-up.
"Well, even a monkey would be more talented than you, Fahri!"
"Hell, yeah! It is such a low standard!"
"Ha?! What did you say?!"
All the players there started bickering with each other, leaving Sheva in confusion. However, the boy could see that it was just a playful banter, and no heated tone was thrown here. Inwardly, Sheva heaved a relieved sigh, realizing that the members of the club were pretty easy to get along with. Well, at least most of them, as he remembered about his opponent and the girl whom he hadn't seen since the first drawing.
"Anyway, don't worry about Claudia. She is the youngest here, so it is pretty often for her to throw a tantrum and act bratty like this. Don't worry, her sister will knock some sense into her head."
"Yeah, just ignore that Brat!"
"I am sure it is all because we spoiled her too much!"
"Hey, you have no right to complain here! You are the one who spoiled her the most!"
As everyone chatted and laughed, Sheva could only smile weakly, following along with a slight relief. Honestly, he felt a little bad when he saw the girl crying, but there was nothing he could do at that time. 'I mean, giving up or deliberately playing badly to make her happy is not an option, right?' He thought to himself.
After a while, Master Irfan was finally back, followed by both girls. Sheva cringed when he saw the visible trace of tears on Claudia's cheek, somehow feeling like this was his fault. He wanted to get up and apologize. However, before he could do that, Master Irfan had already called him first.
"Sheva, can we talk for a moment, please?"
"U—Um? I mean, sure!" Sheva rose from his seat hastily, scampering toward Irfan and the two other girls. He tried his best to ignore the whispers behind him, paying attention more to the girls. "Um… Is there anything that I can help you with?" She asked, trying to be polite. This was another one of his attempts to hide his nervousness.
To his surprise, though, it was the older girl who spoke first, bowing her head a little. "I am sorry for my little sister's immature action earlier." For a moment, there was an awkward silence as Sheva felt his brain was disconnected here, not knowing what to answer. The older girl nudged her little sister, signalling her to follow her action.
"Tch." Claudia clicked her tongue in annoyance, feeling like this was a humiliation for her and her big sister. Unfortunately, since her big sis did it first, she had no choice here. "I… I am sorry too…" She gritted her teeth, apologizing reluctantly.
"Ah… No! I mean, it is no big deal! You don't have to apologize about it!" Sheva answered in panic. However, it seemed that his answer only made Claudia unhappy.
"You mean that beating me is not a big deal?" She huffed, clearly infuriated.
"W—What?! No!" Sheva blurted out. "I mean—"
"Ia…" The big sister narrowed her eyes dangerously. Claudia just huffed while throwing her face away, shutting herself up. Seeing this, the big sister just sighed tiredly. "I am sorry about her. She always has a hard time dealing with defeat…"
"Eh, don't worry, just like I said, it is not a big deal…" Sheva chuckled wryly.
"No, just because you don't think that it is a big deal doesn't mean that she is allowed to act like that." The big sister shook her head. "Anyway, thank you for knocking some sense into my sister's head. I am Anna Marisa." She offered a handshake, ignoring the fuming little sister next to him.
"Uh… Adrian Sheva, nice to meet you." Sheva accepted the handshake wryly, trying his best to ignore Claudia too.
"Still, I am impressed that you can beat Ia in your first game…" The big sister—Anna, praised him genuinely. "I mean, despite her bratty act, she is probably one of the most talented youngsters in the country, so it is pretty hard to find someone who could beat her. It is an impressive win. I cannot wait to play against you later, Mister Adrian…"