A few days later, at Grape Arbor next to the castle.
The round Cement table was already in place, with four round Cement stools surrounding it. The chessboard on the table was drawn perfectly, with straight lines and right angles. The table and stools were very smooth, clearly indicating that they had been polished to a high standard.
Ed had nothing to say; Roderick's competence was beyond reproach, and he was extremely satisfied.
"Wow! Lord Ed, you are so thoughtful to have such a table and chairs under the grape arbor."
Carly and Adelaide, who had just arrived, exclaimed in surprise. They had been playing chess inside the castle every day for the past few days and hadn't paid much attention to what was happening outside.
"How about it, Adelaide? Come sit down and have some iced Honey Flower Tea on a hot summer day?"
Ed invited Adelaide to try it out first.
"Master, you are truly a genius." Adelaide didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the stool. Carly also sat down next to Adelaide without being invited.
"Master, you also drew a chessboard on this?" Adelaide reached out and touched the table.
"Hehe, yes, it's very convenient. There are even chess pieces here. Don't you think it's much better than paper pieces?"
Ed handed the fired chess piece to Adelaide.
"Wow! It's so beautiful and feels so comfortable to hold. Master, it would be great to use this with Gomoku."
"Hehe, you can try it out with Carly on this chessboard," Ed suggested.
" Carly played terribly, she's no match for me. She's been losing almost every day these past few days." Adelaide said, glancing at Carly with a look of disdain in her eyes.
Feeling slighted by her opponent, Carly retorted indignantly:
" Sister Adelaide, I was just playing casually before, because you've only just learned how to play. I was letting you win. Don't underestimate me. I still have a sure-win formation I haven't used yet."
"Oh, it seems you've been holding back. Let's play another round and see how your sure-win formation works."
Adelaide picked up the newly made chess piece and handed it to Carly with a grin.
"Hehe, of course it's incredibly powerful. I've practiced it countless times. Watch my Invincible Underpants Formation teach you a lesson."
Carly was full of confidence. She had secretly experimented many times with Lord Ed's chess scores. Underwear Formation was indeed powerful. As long as she followed Lord Ed's scores, she was bound to win.
"Alright, let's begin. I'd like to see what's so special about your Underwear Formation."
Although Adelaide had only been playing Gomoku for a few days, her talent for the game was clearly superior to Carly's, and she had grasped some of the essence of Gomoku in just a few days.
Carly stopped talking and picked up a chess piece, placing it on the board. Adelaide also placed one.
Carly placed another card, strictly following Ed's game plan, and Adelaide followed suit.
Seeing that Adelaide was following her plan, Carly smiled. She mentally gave Ed a thumbs up; if things went this way, she was sure to win.
In her excitement, Carly placed her third piece, but Adelaide's next move was not what she expected.
" Sister Adelaide, shouldn't you play here?" Carly, the player in the game, was actually giving pointers to her opponent.
" Carly, I'll play however I want, I don't need you to teach me."
" Sister Adelaide, how are you going to win if you bet like this?" Carly was getting anxious.
" Carly, how you win is your business. Do you expect me to cooperate with you to win?"
Carly was dumbfounded. What should she do now? For a moment, she didn't know what to do. She decided to just follow the game record.
Carly then placed her fourth piece, and Adelaide followed suit with one.
"Ah! Sister Adelaide, how come all four of your chess pieces are in a straight line?"
"How should I know? You're next, I'm next, you saw it yourself."
"Ha ha!"
Ed, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but burst out laughing.