CHAPTER 76: AFTERMATH

It was the end of the day, and the sun had already fallen below the horizon. Most of the players who were playing in this tournament were back at their residences already. However, that didn’t include the members of the Black Rook club. No, they all were still gathering at the McDonald’s nearby, enjoying their ’little snack’ after such a long day.

"Man, I am beat!" Ido, one of the club’s members, slumped against the chair while enjoying the cold drink he ordered. "I don’t know about you all, but I don’t think that my first day is good. Hell, if not for the sheer luck in the endgame, I would never dream of achieving a draw result like this."

"Well, you are still better than me!" Andre retorted, waiting for his burger to arrive. "I didn’t even have a chance against my opponent! Fifteen moves, and BAM! I was done! Anyway, you didn’t order anything, Shev?" The man suddenly asked Sheva.

"Urgh... Don’t worry, I have already eaten before you guys were done." Sheva smiled forcefully. Inwardly, he grimaced at how pricey the food was there.

Yeah, it was quite funny that the junk food that should be cheap in most countries outside would be considered an expensive meal here. However, this was the reality. One decent burger in McDonald’s here was at the same price as a full box lunch, complete with the rice, veggies, and even the piece of chicken itself, in another restaurant. Of course, the quality was far different in terms of quality between the two kinds of food. However, for a person who spent most of his life surviving in poverty, quantity really mattered more than quality for food. That was why, no matter how starving he was, Sheva would never order something here.

"Here." Suddenly, someone snapped him out of his thought. When Sheva turned around, he could see Sarah smiling at him while bringing a box full of French fries, and honestly, he was confused here. Fortunately, the girl seemed to notice his bewildered expression as she chuckled and explained, "Bagas knows that you will not get anything here, so it is on him. Don’t worry, just enjoy your food here."

Sheva was stunned, feeling touched by the gesture. He glanced sideways at Bagas, just to find that his best friend was talking with Irfan. Somehow, Sheva could feel his eyes warm, knowing that this was another one of Bagas’s kindnesses for him. The fat boy didn’t even try to say it out loud for the ’good guy’ card, just letting Sarah send the food to his table quietly. It seemed that Bagas didn’t want to announce Sheva’s family situation out loud to keep his dignity here.

’Thanks, Gas.’ Sheva nodded unconsciously, starting to chew the French fries in front of him. ’Don’t worry, you don’t have to wait for too long to get famous. I will use this tournament as my stepping stone to send us both to the sky. Just get ready...’ He clenched his fist unconsciously.

"Okay, everyone! Enough chatting! Let’s talk about the important thing here!" Irfan clapped his hands loudly, gaining everyone’s attention. Honestly, for a man who had just lost his first game of the tournament, he didn’t look like he was bothered by it at all. However, that was probably because he was the veteran here, having been in this situation for so long. His reaction was definitely the exact opposite of Claudia, who was clinging to her big sister like a koala with red, teary eyes, a quite funny sight for all the people there. "Okay, first things first, let’s start with a congratulations to everyone who has a good game today!"

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Thunderous applause echoed throughout the McDonald’s, and even the other customers who didn’t know their identity couldn’t help but take a glance. Well, the excitement here was understandable, since out of 17 players whom the Black Rook members sent, 6 won their game, while 4 managed to force a draw, with the rest of them getting defeated by their opponent. It was definitely a good start for a club whose members hadn’t played for almost three years in a formal tournament.

"Hey, Ia, why are you still crying?" Someone suddenly asked Claudia, his tone was full of teasing. "You won your game, right? Don’t tell me that you cry because Anna failed to beat Master Susanto. Girl, you are a real sis-con!"

A burst of laughter could be heard once again, and Claudia was flustered at the accusation. Still, she didn’t deny it, just clinging closer to her sister. Anna could only sigh helplessly at this, having been used to Claudia crying whenever she lost her game.

"Okay, no need to tease Claudia too much. Don’t forget, she won her first game today, far better than most of you." Irfan smiled sharply, making everyone wince unconsciously. "Also, another good news here, our YouTube channel, which is managed by Bagas and Sarah, has already passed the threshold of 10.000 followers! Let’s give a round of applause for our PR team!"

All the people here applauded loudly, some even whistling at the two couples who looked sheepish in their chairs. Honestly, even though most of them didn’t even appear on the channel, they were all satisfied that it had been doing well, feeling like this was also the club’s success, just in another aspect. Of course, none of them, besides the trio of Bagas, Sheva, and Sarah, knew that the new followers mostly came from Sarah’s audiences, and they didn’t know about it either.

"Lastly, I want to say one more thing, though." Irfan raised his hand again, stopping the chatters around. The atmosphere turned somber as everyone saw that a serious speech was coming from the man. "Even though most of us, including me, didn’t have a good game today, don’t be discouraged. Remember, this is still the first game of our tournament; we still have a long way to go! Be serious! Stay focused! Be bold, but delicate! Quick, but certain! Lastly, stay calm, but always remember to have fun on the board. You all get it?!"

"Yes, Sir!"