[Both groups have been transported to their respective “bases”. Rias-sama’s “base” is on the second floor of the east side, while Sona-sama’s “base” is on the first floor of the west side. In order for “Pawns” to promote, please go to your opponent’s “bases”.]
Our base and our enemies’ base were on opposite ends of the department store. We were on the second floor’s most eastern side. The opponents were on the first floor’s most western side. Around our base, there was a pet shop, an arcade centre, a dining floor, a bookshop and a drugstore. On the first floor beneath our base, there was a branch store of a major second-hand bookshop company, and a sports-supplies shop.
Over on the opponent’s side, there was a grocery shop, an electrical appliance store, a junk food shop, and a general goods store.
During the battle, each side would have to respectively head towards the other end of the department. That was simple and clear, but it wouldn’t go like that.
[This time, there will be special rules. Documents on this have been sent to each group, so please check them. A single bottle of the healing item “Phoenix Tears” has been provided to each team. Furthermore, the time to strategise before the battle is thirty minutes. Contact with the opponent during this time is forbidden. The game is scheduled to start after thirty minutes. Then, let the strategy time begin.]
After the announcement, everyone quickly gathered together. We couldn’t waste even one minute of this time.
“The battlefield is modelled on the department store near Kuou Academy. So it’s an indoor battle.”
Buchou said this while looking at a guide map of the department store’s interior that was depicted on the dining floor’s wall. There was also a personal diagram of the place divided into chess squares in Buchou’s hands.
We had encamped ourselves in the aforementioned dining floor and were planning out our strategy.
An indoor battle! So the Rating Game has that kind of battlefield as well!
I thought about how each side had a base on this certainly wide battlefield, and how we would have to run around within this field. It was like that during the House of Phoenix battle as well.
Rather, the stage was the department store near our school! This was a place we often came to on our way back from school.
More than ninety percent of the students attending Kuou Academy knew about the appearance of the store's interior. Me, Buchou and Asia have also come here on our days off. Buchou looked over the document with the special rule that had been sent to us.
“The rule this time states [Don’t destroy the department store which has become the battlefield]; in other words, we can’t do any showy battles.”
Buchou narrowed her eyes and seemed to be thinking about this rule.