Monica beats the best representative from a rival school, so the guy immediately proposes to her. Uh, are you even a high schooler? You look like a full grown adult, my guy. Well, he apparently likes chess that much. He wants to marry Monica just so they can play chess every single day for the rest of their lives. You can probably do that without marriage. Doesn’t even need to be a woman either. Just sayin’. Maybe he’s actually attracted to her other qualities as well, but for whatever reason, he can’t vocalize that. In the end, it doesn’t matter because he’s a nobody. Unsurprisingly, the two most viable candidates for Monica’s affections immediately jump to her defense. As I’ve said before, neither of them really appeal to me. Felix would be too… expected? Ah yes, the guy you love is the prince. How original. His obsession with the Silent Witch might also border on creepy. As for Cyril, well, he’s just dull.
Unfortunately, the impromptu proposal scares Monica into running off on her own. This isolates her from the rest of her friends, which allows that dastardly Bernie an opportunity to confront her. Dude, it’s one thing to hold a grudge. You already suck for that. But you’re still harboring said grudge after all these years? He then accuses her of worming her way into Felix’s good graces. What a small and petty man. Moreover, what a hatesink. He’s a little too over-the-top for my tastes.
But whether or not you find Bernie realistic as a character, Monica sorely needs to let go of this guy. And she finally starts doing just that when Bernie makes the mistake of attacking Lana. Y’know, someone who’s actually a friend. Monica had an idealized image of Bernie in her head, but I bet he was never anything close to that. He probably only came to her aid in the first place because she was helpless. She was someone who needed him and that stroked his ego. As soon as she threatened his self-worth, his mask came off immediately. It shouldn’t have to take insulting Lana to make this clear, but hey, better late than never.
Unfortunately, people like Bernie never see the light after a single scolding. Instead, he doubles down by trying to face Monica directly in the next chess match. But even if he beats her, so what? Only a small and petty man would think winning a single match changes anything. He wants to make Monica fear him… by winning a chess match? He thinks he’ll feel better… by winning a chess match? You still won’t become one of the Seven Sages, y’know?
More importantly, Bernie feels ill-fitting for the moment. Sure, he’s easy to hate, but not because he’s cold-blooded or horrific. Not because he’s an evil fascist hellbent on taking over the country and exploiting the weak. He’s just a child throwing a tantrum because he thinks a former classmate stole his glory. How lame is that? If we had gotten this mini-arc earlier on in the series, I’d have an easier time waving it off. But right now, every other show is building up to or going through their biggest battles yet. Meanwhile, we’re dealing with this idiot. C’mon, surely we can do better than Bernie.
Well, that chess match between Monica and Bernie never materializes, because it turns out Minerva’s chess advisor is secretly an assassin from the empire. Of all the people to sniff him out, it has to be Bernie. But this ain’t his show, so he nearly loses his life. Monica arrives in just the nick of time to let this pathetic character stick around a little longer. She then worries that incident will expose her identity, so Bernie covers for her. Is he actually grateful because she saved his life? Is he actually being nice for once? Or does he simply not want to feel like he owes her? After all, he tries to turn it around on Monica. He knows her secret and as long as he keeps quiet about it, she’ll always have to be thankful for that. Sigh, I guess this means Bernie can show up again later in the story. Ugh. Monica will probably always have a soft sport for Bernie, which is probably the biggest shame about this mini-arc.
