[ it is a victory though, but then again what does victory mean to a man who has rarely known defeat? kaiser preempting his remarks is akin to injuring his own heel and starting off on the wrong foot, but noa sips his wine and lets him elaborate without interruption. must he say more? hm. ]

No. I think you're right - you play better when you're in the midst of a struggle. Problem is, as you get better, you also don't have as many people who can match you. You have to either hope they turn up, or take measures to force change.

[ he doesn't think he needs to elaborate further on that. maybe the moral of this all is kaiser should find a youth player to mentally torment in order to get himself a better rival out of it! ]

...Let's pause the coin flips here. You look like you're getting sick.

[ 'pause' with the implication that they will continue on later. as much as he enjoys watching kaiser squirm and suffer, they are at a very nice restaurant and noa doesn't want to pay for a meal that kaiser won't be able to eat. ]