Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 1 - Chapter 3.2

☗ THE ASSOCIATION’S CLASSROOM

Ai lets out a long sigh the moment we leave the office.

“Haa … I was so nervous—.”

“You and me both …”

Knowing I was one wrong step away from becoming a social outcast really had me on edge. I’m not entirely sure there wasn’t a misstep somewhere.

I’ve already gone on the offensive, destroyed weird rumors before they spread. Now how will things play out …?

Well, there’s really no point in worrying about that now.

Playing Shogi is to think ahead, but pros misread each other all the time. Therefore, it always ends up being a read and react kind of philosophy in the end: so take care when you can and the rest will work itself out.

“Oh, and Master.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s the Practice League?”

My foot nearly misses the next stair step.

“Seriously, you … We explained it to you in and out, IN AND OUT, last night, didn’t we?”

“Uh, ummm ………… The okonomiyaki was just so good that … that …”

Ai makes her excuse, scratching her fingernails across the stairwell railing. I can’t deny that Keika’s okonomiyaki is delicious. This girl ate three of them by herself. What does she think they are: pancakes?

“… The Practice League is like a school for people who want to join the Women’s League. You play against other people wanting to become pros and your rank goes up if you win.”

“Win the fight and your rank goes up … It’s just like a game!”

“Shogi is a game, you know.”

An advanced board game that has dominated a certain world for over a thousand years: that’s SHOGI.

“Everyone starts out in F-Class. You go up to E2, E1, D2, D1 and C2 from there. Anyone with a C1 ranking has the right to join the Women’s League.”

“If I join the Women’s League, will Shogi be my job like it is for you, Master?”

“They don’t have as many matches as pros do, but yeah.”

“What’s the difference between pros and Women’s League Players?”

“That’s complicated, so I’ll save that explanation for later.”

I point my thumb toward the second floor classroom entrance and say, “I’m sure that’s more interesting right now, yes?”

“Yep!!”

Then, I open the classroom door and walk inside with my apprentice (temp).

The classroom is full of kids.

Usually it’s overflowing with senior citizens at this hour, but since spring break started yesterday for all the public schools, all the young boys and girls with a taste for Shogi come here in the morning on weekdays too. It’s nice to hear all those pieces clacking away.

From what I can see, most of these kids are in elementary school or younger. Maybe they’re part of a children’s class?

“I’d like to make a Match Card for her——,” I say to the classroom staff member sitting behind the counter and start to introduce Ai.

However.

Every single child in the room turned to face me at once before I could finish and say, “D—.”

D?

“Dragon King————!!”

Aren’t you being a bit too literal with that translation, kiddos?

“Sign this!”

“Sign please!”

“Can I have your autograph?!”

“Dragkin, play me!”

The children rush me. Not a single one of them calls me Ryuo. They pull, bump, nudge, push, kick. The kids show no restraint or respect as they trample over me, calling me whatever they please.

Ai is such a good kid, I forgot that this is how grade schoolers usually are. But please, stop with the Dragkin already!

“All right, line up! One line here … No, make three lines!!”

I get them to line up on one side of the long table and pull Ai around to the other. Then I put three Shogi boards on top of the table.

One person against three opponents at the same time—sanmensashi, three on one.

“Beat her and I’ll sign whatever you want.”

“Who’s this?”

“Who’s that girl?”

“My apprentice (temp.),” I say.

“Apprentice?”

“Baby Dragon!”

“Is Baby Dragon strong?”

“Extremely strong,” I tell them.

“So I beat Baby Dragon and you’ll give me an autograph?”

“What’s the handicap?”

“Match? Hmm, good question … No handicaps for anyone should be fine.”

I carry a chair with caster wheels over to the table and tell Ai to take a seat and say, “Ai. Three on one. You up for it?”

“Y-Yes!” I don’t blame her for being a bit surprised at first, but “Here we go!!” she says, swinging her arms and psyching herself up for battle.

The first kid in each line starts lining up the pieces. Ai’s having a tough time because she has to set up three boards by herself.

“Ready when you are!”

The matches begin just as the last pieces fall into place.

I take a look at the Match Cards that the children have placed between the piece stand and the board. It’s sort of like a classroom ID, a green card with their name, rank and recent win-loss record written on it.

The best ones are 2-dan, the lowest are beginners … Now, how many games can she win?

It’s extremely difficult for someone facing multiple opponents to focus on one game, so it’s difficult to win even if said someone is stronger than their opponents.

However, Ai is in overdrive.

Normal kids plow straight ahead with the first strategy they think of without taking any time to read the board. They make a lot of mistakes, so it’s pretty common for one wrong move to bring the match to a swift and sudden end.

Meanwhile, Ai’s right fist is clutching the hem of her skirt today too. Not only is she deciphering further and faster than anyone, she’s being careful. Ai’s in her element.

Her talent is on a whole different level from any of the kids here.

“Baby Dragon is a monster!”

“I can’t beat her …”

All twenty of them were laid to waste in forty minutes.

I was expecting her to lose one or two matches, but to win every single one …

“Haa … Haa … ah. Thank you, for playing me …”

Ai puts the last kid in checkmate, shoulders heaving as she lowers her head. She’s soaked with sweat. Sliding back and forth on those casters at high speed while making moves on three boards really takes a physical toll. It’s a Shogi shuttle run after all.

“S-sensei, where should we rank her …?” The understandably stunned classroom staff member asks with a blank Match Card in her hand.

“Two … No. Start her off as a 1-dan please. Oh, here’s the admission fee. She’s going to be here all day.”

In terms of ability, 2-dan or 3-dan would be a better fit for her, but I want to give her as many chances as possible to feel the joy that comes from winning her way up the ladder. I put her in 1-dan like a parent wanting what’s best for their children.

Then again, Ai’s still a raw amateur with only three months’ experience. Thinking logically, it’d be insane to put her 1-dan.

“Ai!”

I take the card from the staff member and hand it to Ai, who keeps shaking her skirt back and forth without realizing her white panties are in plain sight.

“This is your Match Card. Think you can fill it up with white stars?”

“… Yep!!”

Miss Ai Hinatsuru: 1-dan——Ai lifts the green card with her name on it with both hands, looking at it like she’s found the greatest treasure in all the land. My first apprentice (temp) smiles from ear to ear.