Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 1 - Chapter 3.5

☖ UNFORESEEN! KANNABE-STYLE 1 FIVE LANCE

Forty-six moves have been made at thirty minutes into the match.

Moves have come one after another following the standard Aiyagura (meaning both of us are doing the yagura strategy) style by the book.

After twenty moves of the same song and dance that took up no time at all, everything up to move ninety-one was as standard as standard could get. Yagura is déjà vu all over again.

“Da-da-da-daaaaaaan! Upgraded from yagura to anaguma!! Defense +2000 points!!”

Striking a pose straight out of Vanguard with a piece sandwiched between his fingers, Ayumu strengthens his defense further still, completing a wall around his king on the left edge of the board. That formation is called yagura anaguma. I don’t know anything about this +2000 defense points thing, but it’s solid as a rock.

Of course, I’m not just twiddling my thumbs.

Aiyagura matches are known for players splitting their forces into well-defined offense and defense groups before the battle truly gets underway. A build up, build up, kaboom! kind of match.

“Now then … What to do, what to do,” I whisper, tapping my chin with my open fan. The board is saturated with pieces. Careful not to break the balance of my own line, I move my Bishop to the front lines to use the projectile weapon to probe the enemy for openings.

“Heh! A bold move.”

Ayumu retaliates immediately by advancing a Pawn to the space directly in front of my Bishop to force it back.

I take a deep breath and retreat my Bishop. This is all according to plan, of course. It’s all to get Ayumu to launch an attack and time my counter to stop in his tracks. The classic bait and switch.

“As you wish …”

Ayumu picks up a piece and strikes another Vanguard pose (a victory pose, maybe?).

“Heed my call, fly Pegasus!”

Accepting my invitation, he sends his right side keima, Knight, to the front lines and ignites the flames of war.

This is going so well that I couldn’t help but smile.

“You know what they say … Pawns feast on the high-fying Knight.”

“That’s high-fying Pegasus, if you please.”

Attacks never stop once they get underway. I need to break the line of Pawns advancing like a tsunami with my own Pawn wall. Known as Shogi’s skin, the Pawns break apart as muscle and bone collide.

“Silver Sword! Feel the wrath of my blade!”

Ayumu slices forward with his Silver.

I match him blade for blade——taking his Silver and making it my own. Silver, you’re mine!

This should be the part where Ayumu takes my Silver with his Rook …

“Haaaaaaa ………!!” Ayumu lets out a long breath and reaches for his next piece … the kyousha, Lance!!

“Behold!! My secret technique—— Right Wing Holy Lance!!”

“Ugh?! Th-this is …!”

One look at the sharp Lance bearing down on me like a spear on the right side of the board makes my blood run cold.

He sacrificed his own Silver for this attack! A Silver Sword and Spear combination, sacrificing the blade to strike in quick succession!

So he’s willing to throw pieces away to break through …

I anticipated that Ayumu might try this when I was preparing for the match.

But! There’s a lot more pressure going against the real thing!

“T-The … Kannabe-Style 1 Five Lance …!”

“It’s the Right Wing Holy Lance!!”

Sir Ayumu fervently rebukes. Either one is fine by me.

“Kannabe 6-dan’s next move is the highly anticipated Kannabe-style 1 Five Lance …”

The journalist completely ignores Ayumu’s objections as well. However, he’s clearly writing with a burning passion.

The Kannabe-style 1 Five Lance is a new strategy developed by, you guessed it, Sir Ayumu himself. This technique has become the driving force behind his ascent through the Throne League: completely different from a guy who lost every game like me! (Tears.)

Claiming to be a Knight and all, Ayumu has a really good sense of how to use Lances. The utmost caution is necessary once he’s got one in hand. And by the way, Lance is just another way to say Spear, so he’s not just pulling names out of thin air. I think. Maybe.

“Hmmm …”

Taking his Lance would be really easy. Easy, but …

We Kansai Shogi pros have researched how to defend against this technique the moment it was first used in an official match. I’m confident in my studies, otherwise I wouldn’t have drawn it out.

The days of Kansai Shogi players being called hardheaded outlaws are over. We ain’t going to be out-researched by those Kantoers!

Then again, I’m sure Ayumu and those guys to the east have been researching the strategy even further. Ayumu has absolute confidence in his technique, otherwise he wouldn’t use it so much in official matches.

I have a plan … But, I need to take my time, carefully read the board and make sure that there are no holes in my prepared strategy.

“Hmm ……………… Now then. What to do.”

I take a deep breath and let my butt hit the floor mat, take off my glasses, lean against the armrest and let my mind set to work.

CIick-clack. CIick-clack. I open and close my fan, establishing a rhythm like a metronome to help me think.

Read.

Read.

Read, read, read …

“………… That’ll do.”

Sitting back on my ankles in perfect posture, I make my move. “Whoa?!” The record keeper and journalist exclaim as they lean in for a closer look.

I——didn’t take Ayumu’s Lance.

I left it there, sharp tip still stuck in the side of my forces.

Instead, I took Ayumu’s Pegasus——the Knight he sent out first: a move that should be catching him by surprise.

I look up at my opponent with a How’d you like that, Ayumu?! look in my eyes when …

“Haa … This color, this aroma. I do declare tea to be British royalty’s finest accomplishment …”

You’re the tofu shop owner’s son from the suburbs, are you not?

But I felt uneasy the moment I saw the self-proclaimed nobleman take an elegant slurp of tea. Is that a poker face? Or did he see this coming a mile away …?

It doesn’t matter. I’ll get to enjoy his stunned royal face the moment he figures out what I’m really after!

“… May I see the record?”

“Here you are.”

Taking a look at the paper the record keeper handed to me, I was stunned to learn that the last move took forty minutes. My move.

“No way!”

It felt like ten minutes tops, but time flies when you’re reading the board. I don’t blame Ayumu for drinking tea at all.

The Throne League allows four hours of waiting time. Using twenty minutes at this time would have been all right, but forty is way, way too much. Now I’m far behind in waiting time ……

“Pardon the intrusion.”

It’s almost lunchtime, so one of the staff members comes to ask us what we’d like to order. They’ll get it delivered.

“Kannabe-sensei. What would you like to eat?”

“Let me think … Yes. I would like to dine on Phoenix Easter Egg Chaos today.”

“Chicken and eggs on rice, all right.”

Sir Ayumu pretty much always gets the same lunch, so the staff had no trouble understanding that order.

“And for you, Kuzuryu-sensei?”

“Ah, nothing for me.”

Sir Ayumu looks surprised.

“Will you not dine?”

“I was thinking I’d eat out today.”

“I see …”

Sir Ayumu looks at me with the eyes of the only Chihuahua left unsold at a pet store. He might be a bit nervous about eating by himself at the Kansai Association, away from home.

But I can’t just ignore my apprentice (temp). Sorry, Ayumu.