☖ CURRY MASTER
“5 Four Pawn.”
I help Ai get ready for her Practice League test during our walk back to the apartment too.
“I move 4 Six Pawn!”
“5 Three Silver.”
“4 Five Pawn.”
“3 Two Gold.”
“3 Six Pawn.”
“5 Two King.”
“3 Five Pawn!”
We are playing Blind Shogi for practice.
Several people do a double take as we pass by, having no idea what we’re talking about. But it’s not that hard to do once you get to a certain level. Ai already has a Shogi board etched into her brain, so this has gotta be a cinch for her.
And we’re just going over the standard early game, so it’s more of a memory test than anything else.
“And if I move 2 Two Silver?”
“4 Eight Silver!”
“6 Two Gold.”
“4 Seven Silver.”
“6 Four Pawn. Now what do you do from this spot?”
“I move 3 Eight Rook!”
“Exactly! Changing to the Sleeve Rook and focusing your attack on lines 3 and 4 is called the Two Pawn Advance Standard.”
Advanced players will leave out their strongest pieces, the Rook and Bishop, when playing less experienced players as a handicap.
The two standard styles in those games are Two Pawn Advance and Silver Tandem.
It seems like Ai’s playing style lines up with the relentless attacking Two Pawn Advance rather than strengthening defenses with the Rook in the middle of the board before attacking with Silver Tandem.
But having good defense is also important.
“Tell me the best way to surround the King on your own!”
“6 Eight Silver, 6 Five Pawn, 7 Eight Gold, 6 Four Gold, 6 Nine King, 7 Three Knight and 5 Eight Gold!”
“And that formation is called?”
“Kyanigakooi!!”
That’s kani gakoi, the Crab Castle.
“Good. Think you got a good handle on standard handicap matches?”
“Yep! Understanding the early game makes it easier to win!”
“That it does.”
Nothing makes a Master happier than seeing their apprentice grow.
As a bonus, I’m not doing that bad in my own matches. I won two in a row. Two!
Titleholders aren’t supposed to get so excited over consecutive victories, but after being dragged through the gutter with so many losses in a row the world now has a cheerful sparkle to it.
“Ai, any ideas for dinner tonight?”
“I was thinking about making curry … Do you like curry, Master?”
“Oh yeah. Sounds great. Should we pick up some ingredients on the way home?”
“Please! I’ll treat you to real Kanazawa curry!”
We stop by a small supermarket at the entrance to the shopping district, buy what we need and head home to start cooking.
Ai had said, “I’ll take care of all the housework while I’m here! Let me do it!”
A very admirable sentiment to be sure, but I wouldn’t feel right. What kind of monster would make a grade schooler do all the cooking and cleaning?
So, we decided to split the duties.
“All righty! Let’s do this!!”
“Let’s get started!”
The two of us stand shoulder to shoulder in the kitchen.
Ai needs a stool to use the countertop because she’s too short, but the girl’s as good with a knife as any adult I’ve seen. She must’ve picked up that skill growing up at an inn. Seriously, she puts me and Big Sis to shame. Then again, I can’t call what Big Sis does “cooking.”
Ai’s culinary skills are perfectly honed, even when it comes to making curry.
She sliced and diced potatoes about five times faster than I can peel carrots and is already chopping her way through cabbage faster than my eyes can see.
Huh?
“… Cabbage?”
“Kanazawa curry always has cabbage on the side.”
Cabbage with curry … Well, that might work! A refreshing burst with every bite maybe?
Then she boils all the neatly cut ingredients before tossing them all into a big pot to simmer. Bubble, bubble.
Ai does a few Shogi puzzles while we wait (got close to burning a few times).
Add in some curry powder, and it’s ready to eat!
Or at least I thought it was.
“Hmmm …”
Wrinkling her forehead and squinting her eyes, Ai stares at the yellowish concoction in the pot. That face is more intense than when she was doing the Shogi puzzles.
“… I should’ve known that store-bought curry powder would be pale.”
“Huh? Looks par for the course to me!”
“No, this won’t do. It needs to be darker.”
… Darker?
“Master. You have any sauces?”
“Huh? Y-yeah … This is Osaka. Everybody’s got sauce.”
“Yahh!”
“Hey?! Why’re you flooding the curry?!”
Ai dumps an unbelievable amount of sauce directly into the pot and starts stirring.
The yellowish curry turns dark brown right before my eyes.
“There we go♪. That’s the color that gets people’s mouths watering.”
“……”
Really? Is that really how it works?
Ai turns the heat down to the weakest setting and keeps stirring. But it’s not the kind of ladle stirring that keeps things from getting burnt. She’s mashing everything down with purpose. Sweat droplets are rolling down those small cheeks. Never seen curry made like this before …
“Isn’t it … about done?”
“Nope. It needs a bit more …”
“More, mashing?”
“More … Everything needs to be worked into a thick soup … What I wouldn’t give for a pressure cooker to cook everything together gayo … It just doesn’t come together right without stainless silver plates gaine …”
Gayo? Gaine?
Is something wrong? My apprentice is making weird sounds …
Ai whispers under her breath as if doing her own review session until finally she smiles and says “Yep!” I guess that means she figured it out?
“This is as good as it’s going to get! Let’s eat!”
“S-Sure! Let’s chow down.”
Ai scoops rice onto a plate, covers it in curry, puts the pork cutlets that we bought at the supermarket on top, decorates the whole thing with cabbage and adds more sauce for flavor. Being a Shogi player and a bit superstitious, I’m pleasantly surprised by my apprentice’s tasteful katsu curry. Natural-born competitor indeed.
And, of course, there’s a fork next to my plate.
“Huh? We’re eating with forks?”
“Why wouldn’t we?”
“Don’t people normally use a spoon?”
“Stop kidding around, Master. Curry is always eaten with a fork.”
“It … is?”
“Yes, it is.”
Okay, I guess it is. A-ha-ha-ha-ha–. Something seemed a little off as I shared a laugh with my apprentice, but we put our hands together and dug in!
A little concerned about trying to eat curry with a fork, I was surprised to find that it was so thick that wasn’t a problem at all.
I lift the fork up to my mouth and——.
“Master.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t get carried away, okay?”
Huh?
Well that’s a bizarre thing to say. At any rate, I move my hand the last few inches to put the fork in my mouth. The curry flavor washes over me. Wow, this is pretty good.
The spice slowly starts to kick in and …
slow …
ly …
gets …
“………… Ah ………… Wha ……?”
I woke up to the sound of my fork hitting the table.
Apparently, I passed out with the fork still in my mouth. Curry that was piping hot in front of me has cooled off to the point that a thin layer has formed on the surface.
“How how … long was … I out …?”
“Heehee.”
Ai already finished her curry and is now sitting with her head propped up on her hands with her elbows on the table, looking right at me. There’s a smile on her lips that’s as infinitely deep as this curry’s flavor …
I dove back into the curry like it had become my new obsession after that. While I didn’t get “carried away” again after the first bite, my fork-holding hand never slowed down. Swallow one mouthful and bring up the next without using any time at all. This happened over and over until every speck of the dark curry disappeared from my plate.
I ate it all.
I’ve never felt anything like this full-body psychedelic hug of happiness ever before.
What in the world is this … I know, curry, and this isn’t curry …
“D-Did you … S … Spike this with anything …?”
“Oh, no no. I didn’t put anything like that in. Heeheehee.”
“Tomorrow … I wanna eat more tomorrow … and the next day … Forever …”
“Sure! The leftovers will be even more delicious tomorrow♪.”
Would I wake up after eating something like that …?
“H … How was the classroom today? Make any friends?” I ask my apprentice as I gulp down some water and try to still my beating heart. Who would’ve thought curry could be so exhilarating …
Ai went from looking like the Bodhisattva Miroku’s archaic smile to a much cloudier expression with those words and looked down at her feet.
“………”
“Something wrong?”
“… Master.”
Don’t tell me she’s been bullied in the classroom? It’s pretty common for people to gang up on strong newcomers. Even Big Sis had to deal with the Crush Ginko Sora Group.
That’s why I wanted to make sure Keika was with her …
“Umm … Well …”
Ai works up the courage to say what’s on her mind, looks me square in the eyes and makes a bizarre confession.
“P-Practice session! Can we have one here?!”
“… A practice session?”
“Yes!”
She looks back at the floor and tries really hard to explain her reason in a tiny voice.
“Y … You see, I, um … told people I was staying with you, Master … and, well, um …”
“It sounds like someone said I want to see where the Ryuo lives! and one thing led to another. Is that what this is about?”
“Of course! You know that’s fine any time, right?”
“M-Master … Thank you so much!!”
“Ha-ha-ha. Board, pieces, chess clock. If you need anything at all, let me know,” I proudly declare to my cute apprentice and pound my chest.
Thump!
At this point in time, I had no idea of the repercussions that hosting a grade school girl practice group would entail.
Not yet anyway.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login