Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 1 - Chapter 5.4

☖ PRO

“Nh. I’ll be the next opponent.”

My eyes flew open once I saw the man who named himself.

“Kuruno-sensei is going to ……?!”

Manager of the Practice League—Yoshitsune Kuruno 7-dan.

Ai’s father asks me in a hushed voice, “Who is he?”

“He oversees the Practice League …… Should Ai get accepted into the league, he’ll be the one instructing her. He has a B1 ranking, a full-fledged pro ……”

Just for comparison, I’m three levels below him in C2.

Completely different from the Kuzu Ryuo who claimed the title on a lucky hot streak, Kuruno-sensei’s skills are the real deal. His unique sensibility, known as Kuruno World, strikes fear into the hearts of pro Shogi players everywhere.

“So, she really is playing against professional Shogi players ……”

“Indeed. She will, of course, have a handicap.”

A two-piece handicap to be exact. Kuruno-sensei will be playing without his Bishop and Rook.

Under normal circumstances, he’d also play without the left and right Lances in a four-piece handicap, but it looks like he wants to see just how good Ai is for himself.

Ai’s parents can’t hide their surprise at seeing their daughter sitting across the board from a pro Shogi player either.

Both of their gazes trained on her, Ai squeezes her fan with her hands resting on her knees before lowering her head and saying as loud as she could, “I-I’m ready to play when you are!”

“Nh. As am I.”

They bow. Then Kuruno-sensei removes his suit jacket to reveal the short-sleeved shirt underneath.

Taking off his suit jacket before the first move is part of Kuruno-sensei’s pre-match routine. So is playing in short sleeves. It also lets everyone know he’s not holding back.

The lively room’s entrance gets noisy.

“So, who is it? Who’s the Ryuo’s apprentice?”

“Whoa! Sounds like she’s gonna play Kuruno-sensei!”

“This’ll be good.”

The Kansai Shogi world is a small one. Rumors of “strong kids” spread fast. Staff members, Sub League members, journalists and even pro Shogi players are gathering to see just how strong Ai is for themselves.

Ai’s father is having a hard time stringing words together in this charged atmosphere.

“D-Does she stand a chance ……?”

“Anyone else, and I wouldn’t have much hope …… But Ai could win this!”

She can win if she follows standard strategy and maintains an advantage …… But …

“Nh …… I see. You’ve been studying. In that case——.”

After following the standard for several turns, Kuruno 7-dan makes a move that deviates from convention.

“!? ………”

With this strange move it looked like he passed this turn. Ai’s hand freezes on the spot.

Clench, clenched, clench. She’s leaning forward, squeezing her fists together on her knees. It’s still early game, but she’s carefully reading the board. No matter what move comes her way, Ai focuses all her energy on figuring out its purpose. That talent of hers is spreading its wings.

“…… Here, here, hereherehereherehere ………… Yes!”

Body swaying side to side to establish a rhythm and quietly whispering to herself, Ai forcefully pushes a piece forward. A strong move!!

“Whoa! You guys see that!?”

“She’s got guts!”

Ai’s father was caught off guard by the audience’s happy reaction.

“W-What’s happening?”

“Ai has chosen to completely reject her opponent’s plan of attack, which will lead to the fiercest possible battle. The idea of challenging a pro Shogi player to a contest of strength doesn’t frighten her at all. Your daughter has nerves of steel.”

“I had no idea she had this in her ……”

Ai’s father and mother watched their daughter as if seeing her for the first time.

Kuruno-sensei keeps his eyes on the board, tense as he opens his mouth.

“Nhh ……… Ryuo.”

“Yes?”

“Those three bags over there are mine. Please bring me the middle one.”

“S-Sure!”

I walk over to the three large sports bags in the corner of the room and grab the middle bag. Whoa?! This thing is pretty heavy?!

“S-Sensei ……! Your bag ……!”

“Nh. Thanks.”

He takes the bag from my outstretched hands and pulls out a circular contraption from inside. Pretty darn big.

He sets the machine down behind his back and flips the switch.

Whirrrrrrrr …… A low, quiet hum echoes through the room. The gallery is having a field day.

“That’s Kuruno-sensei’s air purifier ……!”

“He’s playin’ for real! This ain’t no instructional match …… The pro is goin’ for the win!”

I-It’s one of Kuruno-sensei’s “Seven Match Items,” the minus ion air purifier!

“…… Does that make any difference?” Ai’s mother frowns. A valid question.

“It puts his mind at ease …… That’s my theory, but that little bit of reassurance is very important.”

“How do you mean?”

“In order for the brain to reach its peak level of concentration, it’s necessary to remove any anxiety or outside distractions. Humans can’t concentrate to their full potential when something is bothering them.”

That’s why pro Shogi players use many different methods, like keeping their schedules open before matches, wearing earplugs during the match or doing other little things to keep their minds clear. There was even a guy who had the hotel turn off their waterfall during the title match.

That probably means that for Kuruno-sensei, knowing “minus ion air is clean ♪” helps him relax that extra little bit. I think. Maybe.

“Eliminating all the small distractions allows him to get in the zone and completely focus on the match. I believe he needs that machine to do it.”

“Is it really necessary to go that far to play Shogi?”

“Professionals completely devote themselves and their livelihoods to playing Shogi. Every little bit helps.”

I’ve gotten used to Ai’s mother’s tone.

Ai told me last night that this inn manager, her mother, apparently always hated Shogi. The local Hot Spring Association asked them to host the Ryuo Title Match, so she never saw Shogi players do anything more than playing around. Ai thinks that her mother’s father—Ai’s grandfather—ignoring his duties at the inn to play Shogi could be the reason for her disdain.

But for everyone in here, Shogi is our reason for living. We truly believe that without Shogi death is the only thing left. We battle with that in our hearts.

“On a related note, I’ve heard that some Chinese Go pros play in tournaments with needles in their heads.”

“N-Needles?! In their heads?! They play with those things just sticking out?!”

“That’s how badly they want to win. That’s everything. Anything it takes to win.”

The match has already passed through the mid-game and dives right into the ever-difficult late game.

We may be professionals, but it’s not like we can magically conjure pieces out of thin air. In order to overcome a two-piece handicap without some of the big pieces on your side, you have to trick your opponent and chip away at their forces while steadily building your own.

Therefore pros set traps all over the board.

It’s sort of like setting landmines, blowing the wayward pieces that come too close to your territory sky high. The strategy is to slowly dismantle your opponent piece by piece.

But Ai keeps her nose to the board, rocking her body side to side ever so slightly and reading the formations. Then she boldly sends her Silver into a minefield.

“Nh?!”

Kuruno 7-dan’s eyes bulged in surprise at Ai’s determination to point a sharp blade directly at her superior opponent’s King.

Her Silver deftly avoids the traps, practically dancing across the board and wreaks havoc on his formation. Ai then sends both her Rook and Bishop to tear his defenses apart at the seams. Intense. Even the audience is burning with excitement, enough to make the room heat up. Competitive fire sparked and blood boiling, the combatants let loose.

“Nhh ……” Kuruno-sensei folds his arms and groans.

I’m sure he was expecting at least one of his traps to work, but all of them failed. He underestimated Ai’s talent.

Pesky little traps were nothing to the untamed, fully unleashed talent sitting before him.

“Nh!!”

After much internal deliberation, Sensei decides to charge into battle. Rather than protecting his own King, he launches an all-out assault on Ai’s.

Making sure the two of them couldn’t hear me, I whisper quietly to Ai’s parents as soon as I see that move, “He’s lost.”

“Huh?”

Ai’s father looks at me with surprise.

“It-it’s already over?”

“Yes. Many moves still need to be made, but there’s no escape for Kuruno-sensei’s King. All that’s left is to see if Ai notices ……”

If she decides to go on defense now, the tide will turn against her. It’s another trap, a tactic.

There’s a trust that comes with the pro designation.

“As a pro, they’re definitely better than me.”

“As a pro, they’ve definitely read everything.”

Everyone has this trust when it comes to pros. Therefore, they often use this trust against their opponent to find mental weak spots and exploit them.

“The pro has stopped protecting the King and has gone on the attack. That King must be invulnerable …… Then I’d better protect mine!”

The moment Ai believes that trust rather than what she’s reading on the board, she’s already lost. There is no path to victory in Shogi if you don’t believe in yourself.

I was worried about her——but it turns out I didn’t need to worry.

Ai puts Kuruno-sensei’s King in check with no hesitation and closes in. She’s got the enemy King completely cornered. That means she listened to her gut feelings, believed in herself.

Kuruno 7-dan places his hand on top of his piece stand once he saw that move.

“Nh. I have lost.”

“Th …… Thankyousoverymuch!”

Ai quickly lowers her head too.

Sure, she had a handicap, but I can tell she’s excited about winning against a pro Shogi player. Those flushed cheeks and watery eyes say it all: she put everything she had into reading the board. Her left hand, still clenching the fan, shook the whole time.

After a quick review session, Kuruno-sensei came up next to me and whispered so quietly that no one else could hear. “She’s good. At that level, she doesn’t belong in the Practice League.”

“Do you really think so, Kuruno-sensei?’

“I know so, because I just got thoroughly trounced by that talent of hers.”

Sensei’s face relaxed after a tense smile and he nodded.

“I’d love to teach her. Two consecutive victories and defeating a pro with a two-piece handicap should be plenty.”

With that, Ai should be accepted into the Practice League, except ……

He must not have noticed my lack of enthusiasm because he immediately turned to Mr. and Mrs. Hinatsuru standing next to me with a big smile on his face.

“Are you her parents? You have an incredibly talented daughter.”

“D-Do you really think so?”

Ai’s father looks overjoyed. No parent would ever not like to hear someone singing their daughter’s praise.

“I do. Her ability to accurately read the situation was surprising, but she has a very strong spirit. That’s what’s really good.”

“Spirit ……? What does that have to do with Shogi talent?”

“Everything,” Kuruno-sensei and I answer as one.

“Most Shogi matches end with surrender, so matches come to a close with one player admitting defeat. Therefore it takes a very strong spirit to believe in yourself and keep fighting without giving up when you’re against the ropes.”

“So it does ……”

“But, the most important thing of all is having a spirit strong enough to get back up after a loss.”

“After a loss?”

The look on Ai’s mother’s face seemed to say isn’t it all over when you lose? So Kuruno-sensei offered an explanation.

“Losing is a part of Shogi. Play against someone better than yourself and you will lose. At the same time, you’ll never improve without playing against people better than yourself.”

Joining the Practice League, and trying to join the Women’s League, means losing thousands, tens of thousands of matches.

Once the losses become too much to handle, once you start thinking you’ll never get any better and give up, that path will close.

“True failure only happens when the spirit gives out. But if the spirit stands strong, it’s not an actual loss. That’s why the most important talent to possess isn’t Shogi skill, but a strong spirit. It’s also the most difficult talent to acquire.”

Kuruno-sensei finishes his convincing speech and grins at me.

“I can see why the Ryuo took her as apprentice.”

“Well, you know …… Hahaha.” I laugh to cover the truth. There’s no way I can tell him that she was the one who came all the way to my apartment to ask me to take her.

“And she has the talent. Yaichi, have you considered having her join the Sub League in the future?”

“Sub League?” Ai’s father asks.

“Yes. It’s a step above the Practice League and the gateway to becoming a professional Shogi player. More women have started getting into the league recently. While their numbers are still small, they’re increasing.”

“Is joining this Sub League necessary for Ai to join the Women’s League?”

“It is not. In fact, joining the Sub League would disqualify her from joining at all.”

“One thing at a time, one at a time.”

I step in between the two of them.

“There’ll be plenty of time to think about that later …… For now, about joining the Practice League——.”

“Not yet.”

Snap! A voice cracks like a Shogi piece slapped against the board.

Ai’s mother.

“Our agreement was that she must win three consecutive games to keep playing Shogi. Begin the third match, please.”

“…… Nh. Understood. Let’s continue with the test.”

Kuruno-sensei didn’t look too happy about it, but realized what was going on right away.

Shogi is a useless life skill.

Many people see it that way, and it’s true in many cases.

That’s why many parents, especially parents who care about their children’s future, stop them from playing Shogi at a young age. They set their children on what they believe to be the best path and force them to leave Shogi behind. Talented children are taken from the Shogi world. All for love.

Kuruno-sensei is heavily involved in youth programs and has seen that situation play out like a broken record. That’s why he immediately recognized the signs.

“Should your daughter win the next match, she’ll become a Women’s League Player without question.”

“Is her opponent that good?”

“Very good, yes. ——She’s undeniably the best female to ever play in Shogi’s one thousand-four-hundred-year history.”

Right along with Kuruno-sensei’s words.

A beautiful young woman appears in front of the Shogi board like a pure white angel descending from heaven.

“Ahh——.”

Ai’s eyes flew open.

And the shock froze my vocal cords to the point that only muffled sound came out of my throat.

“Big …… Sis ……?”

Ginko Sora, possessor of two women’s titles, slowly sat down.