Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 10 - Chapter 1.1

  NEW CLASS

“Master-I’m-home-let’s-play-Shogi-Master!!”

Back from her school’s opening ceremony, my apprentice comes in with her trademark white beret and trailing cherry blossom petals as she bursts into my room speaking too fast for me to understand her.

I’m sprawled out on my bed reading the latest issue of a Shogi magazine, but I drop it in surprise.

“Th-There’s no rush …… There’s a practice session today, which means you’ll be playing through the night anyway, right?”

“Butbutbut! There won’t be much time at all for you to teach me one-on-one once the others get here, Master!”

Ai Hinatsuru jumps on top of me with her bright red backpack still strapped around her shoulders.

Reason being–––.

“The last Women’s Legend qualifier match is coming up real soon! If I win one more time, I can join the league! I absolutely can’t lose this match!! I want to spend every second of every minute playing Shogi right now!!”

“A-All right! Okay, okay, just stop straddling your Master’s back!”

“I want to study more, more and more so I can get a title before Ten-chan does! Because if I don’t …… If I don’t ……!”

“And I’m glad you’re so motivated, really. But, you know? This looks like cowgi- …… Like you’re riding a horse, yeah?”

I can’t have a grade school girl on top of me shouting more! It crosses too many lines.

Her younger sister apprentice Ai Yashajin made it to a title match first. That must’ve been the spark she needed to get the competitive juices flowing.

What’s more, Ai Yashajin losing so early in the Women’s Legend qualifier must have fanned the flames. This is her first opportunity to overtake her younger sister apprentice in the standings.

Her mumbling so quietly that I can’t tell what she’s saying pretty much proves it.

“…… How could Ten-chan be that bold ……? She declared war on me …… A war of love …… That’s a battle I absolutely can’t lose …………!” 

…… Maybe she’s a little too revved up?

“Calm down, Ai. You won’t be able to pick the pieces of the board like this. Would you tell me about school first? How was your first day as a fifth grader?”

“Well …… It was lots of fun!”

She has to think about it for a moment, but then she smiles from ear to ear.

“Mio is in my class again this year, and so is Mihane. We had so much to talk about!!”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that!”

For Ai, who transferred in all the way from the north coast, the friends she makes at school are irreplaceable treasures. They are the only way for her to relieve homesickness and to help her relax.

Having transferred to Osaka on my own in the past, I understand exactly how she feels.

On the other hand, I had the Kiyotaki household to come home to with a very kind older sister in Keika and, even though she’s younger, an extremely overbearing and harsh Big Sis waiting for me. I never felt lonely at all. Pain and suffering are a different story though …… shiver ……

“Master? What’s the matter? You’re shaking.”

“N-Nothing …… I’m fine. Just fine ……”

Right now, I live together with my cute apprentice. I’ll protect this oasis no matter what ……!

“W-Would you tell me more about your classmates? What’s this Mihane like?”

“Mihane? She’s fashionable, really smart and lets me borrow her books. Her boyfriend is in college, but boys ask her out all the time …… Why do you want to know?”

“Oh. I’m just interested to know who your classmates are, Ai.”

“…… Are you after them?”

“After them… how?!”

My apprentice’s low, suspicious tone lets me know I need to set the record straight.

“Yeesh …… What do you take me for? I’m interested because I need to know if this new class is a good fit for you. That changes how and what I can teach you.”

“Teach? You’re …… talking about Shogi, right?”

“Of course, I am. Your classmates at school have a direct effect on your standings… which is why I want to check before you start playing.”

“Uwhee?! My class at school matters for Shogi?!”

“Yes. Very much so.”

It’s no problem when you’re winning.

But, having a place to relax when you’re hurting after a loss and questioning yourself is a must. Since students spend half the day at school, the other students in their class and the atmosphere are very important.

“Ai, you’re living with me as my apprentice, yes? That means, if you’re struggling with Shogi, life here with me won’t be easy either. If school is stressing you out too, there’s nowhere for you to escape and you’ll burn out …… So, what do you think? Has anything changed?”

“…………”

She’s very quiet all of a sudden. What could it be?

“………… Master, um ………………… Mi …………”

“Mi?”

“N-No, um! Well ……………… M-My homeroom teacher changed!”

“Oh?”

The homeroom teacher is a parent’s or, in my case, guardian’s only way to know what’s going on at school.

A new person in that position could have a big impact.

“Yes. My teacher from last year had to retire.”

“Oh, I see …… He was such a nice old man, understood Shogi as well. I’m going to miss him.”

He looked out for my apprentice after she transferred to Osaka for Shogi training. Seriously, he was the perfect teacher for a young Shogi player to have.

Ai had to miss time at school to join me during the Ryuo Title Match and to participate in the Mynavi Finals, and he let her.

That teacher even played Shogi himself, so he knew lots of little things that helped him support Ai in many other ways as well, but ……

“Most matches are on weekdays, you see …… Now that you’re a Women’s League player, you’ll have to do match records as well, which means you need to take more days off school. The more you win, the busier you’ll get.”

“Thinking about so many things is too complicated! (>-<)” 

Ai loves her friends at school, so I’m sure she doesn’t want to miss class or school events.

She loves school, but she also loves Shogi. She doesn’t want to give either of them up.

If you’re going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, it’s better to be between the things you love, but still ……

“I had a hard time balancing school and Shogi, and I ended up having to give up life at school altogether. I think the reason why Big Sis didn’t go to my junior high is because of what I went through.”

“Is that why?!”

“Grade school wasn’t that big of a deal …… But junior high was really, really rough ……”

I feel like I could shed some weight just thinking about those days.

I went to an average, run-of-the-mill public junior high school. They didn’t understand the first thing about Shogi. I guess they thought it was a club or something.

They wouldn’t let me miss school to be a match recorder or do what I needed to for the Sub League, so I had to fake sick to get out of it.

I had good classmates, so it wasn’t all bad …… It’s just I probably would’ve turned pro six months earlier if my school had been a little more understanding.

“Big Sis saw what I was going through and went back to her parent’s house to attend school in that neighborhood instead. Then again, she was already famous and had a title at that point, so they treated her more like a celebrity ……”

Ai is famous in the Shogi world, but the outside world knows next to nothing about her, so explaining it would be pretty much impossible.

On top of that … she’s my live-in apprentice ……

Most people wouldn’t just accept that an underage boy and grade school girl are bound by a Master/apprentice relationship and therefore living together right off the bat… no way ……

“Your homeroom teacher last year was also one of the head teachers at the school, so having his support was huge. What’s your new teacher like?”

“Very young. Oh, and she’s a woman.”

“Oh?”

“Ah! That reminds me.”

It’s like a lightbulb turned on in her eyes as Ai holds out a piece of paper.

“Since my teacher changed, she’s going to do a home visit.”

“A home visit?”

I know that it’s normal for teachers to see what kind of situation each of their students lives in at the beginning of the year, but a cold chill runs up my spine as I take the paper from her.

“Hm? Hold up. Your teacher, a young woman, will be coming here? When?”

“Today.”

“Huh?”

Ding dong.