Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 10 - Chapter 2.4

  AFTER DARK

“Awhh. I sure lost that one ……,” I mumble to myself as I, the first one to bow out, sprawl out on my futon.

It came down to an all-out battle between Master and Big Sis. After some furious dice rolls, it was Master who emerged victorious once the dust settled.

You’d think that would be the end of it, wouldn’t you?

It’s not. For pro Shogi players, that’s when the main event gets underway.

The review session.

Just like in Shogi, players look back to the very start of the game saying things like: Ya built a house here and I should’ve negotiated then.

Tonight’s review session wouldn’t end …… It was three in the morning by the time we put it away. Seriously, that review session took a lot longer than the game itself.

This is how Kansai Shogi players play Monopoly. Bizarre.

“Three million yen was too much to buy the Osaka Airport …… I should have got it down to two million! My money senses are all out of whack ……”

It’s because of Big Sis’s interference. That has to explain it!

Speaking of Big Sis, she’s sleeping in Keika’s room tonight and I’m sleeping by myself in this makeshift guest room that is actually the living room.

I would’ve been fine with sleeping in the kid’s room where Ai is, but I didn’t want to wake her up and Big Sis and Keika laid out the futon for me in the living room before I could say a word. Basically, I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion.

“Big Sis threatened to kill me if I take one step out of this room. Yeesh, does she think I’m going to sneak into her room after dark? What if I have to use the bathroom? What then, huh? She’s a monster, I swear.”

Anyway ……

“The Player’s Meeting. I went two years ago when I promoted to 4-dan so I could introduce myself, but …… Man, it was boring. A little guy like me didn’t even have a chance to speak.”

Then again, most players in Kanto show up, so it’s a viable opportunity to talk to people I normally don’t have a chance to see.

Since I’m going, maybe it would be a good idea to make some more plans? Practice session perhaps?

“Perfect! I need to ask Ayumu about his little sister. And …… yeah. I should look into Ai Hinatsuru’s next opponent ……”

My apprentice will be facing a Kanto Women’s League player in the last match of the Women’s Legend Qualifier. A new one at that. Kanto is the only place to find information on her.

“Ms. Rokuroba seemed to know her. I wonder if she’ll show up at the Player’s Meeting. Her Master is on the board of directors, so she’ll probably be around ……”

I roll over in the pitch-black living room with my mind still following that train of thought when….

Sliiiiiiide––––––……

I hear the fusuma sliding door open.

–––Did someone come inside ……?

But I don’t hear any footsteps. That rules out my heavy-footed Master.

And everyone who was playing Monopoly should be too sleepy to think straight.

Which would mean ……

“Ai …… is that you?”

“It’s me.”

Hooooooooooooooooooooot!!!

“Say what?! Umm …… What are you doing here?! Why would you sneak in here wearing that after dark?! What are you going to do to me?!”

“Shhh! Quiet, Yaichi ……!”

“Mgh?!”

Press♡ I’m suddenly sandwiched between Keika’s glorious boobs. I didn’t know I could be forced to keep my mouth shut in such a pleasant way …… Gh, they’re so big and soft I can’t breathe?!

“Mgff! Mghhh ghhh!!”

“Sorry, Yaichi. That can’t be too comfortable. But …… I can’t have Ai or Ginko hearing us …… So please, be quiet.”

“Mgg ……… Ngh ……”

“There, there♪ That’s a good boy♡.”

She pats my head a few times as I finally calm down. I feel like a little kid again.

“…… I used to hold you just like this, patting you on the head when you were too scared to go to the bathroom alone at night or you were getting homesick. Ah, those were the days♡.”

“I …… I remember ……”

“And now you’ve gotten so big.”

That’s my line!!

Keika was a high school girl back then and, well, she was many times bigger in that department than Big Sis is (zero times any number is still zero) but …… That was nothing compared to the mature, filled-out mid-twenties body she has now. She’s sexy as hell.

“W-Well, look at you, Keika …… A filled …… full-fledged member of the Melon’s League.”

“I lose quite a bit though. ……Hm? Did you say something strange just now?”

“You’re hearing things.”

That was too close …… I was so focused on those glorious twins of hers that I said Melon’s League instead of Women’s League …… Thankfully they’re similar words ……

“S-So, um, what’s up? Coming in here so late at night. If there’s something you wanted to tell me, you could’ve just told me while setting up the futon.”

“…… It’s about Ginko.”

“Big Sis ……?”

Well, it doesn’t seem like she’s here to confess her love for me or an event like that. I’m suddenly very sleepy.

“I don’t know what I’d be able to do. I haven’t talked to Big Sis much at all lately. Heck, she didn’t even tell me she was going to go to high school and bringing up the Sub League is off limits–––.”

“You say that after holding hands for hours?”

“You knew?!”

“It was obvious. The only one in the world who wouldn’t have picked up on it is my father.”

Keika forces a smile before her face turns extremely serious.

“Yaichi, I’m sure you’ve noticed, haven’t you? Ginko won her first two 3-dan division matches, but …… She’s extremely anxious.”

…… So that’s what it was after all?

Big Sis’s hand was cold the entire time.

Except she gets angry at me anytime I try to bring up the Sub League. So long as she doesn’t ask for advice, I can’t say a word.

Also ……

“Of course, I’m worried about Big Sis, but I’m also responsible for my apprentices. The Queen Title Match made it clear …… They may be in the Women’s League, but those girls still have a lot of growing to do. So they’re the ones who take priority–––.”

“I will look after Ai, no matter what she needs. Ten-chan is a strong girl who’s used to being alone, but she also has Akira and her grandfather for support,” Keika says flatly. “But Ginko only has you…. Which is why I want you to prioritize her until the end of this 3-dan division season, at least.”

She …… only has … me?

But–––.

“Big Sis’s family is in Osaka. She’s living with them now so she can go to that high school, right? It’s not like they’re on bad terms or anything.”

“True. Her parents trusted us enough to leave her completely in our care since she was very young. That’s because they don’t understand anything about Shogi.”

“Then ……”

“That’s exactly why.”

Keika pulls me into her body and whispers into my ear, “Promise me, Yaichi …… If Ginko ever comes to you for help, promise me you will prioritize her. Promise me you’ll only focus on her ……”

I lived with Keika for over ten years …… Not once have I seen her this desperate.

The seriousness in her voice is so overwhelming that I nod out of reflex.

“…… All right. I promise.”

Not once did I think about the meaning this conversation would come to have in the not-too-distant future.