GLORY
“Now, in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments, the Prime Minister will present the Meijin with gifts!”
We make it back to Yaichi’s and turn on the TV just in time to see the Meijin receive black boxes filled with high-quality ink stones and feather quills.
“What? They gave him a pen set?”
“There are better words ……”
Yaichi: describing ceremonial gifts in the crudest way possible.
Is this really what I want? Am I rushing things?
“Being the Meijin, he is asked to sign diplomas and certificates all the time. There could be people who see him receive those gifts in public like this and think: those are the pens he’ll use! and start playing Shogi, yes?”
“Oh! Wow …… The Meijin thinks of everything.”
That man always prioritizes what’s best for the Shogi world and makes decisions with the next several moves already in mind. Everything he says and does has a deeper purpose behind it.
Compared to him, my little brother–––.
No ……
Yaichi………………… this idiot.
“Be prepared, Yaichi. As the Ryuo, you’ll be signing your name right next to the Meijin, yes? Tons of autograph requests will come for you tomorrow, just wait.”
“D-Don’t pressure me like that …… I’m using the same pens I had back in junior high. Do you think somebody would give me a set like that?”
“Go buy your own.”
But I have to say ……
“The Meijin defended that title to secure his 100th title season today, right? I realize it was the seventh match in the series, but don’t you think having the ceremony on the same day is a little too fast to be true?”
“It seems like the match ended around lunchtime, and it looks like they decided to get it all finished up right away because the match was in Tokyo. The gifts were prepared back during the Ryou Title Match, so the government wanted to honor the Meijin while the public was in the mood to celebrate. At least, that’s what I think.”
“…… Suspicious.”
“You think so? But considering how low their approval rating is right now–––.”
“No. All of that information rolling off your tongue is suspicious. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
“……!!”
“You told me it was Chairman Tsukimitsu who reserved a room for us last night, yes? The two of you …… aren’t plotting something behind my back, are you?”
“Y-You’re overthinking it! Yes, I talked to the chairman, but he just wanted to get a congratulatory comment from me for the Meijin because I’m a title holder! Because …… at that time yesterday, he already had a big lead.”
“That time? What exactly is that time? Say it loud enough for me to hear!”
“The …… Sealing move ……”
“!!! …………!!”
N-Not that loud! Idiot!!
We’re alone in the room. Yaichi’s father went to sleep already because he starts planting tomorrow, and his mother also decided to turn in for the night …… She’s probably giving us some privacy …… Haauuu ……
Yaichi is sitting cross-legged by my side. I put my head on the idiot’s shoulder and ask him, “…… How long are you going to keep speaking so formally?”
“Stopping right away isn’t …… won’t happen. It’s second nature at this point ……,” Yaichi stutters.
Minus one point.
“Besides, people have been talking about us for a long time now. If I stopped speaking formally, Machi and other journalists would pick up on it and write who knows what ……”
“Huuh? Really? You’re that concerned about what people think?”
“N-Not so much, but …… I live with my apprentice. I’d prefer to avoid stories getting written that would make things awkward between us.”
“Ohh? So the elementary school girl’s feelings are more important to you? Well, pardon me for being in high school.”
Minus two points.
Yaichi keeps mumbling more excuses.
“…… Ai is still a kid, so she doesn’t understand there’s a line between love and admiration. But she’s extremely smart, sensitive and picks up on everything. I just don’t want her to end up getting hurt ………… Please.”
“…………………”
I’ll be brutally honest.
I’m angry, bordering on enraged. There’s a burning feeling in my chest and a dark cloud in the pit of my stomach growing larger by the second. Minus one hundred million points.
But now’s not the time to tell him. I want to be my own woman, above all the clutter.
Yes, an adult like Keika.
“…… What about the dark pipsqueak? Don’t you think she’s the bigger problem?”
“Ai Yashajin? She sees me as some overgrown insect that happens to play Shogi. She couldn’t care less what I do on my own time.”
“*Sigh* ………… So many storms on the horizon ……”
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“Just hoping a shooting star hits you on the head and fixes your Lolita complex.”
“That’s cruel!!”
You’re the cruel one. Stupid idiot. Stupid Yaichi.
I bang my head against Yaichi’s shoulder a few times without saying anything.
“L-Look! The Meijin’s press conference is starting!!”
The Meijin, wearing a kimono with a black crest like he did for the title presiding ceremony when he received the highest possible accolade as a citizen of Japan, maintains his lighthearted demeanor despite the torrent of camera flashes raining down on him.
One hundred seasons as a title holder.
Eternal status in six titles, Dragon King Ryuo being the only exception.
And now, the winningest Shogi professional in history with 1,434 victories to his name. The Meijin answers questions on all these topics and more with vibrant energy and even gets a few laughs along the way.
“…… He truly is amazing. The Meijin.”
“If it’s winning a few matches head-to-head, even I can do that. Sure, it’s not easy, but …… I think I can hold my ground against him.”
“…………”
“But I’ll never ever come close to breaking his records. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to hold multiple titles for a year.”
That’s probably the truth.
I have two women’s titles, but it’s still exponentially more difficult to have two instead of one, so much so that calculating the burden would be no easy feat.
Doing that continuously for 25 years with an average of four titles each year to reach this milestone is ……
The stuff of gods. A truly divine achievement.
“Loved by the Shogi gods …… No, this man is one of them.”
“Ayumu’s been calling him the god for years.”
Indeed, he has.
An existence on a plain that even Shogi Martians revere and have given up trying to reach.
He is so far above me that somehow the person on screen doesn’t seem real.
I’ve never spoken to him before, though I’ve lined up his match records and read every single one of his books several times.
Just like the Shogi gods Master was always talking about; we worship him while getting nothing in return. A being on a permanent pedestal.
That’s what I thought.
“We have enough time for one last question.”
A journalist stands up with that announcement.
“Meijin. Shogi software has made considerable advances in recent years. Software defeated a professional for the first time several years ago, but it’s quite possible that software could best even the top professionals nowadays …… Yet you have never taken part in a software match. Would you like to do so in the future?”
“That’s true, I haven’t. And I can’t deny that I find the idea intriguing. However ……”
However?
The press conference has gone quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Could it be possible the Meijin would play a match against software so long as certain conditions were met ……? The country is on the edge of its collective seat … waiting for that answer.
The Meijin, on the other hand, takes his answer in a direction that no one saw coming.
“What I would be most interested in playing against right now is–––a woman.”
………… Huh?
“The day that women join the professional Shogi leagues will soon be upon us. There is no difference between men and women when it comes to Shogi skill.”
Women? Professional Shogi?
How did he suddenly reach this topic? I don’t understand.
However, the Meijin spoke so smoothly and concisely that it was almost as if he had intended to say this from the start.
“All of my accomplishments are simple repetitions of what other men have already achieved. I may have tallied higher numbers during my career, but what I have done is essentially the same as those who came before me. The way I see it, I only set this record because I traversed a well-paved highway to reach it.”
The Meijin casually makes light of the miracle he just performed.
“I just stated that there is no difference in Shogi skill between men and women. However, women are faced with far more environmental and institutional obstacles than men.”
He then lays out examples one by one.
Politely. Thoroughly.
“I’m positive other barriers exist that I can’t even imagine. Could someone who’s overcome all that play weak Shogi? I highly doubt it. Personally, I think they would be stronger than anyone.”
“U-Um ……………… Meijin?”
The journalist who first asked the question cautiously follows up.
“Might you be referring to …… Naniwa’s Snow White? The young girl currently battling in the 3-dan division ……”
“Yes. Miss Sora is certainly one of them. She stands at the forefront.”
The Meijin nods again and again.
“I have had my eye on her for years. Along with her match records, I’ve seen how she conducts herself as the title holder, as well as her extraordinary efforts in the Sub League.”
I don’t believe my ears.
“For …… years ……?”
I thought I’d only been watching him all this time.
I was certain that after taking the wrong path, my Shogi would never reach the Shogi gods no matter how I played.
But I was wrong.
A Shogi god …………… had always been watching me …………!!
“Anyone can make great time by traveling on a road that has already been paved by someone else. All they must do is test to see if that person was right along the way. However, there is no glory at the end of that road,” the god declares. “There is no right or wrong on a path that has never been taken. All I can say from my own experience is–––.”
The Meijin looks right into my eyes through the screen.
Then the god continues with a slight grin.
“Fortune favors the brave. At least, I believe that to be true.”
With that, the press conference comes to a close.
The TV station has already switched to a different program, but Yaichi and I can only sit here, frozen in place with our mouths hanging open.
A bit of time passes before I finally break the silence.
“Yaichi ……”
“Yes ……?”
“Do you think ……………… he was speaking to me …… just now ……?”
“P- …… Probably ……”
“I’m shocked ………… My heart’s still racing ……”
Burning up.
My whole body feels like it’s on fire.
Each thundering beat of my heart is circulating fire through my veins. I can feel it.
The intense heat in my blood burns away the grip fear had over me …… And reawakens a different emotion deep inside.
That being–––.
My fighting spirit.
“…… The Meijin is so cool. I think I’m in love.”
“Wh-What you think you’re saying, Big Sis?! He’s married!!”
“A bold announcement in front of the country like that is much more appealing, don’t you think?”
“Th-That just shows what a nice guy I am, considering what my apprentice might think ……”
“I can’t be with some lolicon who prioritizes little girls over me.”
I stick out my tongue and stand up.
Who could stay sitting down at a time like this?
I want to get going, now.
Because …… a Shogi god is waiting for me!
“Let’s go home, Yaichi.”
I extend my hand to him as he looks back at me.
Home … to where we first met.
Home … to the place where we grew up.
“To our battlefield.”
I was a fool for trying to find a place to die.
What in the world gave me the impression that I had to look in the first place?
The place where I will die was determined long ago.
Shogi players live and die in the same place.
The only place there is for us: in front of a Shogi board.
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