Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 12 - Chapter 2.1

  TALLYING STARS

“Good morning! I’m looking forward to our match!”

Faced with a greeting far too friendly for someone he was about to fight to the death, Sumito Sakanashi silently stared at the person across from him.

Shoji Karako 3-dan.

A man in his forties.

Sumito’s first opponent today returned to the Kansai Sub League after a previous stint via the Admission Exam.

Shoji wasted no time getting comfortable in the lower seat and offered the upper seat to his 25-year-old opponent with a beckoning smile.

“Please, take the upper seat, Sakanashi-senpai.”

“No, I couldn’t–––.”

“Nonsense! I’ve been gone, so don’t worry about it. Please, I insist!”

Energetic and friendly opponents. The hypocritical courtesy of offering the upper seat back and forth. As both were unique to Kansai; a Kanto native like himself was at a loss.

“Then …… I accept.”

Sumito acquiesced to all his opponent’s requests as a means of avoiding the trivial pre-match rituals that came with them. 

–––I may have refused, if I were still in position to promote ……

For he had already accrued four losses. A dead man walking.

On the other hand, Shoji was at the top of the division right alongside Hiuma Kagamizu.

Sumito had also heard much about him from other players in Kanto who had already faced him.

Shogi so solid it feels like he’s playing with six Golds and Silvers.

His playing style revolved around inundating his own territory with pieces; a very Kansai-esque way of playing that focused on not losing rather than going for the win.

–––Karako Theory …… To think I would one day sit across the board from its originator in the Sub League.

Even amateurs will have match records should they become top-class players. Sumito had identified Shoji Karako as a viable threat before this season of the 3-dan division began and set about researching his match records to develop a counter strategy.

–––I sure am glad I researched him before the season started ……Sumito thought to himself with a grimace as he unleashed his prepared sequence in the early-game. 

Had he attempted to do this research after his four consecutive losses to start the season, he doubted he would have had the energy or motivation to complete it. Not to mention he would’ve prioritized studying and practicing for driving school.

His strategy bore fruit right away as Sumito took control of the pace of the match.

––– However, this is where things will get complicated.

After crossing his legs to sit and think for several long minutes, Sumito corrected his posture by sitting on his ankles and braced himself for what would no doubt be a heavily contested late game.

Dead man walking or not, Sub League members fight with every ounce of their being from the moment they sit at a Shogi board.

Sumito was the living personification of that pride. Drawing from it, he braced himself for Shoji’s next move–––.

“Yep. I lost this one.”

“Huh?”

Sumito couldn’t contain his surprise.

Shoji’s next move …… was to raise the white flag.

It was stunningly early and anticlimactic. The other matches taking place around them were still in the mid-game. Sumito had purposefully preserved waiting time so as not to be overtaken in the late-game ……

“I can see why you’re ranked number one! Way too strong for me, that’s for sure!” Shoji said, opening his fan as he marveled at Sumito’s Shogi skill. “Yeah, I lost through and through. Your early-game strategy countered mine perfectly and you never let up all the way to the end. I don’t see the point in doing a review session. Let’s call it good here.”

“S-Sure ……”

“Which reminds me, Sakanashi-senpai. Your next match is against Kagamizu, right? Best of luck to you!”

Overwhelmed by his opponent’s grace in defeat, Sumito was unsure what to make of it as he left the arena. Though it’s true that he was elated because the strategy he spent so much time to develop had worked so well against such a strong opponent.

Furthermore, the match ended early enough that he would be able to buy the extremely popular fried chicken lunch set today rather than having to settle for leftovers as he usually did.

The second match, however, became a hard-fought battle. There was no comparison to the first.

“………………… I’ve lost.”

After a flurry of lead changes, the one to make the last mistake–––was Hiuma Kagamizu.

“Th- …… Thank… you …………”

Sumito lowered his head as he fought to catch his breath. He had become so exhausted that he couldn’t sit back up for several moments.

Though both players beamed with pride in the knowledge that a spectacular match record will stay in their memories forever ……

“See, I knew you’re strong, Sakanashi ……,” said Hiuma with a look of painful acceptance in his eyes.

“No …… This match came down to stamina. Your first match today had a repetition draw, yes? Playing another match on the spot meant you had no time for lunch.”

“True. No one is about to give the front-runner an easy win …… Whew, today’s Shogi took a lot out of me ……” Hiuma leans back, staring at the ceiling as the words, “I’m beat ……,” weakly rolled off his tongue. “I can count the number of weeks I’ve been on top of the division over the past few years on one hand. Who knew staying there for nearly six months took this much energy ……?”

“Hah. I was in the same position last year. Since I lost my chance to promote so early on this season, I’ve experienced far less fatigue than–––.”

Sumito suddenly fell silent in mid-sentence as a chill ran down his spine.

“………… Fatigue?”

He caught a glimpse of a match still in progress out of the corner of his eye.

There he saw Shoji Karako, battling with a demonic ferocity that had been absent during their match earlier that day.

His opponent was a small child who looked extremely out of place.

And, that grown man in his forties howled at the child, “YeeeeSSSSAAAHHHH!! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT–––?!!!”

SNAAAAA–––P!!!

Shoji yelled at the top of his lungs as he brought the piece down onto the board with both hands like a lumberjack swinging an ax. The boy sitting across from him merely trembled, his shoulders jumping on impact.

As if he were being scolded. Then–––.

“………… I lose ……”

In a tiny voice seemingly on the verge of tears, Sota Kunugi conceded defeat.

Murmurs passed among the 3-dan players who had been observing the match not a heartbeat later.

“Kunugi lost ……!”

“Karako’s given the prodigy a second black star!”

“Holdin’ out that long usin’ Normal 3rd File Rook and turnin’ the tables at the very end …… That was some impressive Shogi ……”

The child prodigy who had been sailing through the 3-dan division without a single loss until the previous regular activities day had just lost to a man who was once forced to retire due to age restrictions.

Nothing tastes sweeter than the misfortune of others. Especially so when that other happens to be a prodigy.

Elimination is at the core of the Sub League, no matter how anyone may try to say otherwise.

A system designed to prevent an oversaturation of professional Shogi players, it tends to spoil promising talents and pluck them off one by one …… Or so Sumito had found himself thinking from time to time.

The very atmosphere within the Shogi world seemed to be chanting: Lose Kunugi, lose.

Sub League members and even some professionals were thinking it …… though none would say so out loud.

–––Maybe it’s because I’ve given up on promoting, but am I the only one who doesn’t mind if Kunugi becomes a professional?

In fact, he was hoping for a chance to see Sota Kunugi’s overwhelming talent destroy the modern Shogi world from the inside.

“Here, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Huh?”

Amid all the swirling energy within the Onjyoudan no Ma Arena, only Hiuma Kagamizu was wholeheartedly concentrating on their own board.

“This move, right here. I wanted to protect that space until the very end, but this is where my formation cracked.”

“O-Oh …… I agree. So, if you had done this instead–––.”

Sumito hastily returned his focus to the review session.

Despite their efforts to continue, however, the rest of the 3-dans’ conversations showed no signs of slowing down.

“What will happen to the standings?”

“Mr. Kagamizu will still be on top, but …… Now that both front-runners each dropped a match–––.”

“It all comes down to ranking: Kagamizu, Karako, then Kunugi.”

“So, Mr. Kagamizu and Mr. Karako will promote as it is now. After all, he beat Kunugi head-to-head, so he’s got the tiebreaker.”

“That geezer’s pretty tough, don’t you think?”

“There’s a good chance Kunugi just wasn’t that good to begin with.”

“I thought he’d be stronger than that. Still, people with three losses now have a chance–––.”

The not-so-quiet whispers between the Sub League members only served to splash poison onto Sota’s wounds, still fresh from defeat.

Then Shoji’s loud voice broke through the din.

“Haaah! I thought I was done for after Sakanashi-senpai tore me apart this morning, but it worked out for the best! Winning became all that mattered, and I gave it my all! Just goes to show that even a regular guy like me can beat a prodigy if they go all in to win! That’s the Sub League for you, you’ve got to put it all on the line to win the match in front of you!! Forget that, and you’re toast.”

The players watching from the side nod in agreement.

“…… Put it all on the line …… to win the match in front of you ……?”

In that moment, everything that had transpired that day clicked into place for Sumito.

–––What would have happened if Mr. Karako and I …… had fought to the last during our match?

Even if he had defeated Shoji in the end, winning against Sota in such a fatigued state would have likely been impossible. The match would come down to stamina.

Sumito also knew he would have lost to Hiuma had he fought while physically and mentally drained. After all, Hiuma’s drawn-out first match is what gave him the ability to win in the end.

As a result …… Shoji managed to get through consecutive matches against the top two players, Sumito Sakanashi and the child prodigy Sota Kunugi, with an even one-and-one split while simultaneously handing his front-running rival a loss.

The conclusion was forgone.

“Shoji Karako threw the match against Sumito Sakanashi.”

Lose in a tournament, and that player is eliminated on the spot.

League matches, however, are based on a victory star tally.

Shoji gave both Hiuma and Sota black stars in exchange for taking one himself. He understood losing would put him in a better position in the long run.

–––Meanwhile, I was congratulating myself like a complete doofus …… and kicked dirt in the face of the man who brought me back from my darkest days!

His own obliviousness irritated him to no end.

However, a different emotion held stronger within Sumito’s heart.

Giving the exhausted Hiuma his complete attention as the Sub League veteran conducted a thorough review session, Sumito spat words under his breath so quietly that no one else could hear.

“Play fair and square, and you will never promote …… We’re too naïve. Me, and Mr. Kagamizu both ……”