Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 12 - Chapter 4

  EVENING SESSION

“Sensei, your tie is all crooked.”

“It is?! O-Oh …… Sorry about that.”

Quickly grabbing at my collar, I apologize to a girl eight years younger than me.

The girl who gave me this necktie as a gift–––the dressed-up Ai Yashajin–––is furious with me.

The angrier she is, the prettier she gets.

Getting overwhelmed by my apprentice, I try to explain myself.

“Ties need to be broken in, and it’s the first time I’ve worn this one …… It’s good quality fabric, but that makes it slip and slide around. Judging the length is also really hard to do, and with all these nice clothes, it–––.”

“Just let me fix it for you already! Lean in closer.”

“…… Sorry. I really do like the present, though.”

Back on the day of summer festival, just before going home…

Ai Yashajin gave me a really expensive necktie.

“For your birthday, and to say congratulations on getting to the title match. But don’t go getting the wrong idea. My sensei looking like a slob in front of everyone would be more humiliating than I can stand.”

Never in a million years did I think Ai would give me a present. Not only that, it’s something I can use for a long time. So I was surprised by the gesture, and also by how grateful I was.

“Thank you so much! I have to wear kimono for the title matches, so I’ll wear it at the opening night party.”

“I couldn’t care less. This tie isn’t for that night anyway.”

“Huh? Then …… what is it for?”

“My next lesson will be at a place with the dress code. That’s what the tie is for.”

“D-Dress code?”

“Be sure to wear a matching suit.”

…… And, well, here we are.

Dressed in my best suit, I just spent two hours instructing Ai on a terrace with an ocean view. Now, the two of us are on our way to dinner someplace else in the same building.

It’s in the hallway that I get scolded for the crooked tie.

In the end, Ai gives up on fixing it and just reties the whole thing like she’s done it hundreds of times.

“That suit isn’t half bad. When do you wear it? I’ve never seen you wear this one to any of your matches.”

“Sitting on ankles can really be hard on suit pants. They wear out pretty quick. That’s why I never wear expensive suits to matches.”

Either I buy a bunch of suit pants that match one jacket or get suits that are so cheap I don’t care if the pants get ruined.

“Okay then, when?”

“For events where I don’t play Shogi. Someone else’s anointing ceremony, stuff like that. Oh, and I wore it when I made my 4-dan debut announcement. I became a pro in this suit.”

“Is that right ……? It must be very important to you.”

“Yeah. Big Sis picked it out for me.”

“So that’s why it looks horrible on you.”

“Dah?! H-Hey, Ai! That’s too tight, too tight ……!”

My apprentice’s fist is suddenly very close to my neck. Practically strangling me with my own necktie, she ignores my helpless plea.

“There. All done.”

“…… Thanks.”

Even though my life flashed before my eyes for a second, the knot is absolutely perfect.

“A grade schooler who can do neckties? I’m impressed! Why do you know how?”

“Because Akira can never tie hers the right way.”

“Makes sense.”

Her bodyguard Ms. Akira Ikeda isn’t with her today. I guess she’s just on pickup and drop off duty.

“Mr. Kuzuryu. Miss Yashajin. Your table is ready.”

A staff member greets us so naturally from inside the restaurant door that it’s almost as if he had been waiting for us to finish our conversation.

As for what happens after that–––.

“Sensei. Going in by yourself, are you?” says Ai with one cocked eyebrow. “Offer to be my escort at the very least. Are you trying to embarrass me?”

“O-Oh …… Sorry. Here.”

“That’s better.”

I extend my elbow and Ai puts her arm through it with a very satisfied grin on her face.

She’s still ten, but every bold step she takes makes her look like she’s more grown up than me. It’s like she grew up overnight …………… Hm? Whaaa?

“Ai? Are you, taller?”

“They’re called high heels, idiot.”

Dressed in a simple yet elegant black dress, Ai sparkles like a fairy gliding through the night.

And so, we arrive at a very familiar place.

San Angelic Kobe.

This is the wedding chapel with a view of the city where Ai played in the third Queen Title Match last season.

It goes without saying that the tatami flooring that covered the observation deck that day isn’t here anymore. Lots of bouquets and tables covered with food are here instead. This is probably what it normally looks like.

Led to a window seat overlooking the night skyline, Ai and I start by having a nonalcoholic toast.

“Happy birthday, Sensei.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to go out and have a nice evening to celebrate.”

“You’re welcome. You can show your gratitude by making me the apprentice of a Dual Title Shogi player.”

“Say what?! I-I can’t make any promises, you know?”

“He-he …… Then I’ll have to find a different way for you to thank me.”

Waves of mouthwatering food start coming out of the kitchen.

Now, for the all-important flavor–––.

“Delicious ………… But everything’s so formal I can barely taste it ……”

“After all the title matches you have played in, you should be used to restaurants with a dress code by now.”

“Eating at a place like this for work is totally different from doing it on my own time. Plus, it’s only players and association people at opening night parties and formal events, so I don’t feel like a fish out of water ……”

While not that many, there are customers here besides us.

This is …… a wedding reception hall, isn’t it?

“This wedding chapel is open as a regular restaurant on weekdays or when they aren’t booked for a wedding.”

“Really? Well, I suppose it makes sense.”

Having high-quality chefs and pâtissier standing around with nothing to do would be a waste, wouldn’t it?

“The restaurant invites couples who got married here to come back on their anniversaries. I received an invitation as well–––.”

“But didn’t have someone to go with because you’re not married… which is why I’m here, right?”

“Refusing the staff’s kind gesture wouldn’t have been right, so I asked them if we could use a space for Shogi practice …… After all, I feel that accepting their kindness, at the very least, is my duty as a title match challenger.”

“I agree.”

Ai is already the face of the Women’s League, and she pretty much represents the Shogi world in Kobe. People expect her to act the part.

Now that I think about it ……

There was one other player: yes, the title holder, Big Sis.

If they sent an invitation to Ai Yashajin, it only makes sense that they sent one to Big Sis as well.

But she hasn’t said a word.

Of course, she might’ve outright ignored it because she needs to focus on the 3-dan division. It would be just like her.

But …… what if she invited someone else?

Even though I know she wouldn’t, thinking about Big Sis accessorizing herself to go out for a fancy dinner with someone other than me …… jealousy more intense than I’ve ever felt before blasts through my veins.

Wait, wait! She wouldn’t! Ginko would never do that ……

But …………………… Ngh, being out of touch is so nerve-wracking ……

“Why don’t I say exactly what you’re thinking?”

Ai’s voice suddenly snaps me out of all the painful scenarios playing in my head.

“Of course, an invitation went to Ginko Sora as well. Did she not invite you?” she teases. 

I say as convincingly as I can, “Big Sis told me she won’t be speaking with me because she wants to concentrate on the 3-dan division.”

“Is that so?”

Ai grins at me like a cat tormenting a mouse …… Dang. Why’s she got to snack on her Master’s love life ……?

No one says anything for a bit after that. It’s just the clinking of knives as we eat our steak in silence.

That is, until she suddenly says, “Are you dating Ginko Sora?”

“PWFFF!!”

Nearly choked to death.

Cough! Cough ………… “Wh-Where did that come from?!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“W-We aren’t dating ………… yet ……”

“Yet? As in: there is a future possibility?”

“S-Sure, it’s possible. Anything is possible if you think about it.”

“…………”

Ai looks down at her plate as if thinking about something very hard.

“…… You’re right. Anything is possible.”

Finished with her main course, Ai sets down her knife and fork.

“Anyway, there’s something I would like to ask you.”

“That’s fine, as long as it’s a question I can answer.”

I’ve had enough of ambushes like that last one to last a lifetime.

Our plates get cleared off as the waiter brings out dessert and coffee. Ai poses her question once the staff has cleared out.

“Have you ever wished …… you were born a little sooner?”

Well, that was expected. Coming from Ai Yashajin, it’s downright strange.

“A generational debate? Have you lost confidence or something?”

“That Meijin having 100 consecutive title seasons means he simultaneously crushed the chances of 100 other people having those titles.”

Ai ignores my casual ribbing and keeps going.

“100 people could have been happy …… Include their friends and family members, and that demon deprived thousands of people of happiness. He got the Citizens Award for that? Laughable. The people of this country need to wake up!”

After trashing the god without a second thought, Ai digs into her dessert without a trace of remorse.

Good grief ……

Well, I suppose she can’t help it. I raised her that way because I know that kind of unapologetic boldness is what makes her strong, and at the end of the day, I like that trait.

After a sip of coffee to calm down a bit, I answer my apprentice’s question.

“While there’s some room for debate as to when the Meijin will have all the titles, personally, I’m glad I became a pro when he is in his prime.”

“Even if you could have had an easier time winning titles without him in the way?”

“Yes, because the Shogi wouldn’t have been nearly as complete as it would be if I hadn’t played against the Meijin. I’d rather be remembered for the quality of my matches than just as a name in history books.”

“Even being recorded as the loser for the rest of time?”

“I-I’m not sure about that yet, but …… I have a winning record against the Meijin, so ……”

“This isn’t just about the Meijin. Wouldn’t it be so much simpler to sit at a board in an era when software wasn’t stronger than us? We wouldn’t question our value as professionals.”

“Actually, I don’t think it makes much difference at all. There’s always been someone better than you out there. That’s just the way things are.”

“Hmph …… Okay, next question.”

“Shoot.”

“Say there’s something that somebody else treasures and there’s only one of them in the world. Would you take it for yourself? Or would you give up on it?”

“That’s pretty abstract.”

“The hardest questions typically are.”

Ai goes back to her dessert after asking her latest question. It’s almost like she’s giving me a turn in a title match …… Hm? A title match?

Oh …… That’s what she’s getting at.

The Mynavi Preliminaries have wrapped up this year, so the Finals to determine the Queen Challenger should start up soon.

As last year’s challenger, Ai already has a place in the Finals and of course she wants to keep that position two years in a row.

She may have lost three straight matches, but Ai forced the strongest Queen in history to resort to a repetition draw on offense, which makes her a head above the rest of the Women’s Shogi world as its second strongest.

That’s pretty similar to my relationship with the Meijin.

How does a challenger, armed with youth, take on the undisputed and overwhelmingly strong overlord? Her naivety was her downfall in the last three-match series, so how does she prepare to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

That explains why she was asking about me and Big Sis …… Maybe I’m overthinking it.

“It’s true that it hurts, taking what’s important to someone else. Even I felt sorry for my opponent when I put him in check back when I was about to take the Ryuo Title.”

After seeing his family’s faces at the opening night party, those moments are bound to happen.

Actually, they’ve been happening since I was a kid.

Playing against someone who was going to get yelled at by their parents if they lost. The finals of the Elementary Meijin Tournament. My Sub League Entrance Exam.

Whenever someone cried after losing to me.

And, the worst of all …… the 3-dan division.

There are many people who choose to give rather than take away, like Akashi-sensei.

But, people like Ai and myself can’t live that way. The same goes for Big Sis.

…Because Shogi is all we have.

In that case–––.

“You can’t think about that in the middle of a match. If something is that important to you, any hesitation shows that your heart isn’t strong enough to take it.”

“You would allow that?”

“Allow it? Yeah. If there’s only one in the world and you want it more than anyone else, there’s no choice but to take it. Isn’t it obvious?”

Defeat gives you nothing. There’s only one winner in the end. Second place was just the last one to lose. That’s what it means to compete.

–––Is this …… Ai’s way of cheering me on?

The thought crosses my mind. I mean, the more we talk about this, the more I want to take that title for myself. 

“There’s no need to hold back. It only puts you at a disadvantage in the world of competition. Just focus on winning because that’s all that matters.”

“Even if I have to use traps and ambushes?”

“That’s what you’re good at, isn’t it? I like that about you, your competitiveness.”

“Hm ……?”

The dark-haired Cinderella flashes a grin before pressing her dessert spoon up against my mouth.

“You better not regret those words.”