Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 12 - Chapter 5.4

  PRODIGY

Beeeeeeeep!! The high-pitched electrical tone brought Sota back into the moment.

“Ah …………?!” 

His King was in check.

Advancing his King to the third row had given Hiuma the opening he needed to deploy a Rook two spaces behind it.

–––If I don’t deploy something to block this check …… I’m dead!

Sota’s right hand was still on his piece stand. Snatching a Pawn, he deployed it directly between his King and the Rook.

That move was pure instinct.

A primal instinct to survive, like an animal fighting to stave off a predator.

“Yes, Sota! Keep playing!”

Hiuma shifted the Rook he deployed one space to the side, promoting it into a Dragon with a casual flick of his wrist.

Two minutes. That was all the waiting time Sota had remaining. Hiuma, by comparison, still had eleven minutes. However, the older player played at a breakneck speed so as not to give Sota any time to think.

“Come on, attack! You’re not going to let it end like this, are you?!”

Hiuma fans the flames as he initiates a check path. Sota hastily grabs a Rook from his piece stand and deploys it in the same file as his opponent’s King to put him in check. It looked like a move to delay the inevitable, but–––.

Hiuma suddenly froze like a statue.

Taking a few moments to think, he grinned at Sota from across the board.

“Block with a Gold and it’s instant death for me ………… I can never get complacent with you, can I, kid?!”

“…………”

Sota’s mind was already deep in the board. His wide, round eyes were tracing sequences every which way so quickly that Hiuma’s words didn’t register.

As shocking as that was, Hiuma was surprisingly happy to see the boy like that.

“Are you ready for this?!”

Newfound energy pulsed through his veins as Hiuma deployed a Knight to block.

Though it appeared to be a simple stopgap, it served an offensive purpose as well.

“Mr. Kagamizu deployed a Knight? Shouldn’t he be more aggressive ……?”

“Yeah. Now Sota can get a check path with his own Knight at 5 Six.”

Sub League members who had finished their own matches whispered among themselves as they watched this one unfold. However, they were wrong.

Should the boy elect to trigger that check path, it would inadvertently block his own Rook and cause a chain reaction that would result in Sota getting checkmated instead. A truly terrifying backlash.

Both had their backs to the cliff, being one move away from certain death as they traded blows.

However, it was Hiuma’s remaining waiting time that made the difference. Knowing he had that extra leeway steadied his hand. Sota may be sitting on the other side of the board, but even a prodigy of his caliber would struggle to catch up after falling this far behind.

–––I’ve won!!

Hiuma was certain of it.

The exultation and anxiety of his position made him tremble from head to toe. Rivers of cold sweat poured down his spine.

–––I will be a professional! It’s finally happening!!

Just as it clicked, he saw.

Reach …… Snap.

Sota shifted a Silver diagonally backwards as if giving it to the Dragon on a platter.

“?! What’s this ……?”

This unexpected move shook Hiuma to his very core.

A 6 Two Silver self-sacrifice.

Should he take the head being offered ……? Or was this a poison apple that would kill him on the spot?

–––There’s no time! I can’t read all the way to the end ……

Reading every sequence to completion is impossible in a match.

Players must make difficult choices in those situations: believe in their gut instinct or wait for a better opportunity. Hiuma had always tended to play something other than his first impulse.

–––…… That’s how I’ve won so many matches.

Doing so had allowed him to extend his time in the Sub League and prolong his life.

However, he couldn’t help but feel that winning that way had made him weaker in the long run.

–––And that’s why I’m still here ……

He was on the verge of turning thirty. A winning record couldn’t save his life anymore. Thinking back, he realized he had never been able to push beyond mediocrity.

In that case …… there was only one choice in this match that could determine his professional fate!

“I’ll believe in myself,” said Hiuma with conviction as he took the Silver. After all, he thought he already had the match won and he’d made a promise to himself.

The next heartbeat–––.

“……………”

Sota let his head hang limp as his right hand froze in the air, which was striking because he had been playing moves instantaneously up to that point.

–––Ahhh …… Should’ve figured.

The doubts Hiuma had suddenly felt were more real after seeing Sota’s reaction. 

The onlookers were certain the match already belong to Hiuma.

“Why doesn’t that kid throw in the towel?”

“Can you blame him? Lose now and any hope he had to promote is gone, and Mr. Kagamizu will promote right in front of him.”

“But, it’s over ……”

“Maybe he’s hoping that Mr. Kagamizu will make a mistake now that he doesn’t have any waiting time left? If he is, he should hurry up and make a move.”

Hiuma Kagamizu had an indisputable, overwhelming lead.

The formations on the board and the players’ body language said it all. Hiuma was sitting up straight with his chest swollen with pride while Sota stared into his lap without budging.

“………………”

The onlookers started chiding Sota and still he didn’t move. Looking away from the board, one simple minute felt like a never-ending eternity.

It was Hiuma who broke the ice.

“Play it, Sota.”

His voice was oddly kind under the circumstances.

“You found a checkmate, didn’t you? Play it.”

“Huh?!”

The other Sub League members couldn’t believe their ears.

Sota finally raised his head.

“B-But ………… if I do, then you …… then you …………!” 

“Don’t patronize me!”

Sota flinched in surprise as the man who would soon turn thirty gave him a stern lecture.

“Do you think I’d be happy getting promoted knowing that you let me? Do you seriously believe that you’ll have another shot if you let me win today?”

Each word was sharper than the last, almost like he was reprimanding the boy.

“The world isn’t that nice! If anyone could still promote after making a mockery of the sport of Shogi, I would’ve become a professional years ago! Now, play it!!”

“……………”

Fingers trembling, Sota slowly reached out over the board and put Hiuma’s King in check.

It wasn’t because he lacked confidence.

Precisely the opposite …… He was hesitating, unsure if he should play his next move. Moving a Dragon to 6 Eight.

Then, once he pulled his hand away, the onlookers finally understood.

“Agh?!!” 

Single move instant death.

The moment Hiuma had taken that Silver–––his demise became inevitable 19 moves later.

It was a twist of fate that went beyond human influence and into the realm of the divine.

“He …… is …… a prodigy …………!!” 

The prodigy had returned.

The boy had tasted fear and then overcome it.

The gears in his mind that wouldn’t interlock had finally clicked into place, closer than ever before.

“H-How ……? That checkmate is so clean, it’s like he wrote it out ……”

“…………………… Nobody stands a chance against that ……”

The onlookers who had been criticizing Sota not two minutes ago were suddenly falling into the pits of despair.

The opposing King firmly in his grasp, the prodigy didn’t gloat or even celebrate his victory. He simply squeezed his knees with all his might.

Hiuma studied the formation for as long as his remaining waiting time would allow.

“…………… Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

After a quick nod of acceptance, Hiuma lowered his head in a bow and acknowledged his defeat. A heavy, heavy defeat.

“I lost. I always knew you were a prodigy.”

“…………”

Sota didn’t thank him for the compliment.

Instead–––he went with a question.

“Why ……?”

The words on the tip of his tongue had nothing to do with the Shogi that had just taken place.

But an ongoing quandary that Sota had carried with him since the day the two first met.

“Why did you bother talking with me? Why did you play all those matches with me? Why ……?”

It was a question that he always wanted to ask.

“Why are you ………… so nice to me …………?” 

A prodigy who kept his distance from others.

The first one to ever initiate a conversation with him was Hiuma Kagamizu.

“I’ve been wondering that myself. I don’t know how many times I saw you sitting alone in the back corner of the Player’s Room and thought, I don’t need to go out of my way to say hello. The slower he grows, the better.”

Reminiscing, Hiuma opens up about what he was thinking back then.

“But I sat down across from you and, next thing I knew, we had already started playing. It was the same with Yaichi, Ginko and even Sumito. Why is it that I keep making my rivals stronger?”

“But …… why–––?”

“Because that’s who I am,” said Hiuma, sounding as if he had come to terms with it.

…Come to terms with all the indecision and pain that come with making a mistake at the last possible moment and rising above it all.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to become a professional my way. So this is all right.”

“………… I’m sorry ………… I’m sorry …………”

Sota managed to fit a few words between sniffles but could only repeat himself.

For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why he was crying. He was a prodigy but still didn’t know ……

“Hey, don’t apologize. I still control my own destiny, remember?”

“That’s ………… right. You do …………”

Hiuma looked over at the closest Kansai 3-dan and asked, “How did Shoji and Ginko’s match turn out?”

“…… Sora won.”

“I see. So, it all comes down to this.”

Hiuma, Ginko and Sota were all even at fourteen wins and three losses each. The three of them were the only ones with only three losses.

Hiuma was still on top thanks to his ranking, but there was someone ranked above him sitting at thirteen wins and four losses. Therefore, it was possible he would not promote at all if he lost the upcoming final match.

However–––.

“If I win my next match against Ginko and you win yours, Sota, we’ll finish the season as the top two.”

Hiuma would have no complaints about promoting with a 15-3 record.

Both he and Sota were in control of their own fate. Just win. It was that simple.

“Think of the headlines if the oldest and youngest players in the Sub League promoted at the same time! Let’s do this together!”

“………………”

Sniffle. Sota wiped away the tears with the back of his hand before finally looking up with a smile.

“………… I think the media would be more excited about Ginko and I promoting, though.”

“You’re a cheeky one, you know that?”

Hiuma reached across the board and ruffled Sota’s hair.

“More importantly though, you’ll be interviewed after the match so clean up your face. Don’t let yourself be photographed leaking snot and tears. Do you need a tissue? Also, keep the cheeky remarks to yourself once you’re a professional. They’ll come at you with everything they have even without that extra motivation. Understand?”

“…… You noticed, didn’t you ……? You really are a nice person, Mr. Kagamizu ……”

“One more thing. Would you try and fix that habit of clicking pieces together on your piece stand? Talking that much during the match is also bad manners. Oh, and–––.”

“Okay, okay! Enough already!”

Sota pushed Hiuma’s hand off his head, annoyed.

“We are promoting together, no matter what!! You and I are becoming pros today!! That’s a promise!!”

“Yeah. I promise,” said Hiuma with a mischievous grin as he held out his pinky finger.

The oldest and youngest Sub League members strengthen their friendship with a pinky swear over the board.