Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 12 - Chapter 5.6

  ONLY VICTORY

“Cough! Haaack ………… Ngh! Gahhh ……”

Once he saw Ginko deploy a Silver in her own territory, Hiuma Kagamizu raced into the men’s room and clung to the toilet bowl. Dry heaves wouldn’t stop coming.

His entire body shook to the point where simply sitting upright on the floor was a challenge, let alone holding a Shogi piece between his fingers.

This had happened to him several times before when he knew victory was in his grasp, but …… never to this extent.

“………… Haaa …… Haaa …… Haaa ………… Paaaant––––––…………”

The formations indicated Hiuma had a commanding lead. What’s more, it was now his turn to go on the offensive. All he needed to do was push forward ……

–––And I’ll win.

Yes. Force my way to victory! Then, I’ll promote! I will be a professional!!

The problem was his body seemed to reject those prospects on a molecular level. As bad as his hands were shaking, playing Shogi was physically impossible.

“Whew ………… It’s almost like I’ve got loser ingrained in my DNA ……”

His time in the Sub League spanned nearly 20 years.

Now, after spending more than half of his life as a member of the Sub League, today would be his last.

––– Win or lose …… Or lose?

“………… What would happen if I lost ……?”

There would still be a chance for him to promote.

That possibility would decrease a bit if Sota won his match. But with a bonus point in his back pocket, he could still advance to 4-dan depending on the results of other matches.

–––I’d promote outright if Sota loses. If he loses …… I can, too ……

If both of them lost, then breaking the promise they shared wouldn’t be his fault.

“Okay. Maybe I can lose ……”

No sooner were those words out of his mouth than his trembling hands finally held still.

Then, just when he was feeling well enough to leave the stall–––he heard footsteps enter the restroom.

“The kid I’m playing is up for promotion, apparently. You know, that grade schooler.”

–––Sota’s opponent?

If it were true, they didn’t seem anxious at all. Hiuma held his breath and pressed his ear to the stall door.

“Ah, yeah. The Kansai boy wonder.”

“Seriously, I can’t catch a break. You know what? I’ll throw in the towel.”

“I don’t see a problem with that. We’ve both won enough to get in next season anyway.”

“You’re right. Winning won’t change anything.”

“Exactly. Strong players should promote on out. Next season, we got this!”

The two cackle with laughter. Finishing up, they leave the restroom.

Hiuma didn’t recognize either of the young voices. Most likely, they were high school-aged Kanto 3-dans …… Young players who never doubted they’d promote eventually even if this season didn’t go their way.

Anger didn’t come.

Instead, regret that he had once felt that way seeped into Hiuma’s heart and soul.

Next came the pitiful realization that he was still weak enough to think it’s okay to lose, even now.

Wishing, even for a moment, that Sota would lose made him feel vile to the point that he wanted to kill himself for it.

“………… There’s only victory. I knew that going in, didn’t I?”

Yes. He knew from day one.

…Knew that there wasn’t a single match in the 3-dan division where losing was acceptable.

His pathetic nerves made his body start trembling again, but …… Hiuma couldn’t have cared less.

“Let’s do this!!”

Kicking the door open with enough force to nearly knock it off its hinges, Hiuma marched out of the bathroom stall.

He ran cold water over his trembling fingers and then splashed his face, washing it repeatedly as if trying to wipe away the shame of defeat.

Then he looked at the loser in the mirror and howled as loud as his trembling voice could muster.

“Beat me, huh …… Not if I kill you first!!”