Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 12 - Chapter SS

REVIEW SESSION

“She went and did it. Ginko Sora 4-dan, on the scene.”

“Word has reached me. Quite big news, is it not?”

Sitting on my motorcycle outside the association (in the staff area, got a problem?), I chat with Machi over the phone and watch all the chaos outside the building.

“Sendagaya’s in a frenzy. With all these rubberneckers out here, I’m gonna be boxed in here real quick.”

“All those narrow streets filled to bursting? What a great picture that would be ……”

“Oh, and it sounds like my big brother apprentice got the go-ahead, too.”

“Mr. Sakanashi?! Huh? The one who lost four matches right out of the gate was promoted?”

“Yeah …… I heard he’d started drivin’ school to get a license after trippin’ up so bad. Probably gave up on it, ya know? Won ’cause he wasn’t thinking about winning ……”

Fourteen wins is usually the finish line for promotion, but there were so many monsters in there this season. With the likes of Ginko and Kunugi grabbing the headlines, most people probably forgot he was even in the division.

“The way he drifted out the front door, I was sure he’d gotten the axe. I let him be ’cause it would’ve been hella awkward, but Kanji-sensei tore after him.”

“Even with that husky frame of his?”

“Yeah. Getting the two bonus points netted him a freelance gig. Think Master’s bawling his eyes out right now?”

“Sigh …… The longest shot to a success story that there’s been in years …… I shall be making a note to interview him… with you there as well, O-Ryou.”

“Hey, we ain’t buddy-buddy, you know? He gave me a ton of crap for joining the Sub League in the first place.”

My big brother apprentice, Sumito Sakanashi 3-dan …… Well, 4-dan, now.

He’s as tough on himself as he is with others, even gives girls a piece of his mind. He only did practice sessions with me ’cause Master made him. He didn’t even bat an eye when he told me flat-out, “I taught you that six months ago. Quit if you don’t care enough to remember.”

That wasn’t the final straw that broke my spirit for good, but …… I did quit the Sub League. Never got promoted either. Lost my way into demotion.

Didn’t get to settle the score with Ginko in the Sub League, not even close.

“…… Hey, Machi.”

“Hm?”

“You think Ginko is different? Or …… that I just didn’t try hard enough?”

“O-Ryou ……”

“I’ve never beaten her, not once, going way back. You don’t think there’s that much of a gap between her and us, do you? It’s just, I can’t see myself going pro. So, how’d she pull it off?”

“…… Giving up would relieve the burden, as it were.”

Talent can’t explain it away. After watching her and realizing that talent ain’t necessarily the be-all end-all in Shogi, I can’t just sit on the sidelines like this. I’ve got nothing against Ginko, but …… it’s just ……

“Well, if it isn’t the Lord Ryuo himself. Decked out with a mask and sunglasses, too.”

Going out incognito? No one gives a crap about you, Trash. Grade school pros are a thing now.

“I’ll pick up Trash and head back. You can’t keep puttin’ off your article, yeah?”

“O-Ryou.”

“Eh?”

“Mind traffic laws.”

Shut up. I don’t need you to tell me that. I snap inside my head and hang up the phone.

Trash leaves the association and sneaks his way toward the station, scanning his surroundings like a jittery prairie dog …… Man, he looks suspicious.

“Yooo! Over here.”

“Ryou?! You waited for me?!”

“Has the press conference wrapped up?”

“No, but Big Sis wasn’t up for it. She probably broke a few bones.”

“Wait, what?! How the heck does someone break bones playing Shogi?! They didn’t literally throw down, did they ……?”

“She broke them herself, by the sound of it. She said she felt like she was going to pass out and slammed her fist into her chest as hard as she could. There were some blood spots on her uniform, too. I just hope she didn’t puncture a lung or anything.”

“She’s nuts ………… No wonder that girl wins so much ……”

If you’re gonna slap something to wake up, thighs work just fine. But, hitting hard enough to crack ribs …… Even I’d have had second thoughts. Was she just that fired up?

“Well, shouldn’t you call an ambulance?”

“Nah, things are crazy enough right now. The staff is going to announce that she needs time to rest while they sneak her out the back.”

“You sure you don’t want to go with her?”

“The doctor that’s taken care of her for years happens to be a former member of the Sub League. He was worried about her and came up to Tokyo. Thanks to the livestream, he noticed something was off about her and came to the association. I was thinking I’d let him take care of her and head back to the hotel …… Even Big Sis told me to get going.”

“That right? Well, fine by me ……”

“Are you worried about her, too?”

“Hah ……! Yeah, right, idiot! Think what’ll happen if some news guy says, Girls can make it to the pros, but their bodies can’t take it? All of us will take flak! Who the hell would be worried about Ginko? You could kill her, but she won’t die. Now hop on.”

I toss him my spare helmet and rev the engine. 

Once he’s on, Trash tells me, “Ginko wanted me to give you a message.”

“Oh?”

“She said, I won my matches on the final day because I could rest in the Women’s League Player’s Room. You giving me permission on the first day is the reason I promoted.”

“……!!”

“I’ve been playing against Women’s League players ever since my first day at the Kansai Shogi Association, and I’m stronger for it. While I don’t know if I’ll ever be considered a Women’s League player, I wholeheartedly believe that my experience battling against its members made me who I am today. I’m truly grateful, thank you. …… There you have it.”

“………… Did Ginko seriously say that? Really?”

“Yes. Word for word.”

“………………”

“I’d like to thank you, too. Knowing that you were in Tokyo was so reassuring for me, you have no idea …… Ginko has always been so rude to you, too. You have my gratitude.”

I’m stunned.

I could never bring myself to openly thank Ginko no matter what she did for me.

That’s just the way competitors are. Gratitude for an opponent just doesn’t happen. Even if it did, we’d never say it out loud.

But …… if Ginko really, actually, seriously told Trash she’s grateful ……

Then she doesn’t see me as a–––.

“Huh? Hey …… R-Ryou? This isn’t the way we came, is it? Huh? Th-That’s the entrance to …… HUH?! WHY’RE YOU GETTING ON THE FREEWAY?!”

Trash can babble all he wants, but I’m putting the pedal to the metal.

“DAAAAAAAAMMIT AAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL TO HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL!!”

“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAA!!! I’M GONNA DIEEEEEEEEEEE!!”

That little stunt got me my license suspended later, but I had to ride.

It hurts.

Like hell I’m going to congratulate her. What she did is nothing special. Today’s nothing but humiliation for every member of the Women’s League. I’m hurting and jealous and I feel just so pathetic …… I cried like a baby under my helmet. Even knowing my big brother apprentice promoted just plunged the knife in deeper.

So I screamed it all out. I ride like the wind to vent.

Full throttle… until the engine burned out.

It hurts.

As long as it does, I know there’s hope I can get even stronger.

“…… I do apologize for the wait. May I ask you a few questions?”

Yo Okito-Dual Title’s face remains stoic as he watches me finish my phone call with Ryou Tsukiyomizaka and turn on my IC recorder.

“Was that call from the association?” he asks.

“Yes. Along with Ginko Sora 4-dan and Sota Kunugi 4-dan, Sumito Sakanashi 4-dan is also promoted.”

“Three?”

“Due to Mr. Sakanashi’s bonus points, yes.”

I thought Okito would follow up with a comment on the newly promoted players, but he doesn’t touch the subject.

Instead, he starts recounting his own experience in the Sub League.

“I have made a name for myself as a Bishop Exchange specialist since my days in the league. That research proved vital in my ascent through the 3-dan division. Though part of it was my own, I incorporated the research of others as well. While I was aware that doing so made me subject to criticism, that was a small price to pay for a competitive edge.”

Okito’s story has no correlation with today’s Shogi, but I didn’t stop him. Honestly, this was what I was hoping to hear.

“I was, as they say, the walled off type. I never revealed much during review sessions and kept my cards well-hidden at the few practice sessions I attended. That way, I had a larger hand at my disposal when the time came. I believed that the player with more cards in their hand would win the match in the end.”

“I am that type of player as well, so I can relate.”

“Except… the introduction of software changed everything.”

Okito breaks into an impassioned speech about the event that altered his life and the Shogi world at large.

“All the cards I kept hidden were laid bare. Worse, it showed the cards I had considered aces were nowhere near as valuable… all with a rating.”

Software rating.

Up until that point, players had used their own rating systems and gut instincts to assign numbers to piece formations. Differing appraisals of the same formation could alter the outcome of the match. In other words, unnumbered cards allowed players to bluff their way to victory the same way someone might play poker.

Once software was able to display formation values in precise detail, however, the cards’ numbers were suddenly set in stone.

Software also neatly informed people exactly what their newly discovered moves and strategies were worth.

As a result, people became aware of exactly how imprecise the battles they had conducted thus far truly were–––.

“…… That is surprising. I had always assumed that it was software’s performance in the late-game that had the most impact on you, Okito-sensei ……”

“The late-game is mathematics. As machines are designed to calculate, the late-game being their strong suit should come as no surprise. Especially not …… worth choosing death.”

A shocking confession. So much so, I forgot to breathe when I heard it.

While the story has been kept out of the public eye, this is most likely the first interview where the man himself has talked about it …… The real meaning behind today’s match for Okito comes across in those few words.

“…… You came to …… that decision because …… you lost your originality in the early game ……?”

“I thought there was no reason to stay alive if my being a professional Shogi player lost its value. Someone else was surely better suited for the position.”

What a genuinely pure point of view. Almost too pure, in a way.

“There are a finite number of professionals. My becoming one of them prevented others from doing so. Putting myself in their position, I had to take responsibility for losing my value as a professional, but I never could figure out another way to go about it.”

His journey to becoming a professional player was built on hiding his own research and stealing from others. Doing so made Okito a strong player, but it weighed heavily on his heart. The scars left from continuously stealing research from other players must have become too much. His attempted suicide wasn’t due to the bashing he took in the media …… it was because of a pure heart’s guilty conscience.

The 4-dan Promotions article Okito wrote comes to mind.

It was a beautiful, pristine piece of writing …… and yet somehow sad. Honestly, it’s one of the best Shogi articles I have ever read.

Which reminds me of another event.

On the day Okito promoted to 4-dan, he became the first professional to ever decline an invitation to the promotion ceremony.

“However death eluded me. So I decided that I had been reborn and I should find a different way to prove my worth.”

“Are you referring to your complete adoption of software?”

“The cards now had concrete value. In that case, I wanted to see how strong they would become with software in the early-game …… But there was a limit: a wall called talent.”

The method Okito created for overcoming that wall is yet another surprise.

“Using analytic methods developed for chess as a guide, I developed a database for match records and used software to rate them. My ultimate goal was to put a number on talent. The player whose records produced the highest results was–––.”

“…… The Meijin, perhaps?”

“In terms of speed, yes, the Meijin’s rating was higher than any other player.”

Okito agrees with the condition.

“The probability of making mistakes increases for the average player when forced to play quickly, but the Meijin’s probability remained constant. This is because he can see sequences without reading them. Of course, I found these results astounding.”

“…………”

“Then what about when more time is available? Though the sample size is still limited, there is one player who has won the majority of title matches against the Meijin.”

I say his name.

“Yaichi Kuzuryu.”

“The earliest existing record of his comes from the Elementary School Meijin Tournament, and signs of his talent were already present. You were there, were you not?”

“Yes. I remember it very well.”

How could I forget that life-changing moment?

“Software indicated that he had the ability to hold his own against the Meijin when playing fast …… and the talent to surpass the Meijin in matches with extended waiting time. I didn’t believe it at first, but I have no choice but to accept that high probability now that I have played against him myself. I believe my own defeat proves my talent rating system to be accurate and reliable.”

At this point, Okito addresses the one other person sitting with us in the room, the young man who worked as the match recorder.

“Mirai. You said something quite interesting during the match today.”

Mirai Futatsuzuka 4-dan. Some refer to him as The Translator.

He is a young player of 19 who fought against Kuzuryu in last season’s C-2 Placement Matches and received the full brunt of the 6 Five Knight, a move that revolutionized Bishop Exchange. His promotion to 4-dan was a full year and a half behind Kuzuryu.

“Can you blame me ……? That guy isn’t human.”

Even I heard him mumble that during the match.

Though I thought he was referring to Okito’s transformation away from flesh and blood into living software at the time–––.

“Your playing style follows the strongest sequences developed by software. Every player who uses software in my generation can see it, Okito-sensei.”

Futatsuzuka is a player whose admiration for Okito inspired him to incorporate software into his research. Refusing to take part in review sessions during his time in the Sub League, he only would work as a recorder for Okito’s matches. That’s why, despite being a professional now, he offered to work this title match in order to have the best view possible.

“But Kuzuryu is different. He used your research …… saw that you were setting a trap and turned it into his own. That’s obviously a sequence he came up with on the spot.”

“Is that because …… the Ryuo doesn’t take software ratings at face value? Is he questioning them–––?”

“Even I don’t trust every sequence software spits out. But that’s completely different from outperforming software in an actual match.”

“The Ryuo said he used the sealing move effectively. In his words, that unlimited waiting time allowed him to know exactly how safe his King was.”

“Yeah, that late-game was unbelievable. I should’ve figured he’d find a way to use the sealing move to his advantage.”

I agree. That 7 Seven Rook Promotion was a move worthy of legendary status. Out of all the Shogi I have seen Kuzuryu play, I can say that was the best beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“But, he was just confirming what he already knew. Heck, I could see the 7 Seven Rook. The scary one is the move he made before it: choosing to advance when he made the sealing move and letting Okito-sensei’s attack play out. It gave me chills.”

“Is that why he wanted the extra waiting time with the sealing move–––?”

Okito gently cuts into the conversation.

“Then, how much time did he use to think before sealing it?”

“…………!!”

I have no response as Futatsuzuka drearily glances in my direction.

“Software does have a weak point. It’s just most players wreck their formations early on trying to exploit it. They get crushed even if they make it to the mid-game. But Kuzuryu, he made it past that point. He did it within the time limit.”

…… Futatsuzuka is saying Kuzuryu saw the 7 Seven Rook Promotion before it was there… which would mean Kuzuryu …… was outplaying software by the early mid-game–––.

“He can’t be human. That’s why I said what I said. He’s always been doing stuff like this.”

“A-Always ……?”

“Everyone knows that Kuzuryu only started using software to research less than a year ago. What do you think he’s done since then? Just revolutionized Bishop Exchange, experimented with Katsura Single Jump, then made some wacked-out Gokigen 3-File Ranging Rook strategy work and now he’s surpassed software.”

A series of revolutions that even has The Translator in disbelief. Furthermore–––.

“He did all of that in less than a year. Okito-sensei has been working for years but couldn’t figure those out. The guy comes up with things players in my generation could work our whole lives and never hope to achieve like it’s nothing. The youngest Ryuo in history …… No.”

A mixture of malice and spite comes over Futatsuzuka’s face as he says Yaichi Kuzuryu’s second alias.

“The Demon King ……”

Young players in Kanto had been calling him that name for a while.

Most likely, it was something close to an insult at first.

Seeing his rival Ayumu Kannabe 7-dan acting like a knight in shining armor whose sworn duty was to slay the dark Drakin made calling him a demon a running joke behind Kuzuryu’s back.

However the humor must have disappeared around the time Kuzuryu successfully defended his title against the Meijin.

They fought in a series of seven matches. Kuzuryu showed incredible grit after losing the first three only to come back and win the final four: that left a deep impression on the young generation of Kanto players.

Be that as it may, Kuzuryu didn’t tap into his full, latent potential until today’s Shogi.

Drawn into a situation where neither man nor machine could determine the lead, Kuzuryu was able to make sure his King was safe and simultaneously bring down his opponent with an attack from the opposite horizon. He even used sealing move regulations as a weapon.

Skill and tactics unbecoming of an 18-year-old: yes, fit for a demon king.

Residents of the Shogi world are clearly at a loss as to how to interact with their imminent sovereign for decades to come.

Some fear him.

Others are jealous.

And others still …… are taken with him: others like Naniwa’s Snow White and myself.

“Have you always been in Kansai?”

I nod at Futatsuzuka’s question.

“Yes. I’ve known the Ryuo since he was a child.”

“I’m amazed you still want to play, growing up alongside him. Merely being in the same generation makes me wish I were dead sometimes.”

“Writing Yaichi Kuzuryu’s biography has become my greatest ambition. He is the reason why I work as a journalist.”

“Ohh? Just don’t go thinking you understand what comes out of his mouth. They’re the same words, sure, but he doesn’t see the same things we do. He’s not trying to lie, but what he says isn’t true in our world.”

The Translator puts my own qualms into words. He didn’t pull any punches, either.

This is exactly why I only wanted Okito to be in the room for the interview. I needed to confirm my suspicions somewhere that Kuzuryu wasn’t within earshot.

“If a story were ever written from his point of view, surely …… it would be an uplifting tale about how effort can break through any barrier. But the writer himself would never notice that he is actually the highest barrier of all. It would be the ultimate comedy and insanely cruel.”

Singularity didn’t happen.

Software didn’t become the star… except neither did humanity.

A higher existence came into the spotlight. Rather than software appearing on center stage, that new existence stole the show by simultaneously surpassing software and humanity.

And it happened–––on the same day the first female professional Shogi player in recorded history was born.

It’s hard to believe this is real. It feels more like a fairy tale.

A legend about Snow White who grew up in Kansai, which was considered to be the fringe of the Shogi world, with her little dragon.

Snow White loved that clumsy little dragon who couldn’t fly. She took him with her on all sorts of adventures where they licked each others’ wounds and then rushed into battle against the next big enemy before either had truly healed.

Snow White grew into a strong, dazzling young woman …… Overcoming many trials and tribulations, she finally reached the top.

However, that little dragon of hers was suddenly the ultimate being, soaring through the skies on massive wings: wings of talent.

Whether he wanted to or not, the overwhelming power he commanded would usher the Shogi world into a new age. That power would surely bring pain upon those he loves and those who love him all the same.

This was because those sharp claws on his hands were limited to battles in the realm of Shogi… even if they had been sharpened to protect that one little girl.

People call that monstrous dragon.