Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 14 - Chapter 3.4

  THE NEW KING

“Why don’t we take a trip down memory lane before things wrap up?”

That was how the professional Shogi player displayed on the screen of Ginko’s smartphone let the audience know that his job as the analyst was as good as over.

“Sure, why not?” said match commentator Tamayo Rokuroba Women’s 2-dan with a nod.

The match was still in progress.

However, one look at the board was enough to know the players were simply setting the stage for a graceful conclusion.

A rite of passage of sorts for the new king to take his crown from the old.

“In fact, it was I who played against the challenger …… against Yaichi in his professional debut match. Reminiscing about it now, what an honor it was!” said the analyst, seeking agreement from his audience. “But, frankly speaking, I didn’t see even a glimmer of talent in Yaichi at the time.”

The analyst scoffed; his tone harsh as he recounted that particular match.

“His early game had more holes than Swiss cheese. Not only did his mid game sequences not work in tandem, he suffered an instant death checkmate because he failed to read all the way to the end! I thought the 3-dan division had gone soft, letting that weak excuse for a player squeak through.”

“But look at all he’s accomplished today. How could his debut have gone so wrong?”

“The Sub League, no doubt.”

“The Sub League?”

“Back then, the Shogi association had the first junior high school professional since the Meijin at their disposal, and they decided to squeeze every ounce of publicity out of him that they possibly could. In other words, they pushed him far beyond what was reasonable. They sent that 15-year-old boy fresh out of the Sub League into our match with hours and hours of waiting time right out of the gate.”

Yaichi’s debut took place on the very same day he was officially registered as a professional player, October 1st. It stands as the earliest debut on record to this day.

What’s more, the opponent arranged for him was a handsome Kanto player in the B-1 division, someone who would have normally never been tapped for a new player’s debut match–––Jin Natagiri 7-dan.

At the time, Jin was closing in on the promotion to A. Throwing Yaichi into a cage with that beast as little more than feed was a critical error on the association’s part.

“It was akin to forcing a young sprinter who hadn’t even hit his growth spurt to run a full marathon on his first day running with the big boys …… That would break anyone, no?”

He-he-he-he, the analyst laughed a little too hard at his own joke.

Yaichi was so traumatized by that loss that he ran out of the Shogi association building on foot. He didn’t stop until he reached the beach in Chigasaki and dove into the ocean.

Memories of her younger brother apprentice yelling “I quit Shogi!” when she went to retrieve him a week later flooded Ginko’s mind.

–––He’d never once brought up quitting before …… I was too stunned to say anything nice to him.

“But he defeated me with inhuman precision in our rematch two years later.”

“That Shogi …… It was unbelievable. He decided to start playing Ranging Rook out of the blue …… And that series of gentei aigoma at the end …… Block with any other piece and he would’ve lost, but he read to the right one three times in a row. I still can’t believe a human being can do that ……”

Ginko remembered that day in great detail. It also happened to be when she first told Keika about Shogi martians.

–––I’ve closed the distance since then. After all, I’ve finally arrived on Planet Shogi, too ……

As if speaking directly to the silver-haired girl clinging to her phone, Jin Natagiri made his point.

“Where am I going with this, you ask? Yaichi can break through any wall that comes his way. He thinks that he can overcome any obstacle …… And being able to continue to believe so proves that he has immense talent.”

“Like a little kid?”

“Yes, exactly like a little kid.”

Jin snickers to himself at calling Yaichi a kid with such spite.

“This Crown Title Match series is a perfect example. Okito brought a brand new way to use software to bear in Match Two, only for Yaichi to strike back the very next match. In Match Four, Okito resisted the onslaught by broadening his horizons even further, but Yaichi overcame that as well in Match Five. It was instantaneous.”

Then, with the title within his grasp today in Match Six–––.

“And today, well …… Match Six never truly developed into Shogi at all.”

The ceremonial rite was still taking place on the board.

However, once it concluded …… it was highly unlikely that Yo Okito would ever be able to defeat Yaichi again. The Shogi had been just that one-sided.

“Do you know how the young ones in Kanto refer to Yaichi here?”

“Demon King of the West …… was it?”

“That it is. He never had a nickname until now. Everyone avoided giving him one like the plague. Reason being, he was so much different from every player the Shogi world had dubbed a prodigy up to this point.”

“Different?”

“You see, back in the olden days, a prodigy was defined as someone who could produce moves no one else saw. It’s like the magic the Meijin pulls out of his sleeve in the late game.”

A person who plays orthodox Shogi, but truly shines in the late game.

That was how the Shogi world defined prodigies–––until the introduction of software.

“But now, what’s important is being able to play exactly how a computer would. Even when your research doesn’t line up, even when there’s no time, the ability to play exactly what the software says best shows who is a prodigy these days.”

“So, Kuzuryu-Ryuo can do that?”

“No,” Jin said with a giddy grin. “Yaichi, you see, goes above and beyond it! He plays moves even better than computers do. The sequences that software produces astound human eyes, but he finds a way to outdo them. Even if you don’t recognize it when it happens, try analyzing the match record at home and Yaichi’s talent will get spelled out in black and white …… The problem is that professionals who have gotten used to learning from software can’t find a way to outdo him.”

“…………”

“A new, stronger software program might get the best of him temporarily. However, this title match shows that Yaichi will absorb those sequences and put his own unexpected twist on them soon enough. It won’t keep him down for long,” said Jin in a matter-of-fact tone that left nothing open for speculation. “Thanks to the absoluteness of numbers, anyone can clearly see Yaichi’s skill for what it is rather than having to rely on vague words like ingenuity and Shogi sense. Researching with software itself has become a practice in proving Yaichi’s talents.”

In other words, the more someone familiarized themselves with software, the more imposing Yaichi’s shadow became.

However, researching without the aid of software in the modern Shogi world has become next to impossible.

In which case–––.

“Okito did his utmost. He understood the benefits of software long before anyone else, as well as how to incorporate it into his own research. He did everything in his power to prepare for this title match, even going as far as shaving his own head. Players in his generation like me have nothing but respect for that level of devotion.”

“So …… where did Okito-Crown go wrong?”

“His opponent.”

No sooner did Jin utter those two words than a shadow appeared on the overhead camera.

The end had arrived.

“Okito-Crown has surrendered. Thus the challenger, Yaichi Kuzuryu-Ryuo, has successfully claimed the Crown Title …… A new Crown is born.”

Despite all of this having taking place in the same Shogi world, Tamayo’s lack of enthusiasm made it sound like she was recounting the latest news from another planet.

“At 18 years two months of age, Yaichi Kuzuryu has become the fastest ever to reach Dual Title status. The Meijin previously held that honor at 21, meaning his record was undercut by three full years. Along with his older sister apprentice and first female professional player ever, Ginko Sora 4-dan, the two sibling apprentices are carving their names into Shogi history.”

A monotone voice seemingly reading off a cue card echoed from the speakers of Ginko’s phone.

Yaichi Kuzuryu.

Two seasons as the Dragon King Ryuo. Ranked C-1 in Placement Matches. 9-dan.

And now, one season as the Crown had been admitted to his resume … along with being the youngest to ever simultaneously control two titles.

The Demon King of the West was most likely the strongest entity within all of Shogi in existence at this point, human or otherwise.

“…………………… And my boyfriend …………”

Ginko whispered for no one other than herself to hear as she solemnly watched the seconds tick by on her wristwatch, the same model Yaichi had next to him.

“We’re even further apart now, are we ……? Even though we’re counting the same time.”

…… The coverage continued even after Ginko turned off her phone. Jin and Tamayo’s well-coordinated discussion had turned to dissecting the important aspects of the match that turned out to be the series finale.

“You mentioned earlier that you were Kuzuryu-Dual Title’s opponent in his debut …… What about your own debut match, Natagiri-sensei?”

“You know exactly how to get me where I’m weakest, don’t you, Tamayo?” said Jin after a long sigh. “…… My debut was a black mark, to say the least. I lost to a Women’s League player, no less. Everyone, and I mean everyone gave me their two cents …… Some even told me to go back to the Practice League.”

“That’s even further down than the Sub League! Pwfff, hahaha!”

“I would have loved to do just that, believe me. My next opponent was an amateur, and I lost to him as well. Needless to say, my mind wasn’t in the best place for a long while after my professional debut. Even when I was doing instructional matches for amateurs, I second-guessed myself to the point of freezing up on more than one occasion ……”

“…………”

Tamayo seemed to realize her playful jab had crossed a line, however …… She couldn’t hide her shock at Jin’s next words.

“But, you know what? A Shogi world isn’t all that far away where it’s perfectly normal for pros to lose to Women’s players.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve recently been doing practice sessions with a certain Women’s League player, you see. And she …… is frighteningly talented!”

“…… Uh-huuuh.”

Jin completely ignored Tamayo’s couldn’t-care-less attitude and went on to explain with more excitement than he had shown at any point during the day.

“So long as she keeps growing at this rate, she’ll be holding her own against full-fledged professionals in no time at all. Actually, I take that back. I think she’s already surpassed some of them.”

“But, but, as long as she’s in the Women’s League that doesn’t matter because she won’t have many chances at all to play against professional players. Won’t she have to go through the Sub League like Sora 4-dan first?”

“There are mechanisms in place for top Women’s players to share the board with professionals other than the traditional ranking structure. She’s so strong, I can’t wait for her to qualify for them! Once she does–––.”

“Once she does?”

“Some professionals other than me might lose their debuts to a Women’s League player before too long.”

Then Jin Natagiri uninhibitedly smiled from ear to ear. That same smile could be found on demons residing in the deepest pits of hell.

“There’s nothing misery loves more than company, no?”