Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 14 - Chapter 4.4

  HANSEL AND GRETEL

I observe the match alongside my prized apprentice.

“What is your opinion, God Cauldron?”

“I ……”

Already a dashing young man, he has become far superior to myself.

Not just in terms of strength, either. He is now the ideal Shogi player in every sense of the word, the very picture of perfection in my eyes.

Consequently–––.

“I believe the offense to be in an advantageous position.”

“Speak your mind, I insist. There is no need to walk on eggshells on my behalf.”

“………………”

Silence. Painful silence is all that comes from my apprentice.

For Ginko, along with the young Ryuo, was an integral part of his upbringing.

Even without her present, it seems my apprentice does not wish to voice criticism of her. What a truly kind child ……! However, that will become naivety over time.

“Speak.”

“At present, the offense is in victory position. Closing the gap at this stage would require nothing less than divine interference …… as the anaguma formation tends to depend on that.”

“Just as I myself reasoned.”

If my prized apprentice, who has received the alias Next Meijin, says as much, then there isn’t a shadow of doubt.

Though, in my old age, I cannot make enough sense of this mishmash formation to draw conclusions for myself ……

“Are you the same age as that fiend?”

“Negatory. The Empress is the same age as the Demon King: 18. I am two years their senior.”

“………… What a surprise! To think you have already reached the age of 20.”

My darling apprentice seems unsure how to respond.

“Though this sight is hard to accept so abruptly. Sora 4-dan, who emerged victorious from the rigors of the notoriously fierce 3-dan division, being tormented by such atrocious Shogi at the hands of a Women’s player to this extent is ……”

“Sainokami is unique. She has always excelled in the four-hour waiting time format.”

“The Empress League ……!!”

“Precisely. Sainokami has been invincible in matches that afford the most waiting time in Women’s Shogi. She is, after all, the one who took the title of Empress from me.”

To play against her is to live within a nightmare.

Continuously clashing talent against talent borders on humiliation, and I was powerless to stop it. Not to mention that her character and Shogi sense do not mesh.

Harkening back to that day …… even then I felt as though I wasn’t playing Shogi across from a human being.

“B-But, Master! Both of Sora 4-dan’s current titles, Queen and Women’s Throne, use a three-hour format! With that amount of experience under her belt, a mere extra hour would not–––.”

“Ginko should have lost that match in the finals. The true Queen …… is not her.”

That one move unraveled the threads of destiny.

“But the adversary sitting across from her this very moment …”

Ika Sainokami is a prodigy, too much so.

––– Meanwhile, the Ginko I first shared the board with …… was exactly the girl Kousuke said she was.

Frail.

Nary an inkling of Shogi talent.

Hates losing with a passion, clingy and endlessly doted on by her Master to the point that she never doubts others, she had maladroit characteristics, which prevented her from building social relationships by any other means than Shogi. As it was her only outlet, she was unable to let it go …… Yet her appearance made her stand out in a crowd.

Deceiving such a miserable girl was easier than twisting a baby’s arm.

–––As I had already done so tens of times before: Approached young girls who showed promise and rewarded them with treats once they entered my castle. Whispered sweet nothings into their ears: “You are special, unique” and the like with a beaming smile …… and sent them barreling into hell.

Ginko was nothing more than another casualty. It was not her talent, but her unyielding willingness to put forth effort that drew my attention.

–––I melded that brittle gem into my vision of the perfect Shogi player, the Naniwa’s Snow White whom everyone adores.

And thus Ginko became the first-ever female professional player.

Her Herculean efforts pushed her own talent and body beyond their original limits.

However, if a female professional capable of claiming a title from the men were to appear, that woman would be–––.

“Master. A phone call.”

I pick up the receiver of the phone my apprentice holds out in front of me and hear another devil speaking on the other end.

“There is something to discuss.”

“What a coincidence. I was planning to pay you a visit myself.”

Our conversation brief, I hang up the phone.

A decision far more painful than defeat is on the horizon …… Surely, she and the Ryuo will despise me for this.

“…… I am surely destined for hell myself.”

“I shall accompany you, no matter the destination,” my beloved apprentice responds instantaneously while extending a hand to support his Master.

I smile …… despite shuddering from the depths of my own actions.

–––Because of me, this one and even his younger sister ……

I deserve to be plunged into hell. On my own, of course.