Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 14 - Chapter 4.5

  PROFESSIONAL

I started leaving my cushion more frequently after I had used about two hours of waiting time.

“Paaant ………… Paaant ……… Haaaaaa–––…………”

Past the three-hour mark, simply sitting next to the board made me feel like I was going to faint.

I go lie down on the bed in the room that was set aside for me and try to catch my breath.

“Hffff–––…………”

Matches in the 3-dan division only had an hour and a half of waiting time. Back then, it felt like it was gone in an instant. What I would have given to have twice or three times as much ……

“…… Thinking I could rest if only there were more waiting time …… I was so naïve ……”

Staring at the board makes my vision cloudy, and all the adrenaline in my system is making lactic acid build up in my muscles. This level of listlessness is beyond painful.

When I worked as a match recorder during my time in the Sub League, I often silently ridiculed veteran players grunting and groaning in pain as they used enormous amounts of waiting time all at once.

I can’t count how many times fatigue got the best of one of them late at night and they played a move so bad that the whole match fell apart. Seeing it happen made me sad.

–––Why are they so weak?

The Shogi would be so much better if those players would be forced into retirement and 3-dan was made the new entry level for professionals …… Now I realize those were just the clueless ramblings of a cheeky little girl.

“Haha. This is karma, I suppose? I’m sorry, Master …………”

Stepping away from the board doesn’t help. Neither does thinking about other things.

My brain won’t stop working. Generating heat non-stop all the while ……

“………… Here I thought that eyepatch was just for flair ……”

My unpreparedness is now painfully obvious. Sainokami sees more than I do, so that eyepatch must serve to lessen the strain on her mind. On the other hand, I never once thought about trying to limit my abilities now that I’ve become a Shogi Martian ……

It’s undeniable. I’m being outdone in the professional battlegrounds of waiting time, preparation and determination.

“…………………… Too hot ……”

I press a cold water bottle against my eyelids and try to visualize the board from my opponent’s perspective. It’s more difficult to do so with the actual board in front of me, so I’ve been stepping away to use my mental Shogi board instead.

Most likely, I’m at a disadvantage right now.

The problem is …… even with her point of view, I can’t see how the moves will play out.

Nothing is coming to mind, like a modern artist being told to create a traditional ukiyoe painting.

“What …… what in the world is she trying to make ……?”

Even with the brush in my hand, I have no idea what colors to use or even what to paint. I’m drawing a complete blank.

“………… So, this is talent ……”

While I was able to avoid taking damage from that Knight charging up the edge, that whole sequence was nothing more than a bluff.

However, this isn’t art. It’s a competition.

The superior player will become clear with each passing move. Anyone can understand results as cut and dried as victory and defeat. So long as I can’t determine the correct strategy, I should stick with my original plan.

My current formation is …… the anaguma, considered to be the best practical formation in existence.

“I’ll stay the course and crush her attack. Boldly, like professionals do.”

My mind made up, I decide to drink some of the now lukewarm water and wrap my fingers around the lid.

But–––.

“Nh?! Nghhh?!! ………………… It can’t be ……?”

The lid won’t budge no matter how I try.

There’s no strength left in my right hand ……

“Ha-ha ………… Just how weak am I ……?”

There’s no point in trying anymore, so I leave the bottle of water in the room as I adjust my clothes on the way out the door to go back into the cage where the beast is waiting for me.

“Oh, there you aaare♡”

Sainokami greets me while sprawled out on the tatami mats, using her cushion as a pillow and snacking on potato chips.

“Why won’t you make any moves, Ginko? I’m out of snacks already. C’mon, I’m sooo booored! Boredboredboredboredbored!”

Her running that abnormally long tongue up and down her salty fingers must mean she already knows what she’s going to play next.

Of course, the TV camera has captured every moment and Noboryou 2-dan is glaring at her from her seat at the boardside table, but Sainokami doesn’t seem to care.

Once I sit back down, I look over at Ms. Noboryou and ask, “May I see the match record?”

“Yes. Here you are.”

“One more thing …… I apologize, but would you go buy a bottle of water for me?”

“Huh?”

She tilts her head, confused.

But a smile appears on her face right away.

“Yes, of course. No problem.”

Once I see her nod, I take the coins I had prepared out of my pocket and reach over to give them to her.

“Ah.”

–––Oh no! My hand trembled ……

Ms. Noboryou scrambles to pick the coins up off the mats.

“Pardon me, Sensei! I’ll get them!”

She picks up the last one and almost tumbles her way out the door.

“………………”

While I do feel sorry for her, now isn’t the time. I return my focus to the board.

I’m in for a defensive sequence. That much is clear.

––– Either take the incoming Lance in front of my King with a 1 Four Pawn …… or bring my Bishop back to 3 Three to strengthen my defense ……

Reading through those options.

“There’s somethin’ I don’t get about the 3-dan division,” says Sainokami from her spot on the floor. “Why do they play so damn slow?”

Suddenly Shogi is the last thing on my mind.

“I thought that, you know, maybe I should try out the Sub League myself, but now I’m glad I didn’t. The Shogi in there, it’s just so depressing …… A total snooze fest. Tons more interesting stuff shows up on my laptop, so I don’t care anymore.”

“…………”

“They say they’re training, I guess? But all it is is just takin’ match records for who knows who for years and years. If you’ve got that kind of time on your hands, play Shogi yourself, know what I mean? And it’s not like I’d want to play against just anyone if I were a pro anyway. At the end of the day, all I want is some play time with Yaiii–––.”

“Sainokami.”

“Yea?”

“Shut up.”

Snnnn–––AAAAAAAAAP!!

Sacred echoes of a Shogi piece purify the polluted arena air.

Playing a move while the match recorder is away from her seat is extremely rude and will also put her in a tough position, but …… I’ve had enough of listening to the beast’s abusive ramblings. Most of all, I wanted to spare Ms. Noboryou from hearing them while she is still in training.

So I made a move.

A move that sparks my interest far more than her incessant banter.

That move–––deploying a Rook deep in her territory in position to take either a Bishop or a Knight. The ultimate counterattack!!

Forget defense, I’m going for all-out aggression.

“Hyeee!!”

Sainokami pops up.

“Now, that’s more like it, Ginko! That’s what I’m talking abooout!!”

Like a carnivore spotting prey, Sainokami snares a piece off her stand with those gaudy fake nails.

“You’re strong now, riiight?! You’re a pro, RIIIGHT?! The first girl to make it through 3-dan division hell, RIIIGHT?! Then show me something goooood!!”

Then, right behind where I deployed my Rook … Sainokami takes aim right for it by deploying her own Rook!

“?! Careless ……!”

She’s using it to fend off my Rook. That’s how it looks to me.

“Soft!!”

I slide my Rook one space and flip it over.

A Promoted Rook, the Dragon King.

Just having one doesn’t automatically tilt the board in my favor.

–––But ……! But ……!!

The mere sight of it turns the twinges of pain throughout my body into a comfortable, roaring fire.

My cloudy vision becomes crystal clear.

“Here I cooome!” she declares for some reason I don’t understand and, completely ignoring my newly promoted Dragon, launches into an aggressive push.

However it lacks teeth because she used her Rook on defense already.

Her early game formations went beyond human comprehension.

However!

–––Her late game …… isn’t as precise as it used to be?!

“Tccccch! Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeakin’ anaguma!!” Sainokami fumes as her attack fizzles out. She then attacks my Dragon instead.

However, I use the leeway she gave me by attacking my King first to take her Knight and reinforce my piece stand. She responds by sliding the Rook she deployed all the way across the board into my territory. So, looks like we’ve traded an eye for an eye, but–––.

“Hyeehe! I’ve got a Dragon toooo!!”

Now each of us has the strongest piece in Shogi under our command.

The Dragon King.

This match has become a competition to see who is most worthy of using that piece.

Who is most worthy of riding to victory with it. Who …… will earn the right to fight him.

“Have another!”

Now that she has a Dragon, Sainokami slides her Bishop into position to attack my anaguma once again.

My Gold and Silver armor gets chipped away until my defense is completely gone.

Except, strange as it seems, this attack doesn’t frighten me. My King may be all by its lonesome in the corner of the board, but it is very much alive.

–––Sota or Mr. Kagamizu would have attacked much more efficiently.

I’m absolutely certain that Ika Sainokami’s late game abilities have deteriorated.

Or, perhaps–––.

“I’ve gotten stronger?”

“………… Grrr!”

Sainokami bites her ax in frustration.

This reminds me of the match that Yaichi’s apprentice–––Ai Hinatsuru–––played against this beast in the Mynavi Women’s Open.

Sainokami built an overwhelming lead using Direct Opposing Rook, but failed to defend properly once the pipsqueak was pushed to the breaking point during one-minute Shogi… and lost.

So.

“………………………… Here …………”

I commit every remaining second of waiting time I have–––to landing on the planet that Shogi Martians call home.

With a firm grasp on the final key, Shogi puzzles.

“………… Here ………… Here ………… Here …………………”

–––One second is all I ask! One move, just one move!!

I’m more than ready to make the journey into that world …… But excessive heat and thirst muddy my thoughts to the point that I can’t connect with the pieces like I did before ……!

“Sora-sensei. You have five minutes remaining.”

“?! Ah ………… U-Understood!”

I glance to the side.

Ms. Noboryou is back and placed a bottle of water on my tray.

“……”

Memories of the water bottle lid I couldn’t open flash through my mind for one scary moment as my hand hovers over my lap.

But those fears prove to be misplaced.

The water bottle she bought for me is already open.

“Sora-sensei, one-minute Shogi begins now.”

“Okay!!”

I say a silent thank you to her in my mind even as the Sub League member feigns ignorance while counting down.

–––Thank you. I swear I will win.

And I’ll shove every slanderous word Sainokami uttered about the Sub League back into her face.

“Nh ……! Ngh …………! Fhha!! Whew–––……”

I down half the water in three gulps straight from the bottle and use the minute I have left to rocket myself onto Planet Shogi.

“Here, here, here ………… Herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere, HEEEEEEEERRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!”

I get my answer. The same move that pipsqueak would play.

–––Use the full width of the board! In other words ………… The Bishop!!

The back corner of enemy territory.

I deploy a Bishop as far away from my King as physically possible!

“Here!!”

“………… Agh?”

Unable to comprehend my intention, Sainokami ignores my Bishop and commences her third attack. I knew her late game had holes.

“Come.”

I shift my Bishop one space back to promote it to a Horse and say the perfect line for this very moment.

“I’ll dance for you.”

Not caring, Sainokami deploys a Silver to press her attack while I deploy a Silver of my own to support my Horse.

Deploy a Silver, deploy a Silver, deploy another Silver, take it with a Silver–––a Silver waltz.

“Repetition Draw ……!!”

Sainokami and I yell simultaneously. However, the timbre of my voice is the complete opposite of hers.

Should it happen, I will gain the advantageous first move for the rematch.

And, most importantly––– a chance to redeem my debut after her ambush made it a complete mess!

“Aww, aww, awwwww. NO, NO, GIIIIIIINNNNNNKKKKKOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Sainokami changes course so abruptly that she withers in pain.

She deploys a Pawn directly in front of my King to create the check path, but–––.

“Too late.”

That move doesn’t put me in check, thus her offensive has officially come to an end.

–––It will get there.

The match that the Shogi gods showed me in a dream on my birthday starts to unfold before my eyes.

A spacious tatami room at a luxurious inn somewhere.

Dressed in ornate kimonos, Yaichi and I …… play Shogi with no one to bother us.

Our kimono patterns are identical to the one that Master wore during his title match on TV. Yaichi and I had huddled under the same blanket and drawn ourselves wearing it after we saw him–––.

“Let’s wear kimonos, too! Let’s swear we will!”

Both of us have worn kimonos for matches many times since that day.

–––But, not like we did in that dream ……

Determined to make it come true, I reach out to my piece stand to unleash the move that will turn the tables once and for all!

“30 seconds––––––.”

Huh?

…… Ms. Noboryou? Why are you counting?

“40 seconds––––––.”

I already played my move, so why?

So, I check the board …… and then my piece stand.

The piece I picked up …… is still there.

“Ah.”

I can’t grip anymore.

Searing pain then tears through my body from head to toe. It hurts, it hurts!!

It takes every ounce of my willpower to keep from screaming.

At the very end of my five hours of waiting time, in the final moments of the final minute, my body betrays me.

–––Am I supposed to keep playing like this? One-minute Shogi?

Absolutely impossible.

But I’ll run out of time if I don’t do something now. A humiliating loss is 15 seconds away, the type of loss a professional is not allowed to suffer.

–––Anything but that …… Anything but that!!

Victory in my debut.

The dream that he and I drew together.

All of it slipped through my fingers with that one last piece.

“50 seconds–––––– one, two, three, four, f––––––.”

“Take with!!”

During the countdown, saying a move out loud is accepted.

“Six, seven, eight, n––––––“

“Knight.”

So.

I make my choice at the last moment.

For an elegant death to remain on the match record–––as a professional would.

My monstrous opponent reaches for the board at the speed of light in less than a heartbeat.

Worldly Thunder–––Ika Sainokami.

First a flash.

Then lightning strikes.

An ax called talent hits me directly between the eyes.

“Oh yea. I haven’t given you a promotion present yet, have I?”

Her uncovered eye stares me down.

“Congrats, Ginny-ko.”

With that, she deploys a Silver directly beside my King.

It’s hisshi.

Meaning, my King is dead no matter what I do.

–––Would the pipsqueak …… have found a better way ……?

I can extend the match by continuously putting Sainokami in check.

If I were still in elementary school …… still an amateur, I most definitely would have fought until the last move without losing hope. That’s what the me who drew herself in a kimono with all those innocent hopes and dreams back then would have done ……

However, I’m not an amateur or an elementary school student.

Worse ………… I don’t even have the strength to hold a piece anymore ……

So I fulfil my final duty as a professional.

“I lost.”

Ginko Sora 4-dan surrenders on the 103th move.

Expired waiting time–––

Ginko Sora: 4 hours 59 minutes

Ika Sainokami: 8 minutes