Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 15 - Chapter 1.2

  CLOTHES SHOPPING AND HOUSE HUNTING

“………… Am I not good enough ……?”

A snowy New Year’s Eve.

Stepping inside my front door at the stroke of midnight, Ai Yashajin tells me that she will live with me in place of Ai Hinatsuru.

I’m all alone and in horrible shape, but …… she reaches out to comfort me.

Ai Yashajin must’ve been outside, watching my apartment for hours. The tiny hands that she wraps around mine are cold as ice.

It’s that coldness that sparks warmth within my heart.

“But ………… are you sure?” Fighting back tears like my life depended on it, I ask my second apprentice, “You, who grew up like a princess, living in this rundown old apartment …… Living with me of all people–––?”

In my head, I can see her answering something like: I said it’s fine! As long as I’m with you …… I don’t care where we live ……!

The Cinderella in my arms looks up at me and blinks a few times with snowflakes dotting her eyelashes.

Then, with her lips still blue from the cold, she says this.

“What? Me? Live in this dirty old shack of a doghouse on top of a shopping arcade? You can’t be serious?”

“Huh?”

She was a pristine, elegant little girl just a few seconds ago. Now, however, that girl has vanished.

Um …… Isn’t this scene supposed to go differently? Hold up ……?

The always high-handed lady Ai Yashajin pushes her way past me and stomps on the floor with her muddy shoes.

“Besides, the closest stations are JR and the Metro subway?! Unacceptable! Our place must be along the Hankyu Line, and that’s final.”

“O-Okay ……”

Seeing the level of faith Kansai natives have in the Hankyu train system with my own eyes leaves me speechless. I’d heard it’s particularly strong in people from Hyogo Prefecture, but wow ……

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m going to knock this place down.”

Ai nods at the woman behind her–––Akira Ikeda. She steps forward and thrusts a piece of paper in front of my face.

“Here’s the deed. In other words, this land now belongs to the Yashajin Group. We already have plans to develop it, so leave the premises immediately.”

“Th-This is tyranny!”

She actually did buy this whole apartment building?!

I was so happy to have someone to talk to when she said that before that I let it slide, but …… This room is filled with so many memories. I can’t just let her tear it down!

“I know my rights as a renter!! The law says you can’t force me out without proper notification well in advance!”

“Hmmm. For you to have knowledge that doesn’t pertain to Shogi or young girls …… Pesky.”

You of all people shouldn’t be talking.

Folding up the deed and putting it back in her suit pocket, Akira keeps her hand inside her jacket and says.

“By the way, Kuzuryu-sensei. Are you aware of my specialty?”

“L-Land sharking?”

NO! NO! NO!

“Th-Then …… lawful eviction …… maybe?”

NO! NO! NO!

“Huh? Okay …… what?”

“Chum production.”

“Chum?”

“I’m telling you that I’m particularly skilled at making fish feed.”

As in, that’s what she’s threatening to do to me?!

“So long as the evidence is cooked and broken down into flakes small enough to be consumed by animals, it can disappear forever. Pigs used to fill that role, but apparently human DNA can be recovered from their droppings. However, fish in the ocean don’t have that drawback.”

“And there’s a chance of meeting Ai in Tokyo, or Ginko Sora, wherever she happens to be, if the fish eat it up. It’ll just be as the main course instead,” adds Ai as if she doesn’t care either way.

Sure, I want to see them, but not like that!

“I merely jest, Kuzuryu-sensei. Of course, we will be relocating you to a new residence. Surely you can wait to answer until you have seen it?”

New …… residence?

“I can see why this area has been at the top of the Most Desirable Places to Live in Kansai ranking for so many years in a row. Being so close to Osaka and Kobe is so convenient.”

The next morning the three of us visit a towering apartment complex directly connected to a train station.

Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi Station, to be exact. Everyone calls it Nishi-Kita.

Apparently it was the setting for an anime based on a light novel. As for me, I’m filled with dread. I just know the price is going to have tons of zeros in it ……

“Good natural light and the view isn’t bad either. The floor plan is …… a bit cramped, but it should be within our price range,” says a satisfied lady Ai Yashajin as she looks down at Nishinomiya proper from the window of a living room large enough to hold a title match.

Cramped? This is anything but cramped. There are so many rooms in here, I don’t know what we’d do with all of them. Yaichi Kuzuryu is officially lost for words ……

My knees are shaking like mad. It’s not because of how high we are off the ground. I’m worried about how high the price tag is going to be.

“O-Our price range ……? Just how expensive is this apartment ……?”

“I don’t know. ¥400 million, I guess?”

“Four hun–––?!”

“You’ve made about ¥100 million since becoming a professional player, right? Combine your prize money from the Ryuo and Crown Title Matches, and that’s ¥70 million right there. Defend your titles for another five years and it’ll be paid off in full. Even if you don’t, my family’s company will cover the difference.”

“Do not worry, Kuzuryu-sensei. Loan regulations are extremely lax. This listing also happens to belong to the Yashajin Group.”

The grin on Akira’s face as she talks is what’s making me worry.

Th-These two …… Are they trying to get me to buy an extremely expensive apartment by saying they’ll live with me here?!

“………… Ai, can I have a word please?”

“Whaaat Yaichi?”

“I’m happy that you’ve offered to live with me. But there’s a reason why I’m living at that apartment. I know it’s small and seen better days, but it’s really close to–––.”

“An elementary school, right?”

“No!! The Shogi Association!!”

It’s true that the school Ai went to is just around the block, which is why I was able to teach a Shogi class there, but …!

“What difference does that make? Nearly all practice sessions are done online these days and now that most players research with software anyway, there’s no point living close to the association anymore. The Player’s Room is always deserted.”

“Ugh ……”

“Umeda is only 14 minutes away from here by train. That isn’t far and I won’t let you tell me otherwise. Besides, there’s no telling how long the Kansai Association building is going to be–––.”

“My lady. Now isn’t the time …”

“Mn …… anyway!”

Ai pauses for a moment after Akira cut her off before she could finish that sentence.

“Right now you make more money than anyone else in the Shogi world, even more than the Meijin!! What’s the rest of society going to think when they find out you’re living in a tiny old apartment, dressed in rags and eating frozen food for dinner every night?! It’s about time you acknowledge your position and start acting like it!”

“Yes, ma’am ……”

Me, the man at the top of the Shogi world, is not only being forced to buy an expensive apartment by a grade schooler, but I’m getting lectured by her, too. The pain ……

“It’s settled. We’ll be living here. Akira, have all the affairs in order by the time we come back.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

As I have no say in the matter, there’s nothing to say. Now that I think about it, Big Sis is the one who picked out my old room, too.

More importantly–––.

“By the time we get back? …… Are we going someplace else?”

“Many places, yes,” says lady Ai, turning toward me as she flicks her long black hair over her shoulder. Then she points at the jacket I’m wearing and declares, “the first of which is to do something about that eyesore you’re wearing.”

The first shop that Ai and I visit is a long-standing clothier in the heart of Kobe.

“This is grandp- …… *Cough* grandfather’s favorite place to buy tailored suits. In fact, suits have been around in Kobe longer than anywhere else in Japan.”

It seems that Ai is out to criticize what I wear, what I eat and where I live. So, pretty much everything. Does she actually have feelings for me? Or am I just some Pawn to her?

“This jacket …… Big Sis picked it out for me the day I turned pro. Sure, it’s nothing fancy, but it’s very important to me.”

“I’m not telling you to throw it away,” says Ai with an exaggerated nod, as if trying to show how compassionate she is. “Just don’t wear it around me again, that’s all.”

“How is that any different?!”

“Hey, Yaichi.”

She steps …… right up to me.

?!

My heartrate skyrockets. Is she about to ambush me with another kiss ……?

But she doesn’t grab my necktie. Instead, she pats my shoulders and sleeves before calmly saying, “You’ve grown, haven’t you? The jacket looks small.”

“D-Do you think so? Well …… I was 15 when I bought it, and I might have been in the middle of a growth spurt back then, but ……”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Since you need new clothes anyway, why not get something nice?”

“…………”

In the end, all I can do is nod.

And, since accessories get added with every upgrade, Ai picks out all sorts of items to match my new suit.

Shirts with collars. A coat. Gloves. A scarf. Dress shoes. A belt. Even a wallet.

The final total comes to ¥2 million. That’s a major shopping spree. What I can’t figure out is why it feels cheap after buying a ¥400 million apartment!

“Oh! You clean up very well. Not bad, Sensei, not bad at all.”

“R-Really? Don’t you think all this black is a bit too much ……?”

Letting Ai coordinate the whole outfit resulted in quite a dark fashion statement—though I have a feeling that Ayumu would give it two thumbs up and shout, At last, you show your true form, Nemesis! if he ever saw me dressed like this.

But …… as depressed as I am, all this black does strike a chord with me.

New clothes that won’t bring back memories of the good old days are oddly warm and comfortable …… though part of that is probably thanks to the tailor. This guy is good.

Ai walks around me as if appraising my new look and says, “Yaichi …… you’re called the Demon King, aren’t you?”

“…… How should I know? I’ve never called myself that.”

“But you are.”

“…………”

It wasn’t until Mirai Futatsuzuka 4-dan told me that I found out young players in Tokyo had come up with that nickname for me.

As a competitor, knowing that I strike fear in the hearts of my opponents …… makes me happy, or part of me anyway.

But Ginko said this to me under the starry skies of my hometown: I don’t like it. It doesn’t fit who you are at all.

So I won’t go along with that as my name. I don’t want to say it’s a good fit.

But the smile grows on Ai Yashajin’s lips as she sweetly whispers, “Demon King sounds good to me.”

“Huh?”

I’m stunned as she leans up to my ear.

“You see, I’ll take demons over angels any day. Rather than white clothes, I prefer black. Forget the knight in shining armor …… I want the bad guy to whisk me away.”

This 11-year-old girl, who’s more familiar with the deepest pits of sadness than anyone I know, is bewitching as she whispers.

Her voice so soothing I could melt.

“So, be the Demon King and seize all the glory. Make the thought of sitting across the board from you the very definition of despair for all your opponents …… Okay?”

That’s when it finally hits me.

Ai Yashajin didn’t come to save me. Just the opposite.

This young girl dressed in black could be a tiny devil who came to invite me all the way to the deepest pits of darkness.

Deeper and deeper …… into the blackest void this world knows, a darkness called Shogi–––.

Once we’d visited a few more shops, Akira greets us at the door of our new apartment. Yes, it’s now officially where we live.

“Welcome home, my lady,” says Akira as she bows her head …… while wearing a maid’s outfit.

“Will you be having dinner? Will you be having a bath? Or would you be having … a Shogi match?”

“Huh? Akira, what’s this about? Cosplaying?” I ask, completely at a loss. 

Ai sighs and explains. “She said she wants to wear this whenever she’s doing housework. I told her not to, but as you can see ……”

“Housework? Akira ……?”

“You don’t expect me to cook and clean, do you? Besides, Master or not, living together with a lolicon is far too dangerous. Akira will be moving in with us.”

“And there you have it! I am your new roommate, Kuzuryu-sensei!!” says Akira while spinning a broom around like a bow staff in one of those old kung fu movies out of Hong Kong and strikes a pose.

Today’s our first day of living as a group of three. It looks like I won’t have time to be lonely anymore.

“Hello, roomie …… Hold up! I’ve got no problem with Akira living here, but what was that about living together with me being dangerous?! Cut that out already, will you?! First you go saying that I chose my old apartment because there was a school nearby, and now this?! Let me make it crystal clear: I’ll never get so lonely that I would ever consider making an advance on a grade school …… girl ……”

My phone rings in my pocket just as I get up to state my case. One glance at the screen to see who it is, and I come to a halt as if lightning nailed me in the head.

Next comes Ai’s cold glare.

“A phone call? Who makes phone calls on New Year’s Day?”

“…………… An elementary school ……”

“Akira. The police.”

“At once!”

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON’T!!