Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 15 - Chapter 1.3

  IN THE 6TH GRADE

That day, I stop by the school that my apprentice once attended. I’m not trespassing, of course. I was invited.

“It has been a while …… Kanegasaka-sensei.”

“Since the Shopping Arcade Summer Festival, I believe. Kuzuryu-sensei.”

That was more than half a year ago. Time flies.

I didn’t think I’d ever see her again.

Kanegasaka-sensei used to be Ai and her best friend Mio Mizukoshi’s homeroom teacher. Since classes don’t shuffle between fifth and sixth grade, she would have been their homeroom teacher as sixth graders too.

However, Mio’s family moved abroad after her father was transferred.

And Ai isn’t in Osaka anymore.

“So, what is it you wanted to talk about? Since Ai is in Tokyo, I honestly don’t think we have a connection anymore. I’m moving out of the neighborhood, so doing Shogi classes isn’t really possible–––.”

“I first spoke to Miss Hinatsuru about transferring schools before the King of Naniwa Tournament.” 

“………… What?”

Blindsided, my mind goes blank.

“The King of Naniwa Tournament …… The last one Mio played in before she transferred? Then Ai was already planning to move to Tokyo all the way back then ……?”

“No. I was the one who approached her.”

The words start pouring out of her. A past that I never knew starts coming to light.

“A great many private schools are desperate to enroll gifted children, and the one I introduced to her was part of an elevator system that would have put her on a direct path to university. With the steadily declining birthrate, more schools than you could imagine in Tokyo and Osaka would bend over backwards for a student like Ai Hinatsuru. A school like that would certainly be understanding when it came to Shogi, don’t you agree?”

“…… I do. I think that would have been a great option.”

Having attended public school during elementary and junior high, balancing my school schedule with the Sub League was a constant battle. I can definitely see the merit in going to a private school.

Actually, watching everything I went through is the main reason why Big Sis went to a private junior high school.

“If I may speak as a public school teacher in charge of compulsory education for a moment, bringing out Miss Hinatsuru’s true potential in this setting was next to impossible. Considering that I had my doubts about her living with you at the time, I was rather insistent that she look into a transfer.”

“What did she say?”

“She refused immediately. Miss Hinatsuru told me that being at your side and receiving your training was the only way for her talent to grow.”

“…………!! Ai ……”

My whole chest heats up in an instant.

I adjust my glasses to make sure that Kanegasaka-sensei doesn’t notice the tears leaking out of my eyes, but she isn’t finished talking.

Now, though, she’s having a harder time stringing words together.

“Once Miss Mizukoshi, and the necessary balance she provided, was gone …… I thought I should suggest transferring once again. However–––.”

“She came to you first this time, right? Asking what she’d need to do to transfer.”

“That’s correct.”

Those few words tear into my heart like a nail.

“She swore me to secrecy at the time, but …… While you were traveling the country to take part in the Crown Title Matches, Miss Hinatsuru toured several schools around Tokyo along with her parents.”

“I see ……”

Once she joined the Women’s Legend League, Ai went to Tokyo many times for her matches. She must’ve been looking into schools then, too.

I spoke with Ai, and her mother, plenty of times.

But I never had a clue that this was going on.

Thinking back to those days …… I became the Crown Challenger and was winning a lot, so I can’t deny I had tons of matches to play. It was my busiest time ever as a pro player.

––– So what?

My heart cringes.

–––What was I focused on while my live-in apprentice was trying to figure out her future?

My own romance and Shogi, nothing else.

–––I failed as a Master ……!

My shoulders slump as everything dawns on me. That’s when Kanegasaka-sensei makes an unusual admission.

“Honestly …… I was relieved. Knowing I wouldn’t have Ai Hinatsuru in my class next year took an incredible amount of weight off my shoulders.”

“Sensei ……?”

“I was relieved, yes. After all, how am I supposed to work with a child who has that much talent? What could I possibly do for her? She has already experienced more pressure and high-stakes situations than most adults ever will …… What could I, a woman who lives an easy life under her parents’ roof, teach a little girl who willingly left home all by herself to undergo rigorous training in Osaka?”

Kanegasaka-sensei puts both hands on her forehead and bares her innermost feelings.

“Whenever those big round eyes fell on me …… It was like she could see just how inexperienced I am, and it scared me. So …… So ……!!”

–––Ahh …… I get it. That’s what’s going on ……

I finally understand why she contacted me.

This is a confession. She wants me to take her to task for her sins.

“Kanegasaka-sensei!”

Which is why I put my hands on my knees, bow and say as loud and clear as I can.

“Thank you for doing so much to help my apprentice!”

“Huh ……?”

“…… I was a horrible Master. I thought I was putting Ai first, that I understood her needs better than anyone. But I never acknowledged how much she had grown. It was my responsibility to accept her feelings head on, but I ……”

I …… I knew that she had feelings for me beyond the Master-apprentice relationship.

Yet I looked the other way out of convenience. I convinced myself that her feelings would go away on their own, that it was just innocent puppy love.

I swear to myself here and now–––I’ll accept her feelings no matter what they may be the next time we meet.

“But you focused on what was best for bringing out her talents and even showed her the way, didn’t you? Ai was lucky to have had you as her homeroom teacher, Kanegasaka-sensei!”

“……! Kuzuryu …… sensei …………!” 

“Would you please tell me about Ai’s new school?”

“…… It’s a superb institution. The top one on my list of recommendations, to be precise.”

She then pulls out the school’s pamphlet and explains everything Ai’s new school has to offer.

Cursing myself for being so inexperienced that I make everyone around me feel like they’re the ones who’re making mistakes, I ask, “Do you know …… how she’s doing?”

“I have received letters from her, yes. The first included an apology to her classmates for leaving without saying goodbye. Then she wrote that she is doing well and studying hard in Tokyo. That letter came with a Shogi puzzle she made herself.”

“That sounds like her.”

I breathe a small sigh of relief at the news, but Kanegasaka-sensei frowns as she continues.

“She certainly sounds healthy and content, it’s just ……”

“Just what?”

“The return addresses for the two letters were different …… The first one came from Tokyo’s HinaTsuru Inn, but I didn’t recognize the second one. It has been on my mind.”

“Whaaat?!”

I’m on my feet before I know it. Then–––

“Then ………… where the heck is Ai living now ……?”