Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 15 - Chapter 5.3

  OBSERVERS

“May both Ai Hinatsuru and Tamayo Rokuroba suffer the most humiliating defeats!!”

Contemplating my beloved apprentice’s outburst, I find it rather out of place and ask a question.

“Were you not close with the fledgling?”

“I couldn’t care less, hah! Turning down accommodation with one such as I, at the palace in which we dwell, in order to reside with the resident of the Women’s Shogi gutter, that Rokuroba!! Sharing a roof with that YouTuber …… Worse, her followers greatly outnumber mine ……! Why ……? One such as I am much younger and cuter and stronger ……!!”

My second apprentice, Maria Kannabe expresses her frustration by stomping her feet.

Maria’s older brother by birth and older brother apprentice by Shogi lineage, Ayumu Kannabe 8-dan, sighs under his breath at his younger sister’s display before posing his own question for me.

“So, what will come to pass is that you will be defending your title against Machi the Tormentor, yes Master? Though I must admit that her playing style today is rather unlike her ……”

“Indeed ……”

The match record displayed on my monitor differs greatly from the current Machi Kugui.

However the gleam of talent shining through each of her moves strikes me as nostalgic.

In order to recall …… I reach for one particular photograph.

“Do you remember this day, God Cauldron? What transpired?”

“That is not a day I could ever forget. For it is the day that determined my destiny.”

It was a special day for me as well.

The day that I met four promising elementary school-aged players while doing commentary on the big board.

“That day, Yaichi Kuzuryu and Ryou Tsukiyomizaka fought for the honor of becoming Elementary Meijin. However the ones who truly caught my eye were yourself …… and Machi Kugui.”

Gazing at the picture that all of us took together, I harken back to the final rounds of that tournament.

Every time I look at my beloved apprentice growing ever closer to becoming the ideal Shogi player, it assures me that my ability to identify talent is spot-on.

It was Yaichi Kuzuryu who claimed a title first.

However the first to reach A Division …… the first to arrive on the Meijin’s doorstep was the one I selected: Ayumu Kannabe.

“Do you remember why Machi cried so much?”

“Yes.”

My newly promoted A Division apprentice responds without a moment’s delay.

“Because she missed a check path.”

“Precisely. Machi had all but won. She defeated Ryou in nearly every sense throughout the match …… until the very end. That mistake pained her beyond belief, thus her tears. After that–––.”

The experience changed her forever.

“She began to employ the anaguma, so such a mistake would never be her downfall again. Should a risky path and a safe path be available to her, Machi chooses the safe path without fail. Showing no interest in the Sub League, she became a Women’s Player and tailed the young Ryuo as a journalist …… By watching a talent that glistened so brightly, she unknowingly averted her eyes from the talent that resided within her.”

In my eyes, doing so was nothing more than a sluggish suicide.

However–––.

“Today’s Shogi, on the other hand! It’s as if …… as if she has returned to the young girl brimming with talent she was back then!!”

It has been a long while since I felt my bum leg was an inconvenience. I would like nothing more than to travel to the association building to witness Machi’s Shogi with my own two eyes at this very moment.

Not to see if she is worthy of challenging me …… No.

To see if she is worthy of taking up the mantle vacated by Snow White.

“Are you curious about today’s Shogi, Miss Yashajin?”

I’m so surprised to be asked in the middle of the meeting that the phone slips out of my hands.

It’s because …… the man I’m talking to shouldn’t be able to see.

“…… Yes. My older sister apprentice may challenge for a title depending on today’s match. Why wouldn’t I be curious?”

“Of course, I can hardly blame you. Would you tell me how the match is progressing?”

Once I pick my phone up off the floor, I explain the formations to him.

“Oh? Ms. Kugui is playing with the first move, but …… that is quite a form change to undergo in such an important match.”

“Very much so. Ai just naturally went with it. She’s on defense, too. But her opponent’s style is–––.”

“Judging by the match record alone, she could easily be confused for another player.”

I didn’t say the player’s name.

Even though I know for a fact he will come back to me …… having proof of his affair with another woman shoved in my face like this is infuriating!

“…… By the way, how did you know I was tracking the match on my phone?”

“While I was unaware that you were looking at your phone, the aura of a person thinking about Shogi was emanating from you.”

“Huh? …… An aura?”

“Yes. At this distance, I can sense how deeply a person is focused on reading a board.”

“………… You are a monster. Is everyone in A Division like that?”

“Suffice it to say that we all are Masters of our craft,” says the man who could have been my Master with a seemingly bottomless smile before returning the topic back to business.

“This ability of mine has also been useful in negotiations. Even without the gift of sight, I still have the ability to read the content of another’s character.”

“Is that so? Did I pass your test?”

“But of course,” Shogi Association Chairman Seiichi Tsukimitsu says with a nod. “The Japanese Shogi Association will entrust your company with the renewal projects for both the Kanto and Kansai Association buildings. And your company shall compensate for the hole left in Women’s Shogi funding left by other sponsors’ withdrawal …… A long-term partnership has also been formed to support Women’s Shogi for the foreseeable future. Are there any details you wish to change?”

“That’s fine as it is. Let’s work together for mutual benefit.”

Since we don’t have a handshake custom, that’s all it took to finalize the deal. I might end up playing against this man, so I don’t intend on getting too friendly. Then again, Shogi players are basically business partners, so we know where the boundaries are anyway.

Oh yes. There’s something important I have to mention before I leave.

“Would you make sure the Yashajin Group name is kept out of the public eye? We back several official companies and will have one of their representatives attend press conferences. Oh, and don’t worry. They’ll be able to play Shogi.”

“Why do you make that request?”

Chairman Tsukimitsu sounds unsure of himself for the first time during the meeting.

“Your company has severed all ties with the black market, so I don’t foresee any problems with the association announcing a full partnership ……”

Why, he asks? That should be obvious.

“Winning a title that I myself have sponsored would be just as embarrassing as planning my own birthday party. Yes?”

“………… Whew. Man, I just wrote some embarrassing stuff, didn’t I ……?”

I can’t even look straight at the article I just printed out.

I’m trying to write the foreword and columns for my book before it gets submitted to the publisher, but …… it feels like I’m baring my heart and soul on the pages. Seriously, I get embarrassed before my fingers hit the keys. My face is burning up.

And I’m too distracted by the Woman’s Legend League final so I can’t concentrate.

“………… Might as well have a look.”

Going across the room to pick up the smartphone that I purposely put out of reach, I take a look at the current formations and match records.

“Let’s see, Ms. Hanadachi and Ms. Rokuroba are …… Huh?! Wh-Why are they playing so slow? I understand wanting to be careful, but ……”

For Ms. Rokuroba: win this match and she’ll have her first shot at a title.

But Ms. Hanadachi doesn’t have a shot to get in and isn’t in danger of being knocked out of the league. So then, why is she spending over 30 minutes on one move in the early-game sometimes and playing right away when you’d think she should spend time thinking about others? Her lack of rhythm is just bizarre.

Things get even more chaotic as the match plays out.

“Wow …… Both of them have gotten so tired, they’re using formations that I’ve never seen before …… How’s this going to turn out?”

There’s all lulled right now, and I don’t think another move will be made anytime soon ……

So it’s time to look at what I came here for.

“  Machi Kugui-Yamashiro Ouka   Ai Hinatsuru Women’s 1-dan Double Wing Attack”

So they’re playing a Double Wing.

That’s one of Ai and my specialties. So it’s not surprising that Ai rose to meet that challenge on defense.

But who could’ve seen this coming?

Machi the Tormentor, famous for using the highly defensive anaguma, is leaving her King lightly defended and using the opening move to attack!

“…… This is amazing, Ma-chan. How did you come so far so quickly ……?”

Her moves have a lively energy to them. The way she’s using her big pieces borders on genius.

“Even the formations that don’t look quite right were built in a way to maximize her big pieces’ mobility. I don’t think people will be able to understand the advantage she has right now……”

What immediately comes to mind when I see it–––is a nine-tailed fox.

It looks like a graceful princess who wouldn’t hurt a fly at first glance.

“But its long tails will already be entwined across the board once it shows its real face. At this rate, you’ll never get to play the late-game you’re so good at …… She’ll torment you into surrender.”

I whisper advice that I know will never be heard to the picture of my apprentice that has been posted to a live blog. It’s been forever since I’ve seen her face.

Machi did an incredible job putting words to all these random ideas and senses I’ve got floating around my head.

It’s extremely difficult for Shogi players to explain what they have in mind to someone else.

After all, it took tens of thousands of matches to develop those senses.

But by describing these senses in concrete words, it’s possible for anyone to think about it theoretically and apply those senses to their own Shogi in a short amount of time.

Machi Kugui is trying to prove her skills as an editor through this match.

At the same time …… she’s also trying to prove that I wasn’t Master material.

No matter how many times I hit the refresh button, Ai still hasn’t played her next move ……

She looks like she’s in so much more pain since she hacked off all that hair ……

“………… I’ve never had a way with words, so there’s still a lot that never got said ……”

Closing the live blog, I get back to writing.

So that I can put these feelings into words for the people who matter the most.

“It might be too late, but ……”

There’s just one thing I want to check on my phone before I do.