Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 16 - Chapter 4.4

  AYUMU’S EX-GIRLFRIEND

“………… It seems the tea has gone cold yet again. I shall have Maria bring us a fresh pot.”

Shakando-sensei rings a bell she has next to her and the cat-eared girl dressed as a maid comes into the room with a new pot of tea right away.

“…………”

Her eyes are red. It’s obvious that she was eavesdropping, but Shakando-sensei doesn’t scold her for it. Maybe she wanted Maria to hear all along?

“Thank you, Maria. Go home for today.”

“……. One such as I will take my leave.”

She does the cutest little bow to us and does what she’s told without complaining. That one such as I thing is adorable.

“Darling, isn’t she? Envisioning her progress is my favorite pastime these days,” says Shakando-sensei with thin, smiling eyes. “The construction of new association buildings, the expansion of Women’s Titles and the maturation of my apprentice …… I believe I have received happiness far beyond what I deserve, considering the immensity of my sins.”

“I think you’re a victim, Sensei. Do you really have to be so hard on yourself?”

“Pressuring Naniwa’s Snow White to this extent is my sin. Reflecting on that fact–––”

“You’re overthinking it! Big Sis became a pro because she wanted to. She made the decision herself …… including taking this leave of absence.”

I won’t give any ground on that point.

Me being her main motivation for making that decision is the one thing I can cling to.

“…… It was my Master who desired the title of Meijin, but he has passed away. God Cauldron has his sights set on Meijin because that’s where his talents guide him. One so blessed by the Shogi gods as he deserves a partner who is not a prisoner of the past like myself.”

“Does he really …… not have a chance? Ayumu–––”

“I tire of this, Ryuo.”

Her words cut right through me. She’s not trying to hide her annoyance anymore.

“…………”

The air gets really heavy. Shakando-sensei takes a sip of tea as if to say: this conversation is over.

“Hey, can I say somethin’?”

That’s the moment.

Women’s King Ryou Tsukiyomizaka, who hadn’t said a word the whole time, decides to raise her hand ………… and drops this bombshell.

“Speak as freely as your own talents guide you, Aggressive Archangel.”

“Ayumu and I dated for a while.”

Clatter!

An ornate teacup rolls across the floor before any of us could gasp in surprise.

It’s Shakando-sensei’s.

“…………… Apologies. My fingers slipped.”

Still smiling, Sensei reaches down and picks her cup up off the floor.

Luckily, it was empty and didn’t break. There’s no spilled tea or shards to clean up.

“Would you please continue?”

Shakando-sensei pours herself another cup. Meanwhile, Machi and I are losing our minds.

“What is this now?! O-Ryou, you never once said a word!! When was this going on?!”

“Started in the summer when I was 14 and lasted about a year.”

Wait? 14 …… That would overlap between her second and third years in junior high school.

Wasn’t that when she ……?

“Ryou, weren’t you in the Su–––”

PINCH!!

Machi digs her fingernails into my thigh under the table the second I start talking. Ow, ow, OUCH!! And that spot is dangerously close!!

“You were saying? How was Ayumu as a boyfriend? We are all so interested to hear the finer points, are we not, Yaichi?”

“Y-Yeah! And seriously, friends don’t hide this kind of thing from each other, right?!”

“My bad, my bad. Ayumu wanted to keep it hush-hush.”

With a quick glance at Shakando-sensei, Ryou goes into bragging mode.

“Oh, well, I used to call him Ayu back then. He just called me Ryou’cuz he was too shy for cutesy nicknames.”

“Have you got any proof of it? A picture of some sort?” asks Machi.

“I might have one left, hang on ……. Ah! Found it.”

Ryou opened her smartphone and found a picture in almost no time flat.

It’s the two of them when they were both in the third year of junior high.

Whoa, they’re young! And Ryou looks like she’s nothing but trouble!!

“My, my! How lovey-dovey!!”

“Such innocence. Were you Ayumu’s first girlfriend by chance, O-Ryou?”

“Pretty sure, yeah. I got a lot of his firsts.”

Ryou laughs up a storm while the rest of us pass her phone around.

Of course, Shakando-sensei takes a look.

Mnngggghhhhh ……

The air around her is so heavy I can almost see the sound effects raining down. I’m particularly sensitive to it because I used to see the same sparks from Big Sis and my apprentices ……

Whether Ryou picks up on that aura or not, she keeps going and picks up steam.

“We went on dates, probably once a week, maybe? We both had school to go to and lived on opposite sides of Tokyo. But when we had time, we were all over each other.”

“Sounds reminiscent of my relationship with Yaichi.”

“Yeah, Machi and I had …… Hey! We never dated!! Don’t go trying to change history!!”

Not to mention the fact that I was in the sixth grade when Machi was in her second year of junior high. That’s way too early.

With that warning firmly in place, I look at Ryou and ask, “…… Well? What did you do, specifically, while you were dating?”

“We were at that age when curiosity kicks in, yeah? And we went at it from any position every chance we got.”

SLUUURRRRP!

“…… Pardon me.”

That’s odd. I’ve never heard Shakando-sensei make a sound while drinking tea, let alone something so loud. It’s almost like she was trying to drown out the conversation.

“You know how straightlaced and normal Ayumu is? You’d never believe the stuff he tried on me when it was just us. Putting it in places you normally wouldn’t use, for starters.”

“I can relate very well. Yaichi and I were very much the same.”

“Oh yeah, Machi and I were busy around the clock …… But not like that!! Nothing happened between us, got it?!”

“Oh? Denying it so hard makes it sound like you did get up to something. Actually, you two’ve been acting weird around each other for a bit now. Since we’re all fessing up about our pasts, how about you guys join in?” suggests Ryou with an evil spark in her eyes.

“While I hate to rain on your parade–––,” the Eternal Queen interrupts us in a tone I’ve never heard her use before. “………… It is high time that I returned to my research. Can I ask you to see yourselves out?”

It’s already dark outside when we leave Shakando-sensei’s shop.

“I’m starving! Why does that hag have to drone on and on ……? Let’s snag something good to eat before heading out.”

“Rumor has it there’s a wonderful little place located along Meiji Street in this area. One that serves ramen.”

The girls take off at a brisk pace and I call after them.

“Ryou. There’s something I want to check before we eat.”

“Yeah?”

The Gothic delinquent turns to look at me.

“You talking about this getup? Well sure, I’ll stand out like a sore thumb going to a ramen joint like this, but who cares? After hearing the hag talk about it so much, I’m craving ramen like nothing else.”

That’s not it. Well, she’s right, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

“About what you said earlier, dating Ayumu …… >That was at the same time, right?”

“It’s exactly what you and Machi are thinkin’.”

She admits it straightaway and bares her teeth in a wicked grin.

“She was just too stunned to connect the dots. It’s not like it’s a crime, yeah? Rather than just opening up about it, she gets her undies all twisted. What’s a hag doin’ acting like a petty schoolgirl anyway?”

“You may very well have squeezed several years off Shakando-sensei’s lifespan with that performance, O-Ryou. She hadn’t many left to begin with. The best medicine may be a bitter pill to swallow, but that bordered on the traumatic.”

These two seriously don’t have any idea what the phrase respect your elders means.

“Very traumatic …… But it might be the jolt that we needed to move forward.”

Shakando-sensei’s reaction made her feelings all too obvious.

“That being said, would you please give me more details about what happened between the two of you? I’ll have to fix this later. Shakando-sensei is in no shape to play Shogi right now.”

“What’s the problem with letting your apprentice take the title?”

“Everything! Ai won’t be happy if she finds out that’s how she won!! And–––.”

“And?”

The two Women’s Title Holders ask in unison and I say, “I think that’s Ai’s key to victory. Bringing out Shakando-sensei’s true strength …… the way that she beat pros back when she was called the Assassin.”

“You just contradicted yourself. She’ll lose it if the hag goes all out, right?”

“Well, yes, but …… Man, I can’t figure out how to put this into words.”

Wracking my brain, I tilt my head and try to collect my thoughts–––

Press♡

“Wha?!”

I glance down to figure out what the soft pressure is and …… see Machi wrapping herself around my arm.

“Say, Yaichi.♡”

“Wh-What is it, Machi?”

This slightly older woman looking up at me has my heart racing. Not to mention the fact that she offhandedly asked me to marry her ……

“When O-Ryou revealed her past with Ayumu, the two of us were watching Shakando-sensei’s reaction, were we not?”

“…… For sure. She was blindsided.”

“Well, I’m fairly certain O-Ryou had her eyes on someone else.”

“Huh?”

“H-Hey, Machi! The hell are you–––?”

Ryou turns bright red.

Hold up?! Th-There’s no way!!

“Don’t tell me …… You think I might be jealous because Ayumu got a girlfriend before I did?”

“………………”

Wh-Why aren’t they saying anything?

Machi presses those incredible chest pillows even tighter against my arm.

“Like myself, he cannot pick up on things even if they get spelled out directly. Do you believe such ambiguous hints would even come across for this obstinate person?”

“Thinkin’ about it that way, Ayumu is really something else …… Saying everything up front and never giving up even after getting shot down every time.”

The two of them seem to understand something. Ryou looks up at the beautiful moon overhead and whispers, “…… He should be rewarded, straight up.”