Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 17 - Chapter 1.6

  A GROUP OF PLAYERS BOUND FOR RUIN

Shogi Association Building in Sendagaya, Tokyo.

A single match was taking place in the special arena at the very back of the fourth floor that day.

“I surrender.”

“Hm ……”

The player in the upper seat lightly put down a piece in resignation and Mitsuru Oishi 9-dan acknowledged it with a nod. It was already past midnight. Little trace of formations remained on the board, as was common when players are aggressive enough to smash their opponent’s defenses into nothingness. It had been a fierce battle to say the least.

However, very few people were around to witness it.

The match recorder walked out of the room to print out the match record, leaving only three people in the arena. All members of the press were currently in Kansai. Even association staff had been deployed across the country to help.

Mitsuru glanced around the nearly empty arena and muttered, “Last season’s Ryuo Challenger doesn’t make it into the main tournament …… I know you’re not getting demoted, but this still has to sting, yeah?”

“It must, if a second-ranking player in A League who could have challenged for the Meijin Title had won one more match says so.”

“Okito …… Was that sarcasm just now? I didn’t know computers had that feature ……”

“Only the latest version.”

King Yo Okito responded without the slightest hint of a grin and began the review session, rearranging the pieces to the point where his defeat had been decided.

Indeed, his lack of emotion in victory and defeat made him appear mechanical.

These two players had been mainstays of Group 1 in the Ryuo Tournament for well over a decade, but they had already been defeated and forced to compete in the so-called back alley route to appear in the main tournament.

“Well, I suppose it’s about time for the geezers to lick each other’s wounds, eh?”

The Worldly Maestro stumbled into fifth place within Group 1, the last spot to qualify. The joy from winning the match made him tolerant enough to play along with this banter.

“Look …… I get that there’d be some bumps for me now that I’m playing Ranging Rook again, but how are you struggling this much when you’ve mastered all that cutting-edge software, huh?”

“The first move advantage has ceased to exist. All players had difficulty incorporating software into their training regimens, but a single book has solved the problem. That is the issue.”

“Kuzuryu’s Notebook, yeah ……? That kid put out a real pain in the neck.”

“Mr. Natagiri bragged that he had purchased a total of five copies. While I doubt that the number of books increases efficiency of research, his recent improvement may indicate that my stance needs to be changed.”

“Don’t bother. That guy isn’t normal.”

The two men who hailed from the same generation of Shogi players traded verbal jabs while conducting their review session. However, a college student who had yet to turn 20 years old was intently watching every single move from her seat a short distance away.

“……………”

“You.”

Yo addressed her———Asuka Oishi without looking up from the board.

“What about over there?”

“Over there?”

The girl momentarily drew a blank, being called on out of the blue.

“Ah! ………… I-If you’re talking about Kansai, Kunugi 4-dan won the match! Um …… it was a surprisingly fast match ………… Sainokami-sensei lost by instant death …… on the final turn ……”

“…… Thanks.”

Yo briefly made eye contact with Asuka and voiced gratitude.

His gentile gaze took her by surprise. This was the man who took her father’s title, someone she should hate, and yet ……

The Maestro, however, wasn’t having any of it.

“Hey. Don’t spoil my daughter, got it?”

“From my point of view, I simply acquired the information I sought in the most efficient manner.”

Mitsuru opened his mouth to object but could only produce a long sigh. The flow needed to change.

He won today’s Shogi, but he was losing verbal matches left and right.

“Yeesh …… Since when do Kansai Practice League members sit in on a Kanto review session, anyway? Have you got that much extra time to burn in college? Think of the parents stuck payin’ tuition.”

“I-I don’t have any extra time! I’m only in Kanto to see Ai’s Conferring Ceremony ……”

“What, seeing your Master’s match was just something to do while you’re here?! Want to start lookin’ for a new Master, huh?!”

“Th-Then, I’d break off my relationship with you, too ……!!”

“Did you hear that, Okito?! This is the thanks I get for putting her through college and letting her join the Practice League, as my apprentice, no less!!”

“This should be a proud moment, yes? University is a place where you can choose what you should learn.”

“Oh, come on …… Does that latest computer of yours have a parenting function on top of Shogi?”

“Because finding generally versatile applications for artificial intelligence in everyday life has continuously proven to be an important topic, yes.”

“General versatility?” Mitsuru repeated.

Unable to let that remark slide, he smacked a Rook down onto the board.

“If you think you’re so clever …… Get back to me after you can play decent Ranging Rook, not just Static!”

“As a viable strategy, Ranging Rook is already dead,” came Yo Okito’s emotionless response.

However, it was his next sentence that was unexpected.

“And, software didn’t reach that conclusion. A single human prodigy did. The strategist with the greatest mind at his disposal.”

“……!”

Mitsuru gulped as it dawned on him.

A prodigy strategist.

Only one person in the Shogi world matched that description.

Even the Meijin, who was revered as a Shogi god, was one or two steps behind that player when it came to creativity on the board.

“Mr. Usui, huh …… He’s already been demoted out of Group 1 in the Ryuo Tournament and he’s fallen down to B-2 in the Placement Matches …… or was it C-1? I remember when Ryou was synonymous with him …… just like the Meijin is now.”

“Ranging Rook died when Takeru Usui faltered. Other human beings and computers have no chance of accomplishing what he could not.”

“Hey, aren’t you forgetting about the Worldly Maestro?”

Mitsuru’s attempt at a brave face fell short, and he laughed at his own expense.

“…… My record isn’t good enough to back me up on that. I haven’t created new strategies like he has, either.”

The Maestro then fixed his posture. That was his way of signaling that this review session was over.

Yo Okito silently acquiesced and began putting the pieces away.

“Hey.”

While waiting for the title holder to finish cleaning up, Mitsuru Oishi softly lobbed a question.

His voice was surprisingly quiet for someone who had just won the match.

“Do you really …… think Ranging Rook’s days are over? Even with help from that deep learning software you’re developing, do you think new strategies can’t be created? Ones like Mr. Usui came up with …… Something that’ll take the pros and the Sub League by storm. A gamechanger ……”

“That is what the math indicates. Otherwise all research done with software up to this point would become null and void.”

“Uh-huuuh ……”

The Worldly Maestro folded his arms and fell deep in thought.

Even Asuka, sitting beside the board, looked into her lap and clenched her fists. Rather than someone who came to learn about Shogi …… it looked as though the girl had sat in on the match for another purpose altogether.

Yo cast a gentle gaze upon her once again and said, “Though.”

“Hm?”

“I, personally, would like it to remain. I, too, ………… am a father.”