Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 17 - Chapter 3.3

  TO BUY A COMPUTER

“Um …… Kugui-sensei? A-Are we really going outside dressed like this?”

“Naturally.”

I’m getting pulled out of the building and onto the street known as Pedestrian Paradise. It’s a bit scary, but Kugui-sensei sounds like she can’t wait.

“Since we’re already here in Akihabara, what better way is there to do some advertising for the magazine and the café than a costumed jaunt through the streets?♡”

I’m still in a maid outfit, but with kitty ears and a tail.

Kugui-sensei is next to me, also wearing a maid’s outfit …… Except, she’s got fox ears and a big, bushy tail.

If Maria were here, she’d surely be yelling, “Do not mimic one such as I!” ……

“Hawaiian shirts are the standard for the Hawaiian islands, no? Cosplay is much the same for Akihabara. When in Rome, as they say.”

“I really, really don’t think that’s true ……”

Yes, there are maids handing things out to people along Pedestrian Paradise everywhere I look.

Their outfits are pretty skimpy because it’s summer out. They’re more like girls standing outside in their underwear with frilly headbands than maids.

Compared to them, we shouldn’t stand out at all.

…… But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“M-My word, the quality of those two maids is off the charts!!”

“That one’s a tween, don’t you think?!”

“The other’s got a massive pair! What are those, J-cups?!”

“Excuse me! Can I get a picture, please?!”

“Fox dance, fox dance!!”

We get swarmed the second we step out onto Pedestrian Paradise. It’s already so bad, we can’t go anywhere.

Then.

“Settle down, settle down! Give them some space!”

The man who’s accompanying me today steps forward and starts directing people around using the kebab he’s holding like a baton.

“One picture per person, no exceptions! Change out with the next person in line as soon your picture is taken! If you upload to social media, make sure to add the hashtag Shogi Con-Café!”

It’s Master’s older brother.

Mom has put him through strict training as a new employee, and it looks like he has enough basic customer interaction skills to work at a hotel.

“If I may———”

Kugui-sensei asks the plainest questions once the first wave of pictures are over.

“You are Yaichi’s elder brother, correct? Why have you been at Ai’s hip all day? Have you become her manager of sorts?”

“Company orders. The manager assigned me to join the young mistress on her errand today.”

That’s what he says, but I’m pretty sure he’s here to stop me from making any more announcements during the interview.

My frustration starts coming out.

“…… Shouldn’t you be working?”

“A good deal of my job can be done remotely. That’s how the system was designed.”

“In other words, you cannot contribute enough for others to notice your absence, yes?”

“Hah hah hah!”

He laughs at Kugui-sensei’s remark and chomps down on his kebab. That laugh sounds just like Master’s. Just the laugh.

“I used to come here all the time back when I was in college. I know these streets like the back of my hand.”

Came here to do what, I wonder. Now, I’m even more nervous ……

…… But once he guides us to a computer shop, Master’s older brother talks to the clerk and gets everything I’ll need together like clockwork.

Kugui-sensei and I stay back and watch him work. Another swarm would show up in no time if we stepped out in the open ……

“Do you use a high spec computer as well, Kugui-sensei?”

“In my case, writing match articles is the main purpose for my machine. Women’s League matches often deviate from the software’s best moves at an early stage.”

“Double Static Rook also doesn’t happen very much compared to professional matches.”

“That said, software can be most helpful for devising against Ranging Rook strategies as well. Placing Golds beneath the King for defense, for example. Or the Millenium formation.”

“One sensei is racking up victory stars with Millenium right now, too.”

I offhandedly bring up what I heard from Tsubasa, and Kugui-sensei keeps her tone friendly and casual when she asks.

“Surely your reason for purchasing a computer today isn’t to go on a tear of your own in the Women’s League, now is it, Ai?”

“………… No.”

I’ve gotten into the main stage of the Nebula Tournament and also finished the first day of recording with victories. That makes four straight wins against professionals, including the preliminaries …… But the real challenge starts at the next recording session.

I hide the pressure I’m under as best I can and shake my head.

“Against the younger professional senseis waiting for me in the main tournament, I won’t stand a chance if I can’t use the latest software programs. I might even lose right from the early-game ……”

“Is Ginko included in that list of younger professionals?”

That question rolls off her tongue. It’s a big signal that the interview is actually still going on.

———Actually, this is the real one ……!

Kugui-sensei is trying to find out why I want to test into the professional league. Now that we’re just chatting after the scheduled interview, she’s hoping to catch me with my guard down ……!

But this is also the moment I’ve been waiting for.

I answer like it’s just small talk.

“Sora-sensei will be back. Sooner rather than later, too.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because you seemed very rushed during our match …… Sensei.”

“……!”

The air next to me changes in the blink of an eye.

It’s the same vibe as a wounded animal. One where you can tell it’s looking for the slightest opening to sink its teeth into your throat.

A menacing, deadly air.

I know fully well I’ve stepped on that animal’s tail but press on without missing a beat.

“You’re usually so calculated when you play, but you showed all your cards in the final Women’s Legend Tournament match, Kugui-sensei. Your connection with Master, the results of your research with software, pulling out all the stops. I think I would have lost the match if you hadn’t been in a hurry.”

“………… Why no. My loss would still stand, regardless.”

Once she shoots me the bewitching sideways glance of a wild animal, Machi the Tormentor pulls back her claws and takes on a friendly air again.

She’s calling for a truce.

But I press a step further.

“Sora-sensei can still play Shogi, I think. She wasn’t trying to distance herself from the game …… She needed space from him, probably.”

My old self would never have pushed the envelope this far, especially not with a higher-ranking player like Kugui-sensei.

But we’re on even footing now that I have a title. When I see a battle I can win, you can bet I’ll press my advantage.

“…… I can relate more to Sora-sensei now that I’m trying to become a professional player, too.”

“That so?”

“Her whole thought process is based on what to do to get stronger. I doubt that’s changed ……”

My phrasing had to come across like a taunt, something like we are on a different level, one that you don’t understand, depending on how Kugui-sensei takes it. But she just listens.

“I have to become a professional to have a chance to battle against her. That’s why I want to take a Professional Entrance Exam and why I need a high-spec computer. Is that answer good enough?”

“Half.”

“Huh?”

“That’s half of what I’m after. As for the other, I’ll do some investigating myself …… which is my line of work.”

She then shapes her right hand like a fox and grins from ear to ear.

That sign means Kugui-sensei is closing off her true feelings.

“By the way, Ai. With whom have you been playing Shogi with as of late? Practice partners must be scarce, no? I’ve connections with strong amateur players should you wish to meet them.”

“Tsubasa is …… Gakumeki Women’s 1-kyu has been doing practice sessions with me.”

“Now that you mention it, she was the match recorder for the fifth match in the Women’s Legend Title Match. Close, are you?”

“Yes!”

“Socializing has never been that girl’s strong suit. It’s so nice to hear she has a friend in you, Ai. What’s she up to today, I wonder.”

“She’s on a date.”

“…………… Pardon?”

Kugui-sensei’s jaw drops, making her pretty face stretch for just a moment.

Then, looking more shocked than I’ve ever seen her before, she grabs both of my shoulders.

“Un …… Undying Wings is dating someone?! Wh-Wh-Who?!”

“He’s a former Sub League member and used to be her older brother apprentice. I don’t think they’re trying to keep it a secret or anything …… Ah, she just sent a picture.”

I turn my phone around to show Kugui-sensei a selfie Tsubasa took with her boyfriend.

They look so happy, holding hands right outside the aquarium.

“Th-That certainly looks to be ………… Miss Gakumeki ……”

“He’s the one who asked her out and said he was serious about getting married. Tsubasa told me she wanted to wait until she had established herself in the Women’s League a bit more, but she said that her resolve was as solid as a Silver Crown Anaguma but his Primitive Climbing Silver was just too persistent!♡”

“Undying Wings …… u-using Shogi love metaphors only women who play Shogi would understand …… that Undying Wings ……?!”

Kugui-sensei doesn’t usually taste defeat, but she sure is now.

With a dry laugh, she says, “Here’s a living Hachishaku, that specter with long rivers of black hair, striding through an aquarium on a lovey-dovey date with her boy toy …… Yet here I am cosplaying in Akihabara with some little girl on my day off …… Machi the Tormentor has fallen, indeed …… Ha-ha ……”

“Excuse me?”

Sure, Tsubasa is wearing a pretty white summer dress and a matching wide-brimmed hat with her long hair flowing out the back ………… Huh?

She does look like a Hachishaku, doesn’t she ……?

“This may sound strange coming from myself …… But doesn’t love seem to be in the air throughout the Shogi world recently?”

“Sora-sensei might have had something to do with it.”

Tamayon-sensei said it all the time: “more than half of Women’s Players could never make enough to live on just playing Shogi.”

The pay is close to a part-time job, but it’s nowhere near as consistent as shifts working at a restaurant.

“There are other options for side income, like modeling or TV spots, but balancing those jobs with Women’s League matches is very hard. So the best way to keep playing Shogi———”

“Is to be a housewife for the stability, yes?” Kugui-sensei finishes my sentence.

Sora-sensei becoming a professional brought Women’s Shogi into the spotlight.

But that bubble popped right away because she took a leave of absence …… All that’s left are lots and lots of girls who joined the Practice League because they wanted to be like her.

The number of Women’s League players could double in a few years if the qualifications for joining the league aren’t changed. The pie is already too small, and more players coming in would only reduce the pay even further if more matches aren’t added ……

“Actually, I started the con-café with the intention of providing Women’s League players with a place to work while playing Shogi …… It may be a meaningless drop in the bucket though.”

“I don’t think it’s good for the Women’s League for one strong player to hold all the titles. It probably wouldn’t be a good thing for that person, either.”

“An interesting point. Thus, the woman who has grown too strong should have an avenue into the professional league. That very well could be a necessity moving forward.”

It sounds disrespectful coming from me, I know.

———After only winning a single title match …… So arrogant.

But it’s not just me.

Ten-chan and Empress Ika Sainokami.

Those two are so much stronger than nearly all of the Women’s League.

I beat Miss Sainokami when I was in the Practice League, but she wasn’t taking me seriously. I don’t think I was ever on her radar. She was laser-focused on Master and inflicting damage on Sora-sensei next to him …… by toying with me.

———What would happen if I played against her for real?

She recently played against Sota Kunugi 4-dan using a weird strategy, but lost to a sudden death in the end. The media people wrote it off, blaming her mistake on jitters from being in the spotlight. But there’s no way she could’ve beat Sora-sensei if playing against a little boy with so many people watching made her nervous. Nothing about that match made sense, including overlooking a sudden death sequence.

But what really made no sense at all was———

“………… Ten-chan ……”

The first thing I did after my title match was over was line up every single one of Ten-chan’s title matches.

10 total matches against 3-dan members of the Sub League.

The image I got playing through them felt off in every way. Especially when Ten-chan lost, it didn’t feel like she was making the moves.

———Media people explained it as, “She made mistakes against a higher ranking player” ……

The Ten-chan I know plays an extremely calculated style with almost no mistakes.

Defensive players can’t win if they mess up.

There were several times I wasn't sure if Ten-chan was playing correctly.

The Ten-chan I know wouldn’t have played any of those moves.

More like———

“………… It wasn’t …… the Shogi I know ……”

How can I put this off feeling into words?

It’s like the same one I got from Miss Sainokami, but so much more advanced …… Yes, there’s an advanced sense to Ten-chan’s Shogi.

A sense that shouldn’t exist in this world.

There’s something else that scares me even more.

———Why did that Shogi …… feel nostalgic to me ……?

“Young Mistress? Miss Hinatsuru?”

“Wha?! Oh ……. Wh-What is it?”

“Everything’s done. Your new computer is squared away.”

Master’s older brother bought everything while I was lost in thought. He even arranged to have it delivered. Was I thinking for that long ……?

“Th-Thank you for doing so much ……”

“There’s no need to thank me. Just doing my job.”

Kugui-sensei stretches and says, “Shall we adjourn?”

“Huh? Don’t we need to buy the software?”

“Software is readily available for free online, so no.”

“Huuuh ……?”

Use free software? How can it be powerful enough?

Master’s older brother and Kugui-sensei start walking away even though I’m confused. They start taking turns explaining it once I catch up.

“The most powerful software accessible by average citizens right now is open-source. It improves as more and more people use it. While there is an inventor, they only go by an alias. No one knows their real identity.”

“There was a period long ago when many suspected they were a student due to the unusual update timings.”

“Right. The root was seriously twenty points higher in the mornings and evenings!”

“Rumor nowadays has it that they have found employment, based on the severe drop in update frequency.”

“I’d believe it.”

Student? Employment?

Before all that though …… Nobody knows who made it?

“Isn’t that a little too unreliable ……?”

The two of them look like they’re having a great time talking about this computer stuff, but I’m not sure how to express what I’m starting to feel about it.

Using software has become so normal in the Shogi world recently that it’s almost a given.

That Meijin, Master, God-sensei, and Natagiri-sensei, too …… All the top professionals are doing their best to add elements of software into their Shogi.

Basically, it’s starting to become humanity’s instruction manual.

And that software …… is being passed around the internet for free but no one knows who made it!

“There’s no money in developing Shogi software. Packaging it up and selling it in stores isn’t worth the investment, so developers make it as a pet project of sorts. It’s similar to long-sequence Shogi puzzles, to tell the truth.”

“Should it be marketed as a video game, the program needs only be strong enough to be slightly challenging to a person, you see.”

“U-Um!”

I ask a question to Master’s older brother’s back as we walk.

“How do you know so much about Shogi ……?”

“You didn’t know, Ai?”

“Uwhee?”

“This man here is most likely an even stronger player than I am.”

“Whoa, whoa! I couldn’t defeat an active Women’s Title Holder, no way. I’ve barely touched a board since graduating from university.”

“University?”

Something about that word sticks out to me. Then it clicks.

The people who first taught Master how to play Shogi.

His father, and———

“I was the Student Meijin three years ago, as well as the President of the Shogi Club at the University of Tokyo, a fan so obsessed with the game that I took a year off to pursue the Student Throne Title …… which also delayed my job hunting and nearly made me unemployed.”

“University …… of Tokyo?”

It’s the best school in all of Japan.

You have to be really smart just to get in. Professional Shogi players are often compared to students at the University of Tokyo, at least inside the Shogi world. Master taught me that, as well as a certain legend.

W-Wait …… It couldn’t be?!

“I’m the brother who went to the University of Tokyo because I wasn’t smart enough.”