Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 17 - Chapter 5.01

  DARK TAISHI

Walking into the special arena in the back of the fourth floor, a suave smile is there to greet me.

“Good morning. I believe this is our first league match, is it not?”

My first opponent in B League, Class 2 is Taishi Shinokubo 7-dan.

He’s 25 and had one season as a title holder.

Dubbed Lord Taishi, he graduated from a famous private university and became the most popular young pro in Kanto with his suave yet sharp play style. Ayumu stacks up pretty well on the handsome scale, but gets blown out of the water in terms of common sense and social skills. That leaves Mr. Shinokubo alone at the top.

“Pardon me,” I say and quickly settle into the upper seat.

Since I’m the Ryuo, my matches typically get scheduled in Kansai. Placement Matches, however, are different. B-2 plays ten matches over the course of the year and one of mine happens to be in Tokyo.

The fact that it happens to overlap with one of my apprentice’s matches is a complete coincidence.

“I ought to thank you, Mr. Kuzuryu. If it weren’t for your status, I wouldn’t be playing in the special arena today. The large hall is actually anything but, not to mention it’s filthy and the restroom tends to be crowded. How nice it is that we have a restroom all to ourselves over here!”

I get my area set up while absentmindedly listening to him.

There’s a reason why I’m not giving him my full attention.

“Placement Matches last long into the night …… You have to be considerate of the veteran players if you’re stuck in the large hall and it’s impossible to concentrate if you happen to be near someone who constantly fidgets and mumbles to themselves. Being as sensitive to these things as I am, it can become rather overwhelming. But I don’t have to worry about any of that today …… Losing the Emperor title also meant losing the right to use this room, you see.”

“…………”

That negativity doesn’t match the smart, handsome Lord Taishi at all. I just close my eyes and let it all go in one ear and out the other.

I’ve heard rumors that he became a lot more pessimistic after the Meijin took the Emperor title from him …… It looks like they were true. Modesty has a line, and he definitely crossed it. Some people even say it’s an off-the-board tactic. Ignoring it as much as possible is the way to go ……

Suddenly, someone is on my right.

“?!”

Looking up, a healthily tanned beauty’s profile is in front of me and my heart jumps.

Today’s match recorder———Karen Noboryou is pouring a cup of tea for me.

“………… Thanks.”

This is awkward, but I still thank her. She gives me a silent nod before sitting down at the boardside table.

———She seems …… kind of down. I can’t blame her, though ……

I bet her Shogi sense got trampled to pieces during her double title match against Ai Yashajin.

She’s having a rough time in the 3-dan division this season, too. Not only have her chances of promotion to the pros gone up in smoke, she’s in danger of getting knocked back down to the main Sub League so soon after joining the division.

But something doesn’t add up.

Why would she go out of her way to work one of my matches ……? Especially a Placement Match of all things.

“Members of the 3-dan division are given priority when they work as match recorders. So, naturally, most prefer to avoid Placement Matches because of the long waiting time. Thus, her choosing to work this match could only mean———”

Mr. Shinokubo muses to himself, “Just seeing the match record wouldn’t be enough. She must want to take it in as closely as possible, to feel the atmosphere herself just as a supercomputer showed you how Shogi will be played a century from now.”

…… It seems my brother was right. Kanto’s young pros and 3-dan division members are swarming Awaji’s records like there’s no tomorrow. I take a moment to observe my slightly restless opponent.

———I thought he’d be one of the ones to jump at those records, but this much?

It’s become the norm to see Taishi Shinokubo 7-dan as someone who claimed a title at 22 years old because he was quick to incorporate the Snowroof, Bishop Exchange, and Side Pawn Capture strategies, all of which are easy to research with software.

So many younger pros do that much now that it’s almost a given.

Mr. Shinokubo was also one of the first to use a high-spec computer and figure out how to use software for research. When it comes to making standard sequences, he’s head and shoulders above most pros.

Most people didn’t realize just how far he was ahead of the curve when he won that title.

But that was two years ago. Use software to analyze his matches from back then, and it’s clear as day that he progressed through the early stages playing his own game.

———Basically …… he was an oracle from the future too.

Okito-sensei strove to become more like a computer, but Mr. Shinokubo used it to find answers.

Developing standard tactics.

It was called digging back when software first came out. A lot like how people mine for virtual currency today, he turned electrical power into sleek new sequences.

The better computers get.

The higher the electricity bill climbs.

The more software will dig for new standards on its own.

Tons of victory stars and titles are the returns for that investment.

And Mr. Shinokubo won matches left and right. That only makes sense because he saved all the time and energy required for researching standards with one press of a button. Traditional research methods required you to share information, but that’s not true with a computer.

But the Shogi world isn’t so forgiving that it’ll let that strategy work for long.

———Deviate from the standards just when playing against him.

That’s actually how the Meijin wiped the floor with him. Even though he deliberately put himself at a disadvantage during the early-game by using outdated strategies, the Meijin’s mid-game skills were too much for Mr. Shinokubo to handle.

Once that strategy was used on the title match stage, everyone started avoiding the latest standards against Mr. Shinokubo in league matches. His winning percentage has dropped so low, it makes his glory days of a few years ago look like a fever dream.

On top of that, everyone has started using software well enough to negate the head start Mr. Shinokubo had when it came to strategies.

Even still, he’s not to be underestimated.

Because no one knows ……. just how deep the dark roots running under his developed standards go.

“So tell me, how does it feel to dig for standard tactics with an extremely fast machine set aside for your own personal use? Just as comfortable as being allowed to use this special arena? What say you, Mr. Demon King of the West?”

If I let that suave smile and charm convince me to let my guard down, I’ll get sucked into a negative black hole of a sequence. That’s why people have a new name for him.

Dark Taishi.

“It’s time. Shinokubo-sensei, please begin the match.”

The clock strikes 10, meaning it’s time to start.

Mr. Shinokubo wastes no time advancing the Pawn in front of his Rook up two spaces. Getting a Pawn to 2 Five followed by jumping the Knight forward is the latest trend for Static Rook, so of course I’m aware of it.

Then Mr. Shinokubo opens the Bishop Path.

The formations are now limited to either Bishop Exchange or Snowroof.

“I’m showing you my research, so you better show me yours!”

That’s Dark Taishi’s message.

“…… Five years.”

A small voice comes from the boardside table. Was the twinge of despair just my imagination?

A Bishop Exchange develops on the board.

Mr. Shinokubo had the opening move, but he’s playing very reserved.

———Was it Ayumu who compared Shogi to a card game?

Out of all Shogi’s strategies, Bishop Exchange seems to be the closest to battling with cards.

Both of us have research cards in our hand, the question is when and where to play them. Our strategies will be tested from that point forward.

I decide to play a rare card at this point.

“Giving me the edge column for free? Well, well …… that is a rare card indeed.”

“…… Ten years.”

Noboryu 3-dan mutters in incoherent despair so deep, she may as well be sitting at the bottom of Hell.

The formations heat up even further.

We’re locked into Bishop Exchange Double Reclining Silver and the war could break out at any moment.

Our Knights have jumped as far as they can and our hands are short on cards.

Now’s the time for me to play one more.

My King is perfectly safe at 3 One, but I move it up to 4 Two on purpose.

“Oh!”

Mr. Shinokubo immediately senses something off about that decision.

“…… 20 years.”

There’s that voice from the boardside table again.

But Awaji didn’t come up with this move. I thought of it myself before then, actually. The point of moving the King closer to the battlefield is to speed up the opponent’s advance, but———

“………… That’s about enough.”

Mr. Shinokubo then starts shifting his Gold side to side, a forced stop card.

With that, the match ends with a Repetition Draw on move 53.

———He gave up the first move advantage?!

I ended up playing two rare cards, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he still could have had a decent shot at picking up a very important Placement Match victory had he kept playing.

There’s only one explanation as to why he would choose to start over from the beginning.

———Simply put …… He’s prioritized absorbing my research over the victory star ……

Dark Taishi’s devotion to standards sends a chill down my spine.

“He-he. I’m hoping for a stronger card this time.”

Picking up only his valuables, Mr. Shinokubo grins at me as he leaves the arena.

The redo starts 30 minutes later.

Now that the first move is mine, I call on my most-treasured sword: Double Wing Attack.

———Standards don’t mean anything now. I’ll crush him with pure power!

I go in there ready to unleash an all-out offensive …… But.

“……?! That’s ……”

His movements are much more refined than I expected.

———How did he dig this deep on a household computer?!

His early-game is built like a deck of cards specifically designed to prove that the Double Wing isn’t just a contest of strength anymore.

Then———he makes his big move on the 66th turn.

“…… Repetition Draw. We’ll restart the match in 30 minutes,” says a fiery Noboryu 3-dan as she taps away on the tablet.

People must’ve picked up on the strangeness unfolding in here. I can hear voices out in the hallway.

But Dark Taishi doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. Putting the pieces back, he says in a chipper voice, “Why don’t we play Snowroof next?”

Sure enough, he plays the trending first-move Snowroof once the redo gets started. It’s almost like he’s daring me to teach him a move that will stop this trend once and for all ……

It’s still early evening when the third Repetition Draw happens.

“Haaah! That was a rather interesting early-game sequence you let me see,” says Mr. Shinokubo in a giddy voice while wiping himself down with a moist towelette. “Six hour Shogi is fantastic, yes? There’s still plenty of time to play even after three Repetition Draws.”

It’s obvious what he’s after now. He wants to know how deep the water goes.

Thinking that there’s more hidden underneath, he keeps throwing rocks into my research to measure how far they sink.

———And it’s annoying.

Beyond annoying.

He has no idea about the heavy burden I’m carrying as I fight.

I’m doing everything I can not to play any of Awaji’s early-game sequences.

Here I am, trying to extend Shogi’s longevity, and he’s throwing rocks!

———What do you have to complain about, huh?!

There was once a Shogi pro who said, “The Meijin is nothing but trash.”

It was to that Meijin’s face, actually. When he responded with, “Well, what does that make you?”

The player answered, “A fly drawn in by the stench, probably.”

It’s painfully obvious to me now what he meant by that.

I have status as Ryuo, the influence my title gives me, and Awaji showed me the future.

But I’m still trash who can’t even save one girl.

“……… You know what? Fine ……,” I mutter to myself after Mr. Shinokubo and Noboryou 3-dan leave the arena.

My resolve grows stronger every second I sit here alone.

“You want to see the Gates of Hell that badly, I’ll show you.”

And, with the first move changing hands yet again 30 minutes later, I show him that move.

The strongest card in my hand.

“F———”

His handsome features twist the second I take my hand off the piece.

“5 Eight ………… King?!”

Mr. Shinokubo leans all the way over the board with his eyes locked on my King until looking up with a breathless start. His gaze drops back down a moment later as if staring down into the abyss.

A hint of delight comes through in the voice from the boardside table.

“100 years.”