Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 17 - Chapter Pr1

  PROLOGUE

“Hey, hey, Master?”

“Yeah? What is it, Ai?”

Back around the time Ai first moved in with me as my (temporary) live-in apprentice.

This girl who’d crammed her head full of Shogi rules and Shogi puzzles, but had no idea how the Shogi world actually worked, asked me out of the blue one day, “How hard is it to become a professional Shogi player?”

“Hmm …… Let me think.”

We were on our way home after she’d spent hours playing against everyone she could find in the Kansai Shogi Association’s classroom on the second floor while I was in the Player’s Room on the third floor doing the exact same thing.

The sun was starting to set as we passed through the shopping arcade. I decided to share this story with her.

“My brother is dumb, so he went to the University of Tokyo.”

“Uwhee?”

“You see, a certain pro was asked the same question you just asked, and he quoted his older brother. It’s legendary at this point.”

“Legen …… dary?”

Ai opened her big eyes even wider.

“The University of Tokyo …… Isn’t that the hardest university to get into in all of Japan?”

“About 3,000 students get accepted every year. But for the most part, only four people can become pro Shogi players each year. That’s a much, much smaller window than the University of Tokyo.”

“Whaaat?! 3—3,000 people get into the University of Tokyo every year?!”

“That’s what surprised you?!”

…… Well, I was shocked the first time I heard that number, too ……

“The Sub League used to have a system based on victory stars. Win enough in one year, and any number of players could turn pro. The problem was there were too many pros, so the 3-dan division was created to fix that. That’s where we are now. Another system called Free Class was added later that let players who just missed turning pro twice join because the rules were too strict.”

“Oooh.”

“There’s also a rule that lets successful amateur players test into the 3-dan division. I’ve heard it was so that the age limit wouldn’t slam the door on a pro career but …… It’s still really hard to do. And you won’t be a pro right away: you’ll just be allowed to join the 3-dan division.

“I think I get it.”

That nod wasn’t all too convincing. Still, she grabs my hand and asks, “By the way, Master?”

“Yeah?”

“About the professional player …… The one whose brother went to the University of Tokyo. Who was he?”

“Hmm? I wonder ……”