Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 2 - Chapter 1.8

  REQUEST

Be that as it may, I regrouped my own forces and put Ai in checkmate under no uncertain terms. Love has no place on a Shogi board.

“Sob ……!”

“I’ll buy that you know what you’re doing, but your skills have a long way to go.”

“……!!”

Cheeks glistening with tears, Ai slams a handful of pieces onto the board and glares at me like an angry demon.

Then I snapped my voice like a whip when she stood up to leave without saying a word.

“Manners!”

“Shut up!! I hate you!!”

Mr. Yashajin had watched the match without saying a word, but of course he couldn’t let that slide.

“Watch your mouth, Ai! Do as Sensei tells you.”

“…… How could you, grandfather?!!”

Now on her feet, Ai leaves the room with tears pouring down her face. The young woman in sunglasses takes off after her with a start, but Mr. Yashajin stays seated on his ankles and lets out a long sigh.

Once I put all the pieces back in the box, I lower my head to the elderly gentleman in hopes that I haven’t made a big mistake.

“…… I’m sorry, sir. I might’ve pushed her a bit too far ……” 

“No, that was acceptable,” he said in a clear voice. Then, “Haaa ……,” he sighed again as if he has a lot on his mind. “…… I wanted to ask a Women’s League player to teach her at first.”

“She didn’t go along with it, did she?”

“Not in the slightest. She claimed that Women’s League players were too weak ……”

A lot of people say that.

Specifically, many bratty kids like her and middle-of-the-pack amateurs have no problem with calling Women’s League players who are stronger than themselves “weak.” It all boils down to the odd idea that playing against one of them will make them weaker and they refuse to take lessons from any of the Women’s League players.

Those people will never become good and, even if they did, they have some serious issues as people. They’ll never get a date, that’s for sure. Probably play Ranging Rook …… Nah, playing style has got nothing to do with it.

“My presence seems to intimidate middle-level players, that’s what I found while instructing her, and more veteran players are too lenient with children Ai’s age … I believe that a young, strict teacher such as yourself will be the best thing for her.”

“Well, if you really think so ……”

“So, Sensei. As for becoming Ai’s instructor ……”

I think she has an interesting talent. I’d love to see how far it takes her.

But I need to focus on training my first apprentice, Ai. While this arrangement might just mean adding a few lessons a week, dealing with that kind of kid just isn’t possible.

I’ll turn it down.

But just as I was about to say so.

“…… She has dealt with more than her share of misfortune.”

Mr. Yashajin managed to squeeze the words out while staring at his knees.

“After both of her parents passed away in the same accident, I have taken it upon myself to look after and raise her as her grandfather …… but I have gotten soft in my old age, and I’m afraid I may have spoiled her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that ……” 

Learning that both Ai’s parents had passed away shakes me to the core.

“All she ever wants to do is play Shogi, and I have allowed it. Unfortunately, that resulted in her playing mostly by herself and hardly ever allowing anyone else to approach her.”

“By herself?”

Those words cause another tremor.

“She didn’t get that good by playing against someone else?”

“That’s correct. She is the only one at this residence who can play and I’ve been informed that she keeps to herself while at school, although I believe she has played over the Internet or against a computer a few times.”

“She came that far on her own ……?”

The fact that she acquired all those skills playing Shogi against herself, that’s the biggest shock of all.

It’s very rare that someone goes pro just by reading Shogi books and studying match records. It’s also true that that’s the only way for people out in rural areas to get stronger when they aren’t fortunate enough to have an opponent.

Those who do make it that way tend to distinguish themselves with unusual skills and senses.

Could that be what’s behind Ai’s talent ……?

“She has all but ceased listening to me and I, myself, am too afraid of being despised by my own granddaughter to take a stronger stand with her … While it shames me to admit it, the girl will only listen to those who can best her at Shogi at this point. From the moment she approached me to ask for a proper Shogi instructor, I immediately wanted to find a professional Shogi player to become Ai’s role model. Not just for Shogi, but to teach her how to be an adult.”

“…… Why is she so devoted to playing Shogi?”

“Because her parents taught her how to play.”

The one thing that her deceased father and mother left to her was Shogi. That’s what Mr. Yashajin tells me.

“Her parents met at a Shogi club in Tokyo while studying in university. The bond they forged while sitting across the board is what led to their marriage. They wasted no time in teaching their only daughter how to play and would often spend nights playing together as a family unit. Ai’s happiest memories were made playing Shogi on those nights. That and ……”

“And?”

“She may feel that people will eventually disappear from her life, but the Shogi board and pieces will always stay by her side.”

“……”

That’s an even sadder reason than I could’ve imagined.

Shogi is the best tool to bring people together. It’s possible for two people who understand the game well enough to have a conversation over the board. That’s why games like Shogi and Go have been nicknamed hand dialogue.

Let’s say I read some Shogi match records dating back to the 1600s.

Looking through them, I’d be able to tell what each player was thinking and what they were trying to accomplish without too much difficulty. Looking at where they used their waiting time would also give me a good idea as to what they were feeling during the match, internal wavering and so on.

Reading records like this makes it possible to converse with the dead.

But …… Playing Shogi as a way to maintain a connection with the dead, I think, will end up hurting Ai more in the end.

If strengthening her bond with her deceased parents is why she wants to get better at Shogi, is she being weighed down too much by her past? 

Once that thought crossed my mind–––the only answer I could get was that I wanted a little more time to think about accepting a position as Ai’s instructor or not.

“Kuzuryu-sensei ……” 

Mr. Yashajin called out to me as if clinging to the last ray of hope. He’s tearing up.

“I beg of you, please take Ai under your wing. I beg of you ……” 

The elderly gentleman started groveling on the spot, putting his hands together and repeating “I beg of you” over and over.

What I saw kneeling before me wasn’t a rich or influential person, but a wizened old man who was only thinking about his granddaughter.