Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 3 - Chapter 3.3

  CONFESSION

“Whew …… That was too close ……”

I dump a bucket of water over my head and take a seat on one of the plastic chairs in the men’s bath to wash myself.

Whenever I take a shower, I always start with the shampoo.

I do that because there’s so many nutrients in both shampoo and conditioner that my face will break out with zits if any of that stuff is left on my skin.

As a titleholder, I serve as the face of the Shogi world and must keep a clean appearance. I consider myself a detail-oriented Ryuo, so I have to think about these things too.

“But really …… that was almost life-and-death right there ……”

Everything that just happened replayed in my head while I gave my hair a thorough scrub.

Charlette never really accepted my reasoning while Mio and Ai stubbornly insisted on joining me on the men’s side and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

But Ayano was the icing on the cake.

“Our right to go into the men’s bath is protected by law!”

This girl who had no idea what she was talking about brought politics into it, and for a moment there, it really felt like I had no choice but to let them come in with me.

“I had no idea the always levelheaded Ayano could get that passionate …… I guess the bathhouse and playing Ranging Rook must’ve really stoked her fire ……”

“P …… Probably ……”

“But, yeah, there’s no way elementary school girls would be allowed on the men’s side, right? A fourth grader doing that would cause an uproar, and of course a first grader is out of the question.”

“Y-Yes ……… Elementary schoolers mature so quickly these days ……”

“Oh yeah they do.”

“S … Should I turn on the …… s-shower for you?”

“Ah, please.”

Just as the hot water was flowing through my soapy hair, it hit me. Why was it that I was having a conversation in the men’s bath when I should be the only one in here.

I slowly turn around.

There stands Asuka, wearing her gym shorts and holding the showerhead over me.

“Is …… is something wrong? Is the water …… too hot?”

“…… Come again? Nah, the water is perfect but …… A-Asuka? Huh? Why are you here?”

“U-Um …… I, uh ……”

“Replacing a showerhead?”

“N-No …… I’m not ……”

She denies my suggestion, then fills up the bucket beside her with hot water, dunks in a sponge and starts building up a lather with body soap.

“U-Um …… I’ll, wash …… your back for you …… Okay?”

“???”

Why would she do that for me?

“Asuka, why would you do that for me?”

I say the first words that popped into my head. Confusion has a way of making people be blunt.

“…………!”

Asuka wrings out the soapy sponge, looks down at the floor and says with a bright red face, “U-Umm …… Uh …… M-My mother ……”

“Your mother?”

“Told me that …… when asking …… men …… f-for something …… they’ll listen to whatever you say if …… you’re in a bath, t-t-together ……”

Lady, what the heck are you teaching your daughter?

“I …… Ryu, Ryu, Ryu ……”

“Ryu?”

“Ryu, Ryu, Ryuo …… Um, I, uhh ……”

She pauses for a moment. “Suuu ……… Haaa ……,” and takes a deep breath. “Ryu, Ryu, Ryu ……”

That didn’t help anything!

“Ryu …… Ryuo, I …… have …… a request.”

“Request?”

I ask, but …… I actually already knew.

The intense way she always looks at me.

She always had this look on her face like she wants to say something ever since the first time I came to this bathhouse.

It didn’t matter if I was at the attendant’s counter or giving an instructional lesson at the classroom, I always felt her eyes on me. All the while she thought that burning flame tugging at her heart strings was her little secret ……!

Hmmm, now what to do?

Asuka is a cute girl, but at the end of the day I’ve got Keika. What’s more, do I have time to be dating anyone when I’m in the middle of Shogi training? On top of that, I’ve got a live-in apprentice. It’s bad enough just being called the Loli King. It be a real pain if people started calling me the Playboy King, too. It’d be hard being a lady’s man. They have a lot on their minds. Do I really want to deal with that?

“P-Please teach me ……!!”

Teach what? Asking would be a bit rude though.

Because of course, she wants me to teach her the game of love!

Fully prepared for Asuka to ask me out on a date, I look up at her beet red face as she keeps squeezing the daylights out of that sponge and says more clearly than anything I’ve ever heard her say in my life, “Please ……… teach me how to play Shogi!!”

I truly hated Shogi for the first time in my life that day.