Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 3 - Chapter Aft

FOR THE AFTERWORD: “WAVERING BOARD”

“The Shogi board, it wavers before matches.”

That was professional Shogi player Hirotaka Nozuki 7-dan’s answer when I asked him, “What’s it like playing in the Sub League’s 3-dan division?”

“The whole board sways back and forth, to the point you start to wonder if you’re sitting up straight or not … That’s why we put our hands down on the tatami mat to steady ourselves, but that board keeps wavering. That’s never happened to me in the professional ranks, not once.”

I sat in stunned silence, but Nozuki-sensei had more to say, “I have a distinct memory of Mr. Kubo leaving the arena and crying in a dark hallway, alone. The one person who everyone knew, without a doubt, would become a titleholder, that seventeen-year-old who everyone knew had an extremely bright future, was crying after not ranking high enough to advance. 

Why is he crying? I remember wondering to myself that day. But once I found myself in his shoes …… I cried just like he did.

The Worldly Artist Toshiaki Kubo 9-dan went on to claim a title and is currently one of the best active Shogi players.

What drove Shogi players as prestigious as Kubo-sensei and Nozuki-sensei that close to the brink was none other than the Sub League’s age limit.

Nozuki-sensei once described the harsh reality this way: A match in the Sub League is the equivalent of playing Shogi with a noose around your neck. It’s impossible to play a respectable game.

The age limit isn’t unique to the Sub League. While the specifics vary, Women’s League hopefuls must contend with it in the Practice League as well.

However, Practice League players have far fewer chances for media exposure than the Sub League and professional leagues. As someone outside of the Shogi world, I have no way to understand the emotions those women go through when they play.

Though I once happened across an essay while researching.

The article wasn’t a piece by a professional writer nor was it in a Shogi magazine, but it was a small, isolated article on the Internet written by a Women’s League hopeful.

It was entitled Age 25. Reading that short essay …… I was moved to tears by a Shogi article for the first time.

Once the tears had stopped, a new character had come to life inside my mind.

A character named Keika Kiyotaki.

While it’s nothing compared to what professional Shogi players and Women’s League players have endured, I’ve gone through some rough times during my career writing light novels as well.

Getting depressed after a book that I put my heart and soul into, that didn’t sell well, I was jealous of authors much younger than myself whose books were flying off the shelves. The nail in the proverbial coffin came when I felt moved and inspired after reading them. What’s the point in writing novels anymore? What have I been doing with my life? There were days when I wish I hadn’t been born in the first place. …… I don’t consider myself anything special, a piece of me feels like I’m the most insignificant person on the planet.

I put all of those emotions into Keika.

My career as a novelist started many years ago, back when I was a second-year student in graduate school. It was just a way for me to make money. I always liked manga and anime, reading books too, but I never thought I would become a novelist when I was growing up. I’ve been doing this for a living for many years now. Looking back, it feels like I’ve been writing what I think will sell rather than what I want to write.

Now.

I know from the bottom of my heart that I wanted to write this series. Especially for this third installment, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I contemplated my own reasons for living and questioned them from different angles repeatedly during the writing process. Just as Keika found her answer, I found mine. I want to bare my soul to my audience, make their hearts waver with my heart rather than with the tricks of the trade. I plan on keeping my answer in mind as I continue writing further installments in this series.

Also, I would like to write a battle so intense that the board wavers. That is my dream.