Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 4 - Chapter 1

  FIRST TOURNAMENT

“Whoa! Ai, Mount Fuji’s right out the window?!”

Mount Fuji comes into view in the middle of our trip to Tokyo on the bullet train and I try to get my apprentice to take a look.

“Come on, Ai. It’s really beautiful!”

“……”

“Want me to get a picture for you?”

“Master.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m trying to focus. Please be quiet.”

“S-Sorry ……”

I just shrink back into my chair, the Master scolded by his own apprentice ……

My first apprentice has her shoes off, sitting on her heels in the window seat at the end of our three-seat row. But rather than looking outside, her nose is buried in a book of Shogi puzzles she has in her hands.

She’s already moved on from the three-step solutions, through the five-step ones and on to the sevens at a blistering pace. People who don’t know what she’s doing might think she’s just flipping through the pages.

And in the row in front of her, “My Lady! Please allow me to photograph you in front of Mount Fuji!! A picture to remember this trip by!!”

“…… Stop this, Akira. We’re on a train. It’s embarrassing ……”

My second apprentice, Ai Yashajin, and her bodyguard, Akira, are taking pictures.

It’s the middle of July. Elementary schools are out for summer and today’s the first day.

We left for Tokyo on the first bullet train early this morning.

As for why–––.

“This is Ai’s first tournament. There’s nothing you can do if she wants to concentrate,” Keika offers a kind word from her aisle seat as I wallow in despair.

We’re all going to Tokyo to participate in a Shogi tournament.

But this isn’t just any tournament. It’s the largest competition in the Women’s Shogi world and determines who’s the best of the best. A once-a-year tournament that any girl, woman or grandma can enter.

––The Mynavi Women’s Open.

“That being said, now might be a good time to talk about today.”

“O-Oh, great idea! Alright everyone, meeting time!”

With a little support from Keika, I work up the courage to say, “Take a break from those puzzles!” to my first apprentice. Then, I address my second apprentice and Akira. “Stand up for a second so I can spin these seats around!” I press the lever and spin. Click!

Now that all six seats are facing each other, we can get started.

“Uh …… ahem. Being that this is your first Shogi tournament, it’s my job as your Master to give you some important advice …… Hey, Ai! Put that book down! And Ai, take off your eye mask! I’m talking here, now’s not the time to go to sleep?!”

“Listen, you two. You’re good girls, so listen to what Yaichi has to say.”

“Yeees.”

“…… Fine. What is it?”

The two grade schoolers finally sit up straight to listen after Keika asks them. But I’m the Master ……

“Uhh …… I’ll get right to it. The most important thing to keep in mind during a tournament!”

I get back on track and impart the best advice a Master can give.

That’s–––.

“Don’t break any rules!! That is all!!”

Ai Hinatsuru’s eyes go wide as Ai Yashajin snorts through her nose like laughing off a bad joke.

“That’s the most obvious thing I’ve ever heard. You don’t have to tell me. Seriously, I’m not stupid.”

“That’s what everybody thinks is going in. But you’d be surprised how often it happens.”

“Like Double Pawn?”

“Sometimes, but it’s usually simple stuff like forgetting to press the chess clock after your turn and running out of waiting time. There are lots of rules to follow off the Shogi board. People get nervous and forget about the little things.”

“……”

“……”

Both of them look skeptical.

It might be hard to believe since rule breaking in pro matches only happens once in a blue moon, but in a tournament like this where there’s hardly any waiting time and you have to press the chess clock on your own, rule violations you’d never expect tend to pop up.

“You only have fifteen minutes of waiting time for this tournament and only thirty seconds per move once that’s over. That’s much, much less than the Practice League. You’ll be playing some new people too, so stay sharp.”

“In the Practice League, there’s thirty minutes of waiting time and then one-minute Shogi once it’s gone so …… That’s very short!”

“Shogi parlors play with ten-second Shogi, so I couldn’t care less.”

My first apprentice seems a bit nervous, but Ai Yashajin sounds almost bored.

She always marches to the beat of her own drum, so this is nothing new. But I’ve never seen Ai Hinatsuru this zoned in.

Sure, it’s her first-ever Shogi tournament, but still ……

“Ai. I know this is your first one, but you can relax a bit. Plenty of Women’s League players show up for the Mynavi Women’s Open, but there are lots of amateurs playing too. That’s where we’re heading right now: the challenge matches. Most of the participants are amateurs.”

“Challenge ……?”

“It’s the preliminaries of the Preliminaries. Didn’t you read the orientation manual?”

“O-Of course I did! …… But there were some really hard words in there that I couldn’t read ……”

Ai Yashajin takes one heck of a dig at my first apprentice, and Ai Hinatsuru’s defense is adorable.

The two of them are still in fourth grade. Ai Hinatsuru hasn’t even been playing Shogi for a year yet.

“…… Ai is right. The challenge matches determine who participates in the preliminary match two weeks from today. The Finals are after that. The winner gets a chance to go against the Women’s Queen titleholder–––in other words, Naniwa’s Snow White.”

But of course, there’s no way these two will get that far.

First off, they’re a year younger than Big Sis was when she took the title.

Then there’s the fact that the Women’s League is much more competitive now than it was then and, as talented as these two girls are, there’s no guarantee they’ll make it through the challenge matches.

I only encouraged them to participate because I was thinking this would be fun for their summer break and it might be nice to get some experience at the same time. Some good memories, nothing more than that.

Pretty soon …… I won’t be able to spend much time with them at all.

“Anyway, just don’t break any rules, alright? Do your best and everything will work out.”

My pep talk over, Keika speaks up from the chair next to me, “Yaichi. May I say a few words?”

“Ah, sure. Go right ahead ……”

Keika has been playing in these challenge matches for years, so her advice will be much more relevant than whatever I have to say. Thanks for the help!

“Women’s League players and amateurs will be playing in today’s challenge matches. Of course, the Women’s League players are very good …… But it’s the amateurs you should be afraid of. So don’t let your guard down when you’re playing against one of them.”

“Whaa? Aren’t all the Senseis in the Women’s League there because they’re good?”

“Tell me, Ai. What kind of people do you think are amateurs?”

“People …… not in the Women’s League?”

“That’s right. But that includes Practice League members like us and the classes above ours …… C-1- and B-ranking members are also playing.”

“Whaaa?”

Ai sounds like she doesn’t understand.

“But C-1 …… Can’t they join the Women’s League?! Why don’t they?!”

“Should someone choose to leave the Practice League at that point, they’ll join the Women’s League with a 3-kyu rank. But that’s just a temporary license.”

“Temporary?”

“Yes. If they don’t win enough matches within two years to promote to 2-kyu, they’ll have to go back to the Practice League and try again.”

“Huuuh!?”

As a member of the Practice League herself, Ai is shocked to hear the harsh truth.

“T-That’s horrible …… Just when they got into the Women’s League too ……”

“Rough, don’t you think? That’s why some people spend more time in the Practice League to build up their skills before registering or graduate first because they can’t miss their classes while still in school …… Everyone has their reasons. It’s a life-changing decision ……”

“Hah! Those are just excuses for weaklings.” Ai Yashajin laughs. “Professional matches are at a much higher level than the Women’s League, and plenty of those players do well enough to make their mark while still in high school or college. Being qualified but choosing not to register just proves they’re not totally committed to Shogi. I won’t believe those excuses for a moment!”

“…… Yes. You may be right,” Keika quietly agrees. “To be completely honest, I don’t think you’re wrong. Even if I were in college, if I had a chance to become Women’s League 3-kyu … I’d join even if it meant dropping out. However …”

“However?”

“If there were a way to skip the whole thing and become an official Women’s League member at 2-kyu from the start …… Don’t you think everyone would try?”

“……?!”

“……?!”

“Get through today’s challenge matches and the preliminary match of the Mynavi Open, and you automatically qualify for Women’s League 2-kyu.”

Basically–––you become a full-blown, no-license-necessary member of the Women’s League.

Winning enough matches in one Shogi tournament is enough to qualify.

That dream-come-true scenario doesn’t exist in the regular pros.

“But, that’s only true if you already have the 3-kyu qualification. Amateurs need to get that first …… They have to win a match in the Finals to do that.”

“So then, you’re saying that, umm … amateurs can join the Women’s League without going through the Practice League if they win the challenge matches, preliminaries and one match in the Finals?”

“Yes! Great summary, Ai.”

“E-hehe♪,” my first apprentice grins with glee as Keika pats her on the head.

Kh ……! What wouldn’t I give for Keika to pat me ……?!

“So you see, the Mynavi Open? It’s the shortest route to the Women’s League. That’s why everyone fights like their lives depend on it …… Just like me.”

“……!”

“……!”

Her voice was soft …… but it had so much power behind it that Ai Hinatsuru and even Ai Yashajin gulp.

Keika is in a really bad spot in the Practice League right now.

I’m sure plenty of other women in the Kanto, Tokai and Kyushu Practice Leagues are too.

But it’s not just them. The people who already have a C-1 ranking only need to clear the preliminary match and they can join the Women’s League at 2-kyu right away. Talk about a good position.

The women who already have a secure spot in the Women’s League and the amateurs who don’t—as to which one is going to be more desperate to win: it’s obvious.

“Well, that’s all from me! I know I said a lot, but all you should worry about is winning the match you’re playing. Let’s do our best!”

“I will!!”

“Humph ……”

My first apprentice looks ready to take on the world while my second quietly flicks her hair over her shoulder.

Opposite reactions …… But their eyes have a spark that wasn’t there before Keika’s talk.

Meanwhile …… I realize just how unneeded I am.

Relax, most of them are amateurs! What was I thinking, making an offhand comment like that to my apprentices who are trying to join the Women’s League themselves? I don’t know jack squat about the Women’s Shogi world, shamefully so ……

I lean over and quietly thank Keika so that only she could hear.

“…… You always know just what to say, Keika. Thanks.”

“Hehe …… Seeing me in a more positive light?”

More positive light? Keika, I’m falling in love with you all over again.

“But I have to say, Keika …… With everything that’s on the line, you’re really calm.”

“Did you think I’d be frozen with fear?”

This tournament is one of Keika’s last chances to become a Women’s League player.

Anyone would be nervous in her shoes, that’s normal ……

“I lost to Ai in the Practice League a little while ago, remember? It took a lot of weight off my shoulders. I only have a few chances left, so I might as well enjoy them.”

“…… You’ve changed quite a bit, Keika.”

She looks at me with a cheerful smile right before playing in a tournament that could decide the rest of her life.

Just as that beautiful, refined smile sent butterflies loose in my stomach–––.

“Hey, hey Ai! Let’s see who can solve Shogi puzzles faster!” my first apprentice says to the girl sitting across from her as she takes a book of long sequence Shogi puzzles out of her backpack, which is next to me.

“Huh? Why would I ever–––.”

“I can’t focus when I try it by myself. Race me! Please?!”

“…… Fine.”

I thought she’d refuse, but Ai Yashajin gives in. That doesn’t happen every day.

Well, it’s her first tournament too. She might be a little worried. My two apprentices sit knee to knee and start solving extremely hard Shogi puzzles one after another.

Keika watches them work, a blinding smile on her face.

“…… The Shogi world is going to be turned on its head once these two take center stage. They might even get on the national news like Ginko–––.”

“Really? There are so many girls who’ve passed through the kyu rankings into dan out there by now. Do you really think anyone will notice?”

“You’re grinning, Yaichi.”

“I am?!”

“Just☆ kidding.”

Keika pokes my cheek and grins, teasing me.