Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 4 - Chapter 1.1

  IKA SAINOKAMI

The tournament is being held a short distance from the Tokyo station at the Palace Side Building.

Keika leads all of us through Ohtemachi to the Tozai subway line and out to Takebashi Station.

The building itself is connected to the station by an underground tunnel, so we don’t have to go back outside to get to the arena.

The building is literally standing to the side of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The structure is a fancy modern office building, but the underground tunnel has to be decades old. It’s practically a dungeon down here.

I happen to spot a convenience store built into the underground along the way and stop walking.

“I’m going to make a quick pit stop. And I’ll pick up some food and drinks at the convenience store, so you guys go on ahead and register.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Yaichi! See you there!”

Keika leads the group toward the upper floors.

Even taking the earliest bullet train out of Osaka, we’re cutting it pretty close. Every player that lives outside the city is destined to go through this every time, but when it comes to settling down to play your best Shogi, we’re running behind. I’ve got to lend a hand any way I can.

“Now then ……”

I took a moment to wash up once I was finished in the men’s room.

A titleholder stopping by an event like this means getting swamped by reporters and live bloggers. They’ll be taking pictures, so I need to look my best.

A little bit of wax to keep my hair in place, necktie straight and tight and no random nose hairs.

“…… Yes! I clean up pretty good.”

Today’s the day my apprentices make their tournament debut. That only happens once in a lifetime.

I want to look like a Master who Ai and Ai can be proud to stand next to. This must be how a father feels watching his daughters in class at school.

And …… Hehe! Just like Keika said: those two might get a lot of attention. I can see the headline now: A Family of Shogi Prodigies Has Arrived! Maybe it’ll show up in Shogi World magazine?

My hair looking far better than I expected, I step out into the convenience store with a little extra zip and pick up a few drinks and sandwiches just in case.

There are plenty of restaurants and cafés all over the place, so it’d be easy enough to eat lunch at one of them. However, there’s a chance that matches will run long and lunch breaks will be cut short.

Shopping done, I head up the stairs and back aboveground.

That’s when the trouble started.

“…… Where’s the arena again?”

I’m so lost.

It’s early in the morning on Sunday, so there aren’t any office workers to be seen.

All of the lights are off too. I bet this place is deserted outside of the arena.

But at the same time, I’d rather not call Keika to ask for directions right now. It’d break her concentration.

I take a few long moments to think over my options when–––.

“Theeere you are ♡”

Hearing that voice was like getting struck by lightning …… But my skin is freezing over.

A single girl is standing in the middle of the dim lobby.

Almost as if …… she’d been waiting for me right here for over 1,000 years ……

“Yaichi,” says the girl in a clammy, almost vicious voice. “Have you thought about that? It’s about time I got an answer.”

“Y-You …… What are you doing here?! You don’t play until the Preliminaries ……?!”

“Come on, tell meee.”

“What the hell are you doing here?! Answer me!!”

“……………”

Silence. Then––.

“A feeling?”

…… A feeling, say what?

“A feeling that you might come through here. It’s destiny, and I felt it.”

“Destiny? I think your radar is broken ……”

“Tsk!” She snaps her tongue at my answer. “But that doesn’t matter, just tell me now. Right now. Nownownownownownow–––.”

Frustrated, she chews on her thumbnail and ups the ante.

That’s not normal. Not at all. Way too unstable.

Worldly Thunder–––Ika Sainokami.

Possessing one of the six Women’s League titles, Empress, she’s a seventeen-year-old girl from Iwate Prefecture. Fans and older Shogi players like to call her Sparky, but that cute nickname doesn’t suit her at all.

A monster–––she’s some kind of evil specter.

“…… How many times do I have to tell you? That answer is no.”

I spit out my words through gritted teeth.

“More importantly, you’ve got the preliminary match to worry about. Focus on that.”

“Winning this whole thing will only get me a match with Ginko, right? Sooo boring. Boringboringboringboringboringboring–––.”

“Say that after you beat Big Sis, why don’t you?!”

“No good.”

Cackling with laughter, the beast tells me why.

“I can’t play seriously when all my opponents are so weak.”

Normally, that’s what someone trying to act tough would say.

It’s an insult to the entire Women’s League, calling the undefeated Naniwa’s Snow White weak like that.

But …… when it comes to Ika Sainokami, that’s not an act.

Ika is the type of player who plays better the stronger her opponent is. Her match records prove it.

Her win-loss record against pros is better than anyone else by a long shot.

Big Sis is still in the Sub League, so she doesn’t enter into it, but when a Women’s League player claims a title, they also get the chance to play against pro players.

Ika’s match was televised, and she went off like a bomb. She went on to utterly destroy every pro she’s gone up against with a live audience. Sunday morning Shogi TV shows have turned into a bloodbath because of her.

There’s nothing more humiliating than for a pro player to lose to a Women’s League player or an amateur. Once their title of professional gets called into question, there’s nothing left.

And Ika does it to them without feeling a thing.

In an interview that she did after dismantling a veteran player on live TV using less than a minute of waiting time in only forty-six turns, she said: “What kind of strategy did you prepare for today’s match?”

“Meh, winged it.”

Shogi fans had a field day. Her popularity skyrocketed.

People on the Internet message boards described her Shogi style as: “Picking up a Rook and coming up with a strategy in the next tenth of a second”; “Making a move at random to decide the day’s strategy with eyes closed”; “Ranging Rook fortune-telling.”

That’s what they thought of it. They’re pretty much spot on.

Ginko Sora has a better record.

But, in terms of talent, Ika is far ahead of her.

Many fans think so, and quite a few pro players share that opinion.

Ika and Big Sis have only played one match, several years ago …… And Big Sis took the win back then.

However, people came away with the impression that, despite the loss, Ika had more talent.

A prodigy and off her rocker, Ika could very well be the most talented female Shogi player on the planet. More talented than Big Sis, more talented than either of the Ai’s. I know that more than anyone.

More than anyone else …… Me ……

“…… Anyway, my answer is no. Now and forever.”

“Well, would you give the okay if I beat Ginko? That way I could actually play like I mean it.”

“You have to get through my apprentices first.”

“Apprentices?”

“Both are still in grade school, but they’re good. More talented than you,” I say, trying my best to sound tough.

“Uw-heh!”

Smirk …… A beastly smile grows on her lips as Ika Sainokami crackles with laughter from deep in her gut. “E-he-he-he-he-he-he-he-he.” She’s not stopping.

On and on. With no end in sight.