Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 4 - Chapter 1.5

  SECOND CHANCE

When all was said and done, I managed to avoid all the journalist’s sharp advances and hide the fact that Ai Hinatsuru lives with me but–––.

“…… People are going to find out sooner or later ……”

Nothing inappropriate is going on, none …… But, I mean, look at all that’s happened recently ……

With the interview ending on that note, we head back to the arena just in time to catch the final match of the tournament’s Second Chance Block getting started.

“When you’re ready.”

Keika and Rei Kayunita Women’s 3-dan breathe and bow in unison.

Keika switches on the chess clock.

Which means she’s on defense.

“…… Ms. Kayunita has the first move. This could be a tough fight ……”

I’d been feeling a bit restless after the interviews, but that disappeared all at once.

Ai reaches for my shirt, a worried look on her face …… But pulls her hand back and says, “Keika …… She looks so tired ……”

“I don’t blame her. This is her sixth match today ……”

Keika was transferred to the Second Chance Block after losing her first match, but she’s won four straight since then. She’ll punch a ticket to the preliminary match with one more win. That’s how far she’s come.

The only reason she’s done so well …… is because she lost that first match.

She was practically frozen with nerves before the matches began, but losing shattered the ice. That allowed her Shogi to let loose, in a good way. Could call it desperation too.

And she rode that wave from the bottom of the Second Chance Block all the way to the top.

I’m sure it wasn’t easy. The final match has just started, and she’s already out of breath. Her hair is all frayed and her eyes have turned beet red. She’s way past her limit.

On the other hand, Ms. Kayunita is only playing her fourth match of the day because she was seeded.

I know she’s feeling the pain and humiliation that come from losing to an unknown amateur still in elementary school, but she’s not letting it break her concentration. Not only does she have skills, her spirit is so strong that I can feel it.

“Oh, that’s the Women’s League player I just showed how to lose,” her bouquet now in Akira’s arms, Ai Yashajin says as she walks up next to me without a sound, “That’s her. Pretty strong, right?”

“Not at all.”

“……”

“I’m confident I could play against her one hundred times and not lose a single match.”

Ai has lost to Keika in the past.

That’s why, despite being the most backhanded vote of confidence I’ve ever heard …… she’s supporting Keika in her own way. At least, she might be.

The match progresses while we are talking, and Ms. Kayunita reveals her strategy.

“Bishop Exchange Fourth-File Rook by the look of it,” I whisper under my breath.

Ai Hinatsuru then asks me in a hurried voice, “W-What kind of strategy is that?!”

“An aggressive style of Ranging Rook that executes a Bishop Exchange as soon as possible. There was a time when it was extremely popular with amateurs and pros. You move your Rook into the fourth column once the Bishops are gone and then shift it over to face your opponent’s Rook directly: Opposing Rook.”

“Uwhee? …… That’s weird Shogi.”

“Very true. Lots of players hate how many moves it takes to set up, so they use a different sequence to set up Opposing Rook much faster …… I don’t think anyone in the Women’s League plays that way though.”

“Why don’t they?”

“You need a lot of talent to pull it off.”

That’s not the case with Bishop Exchange Fourth-File Rook because people have researched all sorts of standards for it in the past few years. That research goes pretty deep. It’s always dangerous to play along with an opponent’s strategy without knowledge.

Sure enough–––.

“Keh ……!”

Keika makes a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh. She’s hurting. They’re only thirty moves in and she’s already down to a minute and a half of waiting time.

She knows she’s in trouble, but it’s too late to do anything about it. Keika has used so much more time.

Ms. Kayunita’s research has her outmatched.

“Ms. Kayunita …… She’s going all in on a power play. So much for having mercy on amateurs ……”

“K-Keika ……!”

Ai squeezes her hands together like she’s offering up a prayer.

But it wasn’t answered. Keika’s formations never really took shape as the later stages of the mid-game turned into an uphill battle.

“Nh …… Nhhh ……!”

Keika uses every remaining second of her waiting time to plan her attack and charges out to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

For a moment, it looked like she had a chance …… But after a few more moves, it was clear Keika was sliding straight toward a hellish defeat.

“Agh ……?!”

–––Put in check and lost her Promoted Rook.

That wasn’t some airheaded oops. She’s so exhausted she didn’t see it. A fatal mistake.

“…… What is she doing?!”

Ai Yashajin is getting frustrated and snaps her tongue.

With her Promoted Rook taken without a fight, honestly, Keika can’t win.

However–––that hopelessness must have lit her spirit on fire, because her energy comes back with a vengeance.

“……!!”

Keika keeps playing. Lower lip pinned between her teeth, she keeps making moves.

She’s fighting back the same way a cornered kid would hurl toys or anything they could reach while throwing a fit and crying their heart out.

“Tsk! …… Give up already.”

Keika’s stubborn stalling has clearly gotten on Ms. Kayunita’s nerves.

But, she’s handling it like an experienced Women’s League 3-dan should. Rather than collapsing in anger, she strings together a fiery series of best moves in the thirty seconds she has between turns.

“M-Master ……… Keika’s … already ……”

“Yeah. Move that Promoted Rook to 2 Three …… And it’s over.”

Keika held out as long as she could, but Ms. Kayunita is one move away from taking the win.

And it looks like Keika knows it too.

“…………… Aghh ……”

Her fighting spirit is gone. It’s completely and totally burned out.

I bet she’s going to throw in the towel after this move.

“…… Uh-hm …… Uh-hm ……”

Kayunita Women’s 3-dan is reading the board, using those seconds to make sure this is the end. Waiting until the last instant, she picks up the piece and snaps it down on 2 Three.

Then, the moment she took her hand away from it.

“I lo–––.”

Keika was just about to surrender, already lowering her head into a bow, but she stopped in mid-word …… And thrust her head out over the board, her eyes wide open.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Keika, the match recorder, and Ms. Kayunita, the one who put the piece down, say in disbelief.

The piece at 2 Three wasn’t a Promoted Rook.

But a–––Rook.

“Huuuuh?!”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

The three of us watching the match are just as shocked.

As unbelievable as it is, Ms. Kayunita flipped her Promoted Rook over before putting it back down on the board!

A Rook getting de-promoted simply doesn’t exist, like a Pawn moving backwards. Therefore, it’s an impossible move. Since she’s already taking her hand away, there’s nothing she can do about it now.

Of course, she broke the rules. Not Shogi rules per se, but ……

“……!”

It looked like Ms. Kayunita was going to grab her Rook for a moment but–––she places her hand on her piece stand right away and lowers her head.

“I lost.”

“Ah ……”

Keika bows back out of reflex. But I don’t think what just happened has sunk in yet.

The judge sitting board-side stops the clock and declares, “…… ended. On the 170th move, Ms. Kiyotaki wins by default.”

A heavy silence fills the arena for the next few seconds.

Until finally, Ms. Kayunita squeezes out a few words while glaring at the board, “…… Pardon me ……”

“D-Don’t mention it ……” It was all Keika could do, responding without looking up from her bow.

A review session looks highly unlikely.

With her back against the wall, King completely surrounded and hopeless, she won by a rule violation. That difference between victory and defeat is Shogi in a nutshell. One move can turn everything around.

But this is going beyond what Ms. Kayunita can handle.

Coming off a crushing defeat to Ai Yashajin right before this match, she looked surprisingly composed.

But I can tell her heart took a great deal of damage.

Losing to two amateurs in one day is unacceptable. That mindset put extra pressure on her …… and showed up on the board as a rule violation at the last possible moment.

After being dominated by Ai Yashajin, Ms. Kayunita had to dominate Keika in this match. She built a massive lead in the early game but wouldn’t be satisfied without the perfect checkmate to end it.

The reason was simple: Ms. Kayunita is a Women’s League player and Keika is an amateur.

As a pro player myself, I can relate so well it hurts. Therefore, I can attribute Keika’s win to my second apprentice. I turn to her and say, “…… This is all thanks to you.”

“Please don’t say such disgusting things. You’ll make me sick.”

She knew what I meant, but still had a snappy comeback.

I thank her with a nice pat on the head, but Ai, her proud ladylike self, gets angry. “Don’t pet me!”

Adorabibble.

“Ugh ……! K-Keika …… I’m so glad ……! So, so glad ……!”

Akira is crying so hard that everyone around us is inching away.

Why would she get so red-faced over this ……? It seemed strange at first, but thinking it over, she’s been going to the Practice League meetings every time with Ai. She’s seen what people who devote their lives to Shogi are like and even learned how to play herself. I bet she’s happy to see one of the Practice League members get closer to becoming a pro.

Then–––.

“Excuse me, Ms. Kiyotaki. All preliminary match participants need to be interviewed, so please follow me.”

“Huh?”

Keika glances up from the board when a staff member called her name. She looks like she just woke up from a dream.

“I-I’m …… in the Mynavi Preliminaries ……?”

“Congratulations. The last slot is yours.”

“……”

Staggering to her feet, Keika tries to step forward but almost loses her balance. Did she forget how to walk?

Ai Hinatsuru dashes out to catch her.

“Congratulations, Keika! Let’s win the next one together!!”

“………… Yes, let’s.”

Camera flashes surround the final heroine as she shows up late for her interview.

Asked for a few words on her thoughts going into the Preliminaries, Keika looked like she needed a pinch to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Even still, she clenches that bouquet tightly to her chest and says, “I’m so happy for the opportunity to play against former Practice League members who entered the Women’s League before me. I will do my best so that when it’s all over they can look at me …… and say, You’ve gotten stronger.”

That’s how the 11th Mynavi Women’s Open Challenge Matches came to a close.

There were seventy participants at the beginning. Only eleven of them advanced to the Preliminaries, but only three of those eleven were amateurs.