Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 5 - Chapter 1

  ROMANTIC PLANE RIDE

“…… Master ………”

A quiet voice in my ear.

Ticklish like soft feathers, like the soft ringing of a crystal bell, a tingly and warm voice …… It’d be so nice if I could just keep listening to it just like this forever …… 

“Master …… Are you awake?”

There’s a tug on the blanket and I open my eyes.

Looking in that direction …… My tiny apprentice is peeking over at me with a sad look on her face.

“…… Hm? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry. Were you sleeping?”

“Just resting my eyes.”

Stretching out under the sheet with a big yawn, I look outside the window.

Pitch black. All I see is my reflection in the glass. Looks like it’ll be a while before we get there.

My apprentice speaks up again and holds out a glass.

“Master. Here’s some cold water.”

“Ah, sankyu-.”

“Yuwa- uwerukamu!”

I pat my apprentice on the head as she uses some of the English she just learned. “Tee-hee♡,” she giggles happily.

Even in an airplane, my apprentice isn’t shy about making sure I have what I need. Adorabibble.

“…… Whew. It gets so dry in planes ……”

The cold water rolls down my throat. It wouldn’t stop after that first gulp.

We’re sitting in business class of a plane headed for the place where the first round of the Ryuo Title Match is set to take place.

Whenever players have to take a plane or the bullet train to go to a match, only players and observers ride in business class or the green car. Everyone else involved usually rides in the cheaper seats.

But it’s pretty lonely spending nine hours by myself and, honestly, I’ve got too much free time on my hands.

So I asked the organizers to let my live-in apprentice sit up here with me. That way it feels like I’m relaxing at home.

In no way did I do that because I have a Lolita complex or because I want to give grade school girls special treatment.

My challenger for the match, the Meijin, should be sitting around here somewhere. The organizers know to keep us separated so things don’t get awkward.

I pass the empty glass back to Ai and ask, “So? Something bothering you?”

“Um …… There’s something I can’t figure out no matter how hard I try ……”

“Like what? Because if it’s your math homework, go ask the journalist Ms. Mato, okay? She’s in college, you know.”

Having never gone to high school and since I only really thought about Shogi when I was still in school, even a fourth grader’s math homework can be a bit much for me.

It’s normal for pros to graduate from high school these days, and many of them go to college, too. Maybe I’m the odd one out.

On a side note, I wrote a paper called A Report on Move-Loss Bishop Exchange Reclining Silver for a summer project one year in elementary school. My teacher said that he “didn’t understand it very well” but the Shogi world loved it.

But, that isn’t important right now.

“It’s this right here ……”

With these words, Ai nervously holds out a book.

“This is …… the special edition for this year’s Ryuo Title Match. The one Shogi World magazine put out.”

They normally don’t do anything for run-of-the-mill title matches, but the hype for this one is on another level. So the magazine threw a bunch of pictures together and rushed a special edition out to the shelves. Although it says Ryuo Title Match, the Ryuo (me) isn’t in here anywhere. It’s all beautiful, glossy pictures of the Meijin looking all high and mighty in a kimono sitting on the other side of a Shogi board. If that weren’t enough–––.

“The Septuple Crown in Reach at Last!”

“Unprecedented! Will this be his 100th title season?!”

All spelled out in big bold letters.

“What is this, a Meijin fan book ……? Then again, Shogi books that have him on the cover sell a lot better than those that don’t.”

That’s why most Shogi World covers are photos of the Meijin.

Ai starts talking like she’s coming up with an excuse.

“Uh, um …… I thought it would be a good idea to learn about your opponent, Master ……”

“Ah, got’cha. Thanks for the help.”

In her own way, she was looking for any weaknesses the Ryuo Title Match challenger might have–––the Meijin. Or, in other words, she was researching my enemy.

I pat her smooth forehead and smile. My apprentice’s noble efforts are so endearing.

“And? Did you find out anything about him?”

“It’s this right here ……”

Ai then points to one of the Meijin’s many mysterious claims about Shogi–––a page dedicated to what we call Meijin-isms.

Her tiny finger is hovering over one of them.

“Without Pawn Drop Mate, offense is assured victory.”

“Uchifu Tsume …… It’s against the rules, right? It prevents someone from using a Pawn from their piece stand as the last move to put their opponent in checkmate ……”

“Yep. That’s why it’s called Pawn Drop Mate.”

Most of us in the Shogi world just call it Pawn Drop. It’s a rule most beginners have a hard time wrapping their heads around at first because it says that any player who does it loses the match.

“Why would the person who moves first always win if this rule wasn’t there?”

“Hmm …… Offense wins without Pawn Drop, yeah ……”

It’s one of the most mysterious Meijin-isms out there and also one that’s caused lots of people a ton of headaches trying to figure it out.

It goes without saying that I’ve argued with Big Sis about what it means many times–––.

“That’s a good question. I don’t think he meant anything by it though.”

“Uwhee?!”

Ai jumps up in surprise, leaning all the way over me.

“B-But, but! The Meijin held all seven titles at once and has eternal status and everything except Ryuo! He’s unbelievably good, right?! So why, why would someone like him ……?”

“Hmm …… He just … kinda felt like it? At the time?”

“Huuuh–?!”

Ai yells before slapping her hands over her mouth.

The lights are off inside the cabin and many people are asleep.

What’s more, the Meijin is definitely somewhere close by.

The real icing on the cake is that many members of the media who have no connection to Shogi are traveling along with us. There’s no telling what they’ll write if anyone hears strange noises.

The two of us lean close enough for our foreheads to brush against each other and we continue our conversation in hushed voices.

“Then …… The Meijin just made it up out of thin air?”

“Made it up, or it could be just a sense or a feeling. Either way, I think he just said what his gut was telling him. It’s not like there isn’t any reasoning behind it though.”

“What kind of reasoning?”

“It’s been said that the rule was put in place by someone with authority saying: common foot soldiers should never take the King! If that’s true, I can see how everything that goes into the Pawn Drop rule could sound strange.”

“So, it wasn’t a rule put in to make Shogi more interesting?”

“Nope. But that’s exactly why it seems weird.”

“What about Repetition Draw?”

“It’s bound to happen no matter what you do.”

A Repetition Draw, or sen-nichi te, is what happens when both players repeat the same moves.

Although the implications are different, comparing it to clutching in boxing might make it easy to understand.

Since the game would never end once a Repetition Draw starts, a rule was put in place to force it.

“There’s a lot of discussion about exactly how to end it, but the rule right now states that the players start over and switch offense and defense once the same move happens four times. People claiming that Repetition Draws are Shogi’s cancer say that the offensive player should lose on the spot.”

“The one who starts it is at a disadvantage, right?”

“The only reason they happen in the first place is because both players think the one who started it is at a disadvantage.”

“On the other hand, if the rules said that the offensive player loses then I think the defenders’ go-to strategy would always be forcing their opponent into it.”

Since conditions make it easy for Repetition Draws to happen in Move-Loss Bishop Exchange matches, a lot of people would start using it just like me …… Wait, offensive players would purposely block that strategy, so it would get wiped out, wouldn’t it?

“Well, whether they’re trying to do it or not, Repetition Draws are going to happen, so things might stay pretty much the same.”

“But the one who starts a Checkmate Repetition Draw loses on the fourth turn, right?”

“That’s another rule I don’t totally get.”

Switch offense and defense, then play another match for Repetition Draws.

However, if the Repetition Draw puts a King in check, the one who initiated it loses.

I have no idea why that rule exists.

“Oh, and speaking of rules ……”

“Let me guess: Two Pawns?”

That’s got to be the rule people break the most often.

But that makes it very easy to understand why that rule is there. 

“I think preventing two Pawns from being in the same column balances out the fact that you can use captured pieces as your own.”

“There are a lot of good moves with Two Pawns, right?”

“Yep. If that move were okay, Pawns would become too strong and that would mess up the whole balancing system.”

“Does that mean that the Pawn Drop rule is there to make Pawns weaker?”

“Some people think that way–––.”

Maybe it’s the air pressure or maybe I’m just getting sleepy, but I take a deep breath to pump some more oxygen into my brain.

“The thing about Shogi is that the offense has the advantage if you think about it normally.”

“It’s easier to attack with the first move.”

“Exactly. In fact, their chance of winning is higher. Also, the one who attacks first usually takes the first Pawn, yes? Moving first means the offense has a faster route to check. Therefore, you can make a case that Pawn Drop Mate is actually a rule to limit the offender’s power.”

“Oh! I see!”

“Pawn Drop helps balance offense and defense. That could be what the Meijin was trying to say.”

Shogi, by nature, assures the offender’s victory.

Thanks to the Pawn Drop Mate rule, a balance of power between offense and defense can be maintained.

Therefore, without Pawn Drop Mate, offense is assured victory.

That could be the logic.

Since the Meijin never explained the reasoning behind this particular Meijin-ism, it’s a mystery …… 

“Ah! If that’s true, then the Checkmate Repetition Draw rule also–––.”

“… Limits what the first person to force check can do …… Yeah, I can see that. Everything lines up.”

I think there’s a reasoning behind all the rules that makes us wonder why they exist.

Shogi is such a well-made game …… 

As I was admiring the depth that is Shogi … 

“…… Fwmm~,” Ai makes a funny noise and sprawls out on my lap like a cat. So cute.

“What? Is something else on your mind?”

“I understand that certain moves are against the rules to keep the game fair but …… In the end, does offense win? Or is defense the one that’ll win?”

“Well ……”

The Meijin said it: without Pawn Drop Mate, offense is assured victory.

And.

If that’s true–––.

As long as Pawn Drop is a rule …… How will Shogi end?

“If both players make the absolute best moves every turn, I’m not …… exactly sure how that match will turn out.”

“Even with a computer?”

“Yep. Computers don’t always make the best move, more like the most aggressive. When two computers face off, the Shogi becomes a shoving match. Right now, I think people are closer to solving Shogi than computers.”

The reason people lose to software is because computers don’t get tired or nervous and make mistakes.

And most Shogi matches are decided by who makes a mistake first.

“In matches between the top pros, like title matches with the Meijin, the offensive player tends to win more often than the average. That’s because they can compound the best moves in the late game without messing up.”

“So, the offense wins?”

“Not necessarily. I mean, it’s been proven that the defender has a big edge in Doubutsu Shogi. Statistics show that defenders using yagura are winning a lot more recently and, if you really dig deep, it might turn out that defenders have an advantage.”

“Does that mean the rules are going to change?”

“That’s possible. Specific rules about Repetition Draws and Deadlocks were changed not that long ago.”

That goes for Go, Chess, and Shogi too.

Games that have been around for a long time need to be updated to maintain balance as new tricks and strategies are discovered. Even in Doubutsu Shogi, or Animal Shogi, which is a simplified version of Shogi that uses animals as pieces.

Rules are still changing now.

But–––.

“For me personally.”

“Yes?”

“I think the rule against Pawn Drops is a way to make Shogi puzzles more interesting.”

“Fwhee? Make Shogi puzzles …… more interesting?”

“Like the Final Judgment puzzle.”

“Final …… Judgment ……?”

Ai tilts her head at the unfamiliar words.

The subject changing to Shogi puzzles, one of her favorite things in the world, has her bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as she looks over at me.

I could just explain it to her but …… I don’t know if it’s the altitude or the Dramamine I took, but it’s really hard to concentrate.

There are still about …… three hours left until we arrive.

I bet we’ll be hitting the ground running once we get there, so I should try and catch some z’s while I can.

“Well, there’s no point in thinking about it too hard. There’s a rule against Pawn Drops, and no one knows if offense or defense will win out in the end. People and computers are still a long way from finding the answer …… That should be good enough, don’t you think?”

I pat my still-confused apprentice on the head, yawn, and close my eyes again.

I have to be ready for the tough battle waiting for me when I open them again–––.