Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 5 - Chapter SS

REVIEW SESSION

That day, Ryou Tsukiyomizaka and Machi Kugui were in the Player’s Room like usual.

But rather than sitting across a Shogi board from each other, both are leaning back in their chairs and looking bored out of their minds. Machi lives in Kyoto, so her being here isn’t that big of a stretch, but Ryou had to come all the way here from her place in Tokyo. I doubt she’d make the trip just to kill time. Doesn’t she have any friends?

“Hello there. Come for a practice group?”

I say hello to be friendly.

“I’m here for work, a side job of sorts.”

“I’m gettin’ interviewed. The guy’s going to meet me here.”

“An interview? Why would someone have you come all the way to Kansai for an interview when you’re registered in Kanto?”

“The magazine said it’s all part of some promotional tour and asked me to meet them halfway. I gotta tell you, it’s hard being famous. A bombshell like me with a title attracts all sorts of attention.”

“So, what kind of magazine is it? Nudie? Something for gamblers?”

“Want a check path to an early grave, do you? …… Asking is too much of a pain in the ass, but it’s probably a Shogi magazine of some kind.”

“How do you know?”

“The journalist’s name.”

“Ah …… That makes sense.”

Shogi writers are known for using pen names. That’s what tipped her off, for sure.

“I got the offer over email, but I’ve never heard of the guy. How do you even read this? Koku?”

Ryou takes out her smartphone and shows me the message.

The sender’s name is 鵠 Koku (Swan). That’s the way Ms. Mato writes her pen name.

“I’ve seen guys go by Kumquat and Crow, but what gives? Why do Shogi writers use these really messed up names?”

“Back in the olden days, it was quite common for writers to use names like 陣太鼓Jindaiko (War Drum) and 竜騎兵 Ryukihei (Dragoon), but recently most favor simpler names that can be expressed with a single character like 純 Jun (Purity) or 昇 Noboru (Rise).”

“Why do they even need a pen name in the first place? Real names are good enough, don’t you think?”

“I think it helps them do what they have to do. I mean, think about it. Whenever a player works as a journalist, things get in the way no matter what they write ……”

Memories of things written about me run through my head as I say that. Fantasizing about teaching whoever wrote them a lesson in a dark alley somewhere has crossed my mind more than once or twice. Though, losing was my fault!

“Yeah, that’s the thing about journalists. No matter how well they think they wrote the article, tons of people tell them they got it all wrong.”

“What … would you have them flatter the interviewee the whole time? That would make for quite the boring article, no? But publish something too scathing, and their requests for interviews will be rejected while the Shogi world hastens them into early retirement. You’re suggesting they tie their own noose.”

“You got a point there. A very good point.”

“But you, Ryou, you talk so openly during interviews, right?”

“Hmm …… Well, there are things that I will and won’t talk about, yeah?”

“Okay. Then I shall interview you. Ryou, what is Side Pawn Capture to you?”

“Side Pawn, eh? Let me think ……”

Ryou puts on her thinking cap for a few long seconds.

“……… Gotta be Ozaki.”

Asked about her favorite strategy, the Women’s League player answers with the name of her favorite singer for some reason.

“You’ve got that one song you’ve got to sing at karaoke, don’t you? That ace in the hole you take out as soon as you walk in the room. The one song that you know will get you pumped up and everything from then on will be a blast. For me, that’s Ozaki …… and Side Pawn.”

“I-Is that so ……? Interesting ……”

Looks like even Machi wasn’t expecting that and she starts grinning. I jump in and give her a hand.

“W-Well …… Lots of players listen to music to psych themselves up before a match.”

“Listen? Hell, sometimes I like to go and sing it myself.”

“Huuh?! Ryou, you go karaoke before matches?!”

“This is just between us, got it? Doesn’t leave the room.”

Ryou’s mouth curls as she presses her index finger against her lips.

“Whenever I get too excited to sleep the night before a match, I’ll just go for an all-nighter at some karaoke place and get so into it that I turn up late for matches! Like hell I tell them the truth, so I make up some excuse like my alarm didn’t go off (haha).”

S-So the reason she’s late all the time is …… That?

“Of course I’ve got Ozaki going in my head during the match, too. Diving All Night starts up once the pieces start clashing and the rhythm just takes over. Even start swaying side to side sometimes.”

“So then, whenever a Lance claims a piece in the late game, Jyugo no Yoru starts playing––.”

“And why Boku ga Bokude Aru Tameni gets stuck in my head when I see the win.”

“You’ve got the fever.”

“Fighting back tears. To the extreme (haha).”

“Falling down dead would be so hardcore.”

Machi tries making a joke that a punk rocker like Ryou would find funny and must have hit the sweet spot. 

Ryou clutches her side, laughing as she says, “Hell, yeah (haha)! There was actually a time when I punched out a window at the association because losing hurt so bad (HAHA)!”

That’s quite the confession. I heard about there being a broken window at the Tokyo Association a little while ago, but …… Who would’ve thought the culprit would be sitting right in front of me ……?

“But, yeah, where the hell is that journalist? The guy was supposed to be here an hour ago. I’ve had enough waiting around, so why don’t we go grab a bite to eat under the rails at Fukushima Station?”

“Yes, let’s. I got an interesting story, so that should be enough.”

“Machi. Do you think you can write a good article?”

“With so many interesting things to work with, should be no problem.”

“Eh? What are the two of you blabbering about ……? Hey, Machi, the hell did you take out from under the table? That, that’s a voice recorder–––?!”

“Tsukiyomizaka-sensei, thank you for agreeing to the interview♡”

“You?! Machi, you’re a journalist?!”

“That I am. I said so … first thing.”

“Like hell you did?! You said you were doing some part-time gig–––.”

“Yes, my side job. With a Shogi magazine.”

“There aren’t many Shogi writers in Kansai, so Machi pitches in by writing a few articles every now and then. Sometimes she gets hired by newspapers, too. Just a little while ago, she came to Hawaii to help out with the official blog and wrote a freaking awesome article about the Ryuo Title Match for Shogi World just the other day. That was all her, yeah? You know: The One to End the Legend.”

“Oh, you read it? Quite a bit got cut out for publishing, a real shame at that …… Ginko had so much more to say …… But I’m glad you liked it, Ryuo.”

“Things Big Sis said? More than what was in the article?”

“That’s for you to ask her yourself♡”

Pretty much everyone in Kansai knows Machi works as a part-time journalist, but I guess Ryou didn’t because she’s usually around Tokyo.

Wait, she kept that detail from Ryou on purpose, didn’t she?

“That’s cheap, Machi! You and Kuzu Trash pulling a fast one on me like this?!”

“Think back, Ryou. I told you my name right at the start, no? It was in the mail I sent you.”

“Huh?! You liar! This thingy here …… Koku? Swan? Whatever the hell pen name this is——.”

Ryou thrusts her phone forward and points at the “鵠.” 

The corners of Machi’s lips curl up like a sly fox and traces the Chinese character in the air with her thin finger. Then, she says.

“This can be read as kugui, yes?”

An article featuring a Women’s League member called Ryou Tsukiyomizaka’s Map to Being Nineteen (Written by: Mato) that was published in a magazine half a month later dominated the Shogi world’s news for two weeks straight. The Shogi Association had some very sharp words for her, but she got boatloads of invitations to go out for karaoke after that, so she’s been having a good time.