Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 6 - Chapter 2.1

  FIRSTS OF THE YEAR

Hatsumoude all done, it was time for this year’s first Grade Schooler Practice Session at my apartment.

“Thanks for having us!!”

“Eheehee♡ Welcome!”

Ai rushes inside the moment I unlock the door and greets everyone by sitting on her ankles and putting three fingers on each hand to the floor.

Before Ai showed up last year, this room hosted many Sub League members and young pro players for long, grungy all-nighters. People like Mr. Kagamizu and Sota would come over and we’d play Shogi and talk for hours and hours …… Big Sis was the only girl who’d ever step inside. Now, it’s budding with grade school girls.

“…… Lots can change in a year.”

Sure, I’ve gotten a lot of lip from the neighbors, but I couldn’t care less when I see these girls running around and having a great time. If that’s a Lolita complex, then fine, fine, I have one.

“Hey, everybody! I’ve got pictures from the trip to Hawaii and my hometown during the Ryuo Title Match …… Wanna see?”

“Yes, yes!!”

Everyone gathers around Ai as she opens the photos on her tablet and the girls start talking nonstop. The buds are blooming.

This isn’t a Shogi practice session anymore. It’s a girls’ party.

What’s more, the average age of the group is in single digits. It’s a little girls’ party.

“Well, I suppose it’s fine for today.”

I force a smile and head to the kitchen to get drinks and snacks for them. There are bound to be some cookies left over from Hawaii in there somewhere.

“This Hawaiian dress: it’s so cute!”

“Ehehe♡ It’s called a muumuu! Ayano, do you want to try it on?”

“May I?!”

That must be the dress that Master Kiyotaki bought for her with his spending money …… I knew that making his granddaughter and her friends happy was what Master wanted all along. It’s much more worthwhile than buying things in some mobile game on his phone.

“And that kimono is so beautiful!”

“That’s the one I wore at the Opening Night Party at my parent’s house!”

“It looks more suitable for a wedding reception than an Opening Night Party …… Dazzling …… ♡”

“Aweee~♡ Ayano, that’s too much♡♡♡”

She has a point, it felt like a wedding reception. Just thinking about it makes me break out in a cold sweat …… 

“You know? Cha, Cha’s gowing to wear kwimono to get marrwied with Masta!”

“Sounds great! Where should we have the ceremony?” I come back into the tatami room and ask while picking up my future bride and spinning her around.

After refusing to take Charlette as my apprentice, I promised to take her as my wife.

Now that both of my apprentices are officially in the Women’s League, it’s about time I started preparing to keep my word!

“There was a chapel at the hotel we stayed at in Hawaii. It’d be easy to have a ceremony there for just the two of us–––.”

“Master? There isn’t a chapel in the world that would let you marry a six-year-old.”

“Ah, true.”

Ai is smiling, but she’s not. Scary.

In the middle of this lively girls’ party,

“…………”

Mio is standing off by herself and silently staring at the floor.

“Is there something wrong, Mio?”

Of course, I’m concerned. So I go sit next to her.

“You’ve been so quiet all day. Are you feeling all right? Or is there something on your mind?”

“………… Uhm …… The truth is ……”

I can tell there’s an argument going on in her head, her mouth opening and closing as she debates whether or not to say it. A few moments pass before she looks me square in the eyes.

“I …… I want to join the Women’s League!!” she blurts out like she’s been holding that in for far too long.

“Um! I …… I saw the Ryuo Title Matches on the Internet, saw how you and the Meijin play, Kujuryu-sensei …… What if, what if I could be in a big match like that! I know I’ll never be that good at Shogi, but …! But, I’m burning up inside ………… I want to join! I want to be in the Women’s League!!”

“……… So, that’s what’s been going on ……”

Praying so hard at the shrine, not letting anyone see what she wrote on her ema plate. This is why …… 

The other girls had different reactions to Mio’s sudden confession.

Ai looks genuinely surprised.

I knew it is written all over Ayano’s face. Charlette looks a bit stunned, but maybe a bit more like the kid who wants to eat the last cookie in the cookie jar. Adorable.

As for me …… I’m fighting back tears of joy.

How could I not after hearing that my Shogi inspired her?

“So, I, um …… I wanted to ask you what I should do to join the Women’s League really fast …… What I should do to get much, much stronger ……”

“Mio, you’re still in grade school. I think already having a dan ranking in the Practice League shows you already have what it takes to join.”

“B-But! I’ll be a fifth-grader real soon …… And ……”

“And?”

“…… Ai and Ten-chan are already in the Women’s League ……”

Both Ai Hinatsuru and Ai Yashajin joined the Practice League after Mio.

My first apprentice only started playing Shogi a little more than a year ago.

Unfortunately, Mio isn’t grown up enough to realize that their talent is different from hers. Only seeing things objectively, she gets jealous of people who are much stronger than she is. Catching up would seem impossible, but she challenges them anyway.

Reckless? Maybe.

But that fire is exactly why I think Mio has a real chance of joining the Women’s League if she takes it seriously. So–––.

“…… Alright. Mio, I understand how you feel.”

I sit up straight and turn to face her.

“However, the first thing I want you to know is that an early debut isn’t everything. I want you to understand that diving in headfirst doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get stronger.”

“……?”

“There were special circumstances in Ai’s case. To be honest, I wanted to delay her Women’s League debut a little longer if there was more leeway, but that wasn’t an option.”

“Whaaat?! W-Why ……? Isn’t it better to get in as soon as you can?”

Mio is stunned. Ai looks at me with a start, too.

I can’t deny that youth is the best way to measure talent in the Shogi world.

Knowing her, the reason that Ai Yashajin didn’t want to apply to join the Women’s League right away was the fact that she’d become the youngest Women’s League player in history and she had a ton of attention–––.

“It’s the same for pros and Women’s League members, they have to retire if their winning percentage dips below a certain level. You know that, right?”

“Of course …… I know.”

“Do you know about Ms. Oga?”

“The lady in glasses? The chairman’s secretary.”

“That’s her. Now she works for the association, but she used to be in the Women’s League.”

Sasari Oga Women’s 1-dan.

As to why she retired–––.

“She made her debut as a first-year junior high school student, which is fine, but she clearly wasn’t ready. Since she was going to school as well, she didn’t have enough time for Shogi research …… The association offered her a job, so she decided to retire.”

She could’ve kept playing a little while longer because her record was still good enough to qualify at the time.

But Ms. Oga joined the Women’s League in the first place because she admired Chairman Tsukimitsu. If she could work alongside him at the association, she didn’t have to be a Women’s League player. Ms. Oga was out of the competitive scene in the blink of an eye.

She retired after six years in the league with an 1-kyu ranking, but a special rule allowed her to promote to 1-dan when she left.

“What makes life in the Women’s League difficult is that there aren’t as many matches as in the pros. Without as many league matches, there aren’t as many chances to improve your record. Above all, there are fewer opportunities to get stronger. That’s why you need to be as strong as you can be when you join the Women’s League to survive.”

Pros only have so many chances.

For competitors, taking advantage of those chances is everything.

I’ve got to be the best example. I became a titleholder because all of my victory stars built up in the Ryuo League. If I had the same number of stars spread out across the different leagues, I’d be nothing more than the Shogi world’s doormat. But I’m the doormat that took advantage of an opportunity and became one of the Shogi world’s top players.

That quality is called Competitive Strength in this world.

Since we only care about results here, getting good results shows your strength.

Even if we are at the mercy of the Shogi gods …… 

“If you’re going to commit yourself to joining the Women’s League, I’m going to say something that might be hard to hear. Can you take it?”

“………… Yes! Please, let me hear it!!”

Sitting up straight as a board, Mio eggs me on.

“I …… I’ll take you to heart, Kujuryu-sensei!!”

Alright.

Now that I know for sure she’s 100 percent serious, I give her my opinion.

“Become the best in Japan.”

“The best …… in Japan?”

“I’m sure you know about the Elementary Meijin, right?”

“Y-Yes ……”

“Even if you can’t do it in grade school, you have chances in junior high and high school, too. Just become the best female amateur in Japan while you’re still in school. If you can get strong enough to win a tournament now, those skills will come in handy in the Women’s League.”

The main route for kids trying to become pros is joining the Sub League in grade school.

That’s why, except for the Elementary Meijin, their winning records as students don’t amount to anything.

On the other hand, plenty of Women’s League members did very well in the amateur ranks as students before joining. Since Practice League members are still classified as amateurs, they can hone their skills in that league as well as participate in amateur Shogi tournaments.

“This is just my opinion, but I think you have a real chance of becoming the best female amateur Shogi player in Japan if you start working at it as hard as you can right now, Mio.”

“Kujuryu-sense ……!”

“It should go without saying, but make sure you talk with your Master about this. If you’re going to become a pro, what your Master says becomes law. Actually, you should’ve talked with Kuresaka-sensei first, but–––.”

“S …… Sensei!”

“Yeah?”

“I love you!!”

“Say what?!”

The grade school girl I was giving advice to just said she loves me?!

“Alllllright now! Everyone, let’s play Shogi!!”

Completely ignoring the fact that I’m frozen in shock on the floor, Mio roles up her kimono sleeves and pulls out a Shogi board.

The new one that just got here.

“I’ll get real strong!! After all, I’ve got to become the strongest in Japan!!”

“Yes, Mio! That’s the spirit!!”

“Cha, Cha’s gonna be the bwest in Frawnce!”

“I can see it now, Charlette! The two of us standing on top of France and Japan! Yeah!!”

“Yay♡”

Now that Mio has a goal, the internal debate is gone.

Nothing’s changed about her from a moment ago. She’s not any stronger than she was.

But the difference between this committed Mio and her former self will be much easier to see in a week, in a month and certainly in a year from now.

People glow when they know exactly what they want to achieve.

“…… Grade schoolers are blinding,” I whisper to myself now that Mio has her sparkle back and a big smile on her face.

She’s found her goal.

–––Great, but …… what’s mine?

I defeated the Meijin and defended my title as Ryuo. What should I aim for next ……?

In all my years playing Shogi, this is the first time I felt this vague anxiousness. Ai seems to be feeling some vague anxiousness next to me, too.

“……… Mio …… How dare you use that as an excuse to tell Master you love him …… I should’ve known that you, too …… Now I’ve got another one to deal with …… Master, you darabuchi …………!”

…… What’s she hating on me for?

“W-Well, come on, everybody! It’s about time we played some Shogi! This is a practice session, isn’t it?! Yeah?! Yeah?!!”

“Grrrr~~~!!”

Ai puffs out her cheeks like an angry puffer fish. All she needs are the spines.

“Mio!”

“Yep!”

“I won’t lose!!”

“Yep?!”

Making that bizarre declaration, Ai sits down on the other side of the board from Mio, picks up a King, brings it down with a lot more force than she usually does–––

Snap!!

Slams it down on the board like issuing a challenge. That’s when.

Crreee–––––– …… kkk!

“Wha!”

That new sound spooked Mio so bad that she jumped clear into the air while still sitting on her ankles.

Then, she pointed at the board and screamed, “A-Ai …… You broke the board–––!!”

“Huuuh–––?!”

I lean in for closer look and …… there’s a craaack!

She put a lot more oomph in that snap than she needed to, but I never thought the board would break …… 

“I ……… I’m so very soooo–––rry!!” Ai apologizes, tears flowing like waterfalls as she stays low to the floor but flips herself around to face me while maintaining the fully prostrated dogeza position.

“I-I …… I’ve done the unforgivable ……! That board was brand-new ……”

“Hrmm~~ ……”

I run my finger down the crack to check the damage.

“…… Well, can’t use it like this, that’s for sure.”

“Hic!”

That sounded like Ai caught a hiccup halfway out her throat.

“M …… Master? This, this board …… Wasn’t it …… Really expensive ……?”

“Hm? Yeah, because it’s a 7-sun tenchimasa made of hyuga torreya wood. Even the cheapest ones go for 5 million yen ……”

“Faa-mi-mi …… Faa-mi-mi-mi-mi ……!!”

“Now, what to do? First things first, I should take a few pictures and let them have a look …… Send it to the shop ……”

“I’m sorry! There’s no excuse for what I’ve done! I …… was too rough with it and ruined a very expensive Shogi board!!”

“Huh? Nah, it’s not–––.”

“T-There’s only one thing I can do …… Use my body to repay you ……!”

Slide.

Ai cuts me off and undoes the sash keeping her kimono on!

Then, in the splitting image of what she had just done. 

“T-Then me, too! I offer myself as a thank you!!”

Slide!

“This is partially my fault, too …… And you gave me great advice, Kujuryu-sensei!!”

Mio springs to her feet, gives her obi sash a hard yank and spins like a top, more fabric coming loose every second.

It must’ve looked like fun because.

“Cha, too! Kwimono spin!”

“Huuh?! T-Then …… I as well ……”

Slide, slide. Charlette and Ayano start undressing. What’s going on?!

“Wa-wait, everyone! Stop! Stop! Once kimonos come off, they don’t go back on, so keep them oooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!”

Hatsumoude, first practice session and now first disrobing …… 

The New Year’s Grade Schooler Practice Session ended on that strange note and I have no idea why.