Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 6 - Chapter 5

  REGULAR ACTIVITIES DAY

Morning. I wavered.

“…… It might be better to go in the back door.”

That thought popped into my head when I saw the Shogi Association come into view from my seat riding the Kanjou Line train to Fukushima Station.

Most likely, I thought to myself, there’ll be reporters waiting outside. Just like there were for the Admission Exam.

The day I got annihilated.

In that case, going in a different way might’ve worked out better. Being a competitor, I naturally came up with new things to try. Like drawing a lot of fortunes in a row.

“But ……”

It felt like I was running away.

Hiding from cameras before a match. If I stick with the mentality that spending mental and physical resources on interviews is the reason I lose, will I ever get stronger?

If I promote to the 3-dan division, the first and last Regular Activities will take place in Kanto.

Those reporters will be tenacious.

There’s a very real possibility they’ll chase me to whatever hotel I’m staying at.

There’ll be no escape from them so long as I’m there.

They’ll fuss when I lose and make a bigger fuss when I win.

That being the case, I’d be better off charging into it head-on. That’s the determination I need to get stronger.

–––That idiot would, wouldn’t he?

The very fact that I felt a strange surge of confidence when that thought occurred to me must’ve meant I was still groggy.

“Miss Sora! What are your chances of winning today?!”

“With a victory, you’ll become the first female member of the 3-dan division ever! Can you do it?!”

“What did you eat for breakfast this morning?!”

“Miss Sora, you’re a Scorpio, right?! Scorpio’s luck is second from the bottom today, do you have anything to say about that?!”

Just as I expected, a throng of reporters were waiting outside the association. They swarmed me, cameras at the ready, the instant I came into view.

After seeing their fervor firsthand.

“……!”

I thought I was ready, but my legs froze up on the spot.

–––First female 3-dan ever.

Pressure clamped down on me from every angle …… My stoked competitive fire was blown out in an instant. I felt it.

Just like when I touched Mr. Karako’s Parting Pieces.

–––Don’t freeze! Build up your courage ……!!

Despite my mind going blank, I held myself together by the slimmest of margins and managed to string a few words together.

“…… Sorry. I’ll answer everything after the match.”

After a quick bow, I tried to get inside the association, but …

“Please, wait, Miss Sora!”

“At least let us take a few pictures!!”

“You’ve got time before the match, so what’s the problem?!”

Refusing to give up, the reporters surrounded me and closed in.

That’s when they came.

“A press conference has been set up to do interviews after the match! I respectfully ask that all members of the media refrain from going beyond this point!”

Association staff members came together to create a human barricade with Mr. Mine at the front.

“Ginko! Hurry on up to the arena, now!”

“Everyone ……? But, why ……?”

“…… Sorry we didn’t do more to protect you before the Admission Exam.”

“……!”

“Your Shogi doesn’t collapse to that degree for no reason. Shogi is a game, that’s true …… But the trials and tribulations of life in the Sub League are not for amusement.”

The people who’ve watched over me since I was a child.

The clerk who made my Match Card the first time I came to the association.

The publicist who came with me to interviews, helped me learn how to answer questions.

The security guard who’s always the first to greet me with a smile whenever I visit the association.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed the man who owns the restaurant on the first floor was there, too. He’s always so gruff talking to me when I sit at the counter and doesn’t know the first thing about Shogi, but he was there all the same …… 

Every single one of these people came together to make a wall … all for me.

“Sub League members are fighting for their very lives! Please, allow them to focus on their matches!” Mr. Mine yelled at the reporters. 

In return, “Fighting for their lives? They ain’t pros, now are they?! Amateurs, every single one of them!! Stop making it sound more important than it is!”

“This is why the Shogi world is failing!”

“Interviews were fine before the Admission Exam, but not today? Bullshit! You can’t order us around like this!!”

The angry reporters threw the book at him.

People on the outside must think that Sub League matches are worthless because they don’t generate profit. Any explanations would fall on deaf ears.

That’s why the staff members could only continuously apologize.

“Sorry, but please understand!”

“Just for today, please, let her pass!! Please!! Please!!”

For the Sub League …… For me, they bowed their heads and pleaded with the reporters no matter how many insults and abusive comments rained down on them without a single objection. That’s the only way they can protect me.

The corners of my eyes heated up watching them.

I was certain my heart wouldn’t waver no matter what questions came my way, but it wavered for the first time.

–––I must go. The match is the only thing I should be thinking about ……!

In my head, I knew that was right.

I thought my mind was made up.

I wanted nothing more than to turn back and fight alongside all of them there and then.

“…………… Is this weakness ……?”

Blocking out the almost magnetic pull yanking on the back of my hair, I stepped into the elevator.

Finally alone in that small space, I used every moment of what little time I had to focus on the match in front of me.

“It’s time to fight …… Victory is the only way to end this.”

I locked a plea for help deep inside my heart and held it tight.

While I didn’t say the word, well, name, out loud …… It did make me feel a bit stronger.