Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 7 - Chapter 1.1

  AWARD CEREMONY

“Anointment.”

Chairman Tsukimitsu’s cool and composed voice echoes out of the speakers in the hotel’s massive and extravagantly decorated grand hall.

“You have emerged victorious in the season’s Ryuo Title Match. Therefore, I hereby anoint you as the 30th season Dragon King, Ryuo.”

He holds up a certificate made of thick, traditional-style handmade paper.

Handing it to me, I respectfully take it with both hands.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

It’s just paper, but the certificate is heavy enough to make my hands shake.

The weight of a title.

“…… This is your second time. You must familiarize yourself with this feeling.”

I guess he must’ve sensed my nerves because the chairman switches off the microphone and whispers into my ear, “I’m not so sure. I’ve still got a lot to learn ……”

Coming up with that was all my terrified brain could do after getting teased by the Eternal Meijin.

I also meet Sasari Oga’s eyes, the chairman’s secretary looming behind him like a shadow, currently holding a large empty tray painted with many layers of black lacquer (where the certificate used to be). She gives me a soft smile. The corners of my eyes start heating up as memories start coming back to me of the little nudge she gave me just before the rematch of the Fourth Ryuo Title Match.

Then I step over to stand next to the chairman with the certificate in my hands so the photographers have a chance to take a few pictures.

The chairman and I exchange words back and forth amidst all the smiles and camera flashes.

“I was wondering, chairman. With you being blind and all, how do you read the certificate?”

“I have done this ceremony enough times to have the terminology memorized. The format itself is set, so only the vocabulary and names are changed for each one.”

“That explains it.”

“I remember being on the receiving end long ago, but recently I have always been behind the microphone. It would be nice to stand on the receiving end for a change.”

That got me to crack a smile at first, but his tone cut right through me. I freeze, that grin stuck on my face.

He has to contend with his handicap, but Chairman Tsukimitsu is still an active player and also has an A ranking. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did claim a title …… He’s still in the running to challenge the Meijin in this year’s placement matches too ……

On a side note, regarding titles, the Ryuo gets anointed, but Big Sis was conferred the Women’s Throne title at the Conferring Ceremony yesterday.

The Meijin gets presided, the King gets bestowed and the Throne gets granted.

It’s interesting how the certificates say pretty much the same thing, but the wording changes for each one.

Next up, the president of the newspaper company that has the rights to the Ryuo Title Match presents me with the Ryuo Cup (formally known as the Chichibunomiya Memorial Cup) and my prize money.

Altogether: 43,200,000 yen.

–– Including last year’s prize money, I’ve made almost 100 million ……

It’s said that the average businessman makes 200 million yen during their career, so I’ve almost reached the halfway point and I’m still seventeen. All I’m doing is playing the game I love …… Almost doesn’t feel real.

That’s when I notice someone looking up at me from below the stage.

“! ………… Master ……”

My Master, Kousuke Kiyotaki 9-dan, is quietly grinning at me from a little ways away.

His eyes are glistening from beneath his glasses, which is making me have to start fighting back tears.

If I’d never met him …… What would I be doing right now? Where would I be?

“And now, it is time to present the Ryuo with flowers,” Chairman Tsukimitsu says to the microphone and–––.

The main doors to this grand hall capable of holding a good thousand people swing open as three girls walk in accompanied by music that gets played all the time at wedding ceremonies …… which is fine, but.

“Huuuh?! Isn’t that ……?”

The crowd parts for her to walk right down the center–––a tiny little girl.

“Walking at the head of the group is the Ryuo’s first apprentice, Ai Hinatsuru Women’s League 2-kyu. She displayed a marvelous sense for offensive timing in yesterday’s Women’s Legend Preliminary Match as this young prodigy claimed a decisive victory in her debut. At the same time, she supports the Ryuo on a day-to-day basis as his precious live-in apprentice. Currently ten years old!”

Ai is wearing a long, flowy white dress.

Yes, one that wouldn’t look out of place at a wedding ……

“Behind her is Ai Yashajin Women’s League 1-kyu, another one of the Ryuo’s apprentices. Qualifying for this season’s Mynavi Open quarterfinals, she has become the Women’s League’s Cinderella. Also ten years old!”

Although her dress is mostly black, this one looks like a wedding dress, too.

“And the last in line is …… someone who needs no introduction. Holding two Women’s Titles and the first female ever to join the Sub League’s 3-dan Division, she has garnered a great deal of press coverage after defending her Women’s Throne title for the fourth year running and underwent the Conferring Ceremony yesterday. The most recognizable name in today’s Shogi world, Naniwa’s Snow White–––Ginko Sora 3-dan, currently fifteen!!”

For some reason, Big Sis is also wearing something pretty close to a wedding dress as all three have bundles of flowers that look like bouquets in their arms.

Sure, I have strong relationships with all three, so any one of them is qualified to be the one to present me with the ceremonial flowers but ……

But, why?! Why did the chairman have to tack on their ages at the end like that?!

“Now, Ryuo.”

Holding the microphone away from me with one hand, he puts the other on my shoulder and whispers into my ear so no one else could hear him.

“Whose flowers are you going to take?”

“?! Whose ……?”

I’m sure the chairman just wanted to sound cool, but …… There’s nothing cool about this situation at all.

(Prioritize Big Sis)→ Ai Hinatsuru gets angry and Ai Yashajin silently rages.

(Prioritize Ai Hinatsuru) → Big Sis gets angry and Ai Yashajin silently rages.

(Prioritize Ai Yashajin) → Ai Hinatsuru and Big Sis get angry and Ai Yashajin gets furious for some reason.

See? I’m screwed no matter what I do.

“Master? You’ll take my bouquet, right?”

Ai Hinatsuru, my first apprentice’s faith in me is unwavering.

“I-I’m not here …… because I wanted to be the one to give you the flowers, Sensei. But, everyone said the ceremony would be so depressing if I weren’t here to do it …… Be grateful I came all this way and hurry up and take them, you jerk!!”

Ai Yashajin looks away like she’s angry about something and thrusts the flowers out at me like a rapier.

“Ten seconds …… Nine, eight, seven, six––––––.”

As for Big Sis, she starts counting down the seconds.

This is more pressure than the late stages of a title match. I’m trembling ……!

––What am I supposed to do?! Three choices …… Which one is right?!

Hundreds of eyes are trained on me from all over the grand hall. Journalists zoom in their cameras. My apprentices are applying pressure. Big Sis’s voice, counting seconds one by one …… With all of that bearing down on me at once, I desperately set to reading.

Read.

Read. Read. Read. Readreadreadreadreadreadreadreadreadread ………

Then––––––I found it! I choose the fourth choice!

“This! Here is my answerrrrrrrrrrr––––––!!”

“?!”

Holding my arms out wide, I jump off the stage and collect all three bouquets at once!

(Take all bouquets at the same time.)

In that moment, I reversed the check path reversal.

“…… My word. Indecisive even under the perfect circumstances.”

“After all the chairman went through to provide a push, you find a way to make it all fall apart. Trash among trash, that’s what you are.”

Chairman Tsukimitsu shrugs as Ms. Oga lets out a long, frustrated sigh. Well, don’t expect any thank yous out of me!

“Mmgh~ ……!”

“…… Humph.”

“……… Tsk!”

Both my apprentices and Big Sis are making faces like they got forced into a Repetition Draw on offense. In other words, they’re not happy.

Shogi players love playing Shogi more than anything. Living in a world where everything is as cut and dry as win or lose, we develop the bad habit of making every little thing into a competition. This here has nothing to do with how they feel about me but more wanting to be prioritized, to beat the others or they’ll get angry about it. The worst ……!

“W-Well, I’ve got to say all of you are looking very cute!”

All three bouquets in my arms and the biggest smile I can muster on my face, I force the conversation in a new direction.

“Seriously, those dresses are spectacular!! They’re perfect for you! Did you borrow them from the hotel’s wedding chapel?”

“They are all designed by my hand,” an elegant voice echoes through the hall as a woman enters accompanied by a young man escorting her.

“That’s Women’s Legend, Rina Shakando ……!”

“Which means the man leading her by the hand must be Ayumu Kannabe 6-dan …… Aren’t they the picture-perfect Master and apprentice ……?”

Whispers and impressed sighs start coming from all over the room.

The woman making a grand entrance dressed like someone straight out of some ancient dynasty is a Women’s League Title holder, a living legend known as the Eternal Queen.

Owning her own fashion brand as well as running her own shop out of her Shogi classroom in Harajuku, Ms. Shakando is one of the most unique Shogi players around.

She has such an overwhelming presence that even Big Sis listens to what she has to say. Now that rare woman is pointing to each of the three girls with a fan that looks more like a peacock feather and starts describing each of her creations with pride.

“The bases were such high caliber that every moment spent coordinating was very much worth the time. There is no higher standard of beauty that these three are displaying, don’t you agree?”

“Yes! Yes! I totally agree!!” I yell loud enough to make sure the three of them hear me. “All of you are at least a hundred times cuter than usual! It made my decision so much harder~! That’s Ms. Shakando for you. There’s no mistaking her work.”

“Fufu. ’Tis the season for professional Shogi players to be distraught. Presenting beautiful flowers such as these does much to lighten the celebratory mood, do they not?”

“……!”

Now that she pointed it out, the air in here is heavy …… It’s far too tense to be called an award ceremony, for sure.

I know exactly why. It’s always this way this time of year.

“Although it cannot be helped …… I simply wanted to soothe the atmosphere. After all, my beloved disciple is to receive an award of his own this day. Yes? God Cauldron.”

“Yes, Master.”

Ayumu, graciously bowing before her, won Group 6 of the Ryuo Title Match Preliminaries.

All of the group winners have gathered at this Anointing Ceremony to be recognized. That could be why Ayumu is pulling out all the stops …… You know that picture of Napoleon when he became emperor in the history books? That’s Ayumu right now.

But everyone here is going along with his flashy outfit.

Ayumu may have lost to the Meijin the final Ryuo Title Match Qualifier, but his bold fighting style made him into a star player. This bizarreness is just making his name spread faster in the Shogi world.

Meijin Apparent.

For young Shogi pros, his nickname has to induce both expectations and fear at the same time. Though he still refers to himself as the silver saint god something or other ……

Said Ayumu looks up at me with a competitive spark in his eyes and says, “All I did was conquer the lowest ranking group, number 6. The divide between us is still far too great, Dragkin …… But, don’t you dare look away! For the season I claim your head is upon us!!”

He still calls me that.

“I’m only above you in the Ryuo League, remember? You’ve got better records than me everywhere else, have played more league matches and even have a better winning percentage. You’re so far ahead of me that there’s no point comparing ……”

Admitting it out loud really hurts.

“That is due to your right to bypass the preliminaries as the titleholder and the fact that your title constantly aligns you with only the higher-ranking players.”

“But, I still can’t measure up to your over seventy-five percent win rate.”

“If I may, my darling apprentice possesses a one hundred percent win rate in placement matches. Though it’s plainly obvious, that is the best in recorded history,” Ms. Shakando chimes in with pride.

In other words, Ayumu has won every single one of his nearly thirty placement matches since he turned pro. Sir Ayumu is just too strong in placement matches.

“You’re turning him into one heck of a beast ……”

“Because I’m raising him to meet my ideals. Players strong in placement matches are the players closest to the Meijin. Though I hesitate to say this at the Ryuo’s Anointment Ceremony, old types like us believe that the title of Meijin is the one to be revered and thus the one to strive for.”

I’m pretty sure I agree with that, actually.

Even I dreamt of being the Meijin back when I was a kid (just above being the receptionist at a hot spring bathhouse). The status of Meijin holds a special place in the hearts of everyone who plays Shogi.

Placement Matches are the long, hard-fought road of battles leading to that position.

Since those battles take place throughout the year, it takes a very long time to claim the right to challenge the Meijin. It’s completely different from the Ryuo League, where someone can come out of nowhere and claim it with one quick surge.

Overall ranking is divided into five different classes spanning from C-2 all the way up to A, and you can only be promoted once per year.

Basically, it takes at least five years to even have a shot.

Since turning pro, Ayumu has been getting promoted nonstop without hitting a single roadblock. That’s the main reason people call him the Meijin Apparent.

“Aren’t you the only person left undefeated in B-2 this season? Your promotion is pretty much in the bag already. Two months from now you’ll be in B-1 as Ayumu Kannabe 7-dan.”

“My placement is rather low. Promotion would be inconceivable without a flawless record.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Considering his Shogi skills and this current tear he’s on, I’d be willing to bet he’ll break right through without a loss.

–––Hold on a second, who’s he scheduled to play against in the final B-2 placement match again ……?

I wrack my brain to remember what was written on the placement match schedule, but Ayumu’s next words drag me back into reality.

“You’re one to talk …… Just what was that Shogi yesterday?”

“You were watching the coverage?”

Big Sis was in Tokyo for the Women’s Throne Conferring Ceremony in this same hotel yesterday while my two apprentices and I all had matches in the city, so it was like the whole Shogi family went on a field trip. Keika stayed behind because she had something to take care of in Osaka.

Everyone won their matches.

So, coming to the Anointing Ceremony today felt like a walk in the park. At least it did until the bouquet surprise just a few moments ago ……

“I saw that in the middle of the match and thought it might be a fun way to shake things up. I mean, it was getting covered all over the Internet, so I thought I should entertain the fans a bit. But, I didn’t think it’d go that well.”

“I-In the middle …… of the match ……?”

Instead of being surprised, Ayumu looks like what I just said actually hurt.

“You are saying that you broke the Natagiri 8-dan’s yagura …… Completely on the fly?!”

“Of course, a lot of research went into it. But, I was in the zone yesterday and I could see everything line up …… So, yeah, the yagura is already dead.”

Chatter!!

What I just said sent waves through the hall.

The already tense air in here feels prickly all of a sudden.

Ayumu says in disbelief, “T-the yagura …… is dead ……?”

“Yeah. Offense, defense, it doesn’t matter. Yagura castles won’t work. The balance is too lopsided. Even software won’t use it. You must have started to figure that out, right? Isn’t that why you used a snowroof against the Meijin in the Ryuo Qualifier rather than your bread and butter yagura?”

“………”

Ayumu fearfully glances around in little spurts.

Winner of the Group 1 Ryuo Preliminaries, the Meijin, is also here somewhere.

But he’s surrounded by fans per usual, so you can usually tell where he is by finding the largest clump of people in the hall.

So I highly doubt he overheard us.

“The Meijin chose to use a yagura against you, and your snowroof got checkmated in the end. But my analysis tells me that you would have won if you hadn’t messed up in the late game. Right now, I feel like I could win against anyone using a yagura, no matter who it is.”

“Dragkin, are you …… aware of how people refer to you in Kanto?”

“It’s got to be trash or loli-con or something like that, right?”

“…… May ignorance continue to shield you.”

“Come again?”

He’s not saying another word. What’s going on?

“That’s the spirit, young Ryuo. Ever so audacious,” interjects Ms. Shakando through a tight-lipped grin.

“The age of yagura is at an end …… Is it? Old types like myself will have some difficulty coming to terms with that. It was said to be the purest form of Shogi in our day, and playing any other strategy in the Meijin Title Match was considered nothing short of sacrilege ……”

“Seems like it. I remember Master telling me that a long time ago.”

I even heard that the current Meijin nearly got roasted alive because he used a Central Rook strategy the first time he challenged for the title.

It’s unbelievable nowadays, but Master said that seeing it really pissed him off when he was watching the match in real time.

That Master of mine is tapping away on his smartphone not too far away from me right now.

I bet he’s buying something in some mobile game to celebrate his apprentice getting anointed. He’s been using anything as an excuse to pour money into that game recently ……

“He seems too focused on it to have picked up anything,” I said.

Well, even if he did hear me, he’d probably just laugh it off and let it slide. I’m not lying or anything.

“Be that as it may ……”

Ms. Shakando places her hand on Ayumu’s shoulder.

“There are no longer any chinks in God Cauldron’s armor. Be it yagura or any other strategy, the Silver Chevalier is fully prepared to boldly stand against anything …… Isn’t that right?”

“Of course, my Master.”

Ayumu nods with all the confidence in the world. I can’t help but bust his chops a bit.

“Are you sure about that, Ayumu? All I have to do to turn the tables is drag out the match into a night game.”

“Fufu …… As I said, young Ryuo, he has become invulnerable. That blemish has long since been taken care of. We often play long into the night as of late, yes?” says Ms. Shakando as she runs her finger down her beloved apprentice’s chin.

“I rather enjoy being thoroughly intertwined in back and forth struggles for extended periods of time …… just like a yagura.”

“M-Mhhstaaa ……”

That’s one heck of a bond these two are showing off. It’s so out in the open, I’m getting embarrassed just watching.

Playing long into the night, being intertwined …… All of these adult ways to describe their relationship are making things awkward between Big Sis and me. My apprentices, on the other hand, haven’t made the connection yet and are just looking up with “?” in their eyes.

But that doesn’t explain ……

“Big Sis? Um, are you feeling okay? People don’t normally turn that red–––.”

“S-Shut up! I’ll end you right here!!”

“Huh?! Careful, Big Sisoufff?!”

Shoulder shaking, Big Sis spins around and flings her elbow directly into my chin. Clean hit.

I go tumbling to the floor, bouquets at all.

That night, pictures of me laying on the floor in the middle of all those flower petals were on news sites with the title Snow White Decks Ryuo at Anointing Ceremony. How’d the ceremony turn out like this ……?