Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 7 - Chapter 5.1

  OVERSIGHT

Now that party last night really pushed the limits.

If I had to write anything about the party that went down at my apartment last night with those girls celebrating my promotion until the sun came up, that would be it.

Considering that most of the attendees were grade schoolers, not even old enough to be considered minors, there was no alcohol to be had at the party. Then again, we didn’t need it. The sweet, sweet taste of victory was a better buzz than any drink could give.

Yes, the liquor called promotion.

“Congratulations♡ Kuzuryu-sensei♡♡♡”

I happily munched on the delicious desserts my apprentice made just for me while all the other grade schoolers showered me with praise.

Four spoons, one from each direction, came up to my face, all accompanied with the cutest little, “Say ah!” you could imagine. Hey, now, I can only eat one at a time!

“You know, Cha? To celebwate? Cha’s gwoing to marry Masta!”

“Ah! No fair, Charlette! I wanna marry Guzuryu-sensei, too!”

“I-I as well …… Kuzuryu-sensei, please take me as your bride!!”

“No, no, no!! The first apprentice gets to marry Master! Because, I am first!!”

“Don’t worry, everybody. I’m in C-1 now, so I can take as many wives as I want.”

“Wooow!!”

It’s only natural. I’m not one of the bottom feeders in C-2. I’m in C-1.

C-1 players have a higher salary and 17-year-olds can get married, so of course I can marry as many girls as I want.

“Watch it, Yaichi! Marrying multiple grade school girls at once, how can you be so stupid?! You’ll be arrested this time for sure!!”

“Oh? Are you saying you want to be married to this C-1 player as well, Big Sis?”

“Huuh? As if! Would you get off that high horse until you’re in A?”

“…… What’s so good about A? That’s your cup size, right ……?”

“Your head on a pike.”

“Watch your mouth, Big Sis. Don’t forget, you’re talking to a C-1 player now.”

“?!”

Once I handily dodged her fist, Big Sis blushed red and started fiddling with her hair.

“Heh heh heh …… You can deny it, but your body knows what it wants. Ginko-chan ……”

“Ngh ……! Kill me ……!!” (Shudder!)

Even the Ginko Sora couldn’t resist a C-1 player. Damn, I’m glad I promoted.

Is the dream I had.

In reality, there wasn’t a party at all. We just came back to my apartment for a quick congrats and called it a night. Ayano’s parents drove here all the way from Kyoto to pick her up and took Charlette with them and I called a taxi for Mio because she lives pretty close. After all, they’ve got school tomorrow.

Ai Hinatsuru and Big Sis were the ones who stayed.

It just felt weird celebrating when I lost but got promoted by default.

We nibbled on cold food, took turns taking baths and went to bed straightaway.

Ai went to school this morning and I’m pretty sure Big Sis went right to the association.

I was so tired that I slept into the evening and only now woke up.

“……………………………………… I wish I were dead …………………”

I groan, remembering just how lolicon-esque the dream I had was and the agony of defeat all at once. C-1 players taking as many wives as they want, what the hell ……? What am I, nuts ……?

Feeling guiltier than any words could ever describe, I take a look at my smartphone and see Ai Yashajin sent a message to congratulate me.

“What a sorry way to promote. Well, it’s about perfect for you, right Sensei? Congratulations.”

“…………… Someone, kill me ……”

That message from my apprentice smashes my spirit to smithereens.

The thing is that this is probably what most people in the Shogi world are thinking right now.

All the trust I built up on my winning streak has plummeted back down to zero after losing yesterday.

“…… I just had to say the yagura is dead and then get totally destroyed using one of them ……”

It’s not just the trust.

My confidence is beaten to a pulp.

“I was doing so well only to have some 80-year-old fossil one match away from retirement mess it all up ……”

Of course, I get it.

I get that underestimating Zaou-sensei lead to losing.

I get that my lack of respect for decades of Shogi experience caused my downfall.

But, even if the logic checks out …… The pain of losing destroys that logic, crushes it into nothingness. Promoting doesn’t make that pain go away and marrying Charlette won’t do a thing about it, either.

“If researching like my life depended on it didn’t work …… Then what kind of Shogi am I supposed to play ……?”

It hurts so bad I can’t even look at a Shogi board.

I’m so ashamed, I don’t want to go to the association.

But–––.

“Here I am anyway ……”

I step up to the association’s front door and hesitate for a moment.

My Master has a match today.

The B-2 division final …… and it could be his last pro match if he gets demoted.

If that happens, today could be Master’s last league match.

The last thing I want to do when I feel like utter garbage is watch an important match like that.

But.

“………… I have to see this one through.”

Sighing from the bottom of my lungs, I make myself as small as possible to avoid embarrassment and sneak my way into the association.

Then, I could tell something was off by the heavy vibe in the Player’s Room the second I step inside.

Big Sis, Mr. Kagamizu and Sota are all hunched over a board and look like they just pulled an all-nighter. There is no doubt in my mind that Master’s match is being analyzed on that board.

“Big Sis? Did something big happen in Master’s match?”

“His Bishop got taken for nothing.”

“For reals?”

Is that for real? I wanted to ask, but several sounds get stuck in my throat.

“Do major pieces ever get taken …… for free in pro matches?”

Ms. Mato, busily typing up a live blog entry on her computer in the corner, provides the answer.

“It happened once earlier this year. Though, it was a veteran freelance player.”

“How did it turn out?”

“He surrendered on the spot.”

Well, I don’t blame him for throwing in the towel ……

“Yaichi! Yaichi! Yaichi!”

Sota runs up to me with his phone in hand once he notices I’m in the room.

“I booted up the monster machine upstairs in Kiyotaki-sensei’s house and I’ve got it remotely analyzing everything. See? I’ve got it all connected to my phone and I can control it from here–––.”

He tells me with his fingers running back and forth across the screen.

“The rating right now is minus 1500. Offense has a major advantage.”

In general, turning the tables is impossible once software gives one side 1000 points over the other.

Being another 500 points beyond that makes his chances …… Well, this match is as good as over.

It doesn’t help that he is playing against Ayumu. Talk about hopeless.

“Kiyotaki-sensei …… He’s good, but giving up a Bishop for free ……”

Mr. Kagamizu’s eyes trace the analysis board, his face twisting in agony.

I start reading the board right alongside them.

“…………”

After some thought, I come up with a different conclusion. In desperation.

“Depending on how you think about it, Ayumu putting that Gold there pretty much takes it out of the match. The formation …… might not be that bad.”

“He has a chance? Still ……?”

Big Sis is still clinging to hope.

Nobody, however, was able to answer her.

Ai Hinatsuru burst into the Kiyotaki household with her school backpack still strapped to her shoulders.

“Keika! Keeeikaaaaaaa!!”

Ai was the type of girl who would always neatly line up her shoes next to the door when she came inside, but today she let them be after prying them off her feet. Her small arms were cradling a tablet against her chest.

She couldn’t remember a single thing from any of her classes at school today.

Her attention had been squarely focused on the tablet beneath her desk, tracking the match blog during class and recess alike.

Then, she raced here the moment school let out.

“Keika, where are you?! Grandpa-sensei’s match is falling apart …… Keika?! Where are you?!”

Keika was in the kitchen.

Unable to watch the most crucial match of her father’s career, she busied herself with the dishes instead.

“Keika! Look, look at this! Grandpa-sensei’s match, he’s–––.”

“Not another word!!” Keika shrieked, standing with her back to the girl.

Though surprised by that reaction, Ai cautiously pressed her point even further.

“B-But …… Grandpa-sensei … he’s trying so hard. He’s fighting and fighting …… so why aren’t you watching him?”

“Because I already know …… I know exactly how hard he’s trying, more than anyone else. No one needs to tell me that ……”

Keika’s voice was strained as if each word had to be squeezed out.

“Do you know why he drinks so much after his matches? It’s because he’s ground his molars so hard that his jaw hurts and chewing solid food is too painful …… Gritting his teeth is how he endures pressure, and he’s done that so much that most of the enamel on his molars is gone …… The dentist told him dentures aren’t an option because his doesn’t have back teeth anymore ……”

“……! That’s horrible ……”

Ai was at a loss for words.

“Fighting with your eyes looking up is the best feeling in the world …… But Father and I, we have to fight with our eyes down …… No hopes, no dreams …… Simply fighting to stay alive ……”

“……………”

“Can you understand what that’s like? How hard it is to play in such wretched conditions, how pathetic it feels ……? Then again, how can I expect people like you and Yaichi who expect to win to know what that’s like ……!”

Jealousy starting to take hold, Keika plugged her ears with her hands and yelled, “So, please! Don’t say anything! Put that tablet away!!”

“Kei …… ka ……”

Unsure of how to approach the young woman clamping her ears shut, Ai stood bewildered in the kitchen doorway with her tablet still clenched in her arms.