Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 8 - Chapter 2.1

(MATCH JOURNAL)

I became a Women’s Shogi player when I was in elementary school and have been playing a total of eight years.

I took some time to reflect on the experience I’ve built up during those eight years.

I have been lucky enough to never surrender the title after claiming one and reaching the point where Shogi fans recognize my face as well as my name.

Though rather embarrassing, they’ve bestowed me with a nickname (and this is my first time admitting it’s grown on me).

However, as strong younger players appear on the scene, I have my hands full protecting my titles. As a result, I’ve struggled to produce in other Shogi matches.

Even if I manage to force a meaningful match, I can’t win from that point on anymore.

I hold Women’s Titles, but professional players have an overwhelming advantage over me in terms of matches played.

Inevitably, my free time increases with every match that I lose.

A Shogi player’s future is determined by how they use that free time, but …… I felt it was my duty as a title holder, that I had an obligation to pass on to others the kindness of Women’s League players who helped me and started focusing on promotion.

The time I could set aside for research went down, but I told myself that was unavoidable and went along with it.

I did commentary for TV broadcasts, interviews for all types of magazines rather than just Shogi ones, and even made appearances on variety shows.

My efforts resulted in Women’s Shogi reaching new audiences and attracting more fans to participate in Shogi events.

I was satisfied …… And I thought the fans were just as happy.

However, a few comments fans made when I was outside of Osaka making a guest appearance at a regional event changed my mind.

“Are you slacking off these days?”

“You must be raking in the dough, going to all these events.”

“Ahhh, Women’s Shogi players have it so easy. You’re real lucky.”

It was all I could do to keep a dry smile on my face.

My sacrificing research time to promote Shogi …… had resulted in tarnishing the reputation of Women’s League players.

Ever since that day, my views on promotion have changed.

So long as I’m playing Shogi, there’s no point to sacrificing my own time in order to promote the sport if I don’t win. Fans are much happier to see one strong Women’s League player at a single event than seeing a weak player attending hundreds.

That will be my contribution to Women’s Shogi as a title holder: getting strong.

Once my mind was set, I stopped participating in most events and focused on my research.

I became a competitive demon once again.