Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

“…… And that’s what happened.”

“A good …… story? Is that?”

Machi looks like she’s on the fence about it.

Huh? Did I miss the mark?

I thought it all came together really nice at the end …… 

“Is this Akira you spoke of the one who accompanies Ten-chan to the association wearing sunglasses?”

“That’s her. She’s basically Ai Yashajin’s bodyguard, but she got hooked on Shogi at some point during all her trips back and forth.”

“Hmmn.”

She seems to be implying something as she picks up a somewhat large stone and skips it across the Kamo River and says, “Ryuo-san, the two of you are on good enough terms to work together?”

“I just told you about our first time, but …… She did send me a message saying, Let’s try again, this time without the lolis! a while back and we’ve been exchanging ideas. She’s not the easiest to work with when Ai is involved, but we make a pretty good team.”

If only her love for Lady Ai Yashajin didn’t send her off the deep end, I think she’d be a valuable asset. But, yeah, love is a strange thing. Can’t do anything about it ……!

“I’m a title holder again this season after defending my place as the Ryuo. As a top player, I’ll get to do all different kinds of jobs. It’s just something top players have to deal with.”

What a drag. I don’t get why top players have to do all these non–Shogi-related jobs, but at least they’re fun. A drag, but fun.

I tried venting my frustration about it, but Machi–––.

“That being the case, would you join me for non–Shogi-related work should I be successful in my own defense tomorrow?”

“What?”

Coming out of nowhere, her request leaves me stunned.

“I don’t …… have any problem working with you any time, Machi, Shogi-related or not.”

“That settles it. Pinkie swear with me, pinkie swear. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!”

“Hm? Why’d you put so much emphasis on the die and needle part ……? You’ll tell me what the job is beforehand, right?!”

“Venues for romantic tours of Kyoto. A local magazine has hired me to write such an article.”

“Ah, that should be alright ……”

This kind of thing needs a guy’s opinion as well. All I’d have to do is join her on a trip around Kyoto and just give my thoughts as we go along. Piece of cake!

Or so I thought.

“Photographs are also a must, so we shall be posing together as models as well.”

“We what?!”

M-me?! A model?!

“I c-c-c-can’t do that! Pictures of us looking like a couple would show up in a magazine, right?! J-just think about what people who see that might say ……!!”

“What is the issue? You are simply modeling.”

“Oh, no no no no, it’s no good. Not good at all, okaaaay ……?”

Ai Hinatsuru would suspect things, for sure.

Big Sis would smack me, for sure.

Ai Yashajin’s disdain for me would go up another level if she saw it.

And Keika would say something like, “Oh my, Yaichi. I can’t take my eyes off you for a minute, can I?” like a mother who just saw her son getting busy with his girlfriend. Keika, my heart only belongs to you ……!

“I can’t do that, got it?! I won’t make that promise!!”

“That may be so, but you have already pinkie sworn to it.”

“B-But ……”

“The promise shall be void in the event that I am unsuccessful tomorrow. I believe these are fair terms, no?”

“They’re fair …… But ……”

“Ryuo-san, do you believe that I shall prevail against O-Ryou?”

“…… I did until just a moment ago, but now I want you to lose.”

“You tease.”

I tried to get her to change her mind so many times walking back to the hotel, but Machi didn’t take the promise back.

“Here ……?!”

The next day.

Ai Hinatsuru freezes the moment she sees the arena on the Kamo River bank and squeals.

“They’re going to play Shogi here?!”

“Talk about impressive ……”

I couldn’t see much at all in the dark last night, but now that it’s in the sun …… They really went all out. I’m not the only one here thinking so.

“What’s that over there?”

“Kabuki, maybe? But, what’s with that wooden thing in the middle?”

“Shogi …… Perhaps?”

“Are those young women in kimonos going to do Shogi?”

“Wow! They’re gorgeous!”

The board right in the middle of the stage and the two ladies sitting on either side of it are already drawing a crowd. People are lining up on the Sanjyo Ohashi Bridge and on the Shijyo Ohashi Bridge as well as along the river banks in the Sanjyo and Shijyo areas for a better look.

Even the locals are impressed while the foreigners are walking around with wide eyes and taking pictures left and right …… I bet this scenery is spreading out around the world right now.

Just, wow …… They have to play Shogi like this ……?

“We can’t just stand and stare. It’s our job to do analysis on the big board.”

“Uwheeee?!”

“Of course, we won’t be on that stage. But, there’ll be plenty of people looking at us, too. We need to psych ourselves up for this one ……!”

Each player has two hours of waiting time on a chess clock for the Yamashiro Ouka Title Match.

Which means that the match will go on for at least four hours if both of them use all their time. One-minute Shogi rules kick in after that. All told, the match could take more than five hours if the battle really heats up.

“Considering there’s a lunch break and then interviews to do after the match is over, it’d be a good idea to plan on today taking about 10 hours. This is your first big job as a Woman’s League player, Ai.”

“Y-Yes ……!!”

She won her first official league match, but she looks a lot more nervous now before this event than she did during that match. When you’re playing, nerves go away once the match starts …… 

She and I did some big board analysis at the Kansai Association a while back, but she switched out before we could talk about a single move …… I’m sure that sounds confusing, and I still don’t know exactly what happened …… It certainly wasn’t hypnosis or some cheap, speedy trick. I caught a glimpse of something much, much scarier …… 

“This is a great chance for you to practice doing commentary, so take my instructions to heart.”

“Yes! I’m ready for you to teach me ……!!”

The commentary stage is set up on an embankment not too far from the arena where the match will take place. The audience can see us easily and we have a good view of the arena because we’re higher up than the crowd.

All they did was block off the road and line up some folding chairs in front of the big board, but Kyoto’s scenery is so perfect that this is all they needed to do to make everything look good.

Walking side by side, I explain some things to my open-eared apprentice.

“What we’re doing today is basically the same as normal big board analysis except that the players are much closer to the audience and commentators this time because it’s a public match.”

“Will they be able to hear us?”

“Yes. Never forget that.”

Apparently, the players won’t be able to hear much of anything since the stage is so close to the Kamo River today …… Even so, we need to be careful how we phrase things.

“Whenever there’s a live audience like this or when commentators and players are on the same stage, it’s common etiquette for the commentators to avoid saying specific places on the board. Also, it’s necessary to use open-ended words like this here or that there without mentioning the offender or defender at all. The next thing we need to watch out for is how the audience reacts. We can be extremely careful but that won’t mean a thing if someone in the audience blurts out the specific place we’re trying not to say.”

“…… There are so many rules to remember. (>-<)” 

“It’ll be fine. They’ll be so focused on the match that the players won’t hear anything going on around them.”

“Fuwawa ……”

Ai’s nerves and confusion have reached the point her eyes are spinning. Seriously, I can hear her knees crackling from here …… 

Yeah. This isn’t good.

She won’t be able to say anything if I scare her too much, but I can’t have her going up there without any nerves at all. The best-case scenario would be to find a way to put a positive spin on the pressure, but …… 

Just as my train of thought reaches that point.

“Aaaaiiii!”

“Ah! Mio! And everyone, too ……!”

The little girl slipping through the crowd to get right up to us is Ai’s Shogi friend and classmate Mio Mizukoshi.

Right behind her are Ayano Sadatou, another girl her age, and Charlette Isoir, three years younger than the rest.

Combined with Ai Hinatsuru, these four friends make up the Grade Schooler Practice Group.

“Heh-heh! We came to cheer you on!!”

“Kuzuryu-sensei, Ai, I’m looking forward to your analysis.”

“You are awnnouncers!”

Once Mio, Ayano and Charlette say what they wanted to say,…

“E-Everyone …… Thank you so much!”

Relief washing over her, tears build up in Ai’s eyes as she wraps her arms around Charlette in a big hug. Finding herself in Ai’s embrace, Charlette tilts her head with a surprised “Oh?” and hugs her too, giving Ai a few pats on the back. Man, that’s adorable.♡

Seriously, though …… We dodged a bullet …… 

There’s nothing more reassuring than having someone you know within earshot at times like this.

Commentating is so much easier when someone, anyone gives a little nod of recognition. Please remember that next time you go to a Shogi event.

“Thanks for coming, everybody! I’ll try to get some seats in the front row set aside for you, so give Ai plenty of support today!”

“Yay!”

Happy, smiling little girls. I want to protect those smiles.

I flag down one of the staffers running around doing final preparations.

“Sorry to bother you. These girls are with me. Two of them are part of the Kansai Practice League and the third attends the association’s Children’s Shogi School. Would it be possible to have them seated in the front row?”

“Oh, with the Ryuo …… Please wait for a minute.”

Even though it’s right before the match, the busiest time slot of the day, the staffer just smiles and helps me without a single complaint.

He gets another staffer standing a little way away from me to check into it–––.

“Kuzuryu-sensei’s ……?”

“Elementary school girls, yes ……”

“But, the seats are ……”

“The VIP seats ……”

I can only catch a few words, but one of the ones I do catch I certainly can’t ignore. I yell out to them.

“VIP seats?! That’s okay, you don’t have to go that far ……”

“No, no. These seats were prepared in advance for your small friends. Chairman Tsukimitsu ordered these arrangements personally.”

“The chairman? Seats for my small friends ……?”

Maybe they’re trying to encourage more kids to come to Shogi events by having smaller chairs available?

But, looking around, there’s a ton of kids riding piggyback on their fathers’ shoulders in the crowd.

What’s going on here? I feel like we’re not talking about the same thing …… 

“Um, I would like to have some seats set aside for my apprentice’s friends.”

“Yes. Which is why VIP seats have been prepared for them.”

“…… Back up for just a moment please. VIPs are important people, right? Politicians or event organizers, right?”

“Normally yes, but not in this case.”

“In this case? And what does VIP mean ……?”

“Very Important Prepubescent.”

Very important prepubescent?!

“It means young girls of considerable importance.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to figure out.”

I’m drawing a total blank here.

What in the world is going on ……?

“In layman’s terms, Chairman Tsukimitsu issued a memo stating that Kuzuryu-sensei will be accompanied by young girls when attending events and to always have extra chairs on hand. The arrangement has been approved by the Shogi Association and all branches around the country have been informed.”

“Huh? Let me get this straight. The whole Shogi world is in on this? Even the branch associations …… Got it ……?”

“Naturally. Kuzuryu-ryuo is worthy of being treated as the Shogi world’s top priority after not only defending the Dragon King Ryuo title but advancing to C-1 in the placement matches as well. Even the Meijin himself has said that you are the strongest right now. As these young female friends of yours are what you hold most dear, it’s synonymous for us as the Shogi Association to hold them in the same esteem.”

It’s not synonymous. Definitely not synonymous.

I have to stop this VIP treatment before it spreads. If it does, it’ll be a disaster. Well, I’m sure it’s already spread, but as soon as word gets out that I actually let little girls sit in those seats, there’ll be no going back.

But, after seeing my friends already happily sitting in those chairs, I can’t refuse them …… 

“Wow! It’s so soft and squishy! This chair is awesome!”

“Cha, Cha’s happy to bwe so cwose to Masta♡”

Mio and Charlette have already settled into the kiddy chairs, their elbows firmly planted on the armrests and happy as can be.

“Getting these chairs for us at the drop of a hat, you’re the best, Kujuryu-sensei!”

“Hah …… hahaha. I’m glad you like them.”

Between the little girls smiling so hard their lips could fly off their faces and all the association staff looking at me with eyes that say: Yep, he’s one of them loli-cons alright. I put on an expression just as unreadable as the Mona Lisa.

“I’m in the front row, so call on me each time one of those next moves quizzes comes up! I want all those prizes!”

“G-Go easy now, Mio. It’s one per person, okay ……?”

I’m glad to see the girls are all so excited, but rumors will start flying if people find out that I was handing out the quiz prizes like presents to little girls I know personally. Everyone will start treating me like a lolicon for sure.

“It’s not like I can get VIP presents for VIP guests, now can I ……?”

“Master? What does VIP mean?”

“A very important person.”

I answer my apprentice in the coolest tone I could muster and turn toward the VIP chairs (I don’t want to call them that, but I can’t think of anything else) and focus on something at the end of the row that had been bugging me.

“…………………”

Right between the excited girls, one of them looks too nervous to say anything at all.

Ayano.

A 10-year-old girl, she lives in Kyoto and attends the classroom that her Master, Kayaoku-sensei runs while traveling to Osaka to go to the association.

Today, her elder sister apprentice is sitting up at the board to defend her title.

I crouch down next to her and say as gently as I can, “You’re rooting for Kugui-sensei, aren’t you, Ayano?”

“Of course I am.”

“Did you talk to her this morning?”

“No, I didn’t. But–––.”

Ayano stares into her lap and squeezes the daylights out of her knees.

“I …… believe Big Sister Machi is going to win.”

Her voice wavers a bit, but Ayano continues.

“Because, I know that she’s worked harder than anyone else ……”

“…………True.”

All I could do was nod.

Machi telling me about her struggles last night.

Ryou flaunting her victory at the press conference yesterday.

Both are going to affect today’s Shogi.

Just as the match that’s just about to start is going to affect Ayano, it’ll have an impact on all the Shogi fans and onlookers gathered here today.

While the players’ intensity is a given.

So many other people’s hopes are riding on it–––the match to determine the victor is set to begin.

“L-Ladish and gentall … men …… Good mahorning!!”

So nervous that she ends up sounding like Charlette tripping over her words like that, Ai greets the audience with an energetic wave.

Murmurs race through the crowd immediately afterward.

“What’s this? A little girl is up there?”

“A grade schooler by the look of her.”

“You mean you don’t know? That’s Ai Hinatsuru Women’s 2-kyu. She’s a Sensei among Senseis in the Women’s League.”

“You’re kidding! That teeny tiny girl there?!”

Plenty of people in the surprised crowd are acting like Ai is a household name.

It seems Ai–––Ms. Hinatsuru already has a big following.

Looking through the crowd, I see a couple of faces that always pop up at these events. It seems that my apprentice already has followers, some of whom are young men.

–––I’d better do my job as her Master and ward them off before they get any ideas ……!

“Analysis will be done by Master …… N-no, umm …… uhhh ……”

“I, Yaichi Kuzuryu, will be doing the analysis today.”

Stepping in to save my apprentice before she freezes up entirely, I calmly say hello to the audience.

“As many people here today may be unaware, allow me to explain. Ms. Hinatsuru is my apprentice. I’m 17 and she’s 10, most likely making us the youngest Master and apprentice pair in Shogi history. We’ll do our best to live up to your expectations.”

“T-Thank you fwor coming today!!”

The crowd gives Ai a big round of applause even though she bit her tongue as she went into a bow.

As far as commentating goes, today is going to be on the harder side.

We have a decent view of the players and can kind of tell what move was made by the crowd’s reaction, but we won’t be able to see exactly what it was.

That’s why it’s necessary for Ai and me to check our smartphones for constant updates from the match recorder, Ms. Oga’s tablet as we move the big board’s pieces around. It looks like I’ll have to lead …… 

The time is 8:40 in the morning.

Chairman Tsukimitsu, working as the observer for today’s match, Kyoto city officials and other higher-ups are already sitting boardside.

The match is about to start.

“This match, Match Three, will begin with a piece flip to decide who plays offense and defense. Umm, a piece flip is …… picking up five Pawns with both hands like this, and shaking ……”

Microphone slipping out of her hand as Ai tried to show the audience how a piece flip was done, she chases after it, going “Uwhaaaaa?!” the whole way.

Mio jumps out of her chair and picks up the rolling microphone, but the crowd is already cheering for her.

This series of almost aggressively adorable events has the audience satisfied before the match even gets underway.

“Aiiii!”

“You’re the cutest kid in the world!”

“Keep your chin up!”

And other voices of support keep coming.

“Oh no~ …… The Senseis playing today need it quiet so they can focus and that’s my job as a commentator …… It’s hard to do matches out in public ……”

The microphone finally back in her hands, Ai turns to me and says, “Mast …… No. Kuzuryu-sensei, what strategies do you think we’ll see in today’s match?”

“Well, don’t forget I’m the analyst and Chairman Tsukimitsu is the observer. Since both of us are Move-Loss Bishop Exchange specialists …… It’d be so nice for one of them to use it.”

“I-I-I wouldn’t know what to say!!”

That gets a few more laughs from the crowd as Ai panics a little.

The chance that Move-Loss Bishop Exchange, a strategy that only a handful of players use, will come up today is pretty much zero. But, my apprentice taking my little joke seriously is just so cute♡.

Oh, it’s almost time for the match to start.

I should probably stop joking around and get to work.

“The challenger, Ryou Tsukiyomizaka, is a member of the Static Rook party and, while Yamashiro Ouka Machi Kugui can be an all-rounder, she tends to prefer Ranging Rook strategies. I expect we’ll get to see the two styles square off today.”

“Kugui-sensei plays Ranging Rook offensively and Tsukiyomizaka-sensei plays Static Rook. I think so, too!”

“It’s great knowing I have Hinatsuru-sensei’s seal of approval. A real confidence booster.”

“Maaaster! Please don’t tease me!”

The audience absolutely loves Ai’s pouty face.

Now there’s movement on the arena’s stage.

Ms. Oga, the match recorder, opens a white cloth, grabs five of title holder Machi Kugui’s Pawns and does the piece flip.

The pieces scatter and–––

“Can you see? My eyes aren’t the best in the world ……”

“Three Pawns are face up!!” Ai confirms with her set of eagle eyes.

“Kugui-yamashiro ouka will be playing as the offender and the challenger Tsukiyomizaka-Women’s King will be the defender!”

“Whew ……”

A sigh of relief comes from Ayano in the front row.

It’s because offenders have a higher winning percentage, so she feels like the chances that Machi will win have gone up.

But, her relief didn’t last long.

Once both players start the match by opening their Bishop Paths …… Machi plays a completely unexpected move just as the observer, Chairman Tsukimitsu, and the mayor of Kyoto leave the boardside table. She did it with authority, too.

Third move–––2 Six Pawn.

“The Pawn in front of the Rook?! Is she using Static Rook?!”

Completely forgetting I was on stage, my genuine surprise slips through before I clear my throat and explain why that caught me off guard.

“Pardon me …… I was certain that Ms. Kugui would choose to play a strategy she’s more familiar with to increase her chances of winning today ……”

My prediction was way off.

Looking concerned, Ai asks me, “Is she trying to surprise her opponent?”

“I think she had her mind made up before the match. Otherwise, she would’ve used more waiting time to think it through.”

I think back to how she was last night.

Had she already decided to use the strategy at that point?

Or ……?

“Big Sister Machi ……”

Ayano sounds just as worried with her eyes glued on the big board.

For someone who admired Machi’s playing style so much that she started playing Shogi and decided to learn Ranging Rook like Ayano …… What’s got to be going through her head right now?

But the surprises weren’t over yet.

“Ah! Tsukiyomizaka-sensei closed her Bishop’s Path!” says Ai, shocked.

Ryou closes the path she opened on her very first move by advancing her Pawn in the fourth column up one row on her next move.

I take the microphone away from my mouth and whisper, “Denying a Bishop exchange? A yagura, maybe ……?”

Ryou is known for her aggressive speed, so she almost never closes the Bishop Path.

–––Maybe seeing Machi use Static Rook is making her cautious?

I thought maybe she was feeling indifferent because she ended up on defense, but …… After seeing what she did soon after, I knew I was completely wrong.

“Huh?!”

Anyone who knew anything about Shogi gasped in surprise.

The 10th move.

Ryou picks up her Rook. The Rook that can only move sideways right now.

She slides down the board with all her might.

Ai yelps. I stare, speechless.

“She slid?!”

“Her Rook …………?” 

I look at my smartphone over and over, but the match record indicating   4 Two Rook doesn’t change.

–––A closed Bishop Path Fourth-File Rook …… 

This isn’t Gokigen Central Rook or a Bishop Exchange Fourth-File Rook. It’s the last thing anyone would expect Ryou to play based on her match records, a classic style of Normal Fourth-File Rook.

“S-Static Rook party member Tsukiyomizaka-sensei, moving her Rook like that …… T-this is too unexpected!!” Ai squeals at the top of her lungs.

“………… Is this where it ends? Ryou, surely you have more.”

I get the feeling that Ryou is still hiding something.

It will take a lot more than moving the Rook to shake Machi’s confidence.

If she was willing to go this far, she’s bound to have something else up her sleeve ……!

The match progresses at breakneck speed while I’m thinking all this through, and each player’s formation takes shape.

After sliding her Rook across, Ryou wastes no time getting her King to the edge of the board to fill the empty space.

Ai switches off her microphone and asks me, “Is that a Mino Castle?”

“Nah! It’s too fast …… Could she be?!”

As soon as Ryou’s King arrives at 8 Two …

Rather than moving her Silver sitting in the seventh column, she advances the piece two spaces away–––the Lance that sits at the very edge of the board up one row.

That removes any remaining doubts.

“Anaguma?!” 

Yes.

Ryou has decided to use a Ranging Anaguma.

But that’s the exact strategy Machi is known for ……!

Who would’ve ever seen this coming?!

“A bold choice ……!”

I can feel my lips curving into a smile. There’s no way to analyze this. That woman is something else.

With her microphone still off, Ai quietly asks, “…… Will it be a Double Anaguma?”

“Good question …… But, it looks like Machi has a plan of her own as well ……”

No, not really a plan so much as determination.

As if trying to prove me right, Machi glares at Ryou’s King hanging out at the corner of the board for a few minutes before making her move with conviction.

Machi’s decision–––7 Eight Silver.

“That’s Left Mino. The chance we’ll see Double Anaguma is pretty much gone ……”

Ranging Rook users often employ the Mino Castle, but it gets used by Static Rook players, too.

When that happens, the formation takes shape on the left side of the board rather than the right, which is why it’s called a Left Mino. However, changing to an anaguma from there almost never happens … though, the Silver Halo Anaguma could be an option …… 

Ai moves the pieces on the big board before turning her microphone back on and saying, “Master …… Kuzuryu-sensei. The offender’s defense is looking like a Left Mino Castle ……”

“It’s a formation that Static Rook players once used as an Anti-Ranging Rook strategy. Much more flexible than an anaguma, it can be easily shifted to a High Mino Castle or a Silver Halo.”

“Does this mean Kugui-sensei will have to fight against her specialty, an anaguma?”

“It sure looks like it. We may find out how well Machi the Tormenter, someone who knows the ins and outs of anagumas, does when she has to deal with one herself …… This will be interesting.”

While most of the crowd is still enamored with the spectacle of the kabuki stage, it looks like anyone who has any Shogi knowledge isn’t listening to anything I’m saying at all.

That’s how stunning her decision was.

“It seems both players have abandoned their own main strategies and instead decided to use their opponents’ strategies. As both of them have fought many times over the years and have researched each other down to the last detail … they have deep respect for one another and recognize each other’s skills, which I think is why we’re seeing this here today,” I say, completely sure of myself as I explain.

This isn’t a simple ploy to catch their opponent off guard or to taunt them.

It’s just that I have no idea how this will turn out.

“Is there …… any chance this will end in a tie?”

“Though a Repetition Draw is possible, stalemates almost never happen when both players’ defensive formations face each other like this. The winner will most likely be crowned in this match right here.”

“I-I’m so nervous ……!!”

Ai’s squeezing her microphone with both hands.

Mio is barely sitting on the edge of her seat in the front row and Ayano is pale as a ghost. Seeing that, Charlette starts holding her hand in a show of support.

Each player is speeding through their moves almost as if each one knows exactly what the other is going to do beforehand.

Most likely, both of them think waiting time is going to be very important.

Since both are using strategies they don’t have much experience with in league matches, the one with more waiting time toward the end will have the advantage. Skipping over the early game allows them to save time for the big clashes in the mid-game and to deliver the final blow in the late game.

Ai yelps the moment Machi picks up a piece out of her own formation.

“The Silver is now in front of the King!”

“The Silver Halo. It reinforces the area in front of the King but leaves the sides vulnerable.”

“So, the offender Kugui-sensei is thinking the battle will happen in front of her King?!”

“I believe so, yes. If the match flows along with her plan, Ms. Kugui will have a distinct advantage. However, she will be in trouble if it doesn’t. We’ll have to wait and see how the mid-game unfolds.”

Mid-game battles are the most difficult in Shogi.

They’re completely different from the early game, where you can research, and the late game, where there’s a definite answer. Without an answer, you have to use your waiting time efficiently to set up the most advantageous formation, all while preventing your opponent from doing the same, all in a limited amount of time.

In other words–––the stronger one wins.

Sasari Oga watched the match from a closer vantage point than any other.

“…………”

She entered data into the tablet in front of her while manually writing down each move on match record paper …… That was all her job entailed, and yet Sasari could hardly believe the exhaustion overtaking her.

It came from watching this contest of wills taking place before her eyes escalate far beyond a simple fistfight and transform into a duel to the death.

Machi Kugui employing a Silver Halo led Ryou Tsukiyomizaka to advance her Gold to the third row in order to reinforce her forward line.

Ryou intimidated her opponent by opening a Bishop Path, Machi closed it with a Pawn, sacrificing the piece to initiate combat herself. Seeing that, Ryou flexed her worldly muscles by bringing her Rook into the fifth column, but Machi responded by sending even more pieces to the front line as if begging for a fight.

“Grahhhh!!”

Ryou snapped her piece down on the 48th move much harder than any before.

In fact, she sent the Gold that was defending the third row directly into the fray. Although Ryou had an anaguma in place and was playing on defense, it looked as though she held the initiative to Sasari’s eyes.

–––Attempting to defeat an opponent using their best strategy against them …… That alone requires absolute confidence …… 

I’m gonna crush everything you think you are and hurl every last speck of what’s left out into outer space!!

Ryou’s message was coming across with that much power.

Machi had been perfecting this strategy since her elementary school days, and it had become the very foundation of her existence in the Shogi world.

Should she execute that strategy better than Machi and take her title in the process …… The damage would be unfathomable.

–––Painful enough to never play Shogi again …… 

On the other hand, Machi was not simply falling for the taunt.

Far from it. She was attempting to reinvent herself, to push beyond her limits by testing a new playing style. As if facing her former self–––as if attempting to defeat the old her who depended solely on the anaguma … and she was doing so head-on.

All to be born anew.

All to become stronger than before.

“……… Hot ……”

Sasari groaned.

The spring breeze along the river was chilly, but her skin beneath the kimono’s layers was sweltering as her heart feverishly pounded in her chest …… An intense desire to play Shogi this very moment was setting in.

–––One who long ago abandoned the life of a Women’s Shogi player such as I …… 

Sasari Oga had once been a promising player who shouldered great expectations in the Women’s League.

Back when she made her debut as a junior high school student, she was certain she could contend with the younger Ryou Tsukiyomizaka and Machi Kugui.

However, the two of them quickly rose to the top of the league …… And each claimed a title for themselves.

–––Having strong adversaries younger than oneself was … exhausting …… I could not endure.

In a world where youth is seen as an advantage … like Shogi … being older than a strong opponent is the equivalent of being forever destined to lose to them.

With the Eternal Queen Rina Shakando-women’s legend, legendary by both title and reputation, looming in the generation above her own as well, Sasari chose early retirement.

Afterward, a new generation even younger than Ryou and Machi came to the forefront.

The first became known as Worldly Thunder: Empress Ika Sainokami.

Joining her was Naniwa’s Snow White: Ginko Sora whose very existence challenged every assumption within and about the Women’s League.

Then, two even younger monsters, Ai Hinatsuru and Ai Yashajin appeared on the scene and were now already contending with Ryou and Machi for supremacy.

In the same position Sasari once was, however, Ryou and Machi never considered backing down from a fight.

Instead, they channeled their adverse circumstances into strength and were now colliding like titans on this very stage.

Past accolades meant nothing.

Neither clung to titles.

They merely–––desired further strength.

–––…… Even had one continued playing, I would never have achieved this …… 

The spring breeze traveling along the Kamo River was much cooler and stronger than she expected.

Even so, her skin was soaked with sweat beneath her traditional robes.

That’s how intense the heat radiating from the board in front of her eyes had become.

–––Thirsty …… Water …… 

She had reached for a cup filled to the brim with water many times but always restrained herself at the last moment. Consuming too much liquid would mean she would have to vacate her seat to visit a restroom, but she felt there would not be enough time.

–––One cannot look away from this match for an instant ……!!

Even Sasari, who had long since discovered the limits of her own talent and locked away her own burning desire, was so drawn into the match that the lock was on the verge of breaking.

The breeze along the Kamo River continued to intensify.

The battle had begun to take its toll on the players, depriving them of both waiting time and physical endurance.

It appeared to be a straightforward clash on the surface, but their fatigue was only natural considering the immense amounts of information both were processing and the split-second decisions necessary to foil their opponent’s plans.

As a result–––both players had nearly exhausted their allotted waiting time at the end of the mid-game.

“Tsukiyomizaka-sensei. As your waiting time has expired, please proceed with one-minute Shogi.”

“’Kay!!”

The woman known as the Aggressive Archangel responded with vigor, abandoning her Bishop and advancing her Rook across the board.

That was the moment it promoted into a Dragon, breaking through the last of Machi’s defenses.

Its fangs now bared at her soft flank, Machi paused for one last deep reading session–––.

“Kugui-sensei. As your waiting time has expired, please proceed with one-minute Shogi.”

“……”

Machi Kugui nodded in silence before unleashing the strongest move she could surmise.

77th move–––6 One Gold.

An anaguma user so tenacious she became known as Machi the Tormentor set out to destroy one.

“A check path to the defender’s King ……?!”

Sasari could only gasp in surprise at Ryou’s fearless decision in the face of death.

Machi deployed one of her precious few reserve pieces and Ryou responded by sacrificing one of her own major pieces.

–––It’s only a matter of time before one falls ……!

However, the margin between them was so narrow that predicting the winner was no easy task.

Sasari’s fingers danced across the tablet but her eyes were locked on Ryou’s face, following her expression to gauge the Women’s King’s next move.

However, a moment later.

“Agh ……?!”

The strongest gust that afternoon forced Sasari to reflexively hold her hair down and instinctively close her eyes to protect them from the whirling strands of hair.

Then–––.

“…………?”

When she opened her eyes once again.

Things that should be there were nowhere to be found.

“Oh?! Oh no ……!!”

She yelled, her face turning blue.

All the pieces had disappeared from the board.

Every single one had been swept up by the sudden gust.

The match that once was had been blown away.

Observer Seiichi Tsukimitsu was unable to comprehend the situation.

“…… What has just transpired?”

Inside a nearby building, Seiichi had gone to get his kimono straightened in preparation for the end of the match and did not know about the gust of wind or what happened to the pieces. He couldn’t understand right away.

The one he could normally count on for an explanation, Sasari Oga, was not at his side this time.

Panic gripped the staff room.

“Wind? You’re saying the pieces got blown away in the wind?!”

“What should we do?! If we’re going to stop the clock and pick up the pieces ……”

“What if we can’t find all of them, what then, huh?!”

“Do we have any spares on hand?!”

“We have pieces! Should we stop the clock?!”

“But, one-minute Shogi is already in effect!! If we stop the clock here–––!”

“How are they supposed to play a decent match the way things are now?!”

As this had never happened before, no one knew what course of action to take.

The disarray was starting to spread to the audience.

“…… Hey. I don’t see any pieces on the board, do you?”

“The wind up an’ took ’em?”

“What’ll they do?! Suspend the match?!”

“But, whoever goes next will have an advantage if they pause the match now, right?”

The staff, the audience, anyone who was watching the match became engulfed in chaos.

The same was true for Sasari, sitting boardside.

One-minute Shogi rules were already active. The clock was running.

–––What now?! Should one start the countdown …… or stop the clock?!

“C-Chairman ……”

Sasari moaned a plea for help, but of course Seiichi was not there.

If only it weren’t one-minute Shogi.

If only there weren’t a live audience.

If only the blind Seiichi Tsukimitsu wasn’t the observer.

Just as all the if only’s were piling up–––.

Under the most improbable circumstances in Shogi history, most likely the first and last memorable match of its kind was about to be born.

“………”

Completely at a loss, the match recorder Sasari Oga turned her gaze toward Ryou Tsukiyomizaka and awaited her move.

She wanted her to say, “Stop the clock.” She thought she would.

Because, by doing just that, Ryou would gain a considerable time advantage from this difficult situation. By doing just that, she would increase the probability of claiming the title for herself.

But, she didn’t.

Not a single muscle on her face budged as Ryou Tsukiyomizaka pointed to one spot on the board and declared.

“6 Nine Silver.”

She said her move aloud.

Under one-minute Shogi rules, should the player be unable to physically move a piece on the board, a verbal declaration was acceptable.

In essence, Ryou was saying, If we can’t use the board, let’s keep going with the one we got in our heads. You can keep it up, right?

Loud and clear.

Then, she glared in Sasari’s direction.

“……!!”

Almost out of reflex, she entered the following into the tablet–––“86th move –defender –6 Nine Silver.”

–––An extremely aggressive advance! Has she read her own victory?! She’ll win at this rate ……!!

However, Ryou was not the only player involved.

If this unprecedented public match—a title match no less—were to continue as a blind Shogi match, it would require the approval of one more person.

Further still, compared to Ryou’s watch-and-react hair trigger playing style, Machi was more of a thinking type and should prefer having pieces on the board for reference.

–––Fighting the late game on only mental Shogi boards … would put her at an overwhelming disadvantage. What will she do?!

Sasari studied Machi’s face.

As a title holder, as a player in this match, Machi had the right to ask for a suspension.

She only had to say one thing … just one.

Stop the clock and call the observer.

That was all.

Doing so would be perfectly acceptable under these circumstances, and if she did …… She would gain enough time to decide whether now was the time to attack or defend at this pivotal moment of the match.

“………………”

Machi, however, didn’t take long to make a decision.

Her mind was already made up the moment Sasari glanced up from the tablet and made eye contact with her.

Yamashiro Ouka announced.

“8 Eight Gold.”

Those words, nothing more.

It was–––a signal to continue the match.

I shall not yield a step. A fight once picked shall be finished posthaste!

That was Machi Kugui-Yamashiro Ouka’s response.

“Th–––.”

Looking at the update from Ms. Oga’s tablet, I can’t believe my eyes.

“They’re going to keep playing blind Shogi?!”

I turn to look at the players on stage.

Both of them are rocking back and forth like there’s no tomorrow and calling out their moves rather than moving pieces with their hands.

No doubt about it. They’re going to fight without the board.

Right here, in the late game of an intense match.

“Is …… is this okay?”

“It’s never happened before, no doubt about that …… But, the results should …… count ……”

It took everything I had to answer my flustered apprentice.

The scene is just bizarre.

One player, scratching her head as her face twists and contorts in pain. Then she shouts out a spot on the board with a beastly roar.

The other stares up at the heavens as she specifies her moves with melodic rhythm.

The boards they’re using only exist in their minds.

Devoting every single resource they have to the match, neither of them care about how they look in front of the audience.

But, even more bizarre–––was how shockingly precise the match record coming out of their mental duel is …… 

I’m not sure who, but someone’s whisper in the front row echoes through the air.

“A match for the ages ……”

No one is saying anything otherwise.

A public match … and this is Women’s Shogi.

Biased Shogi fans would reject the idea of a memorable match happening based on those two conditions alone.

But, the match record taking shape right before my eyes has the potential to destroy every smidgen of those preconceived ideas.

What’s more …… Without using a board …… 

Women’s League players? In front of the crowd?

Irrelevant.

Pro or Women’s League doesn’t matter at all.

As long as overwhelming strength and an intense desire to win collide, that’s all that is needed for a memorable match to happen.

“…… Intense!!” I whisper as the latest update comes to my phone.

No Shogi player on the planet could look at this match record and not get fired up.

“So? So? Who gwonna win?”

“Don’t ask me …… I can’t read anything!!” Mio practically screams at Charlette’s question.

Ayano has her eyes clenched tight right next to them, her hands together as if praying to whatever higher power would listen.

“Big Sister Machi ……!!”

Ryou attacks, and she keeps attacking.

As if she’s transformed into a real Aggressive Archangel, she’s abandoned defense entirely and keeps on turning up the pressure.

“2 Eight Rooook!!” she howls, deploying a Rook from her nonexistent piece stand.

Machi has held everything off perfectly up to this point, but–––.

“6 Nine Gold!”

“!! …… That move is ……”

Bad move. She sounded confident, but that move right there might be why she losses if she can’t find a way to come back.

“It looks like not using a board has come back to bite her …… Machi was so focused on protecting her King that she wasn’t seeing the whole picture. She’s been so intent on defending that she missed the right timing to attack …… She’ll go into a tailspin at this rate!”

Ryou tipped the balance that Machi was holding together by the skin of her teeth.

Right now, in this checkmate-or-be-checkmated point in the match, one girl caught a whiff and is charging toward victory.

“Here–––.”

Ai, staring at the big board next to me, plops down on to her ankles.

Then, starts rocking back and forth.

“Here, here, here, here, hereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere––––––.”

Just like the players themselves, Ai tries her hand at reading to the end of this incredibly complicated late game scenario using all 11 of her mental Shogi boards.

“On the 104th move–––.”

“…… Ai?”

“The defender will win if she plays 2 Nine Rook Promote.”

“! …… I see.”

I read the same thing. And the match is flowing in that direction.

But another mistake happens.

Rather than promoting her Rook at 2 Nine like Ai suggested, Ryou plays–––.

“9 Five Knight?!”

“She jumped the gun …… But, Machi is in check. If she doesn’t pull off a perfect defense, she’s still going to lose!”

Machi has two choices right now.

Hide the King inside her defenses.

Or, jump out from behind them and attack enemy lines head on.

“…… What will you do, Machi? You can keep your King safe inside the castle. But, victory won’t come to you that way.”

In this situation, biding time and waiting for your opponent to mess up is an option.

But, if you break out of that shell and shoulder the risks that come with advancing–––that’s where opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat is waiting.

“………”

Machi, who had been facing up toward the sky all this time, looks down.

Ms. Oga starts the countdown.

“30 seconds ……”

Machi is torn.

“40 seconds–––……”

It’s not so much that she’s reading ahead.

“50 seconds. One, two, three.”

It’s more like a lost kid trying to decide if they should go forward or retrace their steps.

“Four, five, six, seven, eight, n–––.”

“9 Six King.”

Whoa!!

Members of the audience who understood what that place on the board meant couldn’t contain their excitement.

“What’s happened?!”

“The King left the castle …… I’m stunned!”

And many other conversations like it are popping up everywhere.

They’re right. Machi has moved her King outside of the castle’s protection and chosen the forward path.

Realizing I hadn’t been breathing, I take a breath and grumble.

“…… She broke the shell. Great, I’ll have to keep that promise after all ……”

“?”

Ai looks up at me with questioning eyes. I’d better be more careful …… 

“Tsssk!! Cheeky little! 2 Nine Rook promotes!!”

Ryou takes aim at Machi’s isolated King, charging toward it like a maniac flying across a bloodied battlefield.

But Machi evades all her advances instantaneously.

She successfully escapes seven consecutive checks. She read it perfectly.

Then, Machi finds the move that Ai and I knew would tip the scales in her favor.

We turn our microphones back on the moment 111th move,   6 Three Bishop comes in from Ms. Oga’s tablet.

“Deploying a Bishop there is a brilliant counterpunch.”

“It sure is, Master! A Reverse Check Path!”

Whoooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

The audience is bubbling with excitement.

Offense and defense switch places as if the cheers had put wind in their sails.

Now it’s Machi’s turn to target Ryou’s King in the very corner of the board and promote a Pawn right in front of it.

“Cracking a castle open with Promoted Pawns …… it’s a solid, steady approach but also the fastest way to get it done.”

The perfect anaguma breaker.

Machi’s line of sight has always been up in the air, but now it’s trained on one point on the board–––where she must trap Ryou’s King at 9 One. But, there’s a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Partly as a tribute to the anaguma, the strategy that got her to where she is today and also as a farewell to the person she once was, the one who gave up because she wasn’t talented.

Her expression unchanging, she says melodically, “7 Three Knight.”

Once Machi deployed that Knight on the 135th move …

“……………”

Ryou opens her eyes for the first time in a while, sits up straight, fixes her kimono and takes a drink of water before saying in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

Not her next move, but–––.

“I lose.”

Giving her opponent an unmistakable bow, the Challenger surrenders.

Match Three came to an end in that moment and Machi Kugui’s defense of the Yamashiro Ouka title was complete.

And also, she became only the second Woman’s League player behind Rina Shakando-queen quadruple title to earn a Women’s Eternal Title–––Queen Yamashiro Ouka.

After the match.

Both players zoned out for a bit. After working at full speed to finish that late game, I don’t blame them.

Journalists and cameramen surrounded the two exhausted players as the crowd that had watched since the very beginning gave them a riveting round of applause.

Then the match recorder, Ms. Oga guides them up to the big board.

Ai and I, along with every single Shogi fan in attendance (there isn’t an empty seat anywhere) greet them as they step onto the stage.

Mio and Charlette are so excited in the front row that their faces have turned bright pink and their hands are a blur as they clap along with everyone. Meanwhile, Ayano’s red eyes are looking up at her older sister apprentice with the utmost respect and admiration.

“That was a fantastic match. Talk about a close one!”

The players stand on either side of the big board.

The completely drained Machi Kugui is next to me.

And, visibly fuming with the agony of defeat, next to Ai is Ryou Tsukiyomizaka.

These two probably have so much competitive juice still left in their veins after the match that they couldn’t stand next to each other if they tried.

Don’t forget that Ryou said she would rip the title out of Machi’s dead hands if she had to before the match.

Even if it didn’t get to that point, losing that way after taking the series to a final match is going to leave a deep scar on the loser’s heart …… These two will never be able to go back to the way they used to be.

Almost as if proving I’m right to be worried.

“…………”

Neither Machi nor Ryou responds to my opening words in any way.

“W-Well, um …… There are so many interesting points to reflect on! Your decision to use a Ranging Anaguma was particularly surprising, Ms. Tsukiyomizaka. Was that your plan from the start?”

Once I ask that question, Ai lifts her microphone high over her head from her spot at Ryou’s feet to bring it even with her mouth.

The anger on Ryou’s face doesn’t change at all as she …

“Fork it over.”

“Ah!”

She forcefully snatches the microphone out of Ai’s hand and holds it to her face upside down like a villain in some pro wrestling show and says, “Planning to use an anaguma? ’Course that was my plan!”

Ryou turns to face me and the shocked audience.

“It’s called a sneak attack, got it? Sneak –attack! I thought it’d be the perfect follow-up to roastin’ Machi’s anaguma in Match Two. I was sure as hell she’d get pissed off if I used the same thing against her and she’d try to make me pay for it. Well, I guess she did just that ’cause I couldn’t hold off her attack and my own anaguma got crushed in the end! Got that, you kuzu trash heap?!”

“I-I got it! Crystal clear!”

“The hell are you askin’ the loser somethin’ like that right after the match, huh? Freakin’ kuuuuzuuuuuuu pile of traaaaaaaaaaaaaash!!”

“Hey?! You don’t have to get so angry at me! Of course, I understood what you were going for using a Ranging Anaguma, but it’s better for all the fans to hear it right from the player’s mouth, don’t you think?!”

“Just shut up, already!! Shuuuut uuuuup–––!! Besides, everyone here’s in Machi’s camp anyway! That’s right, I know all of you pieces of crap were quietly wishin’ I’d hurry up and lose the whole time, right––––––?!!”

A loser’s temper tantrum.

The audience doesn’t seem all that angry with her, more just surprised. Heck, I’m surprised, too. People tend to keep their emotions in check after losing these days …… Though, my Master did pee out the association window after losing …… 

But, in the middle of all that–––.

“U-umm …………”

Timidly shaking at Ryou’s feet, Ai works up the courage to ask a question of her own.

“Tsukiyomizaka-sensei? When you played that Silver …… Did you already ……?”

…… Silver?

Of course, the deployed Silver that Ai is referring to–––was the move immediately after the wind wiped the board clean.

The first move that Ryou said out loud, that move.

She gives an honest answer right away.

“Yeah. I knew I’d end up one move short when I played 6 Nine Silver.”

“Eh?”

Machi is stunned, her eyes open wide.

“Wha ……? Could not win ……? With that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? That’s why I charged ahead with blind Shogi …… I thought I’d win by rushin’ you and playin’ without seeing a board would shake you up.”

No one could hide their surprise.

But, it’s not at the fact that she chose to play blind.

It’s because Ryou had already read up to her own defeat at that point.

I knew it …… Ryou is strong!

But, today, the stronger player was–––.

“But, that one there didn’t turn tail. She stood up to my off-the-board tactics, Ranging Anaguma sneak attack, took everything in stride. She was too good. I couldn’t do a thing. I lost.”

Ryou juts her thumb in Machi’s direction as she speaks, shoulders sinking a little too far.

Oh, she’s hurting. It’s obvious she wants to scream it all out right now.

But, there’s something bright about the look on her face.

Sure, she has a foul mouth and vented a lot of frustration on me, the analyst, but …… As far as losers go, she’s got dignity.

Next, I turn my microphone toward the winner.

“Ms. Kugui. How about a word to the fans?”

“Huh?”

Looking around as if she wasn’t expecting to be asked a question, she hesitates for a few seconds before taking the microphone out of my hand.

It only took her a moment after that to start stringing words together.

“Right now …… I am too overwhelmed with a plethora of emotions to know what to say ……”

Her voice is hoarse.

She looks like she’s having trouble finding words.

So, I ask Machi a question instead.

“Why did you decide not to use an anaguma?”

“………… A constant dilemma lurked in the back of my mind. Should I leave well enough alone ……? Was there any meaning to using an anaguma to protect the title I claimed with an anaguma ……? What meaning was there in my being a Women’s League player, in my being Yamashiro Ouka ……?”

Her response was intended for the audience.

But, it was also an answer for last night.

“After my defeat in Match Two, that didn’t matter to me anymore. I wanted to attempt the Shogi of those I admire, those with talent …………… Though, I was bewildered to find my opponent mimicked my own style as well ……”

“……!”

Ryou looks at Machi with wide eyes.

“Lucky fingers guided me to victory on this day, but they very well may not in the future. Would it behoove me to hone the anaguma further still or to replicate the style I employed today? Can I continue improving as I am now ……? Is there a meaning to my continued participation in Women’s Shogi ……? My doubts have yet to be put to rest, but ……”

But–––.

The second Queen Yamashiro Ouka in history continues with confidence.

“Shogi has never been as enjoyable as it was today.”

Then, after a deep bow, she adds with all her might.

“So that I may take part in another match like the one that just transpired …… I shall humbly retain the Yamashiro Ouka title for one more year.”

Thunderous applause erupts as pink cherry blossom petals flutter down onto the stage.