Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 9 - Chapter 2.4

  THE CRICKET’S DREAM

–––I can do this ……!!

The moment I pick that Lance up off my piece stand and snap it down onto the board, I could see the tables turn completely in my direction.

I realized that I was actually in a better position than I thought when I came back during the lunch break and decided right then and there to take advantage of the formations.

And now–––I’ve delivered the decisive blow.

I glance up from the board and have a look at Ginko Sora sitting across from me.

–––Well, what do you think?! You must be in all sorts of pain right now, no?

The girl who hadn’t shown a single speck of emotion no matter what move I made all match is now–––.

“…………”

A completely blank slate who’s staring at the board.

Tsk! No fun at all.

But, no matter how Ginko Sora feels about it, I’m in a position to win. It’s an undeniable fact.

––– I’ve done it …… I can win! I can beat the undefeated Queen!

My heart is beating so hard that it might jump right out of my chest. That beating almost made me miss the mark when I put the Lance down. It’s just barely inside the lines.

I take a deep breath to make sure she doesn’t know about it.

“Heeee …… Haaaa––––– ………”

Letting go of the Lance, I look up toward the heavens.

The match isn’t over yet, but I can feel hot tears building up in my eyes.

Because, I’m one big step closer to making my dream come true.

––– Father, mother …… Now I’ve won the first match. The title will be mine ……!

But, now’s not the time to celebrate. Calm down ……!

Stepping away for a moment to compose myself would be a good idea. Just as I was about to stand up.

The fusuma sliding door opens and the observer steps inside in a full kimono.

“……?”

What’s this about?

Did he come to check on the match?

But …… Why now of all times?

I was about to ask him just that, but Tatsuo Zaou 9-dan speaks at almost exactly the same time.

The observer says.

“Callin’ it there. Victory goes to Sora-Queen with ’at move.”

………………… What?

“Thank you.”

Acting like it’s the obvious conclusion, Ginko Sora says calmly and coldly.

I …… am confused.

“Huh? Wh-Why ……?”

People at the boardside table completely ignore me and start packing up as if the match is truly over. I can hardly believe this.

So, I ask again. Much louder this time.

“Tell me why?! Why did I lose just now?!”

More people start pouring into the arena behind the observer. I jump up, desperately trying to keep them back even though the dam is broken.

“The match is still going on! You’re not allowed in here so get out!!”

“It’s over,” Master answers me.

Coming inside the arena after the swarm of reporters, my Master has a sour look on his face as he points to a spot on the board and says.

“Ai. That Lance wasn’t on your piece stand.”

“Huuh? What are you talking ……… about …………!!” 

I can feel the blood draining from my face.

All the blood that had been coursing through my brain sinks into my feet in a single heartbeat …… And I plop back down onto my cushion.

Though, I wouldn’t realize it for a while yet.

“…… Your sleeve knocked it off the board when you reached onto the other side. It fell onto your piece stand …… I’m sorry.”

There’s anguish in my Master’s voice.

But it’s only him and Grand Master who seem to feel that way …… All the reporters and staff are staring at me like how could you not notice something like that? as they file into the arena to take pictures of the victorious Ginko Sora.

Yes. It’s my fault for not noticing.

It’s the fact that I didn’t notice that I can’t believe.

Me, of all people …… Losing like a complete amateur would ……

“Why …………?” 

–––Why, didn’t I notice?

–––Am I …… really that weak?

The corners of my eyes tighten as the pain keeps building and building. No matter how hard I try to hold them back, the hot tears won’t stop.

They’re completely different from the tears that were forming just a few minutes ago.

“A battle of two prodigies ending like this, who would’ve guessed?”

“Breakin’ a rule like that in the Queen Title Match?! Does that actually happen?!”

“It’s happened once before as far as I know …… About 10 years ago.”

The reporters are excitedly discussing the events as if they found a good story, and Grand Master is trying to explain it as delicately as possible.

It’s like watching a parent apologizing for all the trouble their child has caused, and every second of it feels like a knife twisting in my heart.

–––Losing this way …… What should I say to father and mother ……?

I know of a match where the player lost because they used a piece that fell off the board.

It was in an old Women’s League match that was at such a low level of play I could barely put up with looking at it.

But, even that match lasted to a climactic finish in the late game. This one only made it to mid-game posturing …… A mistake even worse than the one I laughed at, a rule violation so embarrassing I want to curl up and die ……

“Sora-Queen …… That was an interesting match.” 

A reporter apologetically sits down next to the board and begins interviewing today’s victor.

“If I may ask a rather difficult question …… Did you know that Miss Yashajin’s Lance had fallen onto her piece stand?”

“Yes, I knew.”

“Did you ever consider pointing it out to her?”

“This is competition. Though I did not purposely try to make her deploy it. That’s just how the match unfolded.”

–––…… You liar!!

I manage to keep those words back by clenching my jaw so tight my molars creak.

Ginko Sora knew everything. She knew that the piece fell, that I didn’t notice, which is why she knew I would use it …… She even knew I thought I won the moment I set it down.

In so many ways, Ginko Sora outplayed me.

I planned to match her point for point before the match, but she read me like a book and used it against me.

The opening that I saw, the advantage I had, they were all illusions separate from reality.

My desire to win turned into thinking that I should win, which gave me the illusion that I had already won. So much so that I didn’t even question why there was a Lance on my piece stand.

In other words, what I saw was nothing more than a dream.

And that dream ……… turned into a nightmare in the blink of an eye.

But, there’s no waking up from this. I already know that.

I know that whenever something you never, ever want to have happen, happens …… It never goes away.

Because my reality is the worst possible nightmare.