Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 1 - Chapter 5.7

☗ BECOME THE MASTER OF YOUR OWN LIFE

“Enough of this.”

“Takashi ……?”

Saying nothing to his surprised wife, Ai’s father comes up to us with the same heavy aura she had when we first met and says, “Enough.”

——So, he’s against it too ……?

Honestly, I thought he’d be on our side after rooting for Ai during the match like that. Did I assume too much ……?

The next words I heard, forehead plastered to the tatami mat and crushing weight of despair on my shoulders, were much warmer than I expected.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. Please raise your head.”

With that——he sits on his ankles in front of me.

And continues on to say.

“Please take good care of our daughter.”

Da …… ddy ……?”

A stunned Ai looks up at her father with red eyes.

Her father, still on the floor, looks straight at me and says, “I would have no regrets leaving Ai in your capable hands, Sensei. No matter what the future holds for her …… Even if she doesn’t become a Women’s League player. What she can learn from you and the experience of fully committing herself to playing Shogi will have an important and irreplaceable impact on the rest of her life. Watching her play in today’s matches has convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

He then places both hands on the tatami mat and lowers his head in a deep bow.

“My daughter still has much to learn, but if you find her acceptable, please take her as your apprentice.”

Now he’s prostrating himself to us. Caught off guard, Ai and I dive back to the floor and return the gesture.

In that moment, a wave of unprecedented shock burst through the Kansai Shogi Association.

“Wow, the prostraters are multiplying ……”

“It’s …… ai-prostration ……!”

“Ai-prostration ……!”

Whenever two players use the same strategy in Shogi—be it yagura, anaguma or another strategy—the word ai is smacked in front of it. That’s why they described us like this at the top of their lungs. Shogi on the brain ……

“Ai.”

Once our prostration time came to an end, Ai’s father slowly sat up and looked toward his still-prostrated daughter’s small head.

“You don’t have to win every time. However, you must become someone strong enough to say, ‘I lost’ loud and clear when it happens,” he says sternly before letting his face relax a little and continues.

“It’s not necessary to become a professional. But you must become the master of your own life as a Shogi player.”

“…… I will!”

Her father’s strict yet kind words were too much for Ai to keep the tears in and she wipes them for the first time.

“Right in the soft spot ……”

“That’s gotta be one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard ……”

The middle-aged players in the room must really like this kind of coming-of-age story, because a great deal of them are wiping away tears of their own. Even the staff members who thought I might be a criminal earlier are tearing up. That’s great but I don’t really feel vindicated.

Things are looking up …… But, of course, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Ai’s father may have granted his permission, but the last boss still isn’t on board.

“…… Kuzuryu-sensei.”

“Y …… Yes!”

The last boss——I brace myself the instant her mother calls my name. No matter what she says, I won’t back down. Never, not in a million years.

Now! I don’t care what you say, bring it on!!

“Do you have any siblings?”

“…… Do I what?”

“Also, would you kindly inform me of your yearly income?”

Well, those questions took the wind right out of my sails. S-Siblings? Income?

Ai’s father took offense to his wife’s inquiries and jumped to his feet.

“Do you realize how rude those questions are?!”

“You will be quiet!!”

“Yes, dear.”

Now her father’s back on the floor, prostrating himself. I knew he’d do that.

“As a parent, I have a right to understand the family and financial situation my precious daughter will be in before giving my blessing. That’s common sense.”

Is it really like that?

Well, it probably is. I’m sure she’s just worried about her daughter’s future and wants to ask as many questions as she can.

Shogi players are self-employed. We file our own taxes, so we have a good grasp of that information. Then again, all of our match winnings are public information so there’s no real reason to hide it.

“As for siblings, I have an older and a younger brother, I’m the middle child of three. For yearly income, umm, last year …… About this much?”

“I see.”

“My winnings from the Ryuo Title Match will be filed this year so, probably …… About this much?”

“…… All right. That’s what I needed to know.”

I stick up a few fingers to show her how much I made. Ai’s mother looks down in contemplation for a few moments before raising her eyes and declares.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. Should Ai fail to win a women’s title, you will marry into the Hinatsuru family.”

…………… Come again?

For a second there, I really didn’t comprehend what she said to me.

Huh? I’ll have to marry Ai if she doesn’t claim a title?

Why?

“Ma-Marrying into money!”

“That guy may be trash, but remember, he’s the Ryuo!”

“Engaged at 16? That’s gotta be a Shogi world record.”

“Fourth junior high pro in history, youngest recorded Ryuo, and the youngest into a marriage for money ever ……”

“Quite the variety. I’m kinda jealous of the guy.”

All the warmth the Kansai Shogi Association has to offer floweth over.

“Umm ……? Marry into? Me ……?”

“It’s only natural. You are taking HinaTsuru’s only heir as your apprentice. Therefore, I will see to it that you are held accountable in an acceptable manner.”

“Held accountable ……? Me marrying into your family?”

“Our inn is one of the most widely known and respected establishments in Japan. Carrying on the HinaTsuru tradition and maintaining the highest level of quality is our duty as the Hinatsuru family …… Under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t be a second to waste in grooming our daughter to fulfill that obligation.”

HinaTsuru’s manager said all of that in one breath before, “In the event that Ai has not claimed a title by the time she graduates junior high school, even if she has become a professional in the Women’s League, she must retire immediately. I will then see to it that she enrolls in a high school in Ishikawa and train her to become HinaTsuru’s heir. You will relocate to support her at the inn to help make up for lost time, Kuzuryu-sensei.”

“What?!”

I’m going to work at an inn?!

“D-Does that mean …… I’d have to quit playing Shogi professionally ……?”

“Of course, you may continue your career in Shogi. However, you will learn how to operate an inn at the same time. Marrying into the family, your first and foremost duty will be supporting Ai.”

“Master! Let’s work really hard, together!!”

Ai takes hold of my hand, her eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky. Like mother like daughter, both push until they get their way.

“S-Sir! Please, say something!”

“I’ll work hard alongside you ……”

“Your face is saying the exact opposite, sir?!”

He’s given up. I can see it in his eyes. That’s me in the not-too-distant future.

Crap …… Ohhh, crap ……

“I-I can’t agree to this! No, I just can’t do it!”

“What exactly is it you can’t do?”

“I’d have to live on the north coast, right?! Practice League members may only have to come to the association twice a month, but pros have matches and a heck of a lot of work to do! I can’t possibly leave Osaka!! It’s not an option!!”

“…… Is that so?”

“Hn. I think it can be done.”

Kuruno-sensei?!

“Because there are professionals who live as far away as Niigata and Fukuoka. The bullet train connects to the north coast and work in that area shouldn’t be too much of a burden.”

“He’s right. A grade schooler came to Osaka all by herself, remember?”

Even Keika jumps in. I’m being married off, don’t you care?!

“There, see now?”

Ai’s mother proudly puffs out her chest knowing victory is secure.

Feeling like Osaka Castle when not only was the outer moat breached but the inner keep as well, Ai’s mother dons a serious air and asks me, “Kuzuryu-sensei. Are you willing to stake your future for Ai’s sake?”

“…… I am.”

Seriously, I am willing.

All I really have to do is make sure Ai gets good enough to win a title anyway, and even if I don’t, I would regret giving up on her right now more in the end.

Straightening my posture, I clear my mind like I would for a match.

Then, just like making the first move——just as determined as moving to engage a Pawn that I can’t retreat away from—I say words that I can never take back.

“Please, give me Ai!”