Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 11 - Chapter 5

  DAN

“Good morning.”

The entire room goes quiet the moment I step into the Onkuroshoin Arena.

–––It’s as if everyone is walking on eggshells ……

Their reaction makes it easy to tell how my shameful incident two weeks ago was received by other Sub League members.

However, that atmosphere vanishes right away.

The 3-dan division plays a total of 18 matches.

With 10 of them in the rearview mirror, the late game has officially arrived.

Stars are aligning to show who will and who won’t be promoted.

People at the top are under pressure to stay there.

The ones right on their heels are close to panicking as their windows of opportunity start to close.

And lastly, those with more black stars of defeat than they can handle are wallowing in the despair of knowing that their remaining matches are meaningless.

–––If I lose consecutive matches today …… I will be joining them.

This room was filled with hope on day one, but not a shred of it remains.

Despite being in our home territory, Kansai’s 3-dan players are so restless and on edge that it’s as if we have never played here before.

Kanto’s 3-dans are off in the corners of the room with nowhere else to go. While some close their eyes to concentrate, others are solving Shogi puzzles with reckless abandon. The remainder are simply staring off into space, their minds someplace else.

I have returned.

Come back to this hell.

Only two players in this hell: the ones at the top of the standings still have their dignity as human beings intact.

“…………”

Hiuma Kagamizu, with only one loss to his name, acknowledges me with a quick glance before returning his focus to his own match preparation.

Then, the other one.

My first opponent today–––––––––the only person in the room with a perfect record and the youngest ever to achieve 3-dan.

“It’s been a while, Ginko,” says a smiling Sota Kunugi as he comes up to me.

He’s not feeling any pressure whatsoever.

The match has yet to begin, but he’s talking to his soon-to-be opponent as if it’s already over.

“I was up in Tokyo for the last regular activities, but …… The results were so surprising! You lost two in a row, right? But, cheer up! There’s still a chance to promote with four losses.”

–––I still only have three.

Except his demeanor is so carefree and innocent that I don’t feel the urge to correct him. In fact, merely interacting with this elementary school boy is scary enough that the idea of running away seems appealing.

The reality is: I’m afraid to face this boy again despite beating him once before.

I ran away from the nightmare of losing four straight matches in the 3-dan division.

“Pardon me.”

The prodigy sits down in front of the board.

Then, I ask that monster with the superhuman ability to recount match records as precisely as a computer, “Sota. You said that you would win the next time we played a match, didn’t you?”

“Yep. What about it?”

He confirms with a smile.

This is no taunt, at least that’s not his intention.

He’s simply stating a fact. Just objectively comparing skill levels and predicting what will happen when they collide, that’s all.

He doesn’t have the faintest idea of the emotional reaction his words would trigger in an opponent, what effect they would have on the world around him or how they could come back to haunt him.

–––That’s what I wanted to know.

Satisfied, I reach for the piece box. I was sure my fingers would tremble, but they’re so steady that even I am surprised by my solid grip on the box.

–––I’m so glad …… I didn’t cut it off.

I’ve apologized to and am grateful for such a reliable partner.

The only one fighting by my side today is my right hand.

There is nothing else to rely on.

I don’t intend to rely on anything else, either.

I pick up a King from the jumbled mess on the board. Pinching the pieces between my fingers for the first time in two weeks, I remember the sensation as I line up 20 pieces in my territory.

Just as Master taught me.

Carefully, politely.

But with strength and purpose.

All so that the Shogi gods would take a liking to me.

“Let’s begin,” I tell him. “Today, the first move is mine.”