Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 12 - Chapter 1.1

  SHOWING GRATITUDE

Review session over and pieces back in the box, the Meijin bows one last time before standing up.

It takes almost no time at all to get ready to leave during summer matches.

The Meijin says one last thank you with his watch strapped to his wrist and bag in hand before quietly stepping out of the arena alone.

“Ah …………”

I had something important to say to him, but …… I wasn’t sure if telling him right after winning was okay and ended up not saying a word.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. A get together is scheduled to take place at a nearby Chinese restaurant. You will be in attendance, yes?”

“What? Oh, yes …… Of course,” I absentmindedly tell the journalist in charge of the Crown Title Match as I stare at the spot where the Meijin disappeared.

That’s when the match journalist Mato comes in with questions of her own.

“Ryuo. I would like to follow up on a few points that were mentioned during the review session if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, sure. Then, we should go to another room–––.”

I make up my mind as soon as I start getting up.

“Sorry! Could you give me a minute?!”

Rather than wait for her to answer, I race out of the special arena and down the hallway without bothering to put shoes on in hopes of catching up with the Meijin. 

I make it to the elevator, but it isn’t moving.

No one is sitting on the bench outside the arena either. Which means ……!

Bounding down the stairs, I spot a familiar figure on the next landing and call out to him.

“Um ………… Meijin!!”

He stops on the spot and slowly turns around to look up at me.

“About Big Sis …… Oh, um, Ginko Sora, my older sister apprentice–––.”

This is the first time I’ve looked him in the eyes outside of a match, and it’s really intimidating.

“She saw your interview when you received the Citizens Award. You talking about her becoming a female professional …… helped my older sister apprentice come back from a really dark place. Your words meant a great deal to her ……”

Man, this is irritating.

It was so easy talking to him during the review session, but I can’t string words together at all now that we aren’t talking about Shogi.

“So, um ………… Thank you so much!!”

I practically yell at him with my head bent low.

The Meijin’s eyes jump with surprise behind his glasses.

Then, he cracks a smile–––and nods ever so slightly.

“…………!!”

I lower my head again, so much so that my knees bump into each other.

“Keep at it.”

I feel him say.

Footsteps echo from the stairwell after a few moments …… Looking up, he’s already gone.

“Are you aware of the first match I ever worked as a journalist?” says Miss Mato, who is suddenly standing next to me.

I figured it out right away.

“…… His?”

“It was indeed.”

She goes on to tell me about it like a girl reminiscing about her first crush.

“It was the Challenger Match for the Crown League, just like today. His opponent was Tsukimitsu-sensei, and the Meijin had traveled to Kansai for the match. As there aren’t many Shogi journalists based in the Kansai area, I was given a chance.”

Maybe it’s because he felt bad about making the blind Tsukimitsu-sensei travel, but the Meijin has made quite a few trips to Kansai over the years, even when he wasn’t required to.

“Nerves set in the day before, and I arrived at the arena the morning of the match, before the match recorder. I was too nervous to even greet the Meijin once he arrived ……”

I can totally relate.

I used to pass by him in the Kansai Association’s narrow hallways every now and then when I was in the Sub League, and all I could do was keep my head down and my mouth shut.

“It felt like eons passed by the time the match recorder, Mr. Kagamizu, finished preparing tea and brought it into the arena. Once he did, the Meijin looked at both of us in surprise and said this.”

Miss Kugui does her best Meijin impression as if remembering the exact moment.

“‘Oh? Is that you, Miss Kugui? Working as journalist today, are you?’”

“…… You must’ve gotten chills.” 

“I still feel it to this day. Though I had joined the Women’s League, I had yet to claim a title. Nevertheless, he took the time to learn the name and face of a junior high school student in Kansai he had never met before.”

“That’s amazing …… He’s busy enough as it is.”

“I remember other veteran journalists talking at the party that followed that match. They said there were so many new Sub League members and young professionals that they couldn’t remember who was who, even at the association …… That got a laugh out of the professional players present at the time, but the Meijin looked truly shocked and said, ‘Really? I know everyone.’ That’s just the kind of person he is. That’s exactly why–––.”

Yes. That’s why all of us look up to him and admire him so much.

The number of titles he has and his Citizens Award don’t matter at all.

“………… Thank you so much!” I say once again to the place that man was standing just a moment ago and make one more respectful bow.