Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 14 - Chapter 2

  REVENGE

“It is now time to begin. Hinatsuru-sensei, the opening move is yours.”

“I’m ready when you are!”

The curtain has finally lifted on the Women’s Legend League.

Ai Hinatsuru advanced the Pawn in front of her Rook before the echoes of the opening bell could fade out.

–––I swore I’d use this as soon as I got another chance to play against her.

“………… Haaah?”

The young woman sitting up on her knees looked down at Ai’s opening move and cocked an eyebrow.

“So, that’s how it is. Revenge for the Queen Finals, is it ……? What a tearjerker.”

Ai’s opponent–––Women’s King Ryou Tsukiyomizaka.

The very same player who had beaten Ai to a pulp in the final stage of the Mynavi Women’s Open just before she was promoted to the Women’s League.

–––What I played that day wasn’t even close to Shogi …… It was embarrassing, and an insult to Master ……!

The Women’s King’s name was written in blood at the very top of Ai’s Beyond Forgiveness List.

“Why not? You’ve been working on your summer project, so I’ll grade it for you, kiddo. …… Bring it!”

Ryou hooked her finger as she slid the Pawn in front of her own Rook forward. It was as though she were signing a pact to proceed into a Double Wing Attack.

–––Yes!!

Ai tightened her grip on the fan in her left hand.

She had a surefire path to victory.

–––I’m going to use it, Mio.

A new Double Wing Attack strategy given to her by her best friend, Mio Mizukoshi.

Armed with the best sequences Shogi software could conceive, Ai was ready to face the Women’s King once again!

“Haaaaa–––………… Mngh!!”

Halting her Pawn’s advance, Ai used her moves to set up her King’s defense and moved her third file Pawn forward one space to make room for her Knight to advance.

Being part of the Women’s League gave her access to the Shogi Association’s match record archive. Ai’s research has uncovered 20 or so matches that used this sequence, in which offense emerged victorious over 70 percent of the time.

She memorized all of them.

–––I also know every single one of the records that Mio gave me like the back of my hand, too.

Additionally, she borrowed a high spec computer belonging to her Master’s Master, Kousuke Kiyotaki 9-dan, to analyze each record even further and uncover the best moves available.

However she wasn’t simply memorizing whatever the software produced.

Ai used her own judgment to meticulously pursue the sequences that would manifest in a match between players and followed each one to its logical end.

As if raising her own mighty tree from a seedling …… Ai had been completely absorbed in the process for weeks. Her early game woes had all but disappeared.

–––Even that Sensei said I’ve gotten good at the early game!

Dubbed the Archangel, Ryou was immensely skilled at aerial battle strategies such as the Double Wing and Side Pawn Capture. In their previous battle, she had overwhelmed Ai with her early game research and overall Shogi sense.

That kind of sense cannot be developed overnight. Ai was not foolish enough to believe otherwise.

However it was also true that software had upended over a thousand years’ worth of human experience in a single day.

Ai Hinatsuru was attempting to start a revolution, just as her Master Yaichi had done.

–––I have to surpass them. Both her …… And the girl I used to be!!

Now that she had built the ideal formation, Ai began analyzing Ryou’s side of the board in greater detail.

But–––.

“Huh? ……… What?!!”

Seeing her casually slip a completely out-of-the-way piece forward felt like getting hit by lightning.

“Th-That move …… What was the point??”

She was at a total loss.

It was neither setting up an attack nor a move to defend. A computer would never bother analyzing a move like that.

Of course not. It was so bad that even humans could tell it was worthless in a heartbeat ……

“Throw you off your game, did I?”

The Aggressive Archangel flashed her jagged teeth in an evil grin.

“You dimwit. What other reason could there be for a crappy move like that? A handicap, duh. C’mon, land a punch, I dare you,” said Ryou, jutting out her right cheek and smacking it a few times for show.

“……!!”

Ai’s right hand nearly raced out onto the board, but she managed to overcome the urge by clenching hard at the edge of her skirt.

Fight off the urge to make a move right away by squeezing your pants and read the board. That’s why all my pants have so many wrinkles above the right knee.

That was the first lesson she received upon entering the Kiyotaki Shogi family.

Although she picked it up naturally just by watching her Master before Yaichi ever put it into words for her. Even now, Ai followed that advice during every match.

“Wheeew–––––– ……………”

Taking a deep breath, Ai drank some tea out of the thermos she had brought with her. Calm down. Try to relax ……

Relax–––––––––and make her pay.

“…………………… Here …………”

Ai leaned forward and began to violently sway.

She saw the board in front of her transform from her ideal formation all the way to checkmate as her mind took wing.

“Here ………… Here ………… Here …… Here …… Here, here, here, here, here, herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere–––Here!!”

Ai released her grip on her skirt at last. The time had come for an all-out attack.

Ryou defended using no time. Her King still in starting position, its defenses amounted to little more than tissue paper.

Even so, Ai used her waiting time to read through every possibility as she pressed over the board’s centerline. She wouldn’t let up until the King’s heart stopped beating in her grasp!

“Hereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere–––Here!!”

“Hah! Now that’s more like it! Come and get me!!”

Ryou defends once again without any time coming off the clock. As both players exchanged moves one after another, Ai didn’t pick up on the odd subtleties until–––.

“Herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere-hereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere-herehereherehere …… Ngh?!!”

Read.

Read, read, readreadreadreadreadreadreadreadread–––.

Ai read all the way to the end.

That’s when it finally dawned on her.

“Th-There aren’t any good moves left ………… for me?!”

It was unbelievable.

The formations couldn’t have been any more perfect.

Furthermore, software far superior to human comprehension had shown her that this was the best sequence.

Further still, her opponent making so many obvious mistakes during the match should have made her formation nearly invincible.

–––Then …… why?!

Ai’s train of thought went into a tailspin until one monotone phrase was uttered by the match recorder.

“Hinatsuru-sensei. Your waiting time has expired. Begin one-minute Shogi.”

“It what?!”

–––O-Oh, no! I used too much waiting time thinking I was ahead ……!!

There wasn’t even enough time left to despair at her predicament. Ai was confronted with a choice.

Players have two options when they realize they are at a disadvantage.

Ignore the fact that they are behind and continuously put the opposing King in check while hoping their opponent makes a mistake along the way.

Or switch their playing style and hold out even if their opponent can tell they know they are behind.

Ai decided to–––.

“………… Here!!”

She deployed a piece in her own territory with the same ferocity as slapping herself in the face.

Battening down the hatches.

“Hah! Finally woke up, eh? Still, not every grade schooler can say sorry like that, so I’ll give you props.”

Playing a move that goes against the objective up to that point …… Otherwise known as repenting. Commending Ai for changing course, Ryou pulls her armrest in front of her legs and uses it to lean over the board.

“Since you’re bein’ such a good girl, I’ll let you in on a little something. Why do you think you’re losin’ even though you been playin’ exactly what software says is best, hmm?”

“!!”

Ai looks up from the board and meets Ryou’s gaze.

“I pulled the same stunt as old man Okito did in the Second Crown Match. Master and apprentice, falling into the same trap. You two are real peas in a pod.”

“Huh ……?”

“Oh? So, you didn’t see it? Are you guys fighting or somethin’? Or maybe …… were you thinkin’ so hard about your own matches that you didn’t care about your Master’s title match, hmmm?”

“…………!!”

“Ha-ha!! What a surprise, the lil’ puppy dog always nipping at her Master’s heels is actin’ like a real girl for once.”

With that, Ryou points to one particular space on the board.

The one that Ai had dismissed as a mistake, and Ryou claimed that she was giving her a handicap.

“This bad move stickin’ out like a sore thumb actually only gave you a 100-point rating boost, tops.”

“What?!”

Ai rose to her knees in shock.

“Th-That’s all ……?”

“I know, right? A crappy move like that barely changes jack, just 100 points.”

A paper-thin shift like that was hardly noticeable in a match between two players.

“But you got all excited when you saw it, yeah? The defender messed up, so I’ve got an advantage. I’m sittin’ pretty. Surprise surprise, it’s still pretty much even.”

Ai, who felt optimistic about her chances, had forced an attack.

However she found herself in a hole rather than pulling away with the lead.

Because–––.

“I’m the only one who’s bothered to research what happens beyond that point. You left that little mistake alone and kept doin’ your thing. Do me a favor and tell me what I’ve gotta eat to be that laid back, will you?”

“Ah ………… Agh …………”

Ai turned paler by the moment.

Software could point out any number of advantageous moves with any formation.

–––But …… People have to figure out how to use the software ……!

“That’s the difference between real research and using software. Nobody’d ever lose if all you had to do was play the best move!!”

“………………”

Ai had no counterargument, and the match was as good as lost.

The young girl took a long moment to gaze up at the heavens.

And then–––.

“That’s why …………… I should’ve known ……………”

That’s why …… That’s why …… She muttered like a broken record.

After seeing the exchange unfold, the match recorder started quietly packing up her belongings on the boardside table.

Except the young girl she thought was going to surrender took a deep breath and–––.

“Wheeeew––– ……………………… Here, here, here, here, herehereherehere–––.”

Turned back to face the board.

And with far more vigor than she had had before.

“Ohhh? Not done yet, huh? You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.”

Ryou licked her lips as she reached out over the board.

“But if you think stubbornness is gonna work on me at this point, die.”

Violently slapping her armrest off to the side, the Aggressive Archangel lived up to her nickname and advanced on multiple fronts. It wasn’t long before the Women’s Title Holder engaged the offense’s formation with precise, devastating blows at point-blank range!

Yet Ai adopted a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense to hold out against the assault and continued to resist.

“Herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere!!”

“Enough with the here, heres, you RUNT!!”

–––Be the muddy stubborn outlaw! Be gritty, be strong!!

That was Ai’s second lesson upon joining the Kiyotaki Shogi family line.

––– I haven’t lost …… as long as my heart is still willing to fight ……!!

Commit every ounce of skill to each move until the bitter end. Ai did all she could to squeeze the best moves out of her brain.

“Tch! You ain’t got nothin’ left to play, so quit muddyin’ up the record with pointless CRAP! You’re wasting everyone’s time! Do I hafta put this Gold in front of your King to GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL?!”

Indeed, Ryou couldn’t see any rhyme or reason to the moves Ai was playing. Even the match reporter was giving the little girl an unamused glare as she sighed under her breath.

“A sore loser, eh? Just like your Master! Fine! YOU ASKED FOR IT!!”

Grabbing a piece off her stand, Ryou snapped it down to put Ai in check.

She even ground it into the board to force her opponent to realize how hopeless the situation was.

That flagrant taunt––––––saved Ryou Tsukiyomizaka from certain defeat.

“Hmm? ………… Hmhmhmmm?”

With her finger still on the piece, she leaned close to the board for a better look. She never let go.

“Dah?!”

Now it was the Women’s King’s turn to be struck by lightning.

“N-No way ……?! C’mon, seriously ……? Ya gotta be kiddin’ me ……”

…… Ai clenched her fan on the other side of the board, lamenting the fact that her opponent caught on.

Players that realize their own disadvantage have two options. Normal Shogi players.

Ai, however, chose a third option.

Once the opponent knows they have the upper hand–––set a trap under their nose.

“I-It looked like a simple check path ………… But it left me open for a drop checkmate ……?”

Ryou picks the piece back up off the board and returns it to her stand.

“Got a bit carried away for a sec …… A total fluke, but it’s still amazing that one of those Shogi puzzle sequences showed up this late in a match. That was close ……”

In fact, it was a carefully constructed timebomb.

Ryou was forced to use every second of her massive waiting time advantage to disarm Ai’s trap piece by piece.

Then, with both combatants forced to exchange blows under the restraints of one-minute Shogi, a girl only 10 years of age intentionally showed her opponent a check path …… But Ryou didn’t take the bait. Her fingers shook as they moved to avoid it, however.

“Th-30 seconds …… 40 seconds …… 50, one, two, three, four, fi–––.”

The match reporter’s voice, which had been steady as a rock up to that point, began to waver as well.

Seeing that she was truly out of options as the countdown echoed in her ears, Ai lowered her head in defeat at last.

“I’ve lost.”

There was an element of grace in Ai’s voice admitting her defeat that was lacking from everyone else present.