Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 15 - Chapter 2.3

  THE HYPERBOLIC TIME CHAMBER

“What are you after here?”

I get in Jin-Jin’s face after pulling him into his own apartment.

As for the encroacher, Shorty …… Ai Hinatsuru, she’s waiting in my room (that is NOT about to change!) for the time being. I told her to sit and wait on her ankles with my iciest voice.

“Just what I said. Ai is my research partner. She said she wanted to transfer to Kanto, and I took her in.”

“As a research partner? Sure you did.”

I’m not dumb.

I mean, who’s ever heard of an A division Shogi professional accepting an elementary school student, let alone a girl, as their research partner? ’Cuz I sure haven’t!

“What could a top player who did research with the Meijin himself possibly learn from a little girl? A university student like me is one thing, but what do you get out of keeping Shorty as your pet? Nothing, right?”

“It slips my mind every now and then, but …… You are currently enrolled in university, aren’t you? Care to remind me what you’re majoring in?”

“School of Political Science and Economics, I’ll have you know.”

The poli-sci department at my school, W-University, is famous for putting students through their paces.

I took entrance exams to get in and passed with flying colors. That’s right, I got in on brains alone. Men tend to be intimidated by intelligent women, so I don’t come out and say it. Jin-Jin isn’t like that in the first place, so the two of us are playing off it like this.

“Well then, as a student of political science and economics, are you familiar with the Leapfrog Phenomenon?”

“That’s when an underdeveloped country grows so quickly that it overtakes a developed country in no time at all, yes? You see it all the time in technology fields these days.”

“Exactly. The Meijin’s so-called Highway Theory fits into that category. By traveling the path laid out by those who came before, the younger generation can grow faster by comparison.”

“Then why couldn’t anyone in your generation surpass the Meijin, hmm?”

“That’s true in terms of results. For now.”

It’s not like him to emphasize things, but that for now: that had some power behind it. He never stopped smiling, though.

“If a Stage Skip would take place, however, even the Meijin would get left behind by the times.”

“Skip?”

“A specific example would be what happens when cellular phones sell like mad in a country that never had landlines.”

“Ohh …… Cellphone sales surpass the more advanced countries in one giant leap because there aren’t any other options in a country so young. I think I see what you’re getting at.”

They skipped over the phone-on-the-wall phase.

In Shogi terms, would that be like somebody learning from software first without ever having a person teach them? I’ve heard that new 4-dan Sota Kunugi is like that.

“And then, once the digital payment options become available to the masses? That’s a whole new realm of techniques opening up right there.”

“…… So, you’re saying that something like online payment apps is happening in Shogi right now?”

“Beats me. I have no idea.”

“If you don’t know, then–––.”

“Even if new techniques were being discovered, I have no way of realizing their advantage.”

He wouldn’t realize it?

Why not ……?

“I use a smartphone, but I never intend to use one of those digital wallets no matter how popular they become. I’ll stick to cash, thank you. Reason being, I’d be up a creek without a paddle if my phone ever ran out of battery.”

“Ah ……!”

It’s because they don’t know the techniques of the past, because they don’t know where that knowledge came from, that underdeveloped countries focus only on the latest techniques as they build themselves up in cycles.

That could cause fatal errors at any point.

But they don’t stay down for long. They adjust to new circumstances and keep coming up with new ideas and techniques. All of this happens at breakneck speed.

“I’ve studied the early-game far too much. I can’t just ignore the past and build on new techniques like Ai can.”

The game has changed.

Jin-Jin says that we’re on the verge of a new era where all the rules and knowledge we have now won’t apply to the new generation.

“Not even the Meijin can escape from that.”

“Wh-What makes you so sure? Knowing him, he’ll put his own spin on whatever new strategies come up and find a way to beat them–––.”

“Yes. The Meijin doesn’t take software strategies as they are and always, always adds his own flavor. That’s why–––.”

“Wh-Why what ……?”

“That’s why he’ll never be able to use software effectively,” Jin-Jin says with a look cold enough to send chills down my spine.

“…………!!”

Jin-Jin blurts out the weakness of his Savior, the one who selected him to be their research partner.

“You asked me what I’m after, didn’t you? It’s to have Ai living next door to me,” he continues with his eyes just as frigid. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing but upsides. Ai’s ability to calculate exceeds more than half of all professional Shogi players. Her late-game skills alone are clearly on par with A division players, if not superior to them.”

He’s being serious.

But …… who’d believe that?

I won’t deny that there are some Women’s League players who can beat professionals. Ika Sainokami has. She’s crazy good, and pretty crazy all around. She’s picking up victory stars in Group 6 at the Ryuo League Tournament. With all the momentum she’s got built up right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up in the Final Tournament.

The only reason she can do that, though, is because Group 6 is filled with new rookie professionals who just promoted and passed-their-prime geezers who’ve fallen down from higher placements. It’s the weakest group in the whole tournament.

A division players, with the exception of the Meijin, are the strongest ten Shogi players on the planet.

And he expects me to believe that a little girl who’s stronger in the late-game than any of them exists?

Heck no. Don’t make me laugh.

“Mitsuru told me the most interesting tidbit about Ai. According to him, she has eleven mental Shogi boards! And all eleven of them are probably clicking on all cylinders right now. If any new, never-before-seen strategies or techniques were to pop up …… the first one to use them would be–––.”

So, basically, Jin-Jin sees Shorty like some kind of pet frog.

A tiny little frog hopping around in her cage.

He’s going to pick up whatever that frog spits out. Even if she doesn’t come up with anything at all, he’ll feel safe because he can keep an eye on her ……

“In fact, my performance in big matches has improved by leaps and bounds ever since I started doing practice sessions with Ai online …… Yes? It’s thanks to her that this chance is in my grasp. I’m not picky about what I have to do to win.”

That absolute determination to overtake his longtime research partner leaves me speechless. His desire for strength has turned into an obsession.

“Didn’t you once say that you wanted someone closer to your age to play Shogi with nearby? I think Ai would fit the bill perfectly.”

“Cut that out …… That’s from back when I was still living in Numazu, right? When I was in junior high.”

All that leapfrog stuff didn’t make much sense, but after hearing Jin-Jin talk like this, I got a very clear image of what he wants.

The Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

That room in Dragon Ball where you can train your heart out.

Inside that room, you can get in a whole year’s worth of training in a single day on the outside.

The gravity is ten times stronger, too. The air is thin. There is nothing else fun to do other than train.

Jin-Jin wants to turn my comfortable and perfectly situated room into his own personal hyperbolic time chamber.

I just can’t put up with this.