Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 16 - Chapter 1.9

  STICK

“Here, here, herehereherehereherehereherehere–––”

It’s match number two, a week after the first.

Kamakura, Shakando-sensei’s hometown, is hosting it. Speed is what I’m going for in this match, too.

The formation is Double Wing Attack.

It’s just that Sensei is using an old Twisting Rook style rather than the trending software version. It was popular long before I was born.

–––Is she trying to confuse me? …… But!!

We’ve exchanged a few pieces, but she’s not letting me engage in a full sequence.

But I’m trying to use sheer amount of reading to crush this small difference in Shogi style at a full-throttle from the beginning!

“Herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere–––”

It’s Shakando-sensei’s turn, but she’s been thinking for almost an hour now.

I think …… I have a small advantage on the board.

And I’m way ahead in waiting time.

It helps that I haven’t wasted a second of it and I’ve been using her time to do reading of my own. If I can keep my formation advantage and add the waiting time on top of that, I’ll have everything I need to win in the late-game, which is my specialty. That’s my game plan.

The Double Wing is unique because you can get into that late-game with far fewer moves than with other strategies. We are right on the cusp of it right now.

Sensei using this much time must mean ……

–––My attack must’ve gotten through!

My reading and my opponents’ body language.

They give reassurance to me that I’m right. Then.

“………………………………………”

Shakando-sensei looks at the clock with her arms still crossed.

She then puts them at her sides and says flatly, almost like she’s telling herself, “…… Yes, there is nothing.”

“What?!”

I’m so focused on reading the board that I can’t believe my ears. The match recorder Rin Koiji Women’s 4-dan, also known as Rinrin-sensei, is shocked, too.

Huh?

It’s over?

–––Did I …… just win? She’s not going to play a move?

“…………?”

I look up at Shakando-sensei in disbelief.

She looks back at me and answers slowly, like explaining something to a child while lowering her head, “I have lost.”

Rinrin-sensei picks up her tablet with a start and turns off the clock. Then she writes the time of the last move into the match record sheet …… and draws a long line to the box where she’d normally write the move.

A letdown stick.

That’s what it’s called in the Shogi world.

Seeing it shows that the player refused to accept their own mistakes and was so desperate to keep playing that they couldn’t give up. It’s a sign of regret.

“Ah ………… Oh! Thank you for the match!!”

I bow as quickly as I can.

But I can’t bring my head back up right away. If I did …… I don’t know if I could hide my grin.

–––Two wins in a row? Really? Me, against Shakando-sensei?

It feels like Christmas and my birthday came early this year.

I look over at the match record out of the corner of my eye and look for the letdown stick.

–––My rush …… didn’t just get through.

I thought it had broken through that thick armor of hers, but it turns out I pierced her heart as well. From there, it was sudden death.

A lucky punch?

Nope, she still has moves. I would’ve kept fighting.

The fact that she didn’t has to mean ……

–––Shakando-sensei …… thinks she’s even further behind than I do.

Either she’s still feeling the loss from last week, or something else is distracting her. I don’t know what it could be, though.

Basically, she didn’t think she could stop my charge and gave up!

–––Could I …… win the series in the next match?

Ba-dump! I break out in a cold sweat.

My heart beats so hard it hurts.

“……!!”

I grab hold of the collar of my kimono and try to pin down my ribs so that my chest doesn’t burst. But I can’t let anyone else know, so I snatch my fan and shake it as hard as I can to cool off ……

“Azure Sky Beyond the Clouds.”

The words I wrote before this title match catch my eyes.

–––Will I get to see the blue sky when I get there ……?

Next.

The third match.

It’s going to happen in the most advantageous spot for me since the series began.

I’d made up my mind that even if I lost every other match, that was going to be the one I would win ……

Since it’s going to happen there.

Where …… my Shogi training started.