Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 18 - Chapter 3.03

  Seesaw Match

“The sealing move is―――Deploy 8 Four Silver.”

Following the observer’s announcement, Ayumu’s white hand glides over to 8 Four and snaps down a Silver. He’s protecting his King now that it’s in nyugyoku but ......

The people watching can’t believe their eyes.

“Wh-What was he thinking?! The Pawn Kuzuryu put down can take the Horse for free!!”

“Nyugyoku in the first match ......?!”

Ayumu’s choice for the sealing moves doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s still part of the standard. I take the Horse using barely a second of waiting time.

The real problem is four moves away.

―――Challenge the King in my territory or ...... go for Double Nyugyoku?

That’s where this match is going to hit a crossroads to the future.

One path leads to a false future. Assuming that Ayumu got there using the 100 Awaji matches I released as a base and his research is perfect, I won’t stand a chance.

But, in a way, that’s the bright future.

Compared to the other path ...... which leads to the future beyond saving.

It’s the barren wasteland Awaji showed me again and again through our matches. The place that we always ended up no matter how many times I started over: my solution to Shogi.

Since Ayumu doesn’t have access to Awaji like I do, he hasn’t seen the wasteland yet.

Then, what if ......

―――What if I ...... pressed all the way to conclusion here and now ......?

What move would Ayumu play in response?

I take my eyes off the board to look Ayumu square in the face.

The Ayumu sitting there―――is bleeding out of his eyes.

“GAAAAHHHHHH?!”

I jump backward, gasping for air but still can’t breathe.

Shocked, Ms. Noboryou looks over at me.

“Kuzuryu-sensei? What’s the matter ......?”

“S-Sorry ............... It’s nothing ................ Oh! But, um―――”

Hurriedly getting back onto the cushion, I rub my eyes as hard as I can.

Only then do I realize I’d seen a mirage when reading deep into the board.

“Would it be alright ...... to turn down the thermostat just a little?”

“You want to make it cooler?”

I can practically hear it’s cold enough already in her voice as she looks in Ayumu’s direction.

“I have no objections.”

He answers without looking up at the board because he’s so far behind in waiting time. Of course, there’s no blood either.

Cool air flows into the arena and my heart finally calms down ......

That ...... was because I heard about Ika from Okito-sensei, right?

Was it a warning, maybe? If Ayumu or I play beyond human moving forward, one of us is going to break.

―――I saw Ika in that state. But Ayumu doesn’t know. Which means ......

That vision chose me.

An 8 Two Pawn to checkmate the offensive King.

“Mngh?!”

Ayumu lets out a soft grunt.

Then, an expression I never expected appears on his face.

He looks―――kind of sad.

“So ............ This is your ............”

I might’ve seen it wrong, though.

Because he declares with gusto not a second later.

“...... Then I shall cut you down!!”

“You can try!”

That triggers a head-on clash.

I put Ayumu in check, he blocks it. His King has far fewer protective pieces, but closing in on it all at once is just too difficult now that it’s reached my second row.

“I am a Knight of the Board! A battle of Kings would please me to no end!!”

Ayumu gets payback right away, putting my King on a check path.

That’s when I commit all my strength to a second check rush! Only one path leads to survival, and I highly doubt that Ayumu has enough time to read all the way to the end.

However, he didn’t mess up.

“Whaaa?! H-How’d the King get ......?!”

Ayumu finds a way to horizontally slide the King into my deepest row, making all my checks pointless!

It’s like the hero of an action movie is barely holding onto the roof of a skyscraper by their fingertips. Nyugyoku is one of the most complex situations in Shogi, and Ayumu found the one and only correct answer.

Just as he said he would, Ayumu leads his King on a collision course with mine.

“Behold―――Game set!!”

I watch in disbelief as my attack fizzes out. The instant it’s gone, Ayumu reaches for his piece stand and takes hold of a Bishop as if drawing a blade from its scabbard. He then brings it down in one swift stroke.

―――That’s one heck of a way to go out ......

I was mentally prepared to lose the instant I decided to engage head-on, but I didn’t think I’d be sliced down so vividly. The amount of preparation Ayumu put into this title match goes way beyond my expectations.

That’s why it hurts so much. I might actually cry.

“I lost.”

After visiting the restroom to get my kimono straightened out, I wipe the tears out of my eyes and lower my head.

And so, Kuzuryu-Crown throws in the towel on move 135.

“...... Thank you.”

There seemed to be more he wanted to say, but he’s got nothing left in the mental tank. He literally gave every ounce of his being to checkmate my King.

“Kannabe 8-dan! Congratulations on your victory!!”

“Please tell us what you’re going to focus on for the next match!!”

I watch as the media people descend on my best friend before leaving the arena… alone.

The arena moves to my home turf for the second match: Kansai.

Kobe’s parlor: Arima Onsen.

Said to have been the favorite of a prominent sixteenth century samurai named Hideyoshi Toyotomi, people in Osaka and Kyoto flock there because it’s a doable day trip away.

Since there’s a ropeway connecting it with the farm and athletic facilities in Rokkousan, there are a ton of children here too.

So, naturally, kids are all over the place. Even in the arena.

“Go win, Kuzuryu-sensei!”

“You can beat him!”

A group of grade school kids wave at me from the lower seat side of the board. It’s not uncommon for local kids to come to title matches on a field trip, but ...... these kids are from the heart of Osaka.

“Quiet, everyone! A very important match is about to start.”

The person leading them is Ai Hinatsuru’s former homeroom teacher, Misao Kanegasaka-sensei. She asked me to come to the school and teach Shogi to her class a while back. Apparently, those kids wanted to come cheer me on so badly that they managed to get this classified as an educational field trip.

It’s a great story filled with a lot of heart, but that’s not the way the other people here see it.

“A miniature cheering squad ......”

“Even the Challenger’s Master, Ms. Shakando, is showing restraint and staying outside the arena, but this ......”

“The Loli Crown does what he wants, apparently.”

I always get called the Loli King because I have the Dragon King Ryuo title, but this is the Crown Title Match. So the Shogi people here have adjusted. I only wish they’d show as much consideration for me as they do for the sponsor.

“The time to begin has come. Lo- ...... Kuzuryu-Crown. Please begin the match.”

Even the observer is convinced I’m a lolicon. I’m not sure if I have the home advantage at all, but that doesn’t change what I have to do.

―――I WILL win this match.

I don’t hesitate at all to advance the Pawn in front of my Rook for my opening move and open the Bishop Path on the fifth move because I wholeheartedly believe this is how the title matches of the future will look.

The formation I want to play―――Bishop Exchange Double Reclining Silver.

And, just like Ayumu did during the first match, I waste no time moving my King to safety on the left side of the board.

“Very well ...... I shall meet you!!”

Static Rook players don’t care if they’re on offense or defense when the formations are the same. Being able to win on either side has a unique term in the Shogi world:

A double slap.

“Die for a second time, Demon King of the West!!”

Ayumu rushes straight in to attack the opening in front of my King. Considering he won with nyugyouku last time, I don’t blame him.

That’s why using his strategy against him is the natural choice for me.

“Trying to force my advance before it begins, are you?! Then I shall crush you beneath my feet!!”

As if donning the persona of a Knight on his way to dethrone the King (me), he puts me in check at the 62nd move.

That’s where I seal the match for day one.

With the seal move done, I head back to my room and change into a yukata. Then, it’s off to the hot spring because I want to enjoy tonight's meal without being a sweaty mess.

“Ah, Ry- ...... Crown. Did you visit the bath?”

On my way back to my room, I happen to bump into a local journalist from Sannomiya, Kobe.

He wrote a fantastic article about Ai Yashajin a while back, so I open up as a way of saying thank you.

“Yes. The water was great. It’s no wonder Arima Onsen is so popular.”

“If I may ask, is Miss Yashajin here to cheer you on? She does live nearby, after all.”

“Cheer for me ......? I doubt it.”

“That’s too bad. I was hoping for a chance to do a follow-up interview, but I haven’t been able to reach her at all.”

I bow my head. While I hurt for him, I totally get what Ai is thinking.

“Speaking of this hot spring, the men’s and women’s baths switch after dinnertime. In other words, you just bathed in the same water as the elementary school-aged girls who came to root for you earlier today.”

“That would explain all the youthful energy I have right now. Ha-ha!”

This conversation happened. I won’t try to deny it.

But the newspaper headline the next morning was:

“Kuzuryu-Crown Recovers Energy by Bathing in the Same Water as Grade Schoolers After the Sealing Move!”

Just why ......?

While that headline could be easily misunderstood, I could clearly see each and every sequence during the match.

No sooner had Day 2 started than Ayumu unleashed a barrage of big pieces and Golds in a valiant attempt to crush my King. Each one, however, misses by a hair.

On the other hand, I manage to invade and overwhelm his side of the board with Pawns just as Awaji once did to me.

“Kgh ............ I am defeated.”

The match was as good as over before the lunch break, but Ayumu kept thinking both before and after it ...... Then he threw in the towel without making another move.

Looking at me, a title holder so dominant that the challenger wouldn’t even try to hold out, people start whispering back and forth.

“H-He’s too strong ...... Is he actually a demon king ......?”

“...... Is the Demon King that strong, or is the offense locked to win when playing Bishop Exchange ......?”

“...... Well, it looks like players starting on defense won’t be playing Bishop Exchange for a while ......”

The only pieces I moved much at all were my King and the Pawns.

Ayumu finished me off with keen late-game skill, but I didn’t let him get to that stage this time. Hey, I’m not just going to lay down and take that kind of punishment.

It goes without saying that the newspapers will pick up on that for their headlines―――

“Little Girl Power Unleashed! Challenger Blocked to Perfection!!”

“Are Grade Schoolers the Key to Defending the Crown? Overwhelming the Opponent With the Smallest Pieces!!”

Just why ......?

This article also came out.

“Kuzuryu-Crown’s third apprentice, Charlette Isior, is currently honing her skills in the Kansai Practice League in hopes of joining the Women’s League someday. She joined her friend, Ayano Sadatou, on an after-school trip from Kyoto to Arima Onsen to cheer on her dear Master on the second day of the match. Once she heard that he was going to win early in the afternoon, she said, ‘Cha is gowing to bwathe with Masta!,’ which resulted in quite a scene.”

Unfortunately, there was an error in the article. I never took a bath with Charlette.