Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 2 - Chapter 2

  NEW WORLD

“… Why would you tell me to come to a place like this?”

Ai Yashajin arrived in Osaka the following Saturday. Clothed in a black outfit like what she had on when we first met, a woman in a black suit is with her.

I asked them to meet me in front of Tennouji Zoo. With good view of Tsutenkaku Tower: it’s one of Osaka’s signature landmarks.

Dressed in casual jeans and a T-shirt, I smirk and say, “I thought a trip to the zoo might help us get to know each other better!”

“Akira. Notify the police.”

“At once.”

The woman behind her–––the same woman in black who talked to me when I first went to Ai’s manor, pulls out her smartphone and starts dialing without a second thought.

“K-Kidding! Just joking! We’re going to play Shogi, what else?”

“I’d prefer it if the only joke you made was your face.”

“You know how players usually open the Bishop Path in the first few turns? Let’s open the path to our hearts.”

“Gross.”

“……”

A few harsh words and my spirit is close to breaking.

I’m so used to being around friendly grade schoolers like my apprentice and her friends these days that dealing with a cold, prickly one like her really hurts.

Then again, I’m used to Big Sis walking all over me. This is nothing new.

“Well? Are we supposed to play Shogi at the zoo? Are we going to use the animals as pieces?”

“We’re not here for the zoo … But we’ll probably see some very unusual creatures.”

“Meaning?”

I turn my back on Ai’s irritated, sharp-tongued question while putting on sunglasses and a baseball cap. “Follow me,” I say and start walking.

“Where are we going? The zoo entrance is over there.”

“Forget about the zoo and keep up.”

Facing away from the zoo, I walk toward Tsutenkaku Tower.

The woman in a black suit (named Akira, I think) must’ve figured out where we’re heading because she anxiously says, “Oi, Sensei. Don’t tell me ……”

“We’re here.”

It’s a long tunnel beneath elevated train tracks. I come to a stop right in front of the dim arcade’s entrance.

“Jyan Jyan Alley.” I’m pretty sure it has an actual name but I don’t know what it is.

“… Huh? What is this dirty street?”

“This area is known as New World. Think of it as Osaka’s deepest underground.”

With Tsutenkaku Tower standing right overhead, this used to be Osaka’s greatest Shogi hotspot.

“Up until about ten years ago, Kansai’s …… no, western Japan’s largest Shogi classroom was beneath the tower. The best unregistered players from all over the country came here every day to sharpen their skills.”

“In this tiny little dump?”

“It’s smaller than it was, but the name is still here. Follow me.”

We head into the alleyway. It’s pretty dark, even in the afternoon. Ai hesitates for a moment but eventually comes inside with Akira protecting her every step of the way.

Although the area is trying to change its vulgar image to something a bit more tourist friendly, there are plenty of drunk people mixed in with the visitors even on Saturday afternoon. Most of the establishments around here are bars. There are kebab places and restaurants where you can grill meat right at the table too. And right next to a shady-looking place with live softshell turtles, in a street-side aquarium, is what we came here for.

“…… This place’ll work.”

I stop outside of a Shogi parlor called Twin Kings Club. Since the outer wall is all glass, you can watch the matches from outside the building. There are a surprising number of people inside.

Ai looks a little uncomfortable, but I wave her up to the glass.

“Take a look. This is a lot more fun than a zoo, right?”

“It’s all just old people …”

She stands on her tiptoes, trying to get a better look at the matches on the other side of the glass. Seeing her focus so hard, her forehead and the tip of her nose pressing up against it, makes me smile. She may act all grown up, but she is still in elementary school.

“So? Think you can take them?”

“…… Humph!”

Watching the level of play on the other side of the glass, Ai flicks her hair over her shoulder and says with all the confidence in the world, “They’re all pushovers. You had me come all the way to Osaka for this? Well, I might as well beat a few of them before going home.”

“That’s the spirit.”

But I was smirking on the inside.

Careful not to let her in on that, there’s something I need to confirm before we go inside.

“Hey, you have any money on you?”

“An untraceable Black Card, yes.”

Actually using that would scare the crap out of me.

“…… Akira, was it? Do you have any paper bills?”

“Several have been prepared. The lord of the manor has instructed me not to be frugal with money. It’s at your disposal.”

“All right then. Please pay the entrance fee. That, and can I have a few 1,000-yen bills? Also, any old receipts would be great too.”

“The bills are no problem …… But, what are the receipts for?”

Rather than giving a direct answer, I pull some scotch tape and an empty cigarette box out of my pocket. Ai doesn’t hide a suspicious frown.

“You smoke? You’re underage.”

“Nah. We need it for this.”

I roll one of the bills I got from Akira into a thin cylinder and wrap it with a receipt, text on the inside, tape it all in place and it looks like an ordinary cigarette. I roll up four more and put all five into the empty box.

“That should do it. Take this.”

“I don’t get the point …… What am I supposed to do?”

“You’re going to issue shinken.”

“Shin …… ken?”

“Basically, you’ll be betting on Shogi matches. 1,000 yen is the buy-in. Lose and that’s what you pay. The strongest players around here won’t even sit down unless there’s money on the table.”

That’s the reason all these Shogi parlors started popping up in Jyan Jyan Alley.

Shinken players in the underground scene all over the country came here looking for money and a good battle.

Laws have really clamped down on betting in recent years, but there was a time when these shinken players made more money than pros. Heck, it’s said that millions of yen could change hands in a single match. 1,000 yen would seem like time-killing pocket change to the people back then.

But now making a sizable bet would get the police involved and they’d shut down the whole establishment. That’s why they jump through these hoops to disguise the money.

“Show the cigarette box to issue a shinken match. Win and you’ll get a roll. Lose, and you give one to your opponent. Keep playing until that box is empty.”

“And what if it gets full?”

“Then I have nothing to teach you. I’ll sign you up to take the Practice League test tonight.”

“Ohhh? Then you’ll be out of work in a few hours.”

Ai snatches the cigarette box from my hand and follows Akira inside.

I squeeze the brim of my baseball hat and put it down over my eyes to hide my face before joining them.