Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 5 - Chapter 2.1

  ROCK BOTTOM

“Welcome home, Master.”

My apprentice greets me just inside the front door with her usual peppy smile.

Of course, I’m sure she already knows I lost.

One more loss and my title is gone …… I know full well she is keeping up this happy act to make sure her Master who’s been forced into a do-or-die match will be as comfortable as possible. But, it just annoys me.

Maybe she can tell, because there’s a fearful quiver in her voice when she says, “Uh, um …… Dinner is ready and …… I drew a bath for you ……”

“…… ‘Kay.”

“The bed is made, too ……”

I drop my things off in my room without saying a word, trudge into the tub and then to the dining table.

Ai, probably sensing my mood, kept herself out of sight in the tatami room the whole time. She didn’t make a single sound.

Honestly, I was grateful for the space.

I don’t know why, but anything she does right now just pisses me off …… I guess it’d be more accurate to say I’m furious at this urge to intimidate someone weaker than my pathetic self just to feel like a man again. As long as I can’t see Ai, I can’t take out this frustration on her.

However, as soon as the clock struck 7 in the evening–––.

“Umm ………… Master? May I, have … a moment?”

“What?”

“……!”

Ai quivers just inside my doorway.

Like a terrified slave trying to judge their wicked Master’s mood, she tries to smile at first but then switches to making a more serious face …… 

All of it’s getting on my nerves. But why? She’s such a cute apprentice.

“I, um …… Will go to the Mynavi Finals tomorrow in Tokyo …… So, uh …… A match ……,” Ai says, her body trembling the whole time and she suddenly blurts out. “I, I’m so sorry to disturb you when you’re tired! One match … please teach me Shogi!” she yells in one breath before collapsing into a deep bow.

“…… Fine.”

“! T-Thank you so much!!”

Ai bounces back up and looks up at me. That’s the first time I’ve seen her real face since I came home. Like a cute little puppy …… 

“When you’re ready!”

Formations took shape right out of the gate.

Obviously, I’m not taking it easy on her today.

All I want to do is crush my opponent as quickly as possible.

“Ah! ………… Keh!!”

Under siege, Ai holds her ground and sets up to fight as long as her strength will last.

However, she’s so far behind that she’s got zero chance to come back.

Even if there’s a big difference in skill, the weaker player can hold out for a long time if they abandon offense and focus only on defending. That type of match takes forever to end.

“Khh ……… Haaa …… Haaa ……!”

Ai is holding out.

Just as I refuse to hold back anywhere near as much is I normally do and move in to crush her formation, Ai ignores the pressure and keeps protecting her King. Leaning over the board, looking at the utter despair makes her face twist and turn.

All of that irritates the hell out of me. I rudely snap down a piece, and then get angry at myself for acting like this …… It’s a vicious spiral.

I just want this match to be over and done.

This is just a waste of time.

––– …… I don’t have time to be doing this right now!

I slam down my next piece, trying to get the message across.

But, Ai didn’t get the hint. She’s only thinking about how to survive one more turn. That total obliviousness was the last straw. Fiery anger surges through my veins.

Once it reached the boiling point.

“…………!!”

I bite down so hard my teeth whine and I knock the pieces across the board with my right hand.

“Agh ……?!”

At first, Ai had a what did you do that for? kind of look on her face as she looked up and down between the pieces scattered around the board and me.

But a few moments pass ……… and every ounce of blood drains from her skin. Shivering and blue in the face as if she’d been caught out in a blizzard, her body starts violently shaking as she screams, “P-Please forgive me!!”

Ai dives away from the board, going from sitting on her ankles to full-out prostration on the floor. She quivers and cowers for several minutes without budging.

“Ummm ………… I, need to use the bathroom ……… Sorry ……”

Keeping her head down, Ai practically runs down the hall toward the toilet.

Sob …… Sob …… I can hear her from here.

––– …… Why the hell …… did I, do that ……?

Self-loathing hits me like a tidal wave.

I can hardly believe myself. If only I could take it back.

I’m not trying to be super strict on her.

Because seriously, I didn’t have to mess up the board when words would’ve worked just fine.

Holding out against a pro or a member of the Women’s League when you know you have no chance of winning is not only rude to them, but rude to the fans as well. That’s why you need to throw in the towel when you know you’ve lost.

Yes, I should’ve taught her with words.

I want time to myself right now. So, I’m sorry but that’s all for today.

Yes, I should’ve told her the reason.

Why couldn’t I do that? …… Why did I get so angry at Ai? Why was taking out my frustration on her the only way to vent ……?

––– …… Because I’m backed into a corner, I guess.

That’s all I could come up with. In that case–––.

…… Staying like this …… Living together, too …… 

It was a bizarre living situation from the start.

Live-in apprentices are a thing of the past, and I’d be in high school right now while living with a grade schooler. Of course a rumor or two is going to go around when two people our age are living under the same roof without any family connection.

–––Living with me will hurt Ai’s career …… 

Once a decision is made, all that’s left is the follow-through.

I take out my smartphone and contact the people I need to talk to. Everything was settled with a few calls.

Ai comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later.

……… Please forgive … my rudeness ……”

Her eyes and nose are bright red. Tear trails over her cheeks are crystal-clear.

Seeing her so cute, innocent and vulnerable will make me have second thoughts …… I look away.

Stopping just short of the tatami room, Ai sits on her ankles in the hallway.

The deep green color of the tatami mats is a barrier between us, separating her from my world.

Staring at the Shogi board, I tell her.

“I’ve asked Akira to look after you tomorrow. Meet up with Ai Yashajin at Osaka Station and go onto Tokyo from there.”

“……”

Ai opens her mouth as if trying to say something, but no words come out. She’s just mouthing dry air.

Maybe she cried so hard she lost her voice.

Ignoring that, I tell her the rest.

“Then, once your match is over, go directly to Master Kiyotaki’s place. I’ve asked him to look after you until the title match is over. I’ll send your things along tomorrow.”

It may sound like a short-term deal … I understand that there’s a very real chance Ai will never come back here again.

I’m sure Ai can sense that.

That’s why she’s not trying to respond no matter how long I wait for her.

Silence is the only thing she can do to defend herself right now.

So, I press her for an answer to drive my point home.

“Is that clear?”

“…………………………………… Yes ……………”

Her response was short and so quiet it faded into thin air.

A pitiful man who became Ryuo by mistake and the girl who idolized him to the point that she had dreams of entering the Women’s League.

This became the temporary Master and apprentice’s final exchange.