Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 9 - Chapter 1

  SPRING AND CARNAGE

“…… That should be enough,” said Mitsuru Oishi, mumbling with his gaze low.

“Agreed,” Crown Yo Okito answers bluntly.

In that moment–––the fifth match in the King Title Match ended with a second stalemate.

Now 2 a.m., the two-day title match format had extended into day three, and the players’ exhaustion was palpable.

“…………”

Overwhelmed by the intensity emanating from the two titleholders, the observer and match recorder could only sit and stare at them from the boardside table after making the stalemate official.

Unkempt stubble dotted the players’ ghostly faces. Only their eyes blazed with life.

Both Kings had been firmly entrenched deep in their opponent’s territory and a truly bizarre number of Promoted Pawns covered the board in a match that went well beyond 300 moves.

Telltale signs of a stalemate, distinctive formations of the lengthy matches that exceeded the standard and broke into chaos.

“………… Another draw ……,” association staff uneasily whispered amongst themselves as they entered the arena.

“It’s hard to believe both matches lasted nearly 400 moves and there still isn’t a clear winner …… That’s nearly 1,000 moves for one victory star. Can you believe it?”

“How long is this title match going to take ……?”

“The aura coming out of Mr. Oishi is incredible. The Worldly Maestro’s second face was out right at the start, the one called Tenacious Maestro……”

“I’ve gotta say that his tenacity was something else, coming back after everyone thought Okito would take the title in a sweep after three straight wins. But–––.”

“Yeah, even more than that–––.”

The staff was in agreement.

Something else was sending waves through the Shogi world.

“That Mitsuru Oishi …… The Worldly Maestro …… started playing Static Rook!!”

Yes.

Facing the moment of truth in the fourth match after three losses, Mitsuru resorted to the unthinkable and used a Static Rook strategy.

Blindsided by the sudden change to a Double Static Rook Shogi match, Yo was overwhelmed by Mitsuru’s onslaught from start to finish.

The fourth match became Mitsuru’s first victory.

“We weren’t the only ones in shock. I’ve never seen Okito-sensei look so surprised ……”

“It’s still hard to believe the Crown, a guy who plays like a machine, got so far behind that he surrendered before lunch on the second day ……”

“You think that was because he used Static Rook in the first fifth match stalemate and in the rematch held the day after …… Has Mr. Oishi given up on Ranging Rook?”

“No way! …… But maybe he’s thinking Ranging Rook doesn’t stand a chance against Mr. Okito ……”

“Don’t you mean against Shogi software ……?”

“I can’t deny that ……”

“Those opening formations look like something straight off the computer screen ……”

“Yaichi Kuzuryu said something like the yagura is dead, didn’t he? Could Mr. Oishi be thinking along those lines for Ranging Rook ……?”

“The real irony is his winning percentage went up in other matches once he stopped using Ranging Rook …… The writing might be on the wall ……”

“Really, the guy that’s got so much pride he turns down practice sessions with real people left and right ……?”

“I bet he’s willing to throw that pride away to protect his title ……” 

“But Mr. Oishi’s holding strong. Don’t forget, Mr. Okito’s winning percentage in other matches has fallen off. He even missed his chance to challenge the Meijin ……”

“Doesn’t that show that Mr. Okito’s willing to sacrifice everything else to claim the King title ……?”

“He’s …… stubborn like that.”

Today’s arena was originally intended for the seventh and final match, but instead it was used for the rematch of the fifth match’s rematch.

This was unknown territory.

The staff member in charge of scheduling had his head in his hands as he communicated with the Shogi Association. Meanwhile, Mitsuru and Yo stayed completely silent, sitting at the board without conducting any sort of review session whatsoever–––.

Another match was about to make history in the shadow of that do-or-die grudge match.

“I concede.”

A young beauty adorned in a kimono lowered her head. Members of the media came pouring into the Kanto Shogi Association’s special arena located in Sendagaya, Tokyo a moment later.

Then, every single camera lens was directed at the lower seat.

The Mynavi Women’s Open Finals, the match to determine the Challenger was over.

Victory had been claimed in the most formal match in all of Women’s Shogi by the one sitting in the lower seat, by a girl so small she was too young to be considered an adolescent.

A mere 10-year-old.

The soon-to-be fifth-grader sat up straight, her chin raised ever so slightly in triumph as she looked down upon Machi Kugui-Queen Yamashiro Ouka’s surrender.

It was such a shock to behold that the avalanche of journalists stopped to hold their collective breath.

“The one who was just crowned an Eternal Queen, the top of the Women’s Shogi world, defeated by a child ……!”

Machi played the match wearing a kimono, simultaneously showing her determination and putting her pride as a title holder on the line. She had not taken her opponent lightly, that much was certain.

People whispered among themselves, trying to process what had just happened.

“That girl, she was an amateur four months ago, right ……?!”

“The Yamashiro Ouka Title Match was just a few days ago, so maybe Ms. Kugui was still feeling the effects?”

“Even so, that girl will be the youngest challenger ever!! What’s more, being the challenger is an instant promotion to Women’s League 2-dan–––.”

“Women’s 2-dan at only 10 years old …… It’s Cinderella come to life!”

“So, the youngest female title holder ever, Ginko Sora, will face the youngest challenger in history …… What a story!”

“Kobe’s Cinderella and Naniwa’s Snow White will play against each other after all ……”

“Sounds like a fairy tale …… It doesn’t feel real at all ……”

Camera flashes went off in a vigorous rush.

Player interviews began once the match journalist made it through the throng of reporters and sat down at the boardside table.

When the girl who was just promoted all the way to 2-dan by default, Ai Yashajin was asked how she felt during the match, she responded, “…… Never once …… did I think I wouldn’t win.”

She answered, her voice understandably weak.

But she grew steadier by the moment and took the journalist by surprise yet again with answers far beyond what the average elementary school girl would say.

She hadn’t been told how to respond.

They were all her words, her own thoughts.

As proof, an association staff member was filling in as her guardian instead of her Master, Ryuo Yaichi Kuzuryu.

Yaichi had been unable to make the trip to Tokyo because of his own league match, but Ai preferred it this way. Having a source of support that close would be comforting, which would in turn leave an opening for her opponent. Even at 10 years old, she understood that.

“Ms. Kugui! Ms. Yamashiro Ouka! Questions please!!”

Drawn in by the magnitude of this developing story, a female reporter from a local news station with a high-pitched voice unbefitting of a Shogi press conference pressed Machi for an interview as if trying to build up the drama.

“If I may be frank, were you overconfident sitting across from such a young opponent?!”

“…… I committed myself fully to each move as to prevent that from occurring.”

“But, she’s 10!! Do you think you’d normally lose to a 10-year-old?!”

“Yashajin 2-dan already possesses skill worthy of a top-class Women’s League player. A simple glance at the match record will prove her as such. This result was a product of said skill.”

“Oh, I see. Then–––.”

Realizing that Machi wouldn’t take the bait no matter how hard she prodded, the reporter changed her angle.

“You have faced Queen Ginko Sora in the past, Ms. Kugui. What do you think Ms. Yashajin’s chances are against her, plain and simple?!”

“Her chances?”

Machi flicked her fan open and covered her mouth as she spoke.

“Sora-Dual Title has risen to the rank of Sub League 3-dan. A vast divide of unfathomable depth separates her from the likes of us Women’s League players. The unfathomable cannot be explained in such terms …… Wouldn’t you agree?”

Words cannot properly portray the flash that came from Machi’s eyes with those last words.

“Gasp ……”

It finally dawned on the reporter that she was trying to pry answers out of the woman known as Machi the Tormentor, which was the equivalent of stepping on a carnivore’s tail. Head down, she slid back into the media cluster.

Machi Kugui acted as though she had already put the loss behind her, but there was no way being defeated by a 10-year-old in elementary school wasn’t tearing her apart on the inside.

Keep this orderly. Otherwise, I’ll slay you where you stand.

The aura emanating from her eyes made that message all too clear.

“I’m here for the Kobe Sannomiya Newspaper. If I may ask you a few things, Miss Yashajin–––.”

As the chaotic mob of media fell silent, a man sent from Ai Yashajin’s hometown of Kobe posed the press conference’s final question.

“The stage is set for you to play against Sora-Queen, who also happens to be your Master, Yaichi Kuzuryu’s elder sister apprentice. Will it be difficult to face her, as both of you are members of the Kiyotaki Shogi family?”

“That doesn’t matter at all. I’ve never thought about it.”

Her response was instantaneous. 

“Besides, even if I did feel uncomfortable, all I’d have to do is take a different Master.”

“……!!”

The very idea of changing Master was so close to taboo in the Shogi world that it sent chills up the spines of every adult in the room. The girl who said it, however, couldn’t have been calmer. She was completely serious.

Kobe’s Cinderella kept that same tone as she continued.

“I don’t care what methods I have to use, what sacrifices I have to make, that title will be mine. That’s all there is to it.”