Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 9 - Chapter 3.6

  SPITE

I lost the second match. That Shogi was awful.

All the research I did, the sequence I developed using my father’s pieces, nothing worked against Ginko Sora. Didn’t work, heh! They led to my defeat.

“…………”

I’ve come back to the break room after the match to change out of my kimono.

Since a clothing shop is taking care of it for me, they said all I needed to do was roll it up and put it in the box to mail it back to them.

Except, all the pain and anger welling up inside me won’t let my fingers stay still and I can’t get this obi sash to come loose–––.

“Grrgh! Fine then ……!!”

Just as I was about to pull it off with all my might.

“You mustn’t do that.”

I hear a voice at the door and stop pulling.

The owner of this inn is standing in the doorway–––Ai Hinatsuru’s mother.

“Being rough with it will only worsen the situation. Allow me to assist you.”

“…………”

Honestly, I want to be alone. I don’t want anyone’s help.

But at this rate, I don’t think I’ll ever get this thing off me.

Taking my silence as permission, the owner kneels down next to me and starts loosening the kimono with precision.

“Breathing must’ve been so difficult. You’ll be right as rain in a moment.”

“It wasn’t that big a deal ……”

I’m putting on a brave face. Playing in traditional clothing, each breath is a challenge because of how tight the sash closes around my chest. And I always have to know exactly where my sleeves are at all times. Trying to focus on the match with all that going on is extremely demanding.

…… Not that it excuses the loss ……

“My daughter has told me so much about you.”

“…… Complaints, I’m sure.”

“Not at all. She told me you’re such a strong girl.”

“……… But, I lost.”

“Yes.”

Rather than trying to comfort me, the inn’s owner simply nods as her hands move all about.

“However, that’s not the kind of strength my daughter was referring to.”

“……?”

“She told me there is another girl her age named Ai Yashajin. She said that despite sharing the name Ai and the same master, this Ai always fights alone rather than letting others help her with every little thing like she does. That she was jealous of that strength ……”

“So? Did you come in here to take pity on an orphan like me?”

“You’re exactly the way she described you,” says the owner, smiling at me.

But her tone, it was a lot more like a mother than a business owner and for a moment, one fleeting second, I felt like bursting into tears like a child.

It’s irritating, being treated the same way a child would be, but …… I stay still long enough for her to take the kimono off completely.

“You have been working very hard. Leave the rest to me and go join the after-party.”

Ai Hinatsuru’s mother back in business mode, she offers to finish cleaning up and gives me a polite bow.

“…… Thank you.”

With that, I put on my own clothes.

–––…… A mother, huh.

She’s very different from mine. But …… If mother were alive today, would she have been the one helping me take off the kimono just like this?

Stop.

–––Letting thoughts like that happen proves my heart is weak after losing ……

The series isn’t over yet. I have to look perfectly normal at this party. I can’t show any weakness, ever.

Washing my face at the sink, I reset myself mentally and physically.

Then, once I step out of the break room–––there’s a girl wearing a school uniform standing outside.

“……?!”

Thinking it’s Ginko Sora, I brace myself.

But I was wrong. This girl has dark hair and vibrant, tanned skin. She doesn’t look anything like the pasty Snow White.

It’s the other Sub League member, but she’s already changed into her school uniform.

“You ……”

Appearing out of the blue like this, her name escapes me.

Today’s match recorder.

I defeated her in the finals as well. She’s …… Yes. Karen Noboryou.

“I have great respect for Sora-sensei,” the high school girl says without warning.

“She may be younger than I am, but I still hold her in the highest regard. As another female member of the Sub League, I wholeheartedly believe that what she’s accomplished so far and what she’s trying to achieve are grand feats that go beyond what words can express. Also, I don’t want to see a dan-ranking member of the Sub League lose to a Women’s League player and I don’t think that should ever happen. Seeing that match transpire without handicap didn’t sit well with me as it is. Therefore, I couldn’t care less if you lose three matches in a row. However–––.”

Suppressing her emotions, Karen starts talking in a flat, monotone voice.

“Allow me to say one thing. How long are you going to keep using such terrible standard sequences?”

“……!!”

“Today was like watching an amateur play. I realize that Women’s League players are almost amateurs themselves, so that can’t be helped to some extent. However, we Sub League members are dispatched to record those matches. The reason I wanted to work this match was to sear the pain of losing to an amateur elementary school girl into my heart, but having to sit through a useless match is just a waste of my time.”

Those words sting worse than any I’ve ever heard in my life.

Not only because they were a direct attack on me, but also on father who loved Shogi with all his heart. Above all else …… I’m angry at myself for being too powerless to say anything back.

“I’ve said my peace.” The Sub League member with a backpack over her shoulder then says, “Please get some rest. Goodbye,” with a deep bow and walks down the hallway without so much as a glance over her shoulder.

Pain and humiliation gripping my trembling body, I just stand there.

“What, what? Going home already, Karen? By yourself?” Someone askes down the hall.

“I have a boat to catch. Thank you for all your hard work today, Rokuroba-sensei.”

“Boat …… You’re not trying to get all the way back to Hachiyo Jima by yourself, are you?! Right now?!”

“If I catch the boat from Tokyo Harbor tonight, I can make it to the island by tomorrow morning. It’ll work out perfectly for me.”

“A girl shouldn’t be going out by herself at this time of night! Just wait a minute, I’ll get Jin Jin to take you to Tokyo!”

Their voices echo from somewhere further down the hall.

“…………”

All alone, I bite my lip to endure the pain coursing through my veins. It takes all the willpower I have to endure the emotional tsunami crashing against my heart.

Then, once the wave receded, I open my mouth as if coming up for air and a few words spill out.

“…………… What would you have me do ……?”

For the first time I can remember, I don’t know the answer.

It’s not that I don’t understand how to win.

I don’t know what kind of Shogi I should play anymore.