Volume 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)
/To the association
”T-this is…the Shogi association…!”
We arrived before the Kansai Shogi association, and Ai looked really impressed as she said this
”It's so…so recognizable!”
”Because the words 'Shogi association' on the wall are really large, aren't they?”
From the Osaka Train Station, we took one stop down the Osaka Loop Line to fukushi+ma From that fukushi+ma station, it would be a two
This is the location of the japanaese Shogi association, Kansai branch–normally called the 'association'
We ca Group Test, and also, for my official match
Anedeshi+ left in a huff on the previous day, while Ai and I stayed at Master's house We enjoyed the piping hot breakfast prepared by Keika, returned to my house for some preparations, and came here
”Ca-can anyone…really come in?”
”The first floor has restaurants and shop, the second floor is the dojo, and for the 3rd floor and onwards, it's prohibited for everyone except for those authorized Let's go then”
”Y-yes!”
I prompted Ai in, and she boldly took a step forward
The door opened
And standing right in front of us was anedeshi+
An aard atered
”…Loli king”
She ht at my ear as I passed her, opened her parasol, and hurried off somewhere What's with this new title…
Master's order was that I was to have a disciple (te Ai and me a frosty, snowy look It's basically Ai and the Snow Queen here
As I was given Master's per more stubborn than usual
We watched anedeshi+ vanish into the buzz of thecrowd, and Ai tilted her head,
”…Why is aunt here?”
”Probably here to sign soi player…also, don't call her aunt in front of her”
Or else ered, you know?
We entered the building, and Ai squealed, running to the shops on the right side
”Ai books?”
There was a shop in the corner of the building, filled with all kinds of shogi-related books and goods, even signed books If possible, please drop by to have a look
”Woah, the shogi board and pieces are a…ehh!? The board needs, 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000…a 1,000,000 Yen!?”
Wah! Wah! Ai excitedly pressed her head against the glass display, like the boy fro at the trued part-tiister narrowed her eyes, looking at this cheery scene
What left Ai most excited was—
”Master! Master! They sell fans here!”
”Yeah they do”
Topselling itei player, because when one holds the!
”Woah…there's so many difficult kanji! (>_<>
Ai opened a sa the words written on it Those were kanji that were soraders, and she tilted her head, ”Ehh?”
”How do I read this one?”
”'A Thousand Gold in One Stride' It means that soold pieces, a classic saying in shogi” (TN: 一歩千金)
”And this? Fl…?”
”This is 'flight' Probably ression” (TN: 飛翔)
”And this?”
”'Chaos'” (TN: 混沌)
”What does this mean?”
”Er like that?”
”Why is such a thing written on the fan?”
”…Who knows?”
Calligraphy words are chosen by the shogi players, and sos are only beknownst to the person Just to note, what Master wrote on his fan was 'My prime shall come tomorrow' So cool
”…This isn't it…this isn't it either…”
”What are you looking for?”
”Do all the shogi players have signed fans?”
”Not all Just the popular ones”
”Popular ones?”
”Like past grandmasters, or A-list players…title players too basically have signed fans”
Ai's expression immediately lit up
”So you have a fan too, Master?”
”Nn? Ah, yeah…”
I slipped the saap in the cupboard so that Ai wouldn't find it
Honestly, 's really distinct
”Scu is scum too LOLOLOLOL”
”This will be an eenerations…”
”If it's ht there”
No way can I let such extraordinary samples be seen by Ai when they caused quite a commotion on the internet
…Not like I could have helped it Even I never expected to win the title…if I did, I would have practicedmore often
”Eh…well~ there was one here Yep, ht be sold out!”
”You're really popular, Master! As expected of you!”
”Hahaha, let's go upstairs, shall we?”
I laughed, and left the shop
I need to put the fan back later…
Registering the new disciple
We went up the stairs to the second level
”Shogi dojo',the words there, and Ai tugged hard at my sleeve
Ai's eyes were glittering with expectations as she looked at me
I could only give a wry smile
”Before that, we need to apply for the Training Group Test in the office upstairs Introduce you to the other staff members too”
”Nn~!”
”You'll be able to play immediately”
While Ai continued to ed her from behind and left the dojo
I used to be like that too…as I indulged in my memories, I went up to the 3rd floor
The office's at this floor, and athered here
”Pardon us”
”Ah, Yaichi-kun…no, Kuzuryuu-sensei Good ”
Greeting h to be honest, I have been here for more than a decade, and there's no one I didn't know It was one of the reeted me
When I was younger, I often angered him, so tofeeling
The staff are in charge of the running of the associations, so in a certain sense, they're i players
It's fine if there are five or ten players , but without one of these people, it's possible that there won't be any matches
I gave my most sincere smile possible, and introduced Ai
”I cairl…were you notified?”
”Ah, yes, heard about it, heard about it”
The staffas she stood beside me,
”Sora-sensei just dropped by and said, 'A pervert who tried to i by later Please call the police once you see him'”
That Ginko…
”A-anedeshi+ sure likes to joke huh!? Me iht?”
”I thought so too”
”Isn't that obvious?”
Hahaha, we laughed heartily
”And so? Who's this cute little lady here?”
”Uchideshi+!”
Before I could answer, Ai answered heartily I was left hanging
””Eh?””
Everyone present echoed in unison
They didn't appear to be listening, but they were…hey, so for the phone What's with this reaction? Some skit?
”U-Uchideshi+? Kuzuryuu-sensei? At this age? An eleirl?”
”No, erm, well…”
Since it turned out this way, I guessed I could only just insist all the way, ”Yes, that's right? Got a problem with that?” I nodded nonchalantly with that attitude
”Yep, our school's directive”
”A-ahh…Kiyotaki's…”
Anedeshi+ and I are rather fa, so it'snot rare forin uchideshi+s Not at all!
”I have Master's letter here”
”Yes…”
”Well, anyway, she'll be staying atGroup Test is over”
I checked the schedule of the test as I explained how Ai ca Group so that she could becootiated this with her parents
”Isn't it Spring break now? It's better for her development if she stays in Osaka to focus on it Once she passes, she probably will return to her home in Hokuriku”
”Ahh, I see–”
The staff h of relief At this moment–
”Eh? I want to continue staying at your house, Master!”
A nerve-wrecking atain, and I felt anxious
”Eh, Ai-Ai-chan Wait…”
”I'! I can cook, clean the house and clothes! If-if Master wants to…I's too…”
Chatters
”Heeeeeyyyyooooo enough with those words that can be taken for another , okay!? I didn't say that at all!? Got it!?”
”B-but…'try out little girls'…”
”Kuzuryuu-sensei…”
”No no no no!! That's just anedeshi+ being all petty again!”
I really, really did my best to try and explain this I didn't accept this kid as !! I'm serious!!
”And besides, I like mature women like Keika; I don't have any interest in kids at all! You know right!? We know each other for a long time already!”
”…Understood I shall trust you on this, sensei”
It seemed the staff finally believed my words, and the trust I've built up for more than ten years finally prevailed The i player is credibility
Everything settled, I intended to leave the office, but the staff ri,
”Kuzuryuu-sensei”
”Yes?”
”…Is this really fine?”
He didn't trust me at all~
association's Dojo
We left the office, and Ai exhaled deeply,
”Ahh…I was so nervous there!”
”Me too…”
A singlein society, and I was really tense However, it's not that I didn't have a feeling that I mishandled this
I struck first before the strange rumors would spread, but ould happen as a result…?
Well, it's pointless to be worrying about this
A shogi player's job is to read the moves, but even pro players misread moves in matches In the end, there are soht, and would just do their best, and leave everything else to fate
”Anyway, Master”
”Hm?”
”What is the Training, Group?”
I barelyon the stairs
”Wait…I explained a lot, a lot of times yesterday!”
”E-erm…the okonomiyaki was too yummy…so…”
Ai excused herself as her fingers rubbed on the handrail Well, Keika's okonoirl here ate three of the?
”…The Training Group is like a school that grooainst people ai, you can increase your ranking”
”Increase ranking by ranking…it's like a game, isn't it?”
”Well, shogi is a game”
The board gao, is the i
”You start off with F rank when you enter, then E2, E1, D2, D1, C2, and once you get to C1, you'll get the right to be a female player”
”Once I becoi as ht Master?”
”You won't get as many matches as that for a pro player, but simply put, that should be the case”
”Then what's the difference between a pro player and a female player?”
”It's a long story, so I'll explain to you next time”
I pointed my thumb at the dojo entrance on the second floor,
”This is where you're interested in right now, right?”
”Yes!”
I opened the door to the dojo, and stepped in with my disciple (temp)
All I saere kids in the dojo
Typically,around at this ti Break just started for the Public Schools, and there were i present, the enthusiastic sounds of shogi playing music to my ears
Looking around, I saw that they were all elementary school kids? Students of the kids classroom?
”I want to register a 'match record card' for this kid–”
I was about to introduce Ai to the staff at the counter of the dojo,
But,
A group of kids looked at me in unison, and said,
”Dr-”
Dr?
”Dragon King!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!””
Isn't that too much of a direct translation, kids?
”An autograph please!” ”Please sign this!” ”Sign! Sign!” ”Dragekin, let's play!”
The kids swar, knocking, pushi+ng, kicking me These kids showed no respect or concern toall sorts of selfish requests
I forgot as Ai's a really good girl, but ele ekin!
”Okay okay! Line up in a single file…no, in three!!”
I had the kids line up in trios, and called Ai, as opposite the table There were three shogi boards on the table
One person to take on three—three-pronged
”If you can beat her, you can have raph”
”Who?” ”Who's that girl~?”
”My disciple (temp)”
”Disciple? Little Dragon! Is Little Dragon Strong?”
”Really strong”
”So if we can beat Little Dragon, we can get the autograph?” ”Hoe play?”
”How huh? Hm, let's see…no handicaps”
I moved a swivel chair over, and had Ai sit down
”Ai, I want you to play against three at the same time Can you do it?”
”O-okay!”
Ai seehty!” but she proceeded to roll her sleeves, and got into battle position, and iot ready for battle
The first wave of trio hurriedly lined the pieces, and Ai lined up three boards worth, looking very busy
””Please take care of me!””
They lined up the pieces, and the an
I checked the kids' record cards that were placed at the middle side of the table It's like a dojo reen card that has the name, dojo rank, and the recent match records
”The one at the upper table is a second dan, and the rest are kyu ranks…now that, how many matches can you win?”
When playing against many simultaneously, it's hard to concentrate on one, and even with a difference in ability, it's hard to beat every single one
However, Ai was invincible
Typically, any kid would play whateverall kinds ofmoves were often played
On the other hand, Ai was holding tightly onto the hem of her skirt as she read the moves faster than anyone else She was extremely cautious A born player
Compared to the kids here, her talent's a whole different dimension
”Little Dragon's so strong!” ”We can't beat her…”
In forty minutes, she killed off twelve players
I thought she would lose once or twice, but she beat them all…
”Haa…haa…th-thank you very much…!”
Once Ai beat the last person, she bowed and thanked the furiously It seemed it took her a lot of physical exhaustion as she ivelling around on the chair, playing against the shogi
”Sen-sensei, her ranking is…?”
The staff of the dojo askedpale
”Sec…no, please register her as first dan Ah, here's the attendance fee She'll be spending the entire day here playing shogi”
Given her ability, I could have registered her as a second or third dan, but I hope that she'll be able to experience the joy of winningher rank This is
Looking at this normally however, it's very abnormal to see someone with the ability of an amateur first dan
”Ai!”
I received the record card fro over toflipped, and her white panties were exposed
”It's your record card Try filling it hite stars, okay?”
”…Yes!!”
First dan, Ai Hinatsuru-dono, reen card, and raised it up with both hands as though it was a treasure, giving a delighted smile
Showing up! Silver Knight!
”Here, drink up”
”Yes! Tucking in ♡”
I bought a packet of orange juice at the vending ulped it down through the straw It's easy to get thirsty while playing shogi
”Fuah! …Master, do you have any matches today? At what time?”
”About 10am or so”
”Eh!? Is it really fine for you to hang around here!?”
”Hang around…well, isn't there still another fifteen minutes?”
There's basically nothing to prepare for before a i board way too early Besides, it's a four hour long title Ranked round-robin ht (TN: 帝位戦リーグ)
If I were to go all out right away, I'll be likely to tire out
”The match venue is just above here I'll just head there when it's almost time”
”Y-you can't! You have to reach there five minutes before it starts!”
Ai pushed et me upstairs Didn't I say there's another fifteen minutes?
”Ah, maybe you want to have a look at the venue?”
”Is that okay?”
”You can co with me”
The match venues on the fourth floor and beyond typically aren't open to public…but the Kansai Shogi association provides a service for dojo users to attend officialAlso, if there's prior booking, anyone can lease the match venue (with payment)
”This is the 'match board' There's the names of the nets”
We walked to the fifth floor, and I started explaining various things to Ai
”Once the match ended, the loser has to move his nameplate to a lower position This is a system to indicate the results”
”Oh…”
Ai, who had been tentative all this while, was interested in this after all I could see her eyes sparkling
”Master…are you at the Upper Room? Ho-how do I read this?” (TN: Ai can't read the full name)
”It's the Upper Tier Room” (TN: おんじょうだんのま, Onjoudannnoma 御上段の間 Yes, these are actual locations inside the place, jawikipediaorg/wiki/E5B086E6A38BE4BC9AE9A4A8E38395E383ADE382A2_2 and yes, that is the actual place in Osaka )
”And the opponent is…Kami, Kami…erm, how do I read this?”
”6th dan Ayu player from Kansai” (TN: Just to note, the kanji for Ayu, 歩, means pawn)
I was about to remove my shoes, ready to show her the room, and at that moment!
”Fufufu…this is uise on this word My actual name is…!” (TN: The term actual name here, 真名(マナ), is an archaic form)
”Y-you're–”
I turnedbefore us was a person in white He covered his noble-like face with a hand, ht eye with colored contact lens between his fingers as he soleave his name!!”
”A shogi player and a Knight! I aht'–God Cauldron Ayumu!”
At this reeted him,
”Ah, good , Kannabe-sensei”
”IT'S God CAULDRON!!” (TN: Kannabe (神鍋), taking both kanji words separately, literally translates as God Cauldron)
This 6th dan God Cauldron (aged 18) really seemed to insist on this name
The staff didn't h it was per usual It's hard to be a staffwith such weirdos
”Goodness…Westerners (Kansai People) are a bother They lack grace…”
As he said that, Ayunet with the name 'Kannabe', and swapped it with the 'God Cauldron' Did he bring this along? Not bad…
Upon seeing Ayumu, Ai (and only her) immediately paled
”Master! Th-that person…is wearing a mantle!?””…Yep A mantle”
”This is the first time I've seen one!”
It's the first tii match…
'Hoh…little girl! Surely you have outstanding talent in shogi (taste) to notice this mantle I cannot say that I cannot allow you to join our Kanto Knights Division”
God Cauldron Ayuht arm, and flapped the white mantle
He basically looks–like a noble!
The shogi world is divided into 'Kanto', which Ayu to
The Kanto Shogi association is located near the youth streets of Harajuku, and has three times the number of affiliated players to Kansai's Most of the title holders are Kanto players, so most of the rookies and veterans are from Kanto
In contrast to the stylish, trendy Kanto players, the Kansai players are considered barbaric and pesky for choosing to deviate fro full-scale skirmishes, and are treated as bandits
”Us Kanto players have a delicate and fresh style of play! Young girl, if you want to learn, choose our Kanto's style of play that seeks to hone our skills in the name of research!”
”I-I'ive in to someone like you!”
My disciple couldn't say my name properly
”Fufufu…hahaha! So the Ryuuou's (Dragekin) life shall come to an end today! Enjoy your short master-disciple relationshi+p while you can!”
”What did you say?”
Really, this God Cauldron-sensei was able to instantly get along with nine-year-old kids, the perfect candidate to prouy who spread the nicknast the kids
I kept a slight distance, physically and mentally, from the duo ere in a mood to duke it out, and asked,
”Ayumu, where did you buy that mantle?”
”Blue Mountain”
You could have just said Aoyama It's not like it's coffee Anyway, they really do sell everything in Tokyo, huh…? (TN: Aoyas: , Blue Mountain Coffee of Ja/wiki/Jamaican_Blue_Mountain_Coffee)
”They also sell black ones of the same style I can buy one for you”
”Master! You have a black one!?”
”Thanks, but no thanks”
I showed my intent, and Ayumu looked a little dejected, ”I see…” Ai too looked sad Did they really want me to wear a mantle…
”Hmph…whatever”
Ayumu flipped the mantle when there was no need to do so
”I shall be waiting for you in the Upper Room!” (TN: And this Chuu2 can't read it either…)
”It's the Upper Tier Room'”
Fhahahaha…he gave a pretentious laugh, and vanished Ai looked at me
”Master! Are you familiar with that weird person?”
”Familiar…well, we often met in the past”
The shogi world's a s to be professionals often , and once for i associations
Once we becaainst the same opponents for the rest of our lives This is our destiny as shogi players
”Ayumu's older thanto be pro players at around the same time, so it kinda feels like we're classmates”
”I see! So a rival!?”
”Rival huh Well, I'll be honoured if that's the thought…”
Ayumu's in Kanto, and I'm in Kansai While our bases are different, it's a fact that both of us strongly knew of each other's presence since young People often talked about hoere fated rivals in our past lives or so
But Ayuainst me reached its peak when I became the Ryuuou
It's not that he let a rival, a peer, overtake him…not at all
He, who declared hiht, saw this 'Ryuuou' as a symbol of evil, a demon lord to be taken down In other words—
Ryuuou, Dragon King = Demon = Me
Knight = Holy = Himself à I have to beat him! ( ` •w• ' )
So it seemed Really impressive
”He was already someone with either some noble-like tendencies or Chuu2 ot worse when he became a pro player and had money to use”
”So he bought that mantle?”
”He's been on a winning streak recently, and thestreak and the win rate awards will be taken by hiing for the title will increase massively…I can't say that I' streak…Ryuuou's going to get taken down…”
”That's not true! You're the strongest, Master!”
–Strongest?
Every shogi player has such a thought to such an extent, or else, it'll be i in the world of pro shogi Due to consecutive defeats and ridicule on the internet, my self-confidence was rattled
However, after I was called 'the strongest', I felt soi players are actually quite simple-minded
”Master! I hope you'll win!!”
”Haha…I'll do my best”
With ive a wry smile, and walked towards the
Start of the match
There are three i association–'The Black Library'
This level is an imitation of the Edo's Castle Black Academy (said to be an actual place), and there are the 'Upper Tier Room', 'Lower Tier Room', and the 'Lotus Rooher tier, a rooh ranked could use, the i association, and also the place enerals and officials There was one built in Nijo Castle, but as the text here implies, I can't tell if there's one in Edo Castle)
'Man Obeys Earth'
'Earth Obeys Sky'
'Sky Obeys Tao' (TN: 人法地 地法天 天法道, quote from the Laozi, a classical Taoist text There isn't a proper translation of this out there, so I thought I should just contribute mine)
There's the three pieces of fa at the only lower seat of the 'Upper Tier Rooracefully sipped at so a tea cup and saucer
”Fuu…so the fearless fool has arrived”
”Of course I did It's a match”
I walked to the upper seat, knelt on the thin cushi+on,sure I was comfortable as I took off my watch and put it on the tatalasses, and water (TN: As a reets the upper seat, while the challenger gets the lower seat)
If it's that soft, expensive cushi+on, s would numb easily, and it would be uncomfortable An old cushi+on like this was more comfortable Some players would request for special cushi+ons fro elsewhere
Every player has their own habits when it comes to preparations before the match
Some would rub their eyes, some would close the their favorite tea set and leaves along, and brew so (anions generators) Basically, they just had to make sure that it wouldn't be too loud
There's a long table placed by the side of the shogi board, and the 'recorder' in charge of keeping the ti the moves The board set and the cushi+ons were also provided by the recorder
Seeing that it was time, I said
”Let's get arranging”
”Right”
I put on lasses, and reached for the pieces box on the board, taking out the contents in the silk bag It's the job of the higher rank to take out the pieces from the board
After that, we arranged the pieces accordingly
The arranging styles can basically be classified into two different ones, 'Ito Order' and 'Ohashi+ Order', the latter being the mainstream Just to note, I'm the Ohashi+ style, and Ayue Gold generals, silver generals and then knights for both styles For Ito, the player places 5 the pawns (froht), 6 the lances, 7 bishop, 8 and rook In Ohashi+, it's 5 Lances, 6 Bishop, 7 Rook 8 pawns (starting froht until the board is filled)
Once ere done arranging, the recorder told us
”Starting first, Kannabe-sensei”
”Please call me God Cauldron”
He carried out a fanored) A few minutes before the , and ourat full speed
”It's now 10ain the match”
””Please take care of me!””
Both competitors bow to each other in respect, and Ayumu made the first move He slowly removed his mantle, which he did not before theto him, and in other words, respect for the opponent To be honest, I wished he stopped with that It's rattling me
I immediately made the second move
The order of turns for today's y at home We played fast, and a certain formation developed on the board
And then, it finally showed up on the board
Ayurin as he looked at me
”Kukuku…do you think you're able to beat my iron 'citadel'?”
Isn't it just a Fortress? (TN: Fortress, 矢仓, yagura, a for)
”6th dan Kannabe, forura…”
In contrast to the highly agitated Ayu a record, and it looked really surreal
Right, a watching reporter
It's the ier for one of the seven azine reporters, and even mainstreai column in the newspapers, isn't there? That's the place
Till this point, Ayu this, it'll be a pathway towards the role of the challenger
In contrast, I lost every match, and it's decided that I wouldn't participate in the next Tournaroup stage