In short, I was reincarnated into the world of "Ryūō no Oshigoto!" (The Ryūō's Work!). [Note: This work focuses on the game of Shogi (Japanese chess) and the lives of professional players.]
I was not strong at Shogi in my previous life. I was passionate about Shogi for one year during university, and my level improved from 5-kyu to approximately 3-dan amateur, but I was always ranked third or fourth within the university Shogi club.
After deciding to get a decent job, in the spring of my twenty-second year, just as I was about to become a fresh graduate, I died in a traffic accident. I found myself reincarnated, and I began playing Shogi again. One reason was that I believed if I possessed an amateur 3-dan level by the age of three, I could reach professional status.
The other reason is that the supercomputer residing in my head is nagging me to play Shogi. Its name is "Ai" (AI). Initially, I thought it was the personality inhabiting the original body, but since I am a man in this life as well, and "Ai" was impossibly strong at Shogi from the start, I assumed it was my unique reincarnation feature.
In elementary school, I couldn't blend in with the surrounding atmosphere, and I lived all the time as an "invisible person." After transitioning to middle school, I joined the training group (Shoreikai). I started from 1-kyu and won 24 consecutive games to reach the Third Tier (San Dan).
I don't want to be misunderstood; there is a difference between the Third Tier in the traininggroup and 3-dan amateur. You only need to consider that 4-dan amateur roughly equals 6-kyu in the training group.
Naturally, my current skill level is no longer capable of keeping up, so I rely entirely on "Ai." This entity barely offered me any advice before joining the association, but it has become bothersome since the admission test.
「Here, you must place a pawn on square 7-3. 7-5-Knight is also good, but 7-3-Pawn is the best. Move quickly. Let's win today's Third-Tier League match without exhausting the thinking time!」
(No, wouldn't it be better to start consuming some time? Personally, all I want is to live a quiet life.)
「Prohibited. Do you want me to revert to the 'broken speaker' mode?」
(Stop! You caused me a week of insomnia last time! Ah, fine, fine! I'll move! I'll place the pawn on square 7-3!)
I picked up the pawn from the spare pieces and placed it "with a click" on the head of the silver piece. My opponent's expression looked tense, and they entered a prolonged period of thought. The thinking time in the Third-Tier League is short, being 90 minutes per player.
I suddenly glanced at the clock and found that my remaining time was [01:27] while my opponent's remaining time was [00:02].
...After that, I quietly continued moving the pieces according to the instructions. Does Hikaru in "Hikaru no Go" [Note: A famous anime focusing on the strategic game of Go] feel this way if he leaves everything entirely to Sai? In my case, I will revert to being just a weak player once "Ai" disappears, so I hope it never vanishes.
In the 102nd move, I moved the Knight next to the King, completely cornering the opponent's King. In the Third-Tier League, it usually takes a long time because most players use their full thinking time until the King is cornered. This is understandable when considering that the opponent might collapse from food poisoning or die from a heart attack.
「...I resign.」
「Thank you for the game.」
In the end, the opponent admitted defeat and bowed. I am truly sorry. Every time I win, I wonder if someone like me deserves to win. This specific opponent, if he had won against me, would have secured his promotion to the Fourth Tier. But because of my victory, he fell back to the Third Tier.
(I came to the final match with a perfect winning streak, and even if I lost one game, promotion to the Fourth Tier would still be fine. Nevertheless, "Ai" does not allow losing.)
「Pass the Third-Tier League with a perfect winning streak! A perfect winning streak! Six wins in the Shoreikai admission test, 24 wins until the Third-Tier League, and 18 wins in the Third-Tier League—that makes 48 consecutive wins!」 (Ai)
(...Haha. Will the media make a fuss again? I'm an introvert, and interviews are impossible for me.)
「That is fine. I have prepared a script for such moments. You can handle reporters just by reading the words inside your head.」 (Ai)
(By the way, won't the original story change if things reach this point? I silently love the character Yachi, and I want him to become the Ryūō.)
「That is not a problem either. In fact, you already know that Kuzuryū Yaichi won the Ryūō Battle qualifiers.」 (Ai)
The protagonist of the original story, Kuzuryū Yaichi, is the same age as me, but he has already passed the Third-Tier League. He has already won the Ryūō Battle qualifiers, but the ranking league is about to start, and perhaps we will meet.
...When I faced my colleague from the same promotion generation in the Ryūō Battle, I had to lose deliberately, and "Ai" was understanding of that. Although negotiations were difficult, it becomes compliant when it realizes that I will not concede no matter how hard it struggles.
In other words, passing the Third-Tier League with a perfect winning streak and being celebrated as a "Shogi genius" is not entirely a bad thing. What can I do? I am human, after all. I have a desire to be celebrated.
Originally, I avoided joining the training group until middle school because I wanted to join at the 1-kyu rank to stand out. The sole motivation behind sharpening my teeth so fiercely was my desire to join the association as a 1-kyu after gaining strength roughly equivalent to 2-dan in the training group, and then immediately be promoted to 1-dan (Shodan).
...But I no longer need to use that strength. Quite frankly, playing is easier when I rely on "Ai" and secure quick victories, and I want to win one or two titles to live a comfortable and prosperous life.
「I also want to meet a nice female professional player and exchange feelings with her. Oh, how many consecutive wins will cause a media sensation after turning professional?」
「Wait, your inner voice is leaking! Also, what kind of bombshell statement is the fifth middle school professional Shogi player making?」 (Yaichi)
「What!? Kuzuryū. Did my inner voice really leak?」
「It leaked badly! You're lucky that I'm the only one here.」 (Yaichi)
「...How could you find my favorite spot? Even though it's a place that's difficult for anyone to discover.」
「I don't think there's anything difficult to discover in the narrow Kansai Shogi Hall, is there?」 (Yaichi)
I stared fixedly at Kuzuryū Yaichi in front of me, feeling annoyed because he was somewhat handsome. This person will take Hinatsuru Ai as an apprentice and start living with her under the same roof next year, won't he?
(Why is the probability of me running into Kuzuryū so high? Tell me, my mentor "Ai".)
(Isn't it simply that the wavelength between Master and Yaichi is identical, since you are just two introverted, virginal, and Shogi-obsessed individuals?) (Ai)
(Well, I might be, but Kuzuryū lives under the same roof with Sora-san. He also has wide social connections, so it is difficult to describe him as an introvert. And aside from Kuzuryū, I am not obsessed with Shogi.)
Kuzuryū is senior to me as a professional player. He is certainly going to keep winning in this year's Ryūō Battle. I don't know what will happen because of me, but I believe in the "power of world correction." If there is no power to correct the world... will I become the Ryūō?
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