E-Book, Englisch, Band 4, 250 Seiten
Shiratori The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done! Volume 4
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-7183-6362-5
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
E-Book, Englisch, Band 4, 250 Seiten
Reihe: The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done!
ISBN: 978-1-7183-6362-5
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Things heat up in the Shogi world as Yaichi and company enter their next battleground: the Mynavi Women's Open! As the largest Women's Shogi competition, the tournament is the perfect place for apprentices, players, and masters alike to make a name for themselves. For Ai Hinatsuru, it's the opportunity to prove she's a serious competitor on a national stage. For Ai Yashajin, it's the stage to funnel her pride into a decisive victory against rivals. And for Keika Kiyotaki, it's the chance at victory that might finally turn her dream into real-life opportunity.
But just as they begin to make headway, Yaichi appears live on stream with a new contender at his side...and the next day he's off to Harajuku with another girl too! The competition is as stiff as the climb up Shogi ranks is steep-and they'll need every bit of skill and determination they've got to make the climb!
Weitere Infos & Material
First Tournament
“Whoa! Ai, Mount Fuji’s right out the window?!”
Mount Fuji comes into view in the middle of our trip to Tokyo on the bullet train and I try to get my apprentice to take a look.
“Come on, Ai. It’s really beautiful!”
“...”
“Want me to get a picture for you?”
“Master.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m trying to focus. Please be quiet.”
“S-Sorry...”
I just shrink back into my chair, the Master scolded by his own apprentice...
My first apprentice has her shoes off, sitting on her heels in the window seat at the end of our three-seat row. But rather than looking outside, her nose is buried in a book of Shogi puzzles she has in her hands.
She’s already moved on from the three-step solutions, through the five-step ones and on to the sevens at a blistering pace. People who don’t know what she’s doing might think she’s just flipping through the pages.
And in the row in front of her, “My Lady! Please allow me to photograph you in front of Mount Fuji!! A picture to remember this trip by!!”
“...Stop this, Akira. We’re on a train. It’s embarrassing...”
My second apprentice, Ai Yashajin, and her bodyguard, Akira, are taking pictures.
It’s the middle of July. Elementary schools are out for summer and today’s the first day.
We left for Tokyo on the first bullet train early this morning.
As for why—
“This is Ai’s first tournament. There’s nothing you can do if she wants to concentrate,” Keika offers a kind word from her aisle seat as I wallow in despair.
We’re all going to Tokyo to participate in a Shogi tournament.
But this isn’t just any tournament. It’s the largest competition in the Women’s Shogi world and determines who’s the best of the best. A once-a-year tournament that any girl, woman or grandma can enter.
—The Mynavi Women’s Open.
“That being said, now might be a good time to talk about today.”
“O-Oh, great idea! All right everyone, meeting time!”
With a little support from Keika, I work up the courage to say, “Take a break from those puzzles!” to my first apprentice. Then, I address my second apprentice and Akira. “Stand up for a second so I can spin these seats around!” I press the lever and
Now that all six seats are facing each other, we can get started.
“Uh...ahem. Being that this is your first Shogi tournament, it’s my job as your Master to give you some important advice...Hey, Ai! Put that book down! And Ai, take off your eye mask! I’m talking here, now’s not the time to go to sleep?!”
“Listen, you two. You’re good girls, so listen to what Yaichi has to say.”
“Yeees.”
“...Fine. What is it?”
The two grade schoolers finally sit up straight to listen after Keika asks them. But I’m the Master...
“Uhh...I’ll get right to it. The most important thing to keep in mind during a tournament!”
I get back on track and impart the best advice a Master can give.
That’s—
“Don’t break any rules!! That is all!!”
Ai Hinatsuru’s eyes go wide as Ai Yashajin snorts through her nose like laughing off a bad joke.
“That’s the most obvious thing I’ve ever heard. You don’t have to tell me. Seriously, I’m not stupid.”
“That’s what everybody thinks is going in. But you’d be surprised how often it happens.”
“Like Double Pawn?”
“Sometimes, but it’s usually simple stuff like forgetting to press the chess clock after your turn and running out of waiting time. There are lots of rules to follow off the Shogi board. People get nervous and forget about the little things.”
“...”
Both of them look skeptical.
It might be hard to believe since rule breaking in pro matches only happens once in a blue moon, but in a tournament like this where there’s hardly any waiting time and you have to press the chess clock on your own, rule violations you’d never expect tend to pop up.
“You only have fifteen minutes of waiting time for this tournament and only thirty seconds per move once that’s over. That’s much, much less than the Practice League. You’ll be playing some new people too, so stay sharp.”
“In the Practice League, there’s thirty minutes of waiting time and then one-minute Shogi once it’s gone so...That’s very short!”
“Shogi parlors play with ten-second Shogi, so I couldn’t care less.”
My first apprentice seems a bit nervous, but Ai Yashajin sounds almost bored.
She always marches to the beat of her own drum, so this is nothing new. But I’ve never seen Ai Hinatsuru this zoned in.
Sure, it’s her first-ever Shogi tournament, but still...
“Ai. I know this is your first one, but you can relax a bit. Plenty of Women’s League players show up for the Mynavi Women’s Open, but there are lots of amateurs playing too. That’s where we’re heading right now: the . Most of the participants are amateurs.”
“Challenge...?”
“It’s the preliminaries of the Preliminaries. Didn’t you read the orientation manual?”
“O-Of course I did! ...But there were some really hard words in there that I couldn’t read...”
Ai Yashajin takes one heck of a dig at my first apprentice, and Ai Hinatsuru’s defense is adorable.
The two of them are still in fourth grade. Ai Hinatsuru hasn’t even been playing Shogi for a year yet.
“...Ai is right. The challenge matches determine who participates in the preliminary match two weeks from today. The Finals are after that. The winner gets a chance to go against the Queen titleholder—in other words, Naniwa’s Snow White.”
But of course, there’s no way these two will get that far.
First off, they’re a year younger than Big Sis was when she took the title.
Then there’s the fact that the Women’s League is much more competitive now than it was then and, as talented as these two girls are, there’s no guarantee they’ll make it through the challenge matches.
I only encouraged them to participate because I was thinking this would be fun for their summer break and it might be nice to get some experience at the same time. Some good memories, nothing more than that.
Pretty soon....
“Anyway, just don’t break any rules, all right? Do your best and everything will work out.”
My pep talk over, Keika speaks up from the chair next to me, “Yaichi. May I say a few words?”
“Ah, sure. Go right ahead...”
Keika has been playing in these challenge matches for years, so her advice will be much more relevant than whatever I have to say. Thanks for the help!
“Women’s League players and amateurs will be playing in today’s challenge matches. Of course, the Women’s League players are very good...But it’s the amateurs you should be afraid of. So don’t let your guard down when you’re playing against one of them.”
“Whaa? Aren’t all the in the Women’s League there because they’re good?”
“Tell me, Ai. What kind of people do you think are amateurs?”
“People...not in the Women’s League?”
“That’s right. But that includes Practice League members like us and the classes above ours...C-1- and B-ranking members are also playing.”
“Whaaa?”
Ai sounds like she doesn’t understand.
“But C-1...Can’t they join the Women’s League?! Why don’t they?!”
“Should someone choose to leave the Practice League at that point, they’ll join the Women’s League with a rank. But that’s just a temporary license.”
“Temporary?”
“Yes. If they don’t win enough matches within two years to promote to , they’ll have to go back to the Practice League and try again.”
“Huuuh?!”
As a member of the Practice League herself, Ai is shocked to hear the harsh truth.
“T-That’s horrible...Just when they got into the Women’s League too...”
“Rough, don’t you think? That’s why some people spend more time in the Practice League to build up their skills before registering or graduate first because they can’t miss their classes while still in school...Everyone has their reasons. It’s a life-changing decision...”
“Hah! Those are just excuses for weaklings.” Ai Yashajin laughs. “Professional matches are at a much higher level than the Women’s League, and plenty of those players do well enough to make their mark while still in high school or college. Being qualified but choosing not to register just proves they’re not totally committed to Shogi. I won’t believe those excuses for a moment!”
“...Yes. You may be right,” Keika quietly agrees. “To be completely honest, I don’t think you’re wrong. Even if I were in college, if I had a chance to become Women’s League 3-...I’d join even if it meant dropping out. However...”
...