"It looks like the result for the other match is out too, also 4-0. The winner is that 2-dan player."
Sainokami Ika checked the match commentary on her phone and informed them.
Two 9-dan players and a series of 8-dan players had all been eliminatednone made it to the finals.
This year's Ryuuou finals would be a showdown between two young players.
Genius One vs. Potential Man.
This was completely unexpected for many people.
Fortunately, the betting scene around shogi wasn't too big.
Otherwise, who knows how many people would be heading to the rooftop to "enjoy the breeze."
...
After Yukima Azuma finished his interview and returned, Sora Ginko immediately informed him about his opponent in the finals.
Hearing that his opponent was the Potential Man he had met in the qualifiers,
The corner of Yukima Azuma's mouth twitched slightly.
A plot straight out of a shounen manga.
Oh no, I'm turning into the villain!
What if, in the finals, I end up getting reverse-swept from 3-0 to 3-4?
Let's hope he doesn't suddenly start shouting: "With this treasure, I summon....."
If he does that, I'm running away immediately.
After all, I have no intention of getting punched by a Big Daddy in white whose catchphrase is "Nah, I'd Adapt."
Yukima Azuma shook his head and laughed.
Come to think of it, ever since the start of the Ryuuou tournament, Yukima Azuma had yet to lose a single match.
He had been winning straight through.
To be precise, since his return to the shogi world, he had never tasted defeat.
Outside, reporters from various news agencies were typing so furiously that their keyboards seemed to be on the verge of catching fire.
This year's Ryuuou finals were truly entertaining.
If Kawai Kenichithe 2-dan playerwon and claimed the Ryuuou title, it would be a historic milestone.
A true shounen story.
And if Yukima Azuma won
That, too, would be a new chapter in history.
Until now, in this country, no one had ever gone undefeated all the way from the qualifiers to claim the Ryuuou title.
Even the current Meijin had lost two games in his most recent Ryuuou tournament appearance.
No matter the outcome, this year's Ryuuou tournament was sure to become a hot topic of discussion.
Public opinion had already exploded like water boiling over on a stove.
Yet, the central figure of all this discussionYukima Azumaseemed to be completely at ease.
He wasn't locking himself in a room to analyze strategies.
Instead, he went to a film set.
The production team of Hikaru no Shogi had reached out to Yukima Azuma.
He agreed to participate in the filming, only requesting that they schedule it around his existing commitments.
The production team didn't even hesitate before agreeing.
After all, Yukima Azuma was just one step away from claiming the Ryuuou title.
If he won the championship before joining the cast
The hype would explode!
Yukima Azuma entrusted the contract negotiations to Laplace Corporation's staff.
He even lowered his own appearance fee in exchange for greater creative freedom.
Laplace Corporation also made an additional investment in the production.
With that arrangement
By the time Yukima Azuma arrived at the set, the director and most of the crew came out to personally welcome him.
( ^) $$$
"Yukima-sensei! Welcome, welcome."
The chief director, a man in his fifties, was a well-known figure in the industry.
Ordinarily, he only worked on large-scale film productions.
But because Hikaru no Shogi had investment from the Shogi Association, they were able to bring in a director of his caliber.
Amidst the warm welcome from the staff, Yukima Azuma stepped onto the set.
At this stage, the production team had largely completed the set construction, but several roles had yet to be cast.
Because of this, official filming had yet to begin.
However, before shooting could start, there were necessary preparations to be made
Memorizing scripts, practicing scenes with co-stars, and so on.
Especially for someone like Yukima Azuma, who had never acted before
He would need extra guidance.
Otherwise, a poor performance could kill the audience's immersion instantly.
"Kurokawa-san, come here for a moment."
The director called over Kurokawa Akane.
The young woman had been intently reading her script, but the moment she saw Yukima Azuma, she immediately set it down and walked over.
"This is Yukima-sensei. He has no prior acting experience, so I'll be counting on you to help him out."
"Yukima-sensei, this is Kurokawa Akane, a renowned acting prodigy in the industry"
Upon hearing the introduction,
The two exchanged knowing smiles.
After the director left
Yukima Azuma chuckled and said:
"Miss Guardian, so you're a genius, huh?"
Kurokawa Akane let out a soft snort.
"Genius? Please. I just work harder than most people. On the other hand, Azuma, you might be the real genius here."
"You've never acted before, yet you managed to fool a professional actress like me into running in circles."
( ,,'',,)
Hearing this, Yukima Azuma gave an awkward chuckle.
There was no helping ithe was actually feeling guilty.
Even though faking his suicide had been to save Kurokawa Akane, which was entirely justifiable,
Logically speaking, she should be grateful to him.
But using acting to intimidate a girl, then stealing her first kiss
There was just no way to justify that.
Fortunately, Kurokawa Akane didn't seem intent on "settling the score later."
"Let's go outside and practice in private."
Kurokawa Akane suggested.
Chapter 181: Fujiwara Chika Soft and Adorable
Chapter 181: Fujiwara Chika Soft and Adorable
"It's crowded and noisy here. Let's go outside and practice separately."
Kurokawa Akane suggested.
Yukima Azuma nodded.
After all, he had come to the film crew today just to "get familiar" and pick up the script.
Since filming hadn't started yet, it didn't really matter where they practiced.
And so, the two temporarily left the film crew.
The director, of course, had no objections.
"Let's find a caf with private rooms. Let me see..."
Kurokawa Akane held her phone and browsed for nearby cafs.
In the end, she chose a dessert shop.
Coincidentally, this shop was running an online promotion: making a reservation in advance would earn a 50% discount voucher.
The shop also had private rooms available for customers.
Yukima Azuma glanced at the menu prices and raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't it too cheap?
Even if they were offering discounts to attract customers, this was too much.
Moreover there was a faint feeling of being watched.
Yukima Azuma turned toward the source of that gaze.
He saw two familiar high school girls.
As soon as they made eye contact with Yukima Azuma, the two girls immediately turned away, embarrassed.
( ®®) !!
This made Yukima Azuma wonder if he was just imagining things.
After the two girls left
"Kaguya-sama, the target is moving to the designated location."
The two high school girls spoke into their collars.
At the dessert shop, Kurokawa Akane went to check the reservation and make the payment.
Meanwhile, Yukima Azuma searched for information about this shop.
After looking it up, he found that this dessert shop was part of a restaurant chain.
And while most people didn't know it,
This restaurant chain was actually owned by the Shinomiya Group.
In other words, this dessert shop was also part of the Shinomiya family's business.
Yukima Azuma immediately understood.
(_ ) Naruhodo.
"All done, let's go in."
Kurokawa Akane ran over, waving the receipt at Yukima Azuma.
Yukima Azuma smiled and nodded.
The two entered the private room inside.
The private rooms in the dessert shop were luxuriously decorated.
They looked nothing like ordinary customer seating.
Even Kurokawa Akane was amazed as she glanced around upon entering.
Before long, the server brought over the pre-ordered desserts.
Yukima Azuma ordered a slice of green grape cake and two donuts.
Kurokawa Akane only ordered a cup of black coffee.
And it was sugar-free, cream-free.
"Guardian, aren't you being too harsh on yourself?"
Yukima Azuma took a sip of the black coffee and stuck out his tongue.
He looked like he was suffering from the bitterness.
( ^)
Which made Kurokawa Akane chuckle.
( )
Since they had even shared meals in a "feeding each other" manner before, drinking from the same cup was no big deal.
After laughing, Kurokawa Akane took the coffee cup.
"I don't really have a choice." She shook her head helplessly. "I gain weight easily, so I have to control my calorie intake."
()
"A small bite won't hurt."
Yukima Azuma said as he scooped a small piece of the green grape cake, along with half a grape.
Then, he brought the spoonful of cake to Kurokawa Akane's lips.
"If it's just a small bite..." Kurokawa Akane was tempted.
After all, this was personally being fed to her by Yukima Azuma.
Her slender fingers brushed aside a stray lock of hair.
Kurokawa Akane's eyes locked onto Yukima Azuma's, her lips parted slightly, and she gently bit into the cake.
(®®)
()
The moment carried a hint of sensuality, yet it was also deeply moving.
After gazing at each other for a while, Kurokawa Akane was the first to break.
"Let's read the script!"
She quickly pulled out the script to cover her slightly flushed face.
(>/////< " )
Every time she looked directly into Yukima Azuma's eyes, memories of that stormy night in the motel replayed in her mind.
From the time they handholding and cuddled under the same blanket to the moment that cunning boy coaxed a kiss from her.
Back then, Kurokawa Akane had been able to stay calm, but in truth, the embarrassment had only been building up.
Now that her unusual mental state had subsided, all that accumulated embarrassment was rushing back.
It would probably take a long time to fully digest these emotions.
Yukima Azuma also took out his script and began reading from the beginning.
After he finished, Kurokawa Akane curiously asked, "Azuma, what do you think?"
Even though Yukima Azuma wasn't the scriptwriter,
He was a genius light novel author, so his opinion was worth considering.
"Umu it's pretty good."
Yukima Azuma gave an objective evaluation.
As a television drama script, it was clear that the screenwriter had put in a lot of effort, and the structure was well done.
If Yukima Azuma were to revise the script, he could certainly make it even more outstanding.
However, he had no intention of taking on the role of a screenwriter as well.
Moreover, even in his own assessment, the current script could already be considered excellent.
"Umu, then let's try acting out this scene."
Kurokawa Akane pointed to a scene in the script and said.
This scene takes place when the protagonist is seven years old and meets the spirit shogi player for the first time.
The boy is persuaded by the spirit shogi player to join the shogi association and accidentally defeats a prodigy who was about to enter the professional tournament.
The character of the spirit shogi player, played by Yukima Azuma, has many scenes in this segment.
Yukima Azuma memorized the lines for the scene.
Then, he began acting.
For now, Kurokawa Akane played the younger version of the protagonist to act alongside Yukima Azuma.
About fifteen minutes later, the rehearsal ended.
Yukima Azuma let out a breath and sighed in admiration.
Truly worthy of being called a genius actress.
Clearly, Kurokawa Akane had nothing in common with the character she was playingneither in age, appearance, nor gender.
Yet, the moment she got into character, Yukima Azuma felt as if he were truly standing before an innocent child.
Rather than saying they were acting together, it would be more accurate to say that Kurokawa Akane was guiding his performance.
She deliberately lowered her skill level to match Yukima Azuma.
"In this part, the emotions need to be expressed more intensely."
"And in this part, your expression was a bit stiff."
Kurokawa Akane summarized after the rehearsal.
Yukima Azuma listened attentively.
Before long...
[Notification: Your acting skill has reached the maximum level.]
[Acting (lv2) Acting (lv3).]
Kurokawa Akane noticed Yukima Azuma suddenly spacing out.
"Did I say too much?" She felt a little guilty. "Actually, you did really well. We can take it slow and practice gradually."
Yukima Azuma shifted his gaze away from the system interface.
He smiled slightly and shook his head.
"No, no, I just got a little distracted for a moment. What Guardian said was very helpful, I learned a lot."
Hearing this, Kurokawa Akane thought that Yukima Azuma was just being polite in complimenting her.
In reality, he probably hadn't absorbed much at all.
"Then, shall we try again?"
Yukima Azuma nodded.
The second round of acting began.
As soon as they started, Kurokawa Akane couldn't help but be surprised.
Compared to the previous time, he had improved significantly.
Although it hadn't reached the point of a complete transformation, the progress was visibly noticeable.
The issues she had pointed out earlier had all been adjusted well by Yukima Azuma.
Kurokawa Akane had never seen an actor...
Who could improve so quickly after just one performance.
The boy she had always thought about was truly a genius in acting.
...
The second rehearsal ended.
Kurokawa Akane was a bit excited.
)
"Azuma, you're amazing! This rate of improvement is just too fast!"
"With your current acting skills, you're already better than more than half of the actors in the industry!"
Yukima Azuma chuckled.
"It's thanks to Guardian's great teaching."
"No, it's because you have talent! There are still a few minor issues this time, for example, here"
"Umu umu, I'll think about it more. Ah, right, excuse me for a moment, I need to go to the restroom."
"Alright."
Yukima Azuma stood up and stepped out of the private room.
In the hallway, he glanced at the system's status screen, checking his acting skill progression.
The increase was terrifyingly fast.
After all, he was being taught by a professional, and his skill level was still low.
