In the adjacent waiting room.
The central TV in the room was broadcasting the match live.
Shogi matches were broadcast with move-by-move analysis to help viewers understand more easily.
Even though the audience might have basic knowledge of shogi, keeping up with the level of professional players was still no easy task.
In addition to the move analysis, there was a real-time win/loss probability chart, calculated by a computer.
Currently, Yukima Azuma's win probability is only 27%.
Sora Ginko sat in the waiting room, her hands clenched into tight fists, the knuckles turning white from the pressure.
If he loses this game, will he suffer a huge shock?
Will he collapse?
The worry was clearly visible on Sora Ginko's face.
"It seems tough now, after all, he's up against an 8-dan."
"Don't say that. The strength of that 'monster' can't be judged by the statistics alone. It's just that Yamato Kajin has Meijin backing him up, it's not fair!"
Sigh, "Only a monster can beat a monster. With Meijin's research, Yukima 5-dan is probably powerless against it."
The professional players around were discussing non-stop.
Sora Ginko wanted to loudly refute their words.
But she couldn't see any possibility of Yukima Azuma winning.
Even though she was a female player with two major titles,
Even though Sora Ginko was exceptionally talented,
Right now, she was just a Reiwaikai Ni-dan (Second Dan in the Prize Association).
Her vision wasn't wide enough to see through the game.
She even lagged behind some of the professional players present here.
She didn't know how to argue back.
"No way!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out in the room.
The professional players, who had been discussing, were all stunned.
Unconsciously, they turned towards the source of the voice.
They saw a little girl with brown hair.
She looked about nine years old, clearly still in elementary school.
She wore a light white long dress and a beret, her style was incredibly cute.
What caught everyone's attention most were her eyes.
The pale blue background was dotted with faint purple light, shimmering like the dawn.
"No way! There's still a way to turn this around!"
The little girl shouted, her voice full of determination.
"Who is that girl?"
"Ah... I think she's the daughter of the innkeeper."
"Could she be a child studying shogi too?"
"Maybe, but I've never heard of her."
The professional players recognized the girl.
She was the daughter of the family that owned the inn, the main sponsor for this tournament.
However, their opinions about a young elementary student who had never been known in the shogi world were hard to take seriously.
After all, turning the game around at this point...
At this point, the game had nearly reached a deadlock.
Yukima Azuma's win probability was down to just 7%.
Typically, when the win rate drops below a certain number, both players start preparing for the endgame.
They begin to rearrange the board neatly before conceding.
Sora Ginko watched the little girl for a while, and then her gaze returned to the board.
She began to search for any possible moves, looking for a way out.
Her gray-blue eyes seemed to activate, turning a sharp icy blue.
In her intense focus on reading the position, suddenly, Sora Ginko's pupils shrank.
...
On the board,
Yamato Kajin had placed his Knight, nearly capturing Yukima Azuma's Rook.
The essence of "Furibisha — Flying Rook" lies in the movement of the Rook. Once the Rook is trapped, it almost guarantees the opponent's loss.
'So this is how it ends.'
Yamato Kajin thought to himself.
Although Meijin had paid special attention to Yukima Azuma, which made him more cautious, the outcome seemed unchanged.
At most, there would be a bit of resistance...
As he thought this, Yamato Kajin saw Yukima Azuma place a piece on the board.
It was the Rook.
The Rook was placed within the range of the Knight's attack.
"What's this? Are you giving up? If that's the case, you might as well just resign; at least it would make the game look a bit better," Yamato Kajin couldn't help but say.
He looked up at Yukima Azuma.
But Yukima Azuma's expression remained as cold and impatient as ever.
"If you have time to advise others, why not focus more on the game?"
"I've told you, constantly talking will only make you lose faster!"
Hearing this, Yamato Kajin furrowed his brows.
What exactly is this guy saying?
Instinctively, after capturing Yukima Azuma's Rook, Yamato Kajin took another glance at the board.
With a quick glance, sweat started to bead on his forehead and run down his spine.
Suddenly, Yamato Kajin stood up, his eyes locked on the board, completely speechless.
— — — — — — — — — — —
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Chapter 37: The Marquis Devours the Dragon
Yamato Kajin stared intently at the chessboard, completely stunned.
Such a thing could actually happen.
And moreover, it happened right before his eyes.
He was so shocked that he couldn't utter a word.
Yukima Azuma did not rush to make his move.
Instead, he leisurely used his remaining time in the game.
Not to think.
But just to make his opponent realize how big of a mistake he had made.
The person in front of him liked to use tricks outside of the game.
Then he would use those same tricks to break his opponent's mindset.
The i-bisha tacticonce the Hisha piece is lost, the situation becomes completely clear.
A Kakugy piece, appearing out of nowhere, was now in front of Yamato Kajin.
It turned out that Yukima Azuma's Hisha piece was merely bait to be sacrificed from the start.
The real killing blow.
Yukima Azuma held the Kakugy piece in front of Yamato Kajin and placed it down on the last row.
The sound of the piece hitting the board rang out crisply, like a declaration that the game was over.
When Kakugy reached the last row, the conditions for "promotion" were also fulfilled.
The Kakugy piece was flipped over to reveal its other side.
After Kakugy was promoted to Ryma,
It became the sharp blade that would end the game.
It was inevitable, within two moves,
The promoted Kakugy piece would checkmate Yamato Kajin.
The so-called "The Marquis Devours the Dragon" was as simple as that.
"I... have lost."
Yamato Kajin lowered his head and placed the surrender piece.
"Thank you for the lesson."
Yukima Azuma, as usual, ended the match.
In his view, the system board popped up.
[Notification: Your Shogi skill has reached maximum experience.]
Shogi (Lv7) has leveled up to Shogi (Lv8).
Yukima Azuma closed the system board.
The "aura" in his body surged continuously.
Yukima Azuma could clearly feel that the "aura" he was holding was steadily growing stronger.
Even though he had left the chessboard, the momentum continued to rise.
He forced himself to suppress the turbulence in his body.
Yukima Azuma prepared to leave.
"How could you play a game like this? You've been studying Shogi for less than ten years, and haven't participated in a tournament for three years. How can you play like this?"
Yamato Kajin's question rang in his ears.
Yukima Azuma turned his head to look at the chessboard.
"There's nothing impressive about it."
Honestly speaking, there was nothing impressive at all.
It was just about the movement of the pieces.
Using Hisha as bait to attract attention, leading Yamato Kajin's focus and positioning step by step.
When the moment that seemed most important arrived, he moved the other pieces.
When Yamato Kajin's gaze was too focused on Hisha,
The piece movement had already been completed in silence, and the Kakugy piece naturally appeared at the necessary position.
Although piece movement is a high-level technique that is difficult to master in Shogi,
With the system, any skill related to Shogi was elevated to an extraordinary level.
So, really, there was nothing remarkable about it.
.....
As soon as he stepped out the door,
Reporters rushed over.
"Congratulations, Yukima 5-dan! No, now we should call you Yukima 6-dan!"
"Defeating Yamato Kajin 8-dan, Yukima 6-dan has a very high chance of winning the official tournament championship this time!"
"If he wins the championship, Yukima 6-dan will likely become the youngest 7-dan in history!"
"Unbelievable, Yukima 6-dan, did you plan this game from the start?"
Yukima Azuma raised his hand, signaling for the reporters surrounding him to remain calm.
After choosing to answer a few questions,
Yukima Azuma's gaze caught Sora Ginko, who was waiting off to the side.
He then said, "That's enough for now," and left the circle of reporters.
Amidst the relentless questions, Yukima Azuma quickly ran toward Sora Ginko.
"Let's go, if we stay here any longer, they'll keep asking all sorts of things."
Yukima Azuma said, then grabbed Sora Ginko's hand.
Sora Ginko looked at the spirited young man in front of her, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively ran after him.
The two strolled around Ishikawa for a bit, then headed back.
After all, they still had to go to school tomorrow.
For Yukima Azuma, even though the official tournament hadn't ended,
This match had actually already determined the outcome of the entire tournament.
The strongest opponent in the tournament,
Yamato Kajin 8-dan,
In this match, had fought evenly with Yukima Azuma when he was at Shogi level 7, but ultimately lost by one move.
This meant that,
With his Shogi skills at level 8,
Yukima Azuma could easily overwhelm Yamato Kajin.
As long as no major mistakes were made in the remaining matches,
The balance of victory and defeat between the two would be irreversible.
Therefore, this match had effectively won him the crown of the official tournament.
.....
The next day.
Toyosaki.
"Yukima-san, the application for establishing the club has been submitted to the school. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, after school, in the multimedia room," Aki Tomoya announced.
Yukima Azuma nodded slightly, signaling that he understood.
Friday.
Before that day comes, it might be a good idea to prepare a little.
"Hey, where did you go yesterday?"
Eriri's question pulled Yukima Azuma out of his thoughts.
Hearing the tone of the girl with the golden twintails, Yukima Azuma was a bit taken aback.
Then he realized.
It seemed that she didn't know he had participated in the Shogi tournament.
Which made sense.
When he was dating Eriri,
Yukima Azuma had stopped all activities related to Shogi.
Moreover, during their time together, he had spoiled her so much that he almost never gave her a chance to learn more about him.
Thinking about this,
Yukima Azuma suddenly realized that Eriri actually knew very little about him.
What kind of ex-girlfriend was that!?
Her really didn't deserve he.
"Are you concerned about me, Sawamura-san?"
Yukima Azuma smiled with a knowing expression and asked in return.
Hearing this, Eriri's face immediately turned red, and she turned away, flustered.
"Wh-what... who cares about you! What you do has nothing to do with me!"
Hearing her familiar tsundere reaction,
Yukima Azuma chuckled.
As expected, things turned out like this.
"If it has nothing to do with Sawamura-san, then I won't tell Sawamura-san anything."
Eriri: !
She spun around angrily, showing her little fang.
What do you mean it has nothing to do with her?
Just because she said it didn't, does that make it true?
Can't you argue back a little?
Clearly, you weren't here yesterday, and I was really worried about you!
Eriri puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"The whole class, today we have a physical fitness test. Go change into sportswear, let's start!"
Kirisu Mafuyu entered the classroom, lightly tapping the blackboard to announce to the class.
Chapter 38: Eriri Is an Idiot
"The whole class, today we have a physical fitness test. Go change into sportswear, let's start!"
Kirisu Mafuyu tapped the blackboard, announcing the test.
"Sawamura-san, let's go together."
A voice rang out from beside him.
Yukima Azuma turned around to look in the direction of the voice.
It was a beautiful girl with long, fiery red hair.
What was her name again?
Ah, it seems like...
"Um! Kita-san, I'll be right there!"
Eriri responded, a bit flustered.
After all, she had just argued with Yukima Azuma, and her pouty, sulking expression made her look like she was being playful.
After gathering her things,
Eriri turned to huff at Yukima Azuma,
Like a little kitten giving a challenge.
Then, she quickly ran over to Kita Ikuyo.
Yukima Azuma watched the scene with a somewhat thoughtful look in his eyes.
Has Eriri made a friend?
"Yukima-san, your expression right now is like 'that child is the one I raised day by day.'"
From behind, Kato Megumi's soft yet meaningful voice rang out.
Teased in the right spot, Yukima Azuma couldn't help but smile.
"That's right, that child is one I've raised since she was little. Finally, she can make friends on her own."
If Eriri still couldn't make friends by now, that would be a real worry.
Yukima Azuma would be in real trouble.
Since elementary school, he had been guiding Eriri on how to interact with others.
Although there was a break during middle school,
At least she should have made some progress by now.
Hearing Yukima Azuma's words, Kato Megumi nodded slightly, as though contemplating something.
When she regained her focus,
She found that Yukima Azuma had extended his hand in front of her.
"Let's go, together."
Kato Megumi reflexively placed her hand on his.
After being pulled up, she suddenly realized something.
"Together? But the physical fitness test is separated by gender. Are you planning to sneak into the girls' changing room to... spy?"
