Why do I feel as though these are sweet words meant to persuade me ……?
“…… Then I accept.”
“Cheers! ♡”
Natagiri-sensei plants himself beside me, close enough for our shoulders and legs to touch, and raises a can to his lips. Deep, indulgent gulps echo as he drinks the entire beer and, almost as if taunting me, flips the can upside down.
The 8-dan grins from ear to ear upon seeing the tremor in my eyes.
“Better start with just a little taste.”
“……!!”
Not a drop of alcohol has entered my system, and yet I feel my face turn a red hue.
While I highly doubt consuming this concoction will have much if any influence over me …… it is slightly frightening to consume something I have never tried before.
No, I say! What is there to be frightened of?!
“Hmn!”
I press the can to my lips and tilt my head all the way back.
The cold liquid flows like rapids into my open throat.
And I choke.
“NRGH?! Koff ……! KOFF ……!”
“O-ho! Very nice. ♡” Natagiri 8-dan gleefully comments between swigs from his second can next to me.
Perhaps he derives pleasure from teasing me ……?
“Why are you sitting beside me in the first place? Face to face is the standard, yes? Oh, and don more clothing, would you please?”
“What, after we played naked together?”
“…… I kept my undershirt on during that match.”
The emptiness of that counterpoint is apparent, even to me. But I argued back lest I would appear weak in his eyes. Ever since that fateful A League Placement Match, I have been on the receiving end of messages from this man every single day. Master …… Rina has even suspected me of being unfaithful.
“So tell me. Did you get a feel for title matches?”
“I had a fairly solid image of them already. A vision of my inevitable clash with Drakin in a 7-round bout, to be specific. However―――”
“This wasn’t what you had in mind, hm?”
“I yearned to freely collide head to head, my power against his, rather than to cross blades in this dystopian Shogi world bound by digitally produced ratings. So you are correct.”
The alcohol must have entered my system because words I wouldn’t normally utter come forth.
“Think computers impure, do you?”
“In all honesty, I cannot rid myself of that perception.”
“Yes, it’s true that they can run all sorts of simulations for the early-game. It’s also true that the one who sticks to standards rather than striking off on their own usually wins. But you could also say that the importance of reading your opponent has become that much more important in professional Shogi, no?”
Reading the opponent …… rather than their emotional state—this refers to inferring what software program the opponent uses, how deep their understanding of standards goes, how that influences their playing style and applying it to your own preparation.
Though it can be said that a competitor’s true characteristics shine through in the battle of data analysis ……
“But …… isn’t that just a battle between computers in the end? Human beings downgrading themselves to mere tools.”
“People can’t even hold a candle to machines now.”
“……!”
“Only a select few have reached the levels you’re talking about. And even if they had sole access to the strongest computer around, playing that way would give you a certain uniqueness, don’t you agree? If you want to reject that sentiment, your only choice is to win.”
“…………”
“From where I’m sitting, you look like you’re desperate to find the reason you lost. If you do, then you can justify the butt-whooping the Meijin just gave you. Tell me, why do you think you beat him in the Challenger Match?”
“But of course, my skill was―――”
It dawns on me as the words leave my mouth.
In terms of skill, title match experience and techniques used therein, I’m far outclassed by the Meijin. That became painfully obvious today.
Then the reason I was victorious against him before was ……!
“Mine was stronger.”
I bring up the one aspect of which I would never lose to anyone. A vital aspect that a computer could never experience.
“My determination to face Yaichi Kuzuryu was stronger than that of the Meijin!!”
“If you understand that much, quit doubting yourself.”
So saying, Natagiri 8-dan takes the can of beer out of my grasp and downs the remaining liquid in one swift motion.
Climbing to his feet, he asks, “It’s about time we got going, don’t you think? The grown-up pajama party is waiting!”
“…… Yes.”
I accompany Natagiri 8-dan to the bedroom where the Meijin awaits with, unsurprisingly, an open beer in his hand.
His earlier victory has made him more jovial than usual. As he has done every night of this excursion, the Meijin regales us with whatever stories come to mind.
Tales of the era when he possessed all seven titles, including his thoughts after losing one for the first time ……
I sat there, my ears agape and my mind a sponge.
Here is the Meijin, speaking about Shogi with the same energy and passion as an adolescent.
His story is a colossal epic, as if foretelling the fate of all the stars. It’s about the birth and death of a planet called Shogi, which lightly spans thousands, hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of million years.
Why did Shogi come into being and how will its existence come to an end?
Long before we were born, the Meijin clearly understood how modern Shogi would evolve and envisioned further beyond.
It all sounds so absurd …… Even I, born into the generation for which computerized Shogi is commonplace, have a hard time believing that we are talking about the same game.
That’s when I understood beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The Meijin’s overwhelming loneliness.
He traveled millions of light-years beyond his contemporaries, well before software became as strong as it is today. This man has lived in complete solitude because Shogi requires two to play.
Yaichi Kuzuryu is surely experiencing the same isolation loneliness at this very moment.
His supercomputer of a rocket ship may have already whisked him to a place where the rest of us cannot reach ……
“I will close the distance. I swear it,” I proclaim while reaching for the night sky beyond the window.
Though I may become the laughingstock of this generation, my sights are set on the bluish glint of planet Shogi far off in the distance.