Leading up to the Unified Preliminaries for the Mynavi Women's Open, I had Ten'ai do some light preparation for the Shoreikai entrance exam. The Shoreikai test includes a written component that requires a certain level of Shogi strength, alongside a general knowledge section.
「It covers 'Next Move' problems and reconstructing board positions from game records (kifu). There are also Tsume Shogi puzzles.」 (Ōki)
「There is no desperate need to cram for the written portion, but top scorers receive a bonus equivalent to one win. The general knowledge section remains a concern, though; it might be a bit difficult for a fourth-grade elementary student.」 (Ōki)
「What kind of questions will there be?」 (Ten'ai)
「They are incredibly easy for anyone in junior high or older. For example, writing 'Japan Shogi Association' in Kanji or Roman characters. Well, they take age into account, so no one fails the written test unless their answers are truly catastrophic.」 (Ōki)
Frankly, if the written test score becomes the deciding factor for passing or failing, it implies your match results were abysmal, in which case failing is a mercy. Still, since it is useful to know, I taught her the basics. Ten'ai seems to take her elementary school classes seriously, and her academic foundation is solid, so the general knowledge section should be manageable.
On the other hand, the Shogi questions are of no concern to me. Even if she fails to solve a few Tsume Shogi puzzles, she will likely still rank among the top scorers. The Primary Exam consists of matches between applicants. Since most apply for 6-kyu or 5-kyu, Ten'ai would face a four-grade difference resulting in a "Rook Drop" handicap, or a five-grade difference resulting in a "Two-Piece Drop" (Rook and Lance).
For a standard Amateur 4-dan, these conditions might be quite harsh. However, since this five-grade gap exists between fellow applicants, the handicap might be leniently adjusted to just a Rook Drop rather than the full Two-Piece Drop.
...Then again, reckless applicants occasionally aim for 3-kyu without thinking. If there are many such cases, clearing the applicant matches will be a breeze. The real challenge lies in the Secondary Exam, where she must defeat current Shoreikai members like Konogi and Sora.
Just as I questioned her readiness, Tenai successfully cleared the 8-board simultaneous play at 6-dan. Was it merely the luck of the draw regarding her opponents, or had her skill truly improved? She had previously scraped past 4-dan on six boards by a fluke and struggled to reach 5-dan on seven. However, reaching 7-dan while juggling nine simultaneous games would not be a typical struggle; it appeared she would remain at 6-dan for the foreseeable future.
Fundamentally, even Shoreikai members find the climb from 6-dan to 7-dan difficult on this website. Consequently, ascending that ladder with the handicap of nine simultaneous boards is an incredibly steep path unless she overcomes the next hurdle.
Her win rate dipped slightly once she shifted to nine boards. When she fell from 6-dan back to 5-dan, Tenai screamed, "Why did I make a mistake like that?!" She seemed to have reached a good level of focus and pressure, yet the sheer number of matches remained insufficient.
Two weeks passed since the challenge match, and the Unified Qualifiers began. Sora Ginko joined the previous group, and everyone split into two teams: one consisting of Kuzuryu, Sora, Keika, and Ai, and the other comprising Tenai, Akira, and me. Sora had been invited today to serve as the assistant commentator, a request Kuzuryu made in his capacity as the lead commentator.
Kuzuryu often stirs up controversy simply by appearing with his live-in disciple, Ai, though I have started to receive some gradual abuse myself. That said, since Kuzuryu is acting as the primary lightning rod today, the attacks on me are not nearly as intense. Rumors suggest Kuzuryu is intimately involved with Sora as well. Observing him now, however, he looks less like her partner and more like her attendant—or rather, her servant.
When we arrived at the venue, the crowd was larger than anticipated—seemingly three times the size of previous years. They began to make a commotion the moment they spotted us—or rather, when they spotted Ai, Tenai, and Sora—so we entered the hall immediately. Once inside, Kuzuryu and I were stunned by the astronomical number of personal sponsors.
Hinatsuru Ai... 216 (Special Sponsors: 121, Regular Sponsors: 95) Yashajin Tenai... 236 (Special Sponsors: 165, Regular Sponsors: 71)
"These numbers are in a completely different league!" (Kuzuryu)
"...Aren't Tenai and Ai just terrifying?" (Oki)
(Ai alone brought 553,000 yen to Mynavi. The officials there must be laughing all the way to the bank.) (Ai)
With special sponsorships priced at 15,000 yen and regular ones at 10,000 yen, these figures are abnormal. Their popularity must have exploded following the recent live stream. In fact, I suspect Ai and Tenai's sponsor counts have risen even higher than they did in the original storyline.
Sora directed the participants to the waiting room, then dragged Kuzuryu off to the commentary booth by his ear. As I turned to head for the audience seating with Akira, Saijin blocked my path. It was startling and slightly intimidating; I felt I was getting a taste of what Kuzuryu endures.
"Oki, you haven't changed your mind, have you?" (Saijin)
"I haven't. You can rest easy. When I took Tenai on as a disciple, her talent was inferior to yours." (Oki)
"What?! Master Oki?!" (Akira)
Saijin had evidently come to verify whether my philosophy—or rather, my criteria for selecting disciples—had shifted. Although Akira was shocked by my bluntness, it was an indisputable fact: the talent Tenai possessed the moment I accepted her was below the level Saijin holds now.
"If you want me to teach you Shogi, lower your talent first, then come back." (Oki)
"...Tch. You haven't changed a bit. Pass this on to your disciple: I'll be waiting for her in the main tournament. Tell her to show up so I can crush her." (Saijin)
"Alright, alright. I'll tell her. Now hurry up and get to the hall." (Oki)
My relationship with Saijin amounts to nothing more than a single game of Shogi. Some time ago, Kuzuryu dumped the responsibility of handling her entirely on me. I played one round, utterly destroyed her, and directed her toward that online Shogi site known for its strong players. However, I had no desire for her to cling to me, so I told her plainly: "Teaching someone with talent is boring. Go home."
At that moment—perhaps realizing we would never see eye to eye—Saijin turned her attention back to Kuzuryu. We are both selfish creatures, and I doubt we could ever get along. Consequently, Saijin likely believes Tenai is a girl with absolutely no talent.
(What Master implies is that teaching someone with no room for growth is dull, isn't it? Yet, phrasing it that way makes it sound as if Tenai, whom you took in, possesses zero talent. This despite the fact that she had enough aptitude to rank among the top five female professionals.) (Ai)
(Is she really top five? That's debatable. If we are talking about raw, innate talent, the spots are already filled by Sora Ginko, Saijin, Ai, the Eternal Queen, that little girl with the archaic accent, and Gakaumiki... After all, Tenai was trained by a "Meijin-class student" since childhood, yet her skill level was only what you saw.) (Oki)
(When you list them like that, the "top five" claim does become questionable. The Eternal Queen has monopolized the women's titles, and Gakaumiki remained a 2-kyu in the Shoreikai despite her talent being crushed. Regardless, I cannot comprehend the neural circuitry of someone who prefers a weak Pokémon like Flygon over a powerhouse like Garchomp.) (Ai)
(That is a forbidden phrase. Be quiet for a moment.) (Oki)
Saijin and Ai are likely to face off in the qualifier finals, just as they did in the original story. Since my influence has altered them both slightly, the outcome of such a match is impossible to predict. Nevertheless, Saijin has reached 8-dan on that website, proving her talent is undeniable. The result, therefore, hinges on how much she underestimates Ai.
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