All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 166: Stand Proud Child, The Future is Yours

Exactly 10 o'clock.

Yukima Azuma arrived at the competition venue just in time.

The audience had been quiet, but the moment Yukima Azuma appeared, a commotion erupted.

In this Ryuou tournament, if one were to name the most anticipated player...

There was no one else but Yukima Azuma.

He had achieved total victory in the previous official tournament to claim the championship.

The youngest to ever reach 7-dan.

Many people wanted to witness it.

To see just when Yukima Azuma's undefeated streak would finally come to an end.

Would he continue writing his legend in the Ryuou tournament, winning consecutively to seize the Ryuou title...

Or would he fall along the way, a genius hitting an impassable wall?

Amidst everyone's watchful eyes.

Yukima Azuma walked toward his match table.

"Hello... Eh? An acquaintance! I remember you, Kawai Kenichi 1-dan, right?"

As soon as he sat down, Yukima Azuma saw the young man sitting across from him and smiled.

As for this young man...

Yukima Azuma still had some impression of him.

In the preliminary rounds of the official tournament, he had faced this opponent in his very first match.

Back then, Yukima Azuma played aggressively, and the game ended quickly.

Even though it was a one-sided slaughter...

Yukima Azuma could sense that this young man's skills were not weak at all.

Originally, after the preliminaries.

Yukima Azuma had intended to give this player some guidance if they ever met again.

After all, he had been treated as nothing more than a "sacrificial lamb" to make an example of.

But as it turned out, Kawai Kenichi 1-dan had been eliminated in the very first round.

There was no opportunity to meet again after that.

When Yukima Azuma found out about this, he had been quite puzzled.

After all, with a skill level around 3-4, even if he had the misfortune of facing him in the first round, it shouldn't have led to outright elimination.

And now...

Kawai Kenichi 1-dan, sitting across from Yukima Azuma, was sweating profusely.

Back in the preliminary rounds of that tournament, after his match with Yukima Azuma...

His "shogi spirit" had nearly collapsed.

In the two matches that followed, he played erratically.

Eliminated early from the preliminaries.

After returning home, he shut himself in, devoting himself entirely to analyzing moves to stabilize his mindset.

It wasn't until a few days ago that he finally regained his "shogi spirit."

After that, he registered for the Ryuou tournament.

Kawai Kenichi 1-dan hadn't even been aiming to win the Ryuou title.

He simply wanted to play a few solid games of shogi to rebuild his confidence.

However, earlier, during the drawing of matchups, his first-round opponent had not yet appeared.

When he asked the organizers, he was told that a competitor had arrived late and had missed the drawing.

Checking the list.

That late competitor was none other than Yukima Azuma 7-dan.

Upon learning this, Kawai Kenichi 1-dan felt as if the sky had collapsed.

"You even remember someone as insignificant as me? I'm truly honored."

Kawai Kenichi 1-dan shot up from his seat, trembling as he bowed deeply to Yukima Azuma.

His attitude made Yukima Azuma freeze.

This kid… that polite?

"Please, take a seat."

"No, no, no, you first!"

"Eh? Do I look that intimidating?"

"No, no, getting to play against you is my honor!"

Yukima Azuma was still bewildered but eventually sat down.

Only after seeing him sit did Kawai Kenichi dare to do the same.

"Well then, now that both players are present, let the match begin!"

The referee placed the game timer in position and announced the start.

"Please guide me!"

Kawai Kenichi bowed deeply.

"Uh… please guide me."

Yukima Azuma gave a slight, symbolic nod.

Kawai Kenichi went first.

In theory, once a player has established their own playing style, the opening moves from both sides should be familiar and played swiftly.

However, Kawai Kenichi hesitated for a long time on the very first move.

In the end, he advanced a bishop pawn.

Last time, he had played Aigakari and was utterly crushed by Yukima Azuma's Aigakari.

It seemed he had developed a psychological shadow.

But if he didn't use Aigakari—his best strategy—

Then he would probably lose even more miserably.

So, after much hesitation, Kawai Kenichi still decided on this move.

Seeing his opponent enter an Aigakari formation,

Yukima Azuma immediately switched to Furibisha.

His opponent had been so polite; he couldn't bring himself to be too ruthless.

With Yukima Azuma's shogi skill level of 9—

If he played the same style as his opponent,

It would surely crush his opponent's shogi spirit, making him doubt his entire existence.

It would be just like what happened to Meijin before.

By the next game, he might completely lose his sense of the game.

By using a different playing style, even if he lost, his spirit might waver, but at least he would still retain his feel for shogi.

On the audience stands.

"Oh, it's Furibisha! Shishou rarely uses that move!"

Hinatsuru Ai watched Yukima Azuma's board intently on the big screen.

"It's not that rare."

Sora Ginko was also staring at the broadcast screen, unconsciously recalling her recent matches against Yukima Azuma.

Yukima Azuma had always been a versatile player, able to play in various styles with ease.

But recently, he hardly ever repeated the same opening.

In every match, he seemed to be experimenting with a new sequence of moves.

And despite all the chaos in his playstyle, she still saw no hope of victory.

Sora Ginko could feel it clearly.

Yukima Azuma had gone even further ahead.

Even though she was desperately trying to catch up.

The gap between them only continued to widen.

"Really? Shishou almost never uses it against me!"

"You haven't played against him much lately."

"Oba-san, are you showing off?"

"You little brat… Just wait, play two games against him and you'll understand."

While they were chatting—

The situation on the board had already become clear.

Kawai Kenichi's Aigakari formation had been utterly shattered.

Yukima Azuma's Furibisha strategy was nearly at a transcendent level.

No matter how tight his opponent's defense was, he could break through with ease.

However, since Yukima Azuma had deliberately given up some moves—

Kawai Kenichi managed to hold out until the 200th move.

After struggling for a while longer—

Kawai Kenichi could only smile bitterly and place his piece down in surrender.

"I lost."

"That was an excellent match."

"Eh? R-Really?"

"Umu, stand proud. You are strong. I will remember you. The future is yours!"

Yukima Azuma stood up and patted Kawai Kenichi on the shoulder.

Poor kid, another disastrous opening match.

Might as well give him a little motivation.

...

After giving his unfortunate opponent a dramatic, fraudkuna-style encouragement—

Yukima Azuma immediately left the venue.

There was still some time before the second match began.

Meanwhile, Kawai Kenichi remained frozen in his seat.

"The future is mine?" he repeated the words.

Then, his gaze gradually became resolute.

"That's right! Even though I lost, last time I only lasted forty moves, but this time I made it to two hundred!"

"I'm not standing still, I'm moving forward! No matter how hard it is, I'm still advancing!"

"Even Yukima-senpai praised this as an excellent match! My efforts weren't in vain!"

"I will keep fighting! Tatakai! One day, I will stand before Yukima-senpai with pride once again!"

Spurred by a single "compliment"—

Kawai Kenichi, a mere 1-dan player, was instantly set ablaze with fighting spirit.

Even though he had lost the first match of the Ryuou preliminaries—

As long as he won the next two matches,

He still had a chance to enter the main tournament.

Unlike previous official tournaments, this time, Kawai Kenichi was not discouraged at all. On the contrary, he was brimming with determination to fight!

…

On the other side, Yukima Azuma left the match venue—

He sneaked straight into the spectator seats.

Then sat down next to Sora Ginko and Hinatsuru Ai.

"Shishou! That was amazing!"

Hinatsuru Ai immediately threw herself at Yukima Azuma, beaming with joy.

Once this Ryuou tournament was over, she could officially become his disciple!

Sora Ginko, however, looked a bit doubtful.

"Why did your moves seem a bit drawn out? You could have transitioned into the endgame by move ninety."

Hearing that, Yukima Azuma immediately smiled.

"Ginko-senpai, you'll definitely defend your 'Queen' title again this time. The day you become 'Eternal Queen' isn't far off."

Sora Ginko tilted her head in confusion.

She didn't understand why Yukima Azuma suddenly brought this up.

Moreover, in this year's Queen tournament, she was certain to face Sainokami Ika head-on.

By her own assessment—

Her chances of winning didn't look great at all.

Seeing Sora Ginko's puzzled expression—

Yukima Azuma explained:

"In that match just now, I did intentionally hold back. After all, my opponent was very polite."

"But that 1-dan player on the other side didn't notice at all. To be precise, even a professional 4-dan player would struggle to notice."

"But Ginko-senpai, you were sharp enough to see that the game could have ended by move ninety."

"Ginko-senpai, you're probably the strongest female player right now. Becoming a professional player is just around the corner."

Hearing this, the gloom in Sora Ginko's heart instantly faded.

If she could really become a professional female shogi player—

Then she would have fulfilled Shakando Rina's wish.

Moreover, the gap between her and Yukima Azuma would shrink.

Just being able to see Yukima Azuma's back was enough.

However, soon after, Sora Ginko felt that something was off.

"But I just lost to Shakando-sensei last night."

Sora Ginko pouted, feeling like Yukima Azuma was just trying to console her.

It was precisely because of that loss—

That she had worn a maid outfit to find Yukima Azuma today.

"Eh?" Yukima Azuma was momentarily stunned. "No way, Ginko-senpai, were you distracted during the match?"

With his shogi skill level of 9, Yukima Azuma was certain he hadn't misjudged Ginko's strength.

By now, Sora Ginko should be at the level of a professional 4-dan player. Her skills were just shy of reaching level 7.

Sora Ginko recalled last night's match—

She did seem... a little distracted.

What was she thinking about at the time?

Something about Azuma's Ryuou match… and the maid outfit…

The moment that thought surfaced, Sora Ginko's face turned bright red.

It seemed she had unconsciously wanted to lose that match.

Because if she lost, she would have a legitimate reason to wear a maid outfit to see Yukima Azuma.

She had wanted to see Yukima Azuma's surprised reaction, to hear him praise her.

Realizing this—

Sora Ginko turned completely red.

Her little head, adorned with a cute maid headband, looked as if it was about to overheat.

"Shishou, Shishou, you're definitely a maid uniform fanatic, aren't you?"

At that moment, Hinatsuru Ai suddenly blurted out.

Hearing this, Yukima Azuma fell into deep thought.

"I don't know, I never realized I had such a preference."

"Shishou absolutely loves maid uniforms! Oba-san wore a maid outfit today, and Shishou kept staring!"

"You brat, shut up!"