If I Become a Meijin, Will you Marry me, Master? - Chapter 2

“Wow, Touka really pulled it off. She’s even being featured on the national evening news. Look, Inada-kun.”

After the interview with Touka, I was dragged into the Shogi Federation’s reception room.

“Kitano Akira.
I had a hunch she’d clinch it today.”

I sat on the sofa in the reception room with Kitano Akira, president of the Shogi Federation, watching the TV.

Touka’s interview footage was airing on the 7 PM news.

Camera flashes sparkled dazzlingly.

“The match ended just in time to make the evening news. Lucky for us.”

“She played a fast-paced game today.”

The 3-dan League is a brutal battlefield for young hopefuls, where many blend expert-level cunning with ruthless ambition. But perhaps her opponent’s youth showed today.

She was up against a much younger girl—a junior high student—who played her moves instantly. That must’ve stirred some unconscious competitiveness, leading to hasty counterplays and ultimately self-destruction.

“Things are about to get busy.”

“You’re full of energy, President.”

Kitano grinned wickedly. He had the perfect villainous face.

“What’s with you, Inada-kun? You’re her master, you should be thrilled!”

In high spirits, President Kitano pounded on my back.

“Ow, that hurts, President.”

I shrugged off his hand with a sigh. As crude as he was, he, like Touka, had also been one of the rare four to become a pro shogi player while still in middle school.

Now he was a burly, bald man with a stern face and glasses—he looked more like a mafia boss than the head of a shogi federation.

“Seriously, I’m counting on you, Inada-kun. Touka-chan is a treasure to our world. Oh, and one more thing…”

“What is it?”

“No scandals. I mean it.”

His jovial tone vanished, and he suddenly stared at me with a serious face.

The switch in tone was downright scary!

“…I’ll keep a close eye on her to make sure no ‘bad bugs’ come near.”

“I’m counting on you, Inada-kun. Now then, time to face the reporters. Got this double-breasted suit tailored just for today. What do you think?”

“Looks good. Really suits you—like the boss of some organization.”

“Well, I am the boss. Anyway, I’m off!”

As I gave a strained nod, Kitano switched back to his cheerful old-man persona and merrily left the room.

“Haaah…”

Touka is going to attract all sorts of “bugs”…

If Touka could just fall for some ordinary boy like a typical teenage girl, maybe that would be better.

It’s not that I found her affection unwelcome.

But as her shogi mentor, there was a reason I couldn’t accept her feelings.

That reason is—

“Ahh, I’m beat—hey, Master~!”

My train of thought was interrupted when a familiar whirlwind burst into the room just as President Kitano left.

“Congrats, and welcome to 4-dan, Touka.”

“Thank you, Master. But isn’t that a bit of a cold congratulations?”

Touka sprawled belly-down on the sofa, puffing her cheeks in protest and turning her head toward me.

“4-dan’s just a checkpoint for you, right?”

“Wait, does that mean when I reach the final goal of becoming Meijin, our long-standing promise is—”

“Lie down like that and your uniform’s going to get all wrinkled.”

“Always changing the subject. You’re still treating me like a kid…”

“Well, now that you’re a pro shogi player, I guess I should start treating you more like an adult.”

“Exactly! I’m not that little girl who used to cry every time she lost a game anymore!”

She sat up from the sofa and turned her face toward me, giving me a look that might be called a classic “backward glance beauty.”

“If that’s the case, then you should be able to take care of yourself. Who do you think irons your uniform?”

“Ugh… It’s you, Master…”

Maybe it was a bit petty of me, but I still wanted Touka to stay a child.

Perhaps that was just my selfish desire as her master.

“Come on, while the President is keeping the media busy, let’s slip out the back and head home.”

“Yes, Master!”

Even though she’d just been collapsed on the sofa, Touka jumped up with a boing!

(Why is it that she listens to everything I say—except when it comes to shogi…?)

Grumbling silently to myself, I gathered up the bags full of flower bouquets piled in the corner of the reception room and followed Touka out of the Kansai Shogi Hall.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“I’m home~ Ahhh, home sweet home. Master, is there any snack around~?”

“There’s some homemade pudding in the fridge. I chilled it this morning, so it should be perfect now.”

“Yaaay, my favorite! Mmm, the caramel’s got that lovely bitterness I love. Thanks, Master~”

Touka, having changed from her uniform into a hoodie, opened my fridge like it was her own and took a spoon from the drawer before plopping herself on the sofa and digging in.

“Eat at the dining table. How many times do I have to say no eating on the sofa?”

“Okay~”

Spoon still in her mouth, she moved to the dining table, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV.

“Ah! Hey, Master! They’re showing me on the news! Let’s watch together!”

Prompted by her, I took a pudding from the fridge, sat across from her at the table, and turned to the TV.

Under a storm of camera flashes, Touka smiled serenely, answering questions and striking requested poses.

“Hey, Master. How do you feel right now?”

“What do you mean? And hey, you’re too close.”

At some point, she had moved from sitting across the table to sitting right next to me.

Her chair was pressed right up against mine.

“This seat has a better view of the TV. Besides, look—the girl on the screen is sitting right next to you~?”

She tugged on my shirt sleeve with a mischievous grin.

Her face leaned close, clearly waiting for my response.

Seeing both the smiling girl on TV and the carefree, teasing Touka next to me—it was hard to believe they were the same person.

And yet, the real Touka—the one only I got to see—was right here beside me…

“You’re getting a little too full of yourself around your master, Touka.”

“You’re the one who said that we should be more relaxed at home and not stick so strictly to the master-disciple thing!”

Before I could say something careless, I shifted the topic by invoking my role as her teacher.

These days, the relationship between shogi master and student is quite different than in the past. Gone are the days of live-in apprenticeships.

So why is Touka at my house now?

“You had pudding, so make sure to brush your teeth before bed, Touka.”

“Okay… Oh! But I’m still homesick, and I get scared being alone at night. Master, will you sit by my bed until I fall asleep?”

“Good night.”

I pushed her toward the front door and shut it behind her, leading her into the apartment next door.

She had moved in next door this January.

Touka’s hometown is deep in the countryside with hardly any trains, so moving to the city after going pro made perfect sense.

But why move during the crucial 3-dan League period? And why next to me?

“Well, if I waited until my promotion became official in March, it’d be peak moving season. Someone else might’ve rented the unit next to yours!”

When I asked her why she moved next door, she answered with a “duh, obviously” tone.

Apparently, she was more worried about losing the apartment than her win record in the hellish 3-dan League.

“I’ll never understand how geniuses think…”

I muttered as I got into bed.

Any normal shogi teacher would fall asleep basking in the joy of their student going pro. But not me—not with the weight of a certain promise hanging over me.

“Once I become Meijin, let’s get married, Master. Oh, and I’ll retire from shogi once I become your wife.”

That was the real reason I couldn’t accept Touka’s feelings.

Let’s ignore any legal issues for now—if she really did become Meijin and then retired to marry me, it would be an unprecedented disaster.

The shogi world would be thrown into chaos!

I could already picture President Kitano’s furious face.

And with Touka retired, all the criticism would fall on me, who remained.

I’ve tried countless times to steer her off that path.

“Even if you become Meijin, don’t retire,” I told her.

“If I do become Meijin, I’ll keep my promise!” she insisted.

But she never wavered.

When it comes to shogi, Touka is unshakable.

And now, with her path to the Meijin title becoming more realistic, I—no, not just as her master but as a fellow shogi player—have made a decision.

“For the sake of the shogi world…
I must stop my student from becoming Meijin!”

When asked in a future interview about the turning point of my life, I would say:

“It was the day Touka decided to become a professional shogi player.”

But the version of me now, lying in bed tormented by thoughts, had no way of knowing that yet.