My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 582

The problem lies within the shogi club.

"I heard that they were a harmonious and peaceful community until last year."

"Like our club?"

"...Am I hallucinating? You mean it's like the Service Club?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. This isn't something you should say to a non-member. Please continue?"

"I'm 100% a member, okay... Anyway, a transfer student with a national-level shogi skill joined the shogi club. Through connections, that person brought in an advisor from the reward association who had aimed to become a professional shogi player since his youth, which completely changed the atmosphere of the club."

Specifically—

They decided to compete in the "High School Dragon King Tournament," the largest high school shogi competition, to advance to the national tournament as a team.

Previously, humanities clubs had taken a relaxed approach, but they have transformed into serious and earnest clubs.

It goes without saying that he had to participate in club activities every day, and he also asked others to solve several shogi games under the pretext of morning exercises and noon practice. On weekends, he was also required to read shogi books and go to the shogi dojo. Playing shogi seriously naturally became an obligation.

"...Striving for higher goals might not be without its benefits. Not everyone is like that person, who uses self-deprecation to affirm themselves."

"It depends on the method. As long as it's not like someone else who maintains order by excluding others, it's fine."

"That's great. Hachiman-kun knows he's being ostracized."

"I'm relieved. You know you're excluding others..."

Shogi is fundamentally different from card games like "Daibutsu-ko" that members of the Service Society used to play.

That is, whether it is a "two-player zero-sum finite certainty complete information game".

When a game of shogi is decided, there is absolutely no element of luck involved.

What is reflected on the chessboard is only the obvious difference in strength.

The strong win, the weak lose. That's all, a pure yet cruel world.

therefore--

Playing against a weaker opponent with a significantly lower skill level offers no advantage to a stronger player.

"At first, they seemed to want everyone to learn and improve together. But in the end, shogi is a game where only skill matters. In the end, the best players only play against specific opponents, ignoring the weaker members... Not only that, they completely treat them as 'non-existent people'."

"This club might be a good fit for you."

"That's a really direct sarcastic remark..."

Perhaps having completely grown accustomed to Yukino's sarcasm, Hachiman seemed unfazed, picking up a chess piece and placing it on the board.

"As a result, there is absolutely no communication within the club now. Members whose skills have declined are gradually stopping their participation in club activities. I've even heard that some people have started to hate shogi. The student who just came to us for help was worried about the current state of the shogi club."

"……I see."

Yukino raised her index finger to her cheek, assuming a thoughtful pose.

"They take shogi seriously, believing it's essential for reaching the national tournament. In a sense, they're working on the 'right way' to achieve goals befitting high school students, right?"

"Yes, that's true. That's why the client hasn't dared to speak up."

"However, you don't like that 'correct way.' So you want to take on the case... that's how it is."

Yukino glanced at Hachiman.

After a brief silence, Hachiman clearly looked away.

"...Don't talk like you saw it all."

"I know this without even looking."

Yukino shrugged. Anyone who's around Hachiman can see it. It's not just me who understands him—or rather, wants to understand him. Absolutely not. This seriously damages my reputation. Apologize to me now.

"But the problem is... these kinds of things should basically be handled by the club members themselves."

Hachiman nodded in agreement with Yukino's statement.

This is different from interfering in disputes between friends.

This commission concerns the fundamental operational strategies of other organizations. Interfering carelessly could result in the client himself being forced to leave the organization.

"It's not that we can't think of a way... Until then, Hachiman-kun."

Yukino pointed to the shogi board on the table.

It's likely that she brought the chess pieces along when explaining the situation to the person who commissioned her from the chess club. She had never touched such formal chess pieces before, and even the way she held them was very clumsy.

However, Hachiman's movements were far more skillful than hers. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was truly unwilling to accept it.

"You know how to play shogi, right?"

"Yes, I know a little."

"I think so too. Every creature has at least one strength. For example, chimpanzees groom themselves, and gorillas can eat bananas peel and all. You can be quite proud of that."

"The object of comparison isn't a person..."

Hachiman said with a wry smile, but he should be happy to receive praise from others.

He slowly cleared his throat and picked up the shogi piece with his fingertips to show Yukino.

"Since you're a native of Chiba, it's only natural that you know how to play shogi."

"why?"

"Because that great 13th generation celebrity—Kinjiro Sekine—was from Chiba."

"...Sekine, Kinjiro?"

"Chiba was the 'father of modern shogi' who reformed the Meijin system, which had been a tradition for three hundred years, and founded the Shogi League. In the Sekine family's lineage, there are the 16th Meijin, Makoto Nakahara, known as the 'Sun of the Shogi World'; the 18th Meijin, Toshiyuki Moriuchi, known as the 'Man Who Surpassed Hanyu'; the 19th Meijin, Yoshiharu Hanyu, known as the 'Strongest in History'; the 'Ichifumi' Kato Ichifumi, who was still in his prime even in his old age; and the 'genius' Fujii Sota, who shouldered the responsibility for the next generation, and so on. There are too many to count. It is no exaggeration to say that the modern shogi craze was started by Chiba."

"...I didn't ask for that much detail."

"Of course, Chiba has also produced many famous shogi players in modern times. There's Kazuki Kimura, who won the title at the age of 46, breaking the record for the oldest first-time title holder after 46 years; Tadahisa Maruyama, whose eating habits while playing shogi sparked discussion and led to him being asked to film food commercials; Seiya Kondo, who caused Sota Fujii, who had never lost a ranking match, to suffer his first defeat, forcing him to stagnate for a year; and Kazutoshi Sato, who attracted attention with his 'Three-Rook (Note 10) Fujii System,' a strategy that thrilled the Three-Rook faction… Everyone here is from Chiba. You could even say that almost everyone in Chiba, in some way, is connected to shogi."

Hachiman spoke eloquently.

Honestly, it's quite annoying—Yukino thought to herself.

Perhaps shogi possesses a special magic that can drive people crazy. For example, a high school student who doesn't trust others might find themselves constantly talking about shogi just because they've been praised a few times. Or, shogi references might be crammed into a collection of short stories.

Playing shogi can drive someone mad. How terrifying. Shogakukan (Note 11) should ban this game.

Yukino sighed and said calmly.

"Hachiman-kun has been resembling that... guy named something like that lately."

“…………”

Hachiman, with a sour face, fell silent instantly.

Yukino knew that if she mentioned this name when he kept talking, he would quiet down. Timber and scissors would definitely come in handy.

"Anyway, I know you can play shogi. There's still a way."

Yukino placed the chess piece back on the shogi board. It seemed that she might not have a chance to participate in this request.

"Since this is an internal issue of the shogi club, we can just address it from within. Right?"

"...So this is the only trick I can use?"

Hachiman must have had the same idea as Yukino. He moved his piece forward with a loud "click," making the loudest sound of the day.

This means—actually joining the shogi club.

Fortunately, Soubu High School doesn't prohibit joining multiple clubs. The shogi club probably won't be as strictly regulated as sports clubs, limiting mid-term memberships.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a venom for a venomous one."

Was it necessary to add anything superfluous to the Code of Hammurabi?

"However, this will cause trouble for others. Let's return to the Service Club as soon as possible after we've achieved our goal."

"...As soon as possible."

Yukino was just worried about the shogi club being invaded by Hachiman Hikigaya's rare poison. Ah, what is he misunderstanding?

Hachiman laughed sarcastically.

"You just said I wasn't a member, so what? You're admitting I'm a member after all?"

"Are you out of your mind? Don't get me wrong, I really, really hate you. I wish I could see you die a horrible death right now."

"Stop pretending to be aloof when you're just hurting people with your words, okay?"

If you retaliate occasionally, it will immediately turn into this.

Hearing Hachiman's muttering, Yukino chuckled softly.

The corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.

She thought to herself, "This is what a pleasant conversation with a friend should be like."

But she wasn't happy. This man, as she had just said, wasn't her friend, so he had nothing to do with her. Hachiman, stop forcing your way into topics that have nothing to do with you.

The next day after school, Yukino went to the Service Club office as usual, and the scene that greeted her was the same as always.

"...Why are you still here?"

Hachiman sat alone in the club office, staring at his phone.

"Weren't you going to join the shogi club? Stop pretending to look at your phone where no one will call. I feel sorry for him, should I send him a message?" Yukino thought to herself. "I should accumulate some good karma in this life so I can live more honestly in my next. Uh, not that I'm not honest now."

"I was planning to go today too."

Hachiman shook his head and shifted his gaze from his phone to Yukino.

"It's not that easy to join the company—I heard you have to take a test."

"...An entrance exam?"

Hachiman went to submit his application to join the company before his lunch break, but the president unilaterally decided to schedule the test for the day after tomorrow and told him to come back another day.

"What a pity. I was even thinking that I could finally get rid of this trouble."

"Please don't say it in a really regretful tone..."

Upon closer reflection, this is quite normal.

Just because someone is too weak, they treat current members as if they don't exist. It's impossible for them to not set any restrictions on those who want to join.

"So, upon learning there was an entrance exam, you scurried back to the Service Club with your tail between your legs... What were you doing?"

Yukino walked slowly towards Hachiman, peeking at his phone from the side. Hachiman was intently watching a video that appeared to be something.

"What are you doing? You're so close."

He was so startled that he leaned back, which displeased Yukino, who brought her face even closer.

It would be terrible if he was watching some lewd films at the Service Club. Judging by that man's lewd eyes, he's undoubtedly a beast capable of such things. I need to check immediately. Content, category, preferences, favorite genres, etc. Long black hair or medium-length brown hair? A sharp-tongued, cool type or a goofy, puppy-like type? Hachiman, which one do you prefer?

"let me see."

"We'll talk about it later."

"Show me right now. Depending on the circumstances, I might sue you for sexual harassment."

"Why? Where is there any element of sexual harassment?"

Yukino frantically reached out and used a part of her chest to block Hachiman's arm.

"Hey! I touched something... wait, there's nothing to touch..."

For some reason, Hachiman suddenly looked sad, and Yukino seized the opportunity to barely manage to turn her phone screen this way.

The girl on the screen is a cool, aloof beauty with long black hair...

No, they were a group of seemingly introverted, black-haired, bespectacled teenagers.

"...Your tastes are quite unique."

"what?"

Hachiman put his phone on the table, seemingly giving up the struggle.

"This was sent to me by the client. It's a video of their match against another school's shogi club."

"Ah, I see. Oh..."

Yukino rubbed her eyes, trying to dispel the unpleasant thoughts and feel a little relieved, and then carefully rewatched the video.