(Match Journal)

(MATCH JOURNAL)

This may sound like nothing more than an excuse, but …… That wasn’t my intent.

Even before the series began, I made up my mind to play to the point when a checkmate was obvious, even if I was going to lose, so it would be easy for the audience to understand.

Escalating like the match did, that intention disappeared altogether.

I simply didn’t want the match to end.

To be blunt, continuing to play Shogi with the knowledge you are going to lose is painful.

The moment it happens is also painful.

However, in the middle of all that pain, there’s …… and I’m not sure if this is the best way to put it, a light that shines through.

Strength is all that matters in the Shogi world.

I’ve written that in a match journal just like this one before.

My opinion has not changed at all.

Maintain isolation, like Ginko Sora, and simply aim to be the best.

I wholeheartedly believe this is the right path to take and I’ve always admired those who walk it.

That’s why I entered the Sub League, to chase after the strongest one I know. Because I thought that was right. Because no one gets stronger by only playing against Women’s League players and because living life that way wouldn’t mean anything. Because I believe that people can become strong as long as they have an enemy to defeat.

The person I was back then was right.

After being forced out of the Sub League and returning to the Women’s League ranks, I had changed.

I could relate to fellow Women’s League players, and even felt camaraderie with them. I respected my opponent during matches.

Those naïve emotions may have robbed me of strength in terms of wins and losses. Should anyone make that claim, it would be difficult for me to say otherwise. After all, I lost like I just did.

But, I do have a thought.

While there is only one goal, I believe that an infinite number of ways exist to reach it.

Once I got ousted from the Sub League, losing both my dreams and my confidence at the same time, the ones who accepted me as their own were the very people I used to look down on: Women’s League players.

There was one in particular, my opponent in this title match, who not only invited me to practice groups and played versus matches against me but also wedged her way into my personal life as well. Sometimes a bit too much (haha).

She helped me integrate into Women’s Shogi. I was never good at interacting with other people, but she took me from place to place anyway.

I wasn’t alone anymore.

She and I could grow strong together. I was determined to make it happen.

The unfortunate part was that results are the only way to get recognized in this world and my personal resolve and passion for the sport will eventually get buried in Shogi history.

I feel like it’s a waste whenever I think about it, and it hurts.

I’m certain that Machi Kugui feels much the same way, which is why she found a different way to make her mark on history and became a Shogi journalist.

I, on the other hand, don’t possess that talent.

Even getting what’s in my heart down on paper for this journal is taking forever. Every letter I line up on the sheet makes me feel like I’m drifting farther and farther away from how I really feel and it’s irritating.

I think that Shogi is all I have.

In that case, I should open my heart on the board.

Not be afraid to lose and certainly not be afraid of rejection.

My first ever rival and (arrogant as it sounds) the professional player I’m chasing once had this to say: It’s not a loss if your heart hasn’t broken.

True to his word, no matter how many times he lost or what the rest of the world had to say about him, he never gave up.

I think that’s why I’m trying to be so strong. I will be strong.

I want to be strong enough to never lose sight of what I have to do no matter what the fans at some Shogi event yell at me.

Just like how I used anaguma in this match, I want the strength to show off my research and play my way no matter who sits across the board from me.

As I’ve written before, Shogi fans have given me a rather generous nickname.

The aggressive part of Aggressive Archangel has to come from the ability to press forward and attack without fear.

As for the angel part, that’s a being that’s been given a mission by a higher power and was dispatched to this world to carry it out.

Which means–––.

Pressing forward, forward, forward is my mission as a Women’s League player. At least, I think so.

Mark my words. I will be returning to this stage next year.

FOR THE AFTERWORD: ABOUT A CERTAIN BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE

Back when I first started this series, I had intended for the two young women in the Review Session to be exclusively for that part of the book. But they’ve become so popular that I decided to make them the stars of this particular volume. Sasari Oga, too. Seriously, I like Sasari a lot.

On the other hand, doing so meant that the main cast didn’t have as much time in the spotlight …… Therefore, I’ve included the hard-to-find Drama CD that came with Book 2 along with short stories released online.

Since the Afterwords in Books 6 and 7 were on the heavy side, I decided to lighten things up this time.

That, and …… word that the Afterwords are too heavy has reached my ears lately ……

At its heart, this story is a comedy so I can understand not wanting to read something too serious at the end. Sorry ……

So, without further ado, something fun for the Afterword!

GA Bunko was about to celebrate their 10th-year anniversary in Japan and looking for a way to increase sales in the Kansai area.

Thus, they decided to invite bookstore employees from all over the region to participate in a workshop to find out what the people in charge of stocking the shelves thought would sell.

Though I wasn’t there, the consensus they arrived at was the story takes place in Kansai, so let’s lead the push with The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! or so I’ve been told.

By the way, the reason the book cover is smooth is because someone said: being shiny makes it harder to see the illustrations under the store’s fluorescent lights at that workshop.

That’s how The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! Book 1 became featured in bookstores all over Kansai as GA Bunko announced its 10th anniversary lineup.

Just as I wrote in Book 6, my grandfather, who was more like a father to me, had passed away.

Consumed by grief, I was determined to make this series into a hit no matter what I had to do to honor his memory.

One method I decided to try was Twitter, and I began plugging the series as much as I could–––.

Which is how I came across a certain picture.

A Shogi journalist had retweeted a photo of a display from a bookstore in Kobe showing a Shogi board right in the middle of the sales floor.

They put a small tatami mat down with a board, effectively turning their light novel section into an arena in order to advertise The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! that was due to be released the following month.

It trended among Shogi fans for little while, which means that there are some people out there who found out about The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! thanks to that very bookstore.

I was overjoyed and my first thought was: I need to thank them for going this far!

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to get to Kobe, and coming all the way from Gifu just to say thank you in person might end up causing problems on their end. So, I couldn’t convince myself to just up and go ……

About one month after my grandfather died.

On a scorching hot August day.

I woke up that morning with an epiphany.

“I’ll base the second book in Kobe, do some research around town and stop by that bookstore ……”

I’m sure the mindset of doing whatever I could after my grandfather’s death was piling on extra pressure.

Not to mention that Gifu’s soccer team FC Gifu was doing a collaboration with my other series Nourin at the time and had been scheduled to play a match in Osaka. Watching that match was another reason for me to go.

With everything lining up, I got up bright and early that morning to go to Nagoya and ride the bullet train to Kobe.

Once there, I collected the information I needed before I finally got around to paying that bookstore a visit.

Just like in the picture, the Shogi board was right in the middle of their light novel section. It stuck out like the world’s biggest sore thumb ……

An employee happened to be in the area, so I said hello.

“Sorry to bother you. May I ask who it was that set up this Shogi board?”

“That would be me ……”

“Thank you so much! This is my book!”

I pointed at that board and barely managed to introduce myself. Though she was surprised that the author of a book that hadn’t been released yet would show up at the store unannounced like that, the employee seemed very happy that I did.

She then told me that she only just became responsible for the light novels and still had much to learn. She had considered many different marketing strategies, but making this small arena seemed like the most certain way to sell the product.

This employee had participated in GA Bunko’s workshop and had participated in the exchange of ideas that took place.

In fact, she read The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! before its release and thought, This is good! It’ll sell for sure! among other things …… She talked about so many ideas she had for advertising The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! that I could barely get a word in.

What a passionate person! I remember thinking to myself.

Not only did she have good ideas, her strategies worked wonders for sales.

That shop in Kobe sold just as many copies of Book 1 as the bigger, famous bookstores in Akihabara. I think they might’ve sold the most in Japan at one point.

That store invited me to do a book signing when Book 2 was released.

Wanting to match her passion stride for stride, I committed myself tenfold to the business side of being an author. I went from store to store in Kansai and Tokai (central Japan) signing books, writing special short stories and doing anything I could to help sell books.

While it didn’t reach big hit levels, The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! started selling more and more as time went by.

I wonder what she’s up to now, I remember thinking to myself while looking around a location of that chain bookstore in my hometown when I happened to spot her working in that very store.

Apparently, she had been transferred there during our time out of contact.

I was floored to say the least.

But, now that she was much closer to home, I said hello without tripping over myself like I did the first time and we started working together once again.

Now with a powerful ally close by, The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! started selling better than ever before around my hometown and it started winning awards from the Shogi Pen Club and Kono Raito Noberu Ga Sugoi! (This Light Novel Is Amazing!) as well. It wasn’t long afterward that the series had grown enough in popularity to be made into an anime.

Not only is she supporting my work, she is a cornerstone of my life.

Exactly three years to the day that we met, I married her.

After my mother passed away and I became the last one left in my family tree, for the first time in my life, I gave some serious thought to what kind of person I wanted to join me on this journey called life. No matter how many ups and downs there are from here on out, I want to write the stories that I want to write. And, I want someone even more passionate at my side while I’m working.

Once that occurred to me, her face immediately came to mind.

The way I see it, my grandfather led me to her and my mother gave me one last push.

She is a far better wife than I deserve.

If there’s one thing that bugs me …… It’s the fact that she is seven years younger than I am.

That’s the exact age gap between Yaichi and Ai Hinatsuru ……

However, compared to a relationship between a sixteen-year-old and a nine-year-old, a man in his early 30s being with a woman in her mid-20s doesn’t feel strange at all. In fact, I find myself thinking: so this is what a seven-year difference feels like and forget all about it soon after.

My only concern is that someone on her side of the family will, knowing what I write, notice the gap and think: Should’ve known …… After all, no excuse will ever be good enough to convince them otherwise …… One more experienced author and friend offered his advice (?) by saying, “I got labeled a lolicon up, down and sideways with only a five-year difference, so be ready for it ……”

Perhaps this is my punishment for calling Yaichi a lolicon so many times in the story ……

I highly doubt I would have met my wife without it.

If I had never met her, I would’ve never realized that there are people who are even more passionate about the series than me, the author.

In order to live up to all the love and passion The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! has received, I’ll be writing with even more passion than ever before.