All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 37: The Marquis Devours the Dragon

Yamato Kajin stared intently at the chessboard, completely stunned.

Such a thing could actually happen.

And moreover, it happened right before his eyes.

He was so shocked that he couldn't utter a word.

Yukima Azuma did not rush to make his move.

Instead, he leisurely used his remaining time in the game.

Not to think.

But just to make his opponent realize how big of a mistake he had made.

The person in front of him liked to use tricks outside of the game.

Then he would use those same tricks to break his opponent's mindset.

The i-bisha tactic—once the Hisha piece is lost, the situation becomes completely clear.

A Kakugyō piece, appearing out of nowhere, was now in front of Yamato Kajin.

It turned out that Yukima Azuma's Hisha piece was merely bait to be sacrificed from the start.

The real killing blow.

Yukima Azuma held the Kakugyō piece in front of Yamato Kajin and placed it down on the last row.

The sound of the piece hitting the board rang out crisply, like a declaration that the game was over.

When Kakugyō reached the last row, the conditions for "promotion" were also fulfilled.

The Kakugyō piece was flipped over to reveal its other side.

After Kakugyō was promoted to Ryūma,

It became the sharp blade that would end the game.

It was inevitable, within two moves,

The promoted Kakugyō piece would checkmate Yamato Kajin.

The so-called "The Marquis Devours the Dragon" was as simple as that.

"I... have lost."

Yamato Kajin lowered his head and placed the surrender piece.

"Thank you for the lesson."

Yukima Azuma, as usual, ended the match.

In his view, the system board popped up.

[Notification: Your Shogi skill has reached maximum experience.]

Shogi (Lv7) has leveled up to Shogi (Lv8).

Yukima Azuma closed the system board.

The "aura" in his body surged continuously.

Yukima Azuma could clearly feel that the "aura" he was holding was steadily growing stronger.

Even though he had left the chessboard, the momentum continued to rise.

He forced himself to suppress the turbulence in his body.

Yukima Azuma prepared to leave.

"How could you play a game like this? You've been studying Shogi for less than ten years, and haven't participated in a tournament for three years. How can you play like this?"

Yamato Kajin's question rang in his ears.

Yukima Azuma turned his head to look at the chessboard.

"There's nothing impressive about it."

Honestly speaking, there was nothing impressive at all.

It was just about the movement of the pieces.

Using Hisha as bait to attract attention, leading Yamato Kajin's focus and positioning step by step.

When the moment that seemed most important arrived, he moved the other pieces.

When Yamato Kajin's gaze was too focused on Hisha,

The piece movement had already been completed in silence, and the Kakugyō piece naturally appeared at the necessary position.

Although piece movement is a high-level technique that is difficult to master in Shogi,

With the system, any skill related to Shogi was elevated to an extraordinary level.

So, really, there was nothing remarkable about it.

.....

As soon as he stepped out the door,

Reporters rushed over.

"Congratulations, Yukima 5-dan! No, now we should call you Yukima 6-dan!"

"Defeating Yamato Kajin 8-dan, Yukima 6-dan has a very high chance of winning the official tournament championship this time!"

"If he wins the championship, Yukima 6-dan will likely become the youngest 7-dan in history!"

"Unbelievable, Yukima 6-dan, did you plan this game from the start?"

Yukima Azuma raised his hand, signaling for the reporters surrounding him to remain calm.

After choosing to answer a few questions,

Yukima Azuma's gaze caught Sora Ginko, who was waiting off to the side.

He then said, "That's enough for now," and left the circle of reporters.

Amidst the relentless questions, Yukima Azuma quickly ran toward Sora Ginko.

"Let's go, if we stay here any longer, they'll keep asking all sorts of things."

Yukima Azuma said, then grabbed Sora Ginko's hand.

Sora Ginko looked at the spirited young man in front of her, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively ran after him.

The two strolled around Ishikawa for a bit, then headed back.

After all, they still had to go to school tomorrow.

For Yukima Azuma, even though the official tournament hadn't ended,

This match had actually already determined the outcome of the entire tournament.

The strongest opponent in the tournament,

Yamato Kajin 8-dan,

In this match, had fought evenly with Yukima Azuma when he was at Shogi level 7, but ultimately lost by one move.

This meant that,

With his Shogi skills at level 8,

Yukima Azuma could easily overwhelm Yamato Kajin.

As long as no major mistakes were made in the remaining matches,

The balance of victory and defeat between the two would be irreversible.

Therefore, this match had effectively won him the crown of the official tournament.

.....

The next day.

Toyosaki.

"Yukima-san, the application for establishing the club has been submitted to the school. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, after school, in the multimedia room," Aki Tomoya announced.

Yukima Azuma nodded slightly, signaling that he understood.

Friday.

Before that day comes, it might be a good idea to prepare a little.

"Hey, where did you go yesterday?"

Eriri's question pulled Yukima Azuma out of his thoughts.

Hearing the tone of the girl with the golden twintails, Yukima Azuma was a bit taken aback.

Then he realized.

It seemed that she didn't know he had participated in the Shogi tournament.

Which made sense.

When he was dating Eriri,

Yukima Azuma had stopped all activities related to Shogi.

Moreover, during their time together, he had spoiled her so much that he almost never gave her a chance to learn more about him.

Thinking about this,

Yukima Azuma suddenly realized that Eriri actually knew very little about him.

What kind of ex-girlfriend was that!?

Her really didn't deserve he.

"Are you concerned about me, Sawamura-san?"

Yukima Azuma smiled with a knowing expression and asked in return.

Hearing this, Eriri's face immediately turned red, and she turned away, flustered.

"Wh-what... who cares about you! What you do has nothing to do with me!"

Hearing her familiar tsundere reaction,

Yukima Azuma chuckled.

As expected, things turned out like this.

"If it has nothing to do with Sawamura-san, then I won't tell Sawamura-san anything."

Eriri: !

She spun around angrily, showing her little fang.

What do you mean it has nothing to do with her?

Just because she said it didn't, does that make it true?

Can't you argue back a little?

Clearly, you weren't here yesterday, and I was really worried about you!

Eriri puffed out her cheeks in anger.

"The whole class, today we have a physical fitness test. Go change into sportswear, let's start!"

Kirisu Mafuyu entered the classroom, lightly tapping the blackboard to announce to the class.