Volume 7, Chapter 14: Go Tournament – Evening of the Second Day (1/2)
The masked man, otherwise known as Jinshi, faced off against his next opponent—a portly old man.
Although he was misconstrued as a masked weirdo, they played Go against each other. It was an effortless win.
“I’ve been told he was good in his own way, but it seems I was mistaken. He’s considerably good,” Rahan said.
“You think so?” Maomao had served Jinshi for a while, but hadn’t seen him play much Go during that time. He’s naturally gifted to begin with, so she considered his skills to be above those of the average person. “Wasn’t the old man just weak?”
Because Jinshi had won so easily, suspicions of the old man engaging in foul play in his earlier matches arose.
“Seems like it. How lucky.”
Lowering his head before the Go board, Jinshi moved on to a new opponent.
“Aren’t you going to penalise the old man who made it this far by cheating?” she asked.
“Penalise the frequent customer who pays the participation fee every time he loses?”
“…”
Can’t be helped.
“I’m joking. Either way, as long as he pays, he has the opportunity to challenge esteemed adoptive father. There shouldn’t be an issue with that.”
“…aren’t you planning to charge more money after he finally wins?”
“Competing and teaching are different in nature, right? Well, I don’t know if esteemed adoptive father knows the meaning of teaching, but I’ll make sure En’en meets with him the day after.” Rahan glanced over to the weirdo tactician.
“The day after? Not today after the tournament finishes?” she asked.
“Yeah. He might reach his limit soon. From the looks of it, he’ll fall asleep as soon as it ends.” Rahan started to flick his mental abacus.
She’d heard from Dad that the weirdo tactician sleeps half the day away, but was he some kid who dozes off as soon as he finishes his chores?
She knows of an illness where one would fall asleep suddenly, but in that old man’s case, it’s probably something else.
“Those who I already received an advanced payment from will visit the day after. No, it’ll be problematic to bring them separately, so I’ll wake him up somehow after getting him to sleep once, no, that’s impossible…”
“You money grubber.” Maomao shifted her gaze to Jinshi with a look of surprise. His next opponent had been decided, it seemed.
“He probably won’t win against that guy.”
It was the former pro old man she saw from before.
What is he thinking, showing up to such a large tournament, she thought as she watched the match from a distance. A crowd was gathering around the masked individual, who stuck out like a sore thumb.
While Shogi was a different matter, she wasn’t that well-versed in Go, so she idly manned the reception and kept a lookout any ill people.
(I should clean up and leave.)
Heading over to clean the seats with spilled crumbs, Maomao heard a disappointed sigh.
It came from the spectators surrounding Jinshi. Many participants had given up on attaining victory and had become engrossed in observing the matches instead.
Maomao approached Rahan, who had blended in with the onlookers. “What’s up?”
“It’s not a bad playstyle, but as expected, he was matched with a difficult opponent. He’s stuck.”
“Is that so?” Is that how it is? Maomao nodded. “Would a reversal be difficult?”
“It’s not that he can’t, but so long as the opponent doesn’t slip-up, it’s probably impossible. His opponent isn’t someone who would commit such an elementary mistake—“
Just as he said it, a hubbub rose up within the venue.
The mask that didn’t match the occasion slid off. Glossy black hair fluttered in the air and the fragrance of incense wafted from his attire.
“…–”
Those who tried to make a sound found that they couldn’t.
Over there, was the figure of a celestial being who existed only within picture scrolls.
For a moment, his beauty could be mistaken for a woman’s, but it was offset by the ruggedness of his throat and his broad shoulders. A slight hint of despondency permeated the soundless voices.