Influenced by Mako Amikura, the others weren't too keen on attending the so-called club orientation anymore.
Compared to clubs they could join later without any problem, it was more fun to watch the big shot in their class show off his skills.
In no time, Tetsuya Hamaguchi, Norihito Watanabe, Mako Amikura, and Sayo Ando had all changed their minds. They were more interested in seeing how Dokuho Kouya planned to earn points.
"Including me, that makes five people." Dokuho Kouya murmured, "It might get a little crowded."
"Dokuho, is something bothering you?" Tetsuya Hamaguchi noticed the boy's expression. "If there are too many of us, I'll go to the club orientation instead."
Sayo Ando caught on and quickly said, "If someone needs to leave, I'll go to the club orientation. I was planning to check out the Volleyball Club anyway."
Hearing the two eagerly volunteer to leave, Dokuho Kouya was taken aback.
Good grief.
No wonder their class was known for being full of little angels.
The moment something came up that might inconvenience someone else, they all rushed to volunteer to make the sacrifice.
"It's fine. There's enough room for all of us." Dokuho Kouya tapped the desk. "Before that, let's finish lunch."
"I'll take you there this afternoon."
After school.
Dokuho Kouya took his new friends to the Club Activity Building, where he easily found the Shogi Club's room.
"Why are you here again?"
The Shogi Club members' expressions darkened.
"Upperclassman Takuya, you don't look too well. Are you feeling sick?"
Dokuho Kouya asked with a smile.
It's because of you!
At that, the Shogi Club member named Takuya glared at him irritably.
Yesterday, Kouya had won 700,000 private points from the Shogi Club.
Takuya, a third-year student, had lost 200,000 points to him outright. It was hard to describe how angry he was.
Those were points he'd painstakingly saved up, and in the blink of an eye, this first-year brat Kouya had snatched them away.
It was infuriating!
"We're not giving you any more money," Takuya said irritably. "Just give up."
Yesterday, even when three of them challenged him at once, they still hadn't won.
If they kept competing, the Shogi Club members were a hundred percent guaranteed to lose again.
They'd lost badly, but they weren't stupid. There was no point handing Dokuho Kouya more money when they knew they had no chance of winning.
"That upperclassman seems really scared of Dokuho," Mako Amikura whispered to her friends when she saw the Shogi Club members' expressions.
"Yeah. I didn't expect Dokuho to have made such a strong impression on him after just one day."
Norihito Watanabe shrank back, a sheen of sweat on his face.
Entertainment in this country loved depicting underdogs rising up against their superiors, but in reality, most of the time, older people had the upper hand over younger people.
Especially at school. Even if someone was only a year older than you, you still had to respectfully call him "upperclassman" and help him with all sorts of things.
In that kind of environment, it was far more likely for juniors to be afraid of their seniors than the other way around.
"Upperclassman Takuya, I'm not here to compete with you this time." Seeing how reluctant his senior was to talk to him, Dokuho Kouya couldn't help feeling amused and helpless.
"You're not here to ask for money?" Takuya frowned, clearly unconvinced.
"I'm here to coach you, Upperclassman Takuya," Dokuho Kouya said with a smile.
"Coach us?" Takuya's brow furrowed, and his expression darkened.
He was a shogi player who'd made it to the national tournament.
He was better than many adults.
If some stranger had offered to coach him, he would have scoffed at the idea.
But the one offering now was the formidable opponent he'd decided he could never beat, no matter what. That left him with mixed feelings.
"If I'm not mistaken, the school doesn't hire shogi masters to coach you, does it?" Dokuho Kouya asked.
Takuya didn't answer, but his expression said it all.
Unlike sports clubs such as soccer and basketball, the Shogi Club didn't have a dedicated instructor hired by the school.
Aside from going out to compete, they mostly played against one another or online.
In both the number and quality of their matches, as well as their post-game reviews, they were at a significant disadvantage compared to top players from other schools.
And that was without taking into account all the time they lost to the school's various Special Exams.
The clearest example was when they went out to compete. Opponents who'd once been evenly matched with them somehow began to consistently overpower them.
At Advanced Nurturing, they'd grown both physically and mentally, but when it came to the shogi they excelled at, they'd made no progress.
"Haah..." Takuya sighed. "We do need someone to coach us, but they'd definitely charge points, right?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch." From Takuya's reaction, Dokuho Kouya knew he had this in the bag.
Professional shogi players could earn as much as three million yen a month—an entire year's income for an ordinary person.
As someone who'd made it to the national tournament, Takuya surely dreamed of becoming a professional shogi player.
But if they stayed at this school, they could only become professionals through the benefits the school offered if they graduated as Class A students.
Unless, of course, they found an excellent teacher right now to give them thorough coaching.
"Dokuho, right?" Takuya called after a moment's thought, sounding unsure.
When the other boy nodded, Takuya took a few deep breaths before asking, "Could you tell me how much you'd charge?"
Private points were certainly important.
But compared to the monthly salaries of professional shogi players, which could easily reach millions of yen, spending some private points to improve wasn't much at all.
"Although I'd love to ask for an outrageous amount, you probably don't have that much." Dokuho Kouya thought for a moment. "How about 50,000 private points a month?"
Holy crap!
And you say that's not an outrageous amount?!
Takuya nearly ground his teeth to dust.
He only received 60,000 points from the school each month, and Kouya wanted him to hand over 50,000.
Wouldn't that leave him with only 10,000 points to live on each month?
"Upperclassman Takuya, realizing your dream naturally comes at a cost."
"Besides, we can try it for a month first. If you don't think it's worth it, we'll stop the coaching, and you won't have to pay any more."
"Surely you can afford 50,000 points, can you?"
Noticing that the upperclassmen seemed tempted, Dokuho Kouya knew he had a deal.
Before you continue