Not Optimistic!

Horikawa Kaori looked slightly hesitant. She wanted to ask Natsume Chikage about his family situation.

But on second thought, she felt that would be too presumptuous.

When all was said and done, the two of them were not actually that familiar with each other.

Even between close friends, casually asking about someone's family circumstances would be rather inappropriate—it was, after all, an extremely private subject.

Bringing it up would inevitably make the other person feel offended.

After pondering it for a moment, Horikawa Kaori ultimately swallowed the question that had reached her lips.

At that moment, the two of them squeezed into the hall along with the crowd.

In an instant, the clamor of voices, the distinctive scent of wooden shogi boards, and an invisible pressure known as "competition" washed over them.

Spectator seating surrounded the venue, while the central area served as the playing field.

Four enormous transparent glass partitions enclosed the center of the venue, separating it from the spectator area.

Within the glass enclosure, numerous prearranged shogi boards, chairs, and timers stood in neat rows.

Even more eye-catching was the television station's production crew adjusting their equipment in the middle of the venue, while a beautiful female presenter focused intently on the script in her hands.

Since the competition had yet to begin, most of the players casually found seats in the spectator stands.

Some looked relaxed, some wore solemn expressions, and others could not hide their nervousness—every kind of demeanor was on display.

Natsume Chikage belonged to the particularly calm sort, with almost no emotional fluctuation visible on his face.

Horikawa Kaori, on the other hand, appeared somewhat uneasy.

After all, she had paid a full twenty thousand yen to enter the competition.

It was not an enormous sum to her, but if she were eliminated without winning a single game, it would still sting.

After all, winning the first game only earned ten thousand yen.

She had to win two consecutive games just to turn a slight profit.

Only by winning the third game would she truly hit the jackpot and receive forty thousand yen outright!

With that in mind, after Horikawa Kaori led Natsume Chikage to an empty seat, she did not even bother chatting with him. She immediately took out a record of games from her bag and began studying it with complete concentration.

Natsume Chikage did not do the same. He merely took out his phone and quietly continued writing.

Time slipped by in silence.

Then, an uninvited guest approached.

Fukuda Tsukasa, a middle-aged man with a face full of stubble, passed by them. Upon recognizing Horikawa Kaori and Natsume Chikage, his face immediately lit up with delight.

"Horikawa-san? Come to think of it, it's really been a long time since I last saw you at a tournament. You entered too?"

"Looks like we might get the chance to play each other again this time."

"When that happens, please go easy on me."

Horikawa Kaori let out a cold snort.

"You're that confident you'll get matched against me?"

Fukuda Tsukasa smiled.

"Who knows?"

He turned to Natsume Chikage and said in surprise, "Oh, isn't this Natsume-kun? We ran into each other while waiting in line last time, and now we meet again at a tournament. What a coincidence!"

"Looks like we got lucky and were assigned to the same division."

"If we really run into each other during the tournament—hahaha, now that would be interesting!"

Fukuda Tsukasa knew perfectly well that he was far stronger than either of them.

There was no need to mention Natsume Chikage—a complete beginner who had only played a dozen or so games. He was so new to the shogi association that he could not possibly be any newer.

He was practically here to hand over money!

If Fukuda encountered him in the tournament, it would be a godsend. He would definitely secure an easy win!

As for Horikawa Kaori, although she was a Women's 1-dan player, she was ultimately no match for him.

Even though a Women's 1-dan was stronger than many amateur players, in practical terms, she was at most around the level of a 6-dan in the Shoreikai.

And he was a genuine 5-dan Shoreikai player.

In the shogi world, the gap between each rank was quite distinct and not so easily crossed.

Every promotion required fierce competition against a large number of players at the same rank, and only a very small few could ultimately stand out.

It could be said that every rank was earned through brutal battles against other players.

Therefore, even though he was only one rank above Horikawa Kaori, he remained utterly confident.

He had already defeated countless players at her level.

Horikawa Kaori openly rolled her eyes.

"My luck is terrible. I actually got placed in the same division as you."

Fukuda Tsukasa laughed instead of getting angry.

"Hahaha, isn't that perfect? You finally have a chance to wipe away your past humiliation."

"Now that we're competitors, it benefits everyone to learn each other's match schedules in advance, doesn't it?"

"So... which session are you in?"

Horikawa Kaori did not hide anything.

"I'm in the morning session."

Fukuda Tsukasa turned to Natsume Chikage and asked curiously, "What about you, little brother?"

Natsume Chikage answered calmly, "The afternoon session."

Fukuda Tsukasa immediately beamed and laughed.

"What a coincidence! I'm in the afternoon session too!"

"Looks like there's a good chance we'll meet during the tournament. I can't wait!"

With that, he laughed loudly and strode away.

Horikawa Kaori's expression darkened. She knew that bastard had not come over with good intentions.

So he had come to gather information, setting his sights on Natsume Chikage, the "easy target."

No wonder he had said something last time about "letting more ordinary people participate." He was clearly relying on his little bit of skill to bully newcomers!

"Natsume, if you run into that guy during the tournament, you have to be careful."

"He's got some skill."

"And back at the Shogi Association, he loved targeting and suppressing newcomers like you. He's seriously disgusting!"

Even so, she believed Natsume Chikage had no chance of defeating Fukuda Tsukasa.

After all, she often encountered Fukuda Tsukasa when playing shogi.

At first, she could occasionally win a few games, but later on, she had basically suffered defeat after defeat.

Whenever Fukuda Tsukasa used time-draining tactics, her lack of stamina would eventually cause her to make mistakes during the match.

Then, one wrong move and the whole game was lost...

There was nothing she could do about it.

Female players and male players had an innate gap in physical stamina.

A game of shogi often lasted a long time and required tremendous mental effort throughout, placing heavy demands on one's physical endurance.

Some players even collapsed halfway through a game. It was a common occurrence in the shogi world.

Because of that, even the strongest women's shogi players had yet to advance into the professional ranks.

Moreover, even the highest rank available to women's shogi players still lagged far behind professional players.

Setting aside the difficult barrier of stamina, professional players really were frighteningly strong and difficult to defeat.

An exceptionally strong women's player might occasionally win a few games, but that was all.

After all, an occasional victory did not fully prove one's strength.

Advancing into the professional ranks required competing through multiple rounds, defeating several players of the same level, and even directly challenging professional players.

Furthermore, matches against professional players were often not decided in a single game. Sometimes they required winning three out of five games, and sometimes two out of three.

Under such a format, each game lasted at least one to three hours. After several consecutive matches, a person would be completely exhausted.

What was more, it was not just one professional player, but several of them in succession over half a year before one could possibly advance to the professional ranks.

So the issue of stamina... really was one of the reasons why it was so difficult for women's shogi players to become official professional shogi players!

Reality was that cruel.

As one side rose and the other declined, it became harder and harder for her to defeat Fukuda Tsukasa.

However, she had heard that a genius had emerged among this generation of women's shogi players—Mido Orihime!

At only a second-year high school student, she was already a women's fifth-dan, far stronger than a mere first-dan like herself.

That girl was only one step away from the highest rank, sixth-dan.

Even an Apprentice League fifth-dan player like Fukuda Tsukasa would have no chance at all against Mido Orihime.

Even time-draining tactics would be useless. He would be checkmated in a short time—the gap in their strength was just that overwhelming!

If Mido Orihime could successfully advance to sixth-dan, perhaps she would truly have a chance to challenge the professional ranks.

She sincerely hoped that someone among the women's shogi players could make history and become the first female professional player.

At present, Mido Orihime seemed to have the best chance.

By comparison, although Natsume Chikage was about the same age as Mido Orihime, he was still only a beginner.

Though he was a boy, compared with Mido Orihime, a girl, the gap between them was simply heaven and earth.

Sometimes, one could not help but marvel at how a talented person only needed to put in a little effort to reach heights that ordinary people could never touch in their entire lives...