I Thought It Was a World Where Chastity Norms Were Reversed, But It Turns Out I Was Just Surrounded by the Overly Intense Girls in My Class

Chapter 19: I Was Just Looking at the Game Record. I Didn’t Look at Your Underwear

Shogi has ranks and grades.

From 15-kyu up to 1-kyu are the kyu grades, and from shodan to kyudan are the dan ranks.

Dan is higher than kyu, and the higher the dan, the stronger the player.

You can’t directly compare amateurs and pros because the systems are different, but it’s said that an amateur 3-dan or 4-dan is roughly equal to 6-kyu in the Shogi Encouragement Society (the gateway to turning pro).

And I’m an amateur 4-dan…

So what’s the actual difference between a beginner and a dan-ranked player?

If you just say “skill level,” that’s the end of it, but there is one thing you can put into words.

It’s the difference in global board vision.

Who has the advantage right now? What is the opponent trying to do?

Material balance? King safety? Piece activity?

A dan player can take all the information on the board and make a clear judgment.

That’s what makes someone strong at shogi.

“Whoa, what are these?”

“Mini melon pans! They’re bite-sized, super easy to eat and don’t make you fat as much, so they’re the best!”

In other words, the mark of a real shogi player is being able to read the position quickly and judge it correctly.

“Um…”

“They really are small, so they won’t make you gain weight. I feel like I could eat a ton.”

“Eat a ton and you’ll totally get fat!”

“…Excuse me, you two?”

“No worries at all. I have a body that doesn’t gain weight easily.”

“So jealous!”

“Um…”

“Let’s have them with black tea. Kagurazaka-san, would you like some too?”

“For real? You’re giving me some?”

“It’s thanks for the melon pans.”

“Yukimi-chi is literally an angel. Also, black tea is super classy.”

“It’s perfectly normal. I asked my mother, and she said it’s fine to enjoy tea on tatami.”

“As expected of Yukimi-chi’s mom is the best. Tea and melon pans after school is peak.”

“Excuse me… you two?”

Sadly, I couldn’t judge the current position at all.

But that can’t be helped. There are situations in life that no amount of shogi knowledge can solve.

It was after school.

I was replaying a professional game record in the shogi club room when, right next to me, a mysterious tea party started.

Yukimi and Kagurazaka Kana were elegantly sipping black tea and nibbling on bite-sized melon pans.

Are we even allowed to brew tea at school?

This has to be breaking some rule. Even if it isn’t, it’s definitely disturbing the public morals.

I hope a teacher drags them away soon.

But if a teacher saw this scene, the whole shogi club would probably get blamed too.

I really didn’t want that.

“If you’re going to have a tea party, could you do it outside? This room is for playing shogi.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, paused my game record study, and protested.

Kagurazaka Kana answered while sipping her tea.

“But tatami is for drinking tea, right? This is the proper way to use it.”

“Then go join the tea ceremony club.”

“If I ate melon pans in the tea ceremony club they’d actually kill me. They only do Japanese sweets there.”

“The tea ceremony club isn’t a place to eat food!”

Also, there’s no rule saying melon pans are allowed in the shogi club either, okay?

If anything, the shogi club is team Japanese sweets.

“Please don’t worry about the small things. Tatsuya-san, have some tea too.”

“…Thanks.”

“Want a melon pan too?”

“…Yeah.”

The way they’re treating the shogi club is awful, but free stuff is free stuff.

I let them bribe me, ate a melon pan, and washed it down with tea.

It was delicious. Insanely delicious.

But I felt like if I admitted it I’d lose, so I very obviously looked away from both of them.

“Baba-chi is totally enjoying himself.”

“I’m not. I’m busy studying game records.”

“Shogi is good, but taking breaks is important too, you know?”

Yukimi poured me more tea and peeked at my face from the side.

Our eyes met at point-blank range, so I quickly dropped my gaze back to the board.

“The vibe is getting pretty nice. Let me in too!”

“Kagurazaka-san!?”

Kagurazaka Kana suddenly leaned forward between us.

Because of the posture, I caught a glimpse of her underwear.

…Black, huh. Speaking of black, I recently read Kuroda 5-dan’s book on the Side Pawn Picker, and it was really good.

Side Pawn Picker is pure theory, so in real games I get scared and hardly ever play it.

“Did you look?”

“…”

“Don’t stay silent, just confess!”

She asked while clutching her chest.

“I was only looking at the game record.”

“That was a totally perverted stare. For real. Super for real.”

“Tatsuya-san, is that true? If so, this is unfair…”

“Yukimi!?”

Yukimi’s face turned bright red as some strange rivalry flared up, and she reached for the buttons of her shirt.

“Why are you undressing!?”

“I asked my mother about it.”

“What on earth did you ask her to get that answer!?”

I feel sorry for the mom too. But if that was the result of the consultation, Yukimi must take after her mother.

“Now we’re even!”

She undid the third button and declared it, cheeks crimson.

…White, huh. Speaking of white, the White Cold War tournament is getting huge attention right now.

The prize money is insane, but more importantly, they finally added a league system for female pros.

It’s definitely going to shake up the women’s shogi world from now on.

I was desperately trying to think about shogi, but my classmates’ underwear kept appearing in the corner of my vision, and I couldn’t concentrate at all.

This is no environment for studying.

If they want to have a tea party, please do it somewhere else.

Because the shogi club room is for playing shogi.

※

“Baba-chi, Yukimi-chi, see you tomorrow!”

“Yes. Let’s have another tea party.”

When club activities ended, the three of us left school together.

Yukimi and I walk home, but Kagurazaka Kana takes the train, so we naturally parted at the gate.

“See you tomorrow.”

When I said that, Kagurazaka Kana smiled happily.

“I’ll show up at the club room again tomorrow!”

I’d prefer if she came to play shogi, but it’s also true the room gets lively when she’s there.