Noon.
After lunch.
Kiyotaki Keika returned to her room.
She opened the suitcase she had brought along and took out an old ani-thed notebook.
This was her childhood diary.
For the past two years, as she approached the red-line age limit for female shogi players,
In monts of anxiety, Kiyotaki Keika often took out her childhood diary.
She would open it to remind herself how she had started in the first place.
But every ti, she could only flip through a few pages before she had to close it again.
When she was a child, Kiyotaki Keika was brimming with confidence in herself.
Back then, Yukima Azuma and Sora Ginko had yet to study under her father.
Every line written by little Kiyotaki Keika was filled with love for shogi and the belief that she would inherit her father's legacy.
But as she grew older and was battered by reality,
The once-little girl, now an adult, began to envy her younger self.
If this ti, in the mvnavi tournant, she still couldn't beco a professional female player…
It seed like she would have to give up.
And now, she had already lost in the very first round of the qualifiers.
Kiyotaki Keika wasn't completely in despair, but it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.
As she turned the pages,
An envelope unexpectedly fell out from between them.
Kiyotaki Keika was montarily stunned.
She picked up the envelope.
Only when she opened it and saw the childish handwriting on the paper inside,
Did Kiyotaki Keika suddenly rember—she had written this letter when she was little.
Back then, there was a trend of writing letters to oneself ten years in the future.
It was just that Kiyotaki Keika had completely forgotten about it.
Now, more than ten years had passed.
Amid the childish handwriting on the paper, it was filled with her hopes for the future.
"Ten years later, have I achieved my dream and beco a professional female shogi player?"
Kiyotaki Keika really wanted to tell her younger self—
She had no natural talent for shogi.
Every ti she competed, she could feel the gap in talent between her and her opponents.
It was a stinging, murky feeling.
But thinking carefully, did she truly regret stepping onto this path?
In her mind, an image of a small girl appeared.
A girl with short, tea-blonde hair, holding a shogi piece in her hand, smiling radiantly like a blooming flower.
Kiyotaki Keika smiled.
No matter how she thought about it, there was no way she regretted it.
...
Afternoon.
The draw for the second round of the qualifiers.
Sora Ginko anxiously tugged at the hem of Yukima Azuma's shirt.
Her gaze was fixed on Kiyotaki Keika, who was stepping forward to draw her match-up.
"Did you not go talk to Keika-nee at noon?"
As the reigning Queen,
Sora Ginko didn't even need to participate in the qualifiers and advanced directly to the main tournant.
But that didn't an that soone as talented as her couldn't understand Kiyotaki Keika's feelings.
On the contrary, Sora Ginko understood them very well.
Because she herself had a goal that was extrely difficult to pursue.
Even so, although she wanted to encourage her sister senpai,
Sora Ginko was clumsy and genuinely didn't know what to say.
However, she felt that Yukima Azuma was smooth-tongued—he should at least go and offer so words of encouragent.
Yukima Azuma gently patted Sora Ginko's small head.
( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`)
"Don't worry, Keika-nee isn't just a supporting character in soone else's story."
"She's the protagonist of her own tale—whether or not anyone helps her, she'll find success."
Hearing this, Sora Ginko could only nod lightly.
...
After the drawing ended, Yukima Azuma waved to Sora Ginko before heading toward the broadcast room.
The afternoon livestream had far more viewers compared to the morning session.
And without a doubt, Yukima Azuma played a major role in that.
Even those who didn't understand shogi,
They still enjoyed watching Bishounen chat.
Afternoon, the director was no longer making biased cara cuts.
They couldn't just keep milking Yukima Azuma for views.
Otherwise, when the qualifiers ended, there might be online speculation about Ryuuou rigging the results.
However, the screen still occasionally switched to the matches of Hinatsuru Ai and Kiyotaki Keika.
By the ti all the afternoon matches had concluded,
the four rounds of the first day had co to an end.
The list of players advancing to the main tournant was also announced.
And finally, Yukima Azuma, today's comntator, could clock out.
He stealthily made his way to the winner's interview area, blending into the crowd of reporters.
"Hinatsuru Ai, how does it feel to beco the youngest player in history to reach the main tournant?"
A reporter raised a cara and asked.
The small girl, hugging a bouquet half her size, answered timidly:
"Even though I'm still weak and have a lot to learn, I'll definitely keep winning!"
/ᐠ > ˕ /////•̀๑)
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