All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 4: Sora Ginko is My Senior Sister

Seeing the call from "Ginko" displayed on the screen, Yukima Azuma immediately answered.

"Ginko..."

"Saturday, come to the Chiba Shogi Club for practice."

Her voice sounded like she was not accepting any objections.

"Okay, starting from 9 AM, right?"

"..."

"..."

There was a long silence on the other end, and then a soft sound:

"Huh?"

Her voice was gentle, sounding soft enough to imagine the bewildered expression on her face.

Then, as if to confirm:

"Saturday, come to the Chiba Shogi Club for practice."

She repeated what she had just said, but this time her tone was a little more enthusiastic.

"I heard you. I'll be there on time, Ginko."

Yukima Azuma responded kindly, without any irritation.

"Umu!"

Then, the call ended.

Although it was just a brief word, it was clear that the person on the other end seemed very happy.

Ginko, or more accurately, Sora Ginko.

A 14-year-old genius Shogi player, called "The Snow White of Naniwa," and an idol in the Shogi world.

She is a two-time champion, holding the top two titles of the six major Japanese women's Shogi tournaments, "Queen" and "Women's Throne."

As a second-dan professional player, she possesses both skill and fame, and is a true genius.

And she is Yukima Azuma's senior sister.

When he was young, before his memories fully awakened, Yukima Azuma chose Shogi among other disciplines like Go, calligraphy, and painting.

At that time, the Yukima family still existed.

Thanks to that, Yukima Azuma was accepted as a disciple by Kiyotaki Kōsuke, a professional Shogi player, and became a junior to Sora Ginko.

By the way, thanks to his high intelligence, Yukima Azuma was once a famous genius in the Shogi world.

"The youngest professional Shogi player," "fifth-dan professional Shogi player," and "a true genius of Shogi"...

These were the titles that used to be associated with Yukima Azuma.

However, after the fall of the Yukima family, Yukima Azuma no longer pursued the pinnacle of Shogi.

The complete awakening of his memories, coupled with the family crisis, had significantly changed Yukima Azuma's goals and principles of action three years ago.

For the past three years, Yukima Azuma's primary goal had been "to make money."

First, he needed money.

Only then could he climb the social ladder.

Therefore, Yukima Azuma had to put Shogi on hold.

Although Shogi, a popular game in the country, also offered substantial prize money from tournaments, it was...

Unfortunately...

Three years ago, a player holding the title of "Meijin" had been shaking up the Shogi world, as if "slaughtering" all his opponents!

At that time, Yukima Azuma had tried to challenge this "Meijin."

And he was easily crushed.

According to the skill level estimated from the system's board, that "Meijin," the strongest in Shogi history, had a Shogi skill around level 9.

To defeat him with certainty, Yukima Azuma would likely have to raise his Shogi skill to the maximum level, meaning reaching the peak.

At that time, when the system hadn't awakened yet, Yukima Azuma didn't hesitate to give up on Shogi and turned to other ways to make money.

In the past three years, Yukima Azuma hadn't participated in any official Shogi tournaments.

Only occasionally, when Sora Ginko came to visit, would the two play Shogi privately.

During these three years, Sora Ginko consistently invited Yukima Azuma to the Shogi club once a week to study Shogi.

Yukima Azuma refused, and Sora Ginko never asked why.

Perhaps this is why, when Yukima Azuma agreed to go to the club, Sora Ginko was so surprised, and couldn't hide the excitement in her voice.

As for the reason why Yukima Azuma suddenly agreed to go to the club?

It's simple.

He had earned a bit of money, and that allowed him to have more time and energy to focus on other things.

More importantly, the "Meijin" who had once shaken the Shogi world...

Had now won the title of "Eternal" in all tournaments except "Ryuou."

In accordance with the rules, the person in question was not allowed to participate in the most recent "Ryuou" match.

In the recent major tournaments, it seemed that they hadn't participated, possibly preparing to take a break and then return next year to win the "Ryuou" tournament comprehensively.

If that happens, it will be an unprecedented achievement: seven eternal crowns and hundreds of other major titles.

And when that "Meijin" is no longer around...

The current Shogi world...

How should one describe it?

Hmm...

It's full of "mediocre" opponents.

While reflecting on Shogi, Yukima Azuma quickly finished his morning run.

When the message "Slight increase in Physical" appeared in his field of vision, Yukima Azuma gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.

He had run about ten kilometers.

Far from Shibuya Station, nearing the Gakushuin-shita area.

He remembered that his refrigerator at home seemed to be empty.

Yukima Azuma figured out the direction and decided to stop by a nearby supermarket to buy some ingredients.

From now on, his apartment wouldn't be just his own—Kasumigaoka Utaha would also be staying.

It could be predicted that the food consumption would definitely increase.

Even though Kasumigaoka Utaha hadn't mentioned anything about "eating for free," Yukima Azuma knew he had to be well-prepared.

Although this was the Academy district, due to the spring break, the streets were quite empty.

Turning a corner, a spring breeze blew by, carrying the final coolness of the season, along with the pink cherry blossom petals falling like rain.

Having just exercised, Yukima Azuma squinted slightly, enjoying this natural gift.

The saying "When faced with trouble, one can ask the spring breeze" seemed fitting here.

A gentle spring breeze like this surely possessed a special power to sweep away worries and clear the knots in one's heart.

However, it seemed that the power of the spring breeze was not limited to that.

In his field of vision, a white object was floating in the wind.

Yukima Azuma blinked in surprise, instinctively catching the object that was drifting towards him in the spring breeze.

In his hand, the soft texture and faint floral scent immediately filled his senses.

It was a white beret.

As he looked more closely at the item, Yukima Azuma experienced a strange sense of familiarity.

It felt as if this spring breeze, this white beret, were carrying with them two words:

"Encounter."

He lifted his gaze.

Across the corner of the street was a long slope leading upwards.

With vague memories of the area, Yukima Azuma recalled that this slope was named...

"Detective Hill."

Amid the cherry blossom rain, Yukima Azuma saw, standing at the top of Detective Hill, a young girl bathed in golden sunlight. She gently brushed her bangs behind her ear, her movements graceful and serene.