All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

After the semi-final match with the Meijin—

In fact, the outcome of the Meijin tournament was no longer a surprise.

Although Yukima Azuma's opponent in the upcoming final was a seasoned professional 9-dan player,

Yukima Azuma, as he was now, was virtually the strongest player in the history of shogi since its inception.

Truly, "none before, and none to come." Unprecedented and unparalleled.

For the next thirty years of the shogi world, no genius would surpass Yukima Azuma.

And in the pre-AI era, the creativity of players was suppressed by fixed patterns of play.

It became even more difficult for a figure to emerge who could rival Yukima Azuma.

It could only be said that the current shogi world—

For players who haven't reached 9-dan, their vision remains narrow, and to them, Yukima Azuma is like the moon seen from the bottom of a well by a frog.

Only when a player one day manages to step into the realm of 9-dan will they realize they are nothing more than plankton gazing at the blue sky.

After claiming his second title, the Meijin title, Yukima Azuma officially joined the ranks of professional 9-dan players.

The youngest to ever achieve 9-dan goes without saying.

He was also the first in Japanese history to hold both the Ryuuou and Meijin titles at the moment of his promotion to 9-dan.

The heat surrounding shogi exploded, all thanks to the appearance of Yukima Azuma.

Reality proves that no matter the field, a star is necessary.

Incidentally, on that note—

The TV drama Hikaru no Shogi had finished filming and was originally scheduled to air in the summer to coincide with the Ryuuou tournament—

But it was aired earlier than planned.

It immediately exploded in popularity upon broadcast.

Many viewers tuned in purely because of Yukima Azuma.

And Yukima Azuma, who was at the center of this media storm—

Was currently at the main Yukinoshita residence in Chiba, far from the hustle and bustle.

The architectural style of the Yukinoshita main residence followed traditional Japanese garden design.

Sliding Japanese doors accompanied by gardens, artificial hills, and ponds.

Sitting on tatami mats indoors—

One could hear the gentle trickling of water in the garden, along with the clear sound of bamboo knocking against stone.

While walking past the pond in the front yard, Yukima Azuma saw several koi fish swimming inside.

There was also a stalk of green bamboo with water flowing over it.

When filled with water, it would tip over, strike a rock, and let the water flow out again, repeating endlessly.

That was what's called a shishi-odoshi, also known as taketori.

A characteristic decoration in Japanese-style gardens.

Its original use was supposedly in rice fields, to scare off birds and beasts.

Later, it gradually became a decorative item, also imbued with a Zen-like aesthetic.

Japanese history is short, and the so-called aristocratic class nowadays—

In fact, during the Bakufu period, most of them still had to farm.

Many things considered precious were, in truth, forced into existence.

Yukima Azuma seemed to understand this, but didn't entirely agree.

Because, even though this was a guest room for serious discussions—

That taketori in the garden was honestly very noisy.

Upon hearing Yukima Azuma voice this opinion—

A few dark veins appeared on Mrs. Yukinoshita's forehead.

(ㅅ´ ˘ `)

But she had no choice but to endure it, and picked up the teapot to pour Yukima Azuma another cup.

The matter of collaboration between the two sides concerned licensing rights.

The Yukinoshita family's initial preparations were finally complete.

All that was left was for Yukima Azuma to sign the contract, and then the two sides could begin implementation.

Mrs. Yukinoshita had originally planned to visit Tokyo around this time to find Yukima Azuma.

She didn't expect that boy to show up at the Yukinoshita estate on his own.

Sitting here, drinking her tea, and even criticizing her garden design.

"About the collaboration..."

Mrs. Yukinoshita was just about to begin talking about the contract.

But Yukima Azuma interrupted her:

"That matter isn't urgent."

Mrs. Yukinoshita really wanted to say that it was urgent.

There was still so much to do after signing the contract.

But she continued to endure, waiting for Yukima Azuma to finish speaking.

The fact that the boy came all the way here on his own like this—

There was definitely some kind of scheme behind it.

Mrs. Yukinoshita had a vague feeling that something was off.

(¬_¬")

But for the sake of the Yukinoshita family's development, she could only helplessly wait for him to continue.

"Recently, I've been thinking of going on a trip with Yukino."

Yukima Azuma tapped his finger rhythmically on the table, a faint smile of anticipation appearing on his face.

Upon hearing that, Mrs. Yukinoshita's emotions grew a little complicated.

However, more than anything, she felt puzzled.

The two of you going on a trip—why are you telling me?

( ╹ -╹)?

Mrs. Yukinoshita still had a bit of self-awareness.

She had once pushed her daughter to the point of running away from home.

At this moment, she clearly couldn't take on the airs of some Mother-sama, issuing orders about their relationship anymore.

Seeing the puzzled expression on Mrs. Yukinoshita's face,

Yukima Azuma's fingers unconsciously tapped harder on the tabletop…

"Even though Yukino is already an adult, this is still her first time going on a trip far from home."

"As Yukino's mother, don't you have anything you want to say to her?"

Mrs. Yukinoshita glanced at the hand of Yukima Azuma tapping on the table.

She now understood why the boy had come.

He came to demand accountability?

Come to think of it, Mrs. Yukinoshita did realize that she hadn't exactly fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother.

But the period when Yukino and Haruno were growing up just happened to coincide with the bursting of the economic bubble.

At that time, the Yukinoshita family was practically on the verge of collapse.

The Yukinoshita family that Mrs. Yukinoshita had worked so hard to build was like a machine endlessly charging forward.

If it had crashed into a wall then, it would've stopped immediately.

The components of that machine would've snapped, leading to complete destruction.

The only choice was to find another way, keep moving forward, and gradually decelerate.

Back then, it wasn't just that she was powerless—her spirit was exhausted to a certain extent as well.

By the time she turned back, the mother-daughter relationship had already deteriorated significantly.

Mrs. Yukinoshita did feel regret.

But, if she had to choose again, she would still make the exact same decision.

Now, looking at the boy coming in full force to demand justice for the person he cherished—who happened to be her biological daughter—

Mrs. Yukinoshita felt a subtle mix of emotions.

A faint trace of guilt and heartache she couldn't put into words, but there was no anger at all.

Compared to previous times when Yukima Azuma's jabs drove her mad—

This time, Mrs. Yukinoshita slightly lowered her head.

"At this point, what could I possibly say?"

"Hope you two have fun. If you end up having a kid, bring it back—I'll take care of it."

ദ്ദി( ︶︿︶)

The corner of Yukima Azuma's mouth twitched a little.

Putting aside whether or not having a kid was a bit premature—

Yukima Azuma really wanted to ask the beautiful woman in front of him: where did she get the confidence to say she'd look after a child?

Letting Mrs. Yukinoshita babysit—would that really be okay?

He took a breath and adjusted his mood.

Yukima Azuma bared his teeth in a grin:

"If you can't think of anything to say..."

"Then why don't you come travel with us? Maybe that way you'll feel a bit more at ease."

(≖⩊≖)