Natsume Chikei glanced down at the navigation map on his phone and confirmed he had reached his destination.
He slowly lifted his head.
Towering in front of him was the massive Tokyo Shogi Hall.
This year’s New Talent Shogi Challenge was being held in this grand gathering place for shogi players.
Natsume Chikei stepped inside.
The interior was spacious and brightly lit, with a faint scent of sandalwood lingering in the air.
As soon as he entered the lobby, he saw small groups of people lining up at the service counter to register for the tournament.
Because it was the final day for registration, the line wasn’t very long.
Natsume Chikei quietly walked to the end of the queue and waited patiently.
At the moment, only a few staff members were handling registrations.
Just one female staff member was working the counter.
The reasonably attractive woman, Horikawa Kaori, was a 1-dan women’s shogi player.
Her actual playing strength wasn’t particularly impressive, but she loved shogi with genuine passion, which was why she had chosen to work here.
Days of nonstop high-intensity work had left her with almost no rest.
She was clearly exhausted.
When she dealt with the people registering, her movements were noticeably slow.
“Please fill in your name, contact information, and any shogi rank you hold here…”
As she explained, she couldn’t help covering her mouth with her hand and letting out a small yawn, her eyes heavy with fatigue.
Soon enough, it was Natsume Chikei’s turn.
The moment Horikawa Kaori saw him, all traces of her earlier listlessness vanished.
She immediately straightened her posture.
She had met plenty of shogi players in her time—amateurs, reward association players, women’s players, and even famous professionals.
Most of them had been competing since they were children.
Because she worked regularly at the Shogi Association, she was familiar with nearly everyone in the Tokyo scene.
The circle was small; the same faces came and went.
Yet in all of Tokyo, Horikawa Kaori had never seen Natsume Chikei before.
She felt a spark of delight at encountering such a strikingly handsome young man, while at the same time she was genuinely curious about his skill level.
Was he a player who had traveled from another region just to enter the New Talent Shogi Challenge?
The tournament was open to the entire country, after all.
It had drawn plenty of out-of-town players.
The fact that people were still showing up on the very last day of registration proved how popular it was.
Most regular shogi tournaments were much smaller.
Players usually competed within a limited circle, and participant numbers rarely exceeded a hundred.
This event, however, was expected to draw over two thousand players—an unprecedented scale.
So the instant she laid eyes on Natsume Chikei, Horikawa Kaori decided he couldn’t possibly be a Tokyo-area amateur, reward association member, or professional.
And wearing a high school uniform… he had probably come from quite a distance.
Horikawa Kaori stood up, shaking off her earlier fatigue.
A warm, professional smile appeared on her face as she handed him an application form.
“Hello. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
Please fill in your name, contact information, and shogi rank here…”
She explained everything with extra patience and care.
Natsume Chikei nodded, took the form, and filled it out carefully.
He finished quickly and handed it back.
Horikawa Kaori accepted the form.
When her eyes reached the “Rank” section, she froze.
[Amateur Rank: None]
[Reward Association Status: None]
[Professional Rank: None]
She thought she must have misread it.
She double-checked cautiously.
“Natsume-kun… you’ve never registered with the Shogi Association before?
You haven’t participated in any amateur ranking tournaments either?”
Natsume Chikei blinked, slightly surprised.
“No.
Do I need an amateur rank to enter this tournament?”
“Not exactly…” Horikawa Kaori didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
Now she understood.
This boy had never played in any official tournament.
He had no rank whatsoever—not even the most basic amateur one.
A complete beginner entering the New Talent Shogi Challenge?
This looked like he was just here for the experience…
Every other participant at least held an amateur rank.
Someone with zero credentials showing up was a first.
On paper, shogi tournaments seemed open to anyone, but the actual skill level required was extremely high.
If you were unlucky, you could run into a reward association player—or even a professional—in the very first round.
The hierarchy was clear: amateur players < reward association players < professional players < title holders.
An ordinary person couldn’t even beat a decent amateur, let alone face stronger opponents.
On top of that, the entry fee was 20,000 yen.
Not a fortune, but not pocket change either.
It wasn’t the kind of money most people would casually throw away.
That was why ordinary people almost never entered tournaments like this.
Coming here knowing you were going to lose?
That was just foolish.
Horikawa Kaori unconsciously scratched her cheek, trying to figure out how to politely talk him out of it.
“Um… Natsume-kun, have you been studying shogi seriously since you were little?”
If he had been learning from childhood, some people never entered official tournaments yet still played at amateur level.
She had met quite a few like that.
She hoped he was one of them.
Natsume Chikei shook his head.
“I didn’t play much when I was a kid.”
Horikawa Kaori felt sweat prickling at her temples.
She pressed on.
“Then roughly how many games have you played in total?”
Natsume Chikei looked confused.
“Do I have to answer that?”
Horikawa Kaori cleared her throat.
“I’d really appreciate it if you could…”
Natsume Chikei had no choice but to do a quick mental count.
“I played a few games when I was little.
Yesterday I played a little over ten games with my sister.
Altogether… maybe around fifteen games.”
Horikawa Kaori’s heart dropped.
Only about fifteen games in his entire life?
This really was a complete beginner.
A total newcomer walking into this kind of tournament… wasn’t this just messing around?!
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and tried to warn him gently.
“Um… Natsume-kun, most of the players in this tournament are very strong.”
“In fact, almost no one without a rank enters, because the entry fee really isn’t cheap.”
“And the format this year is special.
It’s single-elimination.
Lose once in the first round and you’re out—no second chances.”
“Are you… sure you still want to participate?”
Natsume Chikei nodded without hesitation.
“I’m sure.”
Fukuda Tsukasa was around thirty, with noticeable stubble along his jaw.
He was a 5-dan player in the reward association and had a modest reputation in Tokyo’s shogi scene.
He had been standing in line behind them and hadn’t planned on saying anything.
But after overhearing Natsume Chikei’s answers, he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a short laugh.
Everyone serious about shogi had been grinding since they were kids.
They had spent years building their skills before they felt confident enough to enter a big tournament like this.
Yet this guy had only played a dozen or so games and still had the nerve to show up?
This was truly the boldness of the ignorant—ignorance so complete it was almost funny.