Chapter 95

The main abilities of the Thousand-Year Shogi are two-fold.

"The first, as I explained earlier, is the ability to command the yokai that have been defeated."

Even if a yokai is torn to pieces, leaving no trace, those defeated by the Thousand-Year Shogi will be completely restored and turned into a piece. Furthermore, the yokai that have been commanded can not only be stored in the form of shogi pieces but can also be summoned from anywhere by the Thousand-Year Shogi. Therefore, as Juna told us, even if a knight or a lance exists alone, we must assume that they are fighting against countless yokai.

"Both of the yokai we fought this time were also summoning the yokai they command. We should consider that they can still summon many more..."

"Yes. Since there are also yokai that have gone missing in Honshu, we should assume that they can also be summoned."

"There are also yokai that were commanded in the battle ten years ago, right? It's a pretty powerful ability."

"However, it seems that the yokai they command cannot be immediately summoned. They need to go through the motion of spitting out the piece from their mouth. It's not a significant gap in time, but reinforcements can only come from their mouth."

I see, if we watch their mouth, we can tell when reinforcements are about to appear. When Juna faced the Thousand-Year Shogi, she might have immediately attacked to prevent the summoning of reinforcements.

"The second ability is the regenerative ability that sacrifices the pieces they command."

Even if the Thousand-Year Shogi's pieces lose their arms or legs, they can regenerate by consuming a sufficient amount of yokai. Moreover, any piece other than the king can be revived if a yokai equivalent to the lost piece is sacrificed.

"So, the knight and the lance we fought earlier are probably already recovered..."

"Yes, I think so. Revival takes time, but there are records that regeneration can be completed in a few seconds."

"If they can spit out pieces from their mouth, they can almost instantly consume yokai. They are a troublesome opponent."

In other words, to defeat them, we need to launch continuous attacks faster than their regeneration or finish them off in one blow. Even if we take time, the king can revive, and they command a large number of yokai, making them simply strong. They are too troublesome.

"By the way, where are the other pieces? There are still 18 more, right?"

"Ten years ago, we couldn't defeat the Thousand-Year Shogi, but we managed to reseal it in the mountains of Tohoku. My father informed me that during the investigation of the seal, it was found that a knight, a lance, and a rook had escaped."

So, the two we fought earlier were probably the 'knight' and the 'lance.' If it had been a rook, it would have been a case of false advertising. I was relieved to know that the other pieces are still sealed, but the 'rook' is still out there...

"By the way, I heard that the Kinsugi family of the Five Great Yin-Yang Families found one of the pieces, so it seems that only those two are here."

"Oh, I see. If that's the case, we can focus on finding and defeating those two."

When defeated, the king inside the seal will revive from the mouth of the king. If we can defeat them, we can force them back into the seal. Although it's troublesome that they can revive, it's a relief that we can seal them immediately upon defeat.

"Anyway, that's all the information we have about the Thousand-Year Shogi's abilities and the current situation."

Juna concluded, and the explanation ended. However, something feels off...

"Commanding yokai, regenerating pieces, and reviving them. Are those the only abilities of the Thousand-Year Shogi?"

"Yes, those are the only confirmed abilities."

"Something feels unnatural..."

"Unnatural?"

Juna and the others tilted their heads at my words.

"Commanding defeated yokai follows the rule of using captured pieces in shogi. The regenerative ability, while a bit forced, might be a result of converting captured pieces into a regenerative form of ability."

"It's a bit forced, but the ability does follow the rules of shogi."

"I agree."

While nodding in response to Mae's words, I continued.

"But in shogi, both sides can use captured pieces, so it's strange that we can't use them."

"Hmm, maybe they don't leave any rules that benefit the opponent?"

"Indeed... Based on my experience, abilities derived from games often reflect rules that benefit the opponent. If the Thousand-Year Shogi's abilities follow the rules of shogi, it would be normal to assume that we can also use captured pieces."

Juna and I tilted our heads, and Kuro informed us.

"In the past, I fought a yokai with an ability derived from a game, and that yokai even activated rules that benefited the opponent."

"Also, in shogi, pieces can promote when they enter the opponent's territory. I wonder if there's an ability based on that rule."

"Actually, there was a practitioner who had the same doubt as you, Kousuke. It was my father, actually. This doubt has been discussed many times."

So, it's Ryukai. Indeed, others have had the same doubt.

"However, even when the Thousand-Year Shogi's pieces were defeated, we couldn't command them, and in the battle ten years ago, we couldn't confirm any ability based on the promotion rule. Therefore, it seems unlikely that such an ability exists."

"Indeed, if they didn't use it even when cornered, it's more likely that they don't have such an ability..."

The concept of one's own and the opponent's territory is vague since there are no actual squares on the board.

"By the way, will reinforcements come?"

"We are currently recalling practitioners and reinforcing the main house, so the reinforcements will arrive by noon tomorrow at the earliest."

Mae asked, and Juna answered. The commotion here might be a diversion, and the main house of the Mizukami family could be the target. Indeed, defense is necessary. The arrival of reinforcements is a bit late, but they are moving quite quickly.

"The search for the Thousand-Year Shogi will likely start tomorrow, so it might be best to stay together tonight."

"Indeed, we don't know where they are hiding."

Mae's words were met with agreement from Juna. Originally, Juna and Mae were supposed to stay at a hotel in the city.

"What should we do? Should we contact the temple that is helping the Mizukami family?"

"That might be a good idea. Temples are easier to set up barriers in."

"Wait a minute!"

Just as we were about to start looking for a place to stay, my parents burst into the room.

"Huh? The barrier should not have been lifted... How did they get in!?"

"Ah, the barrier... I broke it by hitting it several times with this dagger and my mother's pickaxe."

"I'm sorry for breaking it. It was more fragile than I thought."

No, that shouldn't be... Even though it wasn't a serious barrier, it should have had the strength of a few centimeters of steel.

It shouldn't be possible to break it with a dagger made of animal bone and a commercially available pickaxe, no matter how hard they tried.

"That dagger and pickaxe... I sense an unusual presence."

"Kakaka"

"I sense a cult-like presence."

Kuro, Shiro, and Nia seemed to sense something and whispered to me.

Indeed, I felt a mysterious power, but when I checked with my acquired ability, it only showed that the dagger was made of horse bone and the pickaxe was made of aluminum and iron.

"Kuro says they are still children."

"Children?"

"Those tools seem to have started hosting spirits. They have a similar aura to us, like spirits."

According to Rin, these two tools have just started hosting spirits. That's why Kuro said they are "still children."

Considering the old man who collected Kuro and the fact that I didn't get reincarnated into another world, it seems our family has a knack for collecting mysterious things.

"I'm not sure, but this pickaxe is from a famous mountaineering equipment manufacturer at the time. I bought it about 30 years ago."

"This dagger was given to me by a tribe called the Lapithes when I was lost in the depths of Greece. They were very nice people."

Mother's pickaxe looks as good as new, with no dirt or damage, as if it were brand new.

The bone dagger, which seems to be dull, has already shaved off part of Father's sideburns as he reminisced about the past.

With a strained smile, Kuro informed me that souls can sometimes inhabit objects that have been cherished for a long time.

"Juna, those tools..."

I wanted to ask more about the mysterious tools, but Juna and Mae were in shock, wide-eyed and dazed.

They don't seem to be in a state to answer.

"More importantly, if you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at our house!"

"Yes, yes. We have extra rooms, so please stay comfortably."

"Um... Is it okay for us to stay?"

"Of course, of course! You two are Kousuke's school friends, right? We welcome you. Please tell us about school."

"Ah, I'm not from the same school, but more like a colleague..."

"Oh, I'd love to hear about Kousuke's work too."

Thus, Juna and Mae ended up staying at my parents' house and became the target of their curiosity.

They are already being bombarded with questions from my parents.

"Juna seems... to be doing well."

I was a bit worried since the Thousand-Year Shogi is related to the death of her mother, but she seems to be enjoying the questions from my parents.

She might have her thoughts, but if she's enjoying it, that's the most important thing.

Incidentally, Mae is already showing signs of fatigue.

"Oops! I haven't prepared dinner yet. Can I order a platter from a bento shop in time?"

"If not, we can get sushi again."

"\"Sushi!\""

Since takeout every day is a luxury we usually can't afford, Rin and Ul are very excited.

In the end, we couldn't ask about the mysterious tools my parents had, and the night went on.

◇

The Kinsugi family, one of the Five Great Yin-Yang Families protecting the Chugoku and Kinki regions, has a branch in an office building in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. In one of the rooms, a young girl with golden twin-tails was frowning as she looked at the documents in front of her, while a middle-aged woman was organizing other documents beside her.

"The period when the yokai went missing, the strong yokai reaction detected... It seems one of the Thousand-Year Shogi's pieces is causing trouble around here. What a bad draw."

With a bitter expression, the current head of the Kinsugi family, 'Kinsugi Yae,' continued her words.

"According to the documents sent by Ryukai, the pieces confirmed in Hokkaido are definitely the knight and the lance. If that's the case, the one causing trouble here must be the rook."

After finishing reading the documents sent by Ryukai, Yae leaned back in her chair and relaxed.

"Well, it's fine. I've already sent Mikan to handle it. It should be manageable."

"Yae-sama, Mikan has only been a practitioner for two months. Is it really safe to leave it to him?"

The middle-aged woman, who is the head practitioner of the Kinsugi family, Jizaki Chisato, spoke sternly to the relaxed Yae.

"Mikan's skills as a practitioner are already top-notch... no, even better. I don't think he will fall behind even considering the Thousand-Year Shogi's abilities. Besides, this is a good opportunity to gauge his true strength."

"That's true, but are you still suspicious of Mikan, Yae-sama?"

"Of course. What's his background? It's full of inconsistencies. He always looks so relaxed during training, and I'm sure he's hiding his true strength."

Mikan, a young man who joined the Kinsugi family as a trainee practitioner about two months ago, has an unusually quick learning ability and has continued to grow at a pace that rivals the head practitioner of the Kinsugi family, making him a promising new talent.

However, Yae has a strong sense of unease about his background.

"His family environment is complicated, and he didn't receive proper compulsory education. His relatives, except for his sister, are all gone, and the high school he attended has already been closed. In the end, Mikan has no friends or relatives other than his sister. It's strange that there's no way to verify his background other than through his sister and official records."

"Indeed, it's suspicious, but his household registration is solid and consistent. Besides, his sister is cute. Maybe you're overthinking it?"

"You just like Mikan's sister, don't you!"

She is short, cheerful, has a good personality, and, most importantly, is very cute.

For Jizaki, who has a dangerous hobby of admiring cute girls, Mikan's sister is a perfect match.

"Besides, the brother and sister don't look alike at all. Their blood relationship is suspicious."

"Even so, why did you send Mikan on this mission? Even if it's to gauge his strength, the risk is too high."

The Thousand-Year Shogi's ability to command defeated yokai as pieces becomes more threatening over time.

Therefore, the mission to defeat the Thousand-Year Shogi is of high importance, and it would be normal to send a practitioner with trust and experience.

"Well, the main reason is the shortage of personnel. The abnormality in the ley lines at this timing. Probably, the rook did something to divert our personnel."

"That's true. The timing is too perfect."

Currently, many of the Kinsugi family's practitioners are dealing with the abnormality in the ley lines flowing through Kyoto Prefecture.

Therefore, the number of practitioners who can immediately respond to the Thousand-Year Shogi is limited.

"Use whatever you have. That's our way!"

(Cute... Twin-tailed girl boss, she's great.)

While Yae confidently declared this, Jizaki was thinking about something else with a serious expression.

"Are you listening?"

"I am listening."

"Well, it's fine. Still, who are these two really?"

Looking at the documents containing information about 'Mikan' and 'Yui,' Yae quietly muttered.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you continue to enjoy "Reincarnation... Not!" this year. Thank you!