Chapter 431 – The Hundred-Man Slaughter
『Upper right corner star point! Upper right small knight approach! 3-3 invasion! The forcing move! 5-5!』
“Uoooooh, take that! And this! Hiyah!”
Why? Why am I sprinting through the streets of Japone while playing Go?
“Whoa… go get ’em, Big brother~”
“This is quite a sight, isn’t it…”
Over a hundred long tables with Go boards were lined up in the middle of the road. On each board, skilled Japone Go players, young and old, both townspeople and kingdom samurai, sat playing against Tre’ainar through me.
A simultaneous hundred-board match against the Go players of the Japone Kingdom.
I dashed from one end to the other, placing black stones exactly where Tre’ainar instructed, then returned to the start to make the next move. Repeat.
“Guh, ngh……”
“Wh, what is this? My formation is being split apart!?”
“Incredible… this is a guidance game… he’s testing me.”
“Hoh! To grant me a handicap stone, how many years has it been… Hah!? This move!?”
“Ugh, to play at this level while managing a hundred-board match against even me…”
Every time I make a move, the opponents facing me react one by one, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to all of them.
Anyway, all I can do is focus on not messing up Tre’ainar’s instructions as they fly at me without pause.
『Fufu, excellent! Playing 100 consecutive games would be impossible without the child’s stamina and concentration. The rhythm is adequate as well. I can enjoy this without reservation. There are some considerably challenging players among them…… likely professionals…… and the master of the one called Makushita is quite impressive as well! Tis been ages since last my skills have tingled so!』
Tre’ainar seemed thoroughly pleased with my efforts.
Wait… how did this happen?
Well……
“Huh?! Wh …… what is this?”
All I did was play one game of Go with the guy named Makushita. That’s all.
It’s not like I showed off the Great Magic Spiral or any other technique to intimidate the crowd.
And yet……
“…I thought he might be a devil of Go…but he’s actually a god.”
“Truly, it was as if we witnessed the strokes of a god……
“We were treated to something truly splendid……”
“A god…… sniff…… ugh.”
The people of Japone—townspeople and Kingdom Samurai alike— knelt down and bowed to me.
No, seriously, it was just too abnormal.
“Whoa… whoa~……”
“Big brother… you ‘both’ might have gone a bit too far this time……”
Both Espie and Slayer were totally freaked out.
“…Shinobu’s discernment was genuine, after all… For such an entity to exist…”
And even Shinobu’s brother was moved to his knees. Why is this happening?
Anyway, the passion the Japonnese had for the game of Go and their reactions were far beyond my imagination.
And the troubling part? These guys don’t stop at just being moved.
“Excuse me, Onii-san…… no, the Great God of Go……”
“Huh?! G, God?! Me?”
“Please grant this old man’s dying wish…… if you would …… as a parting gift for the afterlife, play one game with me.”
To my surprise, he bowed his head and asked me to play with him too.
Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two people.
“That’s not fair! Me too!”
“Wait, I’m Makushita-kun’s sensei!”
“Then what about me? I placed in the Go tournament the other day…”
“Hey hey, me too! I wanna play tooooo!”
One after the other, requests to play poured in. Those who had been kneeling now insisted that they wanted to play, swarming around me and each claiming to be the one who would do so.
“Wow, hey, hey, calm down!”
“Ugh, you guys, just back off already! You’re making Big brother uncomfortable!
“Honestly, I won’t tolerate anyone causing trouble for Brother.”
I’ll be crushed if this keeps up.
Even Espie and Slayer realized that things were getting out of hand and stepped in to stop them.
But, their words fell on deaf ears among the excited people of Japone.
I never imagined they’d go this far just to play against Tre’ainar…… I’m not that good at Go, so I don’t know, but I guess it must mean that much to the Japonese people.
『Fuhahahahaha, dear me, what helpless bunch of humans you are… willing to go to such lengths just to face me?』
Tre’ainar grinned, not seeming entirely displeased.
Wait, during the Great War, if Tre’ainar had just demonstrated his Go skills instead of fighting Japone, wouldn’t the Demon King Army have won……?
『Hmm, it cannot be helped. Child, let us indulge them.』
「Eh, eh? No, even if you say that…… taking on all these people, how long would that take!? Even if it’s an instant kill, playing one-on-one with each of them would be impossible…」
『What~, Then we can just play them all at the same time.』
「…… Huh?」
And so, Tre’ainar cheerfully proposed……
And so it was decided……
“Guh…… I resign.”
“…… I have no moves left.”
“No way…… a complete defeat……”
“How can someone this strong exist? There’s no way to win…”
“Hopeless… but, what is this? This feeling of refreshment…….”
“Completely outmatched… yet, it makes me want to play Go even more… and it makes me love it even more…”
That’s how it turned out.
We had volunteers set up Go boards for a hundred simultaneous matches.
I never imagined I’d end up running around like this.
『Fufufufu, as expected of Japone. Even passers-by play sound, well-structured moves…… There seem to be some new standards which I am unaware of, quite educational for me…… I absorb them all…… Fuhahaha, learning and growing stronger even after death… This is an unexpected turn of events even for me!』
Even so, Tre’ainar faced this many opponents without a hint of confusion, let alone struggle—he won every single match.
Literally a hundred-man slaughter.
Moreover, he didn’t just crush them with overwhelming strength.
He played in ways that taught his opponents, tried new moves for fun, and left them fully satisfied or even moved.
“…… Amazing…… Some of the players are professionals, right?”
“Y, yes, that’s right…… but this Onii-san is also really amazing, isn’t he? Running that fast and playing every game without making any mistakes……”
While I was playing, I was stunned, but somehow, little by little, I started feeling happy.
Espie and Slayer believed in Tre’ainar’s existence, but they couldn’t actually see him or hear his words.
None of these Japonese people know about Tre’ainar.
But still, in this way, I managed to let many people sense Tre’ainar’s presence.
Even though only I can see Tre’ainar, Tre’ainar certainly exists.
Thanks to the Japonese people’s over-the-top reactions, I was able to truly feel that again myself.
“… This is the move of hope that changes the world… There is a deeper world in the world of Go that I have yet to discover… I never thought I would learn about it in this way…”
And before I knew it, only one opponent remained. But even that game was nearing its end.
Furthermore, judging from the reactions of the opponent, the situation appears to be unshakable.
Yet, not a single cloud marred that expression.
『Hmm, so this one is the Master of that Makushita…… a very fine player indeed. Several levels stronger than Shinobu…… a beautiful game record has been made. This one will surely get even stronger. Keep striving.』
From the thoroughly satisfied Tre’ainar came praise for his opponent.
And his opponent, too, stopped playing cleanly and bowed his head.
“Phew…… I’d love to continue, but… I don’t want to tarnish this beautiful game record with any more wasted moves… I suppose this is enough… I yield!”
Before I knew it, the sun was starting to set, and we had just accomplished the “Japone Hundred-Man Slaughter“.
But, even though the term “Hundred-Man Slaughter” sounded violent, to the Japonese people……
“Incredible… absolutely incredible, this foreigner! Who is he!?”
“Ah, I want to play again… oh, but it might be rude for someone as inept as me……”
“Well, I just thought of a move I’d like to try while playing……”
“Oh, me too! Hey, since we’re at it, why don’t we line up all the games we played against him and review them?”
“Good idea! Instead of rushing for a rematch, let’s reflect on this game first!”
“Actually, how about collecting all the game records from this multi-board match and making a book out of them?”
“Whoa ~~~, I’m getting all excited just thinking about it!”
Everyone’s eyes were sparkling like this.
Well, it’s a feeling that is hard for me to understand, but seeing them this happy, maybe it was a good idea to let Tre’ainar play them.
Tre’ainar also seemed to be in a really good mood……
“Ugh… a complete defeat, I say. I still have much to learn… Even sensei… was utterly defeated, I say… “
“Hmm? Ah, Makushita…”
“That Shinobu… ugh… falling for him doesn’t seem to be a lie after all… I acknowledge it, I say…”
Makushita said that with a solemn expression.
Come to think of it, that was the original issue, wasn’t it?
Still, when it comes to Go, it’s Tre’ainar’s skill, not mine, so I’m terribly sorry for that misunderstanding.
That aside, when he first appeared, I thought he was a pretty arrogant guy, but I never expected him to become so humble when it comes to Go.
In Japone, the game of Go is not to be underestimated……
“Come to think of it, that Onii-chan is Shinobu-chan’s special someone, right? So then… if Shinobu-chan and that Onii-chan get married and come to live in Japone from now on… wouldn’t that mean they could play with us again?”
“”””Ah…………””””
Those were the words that someone present muttered unexpectedly.
Who said it wasn’t the issue.
The problem was that those very words……
“No, don’t just go ‘Ah’!”
…had somehow elicited a reaction from the Japone folks like, “That’s a good idea.”
“Hahahaha, that’s tough, Big brother. Well, I think Shinobu dear would be fine as your wife… but living here, though ~”
“Yeah, we’re about to set off on an adventure… Settling down permanently is… Well, having it as a base might be okay, I guess……”
And now even Espie and Slayer were reacting like that—give me a break.
No, well, I mean, I wouldn’t mind Shinobu either… but I probably shouldn’t say that so irresponsibly… what with Kron and the others to consider……
“A, anyway, it’s gotten late, so we should be heading back! We came all the way here to hang out, and the sun is about to set.”
“””””EEEEEEEEEEEEEHH~~~~~”””””
“I said, don’t just go ‘Eeeh’!”
I never thought it would turn out like this.
I figured the whole country was gloomy under the king’s tyranny, and that a lot of people were suffering. But it turns out the people here can still get excited and laugh like this.
Seeing that bright side of them made me feel… relieved somehow.
But seriously, it’s probably best not to stir up any more trouble, cut our visit short, and get out of here.
Now I can probably slip away with the situation involving Shinobu’s brother swept under the rug……
Sads Translates 