Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Chapter 19 - Port City Erenpe #3
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Ash Greyham.
20 years old.
A holy knight of the Oath God Minastein, and also a member of the Holy Knight Order that guards the Church of the Seven Gods.
The protagonist of the southern arc, she sat utterly motionless, her gaze fixed on the Go board.
Reviewing the game.
It was a match from several years ago, but Ash remembered every move from the first to the last with perfect clarity.
That made sense—it was a game she had reviewed hundreds of times already.
Ordinary reviews were for study.
What if she had played a different move then?
What was the best possible move in that situation?
What mistakes had she made, and why had she made them?
She filled her notebook with wrong answers, developing and strengthening herself.
Study.
Practice.
Means to grow stronger at Go.
In that sense, Ash's review of this game was fundamentally different from a typical one.
Ash, who had been staring at the Go board, finally moved her fingers after what felt like ages.
A new white stone was placed on the board, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
It was because she recalled the expression her opponent had made at that exact moment.
Not all of Ash's reviews were like this.
Normally, she did them to get stronger.
But this game—this record—was special, for reasons beyond mere practice.
The next move.
This time, a black stone.
She remembered watching anxiously as the black stone was placed, her face full of worry, while her opponent gazed at her silently with a smile.
Ash lifted her head.
The her from the past crossed time in an instant, arriving in the present, and her black eyes captured the man standing by the veranda, looking at the Go board.
"A fascinating game."
He was a tall man.
Black hair, purple eyes.
Dressed in a black coat, with a sturdy build.
Ash, with her years of training, could tell just by looking how well-honed his body was.
A body close to perfection.
Even in the Holy Knight Order, few had such balanced physiques.
Of course, a good body didn't necessarily mean skill in real combat, but Ash judged the man before her to be a warrior of considerable caliber.
No ordinary training could produce such a physique, nor would there be any need to.
Ash's gaze shifted slightly upward to take in the man's face.
He was handsome.
Most striking was the complete absence of even a single scar.
From his aura and every small gesture, he was clearly an experienced warrior—how had he managed that?
Was his skill simply that exceptional?
Or did he only fight battles he could win with ease?
Ash was always like this.
Normally taciturn to the point of near silence, her thoughts raced in compensation.
The man's weapons.
On his back, an excessively large axe and a broad shield.
A dragon hunter, perhaps?
If so, the lack of scars on his face was even more astonishing.
And then, one second.
About three seconds after the man called it a "fascinating game."
What came from Ash's mouth was slightly different from her usual.
"Do... you know Go?"
Her voice was a bit husky from disuse, but it conveyed her meaning clearly.
That was why Ash felt a touch of surprise at her own words.
Normally, she would have said something like "Who are you?" but she'd unwittingly brought up Go instead.
It couldn't be helped.
The man hadn't asked what it was—he'd called it a fascinating game.
A fascinating game.
That implied two things.
One, that he knew Go existed.
Two, that he knew how to play it.
Truly rare.
Go was practically the exclusive domain of nobles.
Commoners preferred chess, which required far fewer pieces and had more intuitive rules, so many didn't even know Go existed.
And even if they knew of it, most only knew about it superficially—actually knowing how to play was perhaps one in a hundred.
So when that one in a hundred appeared, her usual composure slipped.
"A little. Seeing a Go board in a place like this made me nostalgic, so I couldn't help approaching."
The man smiled as he spoke, and Ash found herself nodding unconsciously.
A sense of shared plight.
'Yeah, I get that feeling.'
With so few people who enjoyed it, running into another Go enthusiast naturally sparked joy.
"I'm Luther."
The man said as he took a seat across from her at the veranda table.
Ash gazed at him briefly over the Go board, hesitated slightly, then replied.
"Ash Greyham."
Ash was fundamentally blunt and impassive, but she wasn't unaware of her own beauty.
Wandering the world on missions, she'd encountered countless men drawn to her looks or trying crude advances.
That was why she rarely even exchanged names, and if she did, she cut it off sharply.
But this time was different.
Ash quietly watched the man's face, waiting for what he would say next.
And the man smiled.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, then spoke in a voice tinged with shyness.
"Um... Ash, if it's not too rude for a first meeting... would you play a game with me?"
A game.
At those words, Ash unconsciously clenched her hands on her lap and nodded.
"Sure. Let's play one."
At her permission, the man grinned broadly and reached for the Go board.
"May I clear it?"
"Yes, choose your color."
Typically, the weaker player took black, the first move.
The man pondered briefly, then took black; Ash naturally took white.
"Then, let's begin."
"Go ahead."
As the man and Ash began playing, a few others at the veranda took notice.
Not because they knew Go, but because her solitary play had turned into a match, piquing interest.
But neither the man nor Ash paid them any mind.
The man—Luther—picked up a black stone and placed it on the board with somewhat clumsy fingers.
'A beginner.'
Just from how he held the stone, Ash could tell his skill was low.
Experts used only index and middle fingers, but novices needed the thumb too.
'I'll go easy on him.'
Suggesting handicaps now would be awkward, so she'd just hold back appropriately.
Like most enthusiasts of a niche hobby, Ash felt protective toward rare newcomers.
"Then, I'll play too."
Ash picked up a white stone lightly and made her first move. Luther smiled faintly.
* * *
Ash stared at the Go board in stunned disbelief.
White stone, black stone, white, black.
No matter how many times she looked, it was the same.
She had been utterly crushed.
She couldn't comprehend it.
The man's Go was just too bizarre.
At first, it was exactly as expected—pure novice moves.
Then suddenly, the plays sharpened, and by the end, they were brilliantly ingenious.
What had happened?
Was he a master toying with her?
Or had he pretended to be a beginner to lure her into complacency?
'No way... just a genius?'
Had his skill exploded mid-game against her?
'No, that's impossible.'
Such a thing couldn't happen.
But he had clearly beaten her.
The same man who couldn't even hold the stones properly.
And across from this dazed Ash—who kept glancing at her face instead of the board—Luther muttered silently.
'Hey, didn't you play too aggressively?'
How had he placed the stones to make Ash look like that?
Luther, ignorant of Go, had no idea of the game's flow.
He didn't even know why she'd suddenly said "I lose" midway.
He'd just placed stones where Integra indicated, and Ash's face had paled, sweat beading on her brow until she conceded.
At Luther's reproach, Integra puffed her cheeks and pouted.
[Master, this was my first time playing Go too.]
[I worked hard to win, and all you do is complain? You should praise me for winning!]
'Hmm, true.'
Integra had tried hard.
Her first game, and she'd beaten Ash.
But this was supposed to build rapport with Ash—was demolishing her the right way?
Shouldn't he have played a polite, handicap game?
Then, right then—
Ash, still looking lost, lifted her head, looked at Luther, and swallowed dryly.
Her lips trembled several times before her face flushed bright red.
"O-one more game..."
"Pardon?"
"O-one more... please... may I?"
Luther blinked at the desperate, slightly fearful expression on Ash's face—one he'd never seen in Dragon Hunter Origin.
'She can make faces like that?'
The blunt, impassive Ash, always stone-faced, now blushing and pleading for "o-one more game."
[Master, that smile looks perverted.]
[Accept already.]
[I'll show this mere human the gap between AI and humanity.]
Why was she suddenly competitive?
Still, it wasn't a bad development.
So Luther smiled and nodded again.
"Very well. Do you want black this time?"
"Yes, please."
Ash let out a long sigh of relief at his acceptance, composed herself, and gripped a black stone with a serious expression.
No letting her guard down this time.
Full strength from the start.
"I'll play."
Ash made her first move.
And about an hour later—
[Heh heh heh, this is the gap between AI and human. The end of the human era has come.]
Integra crowed triumphantly as Ash gazed at the board, more drained than before.
Each of Integra's—Luther's—moves had been a shock to her.
Go had established joseki, standard sequences.
But Luther's plays ignored them.
He turned forbidden moves into unimaginable attacks.
Pure innovation.
A whole new world.
His plays had grown even more refined than the first game.
Whether revealing deeper skill or improving on the fly, it was better Go—that mattered.
Ash was curious.
What would the third game bring?
What fresh innovations next?
But then—
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
At Luther's call, Ash reflexively responded and snapped her head up.
Her face held no trace of its usual stiffness. Luther gave an awkward smile and pointed out the window.
"Time to board the ship, it seems."
The ship had arrived; people were preparing to depart.
Indeed, many from the waiting lounge were heading to board.
Ash blankly looked around, bit her lip.
Then her eyes darted, and suddenly she grabbed Luther's hand.
"Wh-where are you going?"
"Pardon?"
"Th-the... destination, where... are you headed?"
Her reason somewhat restored, her voice and manner hesitant again, but she'd stubbornly finished the question, face still red.
Where are you going?
Which ship?
At her almost desperate look, Luther smiled awkwardly.
"To Erenpe."
"R-really?"
Ash's face lit up instantly, like a flower blooming.
"I-I'm going to Erenpe too! Same direction!"
Her voice was high.
Bright.
She seemed ready to jump up and dance, excitement radiating.
[Master, wasn't she supposed to be blunt?]
[Dull as a rock?]
That's what Luther thought too.
He knew she liked Go, but not this much.
If Anne Rose played Go, would she act like this in the original?
'Hmm, anyway.'
Cute.
Very.
The gap from her usual stoic face made it hit harder.
As Luther watched her with that thought, Ash snapped to awareness, her face scarlet, and quickly released his hand.
Realizing what she'd done and said.
"Th-, uh, um."
Head bowed, face red, fidgeting.
Luther wanted to watch forever, but boarding time was now.
So he cleared the board and said,
"Let's board first. Same destination means plenty of games ahead."
At his words, Ash flinched slightly, then nodded faintly.
Her face still down, but Luther could imagine her expression.
[Master, stop grinning like that.]
[You always look perverted.]
What could he do? The laughter kept coming.
Luther chuckled again, finished packing the board, and stood.
Normally blunt and impassive, but utterly passionate about Go and easily embarrassed.
Ash, protagonist and key figure of the southern arc.
Luther now traveled with her.