158: Finding My Own Playstyle

"In my dream, I seemed to have won the Dragon King title and was preparing to face Meijin..."

"And then?"

"That's it. I woke up before anything else happened. Who knows, maybe in a few days, I'll dream of the sequel."

"If you do, be sure to tell me about it."

Hakuto smiled. He wasn't lying—when he went to the concert in a few days, he would see what happened in that lifetime.

However, Ginko assumed he was just trying to amuse her. After all, having a sequel to a dream wasn't unheard of, but the chances were too slim.

Hakuto shared everything he had seen a few days ago with Ginko without holding anything back.

Even though he didn't want to involve Ginko in the whole esper situation, simply talking about it didn't pose any real harm.

As Ginko listened to Hakuto describe his dream, a trace of longing appeared on her face.

Perhaps, to Ginko, this was the best possible outcome.

She lightly shook the folding fan in her hand and, feigning a casual tone, asked,

"Say, is this what you really want, Hakuto?"

"Hm?"

Hakuto was momentarily puzzled by Ginko's question. If those researchers hadn't come after him in the end, the dream would actually been quite nice.

But there was no way he could tell Ginko about that. Besides, he already knew what she wanted to hear.

"Of course, this is exactly what I want."

Hearing this, Ginko instinctively took a deep breath. She said nothing, only tightening her grip on the folding fan in her hand.

A professional shogi player...

That was all she could see right now. As long as she reached that level, everything would fall into place!

At that moment, Hakuto also received the money transferred over after losing the bet with Kuzuryuu Hachii.

Seeing the extra money in his account, Hakuto let out a helpless sigh.

Then, he turned to Ginko, and in the next second, he suddenly picked her up.

"Let's go, Ginko. We're going out to eat. My treat today!"

"You idiot! Why are you suddenly picking me up?!"

"I'm just a little excited, that's all."

As Hakuto looked at Ginko in his arms, he realized that perhaps the scene he had witnessed that day had shaken him more than he thought. 

He even felt a little dazed.

At the same time, he felt an even greater sense of gratitude toward Otosaka Shunsuke for creating Hoshinoumi.

Just thinking about it made Hakuto frustrated! 

He didn't really care about himself, but knowing that the Ginko from that timeline would be heartbroken over his disappearance made his blood boil!

Without hesitation, Hakuto used his strength to lift Ginko onto his shoulders.

Ginko, though a bit reserved, did not struggle. Instead, she sat quietly on Hakuto's shoulders.

As she observed how smoothly he had picked her up, she couldn't help but blurt out,

"Why... are you so good at this?"

"Huh?"

"Have you done this with other girls before?"

"No, no, absolutely not! Ginko, you're the first!"

Hakuto wasn't lying. Although Nao often ended up sitting on his shoulders, that was always him being passive.

Unlike Ginko, who had done so willingly. It was like the difference between being forced and taking the initiative.

Seeing Hakuto's serious response, Ginko let it go. Having known him for over ten years, she could tell when he was lying.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Shouldn't you be the one deciding? I've already had breakfast."

"Alright, then I'll pick! Let's go!"

Throughout the meal, Hakuto remained in unusually high spirits—so much so that even Ginko found it odd.

He wasn't sure why, either. Maybe he just wanted to cherish this rare moment of peace.

After all, soon, Otosaka Yu would be seizing every ability in the world, and there was no way Hakuto could stay idle. 

Sooner or later, he'd have to face off against a world-conquering final boss.

"Later, I'll take you somewhere," Ginko said as she watched Hakuto eat.

"Okay."

Hakuto nodded. He had nothing planned today anyway—he had taken the entire day off from the student council president.

But the next second, as he lifted his spoon, his hand suddenly froze mid-air.

He had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him.

Instinctively, he turned his head, but aside from the endless flow of pedestrians on the street, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Ginko, noticing his unusual reaction, asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Probably just my imagination."

Recently, due to frequent use of his abilities, Hakuto had become extremely sensitive. He often felt as if someone was watching him, even in an empty room.

At first, he didn't mind—it was better to be cautious than to be caught off guard. But over time, it started to get annoying.

Shaking off the thought, Hakuto focused back on his meal.

After they finished eating, Ginko led him to a place that looked like a teahouse.

"This place is?"

"A shogi teahouse. A gathering place for amateur players..."

Hearing Ginko's words, Hakuto instinctively glanced inside.

Most of the players were elderly men and women. Even the youngest ones looked to be around thirty.

"Ginko, do you have a habit of bullying beginners?"

"Don't underestimate these players," Ginko said, tapping Hakuto's shoulder with her folding fan.

"They just never pursued professional ranks due to their age, but their skills aren't bad."

"Oh?" Hakuto nodded thoughtfully. "So why did you bring me here?"

"You... are going to play against them."

"Me?!" Hakuto pointed at himself in disbelief.

Although he was technically an amateur player, he figured his strength was at least around seventh-dan.

He didn't want to come here just to crush a bunch of elderly players.

Seeing his expression, Ginko explained further.

"Hakuto, would you ever consider finding a teacher?"

"Huh? Who could even teach me?"

"Hakuto, your shogi skills rely entirely on computational power. You need to learn different playstyles."

Ginko wasn't wrong to worry. She had no idea Hakuto had superhuman calculation abilities.

In her view, only by combining raw calculation with a solid playstyle could one become truly invincible.

But Hakuto wasn't the type to formally apprentice under someone and study a specific playstyle.

So the only way left was for him to play against as many opponents as possible and develop his own.

"Also, you shouldn't win too quickly. You need to observe..."

Ginko spoke seriously, making it clear she wasn't joking.

Hakuto nodded in agreement. 

Ginko would never steer him wrong, and besides, he also needed to think about how to secure the Eternal Seven Crowns without relying on his superhuman calculations.

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