Chapter 16 16: Shogi Tutor

"He actually earned 150,000 points just like that?"

Andō Sayo and the others stared blankly as the seniors handed over their points, unsure for a moment whether they should be amazed at how easy it was to earn points or at Hikaru's exceptional ability.

If they had known that Takada Hikaru had easily won a three-on-one match yesterday, they would certainly have understood that him being able to easily earn 150,000 points was naturally because his Shogi skills had been recognized.

"We still have to attend the club information session later, can we start the tutoring now?"

After paying, Takuya was a bit impatient. In just two days, he had spent over 200,000 points. If he weren't a Third Year who had saved up quite a few points, he wouldn't be able to afford such extravagance.

Takada Hikaru nodded. "No problem. Let's start the tutoring with the club members first."

Compared to ordinary club members, the club president had to go on stage to give a speech for recruitment. The club president would be heading to the gymnasium soon to prepare for the speech, and would then have to stay in the gymnasium to handle recruitment, so he wouldn't have much time for learning. Therefore, choosing to tutor the club members first allowed for ample time for instruction.

"Then I'll go first." Takuya sat down and helped set up the Shogi board.

When facing Takada Hikaru, he was too embarrassed to put on the airs of a senior.

After the Shogi board was set up, he bowed slightly and said respectfully, "I look forward to your guidance."

50,000 personal points might seem like a lot.

But out in the real world, it would be impossible to hire a high-level Shogi player for instruction with that amount. In other words, it was Takuya and the others who were really the ones gaining.

After Takada Hikaru sat down as well, the Shogi lesson began.

Andō Sayo blinked, her face filled with confusion, and whispered to the companions around her, "I have no idea what Takada-san is talking about at all."

Amikura Mako nodded and said somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, I don't even know the specific rules of Shogi."

As for the boys, Hamaguchi Tetsuya and Watanabe Norihito understood a little bit, but only to a small extent.

Watanabe Norihito scratched his cheek. "I could understand the beginning, but I have no clue what he's talking about now."

After thinking for a moment, Hamaguchi Tetsuya said, "Takada-san and Takuya-senpai are both very familiar with Shogi, so even if they omit a lot of information while talking, they can still understand each other."

But for those like them who were Shogi novices, or even less than novices, it was like listening to a foreign language.

Noticing the situation of his companions, Takada Hikaru stopped his explanation and said to everyone with a smile, "Sayo-san, if you're bored, you can try playing Shogi yourselves for now."

"Tetsuya-san and Norihito-san understand a bit, so you can ask them to teach you while you play."

The Shogi Club members were currently listening intently to his lecture, so naturally, they couldn't spare the time to instruct newcomers like Andō Sayo.

If he made them just stay here and watch, they would surely be bored, so he found something for them to do.

Andō Sayo said, seemingly less resistant than yesterday, "Takada-san, you can just call me Sayo. It's so strange to use honorifics when you're already calling me by my first name."

Amikura Mako added, "Takada-san can call me Mako-chan too."

Compared to learning Shogi on the side, they cared more about how they were addressed.

"Alright, Sayo-chan, Mako-chan." Takada Hikaru didn't dwell on it and changed how he addressed them immediately.

To be honest, he had other motives for specifically adding "-san" when calling people by their first names.

Using first names represented his friendliness. Adding honorifics like "-san" afterward created a sense of distance.

Simply put, this was also part of crafting his persona.

However, it didn't matter if he addressed classmates by their first names directly. As long as he used the "name + honorific" combination for those from other classes, it didn't hinder his persona construction.

—

After finishing the tutoring for the two Shogi Club members, Takada Hikaru stood up from his seat and looked at his classmates. "While we still have time, let's go check out the gymnasium."

The club information session had already begun, and the Shogi Club president had gone to the gymnasium early to prepare for recruitment.

If they left now, they should arrive just in time for the end of the speeches, when the various clubs officially began their recruitment.

"Eh, are we still going to the club information session?" Amikura Mako was taken aback, a bit confused.

"Didn't Sayo-chan want to join the Volleyball Club?" Takada Hikaru said with a light smile.

"Although you can join clubs at other times, later on you'd have to specifically find the club president to submit your application materials, so it's more convenient to go now."

"That's right." Amikura Mako clapped her hands lightly. "Sayo-chan does want to join the Volleyball Club."

They had only met today and weren't familiar with each other yet, so it was inevitable that they might forget each other's preferences.

Andō Sayo said with a smile, "It's okay, you don't need to worry about me. At worst, like Takada-san said, I'll just go find the Volleyball Club president to submit my materials."

If she caused her friends to change their plans because of her, she would feel a bit guilty.

"But in that case, Ando-san, you'd have to go find people in the upper years by yourself, which would probably be very awkward." Watanabe Norihito scratched his cheek with his index finger, as if recalling a bad memory.

At that point, having to endure the gazes of the upper-year seniors repeatedly—that feeling is not pleasant at all.

"Anyway, everyone wanted to check out the club information session, so Andō-san, you don't need to mind." Hamaguchi Tetsuya said, steering the conversation at the right moment.

"That's right, I was just wanting to see what the school's clubs are like." Amikura Mako clapped her hands, following Tetsuya's lead.

Realizing that her companions didn't mind, Andō Sayo nodded slightly, and the guilt in her heart vanished. "Then thank you, everyone."

...

The group left the club activity building and headed toward the school gymnasium.

While interacting with Andō Sayo and the others, comments began to appear before Takada Hikaru's eyes.

[Is the Student Council President really that impressive? He can silence the entire room without saying a word.]

[It's anime logic, just watch it for fun. In reality, who would pay attention to a stranger?]

[Forget about a stranger; when our school leaders try to use this trick during speeches, we students just keep talking for half an hour until he can't help but tell us to be quiet.]

Looking at the comments, Takada Hikaru realized that this was a classic plot point from the original series: the Student Council President silencing the freshmen in the gymnasium without saying a single word.

But judging by the current situation, it seemed the Student Council President was still using the "Silence" skill and hadn't started the speech yet.

If they entered the gymnasium now, wouldn't they be interrupting his moment of showing off?

(End of Chapter)

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