All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

The next day.

Hinatsuru Ai drowsily opened her eyes.

(๑-﹏-๑)

Her long brown hair was slightly messy after a night's sleep.

Only the ahoge on her head remained full of energy, gently swaying.

Rubbing her eyes, Hinatsuru Ai sat up, preparing to wash her face.

But just as she lifted the blanket—

She discovered a large brocade pouch placed beside her pillow.

At first, Hinatsuru Ai was slightly startled.

Then, anticipation filled her face.

(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

Opening the brocade pouch, inside was a folding fan.

She pulled the fan out, her fingers gently caressing the frame—

Then, little by little, she unfolded it.

The fan's surface gradually spread open before her eyes.

There were only two simple characters: "Jing Hong."

(note: google: means a startled wild goose. It is used to describe the graceful figure of a beautiful woman. It is also used to refer to a beautiful woman or an old love who has a graceful figure.)

In the corner was Yukima Azuma's signature.

The strokes were bold and decisive, no less than those of a calligraphy master.

After all, these were Kanji characters.

As long as it wasn't written in Katakana, perhaps there was no one in all of Tokyo who could write Kanji more beautifully than Yukima Azuma.

Hinatsuru Ai stared intently at the two characters "Jing Hong," flowing like soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes.

A smile gradually became uncontrollable.

A joyful cheer rang out from her room.

At that moment, Yukima Azuma had just returned from his morning run.

Hearing Hinatsuru Ai's delighted laughter, Yukima Azuma smiled slightly.

In fact, he had spent a long time deciding what to write on the fan for Hinatsuru Ai.

Most shogi players wrote their personal aspirations on their fans.

Or words of self-reminder.

But Yukima Azuma felt that it wasn't necessary.

Hinatsuru Ai, at this moment, lacked neither courage nor confidence.

She would undoubtedly shine.

Her future would be a broad and boundless path.

So what was there to remind her of?

As for wishes, although Yukima Azuma was Hinatsuru Ai's master,

Such aspirations were best left for her to contemplate herself.

After much thought, Yukima Azuma ultimately decided to gift Hinatsuru Ai with a blessing of "Jing Hong."

Her future would be a dazzling spectacle, like a soaring crimson bird.

Retracting his gaze, Yukima Azuma stretched.

Lately, his morning runs seemed to have little effect on him anymore.

Even after extending his running distance,

There was still no notification of an increase in stamina.

After his physical attribute reached eight points,

Yukima Azuma's physique had a small breakthrough.

Now, it seemed that regular exercise was becoming ineffective for further enhancement.

Level seven skills were a milestone.

And for attributes, it seemed that eight points was the threshold.

Even though he had hit a bottleneck, Yukima Azuma wasn't too concerned.

If he couldn't break through, so be it.

It wasn't like he had any plans to compete in the Olympics or anything.

If there was still no progress after a few more days,

Then there would be no need for him to continue morning training.

After all, stamina and physique were provided by the system; they wouldn't degrade just because he stopped training.

That was one of the greatest advantages of the system.

Whether skills or attributes—

Once acquired, they would never deteriorate over time just because of a lack of practice.

Just as Yukima Azuma was about to return to his room to change,

Suddenly, a door in the hallway swung open.

Yukima Azuma looked over and then smiled, waving his hand.

"Ginko-senpai, good morning!"

Sora Ginko was still wearing her adorable sky-blue pajamas at this moment.

Upon seeing Yukima Azuma, she instinctively lowered her head, her gaze shifting downward.

(>/////< )

Her left hand grasped her right wrist.

On her wrist was a deep blue bracelet.

It seemed to be woven from silver threads, with a small gemstone inlaid in gold as its centerpiece.

Overall, it resembled a miniature crown.

The gemstone was like the jewel adorning that crown.

This bracelet, of course, was a gift from Yukima Azuma.

Having carefully chosen a present for his disciple,

It was only natural that Yukima Azuma wouldn't play favorites and forget about his Ginko.

Her fingers gently brushed over the gemstone, warmed by her body heat.

The tension in her heart from her upcoming match suddenly eased.

All anxiety vanished completely, leaving only a lingering sweetness.

"I... I really like it."

(づ>/////<)づ♡

Sora Ginko whispered.

"As long as you like it, that's all that matters. I picked this gift especially for Ginko-senpai."

"I figured Ginko-senpai would like it too. After all, you're the Queen—you must love crowns, right?"

Yukima Azuma replied with a smile.

Sora Ginko wanted to say that as long as it was a gift from Yukima Azuma, she would love it no matter what.

But no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't deny it—

This particular gift, she liked especially much.

This tiny silver-threaded crown had struck right at the heart of her maiden soul.

What girl wouldn't love such a gift?

Yukima Azuma's thoughtfulness made Sora Ginko want to jump into his arms right then and there.

Her cheeks gradually turned red.

Sora Ginko looked up and weakly gestured toward Yukima Azuma,

As if signaling for him to lean in closer.

Yukima Azuma was a little puzzled.

But he still lowered his head slightly,

Wanting to hear what Sora Ginko had to say.

However, what awaited him was only a soft "Muah~"

(˶˘ ³˘(´͈ ᵕ `͈˶)

The next second, Sora Ginko immediately dashed back into her room.

(∩˃o˂∩)♡

Yukima Azuma touched his cheek, the spot where he had just been kissed.

Unbelievable.

His Tsundere-senpai had actually kissed him voluntarily?!

But then again… if it had been on the lips instead of the cheek, that would have been even better.

Thinking of this, Yukima Azuma chuckled and shook his head.

That was greedy.

There was no need to rush things.

Senpai was still young, after all.

While Yukima Azuma was still standing there grinning foolishly—

Kiyotaki Keika stepped out of her room.

Seeing her kouhai standing in the hallway with such an idiotic expression,

As a Great Senpai, Kiyotaki Keika couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Had something just happened?

If Kiyotaki Keika found out that both Sora Ginko and Hinatsuru Ai had received gifts…

No matter how mature she was, she would probably roll her eyes.

Didn't you say you wouldn't play favorites?

૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა

—

10:00 AM.

After washing up and changing, the girls gathered in the hotel lobby.

The Mynavi Women's Tournament was about to officially begin.

After receiving their "spiritual treasures," Hinatsuru Ai and Sora Ginko had both calmed their minds.

Sainokami Ika, needless to say, had never been the type to worry in the first place.

On the contrary, Kiyotaki Keika—who had seemed relaxed earlier—

Now looked a little nervous.

"Good luck. I'll be cheering for you all from the commentary room."

Yukima Azuma offered encouragement to the girls.

Upon arriving at the tournament hall, Yukima Azuma immediately split from the group.

The participants headed to draw lots for the preliminary groupings,

While Yukima Azuma went straight to the commentary room.

As the Ryuuou, the Shogi Association had roped him into being a commentator.

It was understandable—after all, the Association was eager to promote Yukima Azuma outside the shogi world,

Building him up as a star figure.

Opportunities like this to appear in public?

Of course, they would do everything they could to push him into the spotlight.

Naturally, he would be paid for his time.

—

Seated alongside Yukima Azuma in the commentary room was Kugui Machi.

She was a young girl with long, straight black hair, with the tips dyed a faint purple.

Carrying an air of nobility, she was the daughter of a family that ran a tourism business in Tokyo.

At the same time, Kugui Machi was also a female shogi player and currently held the "Yamashiro Sakura" title.

(Note: Her wiki doesn't have much info, and it seems like her profile picture is wrong, so I'm not sure if this is accurate or not.)

—

Incidentally,

Kugui Machi and Sadatou Ayano—the girl who played against Hinatsuru Ai last time—were senpai and kouhai.

"The young Ryuuou-san, good morning."

Seeing Yukima Azuma enter, Kugui Machi smiled slightly and greeted him.

"Kugui-san, good morning."

Yukima Azuma responded.

Since the lot-drawing process was still ongoing,

The broadcast hadn't started yet.

As a result, the two of them could chat freely.

"I heard Ryuuou-san's disciple is competing this time?"

"Umu, it's also her first official tournament."

"Are you nervous?"

"Not really, actually. She's surprisingly reassuring."

"Ginko-san is competing too, right? So, who is Ryuuou-san supporting more?"

"Speaking of which, why isn't Kugui-san participating in this tournament?"

Yukima Azuma's mouth twitched slightly.

Even if this wasn't on-air yet, don't drag me into the battlefield of romance, my friend!

(ㅅ´ ˘ `)

Hearing him change the topic, Kugui Machi covered her mouth and chuckled before waving her hand dismissively.

"I have to focus on defending my 'Sakura' title in the Cherry Blossom season. Besides, to be honest, I don't think I can beat Ginko-san."

Saying this, Kugui Machi let out a small sigh.

"Not to mention Sainokami Ika… I'd rather not face her either."

Yukima Azuma immediately understood the problem.

Sainokami Ika's past matches had relied purely on raw talent.

Playing against her—if your talent wasn't on the same level—even winning could feel like losing.

Not to mention, Sainokami Ika's personality was so blunt it was almost rude,She outright looked down on her opponents.

It was understandable that some players didn't want to deal with her.

But ever since Yukima Azuma straightened her out a little, her terrible attitude had improved quite a bit.

So, he didn't say anything more.

Once the broadcast started, Kugui Machi would see for herself.

"Commentators, we're about to go live."

A staff member reminded them.

With that, the two stopped their casual conversation and sat properly in front of the live broadcast cameras.

The big screen beside them lit up.

The main display showed the shogi board for the preliminary rounds.

Meanwhile, Yukima Azuma and Kugui Machi's images were only in a small corner of the screen.

As soon as the broadcast began,

A flood of live comments poured in.

This interactive feature made it easier for commentators to engage with the audience.

After all, to attract viewers, you had to keep up with modern trends.

Kugui Machi glanced at the comment section.

The first line almost made her lose her composure.

( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

"All hail Prime Minister-sama!"

▄█▀█●

Yukima Azuma also saw the comment.

He casually waved his hand.

"At ease, mongrel."

( ︶︿︶)_

Ever since his Ryuuou victory interview, where he had carelessly blurted out that he wanted to be Prime Minister,

The internet had never stopped teasing him like this.

Of course, Yukima Azuma didn't mind.

Politics in the Land of Cherry Blossoms was already unpredictable,

And the online community loved these kinds of jokes.