She really is quite enthusiastic, and she can hit it off right away with anyone, just like you.
I get the feeling that you're making a dig at me. Whatever, please take that as a compliment.
But even if you are praising me, I'll still take your tile. Ron! It's a Pinfu worth one Han.
Just like that, my turn as the dealer was ended by an insignificant one-Han hand. But judging from Nana Shiraishi's hand and taking into account that this is only the fourth turn, she could have ignored my 3 Man and waited to complete a Mixed Triple Sequence with a 4, 5, and 6 to assemble a better hand.
It might actually be a good thing to have my turn as the dealer cut short safely by dealing into a low-Han hand. Thank you for sparing me.
Hehe, I'm glad you understand.
After the Hanchan game ends, the dojo owner stops me and Nana Shiraishi apologetically right after we leave our seats.
Excuse me, the table over there is missing a mahjong partner. I was going to play, but something happened at the last minute, and I need to go out for a while.
Can one of you watch the cashier for me while the other person takes my place at the table? There are no other regulars here right now. Please help me.
Sure, in that case... Nana, you can watch the cashier and chat with your junior while I go play mahjong.
Are you sure you'll be okay? You were yawning the whole time while drawing tiles in the fourth South round.
I think I'll be fine... I'll just behave myself and play defensively until she returns. I'll consider it to be my victory if I don't deal into someone's big hand.
Doesn't Ai have something to discuss with you? It won't be good to keep her waiting for too long.
Nana, why don't you play? Your friend can barely keep their eyes open. I can wait a little longer.
Nana Shiraishi pats my shoulder after hearing Ai's words.
Since Ai said that, you should go get some rest. I'm sorry, Ai, just wait a little longer for me.
Thank you so much. I'll come back as soon as possible.
After the proprietress leaves, I sit down in front of the cashier and chat perfunctorily with Ai to prevent myself from dozing off.
Ai tells me that Nana Shiraishi has been taking care of her since she was in junior high school, and that Nana Shiraishi was just as warm-hearted back then as she is now.
She helps everyone and is trusted by everyone. Don't you think she's really cool?!
Um, er...
I want to be as cool as her! That's why I took the entrance test to go to Asaha High School... I-I'm sorry, I think I've gotten a little too excited.
That's alright. It does sound pretty cool to be someone who is needed by others.
I knew we would be on the same channel since we're both Nana-senpai's juniors! Junior... oh wait, only senpai calls you that. What should I call you?
PLAYER.
PLAYER, if you're worried that you'll doze off, why don't we play a friendly match of mahjong on our mobile phones?
Haha... if I wanted to play mahjong for that purpose, I should have just gone to the mahjong table earlier.
Why don't I watch you play ranked matches instead? Think of it as a "What to discard?" session, and it'll also wake me up.
Considering that we haven't managed to find something interesting to talk about yet, this proposal is far more appropriate than awkward small talk. Without saying much, Ai opens the game and starts matching with opponents.
...Huh? Instead of checking out her hand after starting the match, she is looking at the information of her opponents one by one.
Are you confirming the playing style of your opponents?
Not really. It's not like I'll be able to do anything with that information even if I know their playing style. I just want to check how many points they have... Aha, this person's rank point is looking dangerous...
Their points... Someone close to dropping a tier might start to play more aggressively. Maybe she is devising some strategy based on this.
One hour later
I'm sorry! The line was really long at the bank, which wasted a lot of time. Thanks for waiting so long.
No problem. The cashier's all yours.
Haha, I'll waive your playing fee next time.
Thanks! Ai...
I wanted to tell Ai to come watch Nana Shiraishi's game with me, but I decided against it because I could see that her game was also about to end.
Ai is currently leading by 13,000 points over the second-place player. Her opponent who is in fourth place just called Riichi. As a non-dealer player, she just needs to focus on defense to secure the top position.
However, the moment I look away from the screen, Ai seems to have played a risky tile for some reason! After the gorgeous winning animation plays on the screen, the opponent reveals their hand - apparently, Ai dealt into their Baiman.
Oh... I made a mistake. I was going to play the tile next to it.
What a shame. She probably wouldn't have made a mistake if she broke up her North Triplets. Maybe she was worried that her other opponents would attack, so she wanted to get rid of the tiles she played in the previous turns.
It's a pity, but now the opponent won't drop a tier, so this counts as my good deed for the day.
I'm back. My dear juniors, are you two getting along well?
Yeah, we are. Enjoy your chat. I'll be on my way now.
Wait, can you stay and listen to what I have to say too?
Me?
It's like this. A nearby mall will be holding a recreational mahjong competition during the weekend, and my classmates and I are thinking of participating in it as a team, but we're missing two people.
Ah, I understand now. You want me to help out and bring junior here with me along the way, right?
What? Do I have to go too?
Exactly! Nana-senpai tells me that you're always at mahjong dojos, so you must be good at playing mahjong, right?
Whether I'm good at mahjong or not is one thing. Why do you two make it sound like I'm an unemployed hobo who just plays mahjong all day long...
...Isn't that true though?
Are you asking me that seriously?
Suddenly, I find myself missing the title Kutsuji gave me. What was it again? "The famous guardian of Mahjong Soul Shrine's priestess, the best friend of students of Asaha High School, a core non-staff member of Soul..." Well, it's a little long, so I'll leave out the rest.
Don't mind the details. Well, are you free on the weekend? Playing mahjong with your senpai is a great opportunity to celebrate youth.
Thank you for not agreeing directly on my behalf, or else it'll really look like I always have nothing to do. But I am free on both days this weekend, so can you tell me the time and place?
After telling me the time and place where we'll be meeting up, Ai leaves the mahjong dojo in a hurry to tell her classmates the good news that they now have enough members.
How she can't stay still for even a second is really similar to you.
Haha, it's a good thing to be energetic! I'll see you later then. Remember to rest properly so you won't be muddle-headed like today.
You don't need to worry about me. I'll see you on the competition day.
Nana Shiraishi still doesn't understand me well enough. I always try my best in mahjong competitions.
The sky is blue with no clouds in sight on the day of the competition. My only complaint is that it just rained last night, soaking all the shared bicycles in front of my house. At least it's still early, which means I should be able to get to the mall in time even if I walk there.
By the time I arrive leisurely at the agreed place, I see that Nana Shiraishi is already waiting for me there.
Morning! You're early today.
Morning. You still arrived before me though.
Hehe, it's way too early for you to arrive earlier than me.
Stop! Is that a play on the word "early"? By the way, did you walk here or run here?
I ran here. The air is so fresh that it's a shame to not move around.
That's what I thought too. In that case, I didn't lose to you since I walked here.
Feeling competitive, are we? Well, that's a good mentality for the competition. Yes, this is very energetic of you!
Come on. It's a good day today. Let's win the competition!
You're that confident?
Hehe, I passed by Miss Kaavi's fortune-telling stall today, and she said my luck is unstoppable today and everything will go smoothly for me.
Er... she actually said something nice. If she is telling my fortune, she'll probably say that a calamity involving women is in store for me, and then she'll try to sell me a suspicious amulet.
A suspicious amulet? Doesn't Miss Kaavi always say that destiny can't be changed? Why would she sell you that type of thing?
She said it's a new business she started last month and offered me her "destiny support" services because I'm her regular customer. Didn't she give you the same offer?
Nope, at least she didn't make any such offer the last seven times she told my fortune.
...So she's only trying to scam me, huh?!
It's almost time. Let's go in so Ai and the others don't wait too long.
What? They're already here?
Yes.
It isn't often that I leave home so early. Why must I lose so thoroughly...?
Competition venue lounge
Our team was blessed with luck as foretold by Kaavi, and we had a significant lead over the other teams in terms of points by the end of the second round. If we keep up this momentum, maybe we really can win the competition!
It doesn't take long before the competition progresses to the semi-final lieutenant match of the top eight teams. Nana Shiraishi, our team captain, has gone out with one of our team members to buy bento boxes before the next match. Meanwhile, I, the vice-captain, am watching a game live on the TV on the wall with another team member in the lounge.
I start frowning as I watch...
I win!
On the screen, the little boy who moves after Ai takes the scoring sticks from Ai cheerfully. This is already the third time she has dealt into his hand.
She believed her Suji was safe and dealt in the first time, and she dealt into an Ippatsu the second time when calling chase Riichi. Just now, she played a risky tile even though she could play a safe tile.
Originally, the little boy's team was coming last, but they've now climbed back up to third place. It's only the first south round, so it's possible that they might even manage to climb up to second place by the end of this Hanchan...
After checking the scores of each team, I originally thought Ai was making mistakes consecutively because she had gotten complacent after knowing we were leading in the total points.
But when I saw her deliberately let go of the boy's deal-in while defending properly against the Riichi calls of the other two players, her actions gave me an unpleasant thought... Could Ai be playing unfairly?
