Touka Ryuumonbuchi

The first match of the preliminaries for Kiyosumi High School pitted them against three relatively unknown schools without any significant mahjong achievements in previous years.

As a result, the first round of the first match was essentially a no-pressure situation for Yuuki Kataoka.

Yuuki's playstyle was aggressive, particularly in the East Wind round, where her fortune was overwhelmingly strong. She quickly secured winning hands and racked up a substantial lead for Kiyosumi High School, creating a massive point gap between them and the other three schools.

Yuuki's relentless dominance left the other players questioning their skills. Despair crept across their faces, and one by one, their confidence crumbled. To avoid losing even more points for their teams, the other three players became overly cautious and hesitant in their strategies.

By the time the match entered the South Wind round, Yuuki's momentum in the East Wind round dissipated, and her winning streak slowed. However, the other players, focused solely on making quick but small winning hands, failed to capitalize on the situation.

It wasn't until the match concluded that they realized their passive strategies had sealed their fate, but by then, it was too late.

At the end of the first vanguard match, Kiyosumi High School's point total was over 60,000 points higher than the second-place team.

When Yuuki returned to the viewing room, the first thing she saw was Takei Hisa, Mako Someya, and the rest of the group, along with Eriri and Nodoka sitting alone in the front row.

Just as she was about to join Nodoka in the first row, Takei Hisa stopped her.

Meanwhile, Mako Someya had already replaced Yuuki in the next room and was ready for the next match to begin.

After a ten-minute break, the second round, the vice-captain match, began.

Due to the overwhelming defeat in the first round, the vice-captains from the other schools were noticeably cautious and hesitant.

But Mako was no novice. While her mahjong skills might not compare to Nodoka's or Saki's, she was more than capable of handling ordinary players.

By the end of the vice-captain match, Mako had earned an additional 20,000 points for Kiyosumi High School.

At this point, Kiyosumi High School's score had surpassed 160,000 points.

In the third and fourth matches, both Takei Hisa and Saki Miyanaga refrained from showing their full potential. Takei Hisa's infamous "Hell Wait" (Jigoku) and Saki's "Rinshan Kaihou" never made an appearance, as they only aimed for small, frequent wins.

Although each win yielded only a modest number of points, the sheer number of wins was enough to steadily increase their lead.

By the time the final captain match was about to begin, Kiyosumi High School's score was a staggering 120,000 points higher than the second-place team.

It was clear who the winners of this match would be. Even if Nodoka didn't win a single hand during the captain match, it would be nearly impossible for the other teams to close such a massive gap.

But would Nodoka refrain from playing to win? That was obviously not going to happen.

As Nodoka prepared to take her place, the viewing room quickly filled with spectators eager to watch her play. The previously spacious room became crowded, with attendance doubling or even tripling.

Among the spectators was a golden-haired beauty with waist-length hair and a prominent ahoge standing straight on her head. Despite wearing oversized sunglasses and holding a large newspaper as a disguise, her stunning appearance made her anything but inconspicuous.

Accompanying her was a butler dressed in a formal suit, who pushed a cart laden with desserts to her seat in the front row.

On the cart were several exquisite cakes, along with a pot of freshly brewed black tea and a set of European-style teacups. Beside the teapot lay a set of knives and forks, clearly meant for enjoying the desserts.

As a result, most people present immediately recognized her identity: Touka Ryuumonbuchi, the heiress of the Ryuumonbuchi family and the leader of Ryuumonbuchi High School's mahjong team.

Ryuumonbuchi High School was an even more formidable institution than Kazekoshi Girls' High School. In last year's national tournament, they had defeated Kazekoshi Girls' High to secure their spot in the national competition.

Touka Ryuumonbuchi's mahjong skills were undoubtedly strong, though they paled in comparison to the very best players.

However, this only applied to her normal state. When Touka awakened her alternate persona, her mahjong abilities would skyrocket, catapulting her into the ranks of the strongest players in the nation. This "superpowered" state was known as Cold state. Unfortunately, Touka herself had no ability to freely activate this state.

Cold state would emerge when she faced a sufficient number of top-tier opponents, and her personality would become icy and detached.

In the original storyline, Touka had used Cold state to decisively defeat Saki Miyanaga, Koromo Amae, and even a professional mahjong player. However, this mode came at a high cost; it consumed an immense amount of energy and could only sustain her for a few matches before she collapsed into unconsciousness. Upon waking, she would automatically exit Cold state.

"Milady, your tea," her young butler said respectfully as he meticulously poured tea into a cup and handed it to Touka.

"Thank you, Ogiwara," Touka replied with the poise befitting a true heiress as she gracefully accepted the tea.

Touka's presence sparked murmurs among some of the students seated further back. However, compared to Touka, it was Eriri who remained the main focus of attention.

Many in the room recognized Eriri as the ethereal beauty they had glimpsed earlier in the main hall. A significant number of spectators had chosen to attend this match solely because of her.

Seated in the front row, Eriri's long hair partially obstructed the view of those behind her. Yet no one dared to approach her or take a seat in the same row.

Touka, however, was an exception.

After Nodoka left for the match, Eriri was left alone in the first row. Though several seats separated them, Touka occupied a spot just three seats away.

At first, Touka paid no particular attention to the person seated to her left. She had never seen Eriri before and therefore felt no immediate curiosity.

But that changed when she caught a glimpse of Eriri's profile by chance.

The moment their eyes met and Eriri greeted her with a faint smile, Touka felt as if a jolt of electricity had surged through her.

"So beautiful…" Touka murmured, her hand holding the teacup frozen in place.

She quickly regained her composure but found her interest in Eriri piqued. Her curiosity only grew upon noticing Eriri's school uniform.

As a refined and charismatic heiress, Touka had always been the center of attention wherever she went. She relished the admiration and had always aspired to become even more popular.

So, she had always regarded Nodoka Haramura, who was highly popular in the mahjong world, as a rival. Her purpose in coming to this spectator room was to observe Nodoka's matches, gain insights into her opponent, and confirm a certain guess in her mind.

Since the uniform worn by Nodoka on the large screen matched Eriri's perfectly, at this moment, Touka Ryuumonbuchi already assumed Eriri was one of Nodoka's companions.

Touka was not someone who hesitated. If she was interested in something, she would act on it.

She immediately stood up from her seat, confidently moved two spaces to the left, and finally sat down in the seat to Eriri's right.

"How about a cup of tea?" Touka said to Eriri while gazing at her face with a look of amazement.

The butler accompanying Touka instantly understood her intentions upon hearing her words.

Cooperatively, the butler retrieved a fresh European-style teacup from the bottom compartment of the dessert cart. Within a few seconds, a steaming cup of black tea appeared in his hand.

He then bowed respectfully and presented the elegant teacup to Eriri.

"Please enjoy," the butler said deferentially, deliberately avoiding looking directly at Eriri to maintain his composure.

"Thank you," Eriri replied gracefully. She accepted the cup and took a delicate sip.

The tea was decent, but compared to what Aoi Kujo brewed, it still fell short by a noticeable margin.

After Eriri took a sip, Touka glanced at the butler standing nearby, finding his presence somewhat intrusive to her conversation with Eriri.

With a casual wave, Touka dismissed him. "Ogiwara, you may leave now."

"As you wish," the butler responded with a deep bow before exiting.

Once the butler left, Touka was the first to break the ice. "Can we get to know each other? I'm Touka Ryuumonbuchi. You've heard of me, haven't you?"

As she asked this, anticipation flashed in Touka's eyes. She hoped for a positive response from Eriri.

And Eriri's reply did not disappoint.

"Of course I've heard of you. Hello, Touka-chan, I'm Eriri Spencer Sawamura," Eriri said with a gentle smile to the beautiful girl beside her.

Hearing that Eriri had heard of her made Touka feel quite pleased.

However, Touka couldn't help but comment on Eriri's form of address.

"Chan... It seems like I'm probably older than you, right?"

Touka was already a second-year high school student, while Eriri, clearly the same age as Nodoka, was a first-year.

"Oh? Is it not okay to call you that?" Eriri tilted her head slightly, her face showing a look of confusion.

This adorable expression left Touka internally flustered, and she decided to let the matter of titles slide.

"Then can I call you Eriri?"

"Of course, you can," Eriri replied.

...

The final round of the captain match ended swiftly, with Nodoka Haramura directly knocking one team into negative points, leading to an early conclusion of the match.

In this round, neither Nodoka, Saki Miyanaga, nor Hisa Takei displayed their true abilities.

Even so, the spectators were deeply impressed.

The ability to defeat opponents by driving them into negative points alone was enough to demonstrate the team's overwhelming strength.

Although it was Kiyosumi High School's first time participating in the tournament, it was evident that their team had no weak links.

With the end of the matches, the morning session of the competition concluded.

The county preliminaries featured a total of sixteen schools, conveniently divided into four matchups.

By the end of the morning, two advancing teams had been decided. In the afternoon, the remaining two advancing teams would be determined. The final round of the competition was scheduled for the following day.

After Nodoka's captain match, Touka bid farewell to Eriri and departed.

During this time, Touka and Eriri hadn't conversed extensively. After a brief introduction, most of the time was spent watching Nodoka's matches.

Touka remained focused on her primary objective: confirming whether Nodoka was indeed the mysterious online mahjong legend known as "Little Nodoka."

In her match, Nodoka refrained from using any supernatural abilities, relying entirely on a data-driven playing style. However, this time, her precision had reached a new level.

Since her playing style was identical to the legendary "Little Nodoka" in online mahjong, Touka definitively concluded that Nodoka was the infamous urban legend.

By around 5 PM, the final two advancing teams were decided: Kazekoshi Girls' High School and Tsuruga Academy.

These teams, along with the morning's winners, Ryuumonbuchi High School and Kiyosumi High School, would compete in the finals the next day to determine which schools would advance to the national tournament.

However, with Nodoka on Kiyosumi High School's team, the other three schools had little chance of victory—even with Ryuumonbuchi High School boasting a captain loved by the tiles.

...

Instead of returning home, Eriri and her group decided to stay overnight at an inn near the competition venue.

In the original timeline, Nodoka and the others had to rush home in the evening and then return early the next morning due to budget constraints, which made staying at an inn unfeasible.

Now, things were different. Nodoka had won valuable items like gold during her draws in the chat group, so money was no longer an issue for her.

Staying in an inn for one night—or even a luxury hotel for an entire year—posed no financial strain.

They booked four rooms in the inn: Eriri and Nodoka shared one room, Hisa Takei and Mako Someya shared another, Saki Miyanaga and Yuuki Kataoka shared a third, and Kyoutarou Suga had a room to himself.

"Alright, now that we've secured our rooms, let's head out for dinner," Hisa said with a smile in the inn's lobby. "I may not have the budget to cover the accommodation costs, but I can at least treat everyone to a simple meal."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: 

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven