In the world of Saki, as the appointed time approached, the girls who had received Eriri's invitation were all waiting in place, each with different thoughts in mind.
Some stayed at home alone, but the majority had already gathered with their teammates, preparing to head to the tournament venue together.
Inside the mahjong club of a certain high school, a girl with shoulder-length purple-red hair sat seriously on the sofa. Next to her sat another girl with long dark blue hair styled in a hime cut.
On the other side of the purple-haired girl, a blonde-haired girl was chattering away excitedly, speculating about the upcoming tournament.
Beside their sofa, two more girls stood nervously in place.
These five were the main team members of Shiraitodai High School, who had represented West Tokyo in the national tournament's final round: Teru Miyanaga, Sumire Hirose, Awai Oohoshi, Yuu Matsumi, and Seiko Matano.
Just then, the always-silent Teru Miyanaga suddenly looked up at the clock on the wall and interrupted Awai's enthusiastic chatter.
"Time's up."
Awai's voice came to a sudden halt. Just as she was about to say something else, a black dot abruptly appeared before everyone.
The black dot rapidly expanded, and in mere seconds it formed a strange doorway—three meters tall and two meters wide—before coming to a stop.
"Uwah, what is that?!"
The sudden appearance of the World Gate startled Awai, and Yuu and Seiko grew even more anxious.
As for Teru and Sumire, the two of them calmly observed the portal before them.
"So this is the transfer gate mentioned in the invitation..." Sumire muttered with curiosity.
Hearing that, Awai quickly came to her senses and, shedding her earlier fear, began circling the portal like a curious child. She even poked a finger into the World Gate to experiment.
"So this is the gateway to another world, huh? It really is amazing!"
Awai looked toward Teru, her face full of excitement.
"Teru, Sumire, let's go! The portal only stays open for a minute. If we don't move now, we'll be late!"
Upon hearing this, Teru and Sumire didn't hesitate. They stood from the sofa, took a deep breath, and stepped into the World Gate.
Behind them were a beaming Awai and the nervous Yuu and Seiko.
At the same time, the girls who had already resolved themselves began stepping into the World Gate, while those still hesitant remained in front of it, wavering.
When the one-minute mark passed and the portal vanished before their eyes, regret surged in the hearts of those who hadn't stepped through.
After passing through the World Gate, Teru discovered she was no longer in the clubroom.
The first thing she noticed was that many familiar faces had already appeared around her. And as time passed, more and more people continued to arrive.
Almost all of them were from teams that had participated in the national tournament a few months prior. Through televised broadcasts, she recognized most of their youthful faces.
Seeing these people, it became clear to her who her opponents would be today.
This realization weighed heavily on her heart.
Although she hadn't joined the tournament for any particular reward, if possible, she still wanted to take first place.
But after the previous national tournament, she knew there was one person she absolutely could not defeat.
Back during the final match of the individual competition, the despair that person had brought her was something she still remembered vividly.
That kind of strength... was overwhelming.
If that girl—the one from the same school as her younger sister—also appeared in this tournament, then Teru had no confidence whatsoever in winning the final championship.
What caught Teru Miyanaga's eye next was the densely packed seats directly in front of the stage, along with the individual silhouettes occupying them.
Because the World Gate had appeared just ten meters from the audience seating, anyone with decent eyesight could clearly make out the faces of the spectators.
As Teru scanned the audience out of curiosity, she quickly discovered something that utterly shocked her.
"...Why are you there..." Teru murmured in disbelief.
Not only did she see Nodoka Haramura—someone she felt she could never match—seated in the front row, but she also spotted her younger sister, Saki Miyanaga, along with three other members of Kiyosumi High's mahjong club seated in the back corner of the audience.
Over the past few months, thanks to Saki's efforts and after experiencing several events together, the rift between the Miyanaga sisters had completely vanished. They had once again become close and harmonious siblings.
Though they still lived apart, they frequently kept in touch by phone, and occasionally made plans to hang out during school breaks.
Yet, Teru had never imagined her sister would somehow be connected to people from another world. This left her feeling immensely confused.
Just as that confusion took hold, she felt her sister's gaze turn toward her. A moment later, a familiar voice echoed in her mind.
(Sis, I know you're probably wondering why I'm in the audience. Don't worry, I'll explain everything after the tournament is over.)
(Also... Nodoka and I, along with the others, won't be participating in this tournament. So please, do your best and aim for victory!)
Saki...?
Hearing the voice inside her mind, Teru's eyes widened, and she instinctively called out her sister's name. She then saw Saki give her a sweet smile and a cheerful gesture of encouragement.
Standing beside her, Sumire Hirose and Awai Oohoshi had followed Teru's gaze. They too quickly spotted Saki in the audience.
"Teru, isn't that your little sister? Why is she sitting in the audience? And those Kiyosumi teammates too..." Awai said, full of surprise.
Teru simply shook her head slightly in response.
"I don't know either."
"Huh? But aren't you her sister? I thought you two got really close again. How could you not know?"
Awai couldn't believe what she was hearing and turned to look at Teru, only to receive no answer.
This left Awai visibly flustered. She scratched her head in frustration, still unwilling to give up. She even had the impulsive urge to run straight into the audience and question Saki directly.
"That's enough, you idiot. Stop making a fuss."
Seeing Awai's reaction, Sumire quickly grabbed her to stop her. After all, they were in an unfamiliar place, and if trouble really broke out, she wouldn't know how to handle it.
Meanwhile, many of the other contestants who had gathered on stage had also noticed Nodoka Haramura, Saki Miyanaga, and the others in the audience.
They too were filled with the same doubts that Teru and her team had, though unlike Awai, they kept their emotions in check.
Of course, not everyone was surprised. One exception was Touka Ryuumonbuchi, the first to step through the World Gate and arrive on stage.
Ever since she learned that Eriri was from another world, she had already guessed that Nodoka would frequently visit Eriri's world. What she hadn't expected was the presence of Saki and the others.
Still, before coming here, she had already resolved to find Eriri as soon as possible and speak with her face-to-face.
However, upon seeing the hundreds of people in the audience—and the large group clustered around Eriri—even someone like Touka Ryuumonbuchi, who normally enjoyed being in the spotlight, couldn't help but hesitate.
But the childlike Koromo Amae had no such reservations.
When Amae spotted Eriri and Nodoka Haramura, she immediately waddled toward them on her short legs, full of excitement.
Seeing this, Touka quickly followed, unable to just let her go alone. Behind them, Hajime Kunihiro, Jun Inoue, and Tomoki Sawamura trailed behind at a more leisurely pace.
Though the distance was only ten meters, even Amae's short legs covered it in under ten seconds.
Arriving near the audience seating, Amae lifted her right hand and waved at Nodoka, who sat in the third row, separated by just two rows of seats.
"Nana-chan! What are you doing here?"
Since Eriri's left and right sides were already occupied by Arifureta and Mio, and the next spots over were taken by Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato, there was no space beside her.
In front of Eriri sat a row of legal lolis and young girls: Shinobu, Milim, Illya, and Kohina, with the Gorgon Sisters also mixed in.
As usual, the spot on Eriri's lap was claimed by Ophis.
Haruka had already been handed over to the eager Yukino, who now sat happily cuddling her. Nearby were Akino and Haruno, along with Shizuka Hiratsuka, all seated near Eriri.
So Nodoka could only sit behind Eriri, together with Miko Yotsuya, Tearju Lunatique, and the others.
Of course, even if Ophis had given up her spot, it was unlikely Nodoka would feel comfortable sitting in Eriri's lap in front of such a crowd.
Seeing Amae greet her, Nodoka smiled and returned the greeting, though she didn't answer her question.
Amae had never spoken with Eriri directly. She had only seen her once from a distance after the final team match. So she had no idea who Eriri actually was.
As for the name on the invitation, she hadn't paid any attention to it. In fact, she couldn't even recall who the inviter was.
However, Touka Ryuumonbuchi, who had followed alongside her, greeted Eriri immediately. Though her voice trembled slightly from nervousness.
"Eriri, it's been a while!"
"Long time no see, Touka-chan~"
Eriri smiled and waved at her.
Hearing that familiar nickname, Touka's nervousness instantly faded. She returned to her usual confident self and began chatting casually with Eriri.
Those surrounding Eriri—like Arifureta—didn't interrupt their conversation. They simply observed Touka and Amae with curiosity, along with the quiet trio standing behind them.
Touka, caught up in the joy of chatting with Eriri, didn't notice the surrounding gazes. But Kunihiro and the others felt a tremendous pressure from the scrutinizing stares, making them want to flee.
After all, the people gathered here were anything but ordinary. Dragons, vampires, elves, goddesses—all with power at Level 7, Stage 1 or higher. It was no wonder the pressure was overwhelming.
Fortunately, the conversation between Eriri and Touka didn't last long—just a few sentences. After all, the tournament was about to begin.
Having agreed to talk more after the event, Touka led Amae and the others back to the lineup of participants.
By now, only two to three minutes had passed since the World Gate closed.
Without further delay, following Eriri's signal, Aoi Kujou appeared on stage in a maid outfit to serve as the tournament host. She stood before all the participants.
"First of all, welcome to the mahjong tournament hosted by our young lady!"
As Aoi's clear voice rang out, the chatting participants immediately quieted down and listened intently.
"As you all saw in your invitations, this tournament is an individual competition..."
Aoi then proceeded to explain the tournament rules, point system, and other essential details to the participants. Afterward, she opened the floor for questions.
Immediately, a red-haired girl with a single ponytail raised her hand and stood up.
"Um... excuse me, but why aren't there any mahjong tables at the venue? Without tables, we can't exactly play."
"Don't worry about that. Our young lady has it all arranged."
"Also, you haven't registered our names. How are you going to track points after the matches? Don't tell me you'll do it manually. And we haven't even been told how the match pairings will work."
"That too—our young lady has it all arranged!"
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