Hearing Aoi Kujou's two casual responses, the red-haired ponytailed girl—the ace and club president of Himematsu High School, Hiroe Atago—immediately pouted.
However, she understood that this wasn't her original world, and she couldn't freely express dissatisfaction here. So she merely pursed her lips, grumbled inwardly, and returned to her teammates, clearly displeased.
Once Yuu stepped back, Aoi Kujou swept her gaze once more over the gathered participants.
"Anyone else have any questions for me?"
Though she was wearing a maid outfit, the overwhelming aura she exuded caused the contestants to instinctively glance at one another while whispering in hushed voices.
In the end, no one else stepped forward.
Hiroe Atago had already asked what most others were wondering. While some were still curious about tournament rewards, Aoi Kujou's earlier responses made it clear she had no intention of providing detailed answers.
So from their perspective, asking questions now seemed pointless. All that remained was to quietly wait for the tournament to begin.
"Since no one has further questions, I now declare the first round of the Mahjong Tournament officially open!"
With those words, Aoi Kujou officially announced the start of the tournament.
The moment her voice fell, twelve rows and six columns of virtual mahjong tables—seventy-two in total—materialized above the stage, neatly distributed across the platform.
At the same time, the participants standing at the front of the stage were instantly assigned to tables in groups of four.
Originally, Eriri had considered letting a few audience members fill in if there were too few participants.
Of course, that plan came with conditions: they couldn't use their powers, nor could they outshine the main contestants.
But as it turned out, there were exactly 288 participants—not one more, not one less.
Meanwhile, a giant translucent screen behind the stage lit up, displaying the names and portraits of all the contestants, each with a score currently sitting at zero. The names were listed in random order.
The number of floating displays above the stage also increased from fifty to seventy-two, with each showing the real-time status of one mahjong table.
While Eriri and others could easily track every table with just their eyes, these screens were indispensable for those who hadn't reached Level 2—like Shizuka Hiratsuka—or those who had come for the cooking contest, such as Rindou Kobayashi.
What the heck? How did I suddenly end up at a mahjong table?
Hiroe Atago blinked in confusion, looking at the three opponents now seated across from her, then glanced at the surrounding tables several meters away.
Her last memory was of Aoi Kujou announcing the tournament's start. She hadn't expected the tables and even the match-ups to be instantly established in the very next moment.
Despite being mentally prepared for strange occurrences after witnessing the World Gate, the scene still left her stunned.
She wasn't alone. Nearly all contestants on stage shared the same reaction. For the first ten seconds, not a single match began.
But that hesitation didn't last long. Soon enough, the players collected themselves and began their games in earnest.
Especially those confident in their own abilities—realizing the wish promised as the grand prize might actually come true had greatly heightened their motivation.
In particular, Koromo Amae, who had entered with a playful attitude, now bore a serious expression. From the very start of the match, she activated her abilities, determined to secure a spot in the finals.
At the moment she activated her ability, Koromo Amae suddenly felt as though she could fully enter a full-moon state—even though it was still broad daylight.
This discovery shocked her greatly, but now wasn't the time to question it. Being able to enter full-moon mode was nothing but advantageous.
Of course, that meant immense pressure fell upon the three ordinary girls seated at her table.
Under Amae's relentless assault, their points quickly dropped, all three of them on the verge of being wiped out.
25,000 points just wasn't enough!
And this wasn't limited to just her table—players like Teru Miyanaga, Awai Oohoshi, Saki Miyanaga, Sae Shishihara, Komaki Jindai, and Kei Arakawa were all going all-out.
Even Touka Ryuumonbuchi instinctively entered her "control-the-flow" mode the moment the match began.
Some contestants, upon realizing that singing wasn't prohibited, even started singing during the match. Fortunately, every mahjong table was enveloped in an invisible barrier, preventing any sound from one table from disturbing another.
Various visual effects—imperceptible to ordinary people—were clearly visible to those like Eriri, making each mahjong table look more like a battlefield of supernatural powers.
The audience roared with excitement, thoroughly enjoying the show. Only the ordinary humans like Shizuka Hiratsuka wore confused expressions, completely unaware of what had everyone so hyped.
With this level of intensity, many matches wrapped up in under thirty minutes.
The tables still active were mostly those with evenly matched players, leading to intense back-and-forth gameplay.
Once their matches ended, players like Amae were led by Aoi Kujou to empty seats in the audience.
They were told they could move around freely until the next round began.
Naturally, Teru Miyanaga immediately sought out her sister, Saki.
Since Saki and her group were seated in a more secluded area, Teru's arrival didn't cause much disruption, aside from drawing a few curious glances.
"Sis, you were amazing just now! You're ranked first in points!"
Seeing her sister approach, Saki stood up excitedly, pulled Teru down beside her, and began praising her non-stop.
Since Teru had come directly to Saki after leaving the stage, she hadn't checked the leaderboard.
So when she heard her sister's words, she instinctively looked up at the display—and sure enough, her name and picture were in the top-left corner of the ranking.
"It was nothing. Everyone else is strong too. Besides, this was only the first match."
Teru responded calmly, showing no sign of pride, as if she were discussing something trivial.
And she was right. The second-place Amae and third-place Touka Ryuumonbuchi were only a few points behind. The gap was slim, and rankings could easily shift.
To maintain a top-four position, it wasn't enough to just beat the three players at your table.
One had to consistently perform their best in every match, maximizing points gained in each round.
"I believe in you, Sis! You'll make it to the finals and win the whole thing!"
...
Though her sister's faith made Teru happy, she didn't show it outwardly.
Still, she didn't pursue the topic of the tournament further. That wasn't why she came to see Saki.
"Saki, there should still be a decent amount of time left before the first round ends. Mind explaining to me why you're here ahead of time?"
Hearing her sister's question, Saki scratched her cheek a little awkwardly.
"Actually... I got to know some people here before the prefectural preliminaries even started six months ago..."
Teru blinked in surprise at that response.
"You came to this world half a year ago? Then did you meet these people in a similar way to how we got here?"
As she asked, Teru Miyanaga instinctively glanced at Fumino Furuhashi and Mafuyu Kirisu, who were seated nearby.
"Not exactly," Saki replied. "Actually, the only one who got close with Eriri was Nodoka. As for me and our club president, we were just brought along as Nodoka's guests."
"I see..."
Teru gave a light nod and then fell silent, her gaze fixed on the mahjong tables still active on the stage, her thoughts unreadable.
Seeing her sister fall quiet with such a serious expression, Saki began to panic. After all, they'd only just rekindled their relationship. She didn't want to lose that connection again.
"Sis, I didn't mean to keep it from you! I just hadn't figured out how to explain it yet. And honestly, I didn't even know about this tournament until today, when Nodoka dragged me over here..."
Seeing her sister on the verge of tears, Teru's previously expressionless face finally softened into a gentle smile.
"Saki, there's no need to worry. I never blamed you. I'm just curious about what happened."
Saki blinked in surprise at her sister's calm reassurance, then nodded firmly, a dazzling smile blooming on her face.
"Sis! Since we still have some time, let me tell you everything that's happened these past six months. And wait till you hear how strong I am now—you'll be amazed!"
And so, until the second round began, Saki animatedly shared everything with Teru—her newly gained powers, and all the truths she had learned from Nodoka about the multiverse. She didn't hold anything back.
Individual matches were very different from team tournaments. Each person only had so many points to work with, and a single misstep could result in being instantly wiped out.
If someone managed to land a yakuman hand right off the bat, it could even end the game instantly.
Thus, individual matches rarely lasted very long. Even the most balanced tables typically finished within an hour.
Though those who finished last generally had low scores, none of the spectators looked impatient.
Each round was followed by a ten-minute break—primarily for the benefit of the last four players to finish. But for those like Amae, who had ended their matches early, it meant they had nearly half an hour to rest.
When the final scores were posted on the giant screen behind the stage, many of the newer players were struck by overwhelming despair.
Just one match had already created a 40-50 point gap between them and the top ten. It was enough to make them feel hopeless.
Fortunately, most of them had realistic expectations and had only come to participate for the experience. After a brief moment of gloom, they quickly bounced back.
Though they had no chance of reaching the finals, that didn't mean they would give up. After all, they had been part of national-level teams. They would still give it their all.
When the break ended, the players once again found themselves instantly teleported back to the stage and paired with new opponents.
Although the experience still felt surreal, it didn't catch them off guard like before.
So when Aoi Kujou announced the second round, everyone immediately got back into the zone.
And with that, the dazzling display of powers resumed onstage.
Over three hours passed in a flash, and by 3:30 p.m., the top four contestants of the mahjong tournament had finally been decided.
Under Eriri's management, each player faced three different sets of opponents in the three matches.
The only adjustment made was to ensure no repeat matchups—the specific grouping of each table remained entirely random.
As a result, it was inevitable that some seeded players ended up clashing early on.
This, in turn, caused some high-potential contenders to fall short of reaching the finals due to strong opponents blocking their point gains.
Players like Touka Ryuumonbuchi (despite being in her control-the-flow mode), Yuno Takakamo, and Awai Oohoshi all ended up missing the cut.
After all, luck was part of one's strength too. To be randomly grouped with three average players across all three rounds was a skill in itself.
In the end, Koromo Amae, Teru Miyanaga, Komaki Jindai, and Meihua Jakou took the top four spots with overwhelming scores, successfully advancing to the finals!
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