Chapter 130 Extra Chapter: The Little Building Mahjong Tournament (Part 1): Who Will Be the Winner?
"Xiaolou Mahjong Tournament - Xiaolou Mahjong Tournament - Contestants, please proceed this way -"
Entrusted with an important task by Dazai, Sigma accepted his fate, took up the microphone, and diligently controlled the order at the scene.
At this moment, several mahjong tables were set up in the front yard of the small building, and the Armed Detective Agency, Ayatsuji's Office, the House of the Dead, the Hound, and the Special Abilities Department had gathered almost everyone that Dazai could summon.
Incidentally, some of the participants invited also invited other people to join.
It's currently late summer and early autumn, and sitting in the courtyard under the shade of the trees feels especially cool, with a gentle breeze blowing from time to time.
"Fighting is prohibited—I repeat, fighting is prohibited here—superpowers are also prohibited—"
"Report!" Mizuki Tsujimura from Ayatsuji's Office raised her hand. "My ability isn't obeying my commands!"
Her superpower is the "Shadow Child" dwelling in the shadows beneath her feet. It is a superpowered life form with goat horns and a black scythe in hand. More than the superpowers she controls, it is like a silhouette of death with its own will.
She didn't even know the conditions for activating her special ability; she only knew it came from "her mother's belongings."
“It’s alright,” Ayatsuji Yukito said instead, “I guarantee her ability won’t activate here.”
"Ayatsuji-sensei??" Mizuki Tsujimura turned her head instantly. "Why do you look so certain about my abilities, even more so than I do?"
"Ah, because you're an idiot."
Ayatsuji Yukito casually turned his gaze away and sat down at one of the mahjong tables.
The reason, of course, is that he knew Tsujimura Mizuki's mother and knew that this ability was not a "relic," but merely a self-disciplined ability passed down to her daughter. It would only appear and attack enemies when certain conditions were met.
“Ayatsuji-sensei, don’t think you can fool me with that…” Tsujimura Mizuki immediately pressed on.
After a slightly longer and more chaotic period, everyone finally sat down at their respective mahjong tables and began this exceptionally lively mahjong competition.
"First, let me explain the rules."
Sigma read from the card given to him by the young Dazai, “Only the East Wind round is played. Each person starts with 25,000 points. The player with the most points at the end wins. Cheating is prohibited, especially using special abilities to cheat. We have professional security personnel, Mr. Oda, who is in charge of patrolling and supervising.”
Oda Sakunosuke stood next to Sigma and nodded to the others.
For a top assassination expert, no subtle movement can escape his visual detection.
"In addition, we also have Xiaoyin as a scorekeeper. Please do not try to bribe her, play the victim, threaten her, or try to curry favor with her, or engage in any other behavior that may disrupt order."
Ryunosuke Akutagawa's younger sister, Ginichi, dressed in a sharp suit and holding a scorebook, stepped forward and said, "Nice to meet you."
Everyone applauded in response.
"Alright, then I hereby declare the first Xiaolou Mahjong Tournament to begin!"
Sigma looked around, then lowered the hand holding the card, like a starting gun at the start of a race, announcing the official start of the competition.
"I am Sigma, the host and commentator, and I will be responsible for providing you with real-time updates on the game."
"First up is the first group, the Three Dazai vs. the Demon. As you can see, it's currently Young Dazai, Young Dazai, and Dazai from another world visiting, facing [Demon] Fyodor..."
Fyodor raised his eyes slightly upon hearing this: "So, you also think it was three of them against one of me, right?"
Young Dazai glanced sideways at him: "Huh? You probably already knew, right? Otherwise, why would I have specifically put you in this group and formed an alliance with you?"
Fyodor replied politely, "In fact, I would prefer to be in a group with Ihe."
Young Dazai sighed, "Playing mahjong with you guys is so boring. Everyone memorizes the whole set by looking at the tiny scratches on the back of the tiles."
Armed Detective Dazai, with an unseemly posture, propped his head up with one hand while reaching for his cards with the other: "Who says it isn't? It's no different from playing with open cards, with everyone grabbing the cards they need to win but not playing them... Sigh, I'd rather play with Chuuya. Teasing Chuuya here is just as fun."
—It seems that even though they share the common goal of becoming [the Demon], the three Dazai from different worlds are still secretly competing with each other, completely refusing to cooperate and relying on feeding each other cards to score points.
Sigma: "...Hmm...The battle in the back-of-the-card group is so intense, it has already ended in a draw three times...Hmm...Let's move on to the second group, the elder group."
"The contestants are the president of the Armed Detective Agency, Officer Taneda from the Special Abilities Division, a legendary superhuman from the highest levels of government, and a specially invited guest: the former Hound Captain, who is now an artificial god."
President: "Genichiro, how have you been lately?"
Having been called back for a vacation to participate in a mahjong tournament, Fukuchi Sakura, who had temporarily regained control of her body, twitched her beard and revealed a complex smile of relief and ease: "I've seen many things and met many people. Thanks to that Mr. Ihe, I finally realized how narrow-minded I had been before."
Taneda Santouka picked up a card: "I am very relieved to see Lord Fudi resolve his inner conflict."
President: "That being said, I feel very ashamed that I was unable to fulfill the teacher's wish."
Natsume Soseki, who had just played a card, looked a little tired: "You don't need to blame yourself. No one could have predicted such a change in the situation. For example, there are actually two Fyodors... Sigh, is Ougai alright?"
Taneda Santouka: "Ah, about him... There's a member of the Hound team named Tachihara Michizo. I heard his brother was a soldier who died in the previous battle of Tokoyami Island—the same unit where Mori Ougai, as a medic, went to Tokoyami Island to experiment with the [Undying Legion]. He was repeatedly brought to the brink of death in battle, but was repeatedly healed by his healing ability. He was forced to go to the battlefield continuously until his mind completely collapsed..."
Natsume Soseki sighed, "Revenge, huh... I understand. I still remember the great war..."
As the four played, they reminisced about the past, sighing intermittently. They also talked about the younger generation they had supported, and the topics became more and more numerous, causing their hands to move slower and slower as they drew and played cards.
A bead of sweat rolled down Sigma's forehead: "It seems these four contestants have exceptionally rich life experiences... Hey, can you even discuss such confidential topics here!?... Ugh, never mind, let's look at the third group, the detective group."
"The contestants are the famous Japanese detective Edogawa Ranpo, the up-and-coming [White Kirin Detective] Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, the veteran [Murder Detective] Ayatsuji Yukito, and Edgar Allan Poe, who is both a detective and a writer... Wait, the raccoon can't help draw cards!"
Edgar Allan Poe: "Oh dear, I'm so sorry! Carl, come back here, put the cards down and give them to me, good... ah, that's a relief! And don't steal Ranpo-kun's snacks!"
Edogawa Ranpo: "...I'll never say I want to keep an animal again. Give me back my sweet and sticky osmanthus cake! Ichik made it especially for me!"
Ayatsuji Yukito narrowed his eyes behind his brown sunglasses and let out a cold laugh that sent chills down some people's spines: "Heh, I'll make an exception and tell you a piece of common sense—humans are also a kind of animal."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko stared thoughtfully at the raccoon on the hill: "Should I have some clothes custom-made for this Karl? Raccoon clothes are hard to find, aren't they? Hmm, making clothes for raccoons is quite a new challenge..."
Edgar Allan Poe from the United States was taken aback: "Huh? In Japanese culture, does Karl also need to wear clothes?"
The four detectives gathered together, but instead of discussing the difficult cases they had solved, they engaged in a heated discussion about their respective interests and hobbies.
Sigma wiped his sweat and exhaled: "Due to the interference caused by the raccoon, Mr. Oda will temporarily remove this uninvited guest from the competition area, and the competition will need to be restarted."
"Let's move on to the fourth group, the loving family... uh, the group. The contestants are Mr. Verlaine from France, Mr. Chuya from Japan, and Ms. Adam and Ms. Shelley from England."
Chuuya: "...Who came up with this group name?!"
Adam: "I saw that the boy-looking Dazai-san raised his hand and confessed to himself."
Verlaine played a card without changing his expression, his demeanor calm and composed: "I don't dislike that title. Speaking of which, how did you convince Agatha to agree to let you come?"
Mary Shelley had never played Japanese mahjong before; she had only learned the rules on the plane to here. Now, as she hesitantly played a tile, she answered Verlaine's question, "Just say it was an invitation from Fyodor. I originally wanted Agatha to come and play mahjong with me, but she refused with a hard-to-describe expression, and then agreed to let me come."
Chuuya muttered, pouting, "Even so, we can't say this group is... tsk, I'm going to go beat that guy up later..."
Verlaine smiled. "My brother, are you shy?"
Chuuya: "...I wonder how you can accept this so calmly!"
Adam: "Based on my logical reasoning, from an ethical standpoint, Lady Mary Shelley should be our common..."
Mary Shelley's face instantly turned bright red: "Oh, alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's play cards, let's play cards..."
—The peculiar family consisting of an Englishman, a Frenchman, a Japanese man, and an android makes the atmosphere of this mahjong game particularly subtle.
Sigma: "Let me see... Hmm, according to Silver's scoring, Shelley currently has the highest score, followed closely by Chuuya. Given that the East Wind table only has four rounds, with two rounds remaining, let's wait and see who the winner of this table is!"
"Alright, next up is the fifth group, the Hounds. The contestants are Yoko Okura, Saikiku Tōno, and Tetsuo Suehiro from the [Hounds] team, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa from the [House of the Dead] team."
Ryunosuke Akutagawa: "70,000. Why was I assigned to the hound squad...?"
Okura Yoko casually tossed out a card: "Four of Bamboo. Ah, since the last person has something come up and can't make it, I'll have you fill in—hmm, I've seen how well you performed at the haunted house. How about joining the Hounds? The benefits are great, you know?"
Ryunosuke Akutagawa: "...No, I don't have that idea for the time being."
Suehiro Tetsusuke played a card: "..."
With her eyes closed, Tōno Saikiku tapped the edge of the table in exasperation, reminding him, "Mr. Iron-Hearted, didn't I remind you to read out the discarded tiles? I can tell what tiles I have by touching them with my fingers, but I can't see the tiles that have been played on the table."
Suehiro Tetsuo: "Hmm. One, two, three, six..."
Tōno Saikiku: "...I didn't ask you to read out the cards in your hand! Honestly, you could have just handed me the cards you played so I could draw them!"
Suehiro Tetsuo: "Ah, I suddenly thought of an Eastern idiom, 'blind men touching an elephant.'"
Tōno Saikiku: "...I hope you can be killed by mahjong tiles right now."
While her two colleagues were bickering, Okura Eiko rested her chin on her hands and said, "Sigh, I really want to go to the captain's table... The captain has changed his clothes now, and he's so handsome that it makes my heart pound..."
Tōno Saikiku: "I can vouch for it, it's true, this heartbeat is so loud it's hurting my ears..."
—In this process where you have to finish one round of choking before you can draw another round of cards, the time spent in each game doubles, resulting in the fact that even the first game of the East round hasn't been finished yet.
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I didn't expect that I wouldn't finish writing one chapter, so I'll have to save the rest for tomorrow morning as an extra chapter.
Since we're going to play anyway, let's all just play mahjong together...
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-08-22 15:48:21 and 2024-08-22 23:38:54!
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