[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): But let's stick to individual matches for the mahjong tournament. Team matches take too much time and honestly feel unnecessary.]
[Nodoka Haramura (Level 7, Stage 2): Even if it's individual matches, if too many people participate, it'll still take quite a bit of time.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Don't worry, there won't be too many participants, and the number of rounds won't be as much as your prefectural qualifiers or nationals. We're going for speed.]
[Nodoka Haramura (Level 7, Stage 2): Mm...]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Alright, then the plan for tomorrow's evening party is settled.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Erina, Alice, I'll leave the selection of participants for the cooking competition to you two. As for the mahjong tournament and song-and-dance performances, I'll take care of those.]
[Nakiri Erina (Level 7, Stage 2): Got it. I'll go make arrangements now.]
[Nakiri Alice (Level 7, Stage 1): Mission accepted!]
And so, after some discussion, the program for the New Year's party was more or less finalized.
Although there weren't many performances, the time required wasn't short at all.
As for the order of performances, Eriri had already decided in her mind and was just waiting for the party to begin at noon tomorrow.
However, before that, Eriri needed to extend a special invitation to the individuals and groups who would participate in the mahjong tournament and song-and-dance performances.
In the world of Shokugeki no Soma, after receiving the task arranged by Eriri, Erina immediately left her room and headed toward the office where her grandfather usually worked.
Although it was already past 9 p.m., she knew her grandfather wasn't one to go to bed so early.
Just as she expected, when she opened the door to the office, she saw Senzaemon Nakiri sitting at his desk, reading a document.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Senzaemon instinctively looked up. When he saw Erina, he immediately put down the document in his hand.
"Erina, it's quite late. What brings you here?"
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside, interrupting Erina just as she was about to answer. She turned her gaze toward the door.
Moments later, Alice's figure appeared in the doorway, entering the view of both Erina and Senzaemon.
"Geez, Erina, you're fast. I was hoping to be the first to complete the task Eriri gave us~"
After walking into the office, Alice puffed her cheeks and pouted at Erina.
Hearing this, Senzaemon's eyes lit up as he quickly stepped out from behind his desk and approached his two granddaughters.
"Oh? Alice, you're here too? What's this task you're talking about?"
Like the other group members, Erina had not kept the chat group a secret from her family after joining. She had told her grandfather and Alice about Eriri's unique existence.
Later, after Alice joined the chat group, her parents naturally learned about it too.
As for the father Erina had always feared, she no longer gave him a second thought. In her heart, he no longer mattered at all.
She was only waiting for the day he returned to Totsuki Academy so she could personally teach him what "filial piety" truly meant.
As for the mother who abandoned her when she was young and ran away, Erina had no intention of seeking her out.
Although her grandfather had recently brought up the idea of using the chat group's power to solve her mother's God Tongue issue, she hadn't immediately agreed—but neither had she refused outright.
No matter how much she disliked her, the woman was still her biological mother.
So naturally, Senzaemon took Alice's mention of a task very seriously.
"Listen to me, listen to me!
Alice quickly raised her hand and interjected before Erina could speak.
"Here's the thing, Grandpa. Since it's almost New Year's for Eriri, she discussed some activities with us in the group. So, I suggested we add a cooking competition to the New Year's events."
"That's why Erina and I came to see you—we're hoping you can help gather some students to participate in the cooking competition~"
After hearing Alice's explanation, Senzaemon Nakiri turned to Erina.
"Erina, is that true?"
Before Erina could answer, Alice puffed her cheeks in protest.
"Seriously, why do you still need to ask Erina? Grandpa, don't you trust what I said?!"
"No, no, I just wanted to confirm. This isn't exactly a minor matter."
Watching her cousin playfully complain while their grandfather tried to calm her down, Erina rubbed her forehead with a sigh.
"Alright, Alice, that's enough. We need to finish the task Eriri assigned us quickly. There's not a lot of time left."
"So it really is as Alice said," Senzaemon nodded thoughtfully. "By the way, Erina, what time does the event start?"
"The event officially starts at noon tomorrow. As for the exact time the cooking competition will take place, Eriri hasn't informed me yet. So we need to gather the participants and head to Eriri's world by noon tomorrow."
"Are there any requirements for the participants?"
Erina paused for a moment. Eriri hadn't mentioned anything specific about that.
But knowing Eriri's personality and preferences, she answered without hesitation:
"There's only one requirement: participants must be female."
...
In the world of Saki, a few months after the 52 high school teams qualified through regional and prefectural tournaments for the national mahjong competition, all of their members received a mysterious message at the exact same time.
It wasn't the content of the message that shocked them—it was the way the message appeared.
Because this message didn't arrive via any device—it appeared directly in their minds. And once it appeared, it rooted itself firmly, making it impossible to ignore.
Even students who were already asleep woke up instantly and found themselves wide awake.
And not just the national qualifiers—some particularly skilled players who hadn't qualified also received the same message.
This included players from schools like Ryuumonbuchi High School, Kazekoshi Girls' High School, Tsuruga Academy, and Eisui Girls' High School...
Additionally, some outstanding solo players received the message as well.
In a room full of girlish decor, a girl named Ryuuka Shimizudani sat up abruptly from bed, staring blankly ahead before focusing on the unfamiliar message in her mind.
The message wasn't complicated. It was a simple mahjong tournament invitation, presented in text form within her consciousness.
The beginning of the invitation was fairly normal. Though the wording differed significantly from standard invitations, it wasn't alarming. What truly surprised her were the tournament's location and prizes.
[Invitation]
...This mahjong tournament will be conducted as an individual point-based competition.
Due to time constraints, only three and a half hanchan rounds will be played. Matchups will be randomly assigned. Afterward, the top four scorers will enter a final match to determine the top three.
Note: The tournament will be held in another world. A portal will appear before you in twelve hours. Simply walk through it to arrive at the tournament venue.
The portal will remain open for only one minute. Participation is voluntary.
Tournament Prizes:
First Place: One wish (no restrictions, any wish can be granted)
Second Place: Luck multiplied tenfold + 50 kg of gold
Third Place: Luck multiplied fivefold + 10 kg of gold
Participation Prize: 1 kg of gold
Inviter: Eriri Spencer Sawamura
We hope you have a strange yet wonderful day!
(Note: The invitation within your mind will fade after ten minutes and disappear completely after twelve hours.)
After reading the invitation, Ryuuka Shimizudani remained frozen for a long time.
Because of the nature of the message, no one who received it had any doubt about its contents.
Beyond that, there was nothing else unusual.
So, while Ryuuka didn't question the tournament's authenticity, she found the rewards almost too incredible to believe.
A wish that could grant anything—even the gods in mythology might hesitate to make such a promise...
Suddenly, she thought of her chronically ill best friend, Toki Onjouji. If the wish truly existed, could she use it to heal her friend?
Of course, that hinged on her winning first place in the tournament.
Just then, the sharp ring of her phone interrupted her thoughts.
Snapping back to reality, Ryuuka quickly picked up the phone by her side. Upon seeing the caller ID, she immediately answered.
Before she could speak, her friend's anxious voice came through the receiver.
"Ryuuka, did you see it? I just received an unbelievable mahjong tournament invitation..."
"Toki, calm down. Are you talking about the invitation that suddenly appeared in our minds just now?"
"Yes! Wait, don't tell me... you got it too, Ryuuka?!"
"Mm, I didn't expect you to receive it too... I wonder if Yuu and the others got it as well."
"Let's call them and check. For all we know, one of them is calling us right now."
With that, both girls fell silent for a brief moment, then Toki's gentle voice came through again.
"Ryuuka, what do you think? Should we go participate in the tournament?"
"Hmm... maybe we should. Even if we're not sure the prize is real, what if it is? If I win, Toki wouldn't have to collapse from illness anymore..."
"Haha, Ryuuka, you're getting ahead of yourself. It's like you're already sure you'll win! There are lots of players way stronger than us."
Hearing Toki's laughter, Ryuuka's pale cheeks turned bright red, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Before she could defend her earlier statement, Toki spoke again.
"Still, you're not wrong. Who says we can't win? Even if we don't, we'll still get 1 kilogram of gold for participating. That's a pretty sweet deal—no losses here!"
"So, Ryuuka, let's do our best in this tournament together!"
...
Meanwhile, the same conversation played out across many different locations.
Because the tournament involved another world, everyone treated the mysterious invitation in their minds with utmost seriousness.
The unknown and mysterious filled these teenage girls with both fear and curiosity.
Even girls who hosted divine spirits or godly powers within them couldn't suppress their curiosity about the unknown world.
Many girls from less wealthy families were dazzled just by the participation prize.
After all, 1 kilogram of gold was incredibly valuable. All they had to do was attend a solo tournament to earn it—how could they resist?
As for a certain greedy little red riding hood, the second-place prize of 50 kilograms of gold made her drool uncontrollably. She couldn't wait to start the match immediately.
On the other hand, for noble ladies from wealthy households, the gold meant nothing—the top three prizes were what truly drew their attention.
After all, in mahjong, luck is an indispensable factor.
Having one's luck multiplied five or ten times could easily raise their mahjong ability several-fold.
And that wish capable of fulfilling anything? There was nothing more tempting. Even if its authenticity was uncertain, the fact that it was listed as a prize meant it couldn't be trivial.
So almost everyone who received the invitation—except for a timid few—decided to participate in the mahjong tournament twelve hours later.
Naturally, some became even more excited upon seeing Eriri's name on the invitation. Among them was Touka Ryuumonbuchi, who resided in Nagano Prefecture.
It had been half a year since she last saw Eriri. During those six months, she'd never once stopped thinking about her.
Though they only spent a short time together during the prefectural qualifiers, their exchange was more than enough to leave a lasting impression.
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