Since the name "One Gold" sounded a bit tacky, we might as well standardize and call this newly made mahjong tile "One Coin."
And since there is a "One Coin," following the structure of mahjong tiles, there naturally have to be "Two Coin," "Three Coin," all the way up to "Nine Coin."
Put simply, this meant carving two coins, three coins, up to nine coins on the surface of the rectangular tiles to distinguish the different faces of the same suit.
It was similar to playing cards, where cards of the same suit have different numbers.
The slight difference was that in mahjong, each identical tile appears four times.
That is to say, in a complete mahjong set, there are four identical "Two Coin" tiles.
So for the "coin" suit Ron created, there were 9 types totaling 36 tiles.
After neatly arranging the 36 tiles from "One Coin" to "Nine Coins" on the table, Ron nodded in satisfaction and continued working on the other suits.
For example, the symbol representing the Battle Aura Vortex was divided into "One Ring," "Two Ring," up to "Nine Ring," each corresponding one-to-one with "One Coin," "Two Coin," and so on.
Then there was the suit representing mages' staffs, which was divided into "One Staff," "Two Staff," all the way to "Nine Staff."
After finishing the tiles depicting the Battle Aura Vortex, Ron moved on to carving the staff suit—the so-called "staff-making" process.
Before long, the three suits representing money, battle aura, and magic, totaling 108 mahjong tiles, were complete.
Ron gently rubbed the "Two Coin" tile in his hand, its paint having just dried, while thinking about how to replace the original mahjong honor tiles—East, South, West, North Winds, and Red Center, Green Prosperity, and White Board.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as a good idea came to him.
Why not replace those seven tiles with the seven orthodox gods of the continent?
Of course, directly depicting gods wouldn't be appropriate. He had already drawn the Goddess of Harvest in Legendary Kill, and to this day, he still hadn't dared play that card game with anyone.
After all, it involved the risk of blasphemy, and he preferred to be cautious.
But mahjong wasn't Legendary Kill. It didn't require portraying the gods themselves—using the symbols of their churches would be enough.
The gods worshipped by the races were as follows:
The God of War, the God of Healing, and the Goddess of Harvest are worshipped by humans.
The Beast God worshipped by beastfolk.
The Giant Craftsman God worshipped by dwarves;
The God of Life worshipped by elves;
and the God of the Stars worshipped by Goblin.
Translated into mahjong symbols, these became:
two crossed swords,
a beam of golden holy light,
a sheaf of grain,
a throne,
a giant hammer,
an ancient tree,
and seven stars representing the starry sky.
Perfect.
Ron finished this mahjong set and stored it in his [Backpack].
Before Element Cards and Legendary Kill were fully promoted, Ron had no intention of selling mahjong. He only planned to play it in the shop as a form of entertainment.
Or perhaps he could make a small batch and bring them to the prayer halls outside the city for the nun aunties to play?
In Ron's memories of his previous world, middle-aged women—aside from square dancing—were also famously associated with mahjong.
Maybe the nuns would enjoy it?
It could be a way to enrich their recreational lives.
Imagining a group of nuns in black habits with white head coverings, sitting four to a table playing mahjong, Ron found the image oddly amusing.
He chuckled softly, stood up, and left the study, planning to head next door for a couple of drinks.
As he went downstairs, Ron spotted Nora behind the counter, her ears red for some reason.
Hearing Ron's footsteps, Nora hurriedly opened Essential Knowledge for Running a Shop, slipped The Viscountess's Rise Diary inside it, and put on an expression of diligent study.
She looked exactly like a student sneaking a glance at forbidden reading during class.
"B-Boss," Nora stood up and greeted him as if nothing were wrong.
Ron didn't ask any questions. He returned the greeting and walked out of Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop.
Nora patted her chest in relief, hugged the doll beside her, sat back down, and secretly reopened The Viscountess's Rise Diary.
What she didn't know was that Ron had already lowered his consciousness into the doll in her arms, leaning against her soft belly while "enjoying" the exciting content of the book together with her.
"So the kid's into this kind of thing?" Ron thought, feeling both amused and helpless. He had no intention of exposing her, withdrew his consciousness, and entered the bar.
As soon as he walked in, he saw Yuna pouring six mugs of ale and preparing a plate of fruit, apparently about to carry them upstairs.
Ron froze. "Guests tonight?"
"Yeah," Yuna replied. "They said they're your friends. A goblin, a dwarf, an elf, and three humans—seems like people from the Chaos City Magic Academy, here to support you."
Ron stepped forward and took the tray from her hands. "I know them. I'll bring this up and chat with them."
"Sure, I'd love that," Yuna said, clapping her hands and sitting back behind the bar, idly playing with her hair. "That elf is pretty hot, you know—especially her figure. Even more exaggerated than mine or Sylvie's. Looks like that's your type?"
Ron's temples throbbed. "If you're bored, go experiment with mixing drinks. Any results yet? Make two for me—I'll try them later."
"Alright, alright, got it."
Upstairs in the corridor, Ron quickly identified which room Mason and the others were in.
After all, they were the only guests in the place.
As soon as Ron pushed the door open, he saw Harper with a red rose clenched between his teeth, striking a flamboyant pose.
"Miss Yuna, the moment I saw you—huh? Why is it you?"
Ron shoved the eccentric goblin aside in disgust, set the tray on the table, and said helplessly, "When are you going to rein it in…?"
Edith, Mason, and the other three assistant instructors from the academy all wore expressions that clearly said we don't know this guy, utterly resigned.
"Love has to be boldly declared!" Harper said shamelessly with a grin.
If you knew Yuna's true form, you probably wouldn't think that… Ron thought of an image of Yuna's mature form flashing through his mind.
Then again… Harper might get even more excited.
"I heard you opened a new place, so I brought everyone over right away," Mason said, smoothly changing the subject. "It's a nice spot for gatherings. You've even got Element Cards and Legendary Kill."
"Thanks," Ron replied, noticing the Legendary Kill cards spread out on the table—it looked like they had just finished a round.
He handed out the ale to the six guests, then took out a Heartvine and explained how to use it.
Soon enough, the six of them only needed to lean back in their chairs, each holding a vine, to do everything—
When playing Legendary Kill, Heartvine could deal the cards.
it could hold their hands of cards;
Playing a card was just a matter of giving Heartvine the command.
When thirsty, Heartvine would lift the mug to their lips;
Even grabbing fruit worked the same way.
Relaxing. Comfortable.
"This is way too convenient," Edith exclaimed.
"Do you sell this Heartvine in your shop?" Harper asked curiously. "I work alone in my lab—this would save me a ton of time."
Ron shook his head. "No plans to sell it. But if you want one, I'll give you one when you leave."