Chapter 144: There’s No Soot on My Back

To explain the rules all at once, Isamu decided to form teams and have everyone gather around one table. The Klauffeldt team consisted of the lord and lady, along with their son Julius; Zvar and his favored Anna-Marie; Marcela, who was secretly quite fond of the grandfather; the team of the old man and his grandson; Cardinal Mizeroi and High Priest Tiramisu of the Orihime Sect; Knight Commander Felix’s the leader of the knightly priests; and the team of theorists consisting of Eto, Wilem, and Liddell.

“First, everyone will be given starting points. Everyone starts with 25,000 points.”

Saying so, Isamu distributed the point sticks to everyone. They were sticks about a third the length of chopsticks, painted in various colors, with simple numbers like 10,000 or 5,000 written on them.

“There are several types of point sticks, so please check. Well, think of them like gold, silver, and copper coins. The person with the highest score wins in the end.”

These point sticks were homemade by Isamu while everyone was painting the tiles.

After finishing distributing the point sticks and everyone confirming them, they moved on to the next step.

“First, thoroughly shuffle these tiles and arrange them face down. They’re pretty finely made, so they’re moderately stiff, but they might chip since they’re not rounded. Please mix them gently as much as possible.”

Saying this, Isamu began to shuffle the tiles on the table. The table was covered with thin, sturdy boar leather, making it resemble a simple mahjong table. To facilitate tile alignment, wooden frames were installed all around. This was also a special modification made by Isamu to the table while everyone was painting the tiles.

Rattle, rattle. The sound of shuffling tiles echoed. Although they were made of stone, they were made of a material similar to pumice, so they didn’t make a heavy clinking sound like earth mahjong tiles, but the sound of a large number of tiles colliding was pleasant.

“After they’ve been mixed to some extent, they will be stacked in two rows horizontally. Each team will have seventeen stacks, which is thirty-four tiles in total, but it’s okay if it’s a little more or less.”

“It’s easier if you use the frame like this,” Isamu explained, stacking the pieces by hand with practiced hands. Although the surface was somewhat rough, there seemed to be no problem.

Everyone followed suit, stacking the tiles. There was Tiramisu, who tried to pile them up all at once like Isamu, causing a panic when the pile collapsed; Liddell, who skillfully piled them up; and Annemarie, who stacked them in two halves, among others. Each person’s personality was evident, making it quite interesting.

“After stacking them, we’ll shake this die-like tool and pick tiles one by one from the number that comes up.”

Saying so, they shook the die. It showed an 8. Incidentally, this die, like the mahjong table, was handmade by Isamu.

“Starting from the position of the person who rolled the die as 1, count anticlockwise. Since it’s an 8 this time, it will be from the stack on the left. Leave eight stacks on the right side of this stack, and pick four tiles each from the 9th stack onwards.”

Isamu rolled the die with the Klaufeldt couple as the dealer. On the left side was the Team paw, on the right was the Theorist Team, and opposite them was the Old Man and Granddaughter Team, so they picked tiles from the Team paw’s stack.

“After everyone has picked three times, the person who rolled the die will pick two tiles at a time, skipping one, and the others will pick one tile each. Then, we’re ready.”

Following Isamu’s instructions, everyone picked up and arranged the tiles. Some understood the basics and nodded, while others tilted their heads in confusion, unable to remember everything.

“Since it’s hard to remember just by listening, shall we try this a few times?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. It seems like actually doing it would be better.”

“Because it’s a rule, you’ll get used to it quickly.”

Selfers and Felix responded to Isamu’s suggestion, and everyone seemed to agree as they nodded and began shuffling the tiles to create a stack once again.

Everyone repeated the process of stacking, shuffling the dice, picking tiles, and then collapsing the stack for about thirty minutes while chatting lively. When everyone had experienced it once, they moved on to the next step.

“After everyone’s ready, I’ll flip the third tile from the right side of the stack we put aside first. I’ll explain what it’s for later, so for now, just think of it that way.”

Saying so, Isamu flipped the dora indicator tile.

“Now, based on the tiles you were initially dealt, from here on out, someone will pick one tile from the stack and discard one, until someone completes a hand, or until there are a certain number of tiles left in the stack. Basically, you always have thirteen tiles in your hand.

At first, since the person who rolled the die already has fourteen tiles, the game starts with them discarding one tile.”

Having rearranged the tiles properly, Isamu discarded a tile marked “north” in the local language.

“It’s easier to understand if you separate the tiles by pattern like this.”

Isamu showed the arranged tiles to everyone, and they began rearranging their tiles, moving them left and right with serious expressions on their faces.

“The basic winning hand is as I mentioned earlier, four groups of three and one pair of the same tiles. It’s faster to understand by trying it out. Since it’s easy to explain, let’s keep everyone’s tiles open for a while.”

If there were many experienced players, it would be enough to assign one person to teach each team. However, since there was only Isamu, they were all getting used to it with their tiles open.

As they continued to stack and discard tiles for a while, everyone began to notice various things.

“I see… I get it now. It seems like it should be easy to complete, but it’s actually quite difficult.”

Nicolette murmured with admiration.

“Grr, I absolutely don’t want to discard this paw print tile, but the numbers are all over the place…”

As expected, Mizeroi, who had become the man who absolutely didn’t want to discard the paw tile, was in deep agony.

“Oh, you drew another tile right in the middle. Anne-Marie-chan, you’re lucky.”

As Anne-Marie smoothly stacked tiles with gaps like 3 and 5, Zvar narrowed his eyes.

“Haha, so that’s why Isamu discarded the north first…”

Eto realized the likelihood that numerical tiles would be easier to complete than honor tiles and groaned.

And then came the eleventh turn.

“Hm?”

Zvar raised an eyebrow as he looked at the tiles Marcela had stacked.

“Oh, Zvar-san, you’re ready. It’s called ‘tenpai’ when you’re one tile away from completing a pattern. In this case, if you draw a 2 or a 5 of daggers next, you can win.”

Isamu explained promptly upon seeing Zvar’s tiles.

“Hmm, just as I thought. Hehehe, off to a good start.”

Upon hearing this, Zvar smiled happily.

“Your luck, Miss Anne-Marie and Marcela-san, is too much. You’ve been stacking tiles with gaps since earlier.”

Tiramisu, who had been carefully observing everyone’s situations, was amazed.

(It looks like it’s true, even in another world, people with good luck in drawing tiles…)

Remembering his ex-wife, who had always shown astonishing luck when playing mahjong with friends during their student days, Isamu chuckled bitterly.

“Now that you’re in ‘tenpai’ state, let me explain a bit more.”

Isamu stopped the flow and began explaining.

“Up until now, you’ve been drawing all the tiles by yourself, but for the last tile, you can win with a tile discarded by someone else as well. Specifically, there are some conditions for winning with a discarded tile, but we’ll leave that for later.”

Isamu loosely explained about winning by self-draw and winning by tile discard. Since they hadn’t explained things like yaku, calling, and menzen yet, this wasn’t an accurate explanation, but from experience, it was easier to understand if explained gradually rather than all at once.

“If someone else’s discarded tile can be used, wouldn’t it be bad to carelessly discard a tile and make your opponent happy?”

Eto asked a question after hearing Isamu explanation.

“That’s right. By the way, if you win with a discarded tile, the person who discarded that tile will have to pay all the points, so be careful.”

“What!?”

“Oh, I see.”

“What did you say?”

“Really!?”

There were surprised voices at Isamu’s words.

“Haha. I think one of the interesting aspects of mahjong is here. If you only think about your own convenience, you’ll suffer… Whether to prioritize winning yourself or preventing others from winning. That’s the essence of the game.”

“I see… It’s like a battle. You need a balance between offense and defense.”

Zvar nodded deeply at Isamu’s explanation.

“This is just like swordsmanship. You have to decide how to attack or defend while predicting whether the opponent will come with an upper strike, a lower strike, or a thrust…”

“This game seems quite deep…”

As more and more details were revealed, everyone’s expressions gradually became more intense, or so it seemed to Isamu.

After that, they explained things like foul play and calling, the relationship between dealer and non-dealer, prevailing wind and seat wind, the concepts of roles, han, and points one by one. Regarding points, they ignored the fu and provided a simplified version.

And finally, when it was time to explain the types of yaku, Rudolf, the steward, visited the research institute.

“Everyone, dinner is ready. What would you like to do?”

“Oh, is it already that time? My, my, time flew by so quickly because it was so enjoyable. Mahjong is truly something…”

Selfers chuckled at Rudolf’s words. Looking outside, they could see that night had already fallen.

“If you’d like, shall we bring it here? Since I confirmed earlier that everyone was concentrated, I consulted with the chef and changed the menu to something like sandwiches that are easy to snack on while playing mahjong.”

Rudolf said smoothly. He was like a model of a man who always grasped the situation between master and guests and anticipated their needs.

“How about it, Zvar-sama? How about having some snacks while playing mahjong tonight?”

“Haha, it’s like a dream come true. Let’s go for it.”

Selfers invited Zvar, who readily accepted.

“Understood. I’ll prepare it, so please wait a moment.”

Rudolf bowed deeply and left.

“Then, while we wait for dinner, let’s all make our own individual role lists. I’ve made one set, so could everyone copy it by hand? I didn’t have enough time to prepare copies for everyone…”

Saying this, Isamu began laying out papers on the work table next to the makeshift mahjong table. These were homemade lists with simple drawings and explanations of the role.

During the latter half of the open practice session, everyone had become quite familiar with the game, so Isamu had spent that time creating these role lists.

He had debated whether to adapt the names of the roles to fit the local language, but in the end, decided to keep the original sounds.

When he handed out paper and pens and started explaining, everyone from young Julius to the high noble Zvar began diligently copying the lists with serious expressions.

After about thirty minutes of work, everyone had finished making their lists and looked very satisfied.

Soon after, dinner was brought in, and everyone began to enjoy the snacks together.

They discussed the various roles, saying things like, “This one looks cool,” and “This one seems efficient,” while referring to their personal lists and arranging their tiles. Seeing the heads of high-ranking nobles and common craftsmen gathered around the same table, chatting and playing together, was probably unprecedented.

After about an hour of pleasant conversation and eating, they decided to play a team game.

They kept the role lists on hand just in case, but they probably wouldn’t need them much.

To everyone’s surprise, in this short time, they had almost completely memorized the names, conditions, and values of the roles.

Considering that this group consisted of the intellectual elite of Ethersia—nobles, knights, top-tier craftsmen, and researchers—it wasn’t surprising that they all had sharp minds.

As a result of determining the dealer, the team representing the Klauffeldt family became the starting dealer.

Julius rolled the dice, and thus began the first half game in Ethersia.

With Isamu occasionally providing explanations, they played for about three hours.

After completing two half games, they decided to call it a night.

“So, how was it?”

Isamu asked the group, who were now relaxing with tea after the intense battles.

“Oh, this is an incredibly enjoyable game.”

“Yes, there’s no other game as deep and fun as this.”

“It’s so engrossing that you lose track of time; it’s quite dangerous.”

“Ugh, Orihime-sensei, I’m sorry. I couldn’t manage to win with the ‘Cat dumpling” role due to my lack of ability….”

Everyone shared their thoughts. Except for one person, everyone seemed to have genuinely enjoyed the game, and Isamu breathed a sigh of relief. By the way, the ‘Cat Dumpling’ was the only role name Isamu had changed; it was a famous local role on Earth known as the “Dai Sharu.”

As for the results, the first half game was won by the Grandfather and Granddaughter team, thanks to three consecutive dealer wins by the ladies with a 12,000-point hand.

In the second half-game, Team Klaufeldt Viscount won by drawing a 4 concealed triplet with Reach, Toitoi, Sanankan triplet, and Dora 3 for a total of 16,000 points.

Interestingly, the team of theorists secured second place in both games with their steady play, maintaining their initial points.

“Don’t you think this game will definitely become popular among the nobility, Your Excellency?”

“Yes, it will certainly become a trend. Isamu, are you planning to sell this?”

After a bout of laughter, Selfers and Zvar turned serious.

“I’m not planning to sell it immediately, but I do intend to commercialize it. It’s enjoyable as a pure pastime, and the current quality is sufficient for consumer products, but if we aim to market it to nobles, we’ll need to improve the quality.”

“Oh? How do you plan to enhance the quality from here?”

“By beveling the edges, coating the tiles to make the surface smooth, and engraving the patterns and characters before painting them. These three points are essential, I think. It will greatly enhance the sense of luxury and texture.”

“That would certainly add a sense of luxury.”

“Yes. Additionally, I thought we could take orders to replace the red or green dragon tiles with the family crests of the nobles.”

“Ah, that would definitely be well received. It would make a great gift item.”

“Exactly, that’s what I’m aiming for. Though it seems difficult to do immediately, for now, I’ll distribute handmade sets like these to the faction members.”

“…Isamu, can we borrow the magic tool you used to create the base tiles?”

After pondering for a while, Zvar asked Isamu.

“I don’t see a problem with that, but why do you ask?”

“If you’re too busy with other things, I thought we could produce them in our domain. We can sell them as products of the Orihime Trading Company, with the profits split equally. How about that?”

“Is a fifty-fifty split really okay? Isn’t it too much to receive half when I’ve done nothing?”

“No, the idea for the game originated from you, Isamu. Besides, these tiles can only be easily made because of that magic tool. Without it, they would be much harder to produce by hand. It all starts with you, so fifty percent is a fair share.”

Hearing Zvar’s words, Isamu glanced at Selfers, who nodded in agreement.

“Alright. Before we start selling, could you create a prototype incorporating the improvements I mentioned earlier for me to check out? If there are no issues, we can proceed with mass production as soon as possible.”

“Of course. We won’t sell anything the inventor hasn’t approved. However, for the ones used within our domain, is it alright if we just bevel the edges for now?”

“For internal use, that’s fine.”

“Thank you. Our domain is quite far north, so we have few winter pastimes… This will increase leisure activities and provide more work during the winter. We plan to limit production to winter initially, is that acceptable?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Limiting production should also increase its value. We can reconsider if demand grows.”

Thus, the mahjong class that started from Isamu’s idea concluded with the added benefit of commissioning the production and sale of mahjong tiles.

[Bonus (Excerpt from Isamu’s Notes)]

Selfers: Tends to aim for higher value hands and rarely calls tiles.

Nicolette: Surprisingly defensive. Favors Chiitoitsu (known as “Nico Nico” due to its similarity to her name).

Julius: Appears to already understand the basics of tile efficiency. Likely to become quite strong in the future.

Zvar: All or nothing. Prioritizes his own hand and pushes through. Talks quite a bit.

Annemarie: Lucky draw master, version 1. Has an abnormally high chance of drawing side wait tiles.

Marcella: Lucky draw master, version 2. Particularly dangerous with Dora tiles. Plays by intuition, similar to her use of magic.

Mizeroi: Never discards tiles with paw prints, version 1. Otherwise sticks to the basics.

Tiramisu: Never discards tiles with paw prints, version 2. Shows emotions easily. Good initial hand but terrible draw luck.

Felix: Extremely good poker face. Likes calling tiles, version 1. Prefers hands like Chanta and Jun-chan.

Eto: Fast-paced player. Considers a 3900-point hand to be high-scoring.

Willem: Very good at reading opponents’ winning tiles. Likes calling tiles, version 2.

Liddell: Probably the overall strongest. Plays logically without relying on luck or intuition.

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