"So, you caught a cold from the rain and missed the Yayoi Sho?"
On the phone screen, placed on a stand, was the long-unseen face of Golden Journey.
"Are you trying to make me laugh myself to death so you can inherit my position as family head?"
"No way. If that level of effort could make you laugh yourself to death, I'd still compete even if I died of illness, and crawl across the finish line if I had to."
Legend-san watched the table before her with a solemn expression, her heart wavering.
"That's right, that's right! If Big Sister laughed herself to death, who would take on the heavy responsibility of family head?" Nakayama Festa secretly observed her surroundings, wiggling her fingers.
"I say, Big Sister, don't dream about it. You can't shake off the family head position." Gold Ship picked up a tile, and her expression instantly turned grim.
"Well, Sister Journey, good luck. We'll be waiting for you at the academy." Orfevre curved her eyebrows, smiling as she played the 'middle' tile in her hand.
"You ungrateful bunch, when I get back, I'll execute each and every one of you. Also, Festa, you definitely cheated!" Journey showed an exasperated expression.
"You can't just say things like that. Where's the proof? Without proof, who can say I cheated?" Nakayama Festa said self-righteously, then played the five of bamboo from her hand.
"Ah, hu, Tanyao." Orfevre pushed her tiles, declaring the winner.
"..." Legend-san fell into contemplation, looking at the Kokushi Musou that was just one tile short.
"I can't accept this!" Gold Ship cried, holding her head, looking at her Nine Gates.
"...This is unscientific!" Nakayama Festa's hands trembled, holding a Big Four Winds.
"Serves you right! For trying to make big hands!" Golden Journey laughed happily. "By the way, is it okay for you to gamble in the dorm?"
"...You can't say that, Big Sister." Legend-san snapped back to attention. "We're not gambling for money, just playing mahjong. Who can say that's gambling?"
"When did you learn to twist concepts?" Journey looked speechlessly at Legend, who was being unreasonable but righteous, feeling a sense of 'three days apart, a different person'.
"I'm just stating the facts!" Legend-san pushed her tiles. "Also, Festa, you lost again!"
"Tsk." Nakayama Festa pulled out three lollipops from her pocket and handed them to Orfevre.
"By the way, Oba-chan, is it okay for you to withdraw from the race? I remember the Yayoi Sho is a prerequisite for the Satsuki Sho, right?" Gold Ship rummaged under Legend's bed and pulled out a bag of snacks.
"Well, I just lost the priority to run, but I can still participate. Grab a bag for me, by the way." Legend-san waved her hand.
"Give me a bag." Festa raised her hand.
"I want a bag too! Sister Legend, you really have everything." Orfevre exclaimed. "But, there's still more than half a month until the Satsuki Sho, right? Do you have any plans, Sister Legend?"
"Just follow the routine, what else?" Legend-san opened the package. "But there are plans for the near future, for example, the twenty-seventh."
"Twenty-seventh? Oh." Festa raised an eyebrow, then understood.
"What about the twenty-seventh?" Orfevre asked, confused.
"Oguri Cap's birthday," Gold Ship added flatly.
"Sister Legend, you really are fond of Senior Oguri Cap," Orfevre, who had caught on, also understood.
"You guys, are you ignoring me?" Journey, who had been disconnected for a while, bared her teeth.
"After all, it's Oguri Cap. Who would dislike a straightforward, cute, silly Gray Mane?" Legend-san said frankly. "Oh, Golshi, open a bag for Sister Journey."
Gold Ship pulled out another bag of snacks from under the bed, opened it, and placed it in front of the phone that was on a video call with Journey, even pressing her hands together in a prayer gesture.
"...You guys just wait!" Journey's anger was visibly rising.
"Speaking of birthdays, Oba-chan, your birthday is coming up soon, right?" Gold Ship didn't mind Journey's burning anger and changed the subject. "Festa too."
"Me? I don't care." Nakayama Festa said, chewing on a lollipop.
"I remember Festa's is April 5th, right?" Legend-san looked up and thought for a moment. "Mine is April 4th. How about we hold a party or something together in the evening?"
"Oba-chan, aren't you going to participate in the Satsuki Sho? Will holding a party affect your condition?"
For example, her weight.
Nakayama Festa was a bit worried.
"It's fine. Look, I go out and feast with Oguri Cap every now and then, and I haven't gained weight." Legend-san patted her chest, indicating it was no problem.
"Alright then." Nakayama Festa was always nonchalant.
"Then it's decided!" Gold Ship clapped her hands, finalizing the plan.
"Come on, come on, one more round." Festa reached for the mahjong tiles again.
"I say, you've lost so many rounds, aren't you giving up yet?" Gold Ship shook her head and returned to her seat.
"Perhaps that's just being bad at something but addicted to it," Legend-san said, completely oblivious.
"Damn it! My skills are clearly excellent, so why do I keep losing?" Festa was also puzzled. Why were her well-honed skills and her always-victorious luck useless against these little brats?
"I'm fine." Orfevre indicated he was winning big.
The Uma Musume began shuffling and dealing the tiles again.
A new round began.
"Hmph, just you wait, I'll win it all back!" The gambler's eyes were red.
"Heh, is your lollipop reserve still sufficient?" The alien Uma Musume folded her arms, looking radiant.
"Playing mahjong is so much fun!" Gold Legend smiled like a blooming flower.
"It's hot!" Orfevre felt a bit uncomfortable and took off his mask.
"…" Journey silently watched the live footage through the video, quietly counting in her heart.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the last round, and then… "Hu! All Simples!" Orfevre pushed his tiles forward once more.
"…You damn brat, I've tolerated you for too long!" Nakayama Festa flipped the table on the spot. "Can't you do anything besides All Simples?"
"Holy crap, my table!" Gold Legend jumped up and down.
"Oba-chan, calm down!" Gold Ship hurriedly hugged Legend's slender waist.
The scene instantly devolved into chaos.
"Are you deliberately looking for trouble?"
"Oba-chan, calm down… Holy crap, who stepped on my tail!"
"Stop it, don't fight anymore!"
"Who understands what you're saying!"
It further escalated into an all-out brawl.
"Sigh!"
Looking at the predictable scene in the video, Journey sighed silently and closed the video.
She stood up, walked to the window, took a lollipop from her pocket, put it in her mouth, and gazed up at the sky.
At this moment, the head of the Gold Family was shrouded in an aura of melancholy.
"I knew it would turn out like this."
It's a pity I wasn't there, otherwise I could have stopped (joined) them.
"Snap!"
The door to the family head's room opened, and Golden Satin walked in, carrying a stack of documents. Her eyes immediately fell on Journey standing by the window.
"Are you acting profound again?" Golden Satin placed the documents on the desk. "My dear family head, you still have a lot of work to finish, you can't rest yet."
Journey's expression became even more melancholic.
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