Ke Xue Lu Ren Wang

After Yuzuru sat back down, Ooka Momiji moved the booklet she had been holding onto out of her hand and placed it on the table.

"Mr. Yuzuru, there are still some questions in this workbook that I don't understand," said Momiji Ooka, her voice much softer.

Yuzuru looked down at the booklet on the table.

The cover features a red maple leaf pattern, and the edges of the paper are slightly curled, indicating that it has been frequently read.

This isn't some kind of practice exercise; it's clearly a competitive karuta (Japanese card game) training manual.

Turning his head, he saw the girl writing something in her notebook.

Yuzuru looked up and saw a line of small characters written on it.

Aren't you curious?

"..."

Yuzuru remained silent and quietly turned to the first page of the karuta manual.

The content on the first page is simply about the professional spirit and insights of a karuta player.

"Only by remaining calm and composed can one reach the summit; only by focusing one's mind can one achieve victory."

Since they were just some educational slogans, he didn't look at them carefully and found the table of contents after a quick glance.

"Mr. Yuzuru, where shall we begin?"

Ooka Koyo looked at the catalog and asked in a calm tone.

"Reviewing the old helps us learn the new; let's start by reviewing the basics."

As Yuzuru spoke, he looked at the basic explanation of karuta on the second page.

I don't think so.

Ooka Momiji rejected his suggestion, her slender fingers pointing to a line in the manual's table of contents, which read: "Advanced ways to play karuta."

Let's start here.

"These are advanced formulas. Are you sure you want to start reviewing from here?"

Yuzuru glanced at the girl and then launched into a conversation that transcended boundaries.

"These formulas are very simple. The only slightly difficult ones are the variations of these formulas."

Ooka Momiji nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, took out his personal notebook, and indicated that he could begin.

"Alright..."

Yuzuru nodded. Although he knew the girl was worried that their conversation about karuta would be exposed, he still felt that the conversation was strange and had a strange sense of excitement.

"Let's start with the basics. All types of questions are based on variations of this formula, so we'll just take a quick look."

Yuzuru turned to the page on advanced karuta gameplay, and Ooka Momiji, who was standing next to him, also came over.

At this moment, the two were less than half a meter apart.

Yuzuru could even smell the faint fragrance emanating from the girl, which was even fainter than before she changed clothes, like the scent of lingering shower gel after a bath.

Yuzuru glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Iori Muga was standing at the door, his posture upright and motionless, but his gaze was not directly fixed on them. Instead, he and Ooka Momiji were secretly exchanging notes under the door.

This reminded him of a theme from a certain action movie, giving him a sense of déjà vu, like a husband committing adultery in front of his wife.

Yuzuru Hanyu's movements were very restrained; the amount of page turning and the angle of his body tilt were all kept within the range of a "normal teacher-student relationship."

"Mr. Yuzuru, I've finished watching it."

Ooka Momiji's voice brought him back to reality.

"Um……"

Yuzuru nodded and quickly scanned the information about advanced karuta gameplay.

To be honest, it was simpler than he had imagined.

The rules are logically clear, the strategies are well-defined, and the core is nothing more than a combination of memory, reaction speed, and psychological game.

As a top student, reading and processing text are basic skills for him. He can quickly master almost any game, unless it's particularly complex.

"Do you understand?" Yuzuru pointed to the advanced gameplay chapter.

"It's completely clear now."

Ooka Momiji nodded, then wrote a line in her notebook and pushed it in front of him.

Are you sure you understood it?

When Yuzuru saw this line of text, he raised an eyebrow.

Is this girl questioning him?

He nodded, his expression indifferent.

"Let's move on to the next question."

Turn to the next page, and you'll find lyrics for karuta (a type of classical Chinese song).

The font was very small, densely covering the entire booklet.

The first and second lines of one hundred waka poems are arranged in the order of the Japanese syllabary (五十音图), with the positions of the "jueji" (决字) marked next to them.

Although Toru Hanyu had never known about these things, he managed to remember some of them after watching for a few minutes.

After he had looked at it enough, he closed his eyes and began to sort out the rules and content of the karuta in his mind.

The core gameplay of karuta is based on the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

It is a collection of works selected from 100 ancient singers.

The game revolves around these 100 waka poems and the battles that follow.

Before the game begins, each player randomly draws 25 cards from a set of 100 "snatching cards," placing them face up in three sections (top, middle, and bottom) on their side. Each player's hand is called their "own hand," and the opponent's hand is called their "enemy hand."

After the cards are set up, both players have 15 minutes to memorize the positions and contents of all 50 cards.

This is the crucial step that determines victory or defeat.

Once the competition officially begins, the "reader," also known as the referee, will recite the first line of a waka poem. Upon hearing this, the contestants must immediately identify which poem it is and be the first to slap or scan the card with the next line written on it.

If you grab a card from your own formation, remove it immediately.

If you capture a card from the enemy's territory, you can not only take it, but also choose a card from your own territory to give to the opponent. This card is usually one you don't want. The opponent must then place that card in their own territory.

Sending cards is also one of the core strategies in chorus.

Of course, besides these, mistakes can also happen when grabbing or sweeping.

There are only 50 cards on the table, but the reader can recite all 100 waka poems. If the poem heard is not on the table, but the player touches the card or grabs the wrong card, it is considered a "mistake".

As a penalty, the opponent can send another card.

A single typo can sometimes change the entire course of a battle.

The game ends immediately when all 25 cards on one side's side are cleared.

Yuzuru opened his eyes.

Beneath the seemingly simple rules lie profound techniques.

When masters clash, they don't wait until they hear the entire poem before making a move; instead, they rely on a single "decisive word" to make their judgment.

The term "决字" refers to the initial few kana characters that uniquely identify a particular poem.

The moment the reader utters the first syllable, the expert already knows which poem it is and has already reached out their hand.

Victory or defeat often hinges on a fraction of a second.

The contest between masters is entirely a test of an individual's reaction speed and ability to memorize poetry.

"I've looked at most of these questions."

Ooka Momiji suddenly spoke, a faint smile on her face.

"Mr. Yuzuru, could you give me some practice problems?"

Upon hearing this, Yuzuru closed the handbook and looked at the girl beside him.

Her expression was calm, but there was a hint of malice hidden in her blue eyes.

"You want me to set a question?"

"Um."

"Can."

Yuzuru reopened the manual, quickly scanned the densely packed lyrics, then closed the book and placed it face down on the table.

"This is my notebook. Write down the questions you came up with here."

Ooka Momiji pushed a stack of small cards filled with song lyrics over the table and wrote a note in her notebook.

The gist is: since there's no one to read the game, we'll change the rules. We'll each split 50 cards (the "steal" card and the previous card), shuffle them face down, and pile them into our own piles. We'll take turns being the "question setter."

The player who sets the question randomly draws a card from their deck and places it on the table. The other player must, upon seeing the card, determine which song it represents and then find the corresponding card from their own deck.

The player who sets the questions can also steal cards from the opponent's deck; either side gains a point for stealing a pair. The winning rule is that after all the cards are played, the player who steals the most pairs wins.

After finishing writing, Ooka Momiji put down her pen, placed her hands flat on the table, her fingertips slightly curled, and looked at him quietly with a faint smile on her face. Her lips were slightly parted, but she did not make a sound, as if she were saying something.

"Are you ready?"