69novels Chapter 34: Karuta Showdown!
Chapter 34: Karuta Showdown!
Yuzuru remained silent and accepted the two sets of karuta cards handed to him by Momiji Ooka.
After thinking for a moment, he chose the group on the left.
Ooka Momiji put the remaining set back, gently cupping the cards between her fingertips without turning them over.
Yuzuru spread out his set of karuta cards on the table and glanced at the contents.
It's all the previous sentence.
According to the rules, the person who sets the question reveals their cards, and the other person must find the corresponding cards. If he has all the cards for the first part of the question, then Ooka Momiji has all the cards for the second part.
This means that when Ooka Momiji plays a card, she reveals the next line, and he has to find the corresponding card from his previous line's deck.
Conversely, when he plays a card, he reveals the first line, and Ooka Momiji has to find the corresponding card from the second line's deck.
The problem is that with poetry, it's always easier to memorize it forwards than backwards.
Seeing the previous sentence and thinking about the next sentence is a completely different level of difficulty compared to seeing the next sentence and thinking about the previous sentence.
Just like memorizing ancient poems, it's definitely much easier to memorize them forwards than backwards.
"If you don't want to lose your job, remember to be careful later."
Ooka Momiji wrote on a sticky note.
Yuzuru looked up at her.
The girl's expression was completely different from before.
That dignified and elegant demeanor was still there, but there was a layer of focus in her eyes, as if she had entered a certain state.
Just then, a crisp notification sound rang in Yuzuru's mind.
A semi-transparent window appeared in front of my field of vision.
[Mission: Engage with "Ooka Momiji" and make her curious or fond of you]
[Current Reward: Conditioned Reflex Arc (3 hours, already issued) - Permanent reward upon completion of the mission]
[Task deadline: Before midnight tonight]
Yuzuru was taken aback.
Conditioned reflex arc?
Yuzuru found his mind was now crystal clear, and his thoughts suddenly became much faster. He never expected that playing karuta with Ooka Momiji could trigger a system mission.
The problem is that the system has marked it as time-limited. Once you miss it, the reward for this mission will expire. To get the reward, you have to make Ooka Momiji curious about him or develop feelings for him.
"This is a bit tricky~"
Ooka Momiji is not comparable to Suzuki Sonoko. The other party's current attitude is only because he is trying to please her.
It won't be easy to win over Ooka Momiji's favor.
But this aroused Ooka Momiji's curiosity about him...
That's something we can try.
Thinking of this, Yuzuru looked up at the clock on the wall; it was already 8:15.
His class will end at 9:30, which means he only has one hour to complete this task, making it a tight schedule and a heavy workload.
"You play your card first."
Upon seeing this, Yuzuru wrote on a sticky note.
Are you sure?
When Ooka Momiji saw this line of text, she raised her eyebrows slightly, somewhat surprised.
In this mode of karuta, there is a first-mover advantage. Although it doesn't have a particularly big impact, taking a point as the first player can effectively dampen the opponent's morale.
"Sure."
Yuzuru nodded and arranged all his cards face up on the table.
Seeing this, Ooka Momiji stopped refusing. She quickly glanced at the cards in her hand, then shuffled them, randomly drew one, and placed it face up in the center of the table.
The moment the cards were revealed, both of their eyes fell on them simultaneously.
「わたのhara——」
In that instant, both of them clearly saw the lyrics on the song card.
Almost as soon as Ooka Momiji saw the first character, he reached out and grabbed the first line card in front of Hanyu Tetsu.
"So fast?!"
Just as Yuzuru saw the third word on the card and it matched a phrase in his mind, his hand was only halfway out when the girl's hand was already on the correct card and he took it.
"I won."
Ooka Momiji looked at him with a smile, silently uttering a few words.
Yuzuru withdrew his hand, his expression calm.
Expected.
The opponent is a near-celebrity karuta player who knows hundreds of karuta songs by heart and whose reaction speed is the result of years of training.
He's a complete novice who's only looked at the lyrics for a dozen minutes; there's no way he can win.
But he didn't panic.
The conditioned reflex arc provided by the system is taking effect, and he can clearly feel his memories solidifying at an accelerated pace.
Although I lost the last round, I may still have a chance to win next time.
Get ready, the second round is about to begin.
Yuzuru gathered his cards, shuffled them, and randomly drew one card to place in the center of the table.
The previous card is revealed.
"Aki no Ta's——"
At the same time, the two attacked simultaneously.
He had just seen this card and remembered it vividly. He had already locked onto the corresponding next line.
Yuzuru's finger landed on the deck in front of Ooka Momiji first, accurately drawing the corresponding card for the next line.
Ooka Momiji's hand hovered in mid-air for a moment.
She turned to look at Toru Hanyu.
Yuzuru waved the card he had grabbed in front of her. Although he didn't say anything, his meaning was clear.
One to one, we've come back.
Ooka Momiji's brow twitched slightly.
She neither wrote anything nor spoke; she simply rearranged her deck of cards, signaling the start of the next round.
In the third round, Ooka Momiji played her card.
This time, Yuzuru was prepared. When he saw the first two kana of the next line, the corresponding previous line already came to mind.
But his hand was a beat too slow; Ooka Momiji's fingers had already precisely placed the right spot.
In the fourth round, Toru Hanyu played his card.
He drew the first card, and the moment he saw the card revealed, his hand moved.
The two touched the cards almost simultaneously, but Yuzuru's fingertips touched them first.
Two to two.
Ooka Momiji withdrew her hand, glanced at him, and looked at him with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
The fifth round, the sixth round, the seventh round...
The two clashed faster and faster, and their movements became increasingly exaggerated.
Yuzuru gradually found his rhythm.
The conditioned reflex arc provided by the system has significantly improved his memory and reaction speed. Although it cannot compare to the years of accumulation by Ooka Momiji, the gap is visibly narrowing.
The score went back and forth.
Seven to eight.
Nine to nine.
Eleven to ten.
Between rounds, the two would pretend to doodle in the booklet, and occasionally Ooka Momiji would ask, "Mr. Hanyu, is this the solution to this problem?"
Yuzuru answered in a steady, natural tone.
But beneath the table, both men's fingers were taut, ready to strike at any moment.
The eighteenth round.
Ooka Momiji drew a card and placed it on the table.
The moment Yuu Toru saw the contents, his hand moved.
But as he extended his elbow, he accidentally bumped into a teacup on the corner of the table.
The cup wobbled, and a few drops of tea spilled out.
Footsteps sounded behind me.
"Young Miss, you need me..."
"fine."
Ooka Momiji reacted extremely quickly, pressing down on the teacup with one hand while flipping the karuta card on the table over with the other, covering the contents.
"I bumped into you while turning the page, Iori. Could you get me a hot cup?"
Her tone was calm and natural, as if nothing had happened.
Iori Muta stood at the door for two seconds and bowed slightly.
"Yes, Miss."
The footsteps faded into the distance.
Yuzuru breathed a sigh of relief and glanced down at the table.
Ooka Momiji's hand was still on the card that had been turned over, her fingertips applying slight pressure.
She turned her head and whispered.
Be careful.
Yuzuru nodded, pulled his cards back a bit, and reduced the range of his moves.
Iori Muga quickly returned with a new teacup, placed it on the table, and retreated back to the doorway.
The two exchanged a glance and continued.
Starting from the eighteenth round, Toru Hanyu adjusted his strategy.
He no longer pursues overwhelming speed, but instead uses the choice of which cards to play to create information asymmetry.
Each time it's his turn to play a card, he chooses a familiar set to ensure he can immediately identify the next move.
This strategy is very effective.
The score went from 14 to 15, then to 18 to 18, and finally to 22 to 21.
Ooka Momiji's expression grew increasingly serious.
She wrote less frequently, flipped cards faster, and each move was made with an attitude of not allowing any mistakes.
Twenty-three to twenty-three.
Twenty-four to twenty-four.
The final round.
Yuzuru took a deep breath.
This time it was his turn to play his card.
He drew one of the two remaining cards and placed it in the center of the table.
The cards are revealed—
「ちはやぶる——」
Chihaya Vibration.
This is the most famous of the 100 Poets, and also the one he remembers most vividly.
The two of them took action at the same time.
At the same instant, both Yuu Toru's fingers and Ooka Momiji's fingers landed on the next card.
Their hands were clasped together, neither of them letting go.
The card was held between the two people's fingertips and remained motionless.
"Let go."
Ooka Momiji's voice was very low, carrying a hint of uncompromising authority.
"I'll get it first."
Yuzuru lowered his voice as well, his fingers showing no sign of yielding.
He did touch it first; his fingertips touched the card first.
Ooka Momiji turned her head to look at him. The two were very close, close enough that he could see the curve of her eyelashes.
"You don't."
"You brought your nails."
"..."
The two remained locked in a stalemate for three seconds.
Then I heard light footsteps behind me.
Iori Muga's gaze fell upon him.
Just as Yuzuru was about to let go, Ooka Momiji's fingers withdrew first.
She withdrew her hand and placed it on her knees, her expression returning to calm.
"Young Miss?" Iori Muga's voice came from behind.
"It's nothing, we were just discussing how to solve a problem." Ooka Momiji said casually without turning her head.
I didn't press the matter further.
Yuzuru took the card to his side and silently calculated the score in his mind.
Twenty-five to twenty-four.
Before he could even show any expression, Ooka Momiji had already written a line on a sticky note and pushed it in front of him.
The handwriting is slightly heavier than before.
"It's a tie this time, let's play one more game."
Yuzuru looked at the words and then at the girl's face.
Her expression was calm, but the red earring on her earlobe swayed slightly with her subtle movements.
"Someone interfered, so it doesn't count. Let's try again."
Yuzuru stared at the words, his lips twitching slightly.
He looked up at the clock.
8:52.
The task is not yet complete.