After dyeing their hair, Noa and Misa began participating in the Reversi match space at the store.
The children at the orphanage didn't seem to notice that they were meeting Noa and Misa.
Their clothes, hair color and even their hairstyle had all changed.
By the way, Noa and Misa wore their hair tied up in a ponytail at the back of their head.
Furthermore, they tried to change their tone as much as possible when they spoke.
Because of that, no one noticed.
The disguise seemed perfect.
"Noa-sama and Misa-sama look like they're having fun." (Yuna)
The two of them were able to play Reversi without any hesitation and seemed to be having fun.
It was interesting because Noa's expressions changed all the time.
And at the end, Noa bowed her head. It seemed she had lost.
As for Misa, she looked happy. It seemed that she had won.
"Are you going to play, Fina?" (Yuna)
"Because I'm doing it with everyone at the orphanage and with Shuri."
It seemed like Fina was also practicing quite a bit.
From then on, Noa and Misa returned, taking turns between matches.
"I'm tired."
"Good job"
I handed them a drink.
"Nobody noticed me."
"The disguise is perfect, right?"
You wouldn't think that a noblewoman would be playing Reversi in a place like this, with changing her clothes, hair color, and even her hairstyle.
"How was the match?"
I had seen their face from afar, so I knew to some extent.
"I've tried it four times and only won twice." (Noa)
"I've done it four times and won three times." (Misa)
It depended on their opponent, but it looked like Misa had won more matches than she had lost.
"At first I was nervous about playing with people I didn't know, but it was fun."
It seemed like it was a good experience for them because they were playing against people they didn't know at the tournament.
The day of the Reversi tournament was approaching.
Meanwhile, Lianna-san came to me for advice.
"Yuna-san, what shall we do?" (Lianna)
The number of participants was greater than expected.
"You didn't stop them?" (Yuna)
"Well, I left the application box as it was, and it got full." (Lianna)
But what should we do about it?
The number of participants was expected to reach nearly 60 people under the age of 13, and 120 people over the age of 14.
The tournament was held in a rented plaza, and since it was a Reversi event that day, it seemed they had arranged for the plaza to be rented out for the day.
However, if things continued like this, it would be over capacity, not only considering the participants but also the people who came to support them.
There would also apparently be food stalls set up.
It was impossible.
"Hmm, in that case, how about we change to a bigger space?" (Yuna)
"I thought about it too, but with that many people, there are only a limited number of places available now." (Lianna)
"Is there any?" (Yuna)
"Yes, but there are rocks and the ground is uneven." (Lianna)
"Where?" (Yuna)
"It's an open space on the way to the orphanage." (Lianna)
Ah, yes there certainly is.
There's plenty of space there.
Rocks and uneven ground are no problem.
"What do you need for the tournament?" (Yuna)
"Reversi, tables, chairs... I prepared some, but there weren't enough. And we couldn't even set them up in the square." (Lianna)
Apparently, thanks to the match corner, Reversi was selling well, making it difficult to get enough copies for tournaments.
Moreover, as the number of people had increased, there weren't enough tables and chairs.
"Also, there will be food stalls set up, so I think there will be even more people." (Lianna)
If you think about it,
"But is it okay to change the location now?" (Yuna)
"We will put up flyers. We will have guides at the planned venue on the day, so I think it will be fine. Also, that place is close to the venue, so we should be able to make it in time." (Lianna)
"Well then, let's set up a venue there." (Yuna)
If there were no problems, then we should just create a venue.
"Will we be able to get ready in time if we start now?" (Lianna)
"That can be done with a bit of magic." (Yuna)
"Wait a minute. That's not that easy—" (Lianna)
"For now, let's go." (Yuna)
Lianna-san and I head towards the orphanage.
This area was far from the city center, so there were few buildings.
No one lived near the walls that surrounded the city because it was inconvenient.
By the way, the entrance to the city was separate. That street led to the center of the city, so there were many buildings lined up.
"It's around here, right?" (Yuna)
"Yes. It's spacious, but the rocks and ground are uneven." (Lianna)
The ground was uneven, so if you placed a desk or chair on it, it would tilt.
There were rocks rolling around and weeds growing.
"Well, just watch." (Yuna)
I stood in the center of the open space.
Maybe this would be fine.
I poured mana to the ground.
The sunken areas rise, while the elevated parts sink.
The entire square became flat.
"Yuna-san, what have you done?" (Lianna)
"As you can see, I just flattened it with magic." (Yuna)
"Don't say it so lightly. It's so spacious. But Yuna-san..." (Lianna)
It had been a while since I had seen such a reaction.
"If we just move the rocks away, I think it'll be fine." (Yuna)
I put rocks into the Bear Box. The Bear Box was useful in situations like this.
And before I knew it, the flat ground was finished.
"I'm thinking of making tables and chairs too, what do you think?" (Yuna)
"If you could make it for me, it would be a great help since I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of transporting it." (Lianna)
After getting permission, I set up the tables and chairs at equal intervals.
A Reversi board was placed on each table.
"The tables and chairs were made with magic. I'll clean them up after the tournament is over." (Yuna)
"Yuna-san, thank you very much." (Lianna)
"All that's left now is the Reversi stones, but you can prepare those, right?" (Yuna)
"Yes, I’ll do it." (Lianna)
The next step was to build some temporary seating around the area.
It was like a staircase.
You could see the situation from above.
"I guess that's about it." (Yuna)
"I thought I understood how great Yuna-san was, but I didn't." (Lianna)
She said this while looking at the venue.
"Yuna-san, thank you so much. It was my mistake." (Lianna)
"No one knows anything the first time they do something. You can learn from your mistakes." (Yuna)
"I get told this by my seniors, but when Yuna-san, who's younger, says it..." (Lianna)
"Now that I think of it, didn't you consult with Mylaine-san?" (Yuna)
"I did. If I consulted with you and it didn't work, she said she'd think about it with me." (Lianna)
In other words, it might have been better to leave it to Mylaine-san.
Well, Noa and the others are looking forward to it and want it to be a success, so it's fine to lend a hand.
The venue was ready. At my house, Noa, Misa, Fina, and Shuri were playing a game of Reversi.
I gazed at the scenery.
"I win." (Noa)
"I lost." (Fina)
"Somehow I won." (Misa)
"Ugh, I lost." (Shuri)
"Shuri-chan, even though she's so young, she's strong."
She was the youngest among them.
Despite that, it was amazing that she was fighting on the same level as Noa and her friends.
"Let's wrap it up for today." (Noa)
"Eeeeh" (Shuri)
Shuri spoke up after hearing Noa's words.
"It's important to rest your mind in order to win." (Noa)
"Really?" (Shuri)
"Father said that when you're tired, your mind won't work properly and you won't come up with any good ideas." (Noa)
"That's right. Even when exercising, you can't move if you don't rest your body."
"My dad also told me that when you're tired you make more mistakes and it's dangerous, so I have to be careful when I'm doing dismantling." (Fina)
Like anything, if you're tired, it's hard to stay focused.
"The same goes for the head. Let's give it a rest so we can win tomorrow." (Noa)
Shuri was convinced by what everyone told her.
"So, how's everyone's performance going?" (Yuna)
Fina and the others were writing down the results of the match on paper.
"Um, please wait a moment." (Noa)
Noa had paper and pen.
"The results over the past few days are as follows: I have 18 wins, Misa has 16 wins, Fina has 15 wins, and Shuri has 12 wins." (Noa)
"Ugh." (Shuri)
Shuri looked sad.
From watching the matches, Misa was the smart one, Shuri was the inspiration one, and Fina was the steady one. Noa seemed to have both intelligence and inspiration.
Sometimes, Misa placed stones in a way that lured the opponent in. She thought that if she placed a stone there, the opponent would probably place it there next.
Fina steadily placed her stones.
Shuri placed her stones in an unexpected place. If it works, it's a win, but most of the time it was a bad move and she lost.
It seemed like Noa had the brains of both Misa and Shuri.
At first, she acted on instinct, but towards the end she thought things through more carefully.
"But Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan have 20 wins."
At first, it was just a joke, but I asked Kumayuru and Kumakyu to join in.
With Noa saying "No going easy on you," Kumayuru and Kumakyu fought in earnest.
As a result, they were so strong that no one could beat them, and so they were banned from playing against others.
By the way, Kumayuru's fingers were too small to grab the stones, so he uses his fingertips? His nails to tap the place where the stone should be placed, and then the other player moves forward by placing a stone.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu might be smarter than anyone.
Author's Note
Next time, the tournament will begin.
Sorry, I had a bit of work to do so I'm a day late.
*I'm sorry. I have a lot of work to check, so I will not be posting next time.
...
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.