There's such a rule? Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was stunned.
"Normally, you would be penalized with a Mangan. Since this is your first offense today, I'll let you off the hook for this hand," Saotome Meari said magnanimously.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka raised his eyebrows, "Everyone starts with twenty-five thousand points; a single penalty is nine thousand? That punishment is too severe."
"In Mahjong, a false declaration of Mahjong is a very serious foul, so be extremely careful next time you want to go Mahjong!" Saotome Meari smiled happily, reminding Ayanokoji with the arrogant posture of a "veteran."
In Mahjong, Saotome finally found a sense of superiority over Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
This hand was a draw. Saotome pressed the shuffle button, and the automatic Mahjong table shuffled the tiles with a single press.
Another game began, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued to aim for the All Simples hand. Perhaps the others were concentrating on making big hands, as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's luck was still good this time, and he quickly formed the All Simples hand.
He was just one Two of Bamboo or Five of Bamboo away from Tenpai.
There wasn't a single Five of Bamboo on the table right now, and Ayanokoji believed that as long as he waited patiently, he would soon get that tile.
"Five of Bamboo."
Not long after, Kurume Laiwei discarded this tile, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't declare Tenpai. He waited patiently, like a hunter hidden in the shadows.
His target was only one person—Saotome Meari—to avenge the humiliation of the previous hand.
To Ayanokoji's delight, the opportunity came so quickly. After Kurume discarded her tile, when it was Saotome's turn, she directly discarded a "Two of Bamboo."
The Two of Bamboo, like the Five of Bamboo, was a tile Ayanokoji Kiyotaka needed.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka confirmed the tiles on the table in front of him; there were no Two or Five of Bamboo, so he wasn't in "Furiten." Going Mahjong this time should be fine.
Before Hanatemari discarded her tile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka confidently pushed his tiles over, "Wait, I've gone Mahjong."
Although it was only the smallest All Simples, one thousand points, it still counted as winning this hand.
However, to his surprise, the three people in front of him looked at his tiles, exchanged glances, and then chuckled.
Kurume laughed, collapsing onto the table, "Ayanokoji, how did you fall for it again? You fell for it twice in two rounds; are you doing this on purpose?"
As Ayanokoji felt confused, Hanatemari kindly explained to him, "Ayanokoji, same-turn Furiten is also Furiten, but it's called Same-Turn Furiten.
When someone discards a tile you need to go Mahjong, but for various reasons you can go Mahjong and choose not to, then you also enter the Furiten state. This Furiten state is lifted the next time it's your turn to discard."
Ayanokoji raised his eyebrows, "Two types of Furiten, don't tell me... there are other types of Furiten?"
"Hehehe... you're right, besides this type of Furiten, there's another type called Riichi Furiten. If you can go Mahjong while in the Riichi state but don't, you also enter the Furiten state!" Kurume slapped the table, laughing loudly.
This was her first time seeing Ayanokoji act like such a "newbie"; it was too entertaining!
"Riichi? What's that?"
"Here, that stick placed in front of you, that's a Riichi stick. When no other players have called a tile, and your hand reaches the Tenpai state, you can declare Riichi.
When declaring Riichi, you first pay 1000 points as a wager; these 1000 points will be taken by the next player to go Mahjong.
After paying the fee, you discard a tile sideways as a Riichi indicator, and that counts as Riichi. After Riichi, you are not allowed to change your hand; if a drawn tile cannot be used to go Mahjong, it must be discarded immediately."
As Kurume explained, Saotome Meari reached out and picked up a Riichi stick, holding it between two fingers next to her face.
Then, she swung the Riichi stick in a graceful arc, slamming it onto the table in front of her with a "thwack," and let out a clear shout, "Riichi!"
"Just like this, I've declared Riichi." Saotome demonstrated, then she asked with a smile, "How does it feel? Isn't it cool?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rolled his eyes and said grumpily, "I don't feel it's cool; I only feel your chuunibyou spirit has exploded."
Riichi... so that's what this stick is for. Ayanokoji had thought it was like a storytelling gavel, specifically for tapping when someone was dozing off to keep them awake.
However, it seemed not much different; this Riichi stick indeed could make one clear-headed and focus their attention.
Saotome didn't expect such a comment from Ayanokoji. She cleared her throat awkwardly and continued to explain, "In short, any hand without a Yaku can gain one through Riichi, so Riichi is also a good way to resolve a no-Yaku state."
Ayanokoji pondered for a moment, then looked at Saotome with a profound gaze, "Furiten and Riichi... these two rules should be the most basic basics in Japanese Mahjong, right? Why didn't you tell me?"
Saotome guiltily averted her gaze... she deliberately didn't tell him.
Her goal was to make Ayanokoji foul and then pay points.
Although a bit cunning, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was a newbie who knew nothing, and this was the lesson a newbie should receive.
"Ayanokoji, this hand also counts as a false declaration of Mahjong for you. It's already the second time; we can't let you off easily."
Kurume did not disappoint Saotome's "painstaking efforts." She laughed and said, "There are two penalties for a false declaration of Mahjong: one is a penalty of 3000 to each person; the other is a Mangan penalty, meaning the dealer must pay 4000 to each of the other three players, and a non-dealer must pay 2000 to each of the other two non-dealers and 4000 to the dealer.
Originally, Mahjong was supposed to alternate dealers in East and South rounds, but the four of us are planning to play until the end, so we haven't divided the rounds. This hand, you'll have to pay three thousand points to each person."
This was the second foul. Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glared at Saotome unhappily, he had no choice but to give three chips to each person.
Ayanokoji spoke softly, "Saotome, before a new game starts, can you tell me what other rules you haven't told me, and what hands I can go Mahjong on?"
"That's all for the rules; the rest are the hand patterns."
Saotome Meari seemed to have anticipated Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asking this. She no longer concealed it and handed her phone to Ayanokoji, which displayed various hand patterns.
Riichi, Ippatsu, All Simples, Seat Wind, Prevailing Wind, Three Yuan Piles, Rinshan Kaihou, Iipeikou, Toitoihou, Sanankou, Ittsu, Chinitsu...
Tenhou, Chiihou, Kokushi Musou...
Saotome Meari listed all the hand patterns in one breath; the series of "Yaku" looked dizzying.
Saotome Meari showed a mischievous smile, "These are the various hand patterns and their points; the specific calculations are up to you."