I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Hmm? Is there a gift for me? My eye color is the same as Tianyin's."

Seeing Amane fondling a stone, Sakayanagi smiled and struck up a conversation with Kiryuin.

Then a magical scene unfolded. Just a moment ago, Kiryuin had a faint smile on his face and his behavior was a bit awkward. In an instant, his face fell, and he bent down expressionlessly, searched in the bucket for a long time, and took out a small piece of blue pebble and threw it to Sakayanagi.

Here, yours.

The difference in treatment made Sakayanagi's lips twitch involuntarily.

"Well, I really have to thank you for your gift, Maple."

"No need to thank me, after all, you still have to pay it back."

"???"

Sakayanagi's feelings at this moment could not be described as complicated, but looking at Kiryuin's slightly hostile eyes, Sakayanagi knew that Kiryuin had guessed something.

But so what?

Tianyin and she made a promise.

What chance does Kiryuin have left?

Thinking of this, Sakayanagi's smile grew even brighter.

"No problem, I'll definitely give you a big gift in return, Maple Flower."

In just a short moment, Sakayanagi had already figured out what kind of return gift he should give to Kiryuin.

'I'll give Fenghua a matching engagement ring on our wedding day.'

……

After working on it all night, Tianyin finally finished making a bucket of shiny pebbles, each one carved with a cute animal image.

Although the carving marks were very light, they became vivid and lovely after being filled with some kind of pigment.

Of course, the price was that several of Tianyin's privately kept knives broke, which made Tianyin feel quite distressed.

This small loss is nothing to Tianyin.

After all, their plans are more important.

The next morning, Tianyin arrived at the amusement park with her bucket and set up her Go challenge booth using camping equipment.

At first, some managers tried to drive Tianyin away, but after Tianyin crushed a pebble with her bare hands, the managers pretended nothing had happened and left.

Just as Tianyin had predicted, at first everyone just watched. There weren't many people who knew how to play Go, and judging from Tianyin's demeanor, she must have some skill to set up a stall. Naturally, no one wanted to go up and embarrass themselves.

However, Tianyin's flamboyant behavior quickly attracted several Go enthusiasts. After Tianyin made a mess of things and won a few bags of potato chips, he didn't expect that the other party would happily call for reinforcements.

Tianyin couldn't understand why someone would be so happy after being tortured to death, but the more people the other side brought, the happier Tianyin became.

"Please bring more, I'll treat you well."

Rumors of the Go prodigy girl's dominance spread to the neighboring city within just a few hours.

In one day, Tianyin played as many as sixty rounds.

Without exception, all of them ended in victory, with a large amount of puffed food, instant noodles, biscuits, mineral water and beverages piled up behind Tianyin.

After estimating that there was enough food to support the three of them in completing their mountain climbing mission, Tianyin decided to quickly finish off the old man in front of her and then return to the hotel.

Unbeknownst to Tianyin, the person sitting in front of her was Cheng Tianye, one of the top ten masters in the country.

At over sixty years old, he is already an extremely skilled professional player to maintain a mental processing power that ranks among the top ten of all Go players.

However, the Eighty-Three Hands of Tianyin left Narita drenched in sweat. He couldn't help but steal glances at Tianyin several times, trying to recall which famous master this rising star was. If given the chance, he might even take Tianyin as a disciple.

What Narita didn't know was that Amane, with her indifferent expression, was in a hurry to finish work and go home for dinner, so she quickened the pace of ending the battle.

After persisting for ninety-six moves, Narita finally sighed and resigned, abandoning his piece.

Tenon naturally accepted Narita's several cans of beef and a small jar of candied fruit without any hesitation.

'The old man isn't very good at chess, but he's quite generous with the prizes.'

Narita's generosity slightly changed Amane's impression of him. She had been thinking about how this old man had been secretly staring at her despite his age, and she planned to teach this disrespectful old man a lesson later.

But for the sake of the food, let's give him a chance to reform.

As for becoming the second generation of Narita, Amane expressed no interest whatsoever. Narita reluctantly left his business card and departed.

After Amane defeated Narita, a wave of surprised exclamations immediately erupted in the audience.

Many people know Narita, a veteran Go player, but it's unbelievable that such a skilled player was easily defeated by Amane.

Listening intently to the praises bestowed upon her, Tianyin maintained a cold expression, as if victory and praise were of no importance to her.

Tianyin was thinking about whether she should bring Fenghua and Youxi to play with her since she had just heard that there would be a fireworks show at the amusement park that night. She had earned a lot of food today, so it shouldn't matter if she wasted a little.

Just as Tianyin was about to leave after waiting for a few minutes and seeing that no one was challenging her, two petite figures squeezed out from the crowd.

"Petty" is relative to the adults around her. When the two came up to Tianyin, Tianyin could see that the girl was about the same age as her but looked more mature.

The boy next to her looked several years older than her, and was even a head taller than Tianyin.

But in Tianyin's eyes, they were nothing more than two lambs delivered to the slaughter.

"Hello, my name is Horikita Manabu, and this is my younger sister, Horikita Suzune. I'd like to play a game of Go with you."

Chapter 122: Tomato Juice

Looking at Horikita Manabu, who was a head taller than her but seemed like a hot-blooded idiot, Amane shook her head almost imperceptibly. She hated playing chess with such a noisy person.

However, since he had already come to her, it would be troublesome to refuse. Moreover, in Amane's opinion, she had no need to refuse at all. The boy named Horikita Manabu was nothing more than a lamb about to be offered food to her.

However, it's best to confirm the rules with your opponent before playing, so that if they can't provide food after the game, it will be a waste of both of your time.

"Hey kid, this isn't something you can just play around with. This is a gambling game, and you'll have to pay the price if you lose."

Upon hearing that losing the game would come at a price, Horikita Manabu's excitement gradually faded, replaced by a composed demeanor that was completely at odds with his previous image as a hot-blooded fool.

"What's the price? I don't have any canned beef here..."

Horikita Manabu scratched his head, seemingly troubled by the lack of any decent means of payment available.

After all, canned beef isn't particularly expensive, and it's quite easy for Horikita Manabu's family to afford it. But the question is, who would have nothing better to do than go to an amusement park and carry canned food with them?

Seeing Horikita Manabu hesitate, Amane knew that Horikita Manabu might not have any decent food to offer, but Amane had never expected to get the same generous food from everyone as the old man had just given her.

So when she saw Horikita Manabu having a headache because there was no canned beef, Amane explained the rules of the challenge game to him.

"The rules are simple: if you can beat me, you can take anything you want from here."

Tianyin casually pointed to the piles of food and water beside her that looked like small mountains.

"Of course, that includes this too."

Amane placed the plastic bucket under the table in front of Horikita Manabu. Amane had noticed Horikita Manabu and Horikita Suzune as soon as they squeezed out of the crowd. However, compared to the food and drinks available everywhere, the brother and sister were clearly more interested in their little stones.

Yesterday, Tianyin had already made an emergency plan. If the amusement park did not allow her to set up a chess game here, Tianyin planned to sell pebbles here. Although it might be a little more troublesome than food that could be eaten directly, the advantage was that they could use the money to reasonably purchase various supplies and equipment needed for the upcoming mountain climb.

That's why she specifically asked Fenghua to bring back a bucket full of pebbles. Unfortunately, Tianyin didn't encounter the situation she had anticipated, where the amusement park wouldn't allow the chess challenge. Perhaps it was because she adopted a strong attitude from the beginning, making the amusement park wary...

In short, Tianyin's plan went very smoothly, and the chess challenge was about to come to a perfect end. It was a little regrettable that she hadn't given away a single one of the bucket of carefully carved pebbles.

As the likely last challenger of the day, Horikita Manabu's ability to take a pebble from her will determine the outcome of the entire game.

Sparkling pebbles lay quietly in the plastic bucket. The girl next to Horikita Manabu was already squatting down happily, picking and choosing in the bucket, as if victory was about to be in her grasp.

"Isn't it a bit too early for you to challenge Lipin now? Your brother might lose to me."

Amane couldn't help but say something to Horikita Suzune, who was carefully selecting items, but the latter clearly didn't take it seriously.

"Hmph, my brother is very skilled! Seeing that you've earned so many spoils of war, it means you're quite an expert in Go. However, my brother is also an expert, and there are differences between experts. I hope you don't end up crying because my brother bullies you later."

When Horikita Suzune heard Amane say that Horikita Manabu had lost the challenge, she immediately retorted to express her support for her older brother, Horikita Manabu, and her belief that he would definitely win.

However, Horikita Suzune also had her own thoughts. In chess, the competition is often not about so-called skills, but about patience and meticulousness. If Amane is so easily swayed by her emotions, then in a way, she would be helping her brother.

It must be said that Horikita Suzune, despite her young age, is more meticulous than most adults, which is something to be praised for.

If she had encountered someone else this time, that person might have been furious and ready to challenge Horikita to a duel.

But she encountered Amane. Faced with Horikita's almost undisguised provocation, Amane nodded seriously and agreed with her expressionless face.

"You're absolutely right."

Horikita's face immediately turned rosy after hearing Amane's approval.

"Are you admitting you can't compare to your older brother?"

"No, I completely agree with your statement that there are differences between masters. I will prove to you that I am stronger than your brother."

"What's wrong with you? You're just as annoying as those guys in the class who like to say weird things."

Horikita pouted, threw the pebbles into the bucket in dissatisfaction, and then looked at Horikita Manabu with expectant eyes, as if waiting for Horikita Manabu to teach Amane, this guy who likes to talk big, a lesson.

At this moment, Horikita Manabu felt bitter. He had noticed that Amane seemed reluctant to play Go, and looking at the time, it seemed that the fireworks show was approaching. Perhaps Amane would become anxious in her Go game because she wanted to see the fireworks.

He also knew that, in Horikita Manabu's opinion, girls couldn't resist the allure of fireworks parties.

If Amane becomes distracted while playing Go, Horikita Manabu believes he has at least an 80% chance of easily defeating her.

Therefore, when Horikita Suzune deliberately tried to provoke Amane, Horikita Manabu pretended to be thinking about whether to participate in the challenge without saying anything to stop Horikita Suzune's behavior. His purpose was to affect Amane's mentality before the game even started, so that his chances of winning would be much greater.

Some might think that using such underhanded tactics against a girl like Tianyin is a bit despicable, but a competition is a competition, and people only remember the winner. Similarly, the greatest respect for Tianyin is to defeat her by any means necessary.

As for fairness?

There is no such thing as absolute fairness in the world. If Amane's mentality is shaken by Horikita Suzune's provocative words and she is defeated, it only shows that Amane's mental training is far from sufficient.

What Horikita Manabu didn't expect was that Horikita Suzune not only failed to affect Amane's mindset, but instead made Amane even more focused. Her serious demeanor made Horikita Manabu's eye twitch involuntarily.

The next game is likely to be difficult.

"What if I lose?"

Horikita Manabu's words immediately made Horikita Suzune stomp her foot in dissatisfaction. At this moment, Horikita Manabu had almost become a road sign and a belief for Horikita Suzune on her life path.

From the time she could remember, Horikita Manabu had always been a perfect genius, striding ahead of her. She had never seen Horikita Manabu stumble even once, nor had she ever seen him with such a bitter smile.

"Anything that can be eaten or drunk cannot be instant noodles or other foods that require secondary processing with water. It can be snacks, pastries, or puffed foods, and even mineral water is fine."

Amane's request surprised Horikita Manabu. If snacks and bottled water were considered spoils of war that had to be handed over to the enemy after a defeat...

The fact that the bottled water piled up behind Tianyin was enough to demonstrate the girl's strength.

"I'd like to ask, why do you collect these things? And since you have bottled water, you can just heat it up to cook instant noodles. If you need to carry portable food on a long trip, I would still recommend instant noodles. Although the nutritional content is questionable, they can provide calories."

Horikita Manabu guessed what Amane was planning to do just from her few words and the rules of the competition. He even deduced that Amane might be planning to climb the nearby Little Snow Mountain, which was known as Little Fuji.

Amane was slightly surprised that someone had seen through her thoughts for the first time, but her expression remained unchanged throughout. She simply replied to Horikita with a faint smile.

"Why are you making such a fuss? Are you going to play or not? Besides, even if I wanted instant noodles, could you conjure them up out of thin air for me right now?"

Amane's rude attitude made Horikita Manabu realize that he had asked too many questions. Everyone has their own secrets, and it is very impolite to try to pry into someone's secrets on the first meeting.

"Sorry, I asked too many questions. I don't have any of those things on me. All I can offer right now is chocolate. How about this?"

Horikita Manabu took out two beautifully packaged chocolates and placed them on the chessboard in front of Amane.

Tianyin's eyes lit up when she saw the chocolate. Unlike other foods that are just for filling one's stomach, chocolate can quickly replenish energy and sugar while also boosting one's spirits. Most chocolates contain a small amount of caffeine, so having this would save a lot of space to carry more food.

"of course can."

Horikita Suzune looked at Amane in surprise; she had actually sensed happiness in Amane's calm words.

Why isn't that girl smiling?

She's so beautiful, with eyes that even Horikita Suzune envies. Just looking at those amethyst-like eyes, you can imagine how gentle and comforting it would be if Amane smiled. But if she always has a serious face, those eyes would make people feel quite depressed.

It seems that Horikita Manabu's bet pleased Amane, as Amane deliberately gave Horikita Manabu the right to make the first move. Generally, only when the difference in strength between the two sides is very obvious will one side choose to give up the right to make the first move. In other words, this is a luxury that only the strong have.

Horikita Manabu naturally didn't dare to be arrogant, after all, if someone could be that confident, then Amane's skills were probably more than just a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Please give me more advice."

"Ah."

Tianyin nodded casually, thus completing the polite exchange.

Horikita Manabu immediately put all his effort into setting up his strategy in the center of the board, intending to take an unconventional approach and win a game against Amane.

The reason it is described as taking an unorthodox approach is because his playing style is not in accordance with the orthodox methods of the game. In other words, it is like a novice making random moves on the chessboard, except that Horikita Manabu's random moves are purposeful.

Generally speaking, the opening moves in Go emphasize the establishment of "influence" (or "position"). Once you have established your "influence," you can control the rhythm of the game.