Chihaya Ayase is driven by her ambition to build her school's competitive karuta club, harboring daunting goals such as winning the national team championship at the Omi Jingu and becoming the Queen, the top female karuta player in Japan—and by extension, the world. As their second year of high school begins, Chihaya and her teammates must recruit new members, train both their minds and bodies, and face the formidable opponents blocking their path to the championship title. Meanwhile, Chihaya's childhood friend, Arata Wataya, the prodigy who introduced her to karuta, rediscovers his lost passion for the traditional card game.