Vol-03 Ch 2 – Akatsuki

Part1

Today, after I parted from Luna and the others, and the golden week has ended, I was still thinking about the meaning of Luna's actions.

"What the heck was that… and that declaration of war… I don't know… I have no idea…"

I had no idea what a girl was thinking, and all I could do was hold my head in my hands. And no matter how long it went on, that scene kept popping up in my head, and to be honest, I was in constant agony, so I woke up early in the morning and took a little walk in the other world to clear my mind.

Then──.

"Whoa…"

"Woof."

Both Night and I marveled at the scene in front of us. A part of the forest was opened up as if a hole had been made in it, and a lake that glistened in the morning sun was spread out.

"Wow… I didn't know there was a place like this…"

"Woof."

Night and I unexpectedly forgot to be cautious and approached the lake. I looked into the water of the lake and saw that it was surprisingly clear and visible all the way to the bottom.

As I recall, I'd heard that clear water is devoid of nutrients, but the water plants were vibrant, and we could see fish swimming gracefully in the lake. Since it's a relatively large lake, I wondered if there were aquatic monsters or something like that, but I couldn't see anything like that in both the range of visibility and my [Presence Detection] skill.

"…Ah, yes! Night, do you want to take a bath here today? It's not every day that we get to experience a bath with a view like this."

"Woof!"

Once I got Night's approval, I brought out my bath set. I just wanted to take a bath to get rid of my sweat from the walk. The atmosphere seemed more Western than Japanese, so I decided to go with the jacuzzi this time. As soon as I got into the bath and enjoyed the scene in front of me, I couldn't help but think how luxurious it was.

"Hahhh… what nice warm water…"

"Woof~."

"Fugo~."

…Hmm? I heard an unfamiliar voice, so I involuntarily looked up at what was next to me… and there was a little piggy that I had never seen before enjoying the bath as much as we did.

"You… where did you come from?"

"Buhi?"

I lifted the strange little piggy that had been in the bath for some time, and we made eye contact, but the little piggy is adorable, and all he was doing was tilting his head. No, I'm the one who wants to tilt my head here…

Hmm… if I can think of it, was he already near the bath set when I took out the bath set and hid his appearance? When I looked at the little piggy again, he was covered in short red fur, and his eyes were black and just stared at me without any hostility. The fur felt different and silky to the touch than Night's.

"I do not really understand, but do you want to take a bath with us just like this?"

"Buhi!"

When I said that, the little piggy settled down at my feet. …What's with this guy, he's so cute. While petting the little pig together with the approaching Night, I activated the [Appraisal] skill on the little pig.

[Mouju]

Level: 490

Magic: 60,000

Attack: 5000

Defense: 5000

Agility: 3000

Intelligence: 10000

Luck: 10000

"Mouju?"

"Buhi?"

I tilted my head at the name of a race I'd never heard of. No, we're in a different world, and it's only natural that there are monsters of a race I don't know. But I get the feeling that it has a Chinese background in terms of atmosphere…

But still, the stats are pretty unbalanced as well. His attack power and defense are too low for his level, and instead, his magic power is outstandingly high.

"You're an odd one, aren't you?"

"Buhihi~."

"No, that's not a compliment, you know?"

The little piglet dexterously made a head-scratching gesture with its paws. Well, it's okay because it was cute. As I was pondering that, a message unexpectedly appeared in front of me.

The skill [Appraisal] has met a certain level of proficiency; it has changed to [Identification]. [Mouju] has been successfully tamed.

"What?"

How could I have possibly tamed this guy? Uh, we're just taking a bath together! Does that mean it's because we've had a naked relationship? Not that it bothers me at all, this guy is cute, and I'm more than happy to welcome him, but…

"Hey, you're supposed to be tamed by me, but is that okay?"

"Fugo? …Buhi!?"

You didn't even notice it! The little pig looked very surprised, but eventually, he nodded and turned to me.

"Buhi. Buhibuhi."

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

I don't understand the details of what this guy is talking about, but somehow this guy seems to have agreed to stay with us. Is that okay with him? He's so wild.

Or rather, it's the same with Night, the [Language Comprehension] skill isn't working. Somehow, it's not something that has been properly verbalized, and in the first place, Night and the others aren't communicating with their own kind with their cries as a language, they are communicating and signaling with their instincts, so I guess that's why the [Language Comprehension] skill isn't working. Instead, although I don't understand the language clearly, I can understand that they are saying something like that to me.

As we were exchanging these words, Night looked up at me.

"Woof?"

"Hmm? Yeah, this guy just became one of us. Get along with him, okay?"

"Woof!"

…Hmm? Night and I have a certain amount of communication with each other rather than with the little piggy… well, whatever. It's not like Night can completely understand what I'm saying either. And since I've known Night longer than him, it's only natural that I would understand. The little piggy will eventually get used to it and learn to understand.

"For now, since we are now friends… no, we're family, I'll have to give you a name."

"Woof!"

"Buhii!"

Hmm… what would be good… In the first place, I've never heard of [Mouju] before…

I look at the little piggy again while thinking of a name. And just like with Night, I decided on a name based on the appearance.

"…Yup. Your name is [Akatsuki]."

From his red fur and black eyes, I vaguely imagined the sky before the dawn, so I decided to give him the name Akatsuki. I won't accept any complaints since it's already completely a matter of my senses.

After being named, Akatsuki let out a cheerful voice.

"Buhi! Buhibuhi!"

"Oh, you're happy, huh? That's good."

I was trying not to give him a weird name, but I'm glad he's happy with it. Night and Akatsuki immediately discussed something with each other and began to enjoy the bath from a little distance from me.

Now…

"…What exactly is [Identification]…"

I neglected it once, but now that I've decided on Akatsuki's name, it's time to think about it in regards to this skill. Looking at the description of the message, my constant use of [Appraisal] has led to some proficiency? I've heard that the change is because it has reached a certain level… but what's the difference?

And if there's this change, it means that maybe other skills might change as well, right?

"…Since it's already come to this point, let's just look into this [Identification] with the [Identification] itself."

I immediately activated the skill, and it displayed like this:

[Identification] :: This is a higher-level skill of [Appraisal]. You can examine the target in more detail than [Appraisal], and you can also look at the target's skill structure.

"I don't really understand it, but it's become very convenient, right?"

I would have more impressions and surprises, but for me, this was the best I could think of. For now, being able to see the skill structure of the target means that I'll be able to see the enemy's skill structure, which I hadn't been able to see before. That's very gratifying. It's because it allows us to avoid even more danger.

But what about seeing the status and skills of a human or the like? I guess it's like one's personal information, and it's not a good idea to use it implicitly…

I still don't know exactly how to use the skill, so I'll keep it to monsters for now. So, I decided to take a look at the skill structure of Night and Akatsuki.

"Hey, Night, Akatsuki. Can I check out your skills?"

It's weird to ask for confirmation just here, even though I can look at their status on my own, but I asked anyway.

"Woof!"

"Buhi!"

Once I got permission from these two, I decided to look at it from Night's skill structure.

[Night]

[Bite Attack Technique: 10] [Claw Technique: 10] [Magic Control] [Chantless] [Presence Detection] [Dodge] [Weakness Detection] [Super Senses] [Divine Authority of the Night God Wolf <Currently Unavailable>]

"You're so ridiculous!"

"Woof?"

Night only tilted his head adorably at my tsukkomi. No, no, no, what's with all these blown-up skills!

He has learned [Chantless] before I knew it, and his claws and biting attacks are at the maximum level of proficiency, and most importantly, what's that [Divine Authority of the Night God Wolf]? Though, it doesn't look like it can be used right now.

"Night you're going to be a big-shot one day. I'm sure of it."

"Woof? Kyun."

I pet his head and Night rubs his body against mine. He's going to be a big-shot in the future, but right now he's so spoiled and cute. Since he's so cute, I don't care for anything else!

"Okay, how about Akatsuki?"

"Buhi."

Looking at Akatsuki's skill structure…

[Akatsuki]

[Magic Control] [Exorcism] [Curse Removal] [Sanctuary]

"Looks like you're just the same as Night, huh?"

"Buhi?"

I don't know if these skills are all usable in battle or not, but [Sanctuary] is a strange one to think about.

"Hey, Akatsuki. Can you try out this [Sanctuary] skill?"

"Fugo."

To be honest, I had no idea what kind of skill it was, but when I asked Akatsuki that, he activated the skill without any hesitation.

And then…

"Ooh!"

"Woof!"

With Akatsuki in the center, some kind of warm light flooded out and spread throughout the forest. And the lake that received that light emitted a pale gleam, and the trees, plants and flowers changed to a more vibrant state.

"Is this… could this be… a restorative skill?"

"Buhi."

Akatsuki nodded adorably as if to say that my thoughts were correct. But to be honest, this [Sanctuary] skill seems to have more effect. While it was beautiful, so was the fact that the otherwise normal lake was glowing faintly, but the entire area around it felt purified… I felt somewhat refreshed. I couldn't look into it any further now, but for now, I thought that Akatsuki would be able to play a significant role in recovery and support, rather than a battle type like Night.

"Anyways, it turns out that you're so great as well."

"Buhi~."

There were a lot of things going on, like new skills and Akatsuki becoming a family member, but none of them was bad, so that's fine. I'm enjoying a full bath while petting Akatsuki and Night when Night suddenly jumps out of the bath and runs towards the house.

"Eh, Night?"

I go to chase after Night, but remembering that I'm not dressed, I hurry to put on my clothes, and Night comes back with something in his mouth.

"Woof."

"What on earth are you doing? You just ran out of the blue… you startled me, you know?"

"Woof. Woof!"

"Eh? This is?"

Night brought me a watch, and he placed it skillfully in front of me and tapped it with his foot in a cute manner. I looked closely at it and saw that it was the time which is when I usually start getting dressed for school.

"Eeh! Is it time already?"

The fact that the golden week is over means that classes will start normally, and I hurry to get ready.

"I'm sorry. Night! Thanks! I'm sorry, Akatsuki, but I'm leaving right now!"

"Woof~."

"Buhii!"

I hurriedly used the teleport magic to get home, and after quickly finishing dressing, I had a light breakfast and ran out of the house without further ado. And by that time, I had a clear head, and as a result, I succeeded in changing my mood.

Part 2

"All right, let's start the homeroom!"

Sawada-sensei announced that in her usual unmotivated voice and lightly talked about today's program. After announcing the program, Sawada-sensei suddenly seemed to remember something and smiled unpleasantly.

"Oh, come to think of it… it's almost time for the ball game tournament."

As I tilted my head at Sawada-sensei's words, the rest of my classmates were filled with motivation.

"Yeaaahhh! Let's get a good result here and get more budget for the school festival!"

"The ball games are a great opportunity to get more budget!"

Apparently, the school festival budget changes depending on the ranking of the ball game, just like in the field study. Or rather, does the difference in the budget change the stalls that much?

As I was wondering, Sawada-sensei noticed my expression and told me.

"Hmm? I think I explained the school festival lightly during the field trip the other day… oh, so you don't understand its scale, huh?"

"Eh? Ah, yes."

"I see… to make a long story short. Our school festival is on a completely different scale from other festivals. The television station comes to cover the festival every year, and there are live performances by famous artists."

It's already in a different dimension!

"It is not much different from other high schools to have a stall with a minimal budget. We borrowed desks from other classrooms and set up our stall."

"Huh…"

Well, isn't that what every high school is like? As I thought that, Sawada-sensei grinned.

"But you know what? The extravagant part of our school festival is that we can hire a vendor to make all the stalls for us. If it's a haunted house, you can use the interior design and mechanism for professional purposes. If you're putting on a drama, you can use gorgeous costumes and outsource all the scenery and lighting equipment with the budget you've got."

Is this really a school festival? This is quite different than what I was expecting. When I was immensely impressed by the sheer scale of the event, Sawada-sensei nodded with satisfaction.

"It seems you understand how great our school festival is now. Then, based on that, I'll tell you, the events will begin to increase now. The first event is the ball game tournament, but as you know, the results of this event will be reflected in the school festival, so do your best!"

All of them are essential events… However, I was filled with the feeling that I was looking forward to it now. Everyone else seems to be looking forward to it as well.

"Alright, then, do your best for the rest of the day."

Sawada-sensei ended her homeroom with that final word.

＊＊＊

In preparation for the ball game tournament that Sawada-sensei mentioned during homeroom, the P.E class we're about to attend now will be devoted to practicing in advance for the tournament.

It appears that each student will be asked to choose one of the following sports: soccer, basketball, dodgeball, tennis, table tennis, and so on, to select a team for the class.

The first-place winner of each sport will receive 10 points, the second-place winner will receive 5 points, the third-place winner will receive 3 points, and the rest of the teams will be scored with 1 point.

"Now, today, we will play soccer. The teams have been selected at random so that you will play with that team. The positions and so on are to be decided by the team. And also, if I tell you in advance that you'll be playing basketball in the next P.E. class, consider it as such."

"Yes." said the students in unison.

Everyone responded energetically to the words of Oiwa-sensei, who was in charge of the P.E class. Looking at the team division announced by Oiwa-sensei, I was placed on the same team as Ryo and Shingo-kun, but Akira was on the enemy's team.

Besides, if I looked carefully, it seemed that the ball game tournament was a mixed team competition for men and women, and Kaede, Rin, and even Yukine were also named in our team.

"Ya-hoo, everyone!"

"We're on the same team. So let's do our best!"

"With Ryo here, it will be a relief."

"…You're right."

"I-I may not be much help to everyone, but… I'll try my best." said Shingo-kun.

"I've never played football properly, to begin with."

I had soccer classes in elementary and junior high school, but they never explained the rules to me in detail. Well, it was like there were no rules at all.

Moreover, the school assumes that I have been playing soccer or baseball since I was a child, but I've never really played football or baseball before, and I have no idea of the detailed rules. Maybe I should look them up, but I wasn't really interested in them… and that made me look like a total idiot.

As I looked far away from them, Ryo and the others widened their eyes at my remarks.

"Yuuya, you really haven't played soccer before?"

"Yeah… well, I haven't played outside for a long time, and I never learned the rules in school either."

"I see… then, do you know what a keeper is? You could stand in front of the goal and take the ball that the opponent kicked, but…"

"Oh, I know that. But somehow, I don't know where I should use my hands or any of that."

The keeper can't just take the ball, and I heard that there are cases where you shouldn't take it with your hands, depending on the position. Well, I'm not sure.

Then Ryo kindly moved to the field and pointed to a certain line.

"You can use your hands within this line. So, if you don't really understand the detailed rules, why don't you participate as a goalkeeper this time?"

"You sure you want to let me be the keeper?"

"Yeah. I can't say it's all perfect, but I'll try to keep them as far away from the goal as possible."

"Yes, yes! Besides, if it's Yuuya-kun, I'm sure you can protect it!"

Ryo laughed, showing his white teeth, and Kaede smiled as well.

"Well then, I guess I'll play as a keeper this time."

"I-I'll be around, and I'll explain the rules when I get a chance." said Shingo-kun.

"Really? Thank you!"

"Oya oya, you're quite reluctant, aren't you? Well, maybe this time, it's a good idea to teach Yuuya the rules."

"…Also, with the strategy."

I know that Shingo is not good at sports, so he was standing near the goal the last time they played soccer. That's why he's willing to teach me the rules when he has time. I'm really grateful. Moreover, this time, with Ryo on my side, I can go to the P.E class with a lot of peace of mind.

As I was confirming the positions and movements of others, the game finally began. As expected, as soon as Ryo kept possession of the ball, he rushed into the enemy line with tremendous speed.

"Daaaaah! Seriously, Ryo is too strong!"

"I'll absolutely stop him here──ah, he's gone."

"He passed me so quickly!"

"As expected of Ryo-kun!"

"As I thought, I'm glad to be on the same team as him!"

The girls also supported Ryo nicely, so as not to lose to the boys. Ryo continued his rapid attack, but on the way, he was surrounded by almost all of the opponents and was unable to move.

"Kuh…! I cannot move in this situation…!"

"Hahahaha! What do you think? This is my footwork as the young noble of this Ousei Gakuen!"

"No, Akira! It's fine to aim at Ryo's ball, but that move, that move was quite disturbing even for us on the same team!"

It's quite a distance, but thanks to my leveled-up eyesight in another world, I could see Ryo and the others fighting intensely for the ball. However, as expected of Ryo, when he sees an opening in the opponents, he passes the ball to a nearby teammate and begins to attack at once.

He passed the ball to one of the teammates to confuse them, and then the ball was given back to him, and he scored a goal.

"Yeaaaahh!"

"Damn it! Ryo is too strong…!"

"It's fine because we're on the same side at the ball game, but when it comes to the enemy, he will be too annoying!"

It's true that we're all on the same team in terms of the ball game, so there couldn't have been a more encouraging ally. After that, just as he said at the beginning, Ryo did not let the opponents get close to the goal I was defending, and he took more and more shots.

"Oh… really, Ryo is a fighter…"

"Haha… it seemed that some of the other classes and seniors are just as good or better than Ryo-kun, though."

"For real?"

"Yeah. Our soccer team is always in the national championships, you know?"

The fact that there might be more than Ryo who continues to be a warrior right in front of me just now simply astonishes me. I was aware that the Ousei Gakuen was a place for elites to go to, but I didn't know that it was also that strong in sports…

Nevertheless, our opponent's team gradually got better at coordinating to stop Ryo's movements, and they got the ball more often than before. Then, I saw some kind of wicked smile on Rin's face, and she went up to Kaede.

"Ah yeah, Kaede. I've come up with a good plan, do you want to try it?"

"Good plan?"

"Yeah. What? It's not that hard, you know? You just have to jump."

"J-jump?"

They were conversing fluently even though they were in the middle of a game, but suddenly Kaede started jumping on the spot.

"Um… like this?"

"Buh!"

At that moment, Kaede's chest shook significantly, both Shingo-kun and I gushed and hurriedly removed our gaze from her. But the boys, who were engaged in a fierce battle on the field, stared at Kaede as if to devour her.

"Nuoooooo! It's shaking. It's shaking…!"

"There's an Eden in the middle of nowhere…"

"How about we quit soccer and do a little observation?"

"Are you crazy? You know we're in a game right now!"

Ryo was perplexed by the boys stretching their noses out underneath their opponents, and the girls had a dumbfounded look on their faces.

"I didn't expect it to be this effective…"

"Hey, Rin-chan! What the heck did you mean by that? Why did everyone suddenly burst out?"

"…I think Kaede is a bit too defenseless."

"That's right! You! Walking oppai weapon!"

"Rin-chan, aren't you being too cruel? Uh.. eh… what…?"

"Buhaaaaaahhhhh!"

At that moment, Rin rubbed Kaede's chest as if it was a prank, and almost all of the boys who were watching the scene fell down with their noses bleeding. I made full use of my leveled-up physical abilities and looked away, so I didn't suffer any damage. ….Well, my face is soooo red!

Shingo-kun, like all the other boys, had seen the fascinating scene, and it seemed that he had seen it all before, and he looked away with his face turning red. Apparently, it seems that Rin was aiming for this situation. W-what a frightening girl…!

In a field that has become a pandemonium, Ryo, whose face is also reddening, covers his cheeks.

"Ah… shall we attack now?"

Then Ryo took a shot for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.

"As expected of Kaede. Aren't the boys almost all wiped out?"

"…What a nightmare."

"I wonder if this could be used for the ball game? Maybe we can win it."

"Uh, ~! Rin-chan…!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Look, why don't we just support the boys for now?"

"How am I supposed to support them? Aah… I'm so embarrassed…"

"…But, maybe, they'll probably keep looking at your breasts for the rest of the game."

"N-noooooooo!"

Kaede and the others were also very excited. Yeah… I'm glad they're enjoying themselves… even though a number of boys were sacrificed… no… In this case, isn't Kaede the biggest victim?

When the game resumes once again, the boys who had fallen down stand up, despite being dizzy.

"Fu…fufufu…I can see…I can see that… the great swinging Shangri-la…!"

"Ahhhh … the power that comes with it …"

"At this rate, I won't be able to follow Ryo's footsteps anymore…!"

It was undeniable; there was a fierce fighting spirit in the boys' eyes as they remembered the scene earlier. I don't know if that's a good thing or not since it's not a friend or foe thing, but… At the very least, they have a lot of fighting spirit, even though the reason is impure. Pure in a roundabout way, though.

In general, everyone was moving better than ever before, and Akira, who had been moving particularly well, finally took the ball away from Ryo.

"That's bad…!"

"Hahahaha! How about that! I couldn't show you any more of my clumsiness! I'm invincible from here on out!"

The reasoning is absurd, but in reality, Akira uses his tremendous ball-handling skills to dodge my teammates' attacks and get closer and closer to the goal.

"Take this, Yuuya! My shot, which was touted as the [Young Noble of Soccer]…!"

In the previous class, Akira kicked the ball in the wrong direction, but this time, he fired a powerful shot at my goal that I was protecting. Moreover, he shot at me at a speed that would be difficult for a normal person to catch.

"Wawawa! I-I'm sorry, Yuuya-kun! It was impossible for me…!"

It was too fast for Shingo-kun to keep up with, and no one was standing in front of me, the keeper.

Furthermore, the ball took a sharp curve and was heading towards the goal post. While everyone watching was convinced of the goal, I reacted to the ball in an instant and snatched it up.

"Eh?"

"H-hey… did you see his movement before…?"

Then it seems that the others did not follow my movements with their eyes, and I seemed to have moved at a moment's notice. Anyway, I asked Ryo, who was also stunned.

"What am I supposed to do with the ball when I get it?"

"O-oh… just pass it to one of us, and you'll be fine. Or, throw or kick it as hard as you can near the opponent's goal, and one of us will pick up the assist."

"Is that okay?"

"Oh, if it's come to this, why don't you go ahead and throw it?"

"…Okay."

Ryo told me that much and left with Akira.

Hmm… All I need to do is just send it away for now, right? Okay, let's try to fly it as far away as possible.

While being careful not to go out of the line taught by Ryo, I held the ball. And since I always throw the [Absolute Spear], I threw it while being mindful of it…

"Hoo!"

The air shuddered.

"Gyaaaaaaa!"

"…Huh?"

The tremendous speed of the ball sent out a shock wave of sorts, and as it passed by, the boys nearby were blown away. In the midst of everyone's amazement, the ball I threw finally engulfed the opposing goalkeeper and shook the goal net as it was.

"…Is this a goal…?"

"Is that what you're wondering now?" They all told me that in unison.

＊＊＊

After experiencing a whole range of sports in the P.E class, a certain tension was floating around in my class.

"──Now, let's pick the team members for the ball game!"

"Uoooooooo!"

The voices of both men and women were raised. In fact, a meeting was being held to determine the participants for each sport in the upcoming ball game tournament.

The moderator of the meeting was a member of the school committee, Tooru Kageno-kun. Tooru-kun is a serious-looking student, with black bangs trimmed and glasses that suit him well.

Normally he's a calm, smart and very gentle person, but in an event like this, he's also gotten fired up just like everyone else. There aren't many students like him, so I'm really impressed.

Since then, we've been able to experience the main sports in the P.E class, so each of us can choose what we're good at, but I was anxious about it. I'm still not very good at controlling my power, so when I kicked the ball, just like last time, everyone around me was harmed… If that happens, it's not even a game anymore.

The rest of the events were similar, so in the end, whichever one I end up in, I'll be fine. Rather than get in trouble… the best thing to do is to do nothing, and then I'll end up with no trouble. But this is a school event, and there's nothing I can do about it. I want to participate in this event too.

The meeting is going on even as I'm struggling to think about it, and before I know it, each of my classmates, except me, has decided which event to compete in. And when they all looked at me at once, they all groaned with complicated expressions.

"…Yuuya will… U-umu…"

"I-I feel sorry about it, somehow."

It wasn't just me, everyone else seemed to be wondering where to put me, and I couldn't help but apologize.

"Don't worry about it! Rather, it's more of a luxury concern, you know?"

"T-that's right. Yuuya-kun seems to be able to play well wherever you are placed… and that's why we are having trouble with it."

"…Is that right?"

Ryo and Shingo-kun's words helped me. I'm really sorry; my body has become a troublemaker… I'm usually saved by it, but this time, it has become a problem. Then, as everyone was scratching their heads, Kaede raised her hand.

"Yes, yes, yes! Well then, Okay, let's pick a leader for each category, and that leader will do rock-paper-scissors with each other, and whoever wins will be the one who can bring in Yuuya-kun! Yuuya-kun originally seemed to be able to play anywhere, so I think this kind of decision would be better…"

"That's it!" said everyone.

Kaede's idea seemed to have been accepted, and they immediately decided on a leader for each category and began to play rock-paper-scissors. The rock-paper-scissors had an odd atmosphere, and they all had serious expressions on their faces.

"…If we win this, we can get Yuuya…"

"If we get Yuuya, then we have a better chance of winning the match."

"…That means the girls will be there to cheer us on as we win."

"Then──."

"This is a game we can't afford to lose!" said all of the leaders.

"Isn't your motive too impure?"

Ryo couldn't help but tsukomiing at their enthusiasm for rock-paper-scissors.

…Well, whatever the reason, I'm delighted that they need me like this. I used to be treated as a hindrance, dragging them down no matter what I did, so I'm glad to be in a situation where they rely on me. I had to be a little more careful than everyone else, but I wanted to do my best as much as I could in any category.

"…Uh! Look! With this hand, I'll get Yuuya!"

"Fuh… I've already done the calculations to win this rock-paper-scissors!"

"What do you mean? I, this [Rock-paper-scissors young noble], of course, will win it!"

"Rock-paper-scissors───."

The victory was instantaneous. There was only one person who won the game.

That's…

"I-I won…"

It was Shingo-kun. While everyone else was putting out scissors, only Shingo-kun was putting out the rock.

"Guaaaaaahhh!"

"Well, I lost… and it was supposed to be a perfect calculation."

"…Should I start calling myself an [Unfortunate Young Noble] now?"

As Shingo-kun looked on helplessly as the defeated men were crushed, Tooru-kun, who was calm as usual, nodded his head.

"Okay. Since Shingo-kun is in the ping-pong team. Yuuya-kun, I'll also put you on the ping-pong team… is it okay with you?"

"Ah, yes."

Thus, it was decided that the ball game I would play would be table tennis.

＊＊＊

"Well, what can I say… this is the most unexpected part."

"Is that so?"

"Y-yeah… it's not something I can say after I won, but I just thought Yuuya-kun would be able to play an active role in basketball or dodgeball or such…"

After school, while coming home with Ryo and the others, we discussed the details of today's meeting.

"I think Ryo and the others in soccer are more amazing than me, you know? They were all so active in class… And Akira, who competes in basketball, even called himself a [Young noble of basketball], so I guess he's amazing, but…"

"His young noble thing is ready for anything, you know."

It's true, Akira calls himself a young noble in every way possible. As long as he keeps quiet, he really looks like a young noble, I guess? Even though I think it's weird to be called a young noble. But maybe he'll get a chance to really be called a young noble, who knows.

"To be honest, I don't know what to say about table tennis, but I'll do my best."

I have never played ping-pong in class, so I don't know how far I can go. Nevertheless, I wanted to do my best so that I could meet the expectations of my classmates who have high hopes for me like this.

"──Sorry, are you Yuuya Tenjou-san?"

"Yes?"

As I walked along in such a conversation with Ryo and the others, I was unexpectedly approached from behind. When I turned my head towards the voice, I saw a man in a black suit and a woman standing there.

"Ah, yes, but… um… how did you know my name?"

When I asked that, the man held out a business card.

"My name is Kurosawa, and I work at an entertainment agency."

"Entertainment agency? …Eh?"

Not only me, but Ryo and the others also widened their eyes at the man in front of us─at Kurosawa-san's words.

Then Kurosawa-san ignored us and continued on with his words.

"Yuuya Tenjou-san… are you interested in the entertainment industry?"