"Little brother, you heading out for a run?"
"...Yeah."
"Wanna run together?"
Rin’s eyes went wide. It was rare for me to be the one suggesting exercise first.
"...What happened?"
"Jeez, so if I exercise, it has to mean something big happened?"
"Yeah."
As expected of my little brother. He knew me too well.
"What happened was..."
I gave him a brief summary of the situation.
After hearing the whole story, Rin made a disgusted face and spat out a short, blunt verdict.
"...Now?"
"Ghk."
That was pretty cold. I had expected at least some of it.
"You didn’t do a single thing about your role all this time, and now that other people are getting dragged down because of it, you want to step in?"
"......"
He stabbed me right in the chest with the truth, and I couldn’t even argue.
It was true that I hadn’t lived up to the expectations that came with being a sports-specialist student at all.
As for Shidou crossing the line, fine, but some people’s cold reactions were, in a way, my own karma.
Only now was I realizing how immature it had been to think I could just bear it all alone.
"...Yeah, it’s my fault. That’s why I need to take responsibility and fix it now, don’t I?"
"...Hmph."
Rin snorted, finished tying his shoelaces, and stood up.
He met my eyes and said,
"Well, still..."
"...?"
"It’s better than dithering around."
"........"
"Don’t lose before I get to beat you to death. Then I’ll really kill you instantly."
Either way, I was dying by your hand?
I didn’t know what to do with all this burning brotherly affection.
As soon as he finished speaking, he headed out the front door and took off running ahead of me.
I couldn’t see it clearly, but I thought the corners of his mouth had lifted a little.
Without saying another word, we ran through the middle of the night.
Under Fujiwara’s coaching, Miyuki’s training progressed steadily.
If things kept going like this, his basic skills would be solid by the day of the match.
But the problem was the rest of the team.
Our class had plenty of people with high test scores, for some reason, but when it came to athletics, the number of usable people could be counted on one hand.
Shidou’s comment may have crossed the line, but in terms of the core issue, I couldn’t exactly deny it either. That was the depressing part.
We were in a situation where we had to somehow raise them up...
"How’s the first-year mercenary situation?"
"...Sigh. We discussed it, but there’s just no answer."
There was a mandatory mercenary system for class matches. You hired one student from a grade below to play in the match.
The reason this system had been created in the first place was simple: the mercenary’s classmates would naturally come watch, which increased the audience count quite a bit.
When spectators increased beyond just the same grade, the players got more fired up, the level of the match went up, and in the end the audience who came to watch was satisfied too. It was a positive cycle.
Classes with already strong members used mercenaries as subs to manage stamina, while lower-ranked classes were using them as a card to turn the match around.
Since the trial run, it had been praised as a win-win system, but there were always classes that couldn’t get the benefits properly.
"Apparently they tried asking every first-year who was any good at sports, and all of them turned them down."
"Figures. Who’d want to come in as a mercenary for a class like this?"
Their goal was probably to go play in a match against upperclassmen, make a splash, and get those "Ooh~ who’s that?~" looks from the senior girls. There was no reason for them to come here and show themselves getting torn apart in some obvious match. I had expected finding a mercenary would be hard, but not this hard. This was bad.
"In the end, the authority to choose the players was handed over to me. Everyone else wants to avoid responsibility. Hah, seriously, who am I supposed to bring in..."
In a situation like this, there really wasn’t anyone else but Miyuki who’d step up and take the burden. That was at least a small relief for now.
Even in this miserable setup, we just had to do what we could.
"If you want to look around, there’s someone near us, isn’t there?"
"...You mean Ishigami?"
"Yeah."
He was tall, seemed to have decent athletic ability, and as a student council member, he was trustworthy enough.
With every other option blocked, Ishigami was probably the best choice.
"Hmm, I feel like he’d say no..."
True enough, Ishigami gave off the same smell as me.
After watching him for a while, he turned out to be a pretty lazy guy.
"You’ll have to handle the convincing. I’m on decent terms with him too, but not like you are."
Since Miyuki was the one who had gone to his house in person and dragged Ishigami out during that incident, the level of trust was different.
"Got it. I’ll handle Ishigami."
The mercenary was taken care of for now, but there was another urgent problem...
"The libero is the issue..."
"Class C has the soccer club’s starting goalkeeper, right?"
The libero was a defensive specialist who always stayed in the back row on the volleyball court.
Class matches used a six-person rotation, not seven. That meant the libero never had to rotate out, which made the role even more important.
We could somehow manage offense with me and Miyuki, but if the defense didn’t hold, there was no way to win. So we needed to train up a decent candidate.
Honestly, I wanted to work five people besides me to the bone, but two weeks was far too short for that.
When you couldn’t do it properly either way, you had no choice but to focus on whoever was available.
"...Is there anyone in our class with decent athletic sense who also looks up to you a lot?"
"There is, but are you planning to train them?"
"Yeah. For now, call them over..."
After finishing our conversation, Miyuki rubbed his chin for a moment, then called someone.
And the one who was summoned was—
"President, what is it...?"
—Tsubasa Tanuma from Class 2-B.
He was a student Miyuki had once given bizarre techniques like "wall pinning" during love counseling, and somehow it had worked; he was now dating Kashiwagi, a girl in his class.
Because of that, he apparently held endless gratitude and respect for Miyuki.
Despite his gentle, non-athletic-looking face, he was actually an unexpected standout in physical education evaluations.
"Tanuma, you once told me you wanted to repay me for helping you, didn’t you?"
"Yes, I did!"
Miyuki immediately set the tone and got to the point.
"Now is the right time. This offer will be good not just for me, but for you too."
"Really...!? What is it?"
"I want you to receive some personal volleyball training from us and help us beat Class C in the class match."
"Cl-Class C...? The one with Shidou?"
"Yeah."
"Haha, do you really think someone like me can do that...?"
Tanuma shrank back quite a bit. Well, considering Class C’s lineup, that was a normal reaction. But Miyuki approached it emotionally.
"I’m asking you. You’re the only one I can count on."
"Hmm, I’d like to help, but I also need time with my girlfriend..."
He kept trying to back away, clearly feeling the pressure, but every time, Miyuki stepped in closer.
"I’m not asking you to devote a ton of time. And since it’s come up, I can say with confidence that this will be better both for your relationship with your girlfriend and for your dream."
"My girlfriend and my dream...? For both?"
"Yeah. Your dream was to become a doctor, right?"
"Yes. My grandfather and father are both doctors."
If Tanuma became a doctor too, that would make three generations of doctors. Quite the royal family.
"A doctor is someone who saves lives, right?"
"Yes, if you define it simply, that’s correct."
"If you compare volleyball to life, then the court is a battlefield. And on that battlefield, the enemy team led by Shidou will try to kill off our teammates without mercy."
"The court is a battlefield...? Try to kill them...?"
Listening to Miyuki’s analogy, my little brother’s face came to mind.
When he said things like that, it was pure chuunibyou, but coming from Miyuki, it somehow sounded better.
"But in volleyball, as long as the ball is still alive, it isn’t over. And the position I want you to take is the one responsible for keeping it alive: the court’s doctor, the libero."
"The court’s doctor... libero...?"
It was a bizarre analogy I’d never heard before. But surprisingly, it seemed to work on Tanuma.
With him already half-convinced, Miyuki delivered the final blow.
"If you get used to that attitude of never giving up on saving things, it’ll help a great deal with your mindset as a future doctor."
"Ooh—!!"
"And your girlfriend..."
"...Gulp."
As soon as the most important part came up, Tanuma swallowed nervously.
"When she sees you performing like a madman on the court, she’ll definitely fall for your new charm and won’t know what hit her."
"R-Really...?"
"I guarantee it."
Judging by his expression, he was completely won over.
That guy really was exceptional with words.
"As expected of the undefeated love master president...!"
"................??"
Undefeated wha...?
Did I hear that wrong...?
"I’ll do it! No, please let me do it!"
Anyway, the result was that we got his agreement.
All right. Welcome to hell.
Ishigami surprisingly accepted without much hesitation.
His reason was pretty moving, in a way: "I can’t just stand by and watch the only two male seniors I know get publicly executed. I’ll die with you guys too."
He even declared, with a rather spirited air, that since he was already hated anyway, he’d rather contribute to the defeat by looking more pathetic than the seniors and preserve their image. Wake up, Ishigami. We were seriously planning to win.
After heading up to the rooftop, I called someone before starting Tanuma and Ishigami’s training.
I had no choice but to ask for help.
Normally, I didn’t like relying on other people.
If someone helped you, you’d have to pay them back later.
But this time there was no helping it. I didn’t have two bodies, and time was too short.
"Come see me."
After saying only the essentials and hanging up, I leaned against the rooftop fence and waited about five minutes. Then I saw a yellow side ponytail coming up the stairs.
"...What is it?"
The person I had called was Hayasaka Ai.
At school, she went around with a cardigan tied around her waist, a short skirt, flashy nails, and other gal-like styling. If that was a disguise for her real identity, it was impressively convincing.
She asked me what I wanted right away, so I kept my answer brief too.
"I need a favor."
"A favor?"
"We’re preparing for a volleyball class match, and I want you to help with practice."
Among the people I knew, she had top-tier athletic ability, and she was also someone who could know about this without it being a problem. That made Hayasaka Ai the right choice.
I had considered Shinomiya too, but with Miyuki involved, that was impossible. For her, at least where Miyuki was concerned, she had to look only at the result, not the process.
"Why should I...?"
Hayasaka looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. If someone suddenly called you over and asked you to help with volleyball practice, anyone would make that face.
I explained the incident with Shidou in some detail.
"No, why would you make a bet like that...!"
"Well, think of it as a guy’s moment of stupidity."
"...Is that a threat?"
"What are you talking about?"
"If you lose and can’t do student council work anymore, it’ll interfere with Lady Kaguya and the president’s romance, so you’re telling me to cooperate if I don’t want that, right?"
Hayasaka looked up at me with a serious expression. From her point of view, I could see why she’d think that.
"No, I never thought that. It’s only a matter of time. Even without me, the two of them will end up together."
"........"
Hayasaka tilted her head. She didn’t think that?
"This is just a request. I already used my wish, so there’s no way to force you. If you hate it, I’ll give up cleanly."
"Haa, seriously..."
Hayasaka grabbed her head in irritation. Then she looked into my eyes and said,
"Just this once."
Training for Ishigami and Tanuma began. Today’s focus was receive practice.
All the members had gathered here while the gym was free.
I introduced everyone to one another.
"Say hello. This is Miss Hasaka from Philis Girls' High School, who’s helping with the training."
"Hi hi~ I’m Sumisu A Hasaka, a second-year at Philis Girls' High School."
Hayasaka greeted them brightly while wearing a girls’ high school gym uniform from somewhere or another. Ishigami and Tanuma greeted her in return.
"Nice to meet you, I’m first-year Ishigami Yuu."
"Hehe, hello. I’m second-year Tanuma Tsubasa. But is this really okay? I’m a guy and all..."
He seemed worried whether a woman’s spike would really be powerful enough to help with practice.
Ishigami agreed too, quietly nodding. Hayasaka smiled sweetly in response.
"Fufu, why don’t you try receiving my serve first before saying that?"
"Sure, I guess. Hehe..."
"Ahem, I used to be in a sports club, you know..."
Tanuma was cheerful, and Ishigami looked confident, neither of them having any idea what was about to happen.
The three of us stepped onto the court. The two boys took the right side, while Hayasaka took the left. Then Hayasaka tossed the ball up and leaped into the air, swinging her arm down.
Bang!
A powerful swing slammed straight into the ball!
Ishigami and Tanuma, unable to move as the ball shot past their faces with ferocious force, stood frozen with their mouths hanging open, unable to believe what was happening.
"Eh...?"
I’d already noticed it the last time she infiltrated, but this girl’s physical ability was no joke either. Hayasaka smiled brightly, apparently satisfied by the sight of the two frozen men.
"My, my~ what are you so surprised about? I only used about 30% of my strength."
"T-Thirty percent?"
"Yep! I’ll gradually raise the intensity. For today, let’s just receive about 200 lightly~!"
Hayasaka held up two fingers and smiled, and the two of them, their faces going pale, began trembling like leaves.
"S-Sorry. Something urgent just came up...!"
"I suddenly have severe stomach pain—!!"
Tanuma and Ishigami bolted for the door, but no chance.
"W-Why won’t the door open...! Wait, wait! Is nobody there...?!"
I had locked it in advance, just in case.
I’m going to work you two to the bone until you become useful.
"Aaaagh! Stop, please, stoooop—!!"
For a while, the sharp sound of impacts and the two boys’ miserable screams echoed nonstop through the gym.
The schedule to take down Shidou moved forward day by day, exactly as planned.
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