"I wonder which high school you'll end up joining."
Toru Oikawa rested his chin on his hand, a teasing smile on his face. He was already looking forward to the day they would meet again on the volleyball court. That day definitely wasn't too far away.
"Alright, alright, everyone... I'm really not as great as you all think I am. Can you let me go home first!?"
Hank had originally been completely surrounded by the girls gathered at the gym entrance. He had finally found a small gap and was just about to slip away in secret, only to be surrounded all over again by the North River Middle School players who had been waiting nearby for exactly that chance. Right now, every one of them was fired up with excitement.
Even North River Middle School's coach had been prepared to pay for Hank's meal out of his own pocket, but Hank had turned him down.
He did not feel all that emotional about this victory. After all, without the system, he would have been nothing more than an ordinary person. And besides, the junior high tournament was not over yet. If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably still have to play again.
Celebrating could wait until they had won everything.
"Seriously, you won't even give us your contact info? I worked up so much courage..."
"Look at how anxious you are. You can't chase after a guy with no patience at all."
"He's amazing. He beat Kitagawa Daiichi all by himself, but he doesn't put on any airs at all... He really feels mysterious."
At Hank's insistence, he finally managed to leave the crowd of girls and the North River team behind. For him, there were still many things he needed to do next. At the very least, the first thing he needed to do was figure out what exactly the new function the system had just awakened was.
Everything else could wait until after that.
The sun was setting, and the entrance to the gym was still packed with a noisy crowd. Hank, leaving on his own, seemed to become part of the evening scenery.
In Miyagi Prefecture, inside a rustic country-style two-story home, Hank, feeling tired all over, opened the door. After taking off his shoes, he said lazily,
"I'm home."
The moment his voice fell, a girl with neat short hair slowly poked her head out. Her long fair legs and full figure only added to her sweet appearance. She was naturally the older sister the system had arranged for Hank after he merged into this world, someone with no blood relation to him, all for the sake of keeping the timeline balanced.
Yui Michimiya.
In the original story, she was a third-year Class 1 student at Karasuno High, and the captain of the girls' volleyball team.
"So? How did today's match against Kitagawa Daiichi go? I heard about that King of the Court. He should be really strong, right? And did you even get a chance to play today?"
"Even if you lost, it doesn't matter. Volleyball is only a hobby anyway."
Yui Michimiya handed Hank a change of clothes for after his bath and asked with concern. In her understanding, the school Hank had faced today was Kitagawa Daiichi, a school known as the strongest team at the junior high level. As for Hank's school, North River Middle School—
it was a completely ordinary public school. Not only had its volleyball club only been established the year before last, its members had also been thrown together from all over the place.
Against a powerhouse like that, there was no chance of victory at all.
"I played today, and I beat Kitagawa Daiichi."
"North River Middle School already made it into the semifinals, but I heard on the way back that something happened at our libero's home today... so we'll probably have to withdraw from the next match."
Hank spoke somewhat absentmindedly. The junior high tournament was probably over for him now. Even if he wanted to keep playing, North River could not scrape together the six players needed to take the court. To be honest, that was because the club had only been founded the year before last.
There was only one substitute on the entire team, and that was him. If both the wing spiker and the libero were unable to play, then naturally they would not be able to participate in the next match.
Even if he wanted to keep standing on the court, there was nothing he could do about it.
"What did you say!? You beat Kitagawa Daiichi!? How is that possible!? That's the strongest team!"
"And you said you played too!? What exactly happened!?"
After hearing Hank's words, Yui Michimiya's expression changed at once. No matter how hard she tried, she could not believe that North River had defeated Kitagawa Daiichi. It was simply too unbelievable. How could that be possible!?
It felt like someone who barely understood volleyball had somehow defeated professional volleyball players.
If Hank was not lying, then this was far too strange, so strange that Yui Michimiya could not make sense of it. But as Hank's older sister, she had never once seen him lie.
In her impression, he had always been extremely steady, so steady that he did not seem like a middle schooler at all.
A person like that would not lie. Which meant there was only one possibility now.
He really had defeated Kitagawa Daiichi.
(End of Chapter)
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