NOVEL NEXT Book 14: Chapter 1: Part4
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Part 4
Open Campus Day.
It was a holiday, but today, junior high school students and their families from various areas were visiting the school, thinking about enrolling in Ousei Academy.
“Yes, the school idol stage will be right after this.”
“Here, we will give you a tour of the school building.”
“Those who want to experience classes, please gather here.”
It’s not as big as a school festival, but there are some small performances, and it’s more like a regular festival… or maybe as big as a typical school festival if it’s not too big.
Also, I did not expect that there would be a tour guide at the open campus.
“A-amazing…do this many people come to the event every year…?”
“As expected, we’ve never had so many visitors before. This must be the main reason why the student council president is actively promoting the news of the school idol.”
“I see…”
Listening to Kaori’s explanation, I was once again reminded of Kitaraku-senpai’s incredible capabilities.
That man seemed to be acting in a chaotic manner, but it was truly amazing that he was constantly meeting his goals in such a manner.
W-well, it might be difficult for those who are swept away by his reckless behavior, though…
“So? What should I do?”
“Oh, yes. First, we’ll go to the field where we’ll introduce the baseball and soccer teams.”
“I understand.”
As I walked with Kaori to the field, our first destination, there were many junior high school students gathered there, perhaps for the introduction of the club activities.
While I was watching my surroundings, a voice suddenly approached me.
“Hey! Tenjou-kun!”
“Oh, Kitaraku-senpai!”
And there, waving happily, was Kitaraku-senpai.
When I quickly joined him, he smiled at me.
“Thanks for coming today!”
“N-no problem. So… what exactly am I supposed to do? I’m not in any special club activities or anything like that, but…”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry! The student council will be doing the introductions for each club, and I want you to attend the events we have prepared for each club.”
“Y-yes.”
“Then it looks like people have gathered, so let’s get started!”
The introduction of the club activities began without a clear understanding of what was happening, and as Kitaraku-senpai said, the explanation of each club was done by a male student council officer.
The content itself was the past achievements and main activities of each club; there was no special change in the content.
I mean, do I really have to do anything? From the looks of it, I think this explanation alone is enough…
The student council officer who explained the situation looked at me for a moment.
“Well, now that the explanation is over… since we gathered you all like this, let’s play a little game today!”
The student council officer continued as the surrounding people suddenly buzzed with excitement at his sudden words.
“Let’s start with the baseball team! You’re going to have a showdown with the students from the baseball team!”
“Huh?”
I was completely distracted and surprised to be nominated here all of a sudden.
W-what do you mean, a showdown?
“Some of you here might be thinking about joining the baseball team. So we’re planning to let you actually compete against the best our school has to offer and experience how great our club is!”
“Oh!”
No, no, no! The students who came to see the event seemed very interested, but I am not a member of the baseball team, and I am not the best player!
Nevertheless, I was in no position to talk about such things, and things just went on.
“The rules are simple! You, the challengers, will choose to be either a pitcher or a batter. If you choose to be the pitcher, Tenjou-kun will be the batter. On the other hand, if you choose to be the batter, Tenjou-kun will be the pitcher, and you will get one try.”
“I see…”
“I don’t know what his level is, but I’m sure it’s difficult for him to play both sides, right?”
The junior high school students who were listening to the explanation also looked at me with suspicion.
Then Kaori, who was listening next to me, gave me an apologetic look.
“I didn’t expect that… I’m sorry.”
“N-no, Kaori doesn’t have to apologize. In fact, I said I would help… I just wondered if it was really okay for me to do it…”
“Don’t worry about it! Everyone agreed to it! Look──?”
“Huh?”
When Kitaraku-senpai turned his hand in a certain direction, the members of the Ousei Academy baseball team stood there.
The baseball team members noticed my gaze and gave me a thumbs-up with very nice smiles on their faces. A-Are you really sure…?
“Well, who wants to be the first to try?”
“All right! I’ll do it then.”
Amidst the confusion at the baseball players’ behavior, a junior high school student stepped forward, following the moderator who was also a student council officer.
The boy had a rather well-built physique, not unlike that of a junior high school student.
The boy picked up a bat and walked to the batter’s box.
“I’m going to compete as a batter!”
“So, Tenjou-kun, you’re pitching!”
“Y-yes…”
However, I don’t have any detailed knowledge of baseball.
So even though I was asked to be the pitcher, there was no way I could do anything special.
But now that I’ve come this far, I have no choice but to do it.
I picked up the baseball and stood on the mound.
Then the other male student calmly takes a stance. Behind them, a member of the Ousei Academy baseball team had joined as a catcher.
…Yes, all I have to do is throw the ball!
For now, all I have to do is throw it to the catcher’s mitt, right?
When it comes to throwing, I have some confidence because I’ve thrown the Absolute Spear a lot.
So I set up in my own way and threw the ball right at the catcher’s mitt.
At that moment, the ball flew straight forward with tremendous force! And a loud whoosh sounded through the air.
But… the next moment, maybe the ball was too powerful, and the student who was supposed to be the catcher was blown backward.
“Huh?”
“I-I’m sorry! Are you okay?!”
I shouted to the catcher, who immediately stood up and gave another thumbs-up. A-are you sure you’re okay?
I was worried in many ways, but the junior high school students who saw my ball were horrified.
“H-hey, what the hell was that…?”
“Did you see that?”
“No, impossible…”
“If it’s that fast from a distance, it must be a magic ball that really disappears from the batter’s perspective…?”
Perhaps hearing the voices of those around him, the student who was the batter raised his voice.
“N-no, no, I just let this one go to see how it goes! Next time I’ll definitely hit it…!”
The junior high school student, even more serious than before, resumed his stance.
W-what should I do… I was very careful with the amount of force I used earlier, but the catcher still flew backward.
Then I should relax more…
While I was thinking this, the catcher sent me something that looked like a sign.
I don’t know much about baseball, so I didn’t understand the details of the sign, but for some reason, I thought he was telling me to throw harder.
Huh? I-is that okay…? Or is it just my imagination…?
The catcher nodded strongly at me, so I decided to follow his sign and threw the ball a little harder.
Then, with an even louder whoosh than before, the catcher was knocked backward.
But the ball was still in the catcher’s mitt.
“A-are you okay!”
“…..!”
Despite being battered all over his body, the catcher turned around and gave a thumbs up with a smile as if to say that this was exactly what he wanted. Eehh…?
I thought maybe it was just my imagination, but it looked like I really did throw hard. Still, the catcher, it’s amazing…
As expected, he had tremendous fortitude, probably because he catches a variety of pitches in his daily club activities.
Then the batter, a junior high school student, opened his eyes again.
“Ri-ridiculous… I can’t even see the ball…? Th-This is…!”
In this situation, the catcher seemed to be looking for an even stronger pitch on the next pitch and sent a more intense signal than before. W-what an amazing determination…!
So I threw the third pitch a little harder than before.
This time I tried to throw the ball with an awareness of putting my finger on it, or rather, giving it a little rotation.
The ball accelerated more than I expected and made the loudest noise of the day.
At the same time, the catcher also flew backward with great force and hit the fence with a loud bang.
I panicked and tried to run over to the catcher, but he immediately stood up and gave me a thumbs-up.
I was able to defeat the first challenger, but by that time, the way the junior high school students looked at me had changed drastically.
“Oh, man…”
“There’s no way I can hit with that speed…”
“No, no, no, it’s so fast that the ball disappears. Isn’t that the best magic ball?”
As Kitaraku-senpai and the baseball team members nodded their heads as if they were satisfied with the reactions of the people around them, the student council officer raised his voice again.
“Well, the first game was won by Tenjou-kun! What do you think? Who wants to try next?”
“W-well, then I’ll be next!”
The one who said that was a junior high school student who was taller and had longer arms and legs than the boy who had just stepped out.
Unlike the boy who just stepped out, he picked up a ball and a glove.
“I’m going to try out as a pitcher.”
“Then, Tenjou-kun, you’ll take the batter’s position, right?”
“Y-yes.”
Now I’ll play as the batter…
I played as a batter at the Nittei Academy the other day, so it’s still possible.
Then, when they saw me getting ready, the observers started murmuring again.
“H-he’s really going to play as a batter as well…?”
“No, no, as expected, he can’t be at the level of greatness either, can he?”
“You know, Tanaka, who just batted, is famous for being the best batter here…”
“Anyway, Yamada, who is going to pitch next, is also said to be the best pitcher in the area…”
The other male student looked at me as I stood in the batter’s box amidst the various words flying around.
“Sure, the pitching earlier was great. But that’s not going to happen this time…!”
Saying this, he took a big swing and released the ball right at me.
I took a good look at the ball and immediately realized its range.
At the same time, I activated my Weakness Detection skill and immediately understood where to hit the ball with the bat to make it fly the farthest.
I then swung the bat to that point.
I timed it perfectly, and the ball went straight over the fence.
“W-what…?”
I-I wonder what’s going to happen to this one?
I hit it because I could aim from the first pitch, but maybe I have to play three pitches?
I thought about that, but with that one pitch, the other male student seemed to lose his will to fight and opened his mouth.
“…I’m completely defeated. I don’t even think it’s a coincidence that he hit it so perfectly.”
“Oh, the winner has already been decided. Now, who else wants to try their hand?”
“…..”
The student council officer urged again, but no one present raised their hand.
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