53.The fools are going to the game.

It was the last day of the ball game.

The softball team was gathered on the field under a sunny sky with no clouds.

“I’ve been playing softball for a while now. If it was soccer or something like that, you could still be cool by just chasing the ball around…”

The guy next to me in gym clothes, Ginji, complained in frustration.

He belonged to the computer club, and like me, he was not very good at ball games like this.

“In fact, sports are considered too sacred to be healthy and educational. …What’s with the enthusiastic look on your face, Nihama-kun? Don’t tell me you’ve improved your athletic skills after your academic skills?”

“My athleticism isn’t going to get any better. I’m just a little bit more prepared for this game.”

To tell the truth, what I did as preparation couldn’t be considered “little”. Because the other day’s softball catching practice turned into an unexpectedly intense training session.

After I finally managed to catch a fly… Fumihashi-san ignited my sporty spirit and turned into a Spartan coach from the Showa era.

I was thrown a lot of ground balls, liners, and flies.

The never-ending hell of catching the ball made me realize how unathletic I was, but it was still a great help in improving my skills and raising my motivation for the game.

(I can’t thank Fumihashi enough for helping me that much, but I was physically dead that day. …Well, it was much healthier mentally than working overtime at a desk that I didn’t enjoy at all.)

“Oh… I got the gist of it. I’m sure you’ve been practicing hard to look good for Shijoin-san again.”

“How did you know? You’re an esper!”

“I know how you act when you’re in love. Your responses have changed to “I’ll work so hard I’ll die for my favorite” only, with the previously available, “Shut up” and “Give up” disappearing.

Ginji said with a dumbfounded look.

I had such a straightforward and predictable action pattern from the beginning…?

“There are many people for a mere ball game…”

As Ginji said, there were a large number of students around the ground to observe the game.

After all, just like in my previous life, people are gathering to watch the winner of the final game.

What’s more — the excitement is quite high.

“Let’s get it over with! If we win this, we win the tournament!”

“Boys of the softball team! If you win, the teacher will buy you juice, so do your best for the class!”

“I’m betting my lunch that my class will win! You better win!”

The cheers I heard before the game started were from the visitors of my class.

The fervor in their voices is more than I can remember from my previous life, and the softball team, too.

“Well, we’ve won so far, so let’s keep it up!”

“Yeah! I get really fired up when girls cheer me on!”

“Yes! My one-legged batting technique is about to catch fire!”

“Akazaki, you’d better reflect on the last time you did that and fell down in the batter’s box.”

The morale was quite high, even if it was a bit of a joke.

What? In my previous life, there was a lot of excitement, but I don’t think it was enough to get people cheering before the game…?

“What’s with… all the excitement, even if it is the finals…”

“What are you talking about, Nihama-kun? You’re the one who created this atmosphere.”

“What…?”

“Didn’t we all have a fun at the festival you organized? Since then, our class has become closer in spirit, and the camaraderie has grown stronger overall. Thanks to this, the atmosphere is easy to relax and easy to get along with, and when it comes to the championship game of a ball game, the atmosphere can be as high as this.”

“So that’s what… is this all about.”

I thought that the unity of the class had become a little stronger, but I did not realize that the cultural festival had such an impact on the atmosphere in the class.

But if the unity of the… class is growing, the game will be more exciting, but when you lose, the disappointment will be worse…

“Hmm? That’s…”

I saw Shijouin-san in her gym uniform sitting among the people from my class who were sitting on the ground cheering for the team.

Kazamihara and Fumihashi, who seemed to have started talking to each other a lot lately, were on either side of her.

She seemed to notice that I was looking at her, and Kazamihara said, “Oh, Nihama-kun is looking over here… Well, please do your best to look cool in front of Shijouin-san, okay? She grinned at me and said, “You’ve done a great job with your training! Good Luck!!! As if to say, “I’m going to do it,” she thrusts out her left and right arms and gives me a double thumbs-up.

Shijoin-san seemed to like this kind of event as well, and seemed to be very excited about this atmosphere of class excitement even before the game started.

(Oh…)

And then — my eyes met hers.

It was as if we were both looking for each other, and we were certainly looking into each other’s eyes.

I’d like to think that it wasn’t an illusion.

The moment our gazes intertwined, Shijoin-san smiled like a flower blooming.

She said, “I’m rooting for you so much! Please do your best!” and as if to say, “Good luck!”, she waved her hands vigorously at me.

It was a straightforward expression of an innocent heart to support me.

“Oh, oh, oh! Did you see that, guys! Shijoin-san just waved at me!”

“Huh? What’s with the ego, man! It was for me!”

“Don’t start a sad fight when you know you won’t get an eye!

“But Shijouin-san’s in a good mood! You’ll get a chance if you play well!

“Ah, it looks like it’s time to get serious…!

Boys are sadly simple creatures, and a smile and a wave from a beautiful girl is enough to boost their morale. And I am no exception to this rule.

“Hey, hey, look, Nihama. Every single one of them is making the tension too high.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I’m gonna do it …… I’m gonna do it!!!”

“So, you’re the one who’s the softest?

You’re being a jerk, Ginji.

The girl I love the most on earth smiled and waved at me.

What man wouldn’t be burned up by this?

And as I was doing this foolish thing, a broadcast sounded on the ground.

The time has come for the second grade softball game between 2-B and 2-D of the tournament to begin. Please line up in the center of the field if you are going to play.

“Let’s go, Ginji! Let’s do this!”

As I ran to the line up point, the other guys said, “Hey! I’m going to hit 100 percent, so watch this!” “Hyah!” “I’m gonna do it! It’s the perfect opportunity to get the girls to cackle!” and Shijouin-san rushed out with her head still red from cheering for me.

“Wait, it’s not fair that you’re the only ones acting like you’re drunk!”

I felt a little sorry for Ginji, who was the only one who couldn’t be an idiot and seemed to be the only one who kept a straight face at the drinking party.

Anyway…

The game, which had become an abominable memory in my previous life, started with a surprisingly large amount of motivation.