After eating, as agreed earlier, the two headed to the table tennis area for the third "trial."
The outco was predictable—Yuu, with his expert-level technique, thoroughly defeated Haruno.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Perhaps because she was full and starting to get used to it, Haruno felt she could keep going.
Still unsatisfied after losing once, she insisted that an official match was best of three, demanding a rematch. She wouldn’t be content unless she won at least one ga against him.
Then, with Yuu deliberately going easy, they battled fiercely for half an hour. The first ga ended 11:9, and in the second, when he got serious, the score was 11:1.
That final point ca because Haruno’s movents were too distracting, making Yuu slightly dizzy, so he accidentally let her have it.
...The fact proved that even a player with the strongest technique could be thrown off by various physical and ntal factors.
After beating Haruno at table tennis, Yuu also earned so yen and a physical enhancent from the system, along with a permanent Archery (Expert Level) skill.
Unlike shooting, this was a specialized skill for archery. Whether it was an ancient wooden bow, a recurve bow, or a compound bow, he could master them all—
Hooray, his little sister no longer had to worry about him failing to hunt if he ended up in another world!
"You really are a monster."
Haruno, who kept fighting despite repeated losses, gave this assessnt with a tone of admiration.
Having accepted this reality, she was no longer as shocked as before. Instead, she grew curious about how many skills Yuu had mastered and whether each one surpassed professional levels.
She also seed to care less about being utterly defeated, even appearing to enjoy it more, urging him to fight with full strength and hold nothing back.
...For so reason, Yuu felt he’d opened a dangerous door.
The fourth trial—after archery, Haruno imdiately chose the nearby darts area as the fifth trial.
The skill Yuu received was a bit surprising.
Throwing (Expert Level).
A skill he’d once used in front of elentary school kids was now permanently his.
Only now did he realize that this throwing skill wasn’t just for basketball but applied to anything he could throw with both hands.
Whether it was a basketball, a dart, or a hidden weapon, under the control of an expert-level skill, everything would hit its mark without fail—
Hooray, his little sister no longer had to worry about him being rejected by a martial arts sect if he ended up in a wuxia world!
And this fifth "trial," of course, ended with his victory.
The system notification arrived right on cue:
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host has received a reward: ...yen.]
[Congratulations, host has received a reward: Muscle Mastery (Status).]
[Congratulations, host has received a reward: Minor physical enhancent (explosive power).]
"Huh??"
Walking in the middle of the path, Yuu couldn’t help but stop.
Muscle Mastery (Status)?
Not just a one-ti use, but permanent?
What was the system up to now...
"What’s wrong?"
Seeing him stop suddenly, Haruno turned with a puzzled look.
"Don’t want to go? Don’t tell you’re afraid of heights?"
The final trial she’d prepared was rock climbing, and they were now heading together to the climbing area upstairs.
Since her defeat was already fated, she might as well abandon her earlier boring ideas and see how far Yuu could go—that would be more interesting.
For example, how fast could Yuu climb? Would he scurry up like a gecko?
Of course, Haruno would climb slowly behind him, savoring the feeling of being utterly crushed while laughing heartily at his completely unscientific versatility.
If Yuu was too scared to climb due to a fear of heights... that was fine too, they’d just switch to sothing else.
After being defeated in five matches, the impression that [Yuu could do anything and was strong at everything] was deeply etched in Haruno’s mind.
—Though not quite at the DNA level yet.
"No, let’s go."
Yuu shook his head, temporarily closing the system panel, and walked with her toward the elevator.
This floor had not only table tennis, archery, and darts but also an electronic entertainnt center, a noisy place filled with machines and lights.
Haruno wasn’t interested in it and intended to pass through without looking.
At that mont, a flirtatious voice cut through the chaotic electronic noise, ringing clearly in her ears.
"Oh, isn’t that Haruno-chan? Long ti no see~"
Her steps, not yet taken, halted, and Haruno turned.
Yuu, beside her, also looked toward the source of the voice.
Perhaps because it was a sports center, the electronic entertainnt area had a punch strength testing machine.
There, five university students—two guys and three girls—looking trendy and youthful, were gathered.
The one speaking and waving at them was a tall, lanky guy with half his hair dyed blonde, wearing earrings and glossy black punk-style clothing, looking like he’d be great at headbanging to a beat.
Though a bit impolite, Yuu couldn’t help but stare at his hair, deeply curious why the guy only dyed half of it blonde.
Was the hair dye not enough, or was this so new fashion trend?
Or was he afraid the warriors of pure love would co down too hard, so he kept half his hair black to show he was half on their side?
"Don’t stare at him like that. He’s the young master of a clothing company. Could hire a few of you at once." As if sensing his curiosity, Haruno whispered beside him.
Stopping his appraising gaze, Yuu asked with a aningful tone.
"Is he your friend? Or..."
Catching what Yuu was asking, Haruno smiled, shifting her gaze to the other guy.
"He’s the one."
Before Yuu could get a clear look, Haruno had already put on a friendly, warm smile, stepping forward and responding enthusiastically to their greeting.
"Yahaloo~ Didn’t expect to run into you guys here. Out for a group stroll?"
"Yay~ Yay~"
After happily high-fiving the three girls, Haruno naturally bypassed the half-blonde guy, who awkwardly raised both hands, and looked at the last of the five.
Her tone was light in a way Yuu had never heard.
"Long ti no see, Yuuki-kun. Are you a regular at this sports center?"
The guy in a baseball cap, with a slim build and refined, neat features, nodded, returning a smile.
"Exactly. My place is nearby, so I got a mbership card. When I have ti, I co to train a bit, so my body doesn’t rust from sitting at a computer all day."
He paused, then asked curiously, "But Haruno-san, doesn’t the Yukinoshita family have investnts in several sports centers downtown? Why co to this farther one?"
"And who’s this guy I haven’t seen before..."
As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to the young man standing still, not approaching, his narrow eyes narrowing further, his tone growing more suggestive.
"Won’t you introduce us to your friend?"
Hearing his words, the other four pairs of eyes couldn’t help but shift, darting back and forth between Haruno and Yuu.
So were curious, so speculative, and others showed a gossip-hungry expression.
"I knew you’d ask that~"
Completely unfazed, Haruno’s smile remained unchanged. She turned, walked to Yuu’s side, patted his shoulder, and said with an oddly proud tone:
"Don’t be shocked~ Tenkuji-kun is a sharpshooter I t by chance. Don’t let his high schooler status fool you—in shooting, I’d probably need three more years of practice to even co close to beating him!"
"After finding out how strong Tenkuji-kun is, I spent a ton of money to hire him to teach shooting... The coach from last ti couldn’t even beat , so it’s ti for a change."
"He also said the ten-ter shooting range here is comfortable to use, so I had to follow my coach’s advice and take a bit of a detour to et up here~"
Hearing her explanation, a few nodded in understanding: "I see..."
But their interest in Yuu waned. They exchanged comnts like, "Didn’t expect a high schooler to beat Haruno-chan," or "Yeah, this is the first ti Haruno’s praised soone so much, especially a kid," their curious gazes lingering on him.
"And~ Tenkuji-kun, these are my college friends!"
Her small, cool hand pressed lightly on his shoulder. She parted her lips slightly, lowering her voice, and whispered quickly in his ear.
"The one who looks human is my mom’s pri matchmaking target, Yuuki Kouichirou."
Yuu shrugged, signaling he understood.
As a rent-a-boyfriend, facing an awkward situation like this, he knew exactly what to do.
—Expert-level acting!
"..."
Glancing at Haruno nonchalantly, Yuu proactively stepped away from her, raising his hand as if to brush his shoulder but hesitating and lowering it back to his side.
Then, he tucked his chin slightly, giving a cool but polite nod to the five university students in front of him.
"Hello, everyone."
After greeting them, he stood there silently, ignoring everyone, his eyes cast down to the floor, fingers rhythmically tapping his thigh, as if quietly urging them to wrap up the conversation.
The image of a reserved, cool, handso, and slightly aloof high schooler ford in the group’s eyes.
Most importantly, he didn’t act overly friendly with Haruno.
"Talented people are like that."
Haruno shrugged, smiling nonchalantly.
Then she turned and winked her big, smiling eyes at him, giving a ntal thumbs-up.
(Nice, you’re truly my all-capable Yuu-chan!)
(Your acting is on par with my lying skills!)
Yuu: "..."
Reviews
All reviews (0)