"Th-That's Takashi!"
"Go, Sobu High!"
Compared to Aoba, the cheering from the opposing Sobu Private High School was much quieter.
That's right. Aoba's first-round opponent was none other than Sobu High—home to Yukinoshita Yukino and Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Sobu's baseball team was made up of regular students. They had no star players but no fatal weaknesses either.
Their playstyle emphasized: steady performance, minimizing errors.
If you didn't knock them down early with overwhelming momentum, you'd be dragged into a drawn-out battle.
Takashi led the team in a circuit around the field before moving to the infield and lining up.
Ahead of him stood a ceremonial stage.
The crimson flag of this year's Koshien tournament was planted there.
The championship flag for the summer Koshien is red, while the spring one is purple.
Across from him stood their first opponent: Sobu High.
As always, the hosts were a male-female pair.
But this time, he didn't recognize either of them.
"Everyone!"
The male host's voice rang across the stadium. "Another summer of sweat and tears is upon us!"
"Youth in full bloom, passion burning hot!" the female host added energetically.
"Welcome to Koshien!"
After the brief opening remarks—
"Today, we are honored to have the ultra-popular actress Sakurajima Mai throw the opening pitch!"
At the mention of Sakurajima Mai, the entire stadium erupted.
She is currently the most popular actress in the country.
After all, people live for Sakurajima Mai.
As the crowd roared her name, the girl emerged slowly, wearing a baseball jersey and a white pleated skirt.
She had waist-length black hair, slender limbs, deep eyes, a small face, and a model-like figure.
Her elegant face exuded the charm and nonchalance of a mature woman. Just standing there, she looked like a painting, mesmerizing to behold.
[Target: Sakurajima Mai]
[Age: 17]
[Intelligence: 6]
[Charm: 8]
[Stamina: 5]
[From: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai]
[Future Boyfriend: Azusagawa Sakuta]
[Currently single, available for dating]
[Ding! Detected Event 1: Fireworks Festival completed with Eriri – Reward: Hentai Pack ×1 / 10,000 Points]
[Ding! Detected Event 7: Fireworks Festival completed with Kato Megumi – Reward: Background Character Pack / 10,000 Points]
Oh ho, the points have finally arrived.
Takashi didn't bother reading Sakurajima Mai's info.
He had no intention of pursuing her.
The reason was simple—he didn't want to get doxxed by her fans if he ever broke up with her.
Celebrities—especially the pretty ones—always had extreme fans.
Besides, how much money could a celebrity even make?
Could she compare to the rich women backing him?
Takashi wasn't interested, but his teammates clearly were. Even while doing stretches, they craned their necks to get a better look at her.
Sakurajima Mai stood in the open field, speaking into a microphone connected to the unseen hosts.
"We heard from your mother that you love baseball, Miss Mai?"
The male host asked.
"Yeah, my childhood dream was to marry a pro baseball player!"
Sakurajima Mai said she loved baseball, but the truth was—she didn't care for it at all.
She didn't even understand the rules.
Too complicated.
"Woooooo—"
The male host suddenly cried out, "Miss Mai, I used to play for a professional team. I was a baseball player too. Do I have a chance?"
"A chance for what?"
Sakurajima Mai smiled, pretending to be confused.
"Do I have a chance?"
"A chance for what?"
"I—" The male host tried to continue, but the female host laughed and cut him off. "Mai-chan, ignore this guy."
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing."
"Don't do this to me!"
The male host shouted in a joking tone, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Sakurajima Mai also began to laugh.
Though she didn't quite understand what was so funny.
But that's how showbiz works.
After warming up the crowd, the female host said, "It's time for the opening pitch. Miss Mai, please step onto the mound."
"Yes! Okay!"
Sakurajima Mai handed the microphone to a nearby staff member, put on a glove, picked up the ball, and walked to the pitcher's mound.
Under the gaze of over fifty thousand people, Sakurajima Mai remained calm.
"Go, Miss Mai!"
The male host shouted loudly.
The Aoba team catcher was already in full gear, crouching behind home plate, with the umpire standing properly behind him.
"Mai-chan, let's start!"
Sakurajima Mai raised the ball above her head, then lifted one leg. Her posture suggested she had practiced—it was quite standard.
She took a deep breath and threw the ball with all her strength.
From the pitcher's mound to home plate, the distance is 18.44 meters.
For the average person, it's actually pretty hard to get the ball into the catcher's glove.
Halfway through, the ball began to lose momentum and dropped.
It rolled across the ground toward the catcher.
The catcher dove and caught the ball.
"One ball! Player Mai is out!"
The umpire played along, calling Sakurajima Mai out.
Sakurajima Mai didn't seem embarrassed at all. She nodded lightly, turned, and prepared to leave the field.
'Smells so good.'
As she walked past Takashi, her nose twitched at the pleasant scent.
She glanced at Takashi stretching nearby. If the situation were more appropriate, she would've wanted to stop him and ask what brand of cologne he was using.
"Thank you, Miss Mai! Haha!"
"Opening pitch is over. The first round of the 107th Summer Koshien Tournament officially begins."
Woooooo~
The air raid siren sounded as both teams bowed to each other, then to the umpire, and began the coin toss to decide who would bat first.
"Top of the first inning, Aoba from Tokyo will bat, and Chiba SobuHigh will defend."
"Sobu High's nine starters, please take the field!"
Takashi didn't go on the field. Instead, he returned to the dugout and sat down.
The coach had promised him he'd get to play today—but not yet.
"Alright, let's take a look at SobuHigh's starting pitcher: Yuta Shitada. He's a veteran of Koshien, now in his second year. Last year at Jingu Stadium, he almost struck out Aoba. Unfortunately, he fell at the final step."
"This year, can Yuta Shitada get his revenge? Let's wait and see."
Yuta Shitada gripped the ball, his hand hidden behind his back.
This was to prevent batters from reading what pitch he would throw based on his grip.
'Otani Shota is injured. They don't have a strong number three hitter.'
'Shitada, this is your chance to strike out three batters in a row.'
'Seize this opportunity. Tomorrow, scouts will be attending Koshien's first round. This might be your only path to going pro.'
Yuta Shitada thought of his gambling-addicted father, his sick mother, and his school-attending younger sister.
He had to win today's game.
Taking a deep breath, Yuta Shitada fixed his eyes on the catcher.
He lifted his leg, swung his arm, and as the ball left his hand, the scoreboard lit up: 148 km/h.
The batter swung and missed.
"Strike one!"
The umpire shouted, signaling a valid pitch.
"148 kilometers per hour—what an improvement compared to last year," the male host praised.
"Mhm!" the female host added. "Last year, Shitada's fastest pitch was only 145 km/h. Now he can throw 148 with ease."
"Let's see the second pitch... Oh! He made contact! But it's flying high—a pop fly! Can Sobu 's outfielder—yes! He caught it!"
"No, wait—yes, it's caught! Sobu 's outfielder made the catch!"
"Aoba's leadoff hitter is out."
The first batter walked back to the stands and told the second batter, "His pitches are slow and have a noticeable drop—be careful."
"I got it."
The second batter slowly stepped up.
As he adjusted his stance, preparing to hit Yuta Shitada's pitch, he was surprised to see the fastball had turned into a cutter.
All the information he'd collected beforehand was now useless.
Soon, Yuta Shitada struck him out too.
'Just as Yukinoshita-san planned.'
Yuta Shitada quietly shifted his grip on the baseball behind his back.
Before today's game, Yukino had already arranged everything.
In the dugout, Yukino's eyes burned as she stared at Takashi: "I'm going to utterly crush your school."
___
20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics
Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!
Don't forget to leave a review too~
Check out the other translations too
___