The Omnipotent Super Chuunibyou - Chapter 23
“Crash!”
With a loud thud, the tall figure swayed, then fell, a blank look in its widened eyes.
“40-0!”
The referee’s voice boomed across the court.
Hasegawa Izumi turned, glancing sidelong at Kawamura Kentaro, sprawled on the ground, and shook his head.
I thought you’d actually be able to return that serve.
Well, that was a bust!
“Still, it takes courage to face a ball like that, and you made a reasonable attempt, just not quite enough to see the spin. You’ll probably adapt to it in the next round.”
From his superior position, he could see right through the other player’s intentions and progress.
Maybe this Mortal Realm isn’t so weak after all.
Maybe I’ll encounter even more unexpected thrills in the future!
“Good luck! Tennis big bro! Don’t let them knock you down! Never give up!”
This sudden interjection was like a boulder tossed into a deep pond, and the entire stadium erupted into incredulous laughter.
You’ve got the wrong target!
Who’s the weak one here?
Everyone’s gaze landed on the speaker, who hastily covered his mouth in fear.
Judging by the uniform, the boy was a middle schooler, probably just curious enough to wander over to the high school. When he arrived, he witnessed the scene before him, and, unlike everyone else, drew a completely different conclusion.
Though they differed in build, Hasegawa Izumi, with his frail appearance, had indeed taken a decisive lead, and even seemed to be bullying his opponent. This was nothing like what anyone had anticipated; it was entirely unexpected.
Who could have guessed that the tennis club president everyone had pinned their hopes on would be defeated so easily?
Kawamura Kentaro clearly wasn’t ready to concede. After a moment of stunned silence, he pulled himself together and stood once more.
“You’ve got it all wrong, kiddo! He’s the one challenging me! I only let him beat me like this because I was careless!”
He pointed at Hasegawa.
“Pfft.”
Some girls in the crowd couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
Yet Kawamura showed no sign of embarrassment. He turned to Hasegawa. “Come on, let’s continue! This time, I’ll definitely make contact with the ball!”
Hasegawa Izumi immediately noticed that Kawamura had lowered his goal considerably. Before, he’d wanted to return the serve perfectly; now, he’d settle for… merely touching the ball!
The spectators didn’t find this strange. After all, the TWIST SERVE didn’t seem like something a human could hit. They assumed that someone skilled enough to master such a serve would also be proficient in more basic techniques.
Apparently, in the eyes of the crowd, he’d successfully been promoted from elite NPC to boss level.
“Thump…thump…”
The only sounds on the court were the tennis ball hitting the ground, and everyone held their breaths.
“Here it comes, stay alert,” Hasegawa Izumi warned, leaping into the air and swinging his racket with his right hand, sending the ball flying across the court once more.
Kawamura Kentaro’s expression was solemn as he stared intently at the spinning ball. Then, in an instant…
Time seemed to stop.
“It’s here!” he declared, shifting his body slightly, and swung his racket.
“Smack!”
A crisp sound echoed.
His face lit up with joy.
He’d finally hit it!
“The ball is out of bounds! Hasegawa takes the game, 1-0! Switching sides now.”
The referee made his call as the ball soared into the sky.
“Clap, clap, clap…” Even though he hadn’t successfully returned it, he’d still managed to hit the ball. The audience recognized his efforts with a round of applause.
“Congratulations, you got it,” Hasegawa Izumi said, offering his congratulations as well.
“Ha ha ha…”
Kawamura Kentaro scratched his head, a little embarrassed, but only for a few seconds. His expression abruptly changed, his face flushed even redder, and he cursed.
“Shit, I’m not here to win some stupid popularity contest! Let’s go, next point! It’s my serve now, so watch out! I’m gonna show you my ‘bullet serve’!”
He gripped the tennis ball in his hand aggressively.
“Huh, I didn’t know our president had a serve like that. Why have I never seen him use it before?”
“Maybe we’re not good enough to witness something like that.”
“Idiot, he’s probably just messing around.”
The tennis club members buzzed with discussion.
Swoosh! Kawamura Kentaro leapt into the air, his muscles tensed, unleashing all the anger he’d felt from the humiliation he’d suffered onto his opponent.
That’s right, he hadn’t used any special skills, only demonstrating his finely honed serve.
This ball had been struck with such incredible force, nearly ten percent faster than his normal speed.
He was confident that even the national champion wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what exactly he was up against.
“Good power, but the trajectory is far too simple.”
Hasegawa Izumi raised her right hand, casually returning the ball.
After witnessing the TWIST SERVE, this feat wasn’t even worth a gasp of surprise.
“Just as expected, it was returned!”
Kawamura Kentaro had expected this, so his reaction wasn’t sluggish. He chased after the tennis ball as it flew back toward him.
Regardless, this had been a strong start. At least this serve hadn’t resulted in a one-sided beatdown like the first.
Just as he prepared to swing at the returning ball, something strange happened.
“The ball… vanished?!”
He lost sight of the tennis ball entirely and froze on the spot.
“15-0.”
It wasn’t until the referee spoke that Kawamura Kentaro finally looked down in disbelief at the rolling tennis ball.
“What just happened? Did I miss it because I blinked?”
Kawamura Kentaro racked his brains, searching for an explanation, but none came.
Once again, he leaped, serving the ball with confidence.
Yet again, he saw his opponent standing firmly in place, holding his tennis racket in both hands, motionless.
Was he conceding the point?
How humiliating!
The spectators watched, baffled.
“Why isn’t Izumi-chan moving? Is he tired?”
That was Fujiwara Chika’s thought.
“Maybe he’s trying to spare his opponent some dignity? That doesn’t seem like Izumi-chan’s style! No mercy, total victory—that’s the only aesthetic for a strong player.”
That was Takanashi Rikka’s thought.
As the crowd pondered, the tennis ball hit the ground.
“Too slow.”
Hasegawa Izumi finally moved.
“Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”
Faint crackling sounds electrified the air.
The figure before their eyes disappeared, seeming to vanish into thin air, only to reappear directly in front of the tennis ball, holding her racket aloft and swinging it down with lightning speed!
“THWACK!”
A brilliant flash of lightning crackled across the court.