A Sweet Romance That Starts With One Bottle of Juice, Between a Heiress Who Must Marry Her First Kiss and a Lonesome Guy With a Menacing Look - Chapter 18 - Sleeping With the Young Lady - Part 1
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- Chapter 18 - Sleeping With the Young Lady - Part 1
Chapter 18 – Sleeping With the Young Lady – Part 1
After finishing dinner, I returned to my room to find that the bed was gone. When I opened the door to the large room across the hall, I found two beds laid out side by side.
…Natsume-san, you were definitely eavesdropping.
“Oh, Tadakuni, you’ve already brought the bed? You’re more enthusiastic than me, aren’t you?”
She tapped my side while making fun of me.
No matter how you look at it, there’s no way I can carry this big damn bed by myself!
“It’s still early for bed, so let’s have basketball practice now. Please go and change into something comfortable.”
“Eh? You ate four bowls of curry and can still move?”
“3 bowls!”
“I don’t think that changes much…”
“Mou! Stop quibbling and let’s go!”
I didn’t mean to come up with an excuse, I was just trying to show my concern… Well, I guess there’s nothing else to do but to go along with it.
I was kicked out of the room and went to my room to change into a jersey.
“Come to think of it, my stuff is here.”
All of my belongings that were at my parents’ house were neatly organized in my room.
“I have to thank Natsume-san.”
“You wanted to see me?”
“Hey! Natsume-san! Hah… Please stop surprising me like that.”
Before I knew it, Natsume-san was standing behind me.
“It seems that Yasuda-sama prefers trunks.”
“…That’s sexual harassment.”
“I thought you would prefer boxers.”
“If you do that again, I’ll tell Father.”
“I am very sorry.”
Natsume-san got down on her knees without changing the tone of her voice.
I’m scared of this person.
“I hear you’re going to be practicing basketball now.”
“From where did you eavesdrop, Natsume-san?”
“Yuuka-sama is waiting for you in the garden. Please go quickly.”
“…I-I understand.”
I ran out of the room and headed for the garden.
✳︎✳︎
The garden was completely dark, and only the lights installed on the walls illuminated the area in front of the basket.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yasunomihara-san.”
Yasunomihara-san, wearing loose white shorts and a blue T-shirt that appeared to be her middle school practice uniform, stood waiting while holding a ball.
Since a little while ago, my eyes keep being drawn to the two soft-looking balls resting on top of that basketball. Adolescence is a scary thing.
“Dribbling at night can be noisy, so instead I can teach you the rules and basic techniques when holding the ball.”
As soon as I was handed the ball, Coach Yasunomihara began her instruction.
“Firstly, Tadakuni’s position is mainly for grabbing rebounds from shots.”
“R-Ribbon?”
“Rebounds. To put it simply, it’s like a loose ball in football.”
“L-Loose ball?”
“I meant balls that aren’t in play.”
“Aren’t in play?”
“Has Tadakuni really lived in this world for 16 years?”
She denied me 16 years of my life just because I didn’t know what a rebound is…
“To explain it any clearer… What does Tadakuni do when he throws rubbish in the bin and doesn’t get it?”
“Well, I’ll pick it up and put it back in, I guess.”
“That’s it. That’s rebounding, that’s what you do with a basketball.”
“I see… So basically, if someone misses a shot, my job is to put it back in?”
“…I feel apprehensive about what’s to come.”
I was taught a few rules by Yasunomihara-san, but this is too difficult a task for me, who has too low a sports deviation.
I kind of understand the 24-second rule, but I don’t understand the three-second rule, which is similar to it.
Even though there are ten people on the court, they have rules like one person can only stay in the free-throw lane for three seconds… Who the hell is counting that?
“Well, there’s a lot more to it than this, but this is all you need to know for now.”
“It’s amazing that people play sports. I can’t believe they remember all these complicated rules and can still play.”
“It’s mostly based on feeling. If Tadakuni keeps playing, he’ll start to get a sense for it.”
Yasunomihara-san lifted the ball I was holding and went for a shot.
The shot, which followed a beautiful arc, unfortunately bounced off the ring.
I see, my job is to pick up that bouncing ball.
“Tadakuni!”
Before Yasunomihara-san told me, my body had reacted.
I reached for the ball that bounced off the ring.
I thought the ring was high, but when I jumped towards it, it was surprisingly easy to reach.
The ball fit in my hand in mid-air.
So this is a rebound…
“Whoops. Did I do right, Yasunomihara-san?”
“Y-You jumped so high…”
“Eh? Maybe there are rules like height restrictions?”
“No! Well, as I expected, Tadakuni has a great talent.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m looking forward to the match this weekend.”
I don’t really understand, but if Yasunomihara-san is having fun, then everything’s good.