I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!? - Chapter 29: A Send-Off Party

Chapter 29: A Send-Off Party

After school, Kanade and Makoto were out of school for newspaper club activities, so they informed me they couldn’t walk home together.

I could have waited for them, but they said the end time was unpredictable, so I decided to head home first.

“Are you really coming to watch? The match?” Yuna asked.

“It happens to coincide with the last day off before the tournament. Is there any problem?” I replied.

So, Yuna and I were talking on our way home.

Thanks to Yuna’s national tournament coinciding with the baseball team’s day off, I could go watch Yuna’s match.

The tournament would be held over two days, but I could only go on the second day.

If Yuna didn’t advance, I wouldn’t see her match, but I wasn’t worried about that.

“There’s no problem! No problem, but… it’ll make me nervous!?” Yuna exclaimed.

“I’ve never seen you nervous during a match…” I said.

“No, I mean! …I mean… it’s… uh…” Yuna stammered.

“What?” I asked.

“…I mean! I’ll get nervous if the person I like is watching!?” Yuna shouted.

…

I looked around, but there were no passersby. Good.

“Mugyu!?” Yuna squeaked.

My girlfriend was too cute.

I couldn’t help but hug her tightly on impulse.

Lately, I felt my self-control was slipping…

It was all because my girlfriends were too charming.

Needless to say, Yuna scolded me harshly afterward.

—

“Ryu-kun, um… I have one request…” Makoto said.

“What is it?” I asked.

The next day at lunch break, the four of us were eating in the cafeteria as usual when Makoto spoke with a serious expression. Kanade, sitting next to her, had a similar expression, making me wonder if there was trouble again…?

“Um… it’s really hard to say, but…” Makoto hesitated.

“Just tell me. I’ll help with anything I can,” I assured her.

“Really…? I’m holding you to that…?” Makoto said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah…” I replied.

Her words suddenly made me uneasy… Was this really okay?

“Um… so…” Makoto started.

I swallowed hard…

“Today, I want to borrow the key to Ryu-kun’s house!” Makoto said.

“…Huh?” I responded.

—

“I see… a send-off party,” I said.

“Yes…” Makoto confirmed.

When I heard the details, it went like this.

Yesterday, Kanade and Makoto’s excuse about not going home together due to club activities was a lie.

They secretly bought ingredients to throw a surprise send-off party for Yuna and me because our tournaments were approaching.

But after finishing shopping, they realized they couldn’t get into my house.

So, they had to reveal the plan and wanted to go to my house before our club activities ended to prepare, which was why they needed the house key.

“Makoto is so careless about these things. Honestly…” Kanade sighed.

“You said ‘Ah!’ when we got to Ryu-kun’s house, didn’t you? You didn’t notice either!” Makoto retorted.

“That ‘Ah!’ was because I forgot to tell Makoto! I noticed,” Kanade countered.

“Liar!” Makoto shot back.

“Okay, okay, both of you, calm down. Everyone makes mistakes like that,” Yuna said, soothing them.

A send-off party, huh.

I was genuinely happy about their effort, and hanging out with the three of them would be fun anyway, so it sounded good.

“Here,” I said.

I handed the house key to Makoto. I didn’t think they’d do anything bad with it, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

“Th-thanks! Kanade and I will prepare everything perfectly!” Makoto said.

“We’ll make sure you two get energized,” Kanade added.

“I’m looking forward to it,” I replied.

“Then, Yuna and I will meet at the school gate after club activities, okay?” I asked.

“Okay,” Yuna agreed.

Thus, our after-school plans were set.

—

“I’m home,” I said.

“Both of us are back!” Yuna announced.

Yuna walked into the house like it was her own.

Even Makoto and Kanade showed some hesitation, but not her.

“Welcome back!” Makoto greeted.

“Everything’s ready. Come here,” Kanade said.

We followed them to the living room.

There, a huge banner hung boldly on the wall with the words:

[Aim for Nationals! Aim for Victory! You Two Can Definitely Do It!]

I couldn’t help it. I was about to cry.

“Ugh… sniff… you two… thank… sob… you…” Yuna stammered.

Correction, Yuna was already crying.

“Wow, you prepared this all along?” I asked.

“We’ve been preparing the banner for a while,” Makoto said.

“During the last test period, I went to the newspaper clubroom a lot for this, actually,” Kanade added.

Come to think of it, I knew Kanade went to the newspaper clubroom often during the test period, but I didn’t know it was for this…

“But the send-off party starts now!” Makoto said.

“We made delicious food, so eat up and get energized,” Kanade added.

They brought out boiled pumpkin, braised pork, lettuce and tomato salad, and mixed rice.

“Wow, this is lavish…” I said.

“Getting all this makes me feel almost guilty…” Yuna added.

“Hehe, we packed it with vitamins, proteins, and nutrients essential for sports!” Makoto said.

“I’ve been enjoying cooking lately, and we got carried away. We had fun, so don’t feel guilty and enjoy it,” Kanade said.

“If you say so… How about Yuna and I cook something for you two next time?” I suggested.

“That sounds great. Let’s do it after we both win, as thanks for the send-off,” Yuna said.

“That’ll be fun!” Makoto exclaimed.

“Then eat a lot today to build your strength,” Kanade said.

“Let’s do it. Shall we dig in?” I asked.

“Yep! Let’s eat!” Yuna said.

Thus, the send-off party for the four of us went on in a cheerful atmosphere.

—

“Here I go,” Yuna said.

“Yeah, be careful on the way,” I replied.

Finally, one week remained until Yuna’s tournament.

The tournament would be held in Tokyo, so Yuna’s kendo club was leaving today, one week early, for final preparations there.

“Survive until the second day, okay?” I said.

“Obviously. Do you think I’d lose?” Yuna asked.

“Not at all,” I replied.

“Nope?” Yuna grinned.

This kind of banter was usually for athletes to ease tension, but between Yuna and me, there wasn’t a hint of nervousness.

Yuna knew her own strength, and I knew the effort she’d put in.

“Childhood friends are strong…! There’s this… unbreakable vibe…!” Makoto said.

“Ugh… such a sense of defeat…! But we shouldn’t lose in the size of our love…!” Kanade added.

“…What are those two doing over there…?” I asked.

“…Who knows?” Yuna replied.

While we talked, Kanade and Makoto peeked at us from behind a wall.

“You two, come here,” Yuna called.

“Yuna! Do your best! You can definitely win!” Makoto cheered.

“I’ll be there to cheer, so don’t worry,” Kanade said.

Apparently, Kanade was going to the tournament as part of the newspaper club’s coverage team and could watch both days.

Makoto applied too, but first-years were chosen by lottery, and she unfortunately didn’t make it.

So, like me, Kanade would only watch on the second day.

Makoto said, “I told the baseball club manager I’d tag along with them!” with full enthusiasm. …Is it okay to complain to the manager like that?

“Yamamura! The bus is leaving!” a teammate called.

“Okay! See you at the venue,” Yuna said, jogging to her kendo club teammates.

“…Let’s head back to the classroom,” I suggested.

“Yeah. Since we’re skipping school to watch, we should take classes seriously,” Kanade said.

“Well, all three of us have great grades and perfect behavior. That should be fine,” Makoto added.

“When are you leaving, Kanade?” I asked.

“The newspaper club leaves the day after tomorrow. We need to take photos of the pre-match atmosphere,” Kanade replied.

“That sounds tough. Can you meet Yuna there?” I asked.

“Hmm… maybe. I might get to do an interview, but I’m not sure if I’ll be assigned,” Kanade said.

“If you see her before the match, encourage her,” I said.

“Got it,” Kanade replied.

—

Yuna’s tournament was important, but I had to focus on myself too.

After all, one week after Yuna’s tournament, the prefectural tournament would start.

“…Hiss!” I threw.

Crack!

“…Yeah, my condition feels good. I was worried about fatigue since we’re practicing outfield too,” I said.

“There’s some fatigue, but it’s better than feeling too light. The ball feels good on my fingers,” I added.

“Don’t overdo it, okay?” my coach warned.

“Of course, leave the pacing to me,” I assured him.

Having recovered from two serious injuries, I was confident in my ability to pace myself better than most.

“Want to throw more?” he asked.

“No, I’ll stop here for today,” I replied.

“Okay. By the way, Nogata’s throwing next. Want to watch?” he offered.

“Can I? Definitely,” I said.

Captain Nogata was a different type of pitcher from me, but he was undoubtedly a national-level talent.

Watching his bullpen up close would teach me a lot.

While chatting with Senior Makabe, Captain Nogata arrived with his glove.

“Oh, Minase’s here too,” Nogata said.

“Yeah, can I watch a bit?” I asked.

“Of course! Steal whatever you can! Though, for a pitcher like you, I might not need to worry!” Nogata said.

“No way. I’ll learn a lot,” I replied.

He prepared with a satisfied look.

Starting with catch, he gradually increased intensity with standing throws.

“Time to sit,” Nogata said.

“Sure,” Makabe replied.

From a no-windup stance, Nogata threw with a motion that wrapped his right arm around his body.

The pitch was around 140 km/h.

Nogata had two weapons.

First:

“Outside low,” Nogata called.

“Okay,” Makabe replied.

Nogata’s pitch hit Makabe’s mitt with pinpoint accuracy.

The mitt didn’t move a millimeter. He was like a precision machine.

His first weapon was this flawless control.

He once said that, in top condition, he could hit any of the nine sections of the strike zone.

That’s something you only hear about in video games, Captain.

“Next, curve,” Nogata called.

His second weapon, his winning shot, was his curve.

It dropped sharply from above the batter’s belt, like a waterfall.

Combined with the speed difference from his fastball, it was nearly unhittable.

With these two weapons, he dominated last year’s tournament alone.

“Feels good,” Nogata said.

“Done already?” Makabe asked.

“Yeah, the tournament’s close. Overthrowing’s bad for the body,” Nogata replied.

He cooled down with slow catch.

Watching this, I realized I still had much to learn technically.

To go to Koshien with these seniors, I’d practice my hardest for the prefectural tournament.