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 39: A Story of Winning Steadily

Chapter 39: A Story of Winning Steadily

“…Morning, huh?”

The next day, perhaps because I went to bed early the previous night, I woke up about thirty minutes before the alarm.

Next to me, Yuna sleeps with a happy face.

…Hmm. Usually, Yuna, of course, and all the girls take care of me.

Today, I’ll make breakfast. Though, I can’t make anything too fancy.

I quietly leave the bed so as not to wake Yuna and head to the kitchen.

The fridge has a decent amount of food, but since it’s breakfast, I’ll make simple scrambled eggs and toast.

There’s lettuce for salad too, so I’ll add some vegetables… Yeah, I made a good menu.

I take a few eggs from the fridge and put oil in the frying pan.

While heating the pan, I crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them.

When the pan is hot enough, I slowly pour the whisked eggs into it and stir gently.

For seasoning, salt might be best.

I sprinkle a pinch of salt and add a little mayonnaise as a secret ingredient.

Yeah, it smells good.

It’s about time to toast the bread.

At that moment, I hear a commotion from the bedroom.

“Ryu, Ryu! Sorry! I overslept…!”

“Good morning, Yuna. I just woke up early, so it’s fine.”

“…G-Good morning… Is Ryu making breakfast?”

“Y-Yeah… You don’t have any egg allergies, right?”

“I don’t have any allergies… Did you make breakfast for Makoto or Kanade too?”

“Makoto was at a hotel, and Kanade made breakfast for me. Now that you mention it, Yuna might be the first to eat my cooking…”

“…Ryu’s first…? What a sweet sound…”

“Did you say something?”

“No, nothing! I’ll set the table!”

“…? Alright, thanks.”

Yuna hurriedly sets the dishes on the table.

It’s hectic from the morning. That’s part of her charm, though.

“Well then, let’s eat.”

“L-Let’s eat…!”

Yuna nervously brings the scrambled eggs to her mouth.

“Compared to Makoto and Kanade’s cooking, it’s not much. Don’t expect too much.”

“No way…! Alright, I’ll eat…! Nom…!”

After one bite, her eyes sparkle, and she waves her arms excitedly.

It seems she likes it, which is good.

“It’s insanely delicious! This goes great with toast!”

“That’s because I put love into it.”

“Love, huh… Love!?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“D-Don’t say weird things suddenly…! Cough cough! The egg went down the wrong pipe…!”

“Hey, are you okay…?”

I hurriedly rub Yuna’s back.

“…S-Sorry… But it’s your fault, you know!?”

“W-What? Sorry…?”

Like that, the hectic morning passes.

“Good morning, Ryu-kun, Yuna!”

“Good morning. You had fun yesterday, huh?”

“Well… It was fun, I guess.”

“…!? Yuna, did you cross the line…!?”

“No way!? I thought Yuna was the most reserved!?”

“Uh, ladies? You’re misunderstanding something big…”

“W-Well? I can do it when I want to! Ryu did it for me for the first time, and it was amazing!”

“Ryu-kun? Was your promise to us a lie…?”

“If so, even now, we could…”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. I just made breakfast! Nothing weird happened!”

“…Weird stuff…? …!? W-W-W-What are you two saying!? I just meant Ryu made breakfast for me for the first time…!”

“R-Right. No way Yuna would get ahead alone… Right?”

“We trust you.”

Makoto and Kanade approach Yuna with fierce expressions.

Shouldn’t I be the one blamed here…?

Surrounded by three beautiful girls on the way to school, the commute is a fun time.

“Big brother! Congrats on the first-round win!”

“Thanks, Sakuya. How’s it going over there? In good shape?”

“I’m doing great! My condition’s improving, and I haven’t lost a practice match lately!”

“That’s great.”

That night, Sakuya wanted to call, so I connected with my beloved little sister.

“When’s your tournament, Sakuya?”

“End of August!”

“Got it. Maybe I can cheer for you.”

“Really!? Then I’ll go all out!”

“Go all out even if I’m not there.”

Like me, Sakuya might feel lonely since we haven’t talked much. We message almost daily, but talking by voice is totally different.

“So, if you go to Koshien, I’ll cheer… Oh.”

“…What’s up?”

“Uh, I forgot to tell you something…”

“Forgot something…? What?”

“If your team makes it to the semifinals, the whole family will come to cheer.”

“…Huh? That’s news to me.”

“But we could only get one hotel room.”

“Sakuya~? Hello, you there~?”

“So, I’ll stay in your room for a week, okay!”

“Wait. Seriously, wait. Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Oh, I need to sleep soon! Bye, big brother!”

“Hey, it’s not even 8 p.m. yet… She hung up…”

My dear little sister.

What a landmine she prepared in such a short time.

W-Well, I’ve got nothing to hide, and there’s no issue with family staying over.

There shouldn’t be… I hope.

Time passes, and it’s the second round of the prefectural tournament.

“Alright! One more, stay calm!”

In this match, our batting lineup connects from the start, scoring four runs by the fifth inning, with Phoenix High School controlling the pace.

Our ace, Captain Nogata, limits the opponent to four scattered hits, shutting them down completely.

His pitching keeps the momentum in the later innings.

Riding that wave, Senior Makabe hits the tournament’s first home run in the final innings, extending our lead.

In the eighth, second-year lefty sidearmer Senior Yanagi takes the mound.

Despite some nerves and a walk, he holds the opponent scoreless for two innings, ending the game.

We advance to the third round.

The third round is a pitchers’ duel, unlike before.

The opposing pitcher, a pro prospect like Captain Nogata, throws fastballs over 140 km/h and sharp forks.

Until the middle innings, neither team reaches second base in a tense game, but Captain Nogata breaks through.

On the first pitch, his bat perfectly catches a sweet fastball, sending it into the stands.

A solo home run to take the lead.

Fueled by this, the captain allows no runners after the fifth, pitching perfectly.

Then, in the eighth.

“Pitcher change from Nogata-kun to Minase-kun.”

My second appearance in the tournament.

Late in the game, a one-run lead. One hit could tie it, one runner could lead to a comeback.

The tension is different from my first appearance, but I’m mentally calm.

The reason is the person behind me.

“P-P-Panicking…”

At right field is Tsutsumi-kun, a freshman like me, looking pale and trembling like a newborn deer.

Balls always seem to fly to someone who just got there.

…Well, it’ll work out. The coach trusts him to be out there.

Thanks to Tsutsumi-kun, I’m not too nervous on the mound. No big deal.

“Alright… Focus.”

I lock onto Senior Makabe’s mitt and aim.

I wind up and throw the first pitch.

The opponent swings at the fastball in the strike zone.

The weak hit flies right to right field.

“Right!”

With a quick first step and a smooth slide, Tsutsumi-kun catches the ball that could’ve been a Texas hit.

No trace of his earlier nerves.

He confidently signals the catch to the umpire.

…Honestly, I wasn’t worried.

Tsutsumi-kun is always like that in practice but plays sharply.

It’s probably his personality.

He’s terrified of mistakes.

So, he’s always focused and prepared.

That’s why he can handle sudden plays like that.

A classmate saved me.

Now, I need to return the favor by shutting down the rest.

I put strength into my pitching arm.

In the end, I didn’t allow a single runner and closed out the game.

Thus, our Phoenix High School baseball team advanced to the semifinals.

Our semifinal opponent is Nanasei Academy High School, who we faced and lost to in last year’s semifinals.

The seniors are fired up for this rematch with a rival.

Captain Nogata even said, “I’m going for a run to get pumped!” only to get smacked on the head by Senior Kuroki.

The semifinal opponent is tough, but if we advance, we’ll likely face Oomagu High School, last year’s Koshien runner-up, in the final.

These next two games are the tournament’s biggest challenge.

I’m not Captain Nogata, but I’ll get fired up, prepare for the next game, and be in top shape.