Kicked Out of the Bottom Soccer Team, I Found My Strength Thanks to My Beautiful Junior Manager. What Began as a Simple Act of Kindness Turned into Her Coming Over Every Day.

Chapter 8: Walking to School with the Beautiful Junior Manager.

Takumi said, “Wait a second,” into the intercom and headed to the entrance.

When Kana removed the demon mask, her cheeks were puffed out in clear dissatisfaction.

“Geez~ You could at least act a little surprised.”

“Sorry. ‘What is this girl doing?’ came to mind first.”

“Muuu…”

She was sulking quite dramatically, but Takumi knew she was only pretending, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

“What brings you here today? Did you forget something at my place?”

“No. I just thought… it would be nice to walk to school together. Ah, but if you already have plans with someone, that’s totally fine!”

Kana added the last part in a hurry.

Today, the first, second, and third strings all had practice. While the first and second strings used the school’s dedicated ground, the third string practiced at a park a short walk away from the school.

That park was located right behind the school from the perspective of their apartment building, so the route to school was the same.

Most of the teammates Takumi was close with lived on the opposite side of the school or used a different station, so he hadn’t made any plans with anyone. He had no objection to walking with Kana. Though he did feel a slight sense of incongruity.

“It’s fine, but… why the sudden idea?”

Back when Kana still commuted by train, she had invited him to walk to the station with her several times. But this was the first time she had suggested going to school together.

“Because we’re comrades who’ve shared the same pot of rice, right?”

“Have you been reading yankee manga or something?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“You brought it up yourself, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t even know we lived in the same building until the day before yesterday, and I also want to hear the continuation of yesterday’s conversation.”

“Ah, so that’s it. Yeah, sure.”

“Alright!”

Kana struck an exaggerated guts pose.

“I’ll go put this mask back then.”

“Ah, okay.”

She seemed to have already moved on from failing to surprise him.

After quickly finishing his preparations, Takumi stepped out of the entrance just as Kana came down on the elevator. They rode down to the first floor together.

“By the way, what was that mask about?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“What was it for?”

“It’s an oni mask used for Setsubun.”

“You brought something from the complete opposite season.”

It was early to mid-August—exactly half a year after Setsubun.

“Eh? Does that mean I’m the South Pole and you’re the North Pole?”

“Wouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“Why?”

“Because my surname ‘Kisaragi’ has an ‘S’ in it, and your name ‘Shirayuki’ has an ‘N’ in it.”

“Ah, senpai… That wording is a bit—”

Kana gave him a strangely suggestive smile.

“…What?”

“Maybe you don’t actually remember my name~?”

“It’s Kana.”

Takumi answered instantly.

“Eh?”

“Kana.”

“One more, please.”

“…Kana.”

“Cut!”

“What was that about?”

“Nothing at all~”

To Takumi, the exchange made no sense, but Kana was suddenly in a much better mood. She looked like she might start humming at any moment.

“These seemingly pointless exchanges will one day become the origin of the ‘Little Magician’ who leaves his name in the history of Japanese soccer.”

“That’s a line straight out of a manga. So, Miss Shirayuki, how exactly do you plan to turn this into an awakening scene?”

“Ugh.”

Kana made an openly disgusted face.

“Senpai, that’s not South Pole—that’s just plain S. That’s straight-up beautiful-girl harassment. Along with sexual harassment and power harassment, it’s counted as one of the three great harassments.”

“You’re going against public opinion by pushing aside maternity harassment. Also, don’t call yourself a beautiful girl.”

“Eh…? Are you saying you think I’m ugly, senpai…?”

“Of course I think you’re cute.”

Knowing she wasn’t seriously hurt, Takumi answered bluntly.

“Oh my, senpai, you’re getting all embarrassed~”

“Shirayuki, house.”

“Yes! Goodbye! …Wait, wait! Don’t send me away!”

Kana started to turn around but quickly spun back with agile movements.

Takumi was reminded of a dog running back with a ball in its mouth, but he wisely kept that thought to himself.

“Welcome back.”

“Fuu… I’m unnecessarily tired because of you, senpai.”

“You need more stamina. Being a manager is tough too.”

“I’m fine. I’m just a little sleep-deprived today.”

“What time did you go to bed?”

“Peace, peace.”

Kana flashed a full smile and made V-signs with both hands like she was posing for a photo.

“So, four in the morning. You should sleep before the date changes.”

“Don’t be unreasonable. Supplementary lessons finally ended yesterday, you know? I needed to give myself a reward. Plus, I was curious about what conclusion you’d reach, Elephant Kashimashi.”

“Right, that’s what you wanted to hear. Thanks for yesterday. Thanks to you, I made a lot of progress.”

Yesterday, Kana had brought him videos of the third-string matches from school. They had watched them together and discussed until she had to return to her parents’ house in the evening. That was probably why she couldn’t sleep—she hated leaving things half-finished.

Humans were creatures who couldn’t rest easy until they completed something they had started. The fact that people couldn’t stop watching anime, reading manga, or books midway was a perfect example.

“No problem. It was on the way after supplementary lessons anyway. And you even treated me to ice cream.”

“That was the least I could do.”

Even if it had been on the way, he had still asked her to do work outside her usual duties.

“So, senpai, what conclusion did you reach?”

Like a little brother eager to hear his older brother’s heroic tales, Kana’s eyes sparkled as she pressed him for details.

“It’s still just theory for now, and I’ll need to refine it, but—”

Takumi prefaced his explanation.

“—I realized I’ve been trying to do things beyond my actual abilities this whole time. I was judging everything under the assumption that I could perform at an average level. Once I removed that assumption, a lot of ideas started coming to me.”

“Hmm, hmm.”

“Just like you said the day before yesterday, soccer isn’t an individual sport. So instead of chasing my own ideal plays, I thought maybe I should focus on creating the plays the team needs—and make sure everyone else can execute them.”

“You mean giving instructions on the field?”

“That’s part of it. Even a single pass can carry a message. For example, deliberately playing it slightly backward to calm the team down.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And also—”

Takumi gave several more concrete examples.

“If the whole team could make perfect decisions, I’d just be dead weight, but that’s impossible, so there’s still a chance… Or rather, I feel like this is the only path left for me. What do you think?”

“That’s amazing… It’s detailed, logical, and above all, realistic.”

Kana praised him without reservation.

“To come up with something like this in just one day… You really aren’t ordinary, senpai. As expected of the Little Magician.”

“I’m fine with ‘Magician,’ but can you drop the ‘Little’?”

“Then please grow taller. Ah, but I think the current height difference between us feels just right, so maybe it’s better if you stay like this.”

“What exactly is ‘just right’ about it?”

Since Kana’s head only reached around Takumi’s nose, the difference was probably a little over ten centimeters.

“Everything, really. Anyway, I believe you can definitely do it, so please do your best! Trial and trial!”

“That’s an old TV show. It’s ‘trial and error.’”

“Well, well, don’t worry about the small details.”

Kana patted Takumi’s back with a couple of light smacks.

“Wow, senpai, you’re sweating a lot.”

“It’s hot.”

“Did you bring something to drink?”

“Of course. What about you, Shirayuki?”

“Fufufu. Who do you think I— Ah, huh?”

Kana rummaged through her bag with a panicked expression.

“Did you forget it?”

“N-No way. Please calm down, senpai.”

“I think you’re the one who needs to calm down. Take another look, slowly this time.”

“Understood!”

After giving an unnecessarily energetic reply, Kana placed her bag on the ground and searched through it carefully. Suddenly, her face lit up with realization.

“…I remember now. I left it at the entrance.”

“Don’t worry about it. Want to buy something at Lawson? I’ll wait here.”

Takumi pointed at the nearby convenience store.

“I’m sorry! I’ll be back at maximum speed!”

Despite her dramatic declaration, Kana walked at a normal brisk pace into the store. Even when joking around, she still maintained basic manners.

Since there was a Lawson here, school was only a short distance away. Takumi was thinking that being seen walking with Kana might be a bit troublesome when—

“—Hey, isn’t that Takumi!”

A voice called out from behind.

Takumi let out a relieved breath.

“Seiji.”

It was someone he wouldn’t mind being seen by.

Kagari Seiji. Although he was the same second-year as Takumi, he was already a starting forward for the first string—a prolific goal scorer.

With more than enough talent and sharp, handsome features, Seiji was popular with girls despite his lack of delicacy. Because Sakura High was a national powerhouse, many spectators came to watch the first string, and a fair number of them were specifically there for Seiji.

They had been classmates since their first year, with seats next to each other, so Takumi and Seiji had quickly become close. Takumi sometimes felt awkward due to their different positions in the club, but Seiji was the type who—good or bad—never read the room. That trait had worked in their favor, and before they knew it, they had become best friends who both acknowledged the bond.

The moment they met, Seiji stared intently at Takumi’s face.

“…What?”

“Did something happen to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your expression looks way more alive than the last time I saw you.”

“…Well, yeah.”

As sharp as ever, Takumi thought with a wry smile. It was a classic example of someone who didn’t—or rather, refused to—read the atmosphere.

“Is it this?”

Seiji grinned and held up his pinky finger.

“I’m not engaged or anything.”

“I know you’re not yakuza. I meant, did you get a girlfriend?”

“No.”