It had to be said that Kōshū was quietly a little envious of Eijun. He envied Eijun for being able to show every emotion on his face and for not having too many misgivings before taking action.
He was now the team's ace, so naturally, he had the concerns that came with being an ace.
And before that, he had not yet been the team's ace, but in order to establish himself on the team, he had needed to constantly maintain the image of a powerful pitcher. He had not dared to slack off in the slightest, either.
Once everyone had grown accustomed to that strength and started relying on him, the image of the "powerful ace" had begun to hold him hostage.
Just like that saying went: "If you want to become outstanding, the first step is to pretend that you are outstanding and tell everyone else so. Then, in order to maintain the image you made up, instinct will make you give up entertainment and laziness, driving you to strive toward that outstanding image. In the end, you will truly become the outstanding person you claimed to be."
"Phew..." Kōshū closed his eyes and blocked out the sounds from the field. But what if the team no longer needs me?
Rationally speaking, this was exactly the right time to rest. Perhaps Kataoka Manager's intentions had included letting him rest as well. But Kōshū realized that even after being sternly told that he could not take the field or even warm up, he still could not relax.
The tense atmosphere on the field, the crack of bats, and the ceaseless stream of information all flooded into him. Those things stretched Kōshū's mind taut. Even when he told himself to let go and rest properly, he could not snap back