The Almighty Chuunibyou Expert

But in reality, the chatter of the club members who had run to the windowsill had already sent her heart soaring outside.

"You guys, what are you doing? Don't disturb the others who are concentrating on drawing."

Having no choice, she stopped her actions and expressed her concern.

Because of the persona she presented, the girls weren't intimidated by her family background; instead, they turned around with smiles and called out to her.

"Sawamura-san, how about taking a break today? Something interesting is happening below."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Sawamura-san, why don't we go watch the match together? We could even draw the scene of their match! As a rare event at Shuchiin, it could serve as a memento for future generations."

Someone suddenly suggested.

"That's a great idea, I agree!"

Soon, this was also approved by the others.

Everyone wanted to go join the fun.

"I really can't do anything about you guys, fine, let's go take a look..."

Eriri sighed, a look of reluctance on her face as she agreed to their request.

"Hooray!"

The club members were all very happy because, with Eriri's status in the academy, they wouldn't have to worry about squeezing for space with others.

"Thank you for your trouble, Sawamura-san."

"It's nothing."

Eriri responded politely, showing no sign of reluctance. In reality, she was overjoyed.

However, amidst her happiness, worry was still the dominant emotion.

"That idiot Izumi, I heard his opponent has strong physical abilities. I wonder if he can handle it? I hope he's not just pretending to be strong."

Just as the art club was rushing to the scene.

On the tennis court, another utterly baffling incident occurred.

"Oh right, can you lend me a tennis racket? I don't have one."

Hasegawa Izumi extended his right hand and asked calmly.

"Huh?"

Kawamura Kentaro and many others present almost thought they had misheard.

You're playing tennis without a racket?

Then what the heck are you playing for?!

At this moment, Kawamura Kentaro also noticed that the other party was indeed empty-handed and, suppressing his annoyance, ordered a club member, "Ishida, lend your racket to this guy."

"This is the one I just bought... I understand."

Ishida wanted to refuse, but under the department head's fierce gaze, he swallowed the rest of his words.

"Here, this is a custom-made racket I had specially made. It was very expensive, so don't you dare break it!"

He took the racket out of his storage bag and placed it in front of the other party.

"Thanks, I know what I'm doing."

Hasegawa Izumi waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Alright, now you're not allowed to pull any more stunts. My patience is limited..."

"Wait for me a moment."

Kawamura Kentaro was interrupted again before he could finish speaking.

At this moment, he was pinching the strings with his fingers, feeling the elasticity of the material, and swinging the racket a few times.

"In such a short time, even if you want to get used to it, it's useless. But who told you not to use your own racket?"

Kawamura Kentaro didn't make a fuss about this, as such things were quite normal in his opinion.

A tennis racket is also a tool, and naturally, the more comfortable it is to use, the better. Even a slight difference in weight can affect the feel of a shot and the execution of technique.

"No, I'm just estimating how much force I can use. After all, I promised that classmate I wouldn't damage the racket, and I don't have that much money to compensate."

Unexpectedly, Hasegawa Izumi just shook his head, denying his statement.

Several dark lines seemed to appear on Kawamura Kentaro's forehead.

Is this something a normal person would worry about?

"Alright! The match is about to start, and you spectators should leave!"

He waved his hand.

The tennis club members immediately retreated.

"Go, Izumi-chan!"

"Sage, we're counting on your performance."

After expressing their support, Fujiwara Chika and Takanashi Rikka retreated to the benches outside the court to sit down.

At this moment, some commotion arose from the crowd waiting for the match to begin.

Fujiwara Chika turned her head to look.

The crowd parted, and members of the art club, led by Eriri, arrived.

'Eh, Eriri's here! She couldn't hold back her concern for Izumi-chan after all?'

Her heart stirred, a smile playing on her lips.

"Eriri, you came to watch Izumi-chan's match too!"

As she greeted Eriri, the moment their eyes met, she suddenly felt a deep chill.

"?"

A question mark appeared above the Girl's head.

When had she angered Eriri?

She didn't understand.

"Cough, cough, cough, this is everyone's request. They said they want to record this incident through drawings..."

Eriri put on a friendly expression and offered an explanation.

"I see. Well then, let's watch the match together."

Fujiwara Chika couldn't grasp the hidden meaning in Eriri's words. Seeing that the match was about to start, she didn't prolong the conversation.

"Phew."

Eriri felt a sense of relief.

She almost forgot that in this school, there were still some people who knew about her and Izumi's relationship...

The club's advisor was a man in his thirties, also a physical education teacher at Shuchiin.

Upon learning of the situation, he volunteered to be the referee for this match.

"Heads or tails?"

He tossed a coin high into the air, then caught the falling coin with his right hand. Glancing at both sides, he asked.

"You go first."

Kawamura Kentaro adopted an indifferent attitude.

"Heads."

He said.

The referee opened his fist, revealing the outcome of the coin toss.

He had guessed correctly.

He would have the right to serve and choose his side of the court.

"I'll choose to serve first. I'll take this side of the court."

He pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

The two players stood on opposite sides, awaiting the referee's command.

"The match will be played in a best-of-six format..."

After the referee briefly explained the rules to the onlookers, he waved the small flag he was holding.

"Match, begin! Hasegawa serves!"

Sunlight shone down, and a gentle breeze blew.

Hasegawa Izumi held his racket in his right hand. He tossed the tennis ball to the ground with his left, bouncing it back into his hand, repeating this several times.

"Hey, big guy, have you ever heard of an outward spin serve?"

Suddenly, he looked up.

His sky-blue eyes sparkled brilliantly at that moment.

22 I've already seen through your move!

"What the hell? Never heard of it. Hurry up and serve! I can't wait to crush you!"

Shouldering his tennis racket, Kawamura Kentaro said impatiently.

"Is that so? Then I'll make an exception today and let you witness it."

Hasegawa Izumi was unconcerned.

Perceptions in the Human World are always shallow, like frogs in a well, only able to see the sky within the confines of their well and unable to imagine the vastness of the true sky.

The person before him was no exception.

The conversation between the two left the surrounding spectators utterly confused.

"Outward spin serve, is that some kind of special serve?"

The tennis club members hadn't heard of it, and naturally, no one else knew what it was.

Izumi's acting up again.

Eriri thought to herself with a helpless expression.

"Are you going to use a 'skill' right from the start? It seems the Sage really is in a hurry."

Takanashi Rikka, on the other hand, acted as if she understood perfectly, her face full of anticipation.

"What's a skill now?"

Fujiwara Chika, sitting beside her, felt how shallow her own knowledge was.

Standing in the serving area.

Hasegawa Izumi put force into his left hand, tossing the tennis ball into the air.

Kawamura Kentaro, on the other side of the court, appeared dismissive on the surface but was inwardly quite cautious. He gripped his racket with both hands, crouched slightly, and focused all his attention on tracking the opponent's ball-striking motion with his eyes, his feet ready to move at maximum speed.

Bang!

In an instant, he lifted off the ground with a light feeling, arched his back as he leaped, gripped his racket tightly with his right hand, struck the ball upwards and to the right, and then brought it down with extreme speed.

Whoosh!!

The tennis ball traced a long line with a marvelous arc before falling into the opponent's half of the court.

What a standard hitting posture! What a fast serve!

Kawamura Kentaro's heart pounded, but he still reacted, predicting the ball's landing spot.