Thank Goodness I'm a Light Giant

Seeing Lin Xiao grin like a villain, Yukino, Eriri, and Miko were utterly bewildered.

"Lin Xiao, what kind of nonsense are you spouting now? What's wrong with these people's names?" Yukino asked in confusion.

The other chat group members were equally baffled.

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "What's wrong with Mr. Lin Xiao? Is there something unusual about these five names?"

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "For the group owner to lose his composure like this... is there something special about these five people?"

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "I'm dying! Big Bat, stop imagining things!"

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "This is basically an anime 'Athletic Idiots Alliance'! Lin Xiao, your luck is insane. You could beat them even if you tied a dog to a leash! (≖ᴗ≖)✧"

After seeing Kaguya's explanation.

The group chat members: "..."

So that was it. No wonder the group owner had been laughing so arrogantly.

"Wait."

"Why does this lousy club only have five people? Doesn't the rule say teams need six members?"

Lin Xiao followed the list downward and spotted a name circled in red: [Specially Invited Outside Player].

The instant he saw that name.

Lin Xiao's wild laughter abruptly stopped, and his expression froze.

[Specially Invited Outside Player: Seishun Academy—Tezuka Kunimitsu]

"Ah?!"

Lin Xiao sharply inhaled, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "Te... Tezuka Kunimitsu?! Is this for real?! The art style is completely different now!"

Seeing Lin Xiao look as if he had seen a ghost, Eriri leaned over to glance at the list and muttered in confusion:

"Tezuka Kunimitsu? I think I've heard that name before... Isn't he the Tennis Club captain at Seishun Academy next door? I heard he's really good at tennis, a national-level player, apparently. But do you really need to be this scared?"

Miko nodded repeatedly and quietly chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard the girls in class talk about him too. He's supposed to be really strong, and an icy handsome guy who's super popular with girls."

Strong? Handsome?

Lin Xiao's mouth twitched violently.

What the hell do you two ignorant girls know?! In your eyes, he's a handsome national-level player. In mine, he's a monster who can hit glowing tennis balls, summon meteors, and deprive people of all five senses!! Good thing I'm a Light Giant. Hehe.

Just as Lin Xiao was ranting internally, new messages appeared in the chat.

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "666."

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "What is it? Is this outside player, Tezuka Kunimitsu, very strong?"

[The Underdog Who Wants to Be Hokage]: "Yeah, Princess! What are you two talking around? You're killing me here!"

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "Nothing. I just didn't expect this multiverse anime world to put all these people together."

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "As for this outside player named Tezuka... how should I put it? Those first five really are from the 'Ordinary Life Club,' but this guy's tennis... could probably drive dinosaurs extinct."

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "Group owner, are you ready to receive a dimensionality-reducing beating from 'Tezuka Zone' and the 'Zero-Shiki Drop Shot'? (≖ᴗ≖)✧"

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "Drive dinosaurs extinct by playing tennis?!"

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "What exactly is going on in this world?"

[He Is Simply God]: "If the rules allow outside players, then I can invite someone too!"

[He Is Simply God]: "@Dark Knight of Gotham, Bruce! Want to bring your bat racket over for a guest appearance? The two of us together could dominate Sobu High School's tennis courts!"

Inside the Batcave in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne stared at the screen and let out an utterly speechless sigh.

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "..."

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "Lin Xiao, I'm thirty years old. I'm a vigilante who fights crime, and also the chairman of Wayne Enterprises. Do you think it would be appropriate for me to participate in a youth tennis match for Japanese high school students...?"

Lin Xiao pictured Batman serving on a tennis court, then regretfully shook his head.

It really would not be appropriate, but he kind of wanted to see it.

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "I want to go too!!! Group owner, count me in! I'm super good at tennis!"

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "But... I don't have any points! The chat group store won't let me exchange anything!!!"

[He Is Simply God]: "??? You're the princess of the Lunar Capital. Eientei has a whole pile of divine artifacts. How could you possibly have no points if you uploaded something like the Hourai Branch or the Stone Bowl of the Buddha's Begging Bowl? What did you upload?"

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "I'm locked up, okay? I can only upload my own flesh! (≖ᴗ≖)✧"

[The Shut-In Princess of Eientei]: "I drank the Hourai Elixir, so I have an immortal body that never ages or dies! Just one bite of my flesh can grant eternal youth and immortality. What a valuable product! Why did the system determine that I was involved in a bloody illegal transaction?! Waaaah!!!"

[Dark Knight of Gotham]: "..."

[Smile Under the Wisteria Flowers]: "..."

[The Underdog Who Wants to Be Hokage]: "Aaaaaah! Princess, you're so scary! Why are you cutting off your own flesh?!!!"

"You freakishly morbid shut-in, get lost!"

With immense disgust, Lin Xiao muted Kaguya for five minutes.

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "Um... Mr. Lin Xiao, if you just need someone to make up the numbers for tennis, I can help."

[The Boy Who Wants to Be a Hero]: "I'm free on my end, and I usually do some physical training at school. I understand the rules of tennis too."

"Great. With Shirou, we have five people."

Lin Xiao nodded in great satisfaction.

"Wait." Yukino mercilessly poured cold water on him. "A team match requires six people. We're still missing one."

Just as Lin Xiao was preparing to grab some random strong guy from the field, Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly thought of something.

"Lin Xiao, if you want to win this match, I'm afraid grabbing just anyone won't work."

"Oh?" Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow and looked at Yukino with interest. "From the sound of it, Yukinoshita, there's actually an expert at this school who meets your standards?"

Yukino nodded, an exceptionally rare trace of regret in her eyes.

"There's an extraordinarily gifted tennis prodigy in one of the second-year classes next door. I once watched an interview from the All-Japan Junior High Tennis Championship. His tennis talent, known as that of a 'samurai,' made him seem as though he had been born for this sport."

"But half a year ago, when he had just transferred to Chiba Prefecture, he suddenly announced for some unknown reason that he was giving up tennis completely. He even locked his racket away in a cabinet."

Hearing that, Lin Xiao froze. A classic anime image suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Wait... Yukinoshita, what's the name of this prodigy?"

"Ryoma Echizen." Yukino calmly spoke those four words.

Lin Xiao drew in a sharp breath. "Who???"