The Overweight, Overspeed Ball
(Sun Yao)
"Ha!"
The volleyball, slammed into the two-meter-high net, crashed helplessly onto the beach.
"..."
"I'm sorry, Miss Sirius, I'm not very good at sports."
After several failed serves, Sirius had initially been secretly amused, began to show a troubled expression.
She probably realized that leading a struggling player like me to victory wouldn't be easy...
She sighed, "How many times have I told you to use your wrists to generate power? What's wrong with your terrible body coordination?"
"There's nothing I can do. Even if my physical body is upgraded, my software doesn't offer the option of exercise."
"You danced pretty well yesterday."
"As for dancing, I've seen it quite a lot..."
"Haven't you ever watched volleyball player 0? Little Deer 0~"
"No, Miss Sirius, what era are you from?"
Miss Sirius took the volleyball from my hand and weighed it in her hand.
"It's okay, I'll serve in a bit. Try to block the ball that comes your way, you should be able to do that, right?"
It doesn't require much exercise; if you just need to focus on the volleyball and use magic, even I could do it.
However, I'm more worried about Miss Miluno's acceleration magic. During the Mermaid Princess Battle, I witnessed her throw a super-fast stone that science couldn't explain. The speed was beyond the range of the naked eye. If she used it in volleyball, I might not have time to defend before she scored a point.
"Ooh!"
A maid called out, and following her gaze, a familiar golden retriever ran out from the other side of the beach.
"Ah! Goldie!"
Miss Sirius asked Yezi and me to take home a golden retriever, and because of its beautiful coat, we finally decided to name it "Golden".
It came running with its pink tongue lolling out, but brushed past me and then pounced on Miss Miluno.
Strangeness.
The Golden seems quite Miluno; could it be that she also visited the kennel over at the meadow?
"How did this child escape from the ranch?"
Miss Sirius sighed and rubbed her forehead. I guessed, "She probably heard the commotion on the beach and couldn't resist the urge to play, so she climbed over the fence. The kennel fence isn't particularly high, so it's not impossible for a large dog to escape."
Besides, Golden Retrievers are inherently intelligent dogs.
"Zara, take it back to the kennel first."
Because Melissa had taken Yezi to the island to buy things, Sirius called over the short-haired brown maid he had met yesterday. Thinking of her and the other maids, all pitiful mute girls, my sympathy was once again overwhelmed...
Fortunately, the maid was optimistic and, upon hearing the order, walked towards the golden retriever at Miss Miluno's feet.
But...
"Miss Sirius, could it join the party too?"
She readily agreed to my request.
"Well, it's not impossible. I'll give you two a chance to get to know each other."
After Miss Miluno had given me a good time, Golden finally pounced on me and rubbed against my legs.
"Hey, Goldie, are you here to watch our match?"
"Woof!"
I'll take that as an affirmation.
"So, who do you want to cheer for?"
"Woof, woof!"
"Hehe, even if you call me that, I still won't understand~"
The excited Golden rolled around on the beach, its long golden fur getting covered in sand.
Call out--
Miss Yin Wei blew her whistle at me.
"Alright, warm-up's complete, it's almost time to start the competition."
As the referee, she also reminded everyone, "Friendship first, competition second, good manners third. Stop when you've made a point, and don't hurt anyone."
This statement should be directed at the "Miluno + Antarctic Star" combination; their magic can add offensive effects to volleyballs, making them clearly more dangerous than us.
I patted the Golden's head, signaling it to step aside with the Zara maid Zara, and then stood next to Miss Sirius.
"Shoot from the left side first."
Miss Yin Wei tossed a coin and then tossed the ball to Miss Miluno on the right side of the net. She glanced at me, then turned her attention back to the volleyball in her hand...
Miss Miluno seems to be very serious.
"The match begins."
Snap--
Miss Miluno didn't use magic; she simply swung her arm to serve. Unlike a straight spike, a parabolic serve, if used with too much force, could cause the volleyball to fly directly out of bounds.
However, I am perfectly capable of catching serves at that speed!
"Ha!"
He summoned the Ruby Wand and swung it around. A ring of bubbles expanded on the surface of the volleyball, and it lost all its "power," floating in mid-air.
Call out--
Before he could even show his triumph, the piercing whistle rang out again.
"Ceruno commits a foul while holding the ball, Miluno and Antarctic Star team score one point!"
"Huh!?"
Is this a foul?
Ms. Yin Wei explained, "Magic is an extension of a magical girl's body; using magic to catch the ball is naturally equivalent to committing a foul."
I looked at Miss Sirius with some grievance, but she nodded in affirmation of Miss Yin Wei's statement.
"That makes sense, let's rule it that way."
The black-and-white-haired maid under the referee's chair flipped through the scoreboard.
One point given away for free.
Miss Miluno continues to serve, and the early setback is frustrating.
Perhaps feeling dissatisfied with her first serve, Miluno gave her second serve to Antarctic Star. What kind of result will this magic that can alter weight produce...?
A crisp, clapping sound.
The serve seemed ordinary, but the volleyball fell straight down in a way that defied mechanics just after it crossed the net. I quickly put on a Bubble Membrane to eliminate gravity and removed it before it expanded to avoid a foul.
"Well done! Watch me!"
Miss Sirius extended an arm woven of light from behind her back and slapped the ball back sharply.
It was a powerful shot, but Miluno had already jumped on the other side of the net and reached out to block the volleyball's path.
But they couldn't stop it.
She was thrown backward by the inertia of the volleyball in mid-air, almost losing her balance.
Then...
She disappeared from my sight for a moment, and with a whooshing sound, the volleyball hit my feet.
"Wow, so fast! Miss Miluno did this?"
However, the volleyball had already been torn apart, leaving only a shriveled shell.
Just as the maid in charge of keeping score was about to turn over a point, Miss Yin Wei called for a stop.
"Stop for a moment, check the playback with the high-speed camera."
"So thoughtful?"
There were indeed several cameras set up nearby. Sirius shrugged.
"After all, Miluno- chan's magic is really hard to keep up with."
The replay footage from the camera showed that Ms. Miluno decisively released the volleyball, then quickly landed, sprinted towards the landing point at a speed faster than the ball, lifted it back into the air, and swung her arm to swat it back down—this was completely beyond my reaction time...
However, the volleyball exploded in mid-air.
"Continuous touches result in a foul, the volleyball is broken, Sirius and Ceruno team get a point!"
Miss Sirius said, "Since that speed would destroy the ball, she'll definitely tone it down afterward."
If it's split evenly, both sides are essentially giving away freebies.
The game continued, and the maid outside the court tossed over a new volleyball. Miss Sirius served the ball over the net as usual. Antarctic Star lifted the volleyball, and Miss Miluno decisively jumped up to spike it. The ball was still very fast. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to catch it, so I hooked a piece of air cushion in front of the net to form a defensive shield.
Result.
The bubble wrap was easily pierced, yet the volleyball landed perfectly intact on the beach.
"What happened?"
I didn't react for a moment.
"Ceruno- chan, that's their combination attack."
Miss Sirius used light to tie her blonde hair back.
"This is really a tricky situation."
Despite saying that, his face showed excitement.