Chapter 7: Chapter 007

That same evening, Higurashi Tsuki filled out a club application form and handed it to Renji Yanagi, who was sitting at his desk.

Renji was holding a pen with a notebook spread out before him.

"What are you writing, Renji?"

"The club activity log."

Boasting that he was already a part of the tennis club, Higurashi volunteered, "Let me do it. I’m quite good at this sort of thing. Besides, I watched your training today, so I’m sure there won't be any issues!"

Renji cast a skeptical look at his childhood friend, but in the end, he simply said, "Fine."

Since this was his first task for the tennis club, Higurashi approached it with 120,000 percent seriousness. To get an idea of the standard, he flipped back through the previous entries.

[April XX, Sunday
Too lax!
Today, Akaya was openly spreading superstitions in the club, talking about some "Pure White Cursed Exorcist"—it’s clearly something he picked up from Jump.
To think he would concoct such a story to escape punishment! His attitude is deplorable. Add another fifty laps!!!
Genichiro Sanada]

Higurashi: "..." Why is there a record of my public humiliation in your tennis club's activity log?

Skip, skip—

He flipped back another page.

[April XX, Saturday
Too lax! Kirihara Akaya was late again and even got lost in Tokyo. This is absolutely too lax!!!
Genichiro Sanada]

Higurashi stared at the page with the expression of an elderly person struggling with a smartphone.

Is this a club activity log or a private diary, hey! And the phrase "too lax" appears way too often. The same goes for Kirihara-kun.

Higurashi flipped back through several more pages and finally saw different handwriting.

[April XX, Thursday
Puri~
Masaharu Niou]

Higurashi: ???

The next one—

[April XX, Wednesday
Piyo!
Masaharu Niou]

Higurashi: ?????

What is all this? This is way too perfunctory, Niou-kun!

The tennis club's log is handled by the regulars, rotating on a weekly basis. There are no requirements for what or how to write, resulting in entries with highly distinct personal styles.

Higurashi flipped through a few more pages: there was Marui's "diary of stolen cakes," interspersed with two entries in clearly different handwriting detailing a memoir of "me and my doubles partner..."

Further back... there was nothing else, as only three weeks of the semester had passed.

His silence was deafening.

Renji, who was organizing data from various schools, turned his head and realized his childhood friend seemed to have had his soul leave his body.

"Tsuki, what's wrong?"

Higurashi snapped back to reality and said seriously, "Renji, I’ve gained enlightenment!"

Renji: "?"

Ignoring his friend's reaction, he lowered his head and began writing furiously. Less than a minute later, he put down his pen, let out a long sigh, and nodded in admiration at what he had written.

"Renji, Tsuki-chan, one of you come get the fruit," Mrs. Yanagi called from outside.

Higurashi jumped up. "Mrs. Yanagi, I’ll get it!"

Renji took in his childhood friend's expressive face and, with a spark of curiosity, tilted his head to look at the opened notebook.

[April XX, Sunday
Tennis is so magical. It glows, it sparks, and it can even make people transform...
It's a sport perfectly suited for a little sorcerer (smile).
Higurashi Tsuki]

Renji: "..."

A thousand thoughts surged through his mind, but they all dissolved into a single sigh, which just happened to be heard by the returning Higurashi.

Higurashi asked with concern, "What's the matter? Did you hit a snag?"

Renji's voice remained steady. "No, just a bit tired."

"Then it's the perfect time for a break. Have some cantaloupe," Higurashi recommended enthusiastically. "I just tried a piece; it’s so sweet and crisp."

"Okay," Renji nodded.

For a moment, only the sound of crunching filled the room, and the fresh, fruity scent of cantaloupe spread through the air.

Higurashi suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of which, I didn't seem to see your club president today. His name is Yukimura, right?"

His only impression of the Rikkaidai Tennis Club was a group photo and a magazine report he’d seen by chance. He remembered Yukimura because of the nickname "Child of God"—after all, the sorcery world had a "Divine Child" of its own.

Renji's movements paused, and a faint look of worry appeared on his face. "Yukimura is ill; he’s currently hospitalized."

Higurashi felt the piece of cantaloupe get stuck in his throat. After forcing it down, he asked cautiously, "What kind of illness? Is it serious?"

"According to the doctors, it's some kind of neurological disorder. The specifics are still under observation," Renji recalled. "Not long after returning from the overseas training camp, Yukimura suddenly collapsed. They didn't find anything during the hospital check-up."

"But after returning to school, he quickly developed paralysis in his hands and feet, which led to the diagnosis and his hospitalization. He’s been there ever since."

Suddenly, huh...

Higurashi asked, "Did anything strange happen before or after Yukimura-kun's illness started?"

"No," Renji shook his head. "At least, I never heard him mention anything."

"I see. I hope Yukimura-kun makes a speedy recovery."

Higurashi didn't say anything more. If it were an ordinary neurological disease, neither Reverse Cursed Technique nor Purification would be effective.

"Yeah."

The topic was too heavy, and neither of them had any intention of continuing it.

*

The next day, the new manager, Higurashi, officially took office.

Rikkaidai Tennis Club is very strict about its members; you either need experience or talent, otherwise, it's very difficult to pass the entrance test.

However, there weren't many requirements for a manager. The position had been vacant because the "Big Three" collectively handled managerial duties, so there was no need to go out of their way to fill it. But with Yukimura's illness, his share of the work fell onto Sanada and Renji. While they could handle it, it ultimately increased their burden and took up too much time.

They had originally planned to have the regulars share the load, but that would lead to many other issues, so adding a manager was just right.

That said, the only thing Higurashi currently had to do was write the club log.

After the new manager was introduced, the first item of morning training followed: running laps.

Sanada took the lead to control the pace, while Higurashi volunteered to bring up the rear to ensure no one fell behind or slacked off.

Rikkaidai lived up to its name; morning runs started at twenty laps.

Sanada’s pace wasn't slow, but it definitely wasn't fast either. After five laps, the group began to string out, and after ten laps, some people started to fall behind.

At this point, their new manager looked relaxed, even starting to dish out "chicken soup for the soul."

"Come on, everyone, put your backs into it. Do you think it’s just running that you’re falling behind in?"

What else could it be?

"It’s a total defeat in tennis!"

"If you fall behind a little today, your opponent will surpass you tomorrow. Ask yourself, isn't that terrifying?"

The club members: Are you a demon?!

They grumbled internally, but they silently picked up their pace.

When the twenty laps were finished, for once, no one had dropped out of the main group.

As everyone stood there panting, they heard Higurashi say, "Phew, jogging really is much more comfortable."

Everyone: "..." There are many ways to insult someone, but you chose the most direct one.

Noticing many pairs of eyes fixed on him, Higurashi asked kindly, "Is something wrong?"

"N-no, nothing."

"If there’s nothing wrong, why are you still standing there?" Higurashi pointed to Kirihara Akaya, who was practicing his swings, and said gently, "Some people have already started the next training session, while others are still dragging their feet. Is that appropriate?"

*Whimper!*

Sharp, it was truly too sharp!

His gaze felt like a blade, stinging painfully, and some people couldn't take it anymore.

"I’m going to practice my swings right now!"

"Yeah, yeah, swings!"

The new manager didn't yell or scream, but he was more torturous than Vice President Sanada's gale-force reprimands.

Higurashi nodded with satisfaction. "Everyone is so motivated."

The subsequent supervision was handled by Sanada and the other regulars, so there was basically nothing left for him to do. He walked to the side and watched the team train leisurely.

Marui felt a bit sour: It's simply unreasonable; a manager has more stamina than he does!

His stamina was at the bottom among the regulars, but it was still considered above average in the entire tennis club. Twenty laps shouldn't have made him that tired, but he was sweating slightly, nowhere near as relaxed as the manager.

Sanada: "Higurashi's stamina is much better than the average middle schooler. He must have received specialized training, right?"

Having practiced kendo for many years, he at least had that much insight.

"Tsuki took physical conditioning classes for a while," Renji said calmly.

Niou wheezed, "Puri~ no wonder."

Renji adopted Higurashi's sentence structure, his tone quite calm: "Akaya is already doing swing practice, and you all are still chatting. Is that appropriate?"

The regulars: "..."

They didn't know until it happened to them that this sentence had such great killing power.

Niou spat out a word: "Piyo."

The group scattered, with those who needed to practice doing so, and those who needed to supervise doing their jobs.

The hardworking Kirihara had no idea he had been praised twice in one morning.

Morning training ended, and the tennis club members headed to the locker room to change before returning to their classrooms.

Sawada Jugo didn't know where he heard the news about Higurashi joining the tennis club. His resolute face was filled with five parts resentment, four parts regret, and one part disbelief. "Higurashi-kun, didn't you say you wouldn't join any sports clubs?"

Higurashi: "..." He felt a bit guilty.

He had sworn yesterday that he wouldn't join a sports club, and today he was in the tennis club—the slap to the face came too quickly.

But—

"It's different. I'm going to the tennis club to be a manager, not to play tennis."

Sawada Jugo slapped the desk, looking at him as if he were a scumbag. "Would it not have been possible to come be a manager for our Kyudo (archery) club instead?!"

"Class monitor, calm down!" Cold sweat broke out on Higurashi's forehead.

The students in the class were all drawn by the commotion, unable to look away, like prairie dogs spotting food in the fields.

"What?!" Sawada Jugo accused. "Are you afraid of people knowing?!"

It sounded even worse.

Niou had seen enough drama and finally decided to put in a word for their manager. "Class monitor, don't waste your breath. The Kyudo club doesn't have Higurashi-kun's childhood friend, so he wouldn't go there anyway~"

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything.

The disbelief on Sawada Jugo's face turned into nine parts. "Higurashi-kun, do you realize you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment!"

"Sawada-kun, please don't misuse idioms." Higurashi massaged his temples.

Marui was curious: "Why are you so insistent on Higurashi joining the Kyudo club?"

He clearly didn't seem to care yesterday in the classroom.

Sawada Jugo said excitedly, "What do you know? Higurashi-kun is a genius, the future of the Kyudo club, and an indispensable member for us to reach the pinnacle!"

Marui: "Wow!"

Niou: "Wow!"

The gossiping students: "Wow!"

Higurashi: "..." How did I not know I was this important?

In the end, it was the class bell that put an end to the farce.