Episode 73: Let’s play baseball!


“Let’s play baseball!”

I opened the door and ……. there was? 

No, I already know who it is, and grasped it.

We’re usually together.

 But somehow, it’s strange. This other person would never do or say anything like this.

That’s probably because they’re tired.

 A lot of things happened at the Magic Chevalier.

I want to stay calm for now, so I gently close the door.

“What’s the matter, Ray? Aren’t you going for a run?”

“No,…… it may be some kind of …… hallucination,……maybe a sorcery attack,……………..an illusion? No way, Carol’s domination……? Could it be that my very cute mysterious world is in effect? But there’s no sign …… of such a thing.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“No. It’s probably just my imagination.”

 And I opened the door again.

“Let’s play baseball!”

And yes. There she was, without a doubt, Amelia.

 But there was something strange about her.

She was wearing her uniform as usual, but she was wearing a baseball cap, raising her thumbs in the air and saying something like that.

 She must be tired after all.

 Thinking so, I tried to close the door again, but Amelia stopped me.

“Wai! Wait a minute!”

“Fumu. I see. It’s real. …… It’s not Carol’s doing, is it?”

“It’s real.”

“So, what’s with the outfit?”

“Let’s play baseball! All of us!”

“No, wait. I want you to talk in order.”

“That’s right!”

 So Amelia, who is unusually excited, begins to talk about the details of why she is inviting them to play baseball.

“Actually, Rebecca-senpai asked me to do it.”

“Senpai did?”

“Uhm. The baseball team is forcibly extending the time they can use the field, and Rebecca-senpai, as student council president, went to warn them about it.”

“I see.”

“And then, the baseball team behaved inappropriately, and Sera-senpai, who was accompanying Rebecca-senpai, got angry with them.”

“Fumu fumu.”

“So, for some reason, they decided to settle the matter with a baseball game. But now that many of the students have gone home, Rebecca-senpai and the others are unable to gather the people ……. I just happened to hear about this and now I am recruiting. Ray and Evi will be there too, obviously! And by the way, the game is tomorrow!”

“……, yeah, that’s right. What about Evi?”

“I don’t mind! I’ve done it before!”

“Fu…… baseball, huh. I don’t mind. Evi and I are in.”

“Yosh! Then let’s invite Elisa and Clarice next time!”

 So somehow we ended up playing baseball. Of course, I had experienced baseball, or rather all kinds of sports, during my military career, so there was no problem.

There was a time when my master was into throwing curve balls, so I was just playing catcher. I can also pitch, obviously, since my Master’s has been teaching me many different types of pitches.

But first, our priority would be to gather the team members.

 At the moment, there are five of us: me, Amelia, Evi, Rebecca-senpai, and Sera-senpai.

In other words, we need four more people.

“Okay, Clarice’s room is here!”

 The three of us walked forward and came to Clarice’s room. Since there are not many students in the dormitory now, it is not so much of an issue to come to the girls’ dormitory.

  By the way, it seems that Sera-senpai told her where my room was located. Sera-senpai had visited my room once before on an errand for the gardening club, so she must have remembered it.

And Amelia, wearing a baseball cap, enthusiastically knocked on the door …….and there was no response.

 It’s seven in the morning. She could still be sleeping.

 As I was thinking that, I heard a sound from inside the room and the …… door slowly opened.

“Ai,…… this is Clarice Cleveland,…… I’m awake,…… Ai.”

From inside came out a very sleepy-looking Clarice. She was dressed in a nightcap and pajamas. And she was holding a stuffed animal in her arms. Her speech is a little weird, and she is still wobbling her head around.

 Unlike usual, her twin tails are undone, and her long, beautiful, shiny hair is almost down to her waist.

 I see, it looks cute with it down too,……, and just as I was thinking that, Amelia takes action.

“Let’s play baseball!”

“Ai…… see you later…….”

  Then she slowly closed the door.

“Hey! Hey, Clarice, it’s a me! It’s Amelia!”

 Don Don Don, Clarice comes out again.

“Eh, ……? Ha! Amelia?”

“Yes! It’s me!”

“Ray and Evie are here, too! Wait for me while I change!”

With a bang, the door shut vigorously followed by a rumble from inside the room, and …… five minutes passed.

Hah, hah, Clarice came out of the room, breathing heavily. Her gorgeous twin tails, neatly arranged as usual, suit her well. And she seems to have fully awakened and begins to speak as usual.

“So, what do you want?”

“Let’s play baseball!”

“Hey, Ray and Evie. Is this Amelia? Isn’t she a different character?”

Without paying attention to Amelia, Clarice asked.

“She wants to play baseball with everyone. That’s all.”

“…… I see. I don’t mind, but I …… am inexperienced, is that okay?”

“Don’t worry! I’ll teach you!”

“Amelia, do you have any experience?”

“I’ve done a lot of swinging and wall-hitting! Someday I hope to do it with my friends!”

“Ah, …… yeah.”

“It’s okay, Clarice. We’ve had some experience before.”

“I see. That’s good. ……”

So she joined the group and we headed to Elisa’s place, telling Clarice the details of what had happened.

“hmm? What’s up with everyone?”

“Let’s play baseball!”

“A-Amelia-chan ……?”

Elisa reacted exactly the same as everyone else but accepted as usual.

So now there are seven members. I was thinking about what to do with the remaining two members when it hit me.

“I have an idea who the rest of the members might be.”

 With that, we headed for the on-campus gym. There we found the two guys we were looking for.

“Albert. And the President. Good morning.”

“Ray. What’s up?”

“Actually, it’s …….”

And when I told him the details, he agreed.

“I see. Okay, that’s fine. I’ve played baseball before.”

By the way, Albert has no memory of when he was kidnapped, and thus he is now safely working out. According to him, the reason he lost in the semi-finals was that he didn’t have enough muscle, and now he is learning a lot from the president at this gym.

“Baseball, …… that’s great.”

“Does Albert have any experience?”

“Yes, as an outfielder.”

“I see, that’s reliable.”

Albert will be playing outfield. By the way, the president has experience as a catcher, so that was also decided.

After that, we met up with Rebecca-senpai and Sera-senpai in the student council room.

Thus the nine of us are all together and we are going to challenge the baseball team!

That means we need four more people, apparently.

“Okay, Clarice’s room is here!”

 The three of us walked forward and came to Clarice’s room. Since there are not many students in the dormitory now, it is not so much of an issue to come to the girls’ dormitory.

        By the way, it seems that Sera-senpai told her where my room was located. Sera-senpai had visited my room once before on an errand for the gardening club, so she must have remembered it.

And Amelia, wearing a baseball cap, enthusiastically knocked on the door …….and there was no response.

 It’s seven in the morning. She could still be sleeping.

 As I was thinking that, I heard a sound from inside the room and the …… door slowly opened.

“Ai,…… this is Clarice Cleveland,…… I’m awake,…… Ai.”

From inside came out a very sleepy-looking Clarice. She was dressed in a nightcap and pajamas. And she was holding a stuffed animal in her arms. Her speech is a little weird, and she is still wobbling her head around.

 Unlike usual, her twin tails are undone, and her long, beautiful, shiny hair is almost down to her waist.

 I see, it looks cute with it down too,……, and just as I was thinking that, Amelia takes action.

“Let’s play baseball!”

“Ai…… see you later…….”

        Then she slowly closed the door.

“Hey! Hey, Clarice, it’s a me! It’s Amelia!”

 Don Don Don, Clarice comes out again.

“Eh, ……? Ha! Amelia?”

“Yes! It’s me!”

“Ray and Evie are here, too! Wait for me while I change!”

With a bang, the door shut vigorously followed by a rumble from inside the room, and …… five minutes passed.

Hah, hah, Clarice came out of the room, breathing heavily. Her gorgeous twin tails, neatly arranged as usual, suit her well. And she seems to have fully awakened and begins to speak as usual.

“So, what do you want?”

“Let’s play baseball!”

“Hey, Ray and Evie. Is this Amelia? Isn’t she a different character?”

Without paying attention to Amelia, Clarice asked.

“She wants to play baseball with everyone. That’s all.”

“…… I see. I don’t mind, but I …… am inexperienced, is that okay?”

“Don’t worry! I’ll teach you!”

“Amelia, do you have any experience?”

“I’ve done a lot of swinging and wall-hitting! Someday I hope to do it with my friends!”

“Ah, …… yeah.”

“It’s okay, Clarice. We’ve some experience before.”

“I see. That’s good. ……”

So she joined the group and we headed to Elisa’s place, telling Clarice the details of what had happened.

“hmm? What’s up with everyone?”

“Let’s play baseball!”

“A-Amelia-chan ……?”

Elisa reacted exactly the same as everyone else, but she accepted as usual.

So now there are seven members. I was thinking about what to do with the remaining two members when it hit me.

“I have an idea who the rest of the members might be.”

 With that, we headed for the on-campus gym. There we found the two guys we were looking for.

“Albert. And President. Good morning.”

“Ray. What’s up?”

“Actually, it’s …….”

And when I told him the details, he agreed.

“I see. Okay, that’s fine. I’ve played baseball before.”

By the way, Albert has no memory of when he was kidnapped, and thus he is now safely working out. According to him, the reason he lost in the semi-finals was that he didn’t have enough muscle, and now he is learning a lot from the president at this gym.

“Baseball, …… that’s great.”

“Does Albert have any experience?”

“Yes, as an outfielder.”

“I see, that’s reliable.”

Albert will be playing outfield. By the way, the president has experience as a catcher, so that was also decided.

After that, we met up with Rebecca-senpai and Sera-senpai in the student council room.

Thus the nine of us are all together and we are going to challenge the baseball team!

 ◇ 

“Aah! I’m definitely going to drive that baseball team into the ground! I’m going to beat them to a pulp!”

“Well well, Dina-san. Please calm down.”

“How can I be calm with this! They made fun of Rebecca-sama! This is a felony!”

 We all gather together on the ground. We were all wearing uniforms, and we all had gloves, by the way.

I should have expected this, but the President has uniforms and equipment for all of us, I guess that shows that he is a member of this kingdom’s intelligence organization.

However, I can’t ignore that Rebecca-senpai was made a fool of, either.

“Sera-senpai. What is that supposed to mean?”

“Ray, listen to me. Those guys from the baseball team said that they have been showing results, unlike her. I’ll kill them for bringing the Magic Chevalier in this!”

“Is that a dig at Rebecca-senpai, who finished runner-up in the Magic Chevalier?”

“That’s right! The baseball team is going overboard lately …… I’ll kill them!”

“I see,……, that’s unforgivable.”

“So, everyone. What about the position and batting order? The pitcher is very important, but who’s going to pitch?”

“Pitcher huh, I’ll take that one.”

“Ray?”

“Yes. And the president has experience as a catcher.”

“Fuuh. For now, let’s take a look at Ray’s pitch. Look, we’re going to really smash that baseball team, all right? So I’m expecting something reasonable, okay?”

“Of course. I’ll make sure they pay for the crime of making fun of Rebecca-senpai.”

I told Sera-senpai and Rebecca-senpai, but Rebecca-senpai herself was staring at me in my uniform.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ray-san,……, you really have nice muscles.”

“Can you tell?”

“Yeah. The men here have very nice muscles, so that is helpful. Fumfumu… ……”

“Come to think of it, you have mentioned something like that before …… I believe it was the first day of the competition. Perhaps you are also interested in training?”

“Ah! No, that …… haha …… it’s nothing! That’s right! Please make sure you clear my name, Ray-san!”

“As you wish, …….”

 And so I make my way to the mound.

And then, with everyone behind the net, in protective gear, the president, our catcher came.

 Probably to check the pitch.

“Ray. What type of pitches?”

“Straight, curve, slider, shot, two-seam, cut ball, sinker, change-up, fork, split, palm, knuckle, knuckle curve, and I can do vertical sliders.”

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, are you sure you can do all of them?”

“Yes. Master taught me how to do it. She said as a sorceress, one should have at least this many pitches in one’s arsenal.”

“I see. …… That sounds like Lydia-san. So this here is the sign.”

After sharing the improvised sign with each other, the manager holds up a large catcher’s mitt behind the base. 

I also felt easy to throw because of the president’s muscular body.

 Then I swung and …… threw a straight ball to the middle of the field, right where the manager was poised.

{ …………. eh?}

 My all-out ball settled inside the manager’s mitt. It made a bang! and was completely settled in, leaking out a faint shuuuu sound.

 ─ I see, as expected of the director.

 He completely killed the momentum of the ball and caught it perfectly. And thanks to his huge physique, he is quite easy to throw. This is really dependable.

“Hey! Time out!”

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

Sera-senpai came running to my side. She then shouts at me.

“Ray! How many kmph was that!”

“Well, …… I think it’s over 150. With a little more warming up of the shoulders, I think I could get to 160.”

“You didn’t use an internal code, did you?”

“Yeah. I believe you don’t allow magical enhancements to the body, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Fufu …… This is going to work! For the time being, throw every pitch you’ve got!”

“I got it.”

 After that, I threw all the pitches I had.

 The president caught all of them. Some of them bounced short due to my lack of control, but the president, with his stature, made sure to keep the pitches in the front.

Especially the fork and the split, which are falling pitches that are prone to miss pitches (i.e., deflected backward), but he seemed to be okay with this.

“Good! Good! Ray, perfect! You’re the best!”

“Thank you very much. Sera-senpai.”

As I bow my head politely, the usual members of the group come around me. Among them, Clarice comes forward and shouts loudly.

“Rey! Hey!”

“What’s up, Clarice”

“Are you a pro!? You’re such a pro that even an amateur like me could tell you were crazy!”

“Well, I’ve been trained by …… master.”

“Seriously, you’re out of standard. ……”

So, after that, we practiced hard.

I can’t forgive the baseball club for looking down on Rebecca-senpai. I feel bad, but I’m going to take it seriously.

Thus, we challenged ourselves to tomorrow’s game.

 I’ll make sure to clear Rebecca-senpai’s name…!


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