Although none of the other Soccer Club members had much confidence about achieving great results in the national tournament, the team atmosphere was at least harmonious. The club captain was a third-year senpai who diligently cared for everyone to an almost babysitter-like degree. And there were also two famous school celebrities anchoring the lineup.
Most importantly, the Soccer Club now had a very cute girl serving as manager.
Because of this, everyone was especially diligent with their training routines. Even those occasionally slacking off would immediately blush in embarrassment and resume training once reminded by Isshiki Iroha's smiling face.
Shirase and the others followed the same training methods as other schools—nothing more than working through the usual four categories: endurance, balance, strength, and flexibility.
The first to step off the field for a break were the new members who had joined today, followed by more and more players.
Hayama Hayato and the captain stepped off together. Both stood there panting, wiping sweat, staring speechlessly at Shirase, who was still on the field training as though it was nothing.
"Do you think Shirase's stamina is even better than before?" the captain asked uncertainly.
Hayama Hayato replied confidently, "Not just stamina. When we were training together earlier, I noticed he's gotten faster and more agile as well."
"Is this what people call a genius? Makes an old guy like me jealous," sighed the captain.
Hayama smiled faintly, though inwardly his emotions were churning.
He had asked Kirisu Mafuyu and learned that Shirase's academic performance was rapidly improving, too. Although they were both Soccer Club members, the gap between them was considerable.
Especially in terms of stamina, Hayama had never seen someone who could run as tirelessly as Shirase—he was practically like some large feline predator with boosted endurance that never ran out of steam.
Fast, agile, and with extraordinary stamina.
"Hayama-kun, here you go." Isshiki Iroha handed him a bottle of mineral water with a sweet smile.
"Thanks," Hayama softly replied, eyes immediately returning to Shirase.
This scene made the girl pout a little. I'm pretty cute too, you know. Couldn't you at least spare a glance for me?
"Shirase's stamina really is absurd," Hayama, normally so mild-mannered, muttered suddenly in astonishment.
Isshiki seized the chance to chime in. "I did a count during Soccer Club practice three days ago. Shirase-kun only starts getting tired and needs a break about thirty minutes after everyone else leaves the field."
Hayama became even more speechless.
Isshiki Iroha herself had been shocked by this result. With her naturally imaginative mind, she even found herself drifting into slightly R18 territory, thinking things like "With Shirase's stamina being that good, his future girlfriend would surely be happy."
Occasionally, she'd secretly blush at those thoughts, and after confirming no one noticed her peculiar expression, she would quietly giggle like a cat successfully stealing dried fish.
Collecting herself, she returned her gaze to Shirase's tall figure running and sweating on the field. Quiet frustration gently rose again in her heart.
She'd initially joined the Soccer Club precisely because Hayama Hayato was kind to everyone and seemed more approachable than Shirase.
But that day, when she saw Shirase smiling and chatting with Nakano Nino—even showing a gentleness he normally never had—she immediately realized something:
She had miscalculated.
Isshiki Iroha's big failure!
For a girl who prided herself on being clever, such a serious error in judgment was undeniably a heavy blow.
And after spending these few days together in the Soccer Club, she was even more convinced.
In front of strangers, Shirase-kun always wears a nearly expressionless mask. But with Nakano-san, he's totally easygoing. Sure, sometimes he says strange things—but that might just mean his thinking drifts farther than an ordinary person's…
Isshiki reflected ruefully. If her observational skills had been sharper, maybe back then she could have made another choice…
When Shirase finally stepped off the field to rest, today's training basically came to an end.
No one had gone home after school, and now after such earnest training, everyone's stomachs had started growling.
"By the way, Shirase, do you like tokusatsu shows?" The captain, still lingering, suddenly asked.
"Why do you ask?" Shirase looked over.
"Ah, nothing. Just feeling annoyed. I really like Ultraman, but my dad doesn't. He keeps saying watching tokusatsu is worse than Hollywood special-effects blockbusters... Even though he only actually likes horse racing himself, he just says stuff like that to argue with me."
Horse racing?
Shirase's thoughts wandered, immediately landing on the currently popular Uma Musume game.
Lowering his voice, the captain whispered, "My dad says he knows lots of secret underground horse-betting places, very exclusive—you can't just walk in. Honestly, it made me pretty curious."
Shirase nodded thoughtfully, "So that's what they call sīmì mǎsài?"
"Huh?" The captain looked utterly baffled.
After Shirase explained the pun based on Chinese homophones, the captain chuckled helplessly, "What kind of weird lame joke is that?"
Shirase shrugged. Actually, he'd wanted to tell the captain that if the jockey's riding skills were unstable, making the horse run like a truck, then in Chinese slang it would be called: mǎ jì sì kǎ ("horse skills like a truck").
"By the way, have you guys thought about arranging a friendly match with another school?" Seeing Shirase whispering, Isshiki Iroha wanted to join in and found herself a topic.
"A friendly match?"
Even Hayama Hayato turned his head in surprise.
Isshiki Iroha stared straight into Shirase's eyes. "Yeah, a friendly match. Not only could we gather some intel on our opponents in advance, but we could also verify our current real strength."
Yet neither the captain nor Hayama responded.
Isshiki immediately grew confused. "What's up with you guys? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, there's nothing wrong," Shirase clarified. "It's just that the Soccer Club's results have been worsening for years now, while the Baseball Club keeps improving. So the school shifted all its resources and attention there. If you want a friendly match, you'd probably have to ask the principal directly."
"Then… let me try?" Isshiki said brightly.
"You?" Shirase made no effort to conceal his skeptical gaze.
Isshiki hummed sweetly in affirmation. "Yep. I am the Soccer Club manager after all. Isn't it normal to leave something like this to me? Of course, if I do succeed, could Shirase-kun maybe give me your LINE ID?"
"Manager-san, have you developed ideas about our Soccer Club's ace?" The captain made an exaggerated face to ease the tension caused by the sudden question.
Isshiki Iroha laughed cheerfully, "Nope~ It's just that Shirase-kun is way too cool and distant, so I thought I'd try being friends to see if he'd still act so cold toward me."
"Please note: I'm not cold," Shirase corrected her.
"Then what are you?" Isshiki's smile deepened. She was delighted Shirase had responded at all.
Shirase replied calmly, "Have you ever seen a cold and distant person willingly explain himself to you?"
"Oh… when you put it that way, you're right. Then let me rephrase: I just want to be friends with the serious Shirase-kun."
Isshiki leaned forward, half-crouched in front of Shirase, her delicate face blossoming into a lovely, faint smile as her eyes sparkled charmingly.