"Why'd you come all the way over here?" Shirase paused [Fixed Hosting] and walked toward her proactively.
"I came to see you, of course~" Nakano Yotsuba's face still brimmed with boundless energy, her bright eyes curiously scanning her surroundings. "So this is how you guys normally train? How nice... I wish I could also join a national competition with my friends."
Shirase thoughtfully suggested, "Then why don't you disguise yourself as a boy and join us?"
Nakano Yotsuba froze for a second, then shook her head vigorously like a toy drum. "That's impossible! We're not filming a drama here. Cross-dressing would be seen through instantly."
Shirase put on a thoughtful expression. "Then there's no other way—we can only announce publicly that our school soccer club is co-ed."
Nakano Yotsuba giggled lightly. "That's even less possible! Since when have there been co-ed teams competing at the national level?"
Then she smacked her forehead and gasped. "Oh no! I almost forgot the actual important business that Nino seriously entrusted to me."
"What important business?" Isshiki Iroha popped her head out suddenly from behind Shirase.
Unexpectedly, Nakano Yotsuba pointed straight at her. "Nino asked me to come here to observe you."
"Huh?" Isshiki Iroha's face was full of question marks.
Shirase was equally baffled. "Observe her? Are Nino and Isshiki-san already friends now?"
Isshiki Iroha shook her head, perplexed, muttering, "I haven't even talked much with Nakano Nino-san."
Nakano Yotsuba provided the answer: "Because lately, there've been rumors going around school that Shirase-kun and Isshiki-san have gotten quite close. It seems like the rumors came from Isshiki-san's class."
"Eh? Is that so?" Isshiki Iroha pretended surprise, though she already knew exactly who'd spread it.
Shirase had also guessed. "Looks like after I called you over to the soccer club that day, the girls in your class exaggerated the story."
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't expect they'd take it that far." Isshiki Iroha looked embarrassed; she'd only wanted to show off her closeness to Shirase a little.
"Oh no!"
Right at that moment, Nakano Yotsuba suddenly groaned regretfully.
When Shirase and Isshiki Iroha cast puzzled gazes at her, they saw the girl wearing a pitiful expression. "Nino specifically told me before I left that I should only observe secretly and never mention this. Otherwise, Isshiki-san would definitely become cautious."
Isshiki Iroha didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "But now you've not only mentioned it—you've outright told me everything!"
Nakano Yotsuba looked even more remorseful. "It completely slipped my mind..."
Shirase almost laughed at her adorably silly expression. "How about this? We'll pretend we didn't hear anything, and you can just go back and report that you've completed your mission. That way you can still claim your reward."
"Huh? How'd you know there was a reward?" Nakano Yotsuba stared at him curiously.
Shirase chuckled. "Nino specifically asked you for help on your day off—would you really have come without any benefits?"
"Of course I would," Nakano Yotsuba replied without a second's hesitation, then giggled sheepishly. "Besides, I'm personally interested in your training as well. After all, the teachers keep saying that the teams the soccer club will face next are incredibly strong."
The corner of Shirase's mouth twitched slightly. Right, I almost forgot. Yotsuba's not like her sisters—she's always so earnest, always eager to help.
"Nino promised she'd make special sandwich cookies just for me, but I messed up today, so the cookies will probably disappear from my future," Nakano Yotsuba sighed pitifully.
Shirase smiled faintly. "Who do you think cooks better—me or Nino?"
Nakano Yotsuba blinked, puzzled at why he suddenly asked such a question, but still honestly replied, "The cookies you made last time were delicious—even better than Nino's."
"Exactly," Shirase calmly raised two fingers. "No matter how many cookies Nino promised you, I'll give you double. How about it?"
Nakano Yotsuba's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Really?"
"Absolutely. So, you can relax and go back to put on your act. Just tell Nino you've done your job perfectly, and she doesn't need to overthink anything. As for me and Isshiki-san…"
Here, Shirase glanced sideways at Isshiki Iroha, whose eyes were darting about, and he himself couldn't help but smile. "What could possibly be going on between us? Nino is just overthinking."
"Yes, exactly! Shirase-kun and I are just friends," Isshiki Iroha echoed immediately.
Hearing this, Nakano Yotsuba seemed both relieved and confused, scratching her head uncertainly. "Then… Can I just go back and report now?"
Shirase waved a hand casually. "If you want to stay and watch our training, that's fine too. My date with Nino isn't until later tonight, anyway."
"Date?"
Nakano Yotsuba and Isshiki Iroha froze simultaneously.
Then both girls widened their eyes, scanning Shirase up and down, left and right, back and forth, as if their eyes had turned into radar, desperate to see right through him.
Shirase, at the center of their scrutiny, remained perfectly calm. "That's right—a date. Didn't she tell you?"
"No, she didn't," Nakano Yotsuba replied blankly.
"So Shirase-kun and Nakano Nino-san have already gotten to this stage?" Isshiki Iroha asked with great interest.
Shirase didn't clarify. He'd already said enough; if he went further and this reached Nakano Nino's ears, that tsundere girl might suddenly change her mind.
Nakano Yotsuba didn't stick around. Perhaps shaken by Shirase's casual mention of the "date," this pure-hearted girl hurriedly headed home.
Just as Shirase was about to resume training, Isshiki Iroha murmured softly next to him, "Thinking about it, your relationship with Nakano Nino-san is like one person walking straight toward a mirror—only then can it truly become a mutual pursuit. It sounds so romantic~."
"That metaphor is too abstract—and completely wrong," Shirase corrected, glancing at the girl who was now immersed in her romantic imagination.
"Huh? Why?"
"Think about it. Even though walking toward a mirror looks like mutual pursuit, no matter how you chase, you'll never touch or hear the other side. What's the point in that?"
"Eh? Now that you mention it, that's true."
"Exactly. Instead, you should say our relationship is like a Tesla spokesperson chewing Stride gum."
"What does that even mean?"
"Tesla can't stop in the first place. Combined with Stride gum, we're speeding straight ahead—unstoppable!"
Ignoring Isshiki Iroha's dumbfounded expression, Shirase returned wholeheartedly to his technique drills.
Right now, everyone in the soccer club was working relentlessly, caught up in endless internal competition.
And the best way to break through internal competition—was to read.
After all, reading ten thousand books grants you mastery.
That's why he studied so incredibly hard.
---
T/N: ooo... shirase... you died before you found out...
bonus chaps tomorrow
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