Chapter 30: Atobe and Sakaki's Decision

  That same day—

  The second round of the selection tournament came to an end.

  In groups A, B, and C, most of the regurs had either secured victories or had a mix of wins and losses, effectively locking in their positions as regur members.

  The only remaining suspense was in Group D.

  Originally a fan favorite and someone with high hopes of becoming a regur, Hiyoshi had lost consecutively to Ishikawa and Shishido, disqualifying him from the final selection.

  As for Ishikawa—

  His name was now being talked about all throughout Hyotei. Even students who had little interest in tennis had heard of him.

  Evening.

  Fourth floor of the academic building.

  Inside the music department office—

  The door opened, and a figure stepped inside. He gnced at the man standing by the window and asked, "Coach, you wanted to see me?"

  The visitor was none other than Atobe Keigo, captain of the Hyotei Tennis Club and one of the most well-known and influential figures at the school.

  The one who had summoned him was the coach of Hyotei’s tennis team, Sakaki Taro.

  "Just wanted to have a chat," Sakaki said while looking down at the tennis courts below. "What do you think of this afternoon's match?"

  "You mean Ishikawa?" Atobe walked to the window and gnced down, focusing on a lone figure jogging on the field.

  "That’s right." Sakaki nodded. "He’s incredibly talented and puts in the effort. Do you think he’s fit to be a regur?"

  "Whether he’s fit or not doesn’t matter," Atobe replied with a slight smile and a shake of his head. "According to Hyotei’s rules, if he can defeat Shishido, he naturally earns a spot as a regur. If he loses, no one can help him."

  "Oh?" Sakaki chuckled with a hint of intrigue. "You’re not pnning to give him a hand?"

  "There’s no need," Atobe said calmly. "He’s a pyer with strong convictions. Once he sets his sights on something, he’ll chase it down on his own. Besides, even if I wanted to help, I doubt there’s much I could do for him."

  "Hm?" This time, Sakaki looked genuinely surprised. "You think that highly of him?"

  "I’m just being honest," Atobe said, shaking his head again. "He’s calm and composed—mature far beyond his age. And I don’t think we’ve even seen the full extent of his strength yet."

  "Exactly what I was thinking." Sakaki’s earlier surprise gave way to seriousness. "His composure is far beyond his peers. In terms of ability, I doubt Shishido can beat him. So—"

  He paused, looking at Atobe with intent.

  "I’m considering grooming him as the next captain."

  If anyone else had been present at that moment, they would’ve been stunned.

  Sakaki Taro was known for his aloof personality and rarely interfered in team matters. Yet here he was, actively discussing a first-year student—who wasn’t even a regur yet—as a potential future captain, and doing so with someone like Atobe, whose presence was akin to royalty at Hyotei.

  However—

  Atobe’s reaction was calm, as if he had already expected this.

  "I agree," he said without hesitation. "He deserves it."

  Atobe had never hesitated to mentor his juniors. Be it Hiyoshi or Chotarou, he would help anyone who showed the will to improve.

  That was because Atobe was no longer the same person he had been when he first entered Hyotei two years ago.

  Back then, he had been brimming with confidence—sweeping through the team, dominating Tokyo, and leading Hyotei’s 200-member army in complete dominance.

  Even when they fell short in the Kanto and National tournaments, he believed they would bounce back and take down Rikkai Dai of Kanagawa.

  But—

  After two years of setbacks, he had come to realize that Rikkai Dai’s strength wasn’t something Hyotei could overcome with sheer training alone. Atobe began to make decisions with a clearer, more pragmatic mindset.

  This was his third and final year.

  Hyotei’s chances of winning were still slim, so he began to think seriously about what he could leave behind for the team as captain.

  From his perspective, the most important thing was to leave Hyotei with a worthy successor.

  He had once believed that successor might be Chotarou or Hiyoshi.

  But to be honest, their performances hadn’t quite met his expectations. Still, Atobe also understood that pyers of his caliber might not appear at Hyotei again for another ten years.

  That’s why Ishikawa’s arrival gave him new hope.

  Originally—

  He had just wanted to test the first-year student by letting him experience high-level competition.

  But now, Ishikawa had far exceeded expectations. Even Atobe and Sakaki believed Shishido might not be able to stop him.

  Under those circumstances—

  Skipping over the second-years and selecting Ishikawa as next year’s Hyotei captain felt like the perfect decision.

  The two continued discussing Hyotei’s training pns for the upcoming month before Atobe took his leave.

  Throughout the entire conversation, both men were confident in Ishikawa’s chances of defeating Shishido. However, they never once mentioned Oshitari.

  Clearly—even though they acknowledged Ishikawa’s potential, they felt it was unrealistic for a first-year to challenge someone like Oshitari, who was a top-tier pyer.

  Meanwhile—

  After finishing his training and cleaning up the tennis club, Ishikawa went to the cafeteria to refuel. As his reading material expanded, he had also begun adjusting his diet based on the nutrition pns of top pro pyers.

  Luckily, Hyotei’s cafeteria cked nothing.

  As a result—his physical development was progressing even faster than he’d pnned.

  After dinner, Ishikawa returned to the courts for some post-meal training, breaking a good sweat after practicing three more times before heading back to the dorms.

  The next day during morning csses—

  Ishikawa clearly noticed that the way his cssmates looked at him had changed.

  There were even several girls from other csses quietly whispering about him outside the cssroom door.

  To that—

  Ishikawa simply shook his head.

  His mental age was over 20, but his physical age was still only 12. Romance was of no interest to him at all.

  -

  3:00 PM.

  Club activity time.

  With the third round of matches underway, many of the matches between regurs—including Atobe’s—had already concluded.

  As a result—

  Most of the attention now focused on Group D’s court.

  Even before the match began, spectators were already deep in discussion about the upcoming match. Many of them frequently gnced toward the field, where a calm-faced boy was jogging ps.

  "This kid’s got guts," said Hiyoshi with some amazement. "He’s about to face you and he’s still running ps?"

  "That's his daily routine," replied Shishido, one of the Hyotei regurs with long brown hair parted to both sides. "He started with 20 ps. Now he’s up to 30. His stamina has definitely improved."

  "For sure. Ishikawa’s incredibly disciplined," Chotarou agreed.

  Though he didn’t feel jealous or envious—he understood clearly that Ishikawa’s progress came from his own hard work.

  Sometimes—

  Chotarou would even think: If I had trained that hard every day during my first-year, maybe I’d already be on the national level by now.

  “Hmph!”

  But not everyone saw it the same way. A cold snort came from the crowd, followed by the sound of footsteps as someone also began jogging ps on the field.

  "That guy…" Oshitari shook his head.

  The others around him couldn’t help but chuckle and shake their heads too.

  But that was just how Hiyoshi was.

  He might have a loud mouth and say some over-the-top things, but he never took cheap shots—a man who fought fair and square.

  (End of Chapter 30)