Chapter 51: It Seems Everyone’s View of the “Introvert” Has Changed

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Translator: Xre

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The Teikou-sen spans three days.

On the second day, I was roped in as backstage help for the drama club. This, too, was part of the “Helper Club (provisional).” Armed with a hammer, I repaired set pieces, hauled stage props around, and even went on supply runs for snacks and drinks for the cast. It was non-stop work.

But I didn't mind at all.

I’ve always liked this kind of behind-the-scenes, unglamorous work.

More than anything, it made me happy to feel like I was part of the drama club, even if only as support.

We couldn't really play as a team in yesterday's basketball match, after all…

Savoring that kind of small-town happiness—

On my way back from a convenience store run, I happened to run into some guys from the baseball team.

They were lounging in their uniforms in the shadow of the school building, chatting away. From the smug grins on their sunburnt faces, it looked like they'd just won a game.

I heard them saying things like, “Koushin wasn't even a challenge,” with not a shred of respect for the other team. All I could see was arrogance.

“Yo, Suzuki. Doing errands now, huh?”

The snide remark came from Asano, the freshman ace of the baseball team.

“Perfect timing. Go buy me something too—Coke and a yakisoba bun. Hop to it!”

“Sorry. I don't speak the language of piggy lapdogs.”

“The hell did you just say!?”

As always, this guy acted tough when surrounded by his friends. You'd never think he was the same guy who nearly cried when Ayukawa turned him down for a date.

Asano glanced around, clearly looking for backup.

“Hey, don't you guys think this guy's getting cocky? Come on, how about we all teach him a lesson?”

But—

The other baseball players all looked away awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. No one backed Asano up. They just stayed quiet.

“H-Hey, what's wrong with you guys? You scared of this no-name or something?”

Even with Asano trying to rile them up, it was the same. Some of them even avoided my gaze in a hurry. I could see something like fear flicker across their faces—those proud members of the elite Teikai Academy baseball team.

…Wait, am I… intimidating them?

I don't remember doing anything to earn the fear of the baseball team, though…

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The drama club finished their performance successfully, and the dressing room was quickly transformed into a wrap-up party venue.

At the club president's lead, everyone raised their juice cups for a toast. The members' faces were full of pride and the sense of accomplishment that comes from giving it their all.

It was nothing like the arrogant grins I saw on the baseball players. This was genuine joy from having entertained their audience, not from defeating anyone.

Two people stood out with especially radiant smiles.

Isami Shirasagi, who shone as the lead in the spotlight.

And Amane Minase, who played the heroine with grace as a guest actress.

“Kazu-nii, how was my acting!?”

“You were amazing. From your fingertips to your toes, every move was sharp and precise. You were so gallant I couldn't look away.”

When I praised her like that, Il-chan gave a slightly conflicted smile. I think what she really wanted was for me to say she was “cute.” But since she's presenting as a guy, I couldn't say that out loud. I'll send her a private message later and let her know.

“Kazu-kun, how did I do?”

“Your voice carried so well. I was all the way in the back, and it still came through loud and clear.”

Amane-chan's face lit up with happiness. For a voice actress like her, praise for her voice must be the highest compliment.

To those two, I brought up the baseball team's weird reaction earlier.

“That's probably because of yesterday's basketball,” Amane-chan said, showing me her phone.

There was a video uploaded to a video-sharing site: a clip of the “super long-distance 3-point shot” from yesterday. The title read “Basketball club member lands insane shot”. It had already racked up 800,000 views despite being uploaded just yesterday.

“After seeing something like that, the sports club guys probably can't say anything.”

“Not even anyone on Teikai's basketball team could pull off a shot that straight out of a manga.”

The two of them were practically bouncing with excitement.

“Why are you two so happy?”

“Well, I mean, come on—right?”

They exchanged glances.

“I was always frustrated,” Amane said. “Kazu-kun's actually amazing, but everyone kept treating him like some gloomy nerd.”

“Exactly,” Il-chan chimed in. “Anyone only realizing it now is way too late.”

I scratched my head.

“I mean, I'm fine just being ‘normal.'”

“Normal is impossible for you. Give it up already,” Amane said, acting like the older one.

“Now that everyone knows, I'm really curious what'll happen next” Il-chan added.

“Nothing's really going to change.”

—Or so I thought.

But I learned just how naïve that assumption was… the next evening.

The Final Day of the Teikousen

The last event in the three-day interschool competition was a judo team match.

Five members from each team competed in a knockout format in the dojo. The match dragged on and on, until finally it came down to the team captains.

I watched from the wall with President Suzuka.

“Our captain is that guy.” Suzuka said, pointing.

It was a large boy with a red nose—Rednose (Akahana), the same guy who lost it during the badge incident. I still don't know his real name, and honestly, I don't need to. He's Akahana to me.

I was thinking, Wow, pretty impressive for a first-year, when I noticed something strange.

Even when the referee called him, he didn't get up. Despite the coach and teammates trying to rouse him, he just sat there, pale and trembling.

“That guy always gets nervous, no matter how big he is,” someone muttered behind me.

Apparently, members who didn't make the lineup were watching near me.

“If he could just get over that, he'd be a genius.”

“Not that it matters. The coach did tell him, ‘Lose and I'll kill you,' with a totally straight face.”

“And if the coach loses, the principal'll kill him, right?”

“Even if not kill, he'll definitely get fired.”

“The Imperial Championship is seriously life or death, huh?”

…So that's what's going on.

Apparently it was true—the coach was glaring at Akahana with a terrifying expression. But the more he yelled, the more terrified Akahana became. His knees were shaking so badly he couldn't even stand.

“Pathetic. All size, no guts. And that's supposed to be a man?” Suzuka sighed.

“Kazuma-kun, why don't you take his place? You're probably good at judo too, aren't you?”

“Don't be ridiculous. I don't even know the rules. I only dabbled a bit in technical college judo.”

“Technical college? The five-year kind? Is that different from regular judo?”

“Very much so.”

Put simply, technical college judo focuses more on groundwork than throwing techniques.

Also known as Seven Imperial Universities Judo.

The biggest rule difference is that it allows transitions from standing to ground grappling—which is banned in standard judo for safety reasons. Which makes sense—it is a sport, after all.

No matter how much the coach yelled, Akahana couldn't get up.

The coach finally gave up on him and started scanning the venue.

I heard whispers from the other team members.

“Are we going to lose by default?”

“No, we're allowed to send in a substitute, I think.”

“Yeah, but who'd want to go in under these circumstances?”

The coach was still scanning around.

Eventually, his eyes locked on me.

He began striding toward me with a determined look.

I figured he was probably heading for a teammate behind me—but he walked straight up to me.

“Kazu Suzuki… no, Assistant Master Kazu!!”

“…Excuse me?”

Just moments ago, the coach who had been strutting around arrogantly suddenly dropped into a formal kneeling position and bowed deeply, pressing his forehead to the floor.

“Do you not remember me? I'm Yamashita. About five years ago, I was under your care at the Furuya Dojo.”

“…Ah.”

That bearded face did look familiar.

Back in elementary school, I had attended a traditional jujutsu dojo called Furuya Dojo. For a while, he had trained there alongside me. If I recall correctly, someone once mentioned he was a judo gold medalist.

At Furuya Dojo, seniority meant nothing—pure meritocracy. You always had to speak respectfully to anyone stronger than you, regardless of age. Whether adult or elementary schooler, the rule was absolute.

This Yamashita guy had been insufferably arrogant at first. It was as if he still wore that old gold medal around his neck every day.

He clearly didn't take the Furuya style seriously at first either. So I had “gently” introduced him to the dojo's philosophy.

Turns out he was fairly open-minded—just dislocating both his shoulders was enough for him to understand.

“I saw that basketball video! I was floored. Never imagined you were at Teikai!”

“Uh-huh…”

I had no idea why he was bringing up ancient history now.

The coach bowed even lower, rubbing his bald forehead against the tatami.

“It must be fate that we met again like this! Please, Assistant Master! Would you consider stepping in as our team captain in place of our injured member?!”

“Nah, I don't really know judo…”

“Oh, such humility! There's not a single Kodokan judoka who could last five seconds against you!”

“That's not really the point here…”

Seeing how exasperated I was, the student council president started chuckling.

“Coach, he looks troubled. Why don't you just do it, Kazu-shihan?”

“Please don't tease me.”

Everyone around us was now staring at me. I could hear the whispers.

“That's him, right? From the basketball video?” “I heard he's insanely strong. Saved the dance club or something.” “Wait, I heard he's in the art club?”

The rumors were clearly a mess.

Haa… guess I have no choice.

“If I lose, don't blame me, alright?”

“Thank you so much!!”

The coach immediately ordered a student to bring me a judo gi.

After a quick change in the locker room, I stepped onto the mat—and the crowd erupted.

“That's the three-point guy, right!?” “The one who made that insane long shot like something out of a manga?!” “No way, that scrawny dude can do judo too?!”

Yikes, the viral reach of that video is terrifying.

When I pulled off that “Commoner Shot,” people just said it was “pretty good.” But the three-pointer had them celebrating like it was a festival. Both were just moves from a manga. What's the difference?

The opposing team's captain from Kojin Academy was waiting on the tatami, clearly impatient.

He glared at me like he was about to explode.

“How long are you gonna make me wait, punk? And you're wearing a white belt? Is Teikai mocking Kojin or what?! Huh?!”

“Sorry. This is actually my first time doing judo.”

“HUH!?”

The captain's jaw dropped.

Then, his face turned red with rage, and he spat out:

“I'LL KILL YOU A MILLION TIMES!!!!”

Dude, that's something a cartoon cat would say.

As soon as the referee signaled the start, the captain charged in. He was brimming with energy, using his height to try and grab my collar deep behind the neck.

…Hmm.

Purposely losing would feel wrong. But if I go all out, I'll probably kill him. Best to just win “normally.” But what counts as “normal”? If I throw him, is that an ippon? If I follow up and drop a knee, is that a foul? I don't know. Sports are tough—too many rules.

Well, I just need to make him submit, right?

The fastest way to kill someone's fighting spirit is to blind them—but I'm pretty sure that's a foul. So instead, like with Yamashita back then, I'll just dislocate some joints.

He learned quickly after that. He was all “You think a little kid can reach my collar?” and then seconds later it was all “AAAAGGHHHHH IT HURTS I'M SORRRYYYYY!!”

So.

First, I gently lock up with him.

Grab his sleeve, give it a light tug downward.

Just as he made a face like “Huh?”, I used that slight break in rhythm to twist his wrist back. Redirect his own force against him.

His wrist bent in the opposite direction.

“OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWW!!”

He screamed and dropped to his knees.

Is that enough for a win?

Hmm, probably not. In judo, don't you need to land your opponent on their back?

Oh well. I dislocated his shoulder too—gave it a little yank, then pushed it the wrong way with a crack. He screamed again. Sorry about that. I'll fix it later.

The captain writhed on the tatami. The referee looked confused. No flag. He clearly didn't understand what had happened.

Guess I'll need to make it more obvious.

If dislocating joints isn't clear enough, what about… a chokehold?

Yes. If I make him pass out, that should count as a loss.

So I wrapped my legs around the fallen opponent's neck, pulled in his arm, and applied pressure to his carotid arteries.

A classic triangle choke.

“Kyuuh—”

He let out an oddly cute squeak, then passed out. His face, twisted in pain a moment ago, now looked peaceful. Being choked out… kind of feels good, honestly.

“I-IPPON!!”

Seeing him go limp, the referee hastily raised the flag. Phew. Looks like I did it right.

The medical team rushed over, but it wasn't necessary. I calmly popped the captain's joints back into place, loosened his gi, and lifted his legs to restore blood flow. No need to slap him awake or anything—that's just for TV dramas. This is easier.

“Gahhh—!”

The captain regained consciousness.

The venue was dead silent. Both teams’ athletes, even the coach who'd begged me to sub in, were slack-jawed.

Guess… that wasn't very “normal” after all.

Then, someone in the audience began clapping.

It was President Suzuka, rising to her feet and applauding. Others followed her lead.

“Well done!” “That was incredible!”

Cheers started to ripple through the arena.

…Good.

It might not have been “normal.”

But I guess I was helpful.

---

And just like that, the Teikou vs. Kojin match came to an end.

Final score: 18 wins, 17 losses, 2 draws. Teikai Academy won by a narrow margin of one victory. That judo win at the end was key.

At the next day's school assembly, the chairman himself praised Yamashita-sensei, who practically floated out of the gym with pride. He even came by my classroom afterward, gave a full military-style bow, and said, “It's all thanks to you, Assistant Master!” Like we're in the army or something.

Word of me subbing in for the final match spread like wildfire.

Up till now, I'd only been a rumor. But now… everyone knew.

Even walking through the hallway during break, I could feel eyes on me. No one said anything—but they all looked at me either with awe or cautious respect.

Honestly, it was a bit much. It's not like I wanted to be treated like some weirdo, but being put on a pedestal like this was just uncomfortable. I'd be fine just being “normal.”

I ran into Ayukawa in the hallway. She said:

“Kinda happy, but also kinda lonely, y'know?”

“Lonely?”

“Cuz it's like… the real you that only we knew, now everyone else knows too.”

She pouted a little, which was cute—so I let it slide.

But—

The situation didn't stop there.

There was someone at this school who didn't like me being in the spotlight.

“BUHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!”

Yeah… she wasn't even trying to hide her pig side anymore.

That mega-popular voice actress was now shrieking, blonde hair flying as she screamed:

“MY KAZU—MY KAZU IS BECOMING FAMOUS!? I WON'T STAND FOR THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! ANY GIRL WHO FLIRTS WITH HIM IS DEAD!!!!!!!”

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End of volume 1