Chapter 5

Kamishiro Aki watched the two fleeing in panic, his face full of contempt.

Trash like Arai, who picks on the weak and fears the strong, deserves to have his nose broken with a tennis ball.

Actually, Kamishiro Aki had been aiming right at his nose bridge just now.

But the strings on his racket were too loose, so the shot went off course.

"As expected, cheap junk just won't cut it. I need to swap out this racket later."

Though honestly, he hadn't expected that tennis ball to have enough force to embed itself straight into the protective net!

It must have been influenced by the Rokushiki.

Because of Arai's little stunt, Kamishiro Aki was considering transferring schools.

When he'd crossed over to this side, he'd already been a first-year middle school student at Seigaku.

If he was going to walk the tennis path, then joining the Seigaku Tennis Club was the necessary step.

But seeing trash like Arai—

Kamishiro Aki already didn't want to join Seigaku.

And thinking carefully, Seigaku's ace Tezuka Kunimitsu had only injured his elbow because Seigaku had trash upperclassmen.

If Tezuka Kunimitsu hadn't been injured, his strength would have been even greater.

Although Kamishiro Aki wasn't afraid of trash like Arai,

if he joined the Seigaku Tennis Club and those people were scheming against him every day…

Just thinking about it was uncomfortable.

So Kamishiro Aki would rather die than join Seigaku.

That being the case, he could only transfer.

And the new school term had only just started not long ago.

Transferring would still be in time.

Fudomine was out of the question.

After much deliberation, Kamishiro Aki decided to join Hyotei!

Mainly because he wanted to earn some money to replace his racket.

And Hyotei was full of rich people.

Whose money is easiest to earn?

Of course, rich people's.

As long as he showed off a bit of skill, he should be able to earn a pretty penny in practice-partner fees.

This idea was great!

After settling on his plan, Kamishiro Aki began training to integrate the Rokushiki into tennis.

A few days later, Kamishiro Aki smoothly completed his transfer.

He had to admit, Hyotei's tuition really was steep.

But his family had only agreed to pay the tuition.

As for living expenses, he had to earn them himself by working part-time.

At this point, earning money had become an urgent matter.

Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to eat.

A day passed quickly—school was out.

Kamishiro Aki grabbed his racket and headed straight for the Hyotei Tennis Club.

Hyotei truly lived up to its reputation as a noble school.

The school's green belts and teaching buildings were all top-tier.

When he saw the Hyotei Tennis Club's building—

Kamishiro Aki couldn't quite figure out how Seigaku ever managed to beat Hyotei.

Stepping inside, there were at least several hundred club members!

And the facilities here were all top-of-the-line.

Every kind of fitness equipment imaginable—nothing that should be there was missing.

Probably because he hadn't changed into his uniform yet, he immediately drew attention.

At that moment, a cute girl with a high ponytail walked over.

"Hello there, would you like to join the Tennis Club?"

That sweet voice made Kamishiro Aki's heart melt.

He didn't remember anyone like this at Hyotei!

Where did this cute girl suddenly come from?

But thinking about it carefully, it made sense—after all, he was in the real world now.

And it was perfectly normal for important characters from the anime not to appear.

Seeing that Kamishiro Aki hadn't spoken, the cute girl said again,

"Pardon my rudeness—let me introduce myself. I'm Ryukawa Seiki."

Ryukawa Seiki?

As expected, a name he'd never heard.

Ryukawa Seiki continued to add,

"I'm the trainee manager of the Hyotei Tennis Club—please guide me."

Hearing this, Kamishiro Aki nodded.

"Hello, my name is Kamishiro Aki, and I've come to join the Tennis Club. Could you help me register?"

Kamishiro Aki's words made Ryukawa Kiyoki's whole person light up with joy.

"Alright, student, follow me. I'll register you right now!"

Ryukawa Kiyoki handled it very quickly and finished in no time.

Right after that, she said to Kamishiro Aki with a smile.

"Kamishiro Aki, in a moment someone will conduct your entrance assessment."

"Once you pass the assessment, you'll be a member of the Tennis Club."

Her words caught Kamishiro Aki somewhat off guard.

He hadn't expected that joining Hyotei also required an assessment.

But thinking it over carefully, it made sense.

After all, Hyotei values strength above all.

As long as you have the strength, you can play in matches.

The reason Kamishiro Aki chose Hyotei was also this very reason.

If he were at Seigaku, it would be impossible for a first-year to play in a match.

As for the case of Echizen Ryoma, a large part of it was because of Echizen Nanjiro.

Seigaku's habit of looking at one's background was nothing new.

Not long after, Ryukawa Kiyoki arranged Kamishiro Aki's entrance assessment.

His assessment opponent was a second-year member of Hyotei.

One named Inoue Kibayashi.

The assessment was very simple — as long as he could return three of his serves, he would pass.

Kamishiro Aki naturally passed the assessment with ease.

But today's purpose was not merely to pass the assessment.

He had come to earn sparring fees.

He was seen shouting toward Atobe Keigo, who was watching from outside the court.

"Captain Atobe, do you dare to have a match with me?"

The moment those words came out, the whole court erupted!

"This brat is way too arrogant!"

"He just barely passed the entrance assessment and already dares to challenge Captain Atobe!?"

"This brat — isn't he afraid of dying?"

"A first-year who doesn't know the height of the heavens — does he really think Captain Atobe will agree?"