Did we win?
The moment he heard that, the Dean of Pales Academy made a grim expression. It was just a little too presumptuous to declare victory before the match had even begun.
“Ahem, Dean?”
Jeffrey, the professor in charge of Class A, hurriedly alerted him, and the Dean finally snapped out of it, awkwardly coughing to cover his embarrassment.
“Sorry about that.”
“Hmph.”
He didn’t even accept the apology. He simply hoped the Pales students would hurry up and win. Anton Signir was quite the troublesome troublemaker at school.
He loved to play battle soccer every morning. In fact, he even showed up regularly at battle soccer specialized teams and gatherings.
“Go show them. Timing like this doesn’t give you many chances to shine.”
It was a big hit that most of Anton’s gang had dropped out, but Aios was in a similar boat.
Beldament from Class D and his friends were all hospitalized too, so they weren’t fielding a flawless team either. Still, they had an Ace of Aces waiting on their side.
The Dean of Pales thought they could definitely win.
And the game indeed flowed that way.
In the first half, Pales Academy scored a whopping four times. Anton Signir was determined to vent his frustrations, gritting his teeth and putting on a show.
He scored two of those four points.
Not a single point conceded.
The second half began.
There wasn’t an injury, but they switched players.
“Heh heh.”
Even while losing, a smile crept onto the face of Aios Academy’s Dean, who couldn’t hold back.
*
Player substitution.
As a candidate player, I finally donned the uniform and stepped onto the field. People questioned whether a guy with a broken right arm could even participate in such a vigorous sport like battle soccer.
But my memorable performance during the Golden Ball Capture had everyone even more excited.
“Go for it!”
“Daniel, show us!”
“My husband, fighting!”
Cheers resounded from every direction. I was embarrassed, so I deliberately avoided looking that way until the battle soccer team’s captain came up to me.
“Ugh, ugh. Have you even kicked a ball properly before?”
Since I had skipped practice starting from 3 PM, he had been picking a fight with me.
Wasn’t that what was causing the players to lose focus and letting the opponents mow through them?
“Forget about that, just roll the ball to me. I’ll win for us.”
“What?”
“It’s a pity there are no cold games.”
The captain clicked his tongue and scowled at me.
“What can a rookie who skipped practices and suddenly made it to the candidate player do?”
“Being the captain is fine, but can’t you see the kids’ conditions? Your fussing has them all worn out.”
“……!”
The captain must have realized he couldn’t argue back. Anyway, they had lost this game.
They had been preparing for a match starting at 7 PM since 3 PM, so the players were naturally tense as if the game had already started, and the prolonged preparation drained their stamina.
That was why they’d been getting trampled by Pales until now.
“Aios has lost. You should know that well.”
What could be done? A loss is a loss.
The world of sports is merciless, and one must learn to accept their defeat. At least it wasn’t a life-threatening battlefield; count your blessings.
“But I’ll win.”
Even if Aios lost, I was determined to win.
I pushed past the captain and headed to my position. I had been told I was a defender, so I took a spot slightly further back.
The game began with our kick-off.
As a sport where mana usage was allowed, Pales students charged at me, bursting with mana. The captain, also trying to push through with his skills, but unfortunately, he was completely surrounded by opponents from three directions and lost the ball.
In the intense scramble, he fell over and rolled a few times, but hey, that’s how the sport goes, right?
It’s a match where you can crush your opponent while rolling the ball. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better just to brawl?
Just then, a lively male student from the second year finally showed up on our side.
Ben Mayas.
As the older twin, he’d gritted his teeth and successfully snatched the ball. I could hear the enthusiastic cheers from his twin sister, Valtory, and my cousin, Tana.
“Ben! You’re the best!”
“Pass it to Daniel! Pass it to Daniel!”
I thought Tana was being a bit over the top, but Ben shot me a look as if he believed in me and booted the ball across to me.
A bizarre situation where the forward Ben passes to me, the defender. Though it seemed bizarre for the ball to roll towards our own goal instead of the opponent’s.
Thud!
I felt the ball connect with my foot, estimating roughly where I was.
“Probably around the halfway line.”
The students of Pales Academy, who had expected Ben to sprint ahead, were thrown off by the ball rolling away, so they took a moment to relax.
I guessed it was because I hadn’t yet entered their defending range.
Under the gazes of everyone, I expertly dribbled the ball to the halfway line.
“Huh!”
I gathered up what little mana I had in my legs. I might have the least mana in the arena, but I was also likely the one able to use it most efficiently.
Pushing the mana swirling around my legs, I struck the ball.
Thwang!
The goalpost vibrated.
The Pales academy students took a moment to process that the ball had zipped right past them.
And they finally recognized it was indeed the ball that zoomed to their goal.
“Huh?”
Someone let out a confused voice. Even the referee had yet to blow the whistle for a score.
“Wow!”
“What was that? What just happened?”
“Was that a long-distance shot?”
“Long-range shot, insane!”
“Wonder goal! Wonder goal!”
As the excited cheers erupted around me, I tilted my head in confusion and practiced kicking the air.
“Feels like I can nail a few like this.”
Alright.
Now it was 1:4.
That score difference was something I could catch up to quickly.
*
“Hah, hmm.”
The Dean couldn’t help but stifle his laughter, covering his mouth with his hand. It was already halfway through the second half.
Aios, who thought they’d completely lost after conceding four goals in the first half, had not only managed to not fall behind but had actually taken the lead.
With a shot fired from the central line, Daniel McLean scored a staggering six points. Even with Pales players rushing in to block it, he bulldozed through all of them to shoot.
Unfortunately for Pales, four of their defenders had already been carted off due to injuries while their goalkeeper was on his third substitution.
Thus is the nature of sports.
That’s why they packed their benches well.
“……”
The Dean of Pales was shaking with barely restrained rage, but even just observing Daniel’s accomplishments from the sidelines made him want to give him a scholarship.
What a refreshing victory that was.
The Dean watched in excitement as Daniel McLean continued shooting.
*
“That bastard is shooting from behind the central line now?”
“Block him! Block him, you crazy guys!”
“Ugh! Damn it! What are we losing here!”
At the tavern, where bets were placed on the competition, chaos erupted. Those who bet on Pales were feeling their throats dry no matter how much they drank.
Anton Signir, who’d shown insane energy in the first half, couldn’t muster any strength now and was just sweating nervously, reflecting the mood of these patrons.
Originally, the gap in skill level between Aios and Pales would have been described as heaven and earth.
But now, a strange guy with a broken right arm was constantly nailing these ridiculous wonder goals.
He was even shooting from far behind the central line and slotting it right in. As if the earlier shots were just practice.
Students from Pales, not wanting to be hit by the ball, started cautiously avoiding it.
Finally, the match ended.
13:4, a resounding victory for Aios Academy, or more precisely, Daniel McLean.
“Four times.”
Bertia, who had bet on Aios’s victory, said with a smile to the tavern owner. A stunning fourfold return!
The tavern owner trembled at the thought. Given the amount she had wagered, it would be more than enough to sell the tavern, along with her own body, just to cover it.
Then, Jesant, standing next to Bertia, stepped forward.
“Sister, you know the stakes have gotten too high, right?”
“So you can’t pay me?”
All eyes turned to them. If they couldn’t hand over the winnings now, not only would their credit be shot, but the gambling house itself would disappear, creating chaos.
People would probably think twice before stepping into a pirate gambling den next time.
“No, that’s not it. Just give us two hours, and we’ll prepare to pay you. Because it’s such a big amount, the counting takes time.”
“……”
Jesant, pretending to check around them, whispered.
“Besides, if you take the money now, you won’t get out safely. Look at all those hyenas who just lost money.”
At those words, Bertia glanced around. There were truly patrons who had just lost money looking at her, their eyes gleaming with greed.
“Alright then. Let’s meet again in two hours.”
“Okay! Here’s a token. It proves that you’ve made a killing today.”
Bertia took the crumpled coin Jesant handed her and stepped out of the tavern.
As she left, those who lost their bets wailed and shouted in a frenzy, but it didn’t last long in front of the visibly displeased pirates.
The winners enjoyed their triumph as they walked away, but most simply felt the bitter taste of life while shuffling off to another tavern.
They probably thought they could drown their sorrows in drink with whatever little money they had left.
And so, the tavern was left with only the pirates.
One of them asked Jesant.
“So, what are you going to do? With a sum that big, it might as well be a royal treasury.”
“Ugh, this is a headache.”
Looking at his subordinates who were fretting over what to do, Jesant smirked.
“What do you mean what to do? We kill her.”
“Huh?”
“But if you do that, then…”
They would never be able to run business here again. Fraternity matches like these came just once a year; they were literally a golden goose.
“Relax, relax. When that sister arrives in two hours, there won’t be any customers left. She didn’t take any of the money she bet, and by killing her and keeping quiet, tomorrow’s guests will be oblivious.”
Though he appeared outwardly calm and collected, was he secretly thrilled after getting the money? He didn’t even bother to retrieve his original stake.
“Think about it calmly. If nobody finds her, she’ll just be a chick who took the money and ran.”
Thus, the preparations began.
The pirates were in full swing, making thorough preparations because they deemed her quite capable.
After all, she might not be alone; there could be others accompanying her.
As they worked harder than ever to set up for the gambling, the sound of the door creaking open reached the ears of the pirates, stirring in anticipation.
A boy with a broken right arm stood there.
“Hey, who are you?”
“What happened to the guys waiting outside?”
The pirates grumbled, trying to intimidate the boy, but in his left hand was a crumpled coin.
Jesant, having just peeked out from the back, recognized that this boy was the vile champion of today’s competition and had come to collect the money in Bertia’s stead.
“Wait, did those bastards pull a fast one?”
A related player placing a bet?
Realizing he’d been properly duped, Jesant pulled out his pistol and balester.
It was a poor thing to say for someone who had orchestrated the raid on Anton’s gang, inviting Beldament to the party.
“I knew you weren’t going to pay.”
That’s why Bertia had deliberately not gone to collect her wager. She knew that she would collect it all soon.
“Come on, you bastards, you think it’s fun to rig the games like this?”
“What do you want, then? Hand over the money?”
Daniel shrugged his shoulders, and Jesant let out a laugh. Pirates began to swarm around Daniel with teeth bared.
Today’s upset mastermind.
That damn kid was the reason they were all hustling to prepare uselessly.
“Kid, you might be friends with your buddies, but don’t take life too lightly.”
“Hah, you think slicing my arm off and selling my parts out might be a fun experience for me?”
The pirates laughed mockingly.
Jesant, revealing his gold-filled grin, asked, “You really think you’re getting paid with one arm disabled? The other is getting hacked off.”
“Oh, right.”
Daniel McLean, realizing his oversight, nodded slowly. Recognizing his mistake, he unwrapped the bandage slowly.
Thud.
The splint he’d been using clattered to the tavern floor.
Then, with hand movements reminiscent of a magician showing off to children, Daniel smiled.
“Surprise.”
