Chapter 29: Afternoon Fun
The study session, which had been progressing smoothly, came to a good stopping point. Kazuma had his weak subjects thoroughly explained to him, and he felt relieved about the upcoming tests. Of course, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would avoid a failing grade. It was more like he might not get a failing grade.
“Alright, studying’s done, so let’s go grab some lunch and hang out,” Kazuma suggested to the other members while stretching his arms. This time, it had been decided that the study session would only last until noon, so, as Kazuma proposed, the members who had gathered for the study session put away their workbooks and textbooks and prepared to go out.
The members, having finished their preparations, collected the empty juice containers and snack wrappers and threw them in the trash can. With the Party Room also cleaned up, Kazuma and the others headed out.
Once outside, Kazuma and the group discussed what to eat.
“What should we eat?”
“There are so many of us, so maybe a family restaurant would be good?”
“In that case, how about all-you-can-eat yakiniku?”
“Nah, yakiniku in the daytime is a bit much. Besides, we’ve been eating snacks.”
“Then, how about hamburgers?”
“That sounds like a safe bet~”
“Ehh, if we’re going out, let’s eat something different.”
“If we’re going out, like what, for example?”
“Like sushi?”
After a lively, noisy discussion about what to eat, they decided on hamburgers since there were eight of them in total, boys and girls. A family restaurant would have been fine, but it was rejected because they had been eating snacks. Some of the girls were disappointed about this. After all, Gifted with Body Enhancement-type Gifts tend to eat a lot, so they apparently wanted something more substantial.
After that, the eight of them headed into town and had lunch. Seeing the girls from the Combat Course heartily devouring their hamburgers, the three from the Support Course were dumbfounded. Among them, only Kazuma felt a sense of nostalgia.
(Heh, I often saw women tearing into meat like that in the other world too.)
Kaori and Miyazono, who were stuffing their cheeks with hamburgers, looked curiously at Kazuma, who had a strangely gentle look in his eyes. The two of them tilted their heads, wondering why on earth Kazuma had the same look in his eyes as a father reminiscing about the old days.
After finishing lunch, the eight of them headed to a bowling alley. At first, they had discussed whether to go to karaoke or bowling, but they decided to start with bowling. A major reason for this was that they wanted to move their bodies. They had been sitting and studying all morning.
Although, Kazuma and Miyazono had been wrestling earlier.
“Alright, let’s decide on teams! I think we should split into two boys and two girls per team, so let’s do rock-paper-scissors!”
“Okay, guys, let’s do it over here.”
“Then, girls, over here.”
Having arrived at the bowling alley, Kazuma and the others first decided to split into teams. They would be divided four against four. They would form mixed teams of two boys and two girls. After separating by gender, they used rock-paper-scissors to form pairs. Once the pairs were made, they used rock-paper-scissors again to form the teams.
And so, it was decided: Kazuma and Taichi’s pair with Miyazono and Megumi’s pair, making four. And Akatsuki and Kosuke’s pair with Kaori and Kaede’s pair, making the other four. With this, it became four versus four. Team selection complete, they headed to the reception desk. When Kazuma and the others were about to fill in their names on the registration form, they joked about writing strange names, but the girls gave them the cold shoulder, so they used their real names. Having finished filling it out, Kazuma’s group handed the form to the receptionist.
After registering, the eight of them headed to their assigned lane based on the ticket they were given. They rented shoes and selected bowling balls that suited them. Just as the eight of them, preparations complete, were about to start bowling, Miyazono called a halt.
“Now, hold on. Just bowling normally is boring. So, how about we make a little wager here?”
“A wager? What are we betting?”
“The cost of bowling here. The team with the lower total score pays for everyone. How about it?”
Faced with Miyazono’s ferocious grin, the other members wondered what to do. Whether to go along with her bet or not. It sounded fun, but the risk if they lost was quite significant. As students, having to cover the entire bowling cost for the opposing team would be tough on their wallets. Especially for those on an allowance.
However, it was also appealing. Because if they won, it would be free. After some hesitation, the group decided to accept Miyazono’s proposal.
“Alright, let’s do it!”
“That’s more like it!”
And so, the eight of them began their wager. Divided four against four, they started strategizing with their respective teams. Since the match would be decided by the total score of the four members, they first assessed the skill levels within their teams.
“My highest score is nearly 190, how about you guys?” Miyazono asked.
“Sorry. I’m not very good… around 110,” Taichi replied.
“Sorry. I’m the worst. A little over 100…” Megumi added.
Hearing Taichi and Megumi’s high scores, Miyazono grimaced. They were lower than she had expected, and Miyazono thought they might lose. However, it wasn’t decided yet. Kazuma hadn’t stated his score. The outcome of the match could depend on his score.
“How about you, Satsuki?” Miyazono asked.
“Hmph. Over 200,” he replied.
“Oh! Seriously?! With this, we might actually have a chance!”
Hearing Kazuma’s high score was over 200, Miyazono’s face brightened. Now they might have a fighting chance. How high Kazuma and Miyazono could score would be crucial.
“Alright, now we’ve got a shot at winning! Next is deciding the order. Satsuki and I should be third or fourth,” Miyazono declared.
“Huh, why?”
“It’s more pressure later on, right? If the first two mess up, the ones at the back can cover for them.”
“I see. In that case, either is fine with me,” Satsuki said.
“Then, I’ll be third, and Satsuki will be fourth,” Miyazono decided.
“Um, then, I’ll go first,” Taichi volunteered.
“Then, I’ll be second,” Megumi said. “Sorry if I drag you both down.”
“I’ll apologize in advance too,” Taichi added.
“No need to apologize before we even start,” Miyazono said reassuringly. “Besides, in the worst-case scenario, Satsuki and I will do our best, so leave it to us.”
Taichi and Megumi let out sighs of relief at Miyazono’s encouraging words. It seemed they had relaxed, their tension easing.
“Alright then, shall we begin?”
Miyazono clapped her hands, full of enthusiasm. Not exactly signaled by that sound, but the game began. First, Taichi threw his first ball. Unfortunately, it ended in a gutter ball. Megumi, who followed, didn’t score much either, ending up with a 3.
“Well, guess I’ll just casually get a strike,” Miyazono said. Saying that, the ball she threw splendidly sent the center pins flying. But, unfortunately, a pin on the edge remained, making it a 9. The ball she threw aiming for that pin sadly went into the gutter.
“Kuh, so close. Well, you’re up next,” Miyazono said, patting Kazuma, who was preparing to throw, on the shoulder before returning to the bench. Kazuma cracked his neck lightly and threw his first ball. It headed towards the center as if drawn in, and with a satisfying sound, he got a strike.
“Yes!”
Getting a strike, Kazuma made a victory pose and returned to the bench, high-fiving his teammates.
“Yeah!”
“That’s amazing, Kazuma! Getting a strike right off the bat!”
“Yeah! It’s true! Satsuki-kun, you’re amazing!”
“Nice! This will put pressure on the other team,” Miyazono chimed in.
After high-fiving everyone, Kazuma sat on the bench and observed the opposing team. Akatsuki and Kosuke had high scores of 8 and 9, but the girls were doing terribly. Kaede had a gutter ball for 0, and Kaori had a gutter ball and a 1. It seemed, Kazuma judged, that Akatsuki and Kosuke were the opponents to watch out for.
“Well, I don’t know how it’ll go from here, but I guess we gotta stay focused.”
This wasn’t just bowling. It’s an important match with the bowling fees on the line. I’ll say it again, for students, bowling fees are nothing to scoff at. Having to pay double that is really tough.
After that, Kazuma didn’t let up at all and went all out. He didn’t use magic, but he fully demonstrated the physical abilities he had cultivated in the other world.