[40] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
Below the awards stage, flashbulbs went off like stars. The team members from Heming Pavilion hugged each other tightly, their sweat glistening under the spotlights.
In the center of the boisterous crowd, the captain of the setter team had a subtle and gentle smile on his lips.
"We really did it..."
Saotome tightly hugged Imadegawa's forearm, murmuring with a slight sob in her voice.
Captain Golden Eyes raised his hand and ruffled the other person's sweaty hair.
"Yes, we did it."
His voice was very soft, like a feather falling on the snow, light and airy, yet carrying an undeniable composure.
The tone was so calm that it was as if they weren't talking about winning the championship, but rather discussing today's weather.
Such a seemingly casual remark instantly silenced the surrounding area.
All the members of the Crane Cry Pavilion looked at him simultaneously, their eyes, gleaming in the flash of the cameras, reflecting the same slender figure.
In this secluded tranquility, Aoyagi nestled against Imadekawa's shoulder.
He thought calmly.
If it weren't for Xihe, their school's team would never have made it to the national competition at this time, let alone won the championship.
It's really... wonderful to have met Yuzuru.
—That's great.
He has managed to stay with the team until now.
Saotome's eyes reddened slightly, and a fleeting glint of tears flashed in her eyes.
—That's great.
He can continue playing volleyball without any worries.
Aoyuki was unusually calm and composed in the crowd, not timid or hesitant.
Finally, the little tit landed on the championship trophy in the hands of the captain of the Crane Cry Pavilion, and they were raised high together.
The first group photo of the men's volleyball team at Heming Hall was taken at this moment.
——————
The tedious interview and follow-up procedures ended surprisingly quickly.
When interviewed, the first-year captain of Heming Hall behaved just as well as his impeccable appearance. He spoke thoughtfully and appropriately, and his attitude was humble and polite. He also handled some difficult questions flawlessly.
Director Fukui of Tsurumeikan was also a smiling tiger. His replies to the barrage of questions from reporters were almost impeccable. His drawn-out Kyoto accent, "The children's performance exceeded expectations~", drew thunderous applause from the Tsurumeikan supporters.
The team members huddled at the back, like a group of well-trained extras. When faced with difficult questions, they would smile shyly, and Coach Fukui would step in to answer them on their behalf.
The group at Heming Pavilion easily went through the series of activities.
While Jin Chuchuan was giving his speech, the Jingtashan group standing on the runner-up platform whispered among themselves.
"So mature."
"It sounds like a celebrity's speech at a press conference, it's too official and proper."
"Ah, it's that mature aura."
"That's why he can be both the captain of the first-year team and the president of the first-year student council. This kind of person is definitely a cunning old fox."
"Maybe it's full of black ink."
Compared to him, we, the rice cake makers, are just tender little shrimps!
Izuna, whose head was being pressed down by his ace senior: ...
Is it possible that... Heming Hall could hear your "whispers"—the champion's platform and the runner-up's platform are right next to each other! The distance between Heming Hall and Jingta Mountain is less than two meters!!
He commented on their captain like this in front of the Crane Cry Pavilion team members—
Didn't you notice that the free agent from the Crane Cry Pavilion, who's closest to us, has clenched his fist?!
Fortunately, they are on camera now, so even if the Heming Pavilion team members have objections, they won't come to challenge them to a duel in person.
Izuna smiled wearily as he was surrounded by his seniors.
......
Heming Hall returned home with a bang after winning the IH National Volleyball Championship trophy and two Best Individual Awards.
—With Imadegawa's "divine touch" to set the ball and Saotome's major contributions to Tsurumeikan's defensive system, the two successfully won the Best Setter and Best Libero awards in this year's IH National Tournament.
After a series of post-match activities, the Tsurumeikan team was led back to the rest area by Coach Fukui and the team leader to pack up their belongings and prepare to leave.
The little chubby bird excitedly flapped its wings around Imadegawa.
"This national tournament has generated even more media coverage than the last Kyoto preliminary round! Tsurumeikan's fame skyrocketed shortly after the tournament ended!!!"
"Not only has the energy pool been replenished, but there's also a significant surplus that can be used to exchange for various resources!"
The little chubby bird, who had spent a lot of energy in the early stages of the school's construction, finally saw its energy reserves slowly climb back to positive, and excitedly reactivated its internal dialogue channels.
To avoid appearing to outsiders as a self-talking lunatic, Little Chubby only interacts with Imadegawa when no one is around.
After reactivating the internal dialogue, it can finally contact Imadegawa anytime without any worries.
"After all, it's a national competition, so there must be a lot of viewers watching the broadcast."
Even after a long time, Imadegawa can still naturally switch back to the telepathic communication mode.
"No, the biggest increase in popularity for Crane Cry Pavilion was during today's finals," Little Fatty said, tilting his round head, his feathers ruffling as he shook his head.
"But your popularity really skyrocketed after the Inarisaki Round of 16—"
"After that day, there were so many posts about you on the volleyball forum!!!"
"You're a viral sensation on the forum!"
Little Chubby Bird's Aria.
"Isn't this just common sense?"
Imaizumi carefully folded and arranged the "Best Setter" medal and ribbon, then put them into his bag. "Wasn't all this preparation just for this kind of recognition?"
"You idiot—"
The little chubby bird flapped its wings angrily, its tiny claws tugged at the backpack straps, and its beady black eyes were filled with disappointment.
"The plan was a resounding success, and both the main and side quests are progressing perfectly. Can't we just honestly say we're happy?"
"Why are you always so calm and collected?"
"They've already worked so hard..."
The glutinous rice ball gently kicked the back of Imadegawa's hand, but unconsciously lightened its strength the moment it touched his skin.
Jin Chuchuan: "I don't feel it's hard."
The golden-eyed boy's eyes curved slightly as he gently patted the little dumpling's head: "It's so wonderful to have met you."
The little chubby bird's fur suddenly bristled, looking just like a cotton candy that had been struck by static electricity.
"..."
It hesitated for a long time before finally muttering in an almost inaudible voice, "...I also think it's great to have met you..."
Then it hurriedly changed the subject, mentioning the key point that Imadekawa was most concerned about.
"but--"
"This fame translates into enough resources to guarantee at least one pull from the teammate gacha pool!!!"
Imadegawa:! ! !
Imaizuchi's eyes instantly shone brightly.
"Change to the guaranteed minimum now!"
At the peak of his career, having just won the championship (JgiX), his luck is definitely not going to be too bad.
—Maybe this guaranteed draw will bring him the powerful main attacker he's been dreaming of?
If you have enough resources, you should definitely start drawing SSRs as soon as possible, because the sooner you draw an SSR, the sooner you can start training it!
Without hesitation, Little Chubby replaced the summoning resources in the teammate card pool for Imadegawa.
With one hand tightly gripping the championship trophy, Imadegawa rapidly clicked the card-drawing button in his consciousness space with the other.
He poured a series of ten-pulls into the gacha pool as smoothly as flowing water.
They kept drawing ten times in a row.
Each ten-pull guaranteed an SR female middle blocker, SR male outside hitter, SR female setter, SR male opposite hitter, SR male outside hitter...
The drop rate for the guaranteed SR main attack has been quite considerable these past few times.
One time, I even got two SR main attackers in a 10-pull, but one was male and one was female.
Imaidekawa is even more excited about the pity system for this teammate gacha banner.
With Imadegawa looking on expectantly, the SSR character card arrived ahead of schedule, even before the final pity system was activated.
A golden light filled Shin's eyes—
The words "Main Attack" were gently outlined in the upper right corner of the card.
With Imadegawa's eager anticipation, the long-awaited SSR main attack card has finally made its grand debut!!!
—Imaidegawa's satisfied expression froze the moment the entire card was fully revealed.
He stubbornly examined the flipped-over cards repeatedly.
The symbol representing women is powerfully and firmly printed in the lower left corner of the card.
Imadegawa:......
The chubby little bird who watched the whole thing: ...
The air in that corner seemed to freeze for more than ten seconds.
Imadegawa spoke calmly, "Didn't you say there was one chance to adjust before the guaranteed draw...?"
"It was used this time too..." the chubby little bird said weakly.
Imadegawa: "...So this main attacker is the one in the gacha pool with the highest 'synergy' with me?"
Imadegawa pinched the ethereal card and waved it in front of the little chubby bird.
"Should we let this girl disguise herself as a boy and join the 'Crane's Cry Hall Men's Volleyball Club'?"
When he thought of the first two words "Men's Volleyball Club," Imadegawa emphasized them.
The chubby little bird shrank its head: "Ah... I'm the Haikyuu!! system, so I only match based on compatibility. We silicon-based life forms don't distinguish between genders."
It emphasized again at the end: "And I'm from the Haikyuu!! system—a boy without gender—"
Imaizumi's eyes were dead: "Didn't your previous host complain? SR and R cards are one thing, but shouldn't there at least be a fixed gender system for SSRs? The pity system is so hard to build up, and the gender isn't fixed. How could someone possibly win the national championship in their first year of high school?"
"Haha..." Little Chubby's eyes darted around, "Your situation is quite rare..."
"Normal users rarely get an SSR only after reaching the pity system every time..."
The chubby little bird cautiously observed Imadegawa's expression.
Today, the area outside Sichuan is shrouded in gloom, with thunder and lightning and continuous rain.
Seeing that the color of Imadegawa was fading, the chubby little bird quickly comforted her: "But the resources aren't all used up yet, right? Maybe we can scrape together enough for another round of guaranteed results after the subsequent newspaper reports!"
"The next guaranteed pull will definitely give me a useful character card..."
The little chubby bird's voice gradually faded, becoming visibly weak.
The man and the bird looked at each other in silence.
So, at the hidden exit of the venue, the actor waiting for the Crane Cry Hall group to leave was caught off guard and met a face as cold as ice—
Although the setter who had just led the team to victory had no expression, the resentment surging in her bright golden eyes was almost tangible, glowing faintly in the dim corridor.
The character subconsciously took a half step back.
Huh? You're not satisfied with winning the championship?
He stared at the almost tangible low pressure surrounding the other person, then glanced at the relaxed and harmonious atmosphere of the other members of the Heming Hall team behind the golden-eyed setter, and his brain entered a rare, brief state of stagnation.
—Do you feel you didn't perform well?
...Aren't my expectations of myself a bit too high?
————————
(His energy was drained by the week - he listlessly touched the little ones' paws -)
Yes, this is exactly what inspired Xiaohe to write this chapter. It seems our Heming Hall's women's volleyball team might make it to the national championships this spring (so, Xiaohe, is this really your own idea?). I can't even imagine how outsiders will view Heming Hall's volleyball team in the future; both the men's and women's teams are incredibly strong!
This chapter is a disaster for Xiao He, but don't worry—the next chapter will bring out a new SSR to warm his heart (heart emoji). I've already thought of a name for the new SSR, hehe.
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