I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine - I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine chapter 59

59. The Confrontation at the Sea②

“Here we go!”

As soon as the match begins, Mai shouts and unleashes a powerful serve.

The ball spins and gains momentum, shimmering in the sunlight as it dances through the air. With precise control, it is sent straight into the opponent’s court.

As expected of my little sister. Her aim is perfect, and the power is more than sufficient.

However, the key player of the opposing team, Hinano Karen, deftly handles the serve. She skillfully dampens its momentum and gently sends the ball into the air with a soft touch.

“Yuna, I’ve got this!”

“Y-yes!”

Responding to Hinano’s command, Hanazaki immediately reacts and dashes across the sandy beach. She bumps the falling ball to connect it with Fusegawa Yorito.

“Woooaahhh!!”

Fusegawa lets out a roar as he leaps. He slams the ball that Hanazaki connected towards our court.

But Masaki steps up to block it.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”

Masaki assesses the trajectory and quickly moves to the drop point. She crosses her arms in front of her chest, crouches down, and takes the incoming ball head-on. The received ball beautifully returns over Mai’s head.

“Big brother, pass!”

“Got it!”

Mai doesn’t miss a beat, quickly adjusting her position to bump the ball into the air. It’s at just the right height, and her targeted position is perfect. With this, I can land the ultimate spike.

I kick off the sandy beach and jump high.

Then I swing my right hand down towards the ball that my sister has set up.

The protagonist team fails to react in time to the unleashed strike, and my spike pierces through the sandy court.

“We did it, Ryusuke! First point secured!”

“Big brother, you’re amazing! Nice spike!!”

“You both did great. That was a good move.”

“Ryusuke, you looked super cool just now. I believe you’ll score again next time!”

“Hey, big brother, you’re so handsome! I might fall for you!”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks.”

We exchanged high-fives while being praised by the two.

Scoring first against the protagonist team was a big deal. This is a good omen.

Mashiro had athletic skills that could rival any boy since childhood, and those skills remained intact even in high school. Mai, being my sister, also had outstanding athletic ability.

I wanted to keep scoring like this.

While we were smiling, Fusegawa Raito wore a troubled expression. It seemed he was displeased that his spike had been completely ineffective.

“Damn… I should have been able to hit a really good one.”

“Don’t worry, Raito! It’s still just one point! We can recover from here!”

“That’s right, Raito-kun. The match is still far from over!”

“Y-Yeah… You’re right…”

Even after hearing Hime no and Hanazaki’s words, Fusegawa’s expression didn’t clear up.

Watching him, I felt something was off.

There was a sense of discomfort in his behavior.

How should I put it… It didn’t feel like the Raito Fusegawa I knew from the original work. The Raito Fusegawa I knew was bright and somehow lovable.

But the Raito in front of me seemed to lack composure.

If he were to act as the protagonist, he should be more confident, and this was supposed to be a scene of encouragement with the heroines. At the very least, the Raito Fusegawa from the original would have acted that way.

Yet, even with this feeling of discomfort, the match continued.

From noble mtl dot net

Having scored the first point, our team regained the serve. Mai would continue serving until the opposing team scored.

Mai cheerfully called out before taking a running start to serve.

Then, she jumped with momentum and served the ball. Just like before, she aimed for a precise course, and the ball shot straight towards the opponent’s court.

However, the opponent team’s Himenos effortlessly deflected it again, sending the ball into the air.

“Raito! Leave the next attack to me!”

“No way! I’ll do it!”

“Wha—!? Huh!?”

Himenos seemed surprised by Fusegawa’s sudden outburst.

Hanazaki was also confused about where to pass the ball. That confusion manifested as a play mistake, and Hanazaki’s deflected ball rolled out of bounds.

“Yuna, what are you doing! Get it together!”

“I’m s-sorry…”

“Raito, calm down. This isn’t what we discussed beforehand. We agreed that the attacks would alternate between you and me, so why are you so flustered?”

“…That’s because… I’m sorry, I got a little too heated. I don’t want to lose… to Shindo Ryusuke, so… I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, but… I see. You don’t want to lose to Shindo Ryusuke… That’s why you were so fired up.”

“Yeah. I can’t stand losing. I’ve decided that I absolutely have to win against him.”

“You were really frustrated back during the final exams, weren’t you? I understand. Then go ahead and move as you like, but I want you to promise me one thing: don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Thank you, Kakeru.”

“Raito-kun, I’ll do my best to connect with you too. So absolutely…!”

“Yuna, I’m sorry for surprising you earlier. But I’ll definitely make it happen, trust me.”

Hanazaki and Himeno nodded gently, smiling as they faced Fusegawa.

(I see. The recent setback was meant to unite the protagonist and the heroines.)

In a moment of crisis, the protagonist supports and is supported by the heroines, overcoming the wall that stands before them. The tension they felt until now was all a setup for this.

With this, the hearts of the protagonist’s team should have become one. From here on, a counterattack is surely coming; we can’t let our guard down.

I turn my gaze to my sister.

Mai nods and takes her serving stance once more.

With a powerful run-up, she sends the ball flying. However, this time it unfortunately gets caught in the net.

“Oops… I might have overdone it a bit.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mai. Just being able to score twice in a row is impressive; let’s reset.”

“Okay! Thanks, big brother! I’ll do my best next time!”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”

I pat Mai’s head to encourage her. She smiles happily and shifts her focus to the next play.

And finally, the protagonist team’s attack begins.

I brace myself, taking a deep breath in preparation.