Chapter 42: Shiina's Loyalty

“Hey! Wait, all the seniors from GDM have disappeared! What am I supposed to do?” Upon hearing the news of Hisako and the others vanishing, Yui pointed at herself, anxiously asking.

“Well, do what you have to do. For now, you’ll fight alongside us. Reforming the band might be a little difficult, but the most important thing right now is to win the championship at the sports competition!” Yuri completely ignored Yui’s teary-eyed expression, her eyes shining with determination.

“With so many elite members on our side, victory should be a piece of cake. First, Hinata, step forward!” Yuri, pacing in front of the desk, suddenly pointed at Hinata, who was standing idly among the group.

“Yes, ma’am!” Called upon by Yuri, Hinata took a step forward, chest out and ready to salute in a show of respect.

“I heard you used to be a baseball player! The task of recruiting team members is yours! Everyone else, go form your own teams! If you lose to ordinary students, you’ll face a punishment worse than death!” Yuri’s eyes glinted with a strange and sinister light as she addressed Hinata.

“Uh, understood!” Faced with Yuri’s menacing threat, Hinata nodded frantically, too frightened to object. A punishment worse than death was something he dared not even contemplate. Internally, he wept—why did she have to know he played baseball in the past?

To avoid defeat and the ensuing punishment, Hinata turned to his friend Otonashi, clapping him on the shoulder and gazing at him with great feeling. “Otonashi, I need you!”

“Are you that kind of guy?” Otonashi responded coolly, moving away from Hinata as if warding off a pervert, arms crossed defensively.

“No! I mean for the team!” Hinata’s eyes widened in frustration, shouting his denial and accidentally spraying Otonashi with saliva. Then he grabbed Otonashi’s shoulders, his tone suggesting they’d face death together. “Otonashi, let’s team up! Yurippe is serious this time—if we lose, it’ll be a disaster!”

“Then don’t drag me down with you! You haven’t even recruited anyone else!” Otonashi, wary of Yuri’s threat, was visibly unsettled. If they lost, would he also face that horrific punishment? He refused at once.

“No problem, I’ll take care of the others! With my immense prestige, I’ll assemble the strongest team you’ve ever seen!” Hinata, ignoring Otonashi’s refusal, beat his chest with confidence.

“The strongest team needs the strongest teammate. Even without specialized training, someone with a powerful physique can be more valuable than many pros. Physical strength is crucial! As the strongest member of our group, Yechen, join our ultimate team!” At that moment, Hinata and a resigned Otonashi stood before Yechen, with Hinata spreading his arms and looking at him expectantly, as if hoping Yechen would leap into his embrace.

“No.” Yechen’s reply was blunt and immediate. Forcing him to join would be nothing short of bullying, and he wasn’t familiar with the rules or interested in such a trivial activity.

“Why not! Yechen, I trusted you, and now you treat me like this!” Hinata spread his hands like an abandoned maiden, casting a resentful glance deep into Yechen’s soul.

Then he was unceremoniously thrown out of the principal’s office window by Xiaobai. Having done so, Xiaobai concluded inwardly that, while this man posed no real threat, he was still too disgusting, and Xingchen should avoid contact with him in the future.

“What remarkable prestige—to get tossed out like that,” Otonashi remarked dryly, watching Hinata sprawled on the cement below.

After a long while, Hinata revived and, meeting Otonashi’s skeptical gaze, said, “Yechen is still just a newcomer, so he’s an exception. Without him, I’ll just have to recruit Matsushita the Fifth Dan as my team leader! Don’t worry, he’ll wait for me—he’s my sworn brother! Sorry about that.”

Matsushita the Fifth Dan said, “Ah, I already joined Takebayashi’s team, since I had no reason to refuse.”

“Ah!” Hinata let out a wail of despair. Otonashi, seizing the moment, perfectly mimicked Hinata’s earlier tone and gestures, “He just said, ‘We’re friends, sorry about that~~’”

“Stop it!” Hinata, mortified at being reminded of his earlier words, stopped Otonashi with a shout. Gritting his teeth, he produced several meal tickets. “At this point, I can’t be blamed for being underhanded! I’ll give you all my meat udon meal tickets if you join my team!”

“No problem!” Tempted by the promise of meat udon, Matsushita instantly abandoned Takebayashi and joined Hinata’s team without hesitation.

“What irresistible prestige,” Otonashi quipped once more.

After that, Hinata tried to recruit several more people, but they had all already been snatched up by others. With only three members, Hinata wandered aimlessly around the academy, searching for anyone else he might have overlooked. After much effort and a bit of cunning, he finally managed to rope in Noda, and scraped together a few NPC students to fill out the roster.

“I can’t shake the feeling that, when Yechen turned me down today, I missed something important!” Hinata, dragging his chin and wandering about with Otonashi in tow, mused aloud. “Oh right! For some reason, Shiina has been following Yechen all day!”

Meanwhile, Yechen and the now-human Xiaobai strolled hand in hand through the campus. Truthfully, both felt a little awkward. If it were just the two of them, a walk like in the past would have been enjoyable, but now there was a constant sense of being watched.

Shiina followed close behind, her gaze darting frequently between the two. With their abilities, Yechen and Xiaobai had long since noticed and found her behavior odd. Xiaobai gave Yechen a meaningful look, as if trying to read something in his expression.

Under the weight of their stares, Yechen finally gave in, stopped, and, taking Xiaobai with him, walked toward Shiina. Noticing their approach, Shiina stood her ground, letting them observe her.

“I want to know what’s going on with you two today. Shiina, you’ve been trailing us almost the entire day. Is there something you want to say?” Ever since leaving the storeroom, Shiina had seemed different from usual. Seizing the opportunity, Yechen asked.

“How shallow…” Shiina muttered habitually. Then, under Yechen and Xiaobai’s astonished gazes, she slowly knelt on one knee before Yechen and said, “I, Shiina Eri, hereby pledge my loyalty and devotion to you, Yechen…”