Start in DxD as Motohama: Leveling Up in Another World-Chapter 31: Sports class

"Amazing..."

It was during the afternoon class. After finishing lunch with Ryo and the others, it was time for P.E. class. Plus, it would last for two hours. However, Shinji decided not to participate for the time being. He wanted to gauge how much he needed to limit his abilities to avoid drawing too much attention—it had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't good at sports to begin with.

In front of him, Ryo was skillfully balancing the soccer ball while effortlessly dodging several students. Shingo was on the same team as Ryo, standing in front of the goal.

"Wait! Someone stop Ryooo!"

"No, hold on, he's already being marked by three people, you know!?"

"If three aren't enough, then five should do it!"

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With that, five students rushed toward Ryo at once. But Ryo just grinned widely, as if mocking their attempt.

"That's a bad move, you know? Oops."

"Geeeeeeeeh!?"

The five students gasped in shock.

Ryo kicked the ball with his heel, sending it flying over their heads. Then, in one swift motion, he slipped between them and caught up with the ball.

"No way... Shingo-kun said Ryo was amazing, but... hey, that wasn't just an exaggeration. He's actually incredible..."

"Right? His teammates must feel relieved, but anyone on the opposing team would be in total despair."

"Huh?"

As Shinji muttered to himself, he suddenly heard someone respond. Startled, he turned toward the voice, only to find a cheerful girl with a ponytail standing beside him.

"Ah, did I surprise you?"

"Just a little... Uh...?"

Shinji recognized the faces of his classmates but still hadn't memorized all their names. It seemed the girl picked up on that, as she gave him an apologetic smile.

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"Sorry, sorry, you must be asking about my name, right?... I'm Kaede Kazama! Nice to meet you, Shinji-kun."

"Nice to meet you too, Kazama-san."

Hearing that, the girl gave a slightly bitter smile.

"You can just call me Kaede, you know! I'll call you Shinji-kun too."

"I-Is that so? Alright then."

Now that he thought about it, everyone casually used first names, which felt a bit too familiar for Shinji's taste. As he pondered this, a few other girls approached, watching the boys and cheering them on.

"Do your best, everyone!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Hey, run faster!"

Slightly surprised by the scene, Shinji turned to Kaede.

"Are the girls taking a break?"

"Yeah. That's why we come to watch the boys like this. After all, they're built differently from us in terms of strength!"

"I see..."

Convinced by Kaede's words, he turned back to the field. The boys' morale skyrocketed just from having the girls watching, and their movements improved significantly.

"You guys are really easy to figure out."

Shinji muttered to himself, shaking his head with an ironic smile.

"Yooooshaaa! Watch my amazing footwork...!"

"No, no! You should be looking at me instead!"

"That's fine and all, but more importantly..."

"LET'S STOP RYO!"

They all shouted in unison.

Unlike before, this time, everyone except the goalkeeper rushed toward Ryo.

"Whoa!? W-What's going on!?"

"Pass me the ball!"

"No, I'm the one who should take it!"

"Get out of my way! You're just an obstacle!"

Ryo's expression twitched as he watched the opposing team charge at him like a chaotic stampede.

"Yeah... there's no way I can handle this on my own..."

"TAKE THIS!"

The enemy team let out a battle cry as they all lunged at him.

"Oi oi... soccer is a team game, you know?"

"HEEEEH!?"

The opposing team shouted in realization.

Ryo passed the ball to one of his teammates.

"AAAAAHHHH!?"

The boys screamed like they had just discovered a fundamental truth.

"You guys are complete idiots..."

Since everyone except the goalkeeper had rushed toward Ryo, their defense was now wide open.

The one who received the ball was a blond, handsome-looking guy.

"Fufufu... I'm the one who got the ball. There's no way you can win now! Behold, my special move...!"

After dramatically brushing his hair back with his hand, he kicked the ball with full force—straight toward where Shinji and the girls were standing.

"Huh!?"

"Hey, you idiot! Where the hell are you aiming!?"

Ryo blurted out instinctively, momentarily stunned. However, at that very moment, the ball was speeding toward them at an alarming rate.

The girls, including Kaede, were caught off guard by the sudden situation. Unable to react in time, some let out small screams and crouched down in fear.

Seeing this, Shinji's body moved on its own. Before he even realized it—

He had stepped in front of Kaede, who was directly in the ball's path, and executed a perfect jump volley, striking the incoming ball midair. His foot connected beautifully with the speeding ball, sending it soaring straight toward the goal Ryo's team had been aiming for.

And then...

"N-No way..."

"T-That's a goal..."

"Seriously...?"

The ball, launched at an incredible speed, landed perfectly in the goal.

Shinji landed effortlessly and turned toward Kaede, who stood frozen behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"...Huh!? Eh, ah, u-um! Y-Yeah! I'm fine!"

"I see. That's good, then."

Once again, the physical abilities he had gained in the other world had shown themselves at just the right moment.

"...Ah!? S-Shinji-kun! What was that just now!? I've only ever seen that kind of move in manga, you know!?"

"Huh? U-Um... whatever it was... I just kind of did it."

Ever since he had learned how to move his body in another world, he had been able to replicate movements he imagined. Though, it hadn't been easy. His body could move, but his consciousness struggled to keep up.

The other girls gathered around, thanking him. Then, Ryo approached them.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Shinji-kun protected me."

"Glad to hear it. More importantly—Shinji, that was seriously amazing. You should totally join the club."

"Eh!? Shinji-kun, you're in the Going-Home Club!?"

"W-Well..."

Honestly, up until now, he had barely been able to move properly due to his complete lack of exercise and interest in physical activities.

"Shinji-kun, you don't really look that muscular, though."

"K-Kaede!?"

Shinji flinched as Kaede suddenly reached out and touched his chest and stomach.

"Whoa, this is amazing! I couldn't tell from the outside, but you've got some serious muscle! I'm surprised by how firm you are!"

"I-I guess so...?"

"I mean it! I train in the track and field club, but I've never been able to build much muscle. Look, mine's soft, see?"

"W-Whaaa!?"

Completely off guard, Shinji let out a surprised noise as Kaede took his hand and placed it on her stomach.

"It's... soft..."

He muttered absentmindedly before snapping back to reality and quickly pulling his hand away.

"K-Kaede-san? This is... I don't think it's a good idea to let a guy touch you like that."

"Huh? Ah, sorry. I did it without thinking."

Kaede quickly let go of his arm and grabbed her head, her face flushed red.

Shinji couldn't help but think that this girl was way too innocent.

"O-Oi!"

(Not even kidding, she actually yelled that. It sounds like that guy's name, which only makes this worse...)

Suddenly, a loud voice echoed across the field. Shinji turned toward it and saw the blond boy who had kicked the ball earlier. Wondering what had happened, the boy immediately bowed in a swift, fluid motion.

"I'm reaaaaally sooooooooory!"

Shinji was stunned by the boy's bow—it was nearly identical to the perfectly executed bow he had seen in an anime before. Kaede quickly responded.

"It's fine, it's fine! I didn't get hurt at all!"

"Oh... Will you forgive me...? I shall serve you for the rest of my life...!"

"Uh... no, that won't be necessary..."

"Damn it!"

Shinji found the boy's dramatic behavior somewhat amusing.

Standing up, the boy turned to Shinji.

"Well... you saved me too. Thanks."

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad I managed to handle it. Be more careful next time."

"I'll definitely handle it more carefully next time!"

After saying that, he introduced himself.

"Oh, since you still don't remember my name, let me say it again. My name is Akira Ichinose. I am known as the [Young Noble of Kuoh Gakuen]...!"

"Nope, never heard of that before."

Ryo let out a bitter smile at Shinji's deadpan reply.

"As you can see, Akira's got some quirks, but he's not a bad guy. It might just take you a while to get used to his... act."

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly normal, you know? Hey, look at me!"

As he spoke, he ran a hand through his hair in a dramatic fashion. If anyone else had done it, it would have seemed pretentious, but for some reason, Shinji felt like it actually suited Akira.

A quirky yet likable person.

This kind of character made him feel like he was really living inside an anime.