Chapter 23: The legend of the Winter Interschool Festival

Who would have thought volleyball would become this popular?

Then again, looking at what the players are wearing, maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised.

"Camilaaaa! Yours!"

Jessica’s shout snapped Lars out of his thoughts about how much the sport had changed from the way he remembered it.

"Comingggg!"

Camila launched herself into the air with a jump worthy of an Olympic medal and spiked the ball with the force and precision that had made her a legend of the Winter Interschool Festival.

Her opponents barely had time to see the ball leave her hand before it slammed into their side of the court with the force of a cannon shot.

The referee’s whistle echoed through the gym.

"The first set goes to Miskatonic Girls’ Team 1! Five-minute break, then we start the second!"

It was a practice match ahead of the Winter Interschool Festival, scheduled for two days later.

Camila, Jessica, and Mia’s team was facing the strongest boys’ squad in the school.

As soon as the whistle blew, Camila, Jessica, and Mia immediately pulled each other into an exaggerated group hug and started bouncing up and down together.

The other three players on their team stayed off to the side instead.

They simply watched the trio celebrate as if they had just won the final, when in reality it was only the first set of a practice match.

With every jump, Camila’s firm ass bounced beneath those tiny, skin-tight shorts.

To Lars, they looked like little more than a pair of panties with slightly more coverage.

...Right. I wonder why this sport is so popular...

As he glanced around the stands packed with students, he became more and more convinced that every boy there had come just to stare at Camila’s ass.

The thought irritated him quite a bit.

But not nearly as much as the voice of the boy sitting next to him in the bleachers.

"Damn, Levi, your sister’s a natural! She could play by herself and still win!"

Lars slowly turned his gaze toward Niall Al O’Tep.

"Where did you come from?"

"What do you mean? I’ve been sitting here talking to you for half an hour!"

"Oh. So that’s what that annoying buzzing was."

Niall burst out laughing.

"Your blunt, cutting jokes kill me, I swear!"

"That wasn’t a joke. You really are annoying me."

"Got it! Then I’ll keep nice and quiet. It’ll be like I’m not even here!"

"It would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for you to keep your mouth shut."

"A camel through the eye of a needle...? Wait, I’ve heard that before! That’s from Bad Bunny, right?"

"From who...? Never mind."

Suddenly, something put Lars on alert.

Someone had jumped over the stands and was sprinting at full speed toward Camila and her friends, who were still busy celebrating.

Lars started to get up, but stopped the moment he recognized Emily.

She was carrying three water bottles and just as many towels in her arms.

"We’re seriously unstoppable!"

"For real, we even crushed the boys!"

"Forget school festivals, we should be playing at nation— oh, there’s Emily!"

The three of them cut their over-the-top celebration short when they saw her approaching.

"You girls were amazing! Seriously, great job!" Emily congratulated them with a genuine smile.

"Yeah! We’re super duper strong!" Camila replied, practically overflowing with happiness.

Then she immediately reached for the water bottles and towels.

"...Oh, finally! We were dying of thirst, and look how sweaty we are! But it was totally worth it — we played insanely well!"

Emily handed her the bottles and towels, which Camila immediately passed to Jessica and Mia.

"G-Good luck in the next set, girls..." she murmured at last.

Camila gave her a brief, grateful smile, then immediately went back to celebrating with Jessica and Mia, trading compliments as if nothing had interrupted them.

Emily lowered her gaze slightly.

Then she turned around and slowly made her way back to her seat in the front row of the stands.

"Tsk."

Lars gave a slight shake of his head and grimaced in disappointment.

At the referee’s whistle, the two teams started the second set.

It ended even faster than the first, and once again, Camila deserved most of the credit.

With her reflexes and speed, she seemed to be everywhere she was needed. Hardly a single ball got past her, and her spikes turned into points with impressive consistency.

Every time she touched the ball, chants and cheers erupted from the stands.

And yet, through it all, Lars kept thinking about those tiny, skin-tight shorts.

He genuinely couldn’t understand what purpose they served other than drawing in a crowd.

...Pff. What a depraved era this is...

Once Camila had finished her usual over-the-top celebration with Jessica and Mia, she glanced toward the front rows of the stands.

For a few moments, she looked around in confusion, as if searching for someone. Then she shrugged.

A second later, she sprinted up the steps toward Lars.

Her breasts bounced beneath her shirt, which was just as tight and skimpy as her shorts.

"Big brooooo!"

She practically threw herself at him with so much force that she nearly sent both of them tumbling out of their seats.

"Did you see how good I was? They barely stood a chance, even though they were a boys’ team!"

"Wow. Very impressive."

Camila puffed out her cheeks in an awkward pout.

"You could show a little more enthusiasm for your beloved imōto-chan..."

"Better not get me started."

Lars shoved her away with very little tact.

"...And I thought I’d made myself clear about not embarrassing me in front of everyone. Apparently, I need to punish you again."

"Well, if the punishment is the same one you gave me that afternoon at the maid café... that sounds more like an invitation..."

"Don’t test me."

The seriousness in his tone instantly killed any desire she had to joke around.

"...By the way, big bro... have you seen Emily? I can’t find her anywhere."

"She’s your friend. Why would I know where she is?"

"What does that have to do with anything? Maybe you saw her leave. You know, I was kind of busy winning a match. If she left during the second set, I obviously wouldn’t have noticed."

"Yeah. That’s exactly the point."

Camila frowned, puzzled.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

Lars stood up.

"...Anyway, I’m going home."

"What? Why? I still have another match to play. Aren’t you staying to watch me?"

"No."

Camila stuck her tongue out at him.

"You’re so mean, big bro..."

Lars made his way down the long corridor leading from the indoor gym toward the exit.

Since it was already after hours, all the classroom doors were closed.

All except one: the classroom used by the group in charge of the food stalls, which Lars was also part of.

The door was slightly ajar, and a female voice came from inside.

"...I could put the dessert stall here instead. But what kind? Let’s see... the forecast says the weather should be nice the day after tomorrow, but it’s still winter. Then again, anyone doing sports will probably be sweaty and overheated. So maybe something refreshing would be better than something too heavy and sugary— huh?"

Emily suddenly spun around toward the door behind her.

There was no one there.

And yet, for a moment, she could have sworn someone had been watching her.