Why is the Demon King like this?

Just before get out of class ended, Keisuke Ao learned from Yuki in the morning why Yuto Nakagawa was having an attack—the next class was physical education.

Moreover, it was a large class where classes five and six were together.

Last time, Class 5 narrowly lost to Class 6 in the soccer game during PE class. Nakagawa Yuto felt deeply ashamed of his poor performance in his field, so he made a bet with the boys from Class 6 this time, using basketball to settle the score.

Upon hearing this, the Demon King was momentarily speechless.

Who was talking to him about first-year students this morning? I see you like playing basketball too.

As the school team's star striker, can't you set a good example? And since you lost the game, why didn't you try to make up for it on the pitch?

"So, Qinggui, do you want to go on stage? I can get you in through the back door!"

"Why did you suddenly become so lewd when you said that?" Ao Keisuke slapped Nakagawa Yuto's hand away. As soon as get out of class ended, the sports committee member came back from behind, strutting around, and tried to pinch Ao Keisuke's shoulder.

"Eh—you didn't know? Everyone's favorite Homo! A 17-year-old male high school student, he's everyone's Beast-senpai!"

Yuto Nakagawa made a startling declaration, striking a few seemingly impressive poses, which earned him disdainful glances from several passing girls.

"Nakagawa, you bastard, don't try to feed Aoki-kun any weird ideas!" Yuki stood in front of Nakagawa Yuto.

"Karmen is here to fight Haiz. His belt transformation code is 114514, and his battle suit is the Crimson and Black Burst Mode!"

The ultimate attack is the photon... Ah!

"Hey! Yuto, you bastard, get over here and change your clothes right now!" Before he could finish his performance, several boys rushed over and grabbed Nakagawa Yuto by the neck: "You dared to challenge those guys from Class 6? Class 6 has the captain of their basketball team!"

Nakagawa Yuto exclaimed confidently, "Victory is assured in this battle!"

The noisy boys rushed out in a swarm, laughing and discussing their tactics.

Keisuke Ao sighed, rubbing his temples with a headache, unable to understand the interests of Tokyo high school boys.

It would be asking too much of him to learn and imitate such a comical performance...

But what devastated him even more was that Yuto Nakagawa's spirituality index briefly increased when he uttered that string of shameful lines!

8→10!

Is this a world where believing in the card art means you might end up being the one playing the card art?

To be honest, because his spirituality is too low and he has almost no free magic outside his body, he has never tried those super-level spells that require chanting.

Similarly, perhaps the power of words can also take effect?

Keisuke Ao knew the power of words, but faced with a completely different power system, the spells he was familiar with were destined to need major revisions.

After all, the object of the prayer is no longer there, so maintaining the original framework of the spell is nothing more than empty talk.

"Qinggui-kun, do you know where the stadium is?" Yuki asked in the morning.

"Okay, thank you. I can go by myself."

The original owner had at least attended high school for a year, so she was actually quite familiar with the school in her memories.

Go to the locker room to change into a short-sleeved and short-short sports uniform. The sports uniform of Kūkai Private High School is white with blue trim and has Kūkai's school emblem on the chest, which is three overlapping seashells.

Strolling through the school's central courtyard, the flowerbeds are lush with vegetation, and unnamed wildflowers stubbornly grow in the shade during the summer.

The handsome young man, who appeared frail but possessed an elegant demeanor, attracted the attention of the girls upstairs, and gasps of surprise rang out.

Keisuke Ao suddenly thought—if he were to perform Yuto Nakagawa's signature act right here, perhaps half of those admiring glances would be gone?

But the cost might be that my school plans would completely spiral out of control, so I'll pass.

In the last minute before the school bell rang, Keisuke Ao entered the gymnasium and found his class's seat.

Kūkai's gymnasium is quite large, with three basketball courts alone, and the other half of the area is occupied by badminton and volleyball courts.

Some small clubs often hold their after-school activities here.

Two first-year classes were also having class together in the gymnasium, but Keisuke Ao didn't see Rena Kobayashi, otherwise he might have been stared at for the entire class.

Let's spare the Demon King.

"Ready for class!"

The physical education teacher, who was giving a large class, came out of the lounge and arranged for the sports committee members to line up the team.

"I heard that your two classes are preparing to have a competition, so here's a venue for you both. Each of you can choose a referee..."

The physical education teacher was very tolerant of such large classes; as long as no one caused any trouble, he was happy to change his teaching plan.

As for those who didn't participate in the basketball game, they shared the badminton and volleyball courts with the first-year students. Those who wanted to slack off could sit on the sidelines of the basketball court and be cheerleaders.

"Qinggui, are you going to play?" Nakagawa Yuto asked.

"No, I'm planning to go to the second floor to check out the indoor running track."

"Hey, do you like running too?"

Qing Keisuke: "..."

Intuition told him there was no need to respond to that, so Aokiji waved his hand and quickly ran off after the meeting was over.

My body is still weak, so I can't be lazy in every training session!

The rubber track on the second floor surrounds the indoor stadium. It is not the standard 400-meter length, but most of the ground floor area can be seen through the openwork layer.

Aokiji took even breaths, loosened his joints, and started running at a steady pace. With a whistle, the basketball game between Class 5 and Class 6 below also started in full swing.

After running two laps, Aokiji glanced down at the first floor and saw that the score had reached 3:11.

Goodness, the first quarter is almost over before it's even finished.

Both teams were full of energy in the first quarter, and their offense and defense were quite intense, with everyone being squeezed and their movements becoming distorted.

The intense competition caused the fifth-class pitchers' accuracy to remain poor for a long time, and the crisp sound of missed shots almost broke the morale of their teammates.

The only three-pointer was accidentally made by a random player who was just there to make up the numbers.

In contrast, Class 6 had a much better offensive rhythm, scoring repeatedly under the leadership of their star player.

Keisuke Ao didn't understand the rules of basketball very well, but after only a few glances, he roughly understood how the game was played. He then looked away without any interest and focused on running.

Unlike normal people who run, with each movement, the major muscles in his body vibrate slightly with his breathing. If you don't observe carefully, you will only feel that his running posture is full of indescribable coordination. In fact, it is a very advanced training method of the demon race.

To achieve this effect, Keisuke Ao only needs to meet the condition of "exercising", so of course he chooses the most convenient way: running!

He had perfect control over his frail body, ignoring all the tingling, numbness, and pain feedback from his sensory organs, allowing Aokiji to perform at a level far beyond that of ordinary people.

While others aim to sweat while working out, Keisuke Ao's bottom line is to risk getting injured.

"Huff... huff..."

At halftime, the score was an absurd 13:30. Keisuke Ao finally stopped, his body drenched in sweat, as if he had been pulled out of the water.

He leaned against the railing, quietly watching the field.

There seemed to be a breeze blowing in from outside the stadium gates.

The once lively and noisy cheerleading squad has now all fallen silent. If it weren't for Yuto Nakagawa's all-out effort to successfully score a layup despite the defense of two players, the game could probably have ended immediately.

However, the price for this was that Nakagawa Yuto lost his balance, fell heavily, and lost the ability to continue playing.

Despite his foolishness and overestimation of his abilities, Aoki Keisuke is not unpleasant.

But it's as if I vaguely see my past self, and I don't really like it at all.

No matter how minor the taste of failure, it will not become as sweet as sugar water.

"Damn it, is this really the end?!" Nakagawa Yuto angrily pressed his ankle. "If the past is fading away, then at least I hope for a future..."

"At this point, don't read the lines from the card!" The boys in Class 5 wished they could cover his mouth.

Yuto Nakagawa's spirituality index: 10→15!

Aokiji narrowed his eyes.

"Um, or... should the match end here?"

The head of the basketball club from Class 6 took the initiative to come over and give the boys from Class 5 a way out.

To be honest, even among amateurs, there are differences in basketball skills.

This score is perfectly normal...

Or rather, it's abnormal that Nakagawa Yuto, this hot-blooded soccer idiot, took the initiative to challenge them!

"How can that be? Who will take my place?" Nakagawa Yuto refused outright, then looked at his classmates.

"Yuto, we all want to play, but who has the skills to match yours?"

The group stared at each other, and just as Nakagawa Yuto was about to put on another card performance, Ao Keisuke came down the stairs from the second floor, the yellowish afternoon sunlight streaming through the glass window behind him.

Everyone turned to look at him. Although they couldn't see Aokiji's expression for a moment, they could feel his strong confidence.

"I'll do it, how about that?" he said.

"Huh?"

"Oh my gosh... Momotaros, I have a wish to make. Will you fight alongside me to the very end?"

Yuto Nakagawa's spirituality index: 15→20!

Maybe there really is such a thing as playing with card art in this world?

Also, who is Momotaros?