Why is the Demon King like this?

"Qinggui, I knew you could do it!"

No, you didn't even think of me before I opened my mouth, did you?

Yuto Nakagawa's eyes lit up: "We'll burn all the enemies to ashes, just like the Red Oni!"

"Wow, that's terrifying!"

Watching the show from the sidelines, the captain of the basketball club from Class 6 couldn't help but express his heartfelt feelings.

If this were an anime, Yuto Nakagawa would definitely be playing his signature background music right now, and then suddenly defying the physical laws of basketball, he would turn the tide in the last second of the fourth quarter.

That's terrifying!

The girls' gazes converged on the boy, whose clothes were soaked with sweat. His slightly thin body calmly accepted everyone's stares, and neither scrutiny nor admiration could affect him in any way.

"I was probably just talking about playing basketball. Besides, what kind of monster is the Red Oni?"

Is that what you're focusing on?!

The way everyone looked at Aoki Keisuke became subtle.

"Oh—legend has it that Momotaros's prototype is the Red Oni!" Nakagawa Yuto said knowingly, "His catchphrase is 'I'm here!'"

Yuto Nakagawa's spirituality index: 20→21!

Keisuke Ao rubbed his temples, annoyed, and ended his observation unilaterally. He turned to the others and asked, "Has the second half of the match not started yet?"

"..."

As a result, Keisuke Ao naturally became the sixth substitute player and got the chance to play.

"I am Koda!"

"I am Mitsuishi!"

"I am the gatekeeper!"

"I am Shimada!"

Keisuke Ao nodded solemnly—even though this was a useless teammate, as a king, he still had to acknowledge the value of trash.

"Let's take the victory back!"

"victory?!"

"Isn't this just common sense?" Keisuke Ao said, stretching his shoulders. "That's why I'm on the field."

The four people looked at each other, bewildered: "Chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?"

"It doesn't quite seem like it..."

"Let's see how it goes first, since the score is already this high."

"Wow, I can already imagine how the other classes will laugh at us."

"Yuto absolutely has to treat us tonight!"

"That's right!"

As the crowd gathered, Zaojian Yuki, holding a badminton racket in one hand and pulling Arisugawa Asuka with the other, squeezed to the front.

"What?! What?! Why is Qinggui suddenly going on stage?"

"He made a dazzling entrance, just like Kamen Rider!"

Everyone ignored Nakagawa Yuto, who was beyond redemption, and started exchanging information about Ao Keisuke.

Nakagawa Yuto stood alone, his eyes gleaming, muttering something no one else could understand.

Spirituality index 21→23.

Qing Guijie is like a thorn on his back.

In the second half, Class 5 kicked off first.

"Qinggui, what position are you going to play?"

Do we need to assign positions?

He paused for a moment, recalling the scenes he had seen again in his mind.

"...Don't overthink it, spread out the defense and pass me the ball."

To say he was completely ignorant of basketball rules is an exaggeration; Keisuke Ao had fragmented memories of them, and he didn't need to worry about the basic rules at all.

However, such arrogant words made the other teammates raise their eyebrows slightly.

If it weren't for carrying on Yuto Nakagawa's legacy, this kind of lone wolf would usually be caught and given a severe lesson.

"Qinggui, you really know how to play basketball?"

"Yes, it's possible."

"Huh—?"

When Koda instinctively passed the ball, he realized that Keisuke Ao had just said something quite remarkable.

Keisuke Ao received the pass and dribbled the ball from the center line across the halfway line.

The four teammates, panting heavily, quickly took their positions, trying their best to break up Class 6's formation, and occasionally raising their hands to signal Keisuke Ao to pass the ball.

Keisuke Aoki stopped beyond the three-point line, taking everyone into his view.

At its core, this competitive sport is a simplified and modified form of offensive and defensive drills.

Scoring is the ultimate goal, and to achieve this goal, one needs to master the ability to break through defenses and have a consistent scoring ability.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Keisuke Ao is familiar with the feel and weight of the ball. Because his background is unknown, the captain of Class 6 personally came to mark him.

—Not bad.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Facing Qing Guijie's gaze, Captain Sang felt a sense of pressure for no apparent reason. The people outside also shifted their attention, stopped discussing, and waited to see if Qing Guijie was just talking big.

"Go, Qinggui!" Nakagawa Yuto shouted at the top of his lungs.

In that instant, Keisuke Aoki shifted his weight, took a step to the side with his right leg, and scooped up the basketball with his right hand, as if he was about to force his way through with his speed.

So fast!

The commander, Sang, was startled. He retreated while blocking Qing Guijie's attack route with both feet.

Keisuke Ao took another step forward, then suddenly slapped the ball to the left, shifting his weight accordingly.

A feint that was completely unpredictable!

It was just a basic change of direction, but every movement seemed to target the most uncomfortable spot. If it were just an ordinary person, they would have been knocked over by now!

Aokiji's feint to break through was so realistic that the captain, Sang, could only rely on his solid defensive skills to shift his center of gravity and forcefully turn to the left.

—Anyway, he's only just past the three-point line. He just needs to keep up with Keisuke Ao's pace in the paint, and he's confident he can give him a big block.

But after disrupting the defensive focus of the main player, Sang, Keisuke Ao unexpectedly did not continue to charge towards the inside. Instead, he took two steps back as if strolling leisurely and returned to the three-point line.

Then, expressionless, he threw the basketball with an absolutely non-standard, yet very pleasing, motion.

"Whoosh—" The basketball fell into the net.

A perfect arc, hollow three-quarters!

Score 16-30!

"Huh, they got in just like that?!"

"Ahhh! Qinggui-kun!!!"

"So...so handsome!"

Captain Sang was shocked that he couldn't even jump or make close defense throughout the entire match. As soon as an expert made a move, he knew that Ao Keisuke was definitely a master!

"Naisu—!"

"Qinggui, have you ever been through drug rehabilitation? You even managed to shake him off and still resist rushing in!"

"...because we can get three points."

Aoki Keisuke followed back to defend, answering as he did so.

"But a layup is definitely more reliable, right?" Koda asked as he crept over.

"Aren't they all the same?" Qing Keisuke retorted. "With such a big basket, what's so difficult about throwing it in?"

The team's only certified shooter, Ichiro Daimon, couldn't sit still when he heard this. He immediately launched into a rational discussion, bringing up the shooting percentages of NBA team stars this season, presenting facts and reasoning. However, Koda kicked him back to his defensive zone.

"Hehehe, big brother, who are you trying to guard against?" Koda asked.

"You guys defend the outside, I'll cover the inside."

High school games don't fully follow the rules of regular competitions—you could stay in your own restricted area for the entire game and no referee would bother you.

Aokiji paused for a moment, then said, "Get ready. We need to play fast-paced offense and defense with them and try to catch up in the third quarter."

Although they had witnessed Keisuke Ao's exaggerated three-pointers before, the four of them still felt a gust of pressure coming towards them when they heard such arrogant words.

After dribbling past the team's layup attempt, Keisuke Ao took the lead, dribbling past half-court and then, from a relatively unconventional position, sending the ball into the basket.

19: 30!

As expected... basketball is quite boring.

Keisuke Ao sighed. Unlike Yuto Nakagawa, his spirituality didn't fluctuate. Instead, the excited Kamen Rider outside the arena boosted his spirituality by a few points.

And when he sank another accurate three-pointer, the audience outside the court went completely wild.

Anime plots are happening all around me?

The female lead is actually myself?

Someone has already boldly called out "Prince," completely disregarding the fact that his rumored girlfriend, Asuka Arisugawa, is also present.

Arisugawa Asuka was hugged tightly by Hayama Yuki: "Asuka~ I think I'm in love, I'm really, really in love!"

"You did the same thing when you went to see NJ Boys last time!" Asuka Arisugawa struggled to resist her best friend's harassment.

"Shonen Group? Who's that?" Yuki feigned ignorance in the morning: "Anyway, I've already fallen in love with Aokie-kun, so wish me luck, Asuka~"

"what……"

Asuka Arisugawa smiled helplessly: "Yuki, one-sided love doesn't get blessings."

"Something's not right with you, Asuka. Are you regretting not admitting to the rumors about you and the prince this morning?" Yuki asked with a grin, trying to rub her cheek against Arisugawa Asuka's.

"No, I'm just happy. This way, Qinggui will be able to integrate into the class much better," Arisugawa Asuka whispered.

"Asuka~ You really are an angel, aren't you?" Yuki pondered for a moment, "If it's you, I can fall for someone else."

"...Please don't."

So, on an ordinary summer afternoon, girls cuddled together, and Keisuke Ao led his class to a stunning upset in a completely unorthodox basketball game.

He also gained the nickname "Basketball Prince" from Kukai.

Congratulations! Congratulations! (Not at all)

That night, Keisuke Ao began studying the card art to play.

Turn on your computer and start searching, or simply browse through the tokusatsu dramas that Yuto Nakagawa mentioned.

"..."

Unexpectedly, Keisuke Ao felt a surge of passion that was out of place and beyond his years.

However, the research on card art ultimately failed.

Even using methods to deconstruct fallen ancient gods, Keisuke Ao couldn't find the source that triggered Yuto Nakagawa's spiritual transformation!

It should be understood that, compared to prayers that cannot be answered, the most fundamental deconstruction method should theoretically not be unable to work. It is like deciphering the most basic and core logic of magic. If even this logic cannot work, it means that all of Keisuke Ao's knowledge has become castles in the air!

He wasn't even worthy of sensing magic.

The problem is that Keisuke Ao had already used magic two nights ago—and it didn't even have any problems.

"So... it can only be a matter of 'playing with the card'."

My understanding of these fictional characters was flawed, which led to the failure of the deconstruction from the very beginning.

I need to change my mindset.

Meow~

Yuki can eat heartily tonight, since she didn't have surgery, and under spiritual protection, the little black cat doesn't have to worry about the negative effects of stress.

In comparison, netizens' stress responses were generally more severe.

Keisuke Ao released the mouse, lay back in his computer chair and thought for a while. He finally remembered Reina Kobayashi, whom he had ignored for a long time, so he simply picked up his phone and opened the chat window.

"Read"

He glanced through the messages... and sure enough, they were all meaningless emojis and exclamation marks.

However, things strangely returned to normal starting in the afternoon.

Is this guy really that good at self-regulation?

It wasn't until he saw Rena Kobayashi post photos of herself on the court that Keisuke Ao realized that this guy was actually quite normal after all.

"If you're referring to the shot, then that's me."

"You're back so late!"

Goodbye, goodnight.

"Yamete!!" Kobayashi Rena poked dozens of tearful hippo heads before finally summoning Ao Keisuke back.

"How come the senior is so good at basketball? It's so annoying~ Why aren't we in PE class today?"

"All competitive sports are ultimately a kind of 'game'. Once you grasp the essence, everything becomes very simple."

Keisuke Ao ignored Rena Kobayashi's next pointless question, and Rena herself didn't care either; she just wanted to ask.

While chatting with Rena Kobayashi, Keisuke Ao checked on Yuki's condition. This girl was incredibly greedy, eating as if she wanted to burst her stomach.

Go to sleep.

I patted the cat's head, which finally stopped it from committing suicide.

While chatting with Rena Kobayashi, Keisuke Ao's phone was buzzing with activity, filled with "classmates" who had obtained his contact information from class groups or other sources.

Some even post photos of themselves wearing underwear, which is quite outrageous.

Keisuke Ao picked out a few replies from his classmates to avoid leaving a cold impression, but that was about it.

The Demon King is not willing to waste too much time on these things.

Just as he was about to rest, Line beeped again. Ao Keisuke glanced at it and was surprised to find that it was Arisugawa Asuka.

"Are you asleep, Qinggui-kun?"

"I'm planning to."

"Oh, I see. How was school today?"

Qing Guijie thought about his unexpected discovery in his sleep, and typed: "In some ways, it's quite interesting."

Asuka Arisugawa leaned against the headboard, smiled when she saw the reply, and there was an indescribable sense of satisfaction in her expression.

"That's wonderful, Qinggui-kun, goodnight."

"Okay, goodnight."