Encountering Tre-san for the third time today, I shot a quick look at Sieg-san. She seemed to read my mind and gave a slight nod in return.
Once I had her confirmation, I turned my attention back to Tre-san.
"So... what exactly were you doing?"
"Oh, this? I was just about to play this attraction."
"What kind of game is it?"
I looked at the setup she was standing in front of. At a glance, it reminded me of a batting cage.
"To put it simply, you hit back the balls being launched at you with a racket," Tre-san explained. "Hit the blue zone over there for one point, or hit the red zone near the center for two. You get ten balls to see how high you can score."
"I see."
Judging by the rackets provided, it was essentially a tennis version of a batting center.
"It’s probably faster if I just show you..."
Tre-san stepped into the area and picked up a racket. As she touched a magic crystal nearby, a magic circle flared to life, deploying a transparent barrier to contain the balls. A ball appeared, floating dozens of meters away, and Tre-san settled into a practiced stance.
Given her height, she looked remarkably professional. She radiated an aura of cool composure that made it seem like she was an expert at this.
A numerical countdown appeared in the air, and then a ball shot toward her—much faster than I had anticipated. Tre-san swung her racket in one fluid motion.
Once the ten balls were spent and the barrier faded, Tre-san returned the racket and shot us a confident wink.
"And that’s how it's done!"
"No it isn't! You got zero points! Where is this confidence coming from? You looked great when you were setting up, but you were stumbling all over the place once the balls started flying!"
"...The balls were faster than I thought."
Contrary to her boastful attitude, Tre-san had been utterly hopeless. She swung and missed five times, and the other five balls flew off in completely random directions, never coming close to the massive blue zone, let alone the red one. I wondered for a second if she was joking, but she had looked so desperate trying to keep up that I realized she was actually being serious.
"Still, I get the idea. It looks like it could be fun."
"Yeah, this place is the only one that has it. It uses the latest tech, so it’s still in the testing phase."
Hearing that it was an exclusive experience made me want to try it; perhaps it was just my Japanese nature being weak to the word "limited edition." Since the opportunity was right there, I decided to give it a shot.
The speed of the balls seemed manageable enough for my reflexes. After that, it was just a matter of control. With that optimistic thought, I gripped the racket and stepped up to face the launcher.
After ten balls, I let out a long breath. It was a different kind of fatigue than my daily jog—the sharp, sudden burst of activity that made the sweat pour out the moment I stopped moving. Since I rarely did any exercise other than jogging, the feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"Whew..."
"Hey, don't give me that satisfied look! You got a zero too! You've got a lot of nerve talking trash about me when you played just as bad!"
"It was... harder than it looked..."
I had never played tennis before, but I hadn't realized how difficult it was to actually hit a ball with a racket. I couldn't hit the "sweet spot" to save my life, the balls never went where I wanted them to, and even when I thought my timing was perfect, my swing was late. This was clearly a skill that required practice.
"Would you like to try, Sieg-san?"
"I suppose so. Since we are here, I might as well."
Sieg-san took her turn next. She overshot the first ball, but she dialed in her strength immediately after that. She returned every single remaining ball into the scoring zones, nailing the narrow red target five times for a staggering total of fourteen points.
I stood there, stunned. Was Sieg-san just incredible, or were Tre-san and I genuinely that pathetic?
"That was amazing, Sieg-san. Have you played this at the Six Kings Festival before?"
"No, this was my first time. Adjusting the power was a bit tricky, but I think I managed a decent score."
"Sieg-san, that wasn't just 'decent.' You were incredibly good."
"Was I?"
Despite her high score, Sieg-san didn't seem to be feigning humility; she genuinely didn't think it was that big of a deal.
"I imagine Lili could get twenty points without breaking a sweat, though."
"Sieg-san, Lilia-san isn't a fair comparison."
I suppose it was natural to feel that way when you lived with someone who could master anything on the first try. Honestly, I also suspected that if Lilia-san played this, she’d walk away with a perfect score.
She might not look it most of the time, but Lilia-san was a frightening genius. For instance, we once took turns playing a VR racing game Kuro gave me for my birthday. Sieg-san and Luna-san had struggled just to stay on the road, but Lilia-san—who had never even seen a car before, let alone driven one—mastered high-level drifting after a single corner and took first place by a mile.
It was one of those moments that made me realize that true geniuses really do exist.
I watched Tre-san pick up the racket for a second attempt with a wry smile. Sieg-san had likely already sent word to her companions, so they would be arriving soon. Tre-san didn't look like she was planning to bolt, but Cento-san had mentioned she was prone to vanishing the moment you looked away. I decided to keep a close eye on her.
Serious-senpai: "...Wait, is this actually the first time we’ve seen a local resident whose physical abilities are on par with Kaito's?"
???: "Tre-san’s magic power is higher, so her raw combat rating might edge him out, but she’s essentially the only person we’ve found who truly exists on Kaito's level of physical incompetence. She's a very precious find."