A Popular Girl Confessed to Me, the Loner—Thinking It Was a Prank, I Tried to Scare Her Off... But She Was Actually Serious. - Chapter 26: Final Match!

Right after lunch break ended, the classroom buzzed with excitement.

“The boys’ table tennis singles final will be held at 2:00 PM behind the gym. Students who wish to watch—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa—Manabe made it to the finals!”

The first one to shout was Kurokawa. Light brown hair, earrings, a loose hoodie swaying at the shoulders—he looked like your typical flashy guy, but his face was unusually serious.

“If you win, you’re totally gonna be popular, right?”

He moved to throw his arm around me, and I immediately dodged.

“Don’t touch me. You’re sweaty.”

“Man, you’re cold as ice… But seriously, if you win, you’ll be our year’s poster boy for ‘from the shadows to the top,’ huh?”

Then Nishina, glasses perched on his nose, closed his notebook and chimed in with a smirk.

“Kurokawa, that’s such a sloppy metaphor. Also, ‘from the shadows to the top’? What is this, the Warring States period?”

“No, but I’m not wrong, right? Hey, Manabe~?”

Don’t “Hey, Manabe~?” me.

I get what you’re saying, but saying it out loud is just embarrassing.

“Well… if I do win.”

I replied casually, and Kurokawa gave me a thumbs-up.

“You got this. You’ve got total ‘main character energy’ right now.”

I was just about to ask what the hell that meant, when I heard a voice from behind.

“Good luck, Masato-kun!”

It was Hiyori. She was smiling, her face just a little red. Beside her stood Suzu-san, who was grinning uncontrollably.

“There’s no way our Manabe-chi is gonna lose! If you do, I’m seriously gonna cry!”

“Please don’t.”

“Then win. You better win!”

My eardrums were ringing.

But deep inside, my heart felt warm. Not bad at all.

(…Alright. Let’s do this.)

***

Before the match.

The table tennis area behind the gym was already packed.

Classmates, popular girls, even students from other classes.

It looked like the rumor that “Manabe’s the real deal” had officially spread.

Amid the growing buzz, I spotted my opponent.

(…So it’s him.)

He was about the same height, maybe a bit more built.

His racket was custom-made with high-end rubber. His form was solid.

You could tell right away—this guy had real experience.

(I can’t let my guard down.)

But strangely, I wasn’t scared.

Because now—I wanted to win.

***

The match began.

At the start, I was completely overwhelmed.

His timing was fast, and he was reading all my serves.

He pulled ahead by four points.

(Don’t panic yet.)

I dragged the rallies out longer.

Switched up the spin subtly to force errors.

Gradually, I pulled the rhythm my way.

“Nice one!”

“That smash was insane!”

“Manabe’s turning the game around!”

I could hear the crowd cheering. Suzu’s voice—“That angle?! You an artist?!”—was especially loud.

But I could still hear them.

And I realized—

Being cheered on like this… it gives you real strength.

Then—

I caught a glimpse of Hiyori in the corner of my vision.

Her hands were clenched together, biting her lip, eyes locked on me the whole time.

(…I can’t look away now.)

I wanted to keep looking at her—but for now, I had to focus on the match in front of me.

Once this was over, I’d have all the time in the world to look at her.

***

Near the end of the match.

Just one more point.

My opponent went on the offensive. He hit a strong forehand—I returned it with a backhand.

Then a counter. A feint. And finally—a drive.

The ball shot across the net, landed just inside the line.

Clean point. No touch.

—Victory.

The court fell silent. One beat passed—and then—

“Manabe’s insane…!”

“He actually won the whole thing!”

“Wait, he’s like… legit cool right now?!”

Cheers and applause crashed over me like a wave.

I set my racket down and took a sip of water.

“…They’re getting too excited.”

I muttered under my breath—but still—

(…Where is she?)

My eyes were already searching for her on their own.

And I found her immediately.

Hiyori—smiling.

Her face was flushed, hand covering her mouth, but her eyes… they were focused only on me.

(She saw it. All of it.)

Just that alone—

Made the victory truly worth it.