At the tennis club's solo practice area, Mori Shinra was undergoing basic training under the guidance of Miura Yumiko.
There was no hands-on instruction as one might expect, nor were there any of those inadvertent, heart-pounding 'DOKIDOKI' moments between a young boy and girl.
Here, you could only see a blonde beauty of an instructor and a freakish student whose progress was visible to the naked eye.
But even so, the customers practicing against the wall around them packed up their gear and headed home to sleep.
That guy has a beautiful blonde girl to accompany him while he hits against a wall, while I can't even find a partner who will give me the time of day. It's infuriating, I'm done playing!
Of course, this situation was limited to those tennis enthusiasts with weak wills.
In the eyes of a true tennis lover, there are no women, only the green ball and the racket in hand, just as a fishing fanatic only sees their fishing gear and their spot.
Mori Shinra was more or less in this state now.
It wasn't that he was particularly passionate about the sport of tennis.
After all, his real goal was to make Yukinoshita wear a maid outfit and serve him for a day.
With that as his original intention, how much could you expect him to love tennis?
What truly brought him joy was the cheat-like speed of his improvement.
Many people might not realize it, but learning can be addictive.
As long as the progress is fast enough and the positive feedback is strong enough, the feeling can completely surpass the dopamine rush provided by online games.
However, this situation has a rather narrow scope of application.
Apart from protagonists with cheats and geniuses who are even more freakish than those with cheats, basically no one else experiences these symptoms.
"Want to take a break?"
Miura Yumiko's original plan was to practice tennis with Mori Shinra for a little while, then find an excuse to go to a cafe or some other entertainment venue to deepen their relationship.
She never expected that this practice session would last for an hour.
Miura Yumiko wasn't tired, per se.
In reality, her role was limited to assigning training tasks and correcting Mori Shinra's mistakes.
Most of the time, she was just watching him practice.
Not to mention, Mori Shinra's talent was astonishing.
Basically, as soon as she pointed out a mistake, he could correct it immediately and ensure the same mistake wouldn't happen again.
This might sound simple, but in reality, only someone like Miura Yumiko who had undergone professional training could understand just how heaven-defying Mori Shinra was.
Sometimes you make a mistake not because you want to, but because of subconscious physical habits that lead to errors.
The former only requires a change in mindset, while the latter requires a great deal of practice to slowly correct the bad habit.
Reality isn't a game, and people aren't machines.
How could someone notice a mistake in one area and correct it immediately?
With this comparison, it became clear just how monstrous Mori Shinra's performance was.
Miura Yumiko finally had a real sense of what Yuigahama had described regarding Mori Shinra's learning ability.
Just based on the speed of his improvement in tennis, Yumiko knew that the story of him pulling his grades from the lower-middle ranks to first in the year in just one month was definitely not false.
But now that he had been practicing for nearly an hour, aside from occasionally stopping to rehydrate, Mori Shinra hadn't taken much of a break.
Yumiko was worried that he was pushing himself too hard and took the initiative to remind him.
"Let's sit for a bit then." After finishing his last set of drills against the wall, Mori Shinra put his racket aside, returned to his seat to rest, and casually took the water bottle Miura Yumiko handed him.
"Have you really only been playing tennis since this week?"
Looking at Mori Shinra, who had only wiped away some sweat and showed little fatigue on his face, as if he had just done a warm-up, Yumiko couldn't help but ask.
"Not exactly." Mori Shinra thought for a moment before answering, "I've also watched The Prince of Tennis, but I didn't finish it. I only saw about a hundred episodes."
"..."
Fine, watching an anime also counts as exposure to tennis.
Miura Yumiko was speechless.
"Although I'm not sure what Yukinoshita's level is, judging by your rate of improvement just now, you should be able to surpass her soon." Yumiko wasn't very clear on Yukinoshita's specific skill level, but she figured it couldn't be too high, probably on par with her own at best.
You have to know, tennis is a sport that heavily relies on starting young.
As far as Yumiko knew, she had never heard of Yukinoshita playing tennis during high school.
Without regular practice, one's skills would also decline.
"I've been wanting to ask for a while, Yumiko, why do you always seem to be competing with Yukino?" Mori Shinra never thought he would lose to Yukinoshita.
He had cheats; if he still lost, he might as well find a hole and bury himself.
More than winning or losing, he was more curious about how Yumiko and Yukinoshita's feud started.
Before, they weren't familiar enough to ask directly, but now that Yumiko was the daughter of his subordinate, asking shouldn't be a problem, right?
Being asked this question, Miura Yumiko's expression became a little unnatural, and she stammered in her reply, "It's-it's nothing. I-I just can't stand her high-and-mighty attitude, looking down on everyone."
Mori Shinra carefully recalled Yukinoshita Yukino's usual demeanor.
She was indeed a bit arrogant, but whether she looked down on everyone was debatable.
In Yukinoshita's own words, what constitutes a person first requires a clear definition.
Evidently, in Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes, someone like Miura Yumiko who snapped at her for no reason was not counted within the category of 'person'.
Therefore, it was only natural for her attitude to be poor.
Besides, when it came to arrogance, Miura Yumiko wasn't much better.
It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
"Is that so? I thought it was because of Hayama," Mori Shinra nodded.
"Wh-what does this have to do with Hayato?" Miura Yumiko's expression was a bit unnatural. Actually, it was related. The first time she had even heard Yukinoshita's name was because of Hayama.
At that time, she did have a bit of a crush on Hayama Hayato, so naturally, she harbored some hostility towards Yukinoshita, who was supposedly Hayama's childhood friend.
However, after getting to know Yukinoshita later on, Miura Yumiko's dislike for her was no longer because of Hayama, but purely a case of like repelling like.
"Really?"
Mori Shinra stared directly at Yumiko, and without needing to say much more, she quickly broke.
The campus's Queen of Flames averted her gaze, unnaturally twirling a strand of her golden hair with her fingers, and reluctantly admitted, "Fine, it is somewhat related, but not much."
As if afraid Mori Shinra would misunderstand something, the girl quickly added, "After all, you know Hayato is my friend (emphasis), and with Yukinoshita's attitude..."
The enemy of my friend is also my enemy...
Say what you will, but in a place like Japan with its strong small-group atmosphere, that was quite a reasonable explanation.