Chapter 25: Kira, You Really Know How to Play!
After showering, changing, and taking a short rest, Ryosuke Kira headed to the cafeteria with a few teammates. They grabbed their meals and drinks, planning to bring everything back to the dorm to celebrate their first victory.
Kira suggested they all sit together and share their dishes so everyone could taste a variety of food.
Training was important, but a balanced diet mattered just as much.
Before eating, Kira stopped by the point-exchange counter.
He had scored four goals today and earned four points.
After thinking it over, he decided to exchange them for a phone. By the time they were halfway through dinner, he turned the device on.
The moment it powered up, dozens of unread messages flooded the screen—
All from Riko Aida
Riko:
How is it over there!? Do you need me to send you anything?
Riko:
Ah, right, I forgot you can't use your phone. Have you been keeping up with your training routine? Do they even have proper equipment in there!?
Riko:
When will you get your phone back!? And what, do they not give you any breaks in that place? You must be bored out of your mind!
Kira chuckled and typed a simple reply.
"I just got my phone back."
As soon as he sent it, Isagi and the others leaned over curiously.
"Kira, who are you texting?"
"It's—"
Before he could finish, his phone rang—
Riko was calling.
A video call.
Kira froze for half a second, then motioned for everyone to quiet down before answering.
"Hey, Riko."
"Kira! How are things over there?"
Her anxious voice echoed through the phone's speakers, her gentle, pretty face filling the screen.
"I'm fine here."
Kira replied immediately.
Hearing a young woman's voice, the others exchanged looks—
Then grinned meaningfully.
"How did you get your phone back? Didn't they confiscate them?"
"They did," Kira nodded,
"But here, you can exchange goals for points. Three goals gets you a phone."
"You scored three goals?"
"Mm. Well… technically I scored four."
Kira briefly recounted what had happened in Blue Lock so far. Reiko's eyes widened more and more with each detail.
Her father, Kagetora Aida, had told her about this program before, but she couldn't fully believe it. Hearing it directly from Kira made the reality sink in.
"Unbelievable… What does that man think he's doing with the futures of 300 players!? What is an athlete's career to him!?"
Riko exploded in righteous fury toward Ego, her sharp words so fierce that even Raichi tensed up beside Kira, cold sweat forming on his brow.
"That's why I chose to participate," Kira replied calmly.
"To prove he's wrong."
"Hah… whatever. As long as you win!"
Riko finally smiled—genuinely happy for him.
"Oh right, Kira, take your shirt off and let me see."
She wanted to check whether he'd been following her training routine.
"T-That's not really a good idea… besides…"
"What's wrong? Back here, you let me check all the time!"
She clearly didn't understand what he meant.
"Well… there are people beside me…"
Kira tilted his phone and spun it around, showing the others in the room.
Everyone froze.
For two seconds.
Then—
"H-Hello, sister-in-law!!"
They greeted in perfect unison.
"H-Hello…"
Riko awkwardly replied, suddenly unsure what to say.
Wait—wait—WAIT. Something's wrong. I think I said something weird earlier!
Riko replayed her own words in her head, her pale cheeks slowly turning rosy.
"About what I said earlier…"
"No wonder she's the sister-in-law… she is bold!"
Imamura didn't even try to hide his admiration.
"H-Hey! What are you even implying!? I didn't mean it like that! I just wanted Kira to take off his shirt so I could check his training progress!!"
Her frantic explanation only made the misunderstanding worse.
And then she realized something else.
Sister-in-law?
Doesn't that mean… they think Kira and I are… dating!?
Riko's face turned even redder, bright as a ripe apple.
But even with the misunderstanding, she couldn't help feeling… just a tiny bit pleased.
"I—I didn't mean—"
Before she could finish, Kunigami and the others abruptly stood up, grabbing their plates.
"Um, sister-in-law, you two just chat, okay? We won't disturb you. We're off to train!"
And they fled the room.
"That was Kira's girlfriend, right? Kira's already handsome, but his girlfriend is really cute too."
"Her face is all soft and delicate, but her personality is… lively. Let's call it lively."
"I'm so jealous. They're into some advanced stuff, clearly!"
They whispered as they walked toward the field, doing a light post-meal workout.
Meanwhile, Kira and Riko stared at each other through the screen.
"Um… I didn't mean anything strange earlier. Ahem. I just want to check how your body condition is—have you been following my training plan properly?"
Riko coughed lightly, forcing herself to act calm.
"Mhm."
Kira nodded, then took off his shirt.
Riko's eyes widened slightly—
She'd just noticed something she definitely wasn't expecting.
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〔TL〕
Sis-in-law smells chinese but I can't think of any replacement so it is what it is.
Btw, Isagi is an Egoist who perfectly embodies Ego's philosophy so does this goal of proving Ego wrong indirectly result in Isagi's stunted growth? Idk. What do u guys think?
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〔TL〕
Every 100 powerstones = 2 bonus ch.
Every 2 review after 100 ps = 1 bonus ch.