The calendar flipped forward, and at last, September 1st arrived.
The buddies from Seidou High School, who had shined at Koshien, welcomed their second semester of the year.
Yet, even with this, on the first day of school, the baseball club players at Seidou are still very excited.
Wherever they go, they hear cheers and congratulations from their classmates.
"How does it feel to be part of the champion baseball club of Koshien?"
"Kanemaru, you've really changed. I heard you made it to the first string. Are you going to compete at Koshien too?"
"That's amazing. Maybe you'll become a big star like Sawamura and the others?"
"And Furuya Satoru, I heard he's quite famous too."
"Aren't those just the five star players? Senpais like Takigawa, Kominato, Sawamura, and Yuuki-senpai from the third year, and Miyuki-senpai from the second year. Furuya-kun isn't among them."
"Your information is outdated. He's known for having the fastest pitch in the country. After the third-year Senpais left the team, his reputation is only getting louder."
The surrounding gossip about Koshien continues to ferment. It was thought that after more than a week, the excitement over the return of Seidou High School as champions would gradually cool down.
But that's not the case at all. More than a week later, the story of Seidou High School's triumphant return and Championship victory hasn't cooled down but has instead grown more intense.
Even during the players' early morning training, they can see reporters with cameras around.
For Kanemaru, this experience is quite unique.
Sawamura and the Senpais from the third and second grades have dominated the High School together.
As a member of Seidou High School, Kanemaru feels proud.
To put it simply, as a member of the Seidou High School baseball club, he also feels the glow and is very happy.
But when everyone talks, it's always about others, not him.
This leaves him somewhat dissatisfied.
"Let's not dwell on past glories. We can't rest on our laurels forever! Now, we have nothing to do with the previous National Champion team, we're in a new era now."
When classmates who have a good relationship with him tease him.
Kanemaru says solemnly.
"The baseball club's level is different!"
"Haha!"
Even with some classmates who aren't familiar with each other on weekdays, they'll still say hello and exchange greetings politely.
After winning the national championship, it seems like everything around them has changed.
Of course, This is still relatively common in the baseball club, like Kanemaru. At least in the previous team, he was relatively ordinary.
Like Sawamura, Furuya Satoru, Kominato Haruichi, and others walking in the corridor, it's inevitable that they'll be pointed at by others.
"Sawamura-kun is here!"
"Is that Sawamura?"
"Haven't you seen him before? We're in the same grade at school."
"Why would I know everyone in the baseball club? I'm not a fan of baseball, so how could I recognize everyone? Even if I've seen them before, I didn't pay much attention."
"Then how do you know?"
"It's all because of my stupid brother at home. He insisted on watching the Koshien game. We only have one TV at home. What could I do? It shocked me when I heard our school won the championship, you know?"
"Did your brother ask you for anything?"
"He did. He wants the Demon King's autograph. If possible, the autographs of everyone in the baseball club."
"Well, good luck with!"
With The baseball club members' presence and everyone flocking them. Let alone getting everyone's autographs, just asking for the main players' signatures can be daunting.
The others are okay. Like Kuramochi and Isashiki Jun, they look like delinquents.
Who would dare to ask them directly for their autographs?
"In Sawamura's case, you could ask Yoshikawa Haruno. She's the baseball club manager."
***
"Are all of this for my autographs?"
Sawamura's eyebrows knitted together as he stared at the towering stack of notebooks in front of him.
Haruno, the baseball club manager, stood nervously beside him, her hands clasped behind her back as she fidgeted with the edges of her clothes.
She knew that Sawamura was feeling awkward. With thousands of fans in his direct fan club alone, the number seemed almost surreal to her. Thousands how he is dealing with all of that is beyond her
Since Haruno was in the same class as Sawamura, she was perceptive of his interactions. She knew that Sawamura generally avoided signing autographs for fans.
If classmates asked him directly, Sawamura would never refuse. He would also pose for photos and sign autographs for alumni and reporters he encountered.
But he only did it once per situation!
Everyone understood this, considering how many fans Sawamura had. If he signed for each fan individually, he'd have no time for anything else.
However, managing this became complicated when it came to requests like Haruno's. If Sawamura fulfilled her request, what would happen if other classmates showed up with similar towers of notebooks in the future?
Sawamura noticed several classmates eyeing the tower curiously. He wanted to refuse, but seeing Haruno's hesitant expression, he found himself unable to say no.
Haruno's personality made it difficult for her to refuse requests. She seemed to relish being needed and recognized.
But if that continued, the poor girl would become Sawamura's manager, not the club.
"Okay let's do this for once! But if someone came to annoy you with this again tell them to come to me directly." Sawamura finally smiled and said, determined to set a boundary.
He couldn't bring himself to upset Haruno, understanding that some things needed to be learned through experience.
In student life, it's not a bad thing to enjoy the simplicity and joy of the moment.
Handling autograph requests was manageable for Sawamura. If someone came all the way to see him and requested an autograph, he didn't mind spending a little extra time and energy to fulfill their request.
However, dealing with love letters was a different story.
Yes, love letters.
When Sawamura returned to his desk after the break, he found a huge pile of letters stuffed inside. A quick glance revealed at least a dozen.
"What the—?"
He had only seen Miyuki and Furuya face such troubles before. Now, experiencing it himself was another matter entirely.
Previously, a few sporadic letters were manageable, but with so many now, what should he do?
As Sawamura pondered this, Kanemaru came over with a few more letters in hand and a 'burn in hell' look on his face.
"What's this about?" Sawamura's face was set in a battle-ready expression.
"What do you think?" Kanemaru replied with a scowl.
"Could it be...?"
"Congratulations, you guessed it right again!"
…