"Is there a problem with him?" Tatsuya asked them in confusion. Sasha and Saeko had only heard of the name but didn't know much about him. In fact, they don't even know his real name.
All they know is that Sky is a Pro gamer from the now-disbanded Challengers Club and also used to be the captain of their Japanese national team that brought the world championships trophy consecutively three times in a row. For some reason, he suddenly retired from the gaming industry.
Tatsuya wondered why his seniors reacted like that. Sasha and Saeko were also staring at their seniors for an explanation.
Of course, this is a digital age. They can find it on the internet at any time. But, since the name popped up suddenly, they were just curious to listen to it from the people before them.
"Problem? If there's no problem with him, then it will be a problem." Kazuma replied to him. His facial expression changed to one of fear.
Riku added a remark, "he's the reincarnation of the devil."
"Eh?" The juniors were taken aback by their reaction. They wondered what kind of trauma these guys went through that they are reacting like this.
Captain Masaru let out a grin, "If someone sees the two of you, they would think someone is threatening you or something. Moreover, Riku-chan, didn't you have a huge crush on Kai-kun? I remember how you cried when… mmpf…"
Riku closed his mouth while blushing in embarrassment, "You don't have to mention that, Masaru-Nii-san."
Freeing himself, Masaru said to everyone, "Even if we invite him, he is unlikely to return. That fellow has a very good reason to live a normal life."
The latter part of his statement brought disappointment to Riku, but she quickly managed to calm herself and clapped to get everyone's attention, and changed the topic. "Anyway, the transfer window will open next month, but we will only have a couple of weeks till the Seishun League. So, let's try our luck. If we don't find anyone, then we'll promote someone from the B-team to take over the position.
By the way, Masaru-Nii-san, what happened with that burger joint? Did they agree to sponsor us?"
"Araki-san will finalize the deal this Sunday," Masaru informed her with a smile. For the past four months, he has been getting a lot of offers from various companies, but all of them are that famous and only offer for 6 months to 1 year.
He knew that they just wanted to ride on Neutron club's current fame to become popular and then leave them before contacting the entertainment agencies. That's why he rejected everyone except for the ones who wanted to work with the company for at least three years. In the end, Neutron had gained only two sponsors with little net worth.
But one day, the club's fortune turned around with a call from Avi Jr., one of the top burger joints in Japan. Now that the club had received a well-reputed sponsor, Masaru decided to make it a long-term partner.
For that to happen, they need to make sure to stay in the top 32 and qualify for the Eternal League every year. He believed a strong Alchemist or Enchanter class expert would be needed for the team.
Six weeks later, Nara City, Japan;
*Sigh* "I can't believe I'm here." Masaru let out a sigh as he looked at a simple two-story house from the other side of the road. Along with him, there's a dashing-looking young man in his mid-thirties, wearing a usual office suit and tie.
The only thing that's off about him is the presence of a French cut beard on his face, which is really uncommon in the country and even more for a person who is like a minor celebrity and is often in articles.
He is none other than the team manager of Neutron, who also used to be the team manager of disbanded Team Challengers and the former team manager of the national team, Yuhara Araki.
"Do you think it is possible?" Masaru asked the team manager, to which the latter helplessly smiled, "Well, we don't have a choice, do we? Either him or Ralph. But, if we have to choose the latter, we have to pay a 1 Billion Yen signing bonus and 500 million Yen annual salary. Since other clubs are participating, we might even have to offer it higher. Do you think we can afford him?"
Masaru let out another sigh as he knew that their club would fall into trouble if they were to recruit the current number one Alchemist of Asian servers. They still have other options to choose but they want someone of Mika's level with enough professional experience.
Of course, he also knew that recruiting this legendary Enchanter is also like taking a gamble, cuz it's already been four years. That's why he was reluctant to bring his old friend back to the game. However, Araki insisted on it. So, he was accompanied by the team manager.
What he didn't know was that Araki never thought of putting hopes on Sky. He believed that even if his skills rust, they could still later appoint him as a team mentor. His real intent in recruiting Sky is to bring sponsorships using his name.
Each with different agendas to recruit Sky into the team, both of them walked towards the gate and pressed the bell on the intercom.
After a few seconds, the door was opened, and a young man in his early twenties stepped outside with a smile on his face.
He was about a head taller than an average man, with messy hair dyed in dark blue, and his face was beautiful. It was irresistible, from his clean chin to his deep aquamarine eyes, he had the potential to grab the attention of any female passerby.
"Kai-kun!" Masaru greeted him by raising his hand, not bothering to be formal with his old acquaintance, with whom he was in touch regularly.
Kai opened the gate and let them in before greeting them with a polite bow, "It's been a while, Akari-san, Masaru-Nii-san."
"You look the same, Kai-kun." Team Manager Akari was grinning from ear to ear upon finding that the guy he intended to rope into the team also seemed to look just as handsome as before. In fact, with a mature face and blue hair, he thought Kai could even become the face of the club.
In his mind, he could see the advertisements and photoshoots along with money pouring into their banks.
They entered the house together and found an unfamiliar, cute little girl who seemed to be busy in her own world of drawing.
The three-year-old little girl turned her head towards the door, and her blue eyes lit up. "Uncle Masaru."
She quickly stood up on her feet and scurried towards Masaru. The latter ruffled her hair, "It's been a while, Miura-chan. You have grown up a lot."
She grinned as she grabbed his hand, "I just completed drawing Lucky, the cat. Come…"
Her speech was completely in English and was quite fluent for a three-year-old, but thankfully, all three men in the room understood it very well, so no one was troubled except for how she ignored the team manager.
Kai quickly caught her just as she was about to drag her favorite uncle with her little hands, "Miu-chan, we have another guest here who came from far away. Greet him first."
Upon getting reminded by her father, Miura quickly left Masaru's hand and stood beside Kai before greeting them in a traditional way, following the customs. Her actions turned out to be a little bit clumsy, but it brought a smile to the two guests.
Soon, they sat together and Kai offered them green tea as per their likes.
"So, what brings you to Nara, Akari-san? Masaru-Nii-san," Kai asked them, as their house is nearly 400 km away from Tokyo. "Any shoot is taking place?"
Masaru didn't answer it, and Kai could see a look of hesitation on his face.
*Tap*
Putting the cup on the table, Akari looked at him seriously, "We are here for you. We want Sky to be back in the professional world."
"Huh!" A deep frown appeared on Kai's face.