The days leading up to the exhibition match seemed to pass faster than anyone in the Gaming Research Club wanted.
Every afternoon was consumed by practice.
Every scrimmage exposed another weakness.
Every improvement seemed to uncover two more flaws waiting beneath it.
The upcoming match against Ishika High was no longer simply a practice game.
It had become a test.
Not only for the Gaming Research Club—
But for their future.
If they failed to show meaningful progress before Principal Rikka's inspection...
The club itself could disappear.
That thought lingered in everyone's mind, whether they admitted it or not.
The morning sun filtered through the classroom windows, casting long beams of light across rows of wooden desks.
Outside, the campus was calm.
Leaves danced gently in the breeze while birds perched on the branches surrounding the courtyard.
Inside the classroom, however, the atmosphere was much quieter.
Students prepared their notebooks as the mathematics teacher explained another lesson from the front of the room.
Near the windows—
Ruko rested his cheek against one hand.
His notebook lay open.
The equations written across the blackboard barely registered in his mind.
Instead...
His thoughts were entirely occupied by the Gaming Research Club.
Two weeks...
That's all we've got.
He slowly looked outside.
The reflection in the glass faintly showed the classroom behind him.
One by one—
He mentally evaluated every member of the team.
Not as classmates.
Not as friends.
But as players.
As a coach.
As someone responsible for finding a way to win.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Kazuha.
Her mechanics are stable.
Decision-making isn't.
She rarely made reckless mistakes.
Her lane remained consistent.
Her rotations generally followed the plan.
But...
She hesitated.
Whenever the team reached an important decision—
Whether to force Lord.
Whether to invade.
Whether to commit to a risky fight.
She often delayed her call by only a second or two.
For ordinary players—
That wasn't much.
For competitive matches—
One second could decide everything.
She also carried too much responsibility onto herself.
Instead of relying on the team—
She often tried to stabilize collapsing situations alone.
She trusts herself more than the team.
That habit would become dangerous against stronger opponents.
Risa.
Ruko quietly folded his arms.
Still struggling.
Melodious remained an incredibly difficult hero.
Her jungle routes had become much cleaner.
She adapted to enemy invasions almost instinctively.
Whenever a buff was stolen or delayed—
She immediately calculated a different route.
Without panicking.
Without wasting time.
That adaptability was extraordinary.
But...
Her execution still wasn't.
She continued missing the rhythm required for Melodious' passive.
Sometimes she built the wrong stack combinations under pressure.
Sometimes she hesitated because she was trying to calculate too many possibilities at once.
And her coordination with Kana...
Was still nearly nonexistent.
Both understood what they wanted to do.
Neither managed to execute it together.
Hikari.
Her improvement was obvious.
She smiled more.
Communicated more.
Her reckless aggression had decreased considerably.
Still...
The problem hadn't disappeared.
Whenever a mistake happened—
She blamed herself first.
Instead of immediately focusing on the next objective...
Her attention lingered on the previous one.
That tiny hesitation affected everything afterward.
She also had a habit of trying to prove she could carry every game.
Which occasionally led her into unnecessary fights.
She still plays with something to prove.
Finally—
His thoughts settled on the last member.
Kana.
Ruko quietly sighed.
Where do I even begin...
Kana ignored standard rotations.
Forgot cooldown timers.
Occasionally wandered away from the team without saying a word.
She reacted before thinking.
Sometimes dove towers when nobody could follow.
Sometimes abandoned planned objectives because she spotted what she believed was a better opportunity.
She made mistakes more often than anyone else on the team.
Objectively...
She was the biggest source of instability.
The biggest factor for errors.
Yet—
Ruko couldn't ignore another truth.
Whenever every strategy collapsed...
Whenever the match looked completely unwinnable...
Kana somehow managed to create opportunities that shouldn't have existed.
An impossible flank.
An unexpected engage.
A risky sacrifice that somehow opened the map.
She wasn't creating those plays because they were statistically correct.
She simply...
Saw possibilities others ignored.
She's the biggest factor for errors...
His gaze remained fixed on the window.
But then again...
A faint smile appeared.
She's also the biggest factor behind our comebacks.
That contradiction made Kana the hardest player for him to coach.
Because if he tried to completely remove her unpredictability...
He might also erase the very thing that made her special.
A coach wanted consistency.
Kana was anything but consistent.
And yet—
Somehow—
She made impossible victories feel possible.
"..."
Ruko quietly exhaled.
I need to figure out how to let Kana be Kana... without letting the team fall apart.
Just then—
Thunk!
A loud noise echoed throughout the classroom.
Ruko's thoughts immediately scattered.
Nearly every student turned toward the middle row.
Including him.
"..."
Kana had fallen asleep.
Again.
She had been supporting her head with one hand.
Only—
She slipped.
Her forehead met the desk with enough force to make several classmates flinch.
"...Mmm..."
Kana slowly lifted her face.
A faint red mark decorated her forehead.
"...Huh...?"
The classroom erupted into restrained laughter.
Their mathematics teacher slowly lowered the chalk.
"...Miss Kana."
Kana instantly straightened.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The teacher adjusted his glasses.
"...Would you care to explain why you appear to be conducting sleep research during my lesson?"
"N-No!"
Kana frantically waved both hands.
"I wasn't sleeping!"
"...Really?"
"I was..."
She desperately searched for an excuse.
"...Testing gravity?"
Silence.
The teacher blinked.
Several students burst into laughter.
"...Testing gravity."
"...Yes."
"...With your forehead."
Kana slowly realized what she had just said.
"...I would like to change my answer."
"I'm afraid it's too late."
Another wave of laughter spread through the room.
The teacher sighed before writing a lengthy equation across the blackboard.
"Come here."
Kana's shoulders immediately dropped.
"...Do I have to?"
"...Yes."
She slowly walked toward the front of the room like someone heading toward her final judgment.
Standing before the board, she stared at the equation.
Fractions.
Variables.
Square roots.
Her eyes slowly widened.
"..."
"...Sir."
"...Yes?"
"...I recognize the numbers."
"...That's about it."
The classroom laughed once again.
Ruko watched quietly from his seat.
See...
Kana scratched her head awkwardly before writing the first line.
It was wrong.
The teacher erased it.
She tried again.
Wrong again.
Despite everything—
Kana continued smiling sheepishly.
Embarrassed.
But never defeated.
That's exactly who she is.
She made mistakes.
A lot of them.
Sometimes enough to lose an entire game.
But...
She never stopped trying.
Never hesitated to make another play.
Never let one mistake stop her from attempting the next opportunity.
That fearless attitude—
Could either destroy the team...
Or save it.
"...If you continue staring at Kana..."
A calm whisper drifted beside him.
"...I am one hundred percent certain the girls sitting behind you will conclude that you are being creepy."
Ruko slowly turned his head.
Risa sat beside the window.
Without even looking at him—
She continued writing notes with remarkable precision.
Every sentence aligned perfectly.
Every formula neatly organized.
"..."
Ruko silently glared at her.
She turned another page.
"...Your glare has failed to alter my conclusion."
"...You weren't even looking."
"I do not need to."
She calmly adjusted her glasses.
"...Three female students behind you have already begun whispering."
Instinctively—
Ruko glanced behind him.
Sure enough—
Three girls immediately looked away after realizing they had been caught.
One pretended to write notes.
Another awkwardly coughed.
The last quietly whispered something before all three giggled.
Ruko slowly faced forward again.
"..."
Risa finally looked up from her notebook.
"...See?"
"..."
"...One hundred percent."
Ruko sighed.
"...You're impossible."
"...Statistically speaking..."
She resumed writing.
"...That statement has become increasingly common."
Before he could respond—
The school bell rang.
The teacher placed the chalk down.
"Class dismissed."
Almost instantly, the classroom filled with movement.
Chairs scraped across the floor.
Students chatted as they packed their bags.
Kana bowed dramatically toward the teacher.
"Thank you for not giving me homework as punishment!"
"...That thought hadn't crossed my mind until now."
Kana froze.
"...Please forget I said anything."
The teacher smiled faintly.
"I'll consider it."
Laughter echoed throughout the classroom once more.
Ruko quietly packed his notebook into his bag before stepping into the hallway.
He began walking toward the silent classroom at the end of the hall.
The lunch bell echoed throughout the school.
In an instant, the once quiet hallways became alive with conversation as students streamed out of their classrooms. Friends called to one another, clubs gathered to discuss afternoon activities, and the scent of freshly prepared lunches drifted from the cafeteria.
Ruko stepped into the hallway with his bag slung over one shoulder.
His mind was still occupied by the same problem.
The upcoming exhibition match.
No matter how many times he rearranged the team's strategy in his head, the conclusion always remained the same.
The Gaming Research Club didn't lack effort.
It lacked consistency.
As he walked absentmindedly down the corridor, something caught his eye.
Kana.
She wasn't walking toward the cafeteria with Kazuha and the others.
She wasn't chatting with classmates.
Instead, she quietly made her way toward one of the unused classrooms near the end of the hallway.
"...?"
Ruko slowed his pace.
It wasn't like Kana to separate herself from everyone else.
Curiosity got the better of him.
Keeping his footsteps light, he followed from a distance.
Kana stopped before the classroom door.
She glanced down both ends of the hallway as if making sure nobody was watching.
Then she slipped inside.
The door clicked shut.
Ruko stood outside for a few moments.
"...An empty classroom?"
He reached for the doorknob and slowly pushed it open.
The hinges barely made a sound.
Inside, the room was silent.
Desks stood neatly arranged in rows beneath the afternoon sunlight pouring through the windows.
Dust floated lazily in the golden light.
At the very back of the room—
Kana sat alone.
She hadn't noticed him.
Her entire focus rested on the phone in her hands.
Earphones covered her ears, shutting out the rest of the world.
"..."
Without making a sound, Ruko stepped inside.
He quietly pulled a chair toward the back corner of the room and sat down.
Kana never looked up.
She tapped the screen.
A ranked match began.
The familiar loading screen appeared.
Kana selected her usual role.
The match started.
At first, everything looked normal.
She farmed.
Rotated.
Helped secure the first objective.
Then—
She hesitated for a fraction of a second.
The enemy jungler appeared from the river.
Instead of retreating, Kana committed to the fight.
It ended exactly how Ruko expected.
Defeat.
"..."
Kana bit her lower lip.
She exited the results screen without saying a word.
Another queue.
Another match.
This time she played more carefully.
She kept reminding herself to watch the minimap.
To count cooldowns.
To check enemy positions.
Ten minutes later—
She overextended while chasing a low-health opponent.
The enemy support turned the fight around.
Another defeat.
"..."
She quietly restarted another game.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Time passed unnoticed.
The classroom clock continued ticking.
Sunlight gradually shifted across the floor.
Thirty minutes slipped away.
Throughout all of it—
Ruko never interrupted.
He simply watched.
Every match followed the same pattern.
Kana improved one mistake...
Only to make another.
Sometimes she rotated perfectly but missed the final skill that secured an objective.
Sometimes she won her lane only to throw away the advantage by forcing an unnecessary fight.
Sometimes she made brilliant decisions...
Only for one reckless moment to erase everything.
After another defeat—
Kana lowered her phone.
"..."
Her shoulders slowly slumped.
She buried her face in her hands.
"...Why..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"...Why do I keep doing that..."
She replayed the final team fight in her head.
She had seen the opening.
She thought she could end the game.
Instead...
She had rushed ahead.
Her teammates couldn't follow.
The enemy punished her immediately.
"...Come on..."
She clenched her fists.
"...Think..."
"...Think before moving..."
She inhaled deeply.
Opened another match.
Five minutes later—
She made another mistake.
"...Ah!"
Kana dropped her head onto the desk.
"...I'm so stupid..."
The frustration she had been holding back for the past half hour finally surfaced.
"I practiced this yesterday..."
"I even wrote it down..."
"So why..."
"...Why do I keep forgetting..."
She squeezed the phone tightly.
"...Everyone else is getting stronger..."
"...What's wrong with me..."
Ruko quietly watched from the back of the classroom.
He had seen enough.
"...You're going to break your phone if you keep squeezing it like that."
Kana froze.
"..."
Very slowly—
She turned around.
Their eyes met.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"KYAH!"
Kana nearly fell out of her chair.
"W-What are you doing here?!"
She pointed accusingly at him.
"When did you get here?!"
Ruko answered without changing his expression.
"...Long enough."
Kana's face instantly turned bright red.
"...L-Long enough?"
"...How long is 'long enough'?"
"You've played twelve matches."
"..."
"..."
Kana's soul nearly left her body.
"You counted?!"
"You made it easy."
She covered her face with both hands.
"...Please tell me you just got here..."
"I didn't."
"..."
"..."
"...I'm never recovering from this."
Silence settled over the classroom.
Kana slowly lowered her hands.
Her embarrassment gradually faded.
In its place...
Appeared something much quieter.
"..."
She looked down at her phone.
"...Are you..."
She hesitated.
"...Going to tell them?"
Ruko frowned.
"...Tell them what?"
Kana forced a small smile.
One that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"...That I practice here."
"...That I'm still this bad."
"..."
Ruko remained silent.
Kana gave a quiet laugh.
"...I kind of figured it out already."
"What?"
She looked out the window.
"I don't think anyone's ever said it."
"...But..."
"...I can feel it."
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
"I'm the weakest one."
The words left her mouth softly.
Without anger.
Without self-pity.
Simply...
As something she had convinced herself was true.
"I'm always the one making the mistakes."
"I'm always the one everyone has to cover."
"If a team fight goes wrong..."
"A lot of the time..."
"It's because of me."
She laughed quietly.
"...Kind of hard not to notice."
Ruko said nothing.
Kana continued speaking.
"Look at everyone else."
She raised one finger.
"Risa."
"A genius."
"She learns things faster than anyone I've ever met."
"Even when she struggles..."
"You can see her improving every single day."
Another finger.
"Kazuha."
"She's calm."
"Responsible."
"She's someone people naturally want to follow."
"Even when she's tired..."
"She still thinks about everyone else first."
A third finger.
"Hikari."
Kana smiled faintly.
"She's talented."
"She has so much room to grow."
"And every day she works harder because she wants to shine in her own way."
Kana lowered her hand.
"...Then there's me."
She stared quietly at the screen of her phone.
"I wasn't born a genius."
"I don't have amazing mechanics."
"I don't always know the right play."
"I forget things."
"I panic."
"I make mistakes."
"...A lot of them."
Her voice became quieter.
"So..."
"I have to work harder than everyone else."
Her grip on the phone tightened.
"I have to practice longer."
"I have to lose more games."
"I have to keep trying."
"Because if I don't..."
She swallowed.
"...I'll be left behind."
The classroom fell silent.
Only the ticking of the clock filled the space between them.
Ruko looked at Kana for a long moment.
He remembered the thoughts that had occupied him during class.
Kana was the member who created the most mistakes.
There was no denying that.
But she was also the one who turned hopeless matches into victories no strategy had predicted.
Kana didn't see that.
All she saw...
Were her failures.
Ruko leaned back against his chair.
"...You've got one thing wrong."
Kana slowly looked up.
"...What?"
He met her gaze.
"You think I watched for an hour and thirty minutes of you playing just to count your mistakes."
Kana blinked.
"...Didn't you?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Ruko's mouth.
"...No."
"I was watching to figure out why you keep making the impossible happen."
Kana stared at him, completely confused.
"...Impossible?"
Ruko folded his arms.
"You really don't see it, do you?"
Kana slowly shook her head.
"No..."
For the first time that afternoon...
Ruko smiled with the quiet confidence of someone who had finally found the answer to a puzzle.
"Then let me show you."
The conversation had only just begun.