That’s What I Believe In

"That’s What I Believe In" (それが私の信念) is a short story from Gamers' store privilege for volume 6 of 2nd Year arc of You-Zitsu light novel series, together with other three short stories.

Summary
As she watched the tennis ball, driven by Sudō's large strength, graze against Hōsen's racket, Onodera was overjoyed to see Sudō take out his rage on the game, bringing them to victory in the tennis event. Hōsen, visibly irritated, smashes his racket into the ground. Sudō thanked Onodera for assisting him in his victory and begins racing towards her. Onodera, believing that it was a high-five, raised her hand, but was flustered when he hugged her with excitement and joy instead. Soon after, he realized that he was making her uncomfortable and let go of the hug.

At first, they were losing due to Onodera sustaining an injury, but had managed to take the win against Hōsen with sheer determination. Onodera congratulated Sudō on winning all of his events, but he said it was all thanks to her. She responded that it wasn't true, and that she thought she was just a hindrance during the game. But Sudō assures her, saying that if she hadn't brought him back from the daze, they would have definitely lost. When he looked into her eyes, she felt as though he could see deep inside her.

Onodera remarks that they made a good team, to which Sudō agrees, noting that she was easy to rely on and work with. He soon begins to question if Suzune saw him during the match. Hearing him, Onodera uttered Suzune's name, to which Sudō instantly asked whether she saw Suzune. She apologized to him and explained that she had mistaken her for someone else. Onodera noted that when Sudō heard Suzune's name, he acted like a dog.

Onodera despises losing, and thus that moment motivated her. She acknowledges that she is interested in Sudō and that, no matter how far ahead he is, she will strive to reach him because that is the type of sportsmanship she believes in. She then invites him to dine together next time after they finish their club practices, and Sudō accepts her invitation in a slightly nonchalant way, as he was more concerned with finding Suzune. He even asks Onodera to search for her together, to which Onodera simply chuckled and refused.