In his previous life, Shesi didn't know much about Opera. He was an upperclassman to Naberius Kalego and Balam Shichiro, and during his student days, he was known as the '666 Demon Slayer Underground Bancho.' He greatly enjoyed pranking Kalego, treating him like a subordinate at school. He didn't know any other information, oh, and there was one crucial point: Opera's ears would change with his emotions.
After a series of rounds, Iruma, as expected, didn't hit him with a single ball. Opera's ears, in Shesi's view, seemed unchanged, still tilted. Wait? They seemed a bit lower than before?
"Iruma-kun's dodging ability is truly first-rate, but from now on, just dodging isn't enough. He also needs to catch the ball and then hit the enemy."
"Hit the enemy?" Iruma's attack power was almost zero!
"For now, just catch the ball. Although I don't want to, I will keep throwing them," Opera said expressionlessly.
After half a day, Shesi suddenly felt a bit antsy.
"Mr. Opera, can I temporarily take over for you?" Shesi suddenly said to Opera. Opera agreed without a second thought.
"Okay."
"Hehe," Shesi smiled at Iruma, who was panting heavily beside him. Iruma looked at his brother's expression and knew something was wrong. Usually, when his brother made that kind of smile, it meant he had found something fun, and now the fun thing was clearly himself.
"Although it pains me, brother, to help you raise your rank, I can only harden my heart~" Shesi took the ball and threw it directly at Iruma.
"Hey! I think you just find it fun, brother!" Iruma could still speak in between Shesi's attacks.
"Oh?" Shesi felt offended. He hadn't seen Iruma have the leisure to speak under Opera's attacks.
Thinking of this, Shesi directly entered his demon state. Opera, standing nearby, first paused when he saw Shesi in this form, then continued to watch Iruma. However, Opera's ears clearly perked up a bit.
Iruma couldn't help but swallow when he saw his brother like this.
"Don't worry, little brother! Your big brother just wants to try again to see if I can hit you."
With that, Shesi successfully threw the ball at Iruma. This time, the ball was more than twice as fast as before, but Iruma still narrowly dodged it.
"Not bad! Again!"
Who knows how long passed like this, but the sun was almost setting, and the final score was Iruma missing every single one.
Shesi, panting from exhaustion, looked at Iruma, who was also lying down and gasping for breath, and couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.
"It's truly you, little brother."
That evening, Shesi looked at the message Ameri had sent him on his phone and replied.
"I'll be there tomorrow, but I might have less time these next few days because I need to help the future Demon King (my little brother) with special training."
In a pink room in the Netherworld, Ameri pouted as she looked at the message Shesi had sent her.
"What the heck? Oh well, it's Shesi-kun's brother after all."
Meanwhile, Iruma received messages from Asmodeus and Clara, saying they would also come to help him with his training tomorrow.
The next day, Shesi returned from school after telling Ameri a story and saw Asmodeus and Clara cheering on Iruma.
Suddenly, Clara's nose twitched.
"It's She Si-chin!" She then directly pounced on Shesi at the doorway.
"Wait!" Shesi was about to call out to stop Clara, who was rushing over, but he was directly knocked down.
Pfft!
Shesi stood up.
"Clara, remember to be gentler next time," Shesi said, rubbing his stomach. That impact almost made him throw up his breakfast. He then looked at Opera, who was helping Iruma with his special training.
"Opera, what's Iruma's special training for today?"
"Catching the ball," Opera was still as succinct as ever.
"How's it going then?" Shesi asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Iruma-kun's evasion ability is truly first-rate."
"Alright, I get it, no need to say more," Shesi slapped his forehead. He should have realized that earlier.
Opera also walked up to Iruma, pulled his face, and said,
"Listen carefully, the key is to watch the ball closely and concentrate."
"Sorry, sorry, my body just instinctively..."
"Continue! Keep your lower body steady, and then concentrate!"
"Yes!" And so, Iruma slowly began to be able to touch the ball. Although he still couldn't catch it, things had to be taken one step at a time after all.
"Next is strengthening his stamina." Opera made Iruma do sit-ups, run, and do pull-ups. This continued for several days.
Shesi, Asmodeus, and Clara couldn't help but smile as they watched Iruma ravenously devouring his food. Everyone had witnessed Iruma's efforts over the past few days.
"Iruma-kun is so strange... Demons are usually only enthusiastic for three minutes. Most demons get bored in less than two days."
"Yes... Iruma-kun is really strange."
Shesi swallowed. From the first sentence Clara spoke, Shesi had started to get nervous, but seeing that neither of them suspected him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The special training continued for several days. On the last day, Iruma finally managed to catch the ball. When Iruma grasped the ball, Shesi looked at Opera's ears, which were clearly wiggling with great speed. It seemed Opera was also very happy that Iruma's special training was a success.
"Amazing, Iruma-kun!"
"Iruma-kun!"
"Not bad!"
The three of them offered their praise.
"Demon high-five, high-five!"
"Whoa, Iruma-kun's hands are all covered in injuries!" Asmodeus reminded him.
"It's fine, Asmodeus, do you want to high-five?"
"Eh, can I...?"
"No problem, brother?"
After high-fiving Asmodeus, Iruma looked expectantly at Shesi.
Shesi walked directly to Iruma and high-fived him.
"It's truly you, you've worked very hard," Shesi said.
"Yes!" Iruma smiled. For him now, his brother's affirmation was the best response to his efforts over the past few days.
P.S. Short skit.
Ameri felt a sense of loss as she looked at the message on her phone. Although the target was Shesi's brother, Ameri didn't know why she felt a bit annoyed when her time alone with Shesi shortened. Oh, there seemed to be a scene in 'first love memories'?
"Okay, but can you come over?" Ameri sent the message to Shesi and then began to regulate her breathing.
"Hoo hoo~"
...Shesi arrived shortly after.
"Is something wrong, Ameri?" After spending these past few days together, Shesi now entered this classroom without even knocking.
"Ah, you're here," Ameri was startled, then immediately said.
"Hmm?" Shesi felt that Ameri's state seemed a bit strange?
Suddenly, Ameri walked up to Shesi and slammed one hand on the wall beside him.
"I'll be waiting for you."
Boom... The wall was shattered by Ameri's palm.
The scene fell into an eerie silence.