In a Different World with a Smartphone

Hilda’s home run scored one point, but then two consecutive batters struck out. Yae, the next batter, hit another home run, scoring the second point, but the next batter was out, leading to the change of innings. At this stage, the score is 7 to 2 at the end of the third inning. The match seems to be only seven innings long. Can we win with four more innings? Elze is standing on the pitcher’s mound, and Yae, wearing a catcher’s protector, sets her mitt. With Hilda at third base, balls hit between third and short stop won’t get through. If Hilda were serious, I feel like she might even catch a ball hit to first base… Well, even before that, Elze probably won’t let them hit it…

“S-Strike!”

Thwack! Like a pitching machine throwing a fastball, the ball Elze threw was sucked into Yae’s mitt. She seems to be holding back, but is that not over 170 km/h…? The batter seemed to swing just for the sake of it, but she was completely late. Well, it’s difficult. In the end, Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Strikeout! Batter out! Three consecutive outs, and the inning changes in nine pitches. Bottom of the fourth, our team’s offense. One person struck out, followed by Elze’s turn to bat. I can sense an atmosphere of caution from the opposing pitcher. She must have realized from the pitching that Elze is no ordinary person, but well… The pitcher winds up, and the ball she threw dropped clunk near Elze’s hands. A forkball? This is difficult to hit. For an ordinary person, that is.

“Hmph!”

Elze’s bat, which swung upwards almost like a golf swing, definitely caught the falling ball. Crack! With a refreshing sound, the white ball flew into the distant sky.

“Ho-Homerun!”

Without looking at the pitcher who was stunned by having her probable strikeout pitch hit, Elze calmly circled the bases. That’s the third point. Perhaps shaken, the opposing pitcher allowed a hit to the next batter. I thought the momentum had shifted to our side, but the surrounding fielders quickly covered, and the next batter was easily forced into a double play. Too bad. Only one point in the bottom of the fourth. 7 to 3.

“Elze-sensei and the others, can they win?”

“I think so… If they seriously want to win as they are now, they should be able to…”

Allis and Kuon, sitting on the bench next to me, were having such a conversation. Well, if it cycles back to Elze, Yae, and Hilda, points will definitely be scored. We’ll catch up soon. But… Looking at the field, Elze was still producing strikes with the same heavy impact sound, Thwack! The top of the fifth was also three consecutive strikeouts. Zero runs conceded. In the next bottom of the fifth, the batting order circled back to Hilda. The catcher stood up and set her mitt outside the batter’s box.

“An intentional walk, huh.” “Well, I guess they would do that.”

They intentionally pitch four balls to walk the powerful batter to first base. As a strategy to win, it’s valid. …Well, our side is booing up a storm though. Since relying too much on the helpers is also questionable, I personally feel it’s unavoidable. Hilda, who walked to first base, is also lightly sighing as if saying, ‘Oh well.’ The next two batters were quickly struck out. And Yae’s at-bat, which followed, was also an intentional walk. Although it’s an excellent opportunity with runners on first and second…

“Strik-Three!”

“Too bad.”

In the end, zero runs in the bottom of the fifth. The score remains 7 to 3. Is a comeback difficult with two innings left?

“Hitting a home run with all three right at the start was bad. That made them completely cautious.”

“It did. Well, I suppose Elze Mother and the others could win if they were serious…”

Well, right. Even if they intentionally walk her, she could easily jump that high and hit a home run while airborne. But still, I hope they don’t do that much…

“Oh?”

With a Clang! sound, the white ball rolled weakly right in front of Elze. Elze moved forward, picked it up immediately, and threw it to first base to get the out.

“Someone hit Elze’s ball.” “While Elze Mother’s ball is fast, it’s only a straight fastball…”

The thought is that if you know where the ball is definitely coming when you set the mitt, the bat will hit it if the timing is right. There is also a theory that practicing with slow balls is more effective than fastballs at batting cages. To hit a slow ball accurately, you need to hit it at the correct spot and with the correct form. Fastballs might be effective for getting your eyes used to the speed, but once you get used to them, you can hit them easily, and they don’t offer much practice. Elze’s ball might also get hit if she continues like this… No, if Elze increases the speed further, it would be extremely difficult to turn it into a hit even if it’s hit. The batter who just hit it must have felt a considerable shock in her hands. I guess Elze’s serious pitch would easily exceed 300 km/h… If it were hit, the opponent’s arm would probably break. Well, she wouldn’t go that far. Elze struck out the remaining two batters without issue, and the inning changed. Now the bottom of the sixth, our team’s offense. The batting order starts from the eighth spot, and Elze is in the on-deck circle. The previous batter struck out, and it became Elze’s turn to bat, but she was intentionally walked again. Elze is glancing at the pitches coming at her, and I think she’s enduring the urge to lunge and hit the intentional walk pitch. In the end, Elze was walked to first base. The pitcher sighed briefly, as if released from tension. Hmm, at this rate, it will be three outs and an inning change again… Having dealt with Elze, the relieved pitcher throws the ball to the batter. At the same time, Elze ran from first base to second base. The catcher caught the ball and hurriedly threw it to second base, but Elze was already at second base.

“A stolen base.”

“So that’s how she plays it.”

I give a wry smile at Kuon’s words. Elze takes a big lead, provoking the pitcher. The opposing pitcher seems distracted, focusing on Elze. The moment the pitcher threw the ball, Elze started running again towards third base. Just like before, the catcher threw to third base, but it wasn’t in time. Now, the pitcher is throwing with a runner on third base. That would certainly cause tension. The moment the pitcher lifted her leg, Elze started running toward home plate. The batter takes a bunt stance. She’s going for a squeeze play. But this squeeze was read. The batter managed to hit the ball with the bat, but the rolling ball was caught by the pitcher, who had moved forward, and thrown back to the catcher. The catcher was waiting to tag out Elze, who was charging home, but…

“Eh?”

He lets out a strange sound as Elze suddenly disappears from his sight. Elze gracefully twisted her body and leaped over him right above his head. And then she landed thud on home plate.

“Sa-Safe…”

A loud yellow cheer that seemed to drown out the umpire’s voice erupted from our bench. She stole second, third, and home… Is that called a perfect steal? It shouldn’t be something that can be done often… Well, it’s Elze after all… This makes the score 7 to 4. The next batter unfortunately struck out, but it’s still two outs. And now with a runner on first base, the batter is Hilda. However, again, they play safe with an intentional walk. Hilda walks to first base, leaving runners on first and second. Hmm, since there are other runners ahead, she won’t be able to steal bases like Elze did. If Hilda overtakes the runner ahead, Hilda will be out. This inning might be it… Just as I thought that, Clang! the pleasant sound rang out after a long time. A low-flying ball flew past the pitcher’s right hand with one bounce, and the third baseman quickly set her glove down to catch it. But, perhaps hitting a small stone, the batted ball bounced in an unexpected direction and rolled behind the third baseman. The batter lady safely advances to first base. Our side erupted in cheers for the valuable hit.

“We did it, bases loaded!”

It’s two outs, but the bases are loaded. If only we could get a big hit here… but the next batter is the five-spot lady. And Yae is in the on-deck circle. If only she could manage a hit somehow… Just as I was thinking that, the pitch thrown by the opposing pitcher went wild and headed towards the side of the batter lady who was holding the bat. The ball hit the lady’s body.

“Hit by pitch!”

The opposing pitcher took off her cap and apologized. The lady who was hit waved her hand with a smile, saying she was fine, but she was stroking her side where the ball hit with a confused look. Was that just now…

“Kuon? You used your magic eye?”

“Yes, well. It was dangerous. I used the [Fixation Eye] for just an instant to kill the momentum of the ball. Although, I only had enough magic power to stop it for a moment.”

I pat Kuon’s head, who looks tired, saying “Phew.” The batter lady must have been confused because it didn’t hurt as much as expected. Fortunately, no one else seems to have noticed. A run scores on the walk. 7 to 5. The opposing pitcher seems more rattled than I thought. In that situation, the batter is Yae. Hilda is on third base. She seemed to ponder, but ultimately decided to walk her. Yae walks to first base, and Hilda is pushed home by the walk. This makes the score 7 to 6. We’ve finally narrowed it down to a one-point difference. The opposing catcher called time and walked towards the pitcher. She’s talking to her, but is she calming her down or something? Perhaps it had an effect, as the next batter struck out easily. Did she recover? We couldn’t fully utilize the bases loaded, but we squeezed three points out of this inning. I think a comeback is not impossible. Now, the top of the seventh. The final inning. Elze’s pitch is still fast, but perhaps their eyes have gotten used to it, as the first batter made contact. It was a weak grounder, but Elze picked it up and threw to first base for one out. The next batter also hit a grounder to third base, but Hilda caught it and threw to first for two outs. Finally, Elze, mixing in a little change of pace, struck out the last batter for three outs, ending the inning without conceding a run. Finally, the bottom of the seventh, the last chance to bat. It’s a close call whether we can turn it around here. The offense starts from the 8-spot. Elze is in the on-deck circle. Well…

“Ball four!”

Hmm? The 8-spot lady walks to first base. Our bench is cheering, ‘Good eye!’ ‘We did it!’, but this is…

“She walked her on purpose.”

“Hmm, I guess she was wary of Elze’s stolen base…”

With a runner ahead, even Elze cannot perform a perfect steal like the one before. If she overtakes, Elze will be out… Is touching also not allowed? If only overtaking is forbidden, Elze could probably carry the runner ahead and run… but then the one being carried couldn’t touch the base. While I was thinking such foolish things, Elze was intentionally walked. No outs, runners on first and second. The batting order starts from the lead-off spot. The first pitch was hit, but it was a pitcher fly for one out. The next batter also struck out, and just like that, it’s two outs. The batter is Hilda. So…

“An intentional walk again, as expected.”

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

This makes it two outs with the bases loaded. The opposing team has no margin for error either. The good thing for us is that the batter is the clean-up (fourth spot) hitter… The lucky hit that bounced off a small stone in front of the third baseman earlier was also hit by this lady. I don’t think the possibility of her hitting is low.

“Hm?”

Before the clean-up lady steps into the batter’s box, Yae is talking to her. What is it? Is she encouraging her, or did she figure something out? The clean-up lady steps into the batter’s box and takes her stance. Whether they win or lose, they probably want to decide the final outcome with the strength of this team. The first pitch.

“Ball one!”

She reacted slightly but didn’t swing. She didn’t swing at the next pitch either, but it was called a strike this time. The next one was a ball again, so is her control somewhat unstable? The pitcher subtly shakes her shoulder. The all-out pitch, thrown with a big windup, was hit squarely by the bat the lady swung hard.

“She hit it!“

The batted ball flew vigorously and dropped right in front of the center field. The batter lady stepped on first base, and the runner on third base came home, tying the score. Elze, who was on third base, started to run out but stopped, saying “Oops,” and went back. She probably could have scored if she had charged ahead with her physical ability. But she must have thought that would be overstepping her role as a helper for the team. Well, it feels a bit late for that… Thus, the final showdown was entrusted to the next batter, the 5-spot lady, but she struck out easily, ending the match. The match ended in a 7 to 7 tie. There was talk of extra innings, but the opposing team refused, saying they would definitely lose. Well, that’s likely. They are apparently having a celebration party afterwards. We were invited, but we politely declined. We are minors, and there are children, after all. More importantly, wasn’t this match part of a mixer? The men on the opposing team are giving the ladies heated glances.

“Thank you!”

Waving our hands to the ladies who were expressing their gratitude with a loud voice from the riverbank, we started our journey home.

“It ended in a draw, but it was fun.”

“It was good exercise, indeed.”

“I wanted to play baseball too!”

“Me too!”

We walk along the riverbank while chatting merrily. I have to buy some souvenirs at the supermarket before evening. Oh, speaking of which…

“Yae. Did you give the lady some advice in the final inning?”

“Ah… that pitcher always has a small habit of subtly shaking her shoulder when she throws a straight fastball, indeed. I told her to focus on hitting that pitch.”

I see. That lady was aiming for the fastball only. No wonder she swung without hesitation. And how did she notice that… Well, if everyone enjoyed themselves, it must have been a good day off. Tomorrow marks one week. It feels like we are already halfway through. Where should we go for the remaining week? I have a feeling that I want them to see the world, this planet Earth, from a broader perspective, but I also want them to see the country they were born in. I want the children to feel that their roots in this world are here. More Japanese places… Kyoto or Tokyo, or perhaps the complete opposite, the vast nature of Hokkaido, or a very ordinary rural farming village… I want to show them various sights. In any case, I want to give them experiences they can only have here. While thinking vaguely about such things, we arrived in front of the supermarket. Everyone puts what they want to eat into the shopping basket. Lu and Arcia are probably waiting to cook, but since I have [Storage], nothing will go to waste. Especially cup noodles and snack foods, which don’t exist in the other world, I have to stock up on them regularly. Sometimes I just get an irresistible craving for them… Strictly speaking, while there are fish like salmon, there are no salmon (a specific Japanese type)… Since it’s confusing, I’ve just been calling it salmon. Carrying heavy shopping bags, we walk up the long hill. Darn, I didn’t have a chance to put them in [Storage]. Grandpa’s house has a nice view, but this is the drawback… We managed to climb the hill, and the familiar Western-style house came into view.

“We’re home!”

“Welcome back!”

When Linne energetically opened the front door, Linze’s voice was heard from inside. We step into the entryway, first washing our hands, and then head to the kitchen to hand the groceries we bought to Lu and the others. Dinner preparations were already near completion, but Lu and Arcia said they would add about two dishes each using these ingredients.

“That took quite a while for a walk.”

“We were asked to help out in a sandlot baseball game on the way.”

When I answered Leen’s question, she tilted her head. I guess she won’t understand unless I tell her from the beginning.

“My Mom hit a home run!”

“Elze Mom went all the way around!”

“Went all the way around…?”

Frei‘s explanation is still understandable, but Linne’s explanation made Leen tilt her head even further. Before dinner, I connected a [Gate] to my parents’ house and brought Dad and Mom over. We try to have meals together as much as possible while they are here.

“Now, dig in!”

“Let’s eat!”

Everyone takes what they want from the large plates spread out lavishly on the table and puts them on their own plate. It tends to become a buffet style when there are so many people. Well, this way is convenient because everyone can eat what they like and adjust the amount. Even if there are leftovers, they won’t go to waste if I put them in [Storage]. Though, with Yae and Frei around, there are never any leftovers… While eating, I talked to my parents about going out again starting tomorrow. Both of them have work, so they can’t accompany us, but they told us to return by nightfall without staying overnight. Well, it’s difficult to stay overnight anyway since we don’t have any identification documents. Now, the question is where to go. Hmm, I guess I should take them there at least once. To the capital of this country. First, let’s go sight-seeing in Tokyo.