"Hmm. Let's see…" elia stepped onto the court and eyed the practig girls. Then, she randomly thrust her fi one of them. "Hey, you! Eh, what was your name again? Well, doesn’t matter. I wish to practice spikes, so set for me!"

  "Eeeh?" the girl made a face. "I'm not really good with that stuff."

  “Nonsense, I’ve seen you setting up just fine,” liea said. "Besides, it's but a simple set, how hard it be?"

  "But, you're totally going to pin if the sets aren't to your liking..."

  "Of course I will." elia nodded. "If the sets won't permit me to properly practice my spikes, then there is no point to them."

  "You see? You do want the high-quality sets, after all." The girl made a face. "But, I'm the reserve libero, remember? Heh, who am I kidding? Of course you don't. Anyway, I don't do sets often, so I’m not that good at them."

  "Hmm, I see." elia nodded in uanding. "But, it is oo te to learn! So, e on."

  "Somebody, save meeeeeeeeee..."

  "Alright, alright." Anirl stepped. It was Dahe captain of the club as well as the team's maier. "I'll set for you."

  "Much obligated, captain." elia expressed proper respect toward the senior in charge. Such was the expected etiquette from a noble dy.

  Just you watch, Fiona! elia thought as she jumped toward the set ball. Today, I shall make sure that the name elia von Galen will go down in history as the name of the one who triumphed over the La s!

  BOOM! It sounded like an explosion, but that was just the sound of the ball crashing into the floor. elia struck that oh all her might and the set was quite ideal, as expected from the captain. Therefore, elia was able to exhibit the full extent of her alent with that spike!

  The sound of the crash echoed throughout the gym. Sutimidating noises were perhaps on in boys' volleyball, but not so mu girls’.

  Naturally, many of the girls turned around to check out the source of the explosion. In other words, they were all gazing upon the mighty elia von Galen! Surely, they’ll now revere her as the queen of the volleyball court!

  But…

  “Out,” Daniel said.

  “... excuse me?”

  “It was out.”

  “W-Was it?” elia was taken aback. “S-Surely you jest. It was right there on the line!”

  “ was out. I saw it clearly. Right, girls?” Daniel addressed the ones who stood closer to the point of impact. The girls firmed that the ball indeed nded a little outside the bounds.

  “T-That ’t be…” elia gritted her teeth for a moment, but then covered her mouth and burst out in ughter. “Ohohoho! Yes, of course it might’ve nded out of bounds. After all, I did not strictly try to pce the shot within the court itself.”

  “Oh, you didn’t?”

  “Not at all. After all, this is but warm-up, ohoho!”

  “Hmm, I see.” Daniel nodded. “Then, from here on out, please make sure to hit all your spikes ihe court. It’s important to warm up your aim, too.” Especially, in your case…

  “Of course, of course.” elia nodded. “Very well. As a noble dy, I shall elegantly pce all my powerful shots within the court! This is no challe all for a s of the von Galen family!”

  And so, the set arrived. The ball flew high into the air, perfectly matg elia’s jumping ability.

  As expected of a high-caliber setter, the captain was capable of adjusting her sets quite acutely to the spiker’s preferences. It was truly an honor to practice alongside an aplished senior like Daniel.

  BAM! Another powerful spike! The ball rammed so hard into the floor that it wouldn’t have been odd for it to leave a crater behind! But…

  “Out,” Daniel reported.

  “O-Oh, yes, I see. Hmm.” elia opened and closed her mouth i. This time, her spike went so far out of bounds that she struggled to e up with any defense for her case.

  At first, she sidered bming this on the captain’s set, but clearly, there was no fault with Daniel’s art. That ball asded to the perfect height for elia to hit it with all her might. As such, the fault y entirely with elia’s aim.

  But, of course, this was not allowed to be written off as a “mistake” on her part. After all, as the noble daughter of the von Galen family, elia could not possibly make such embarrassing mistakes.

  And so, elia puffed her chest in fidence. "I simply wao practice outs for a little bit, that’s all there is to it."

  "Huh.” Daniel narrowed her eyes. “And, why would you want to practiething like that? In case you’ve fotten, this game is all about pg the spikes Ihe court."

  "O-Of course I remember something so elementary! It's simply such a rare experience for one as noble as myself to ever hit outs, so I felt like getting a taste of that exotic experien this fine m, ohoho!"

  Yeah, sure. It’s “rare”. Daniel rolled her eyes. Girl, your wild spikes miss more than they nd. Sigh.

  elia's spikes were powerful, no question about that. However, with great power came great responsibility.

  The spikes had impressive velocity but they sacrificed accura exge. The harder elia struck the ball, the more likely it was to go out. This ractically a stific w at this point.

  "How about dialing down the speed a little bit?" Daniel suggested. "It doesn't seem like you'll be pg any shots ihe court if you keep hitting with all your power."

  "H-Hmph, very well." elia lifted her . "Sihis plebeian court ot tain the full fory noble shots, it appears I must hold my brilliance back a little."

  "Please do."

  And so, another set. The ball flew high into the air again, just as carefully and as accurately as st time. Truly, the captain's tosses were ever filled with elegant skill. It’d be a shame to waste suoble effort, therefore elia absolutely had to nail this spike.

  BAM. She struck the ball with great force, but she made sure to hold back just a little. It was truly a shame that this puny court was uo withstand the full extent of her rength, but such was the plebian nature of this mass of nd.

  BAM! The ball crashed into the floor. The loudness made some girls turn their heads, as they should always do. After all, all of them should be grateful that they had the ce to witness elia's magnifi a, and free of charge to boot.

  Fortunately, this time, the ball nded within bounds. It suspiciously swayed to the left toward the very end of the flight, but it was all good in the end.

  "Good one," Daniel said. "Though, it was cutting it a little close there. You might want to slow down even more."

  "Non, non. That will not do." elia wagged her finger. "Any slower than this and my spikes will no longer be able to deliver the full extent of my noble brilliance."

  "Is that so..." Daniel made a face. "Well, you do you. Let's get a few more shots in before the scrim begins."

  "Gdly!"

  Daniel set the ball a few more times, and elia leaped at every opportunity to spike it. She was like a hungry beast jumping at every prey preseo her.

  After dialing down the fieress of the strikes, elia’s accuracreased just enough to pce most of her spikes ihe court. Many of those were still too close to fort and nearly slipped outside, but it was fine as long as they ultimately nded within bounds.

  Well, personally, I wish she hit them in a safer spot. Dahought. Then again, hitting your spikes close to the line is teically optimal, so eh...

  That quirky spike trajectory was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. These spikes were definitely difficult to receive, but they also had the bad habit of going out of bounds all by themselves. As such, it was difficult to puch fiden them.

  As, regardless of Daniel's s, this was the only type of spike elia was willing to hit. She never promised on anything less.

  Well, she DOES have aype of spike, but... Daniel felt even less fident about that oill, I have to make sure she's at least warmed up with it. It rarely ever nds in, but it's pretty impressive when it works.

  And so, Daniel made sure to have elia practice that backup tool.

  This troublesome girl had the accuracy of someohrowing darts in the dark, but she sure packed a lot of force. With effective , it should be possible to fiune elia to bee a strong asset to the team.

  BAM! BAM! BAM! The gym sounded like a warzone because of the repeated b noises. Some girls shuddered at the mere thought of being on the receiving end of these destructive spikes.

  After a few more rounds, it was time to take a break.

  "Make sure to get some rest before the scrim," Daniel said. "You'll tire yourself out before the match if you keep going this hard."

  "Hah, ha..." elia's breathing was visibly ragged, but she took a deep breath and straightened her posture. "Me? Tire myself out? Please. A noble such as myself holds unlimited energy! I shall keep spiking for as long as the ball keeps going up!"

  "Yes, I'm sure you will,” Daniel said. “But, take a break just in case, okay? This will ehat your 'noble brilliance' will be as brilliant as it should be during the game." Or something, I dunno.

  "Hmm. Very well." elia nodded. "You are quite right, it is important for a noble such as myself to maintain optimal form at all times. Tiring myself out before the game, even by a negligible amount, is not elegant."

  "Yep, exactly."

  And so, elia agreed to take a short rest before the actual game. Hopefully, she'll recover all the energy shot lost from spiking the ball like a mad beast…

  DarkestCymore