The Prince of Tennis: The Quincy of Rikkai University.

Chapter 40 Lottery Ceremony (asking for a monthly ticket at the end of the month)
In the blink of an eye, it was time to draw lots for the groups in the Kanto Conference.

As for the location of the draw, it will undoubtedly be held by the previous Kanto Conference champion, Rikkai University Affiliated Junior High School.

The school had already set up the venue in the classroom the day before, and a signpost was erected at the school gate.

"Yushi, we're here again."

At the gate of Rikkai University Junior High School, Atobe Keigo stopped there, raised his head slightly and scanned the surrounding environment.

"Yeah, it was here last year too." Oshitari Yuushi pushed his glasses and responded to the other person.

"Hmph, one day, it will be Hyotei's turn to take charge." Atobe Keigo snorted coldly, his eyes full of ambition.

Tread-tap-

A sound of footsteps came from behind the two of them. They turned around and saw two familiar figures.

Of course, it was the people from Seigaku who played against him in the finals of the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament some time ago.

The visitors were none other than Deputy Minister Kunimitsu Tezuka and the unknown minister.

"I was wondering who it was. Turns out it's my defeated subordinate." Atobe Keigo smiled arrogantly, but then he looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu and his smile disappeared immediately.

The headmaster of Qingxue's expression changed. He didn't say anything but his expression became a little ugly.

Because in the regional qualifiers before the Tokyo Metropolitan Conference, he was defeated miserably by Keigo Atobe with a very ugly score of 0 to 6 in the match against Hyotei.

"Buyer, it's getting late, we should go in." Tezuka Kunimitsu reminded calmly.

Knowing that it was not advisable to stay for long, the president of Qingxue immediately nodded and walked quickly past the two people of Atobe.

Tezuka Kunimitsu followed, looked at Atobe Keigo, and left without saying a word.

"Tsk——"

Atobe Keigo looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu's back with displeasure as he left, and rarely said a word.

However, when he recalled the scene of their previous fight at the Tokyo Metropolitan Conference, his originally good mood immediately disappeared.

"Yushi, let's go too."

"Ah."

Following the footsteps of the people from Seigaku in front of them, Atobe and the other two also stepped into the gate of Rikkai University.

In the classroom where the lottery ceremony was held, school representatives from different regions had basically all arrived and were sitting in their assigned seats.

At the seats of the host Rikkai University, Genichirō Sanada and Maya Yuuki were sitting there, waiting for the draw to begin.

Genichirō Sanada looked ahead casually, his attention not here at all, and at first glance he looked like he was worried about something.

"Sanada, are you still thinking about Yukimura?" Yuuki Maya had already noticed the other party's abnormality, and he lowered his voice and spoke.

"Well, I don't know how Yukimura is doing in the hospital now." Genichirō Sanada replied in a heavy voice.

"Don't worry, if something really happened, we would have received the news long ago." Yuuki Maya understood Sanada Genichirō's mood at the moment and comforted him patiently.

He was not speaking nonsense. The three of them were childhood friends, and Yukimura Seiichi's parents knew them very well. If there was any sudden danger, they would be notified immediately.

"You are right. Of course I understand that, but..."

Genichirō Sanada was naturally very aware of this, but the worry on his face did not diminish because of these words.

"I understand how you feel right now, but for now, don't think too much about it. Let's wait until the Kanto Conference is over."

"call--"

Genichirō Sanada let out a breath and his eyes became bright again.

"Maya, you're right. Everything will have to wait until after the game is over."

……

On the podium, the staff of the Kanto Conference organizers are already in place and the drawing ceremony is about to begin.

In front of the staff, four lottery boxes containing sixteen numbers have been placed.

After a short break, everything was ready and the ceremony officially began.

The first step is to allocate half of the district to the seed schools.

There are three seeded schools in the Kanto Conference, namely Rokkaku Junior High School in Chiba, Hyotei Academy in Tokyo, and Rikkai University Affiliated Junior High School in Kanagawa. According to the conference rules, these three seeded schools will be assigned to four semi-regions and will not meet before the semi-finals.

"Please invite the Rikkai University representative to come up to the stage to draw lots." The staff on the stage shouted.

"Sanada, it's your turn." Yuuki Maya reminded.

Genichirō Sanada nodded, stood up and walked to the stage. At the staff's signal, he reached into the box marked Area A.

"Rikkai University, number one."

After drawing the numbers, Sanada walked off the stage and returned to his seat.

Afterwards, the remaining two seed schools were also drawn one after another.

"Hyotei, No. 9"

"Hexagon, No. 15"

After the three schools were assigned, people from other participating schools began to whisper in the audience.

"You must not be drawn into Group A..."

"Nonsense, who wants to be in the same district as Rikkai University?"

"Hyotei is still quite lucky this year. They won't meet Rikkai University before the finals, so they are sure to be the runner-up."

"Hey, that's hard to say. Chiba Prefecture's Rokkaku is quite strong. It's not certain who will make it to the finals."

"..."

Atobe Keigo frowned, this little noise couldn't be hidden from his ears.

"What a bunch of noisy bastards."

His expression was cold, and he spoke without any concealment.

The representatives from other schools sitting around him obviously felt a chill emanating from Atobe Keigo's body and consciously shut their mouths and dared not speak.

"Number 12, si car"

"Number 6, Kasumi is fourth"

"No. 16, Dakou South"

"Number 8, Yamabuki Junior High School"

"..."

As the draws for each school were completed, the battle schedule for the entire Kanto Conference became clearer and clearer.

"Seishun Academy, number 7."

After another school drew lots, Genichirō Sanada raised his eyebrows and looked at the left half of the match table.

There are two areas in the left half, Area A for numbers 1 to 4, and Area B for numbers 5 to 8. At this moment, Qingxue has been assigned to the half with Rikkai University.

Kunimitsu Tezuka looked at his senior with an expressionless face as he walked down from the stage. The other's face was pale.

It’s no wonder he did that, because this lot was truly a “good lot” for Qingxue.

In the first round, they will face Yamabuki Junior High School, who they narrowly defeated in the fifth round in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament.

Then, if they can successfully advance to the quarterfinals, they will face the previous Kanto champion Rikkai University in the semi-finals.

It can be said that there was not an easy battle along the way.

Even if Tezuka Kunimitsu remained calm even when faced with a catastrophe, he would still feel heavy-hearted.

This qualifying format is so difficult.

"The draw ceremony for this Kanto Conference has ended. The time for the competition will be..."

On the stage, after the ceremony, the staff chattered on and on about some precautions.

Afterwards, the staff announced the end of the event, and representatives from various schools left the classroom one after another.

(End of this chapter)