He's Getting A Sponsor?

The Stars entered the fourth quarter stronger than ever. The Halestorm were too shaken to recover in time for the quarter, allowing the Stars to dominate them quite easily. There’s no question who will win this game now. The minutes quickly became seconds and Daniel finished the game with a spectacular ‘Fire Blast’ from behind the arc. The final score: Stars – 122; Halestorm – 108.

The entire Stars bench exploded with thunderous cheers, eliciting a similar response from a majority of the crowd. Daniel couldn’t believe it; he had finally won his first ever professional basketball—Halo—game! “YEAH!!!” he roared out victoriously, adding more fire to the already ferocious cheers.

Following the game, the Stars were led to a small room where a group of reporters and the like were waiting for them. ‘My first ever press conference!’ squealed Daniel in joy. The team sat down on chairs that were set for them courtesy of the stadium owners. Automatically, the reporters bombarded them with questions all at once in a horrendous cacophony.

The coach cleared his throat and the reporters quickly quieted down. “Please keep in mind that we cannot answer everyone’s questions,” he told them. “We will try to answer your questions as best we can. However, we will only do so in an orderly manner. In short, please do not speak unless we picked on you to do so.” The silent room shook with the unison gulping of every reporter in the room.

‘The coach is a scary person,’ noted Daniel to himself. ‘But he also commands a great deal of respect. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.’

“Please raise your hands if you have a question,” said the coach. Everyone in the room shot their hand up at that exact moment. The coach pointed to a reporter in the middle of the room.

“Franz with the ‘Halo Network’,” introduced the reporter, “My question is for Mr. Max Power. Judging by your play in today’s game, it is quite doubtful to acknowledge that you really suffered an injury just a few months ago. Rumor has also circulated that you suffered from amnesia following that point in time. Is this true? If it is, then how do you explain your performance in today’s game? Was there any special preparation involved?”

Daniel was too stunned by the straightforward question that all words left him. How does one answer such a question in the first place? If Daniel answered that it was true, he would only cause more trouble for himself trying to explain how someone with amnesia can still perform at a high level in a game that should’ve still felt somewhat foreign to him. On the other hand, he would be forced to reveal the truth of his reincarnation into this world by commandeering the body of a beloved athlete just so he can finally live his selfish dream.

“It is true that Max suffered amnesia, but it didn’t have any negative effects on his game,” came Kody to the rescue. “It was actually a temporary problem that resolved itself quickly during the offseason just in time for the first game of the current season.”

‘Nice save, Kody!’ praised Daniel, flashing his friend a thumbs up.

The next reporter was chosen. “Olivia with ‘Sports, Stats, and Scores’,” introduced the reporter, “Today’s game with the Halestorm was called an upset by many fans and critics present at the stadium. Indeed, the Halestorm were favored to win following the impressive lead they gained beginning with the second half after employing their substitute Igniter. The Igniter’s possession of the advanced skill ‘Meteor Blast’ and his uncanny ability to wield it effortlessly truly made him quite a force to reckon with. How did you come up with that ingenious plan to stop him? Who was the mastermind behind this plan?”

“The answer to that question is this guy right here!” shouted Jerry, grabbing Daniel from behind and roughing up his hair playfully.

The press conference continued for another half hour before the coach finally told the press that they were finished. The team left the room and made their way out of the stadium. Daniel had never felt so exhausted in his life doing something that wasn’t basketball. He exited the stadium with his team when a voice called to him from his left. A boy by the age of twelve eagerly approached him. The boy had short blonde hair with bangs, bright emerald green eyes, lightly tanned skin, and was dressed in a pair of blue overalls over a white shirt with a green ascot around his neck.

“Can I help you?” Daniel asked the boy.

“You’re Max Power, right?” asked the boy with confidence.

“Yes, I am,” said Daniel.

“I saw your game today. The way you beat the Halestorm and turned the game around was awesome!” praised the boy with an approving nod.

“Thanks,” responded Daniel with a victorious smile. “Is that all?”

The boy quickly pulled out something from the pocket of his overalls and handed it to Daniel. “I want to sponsor you! Please come to this place tomorrow!” announced the boy. He then bowed his head and quickly left before Daniel could say anything further.

The next day, Daniel went to the place that was on the card given to him by the boy the day before. When he arrived, he found himself standing in front of a shoe shop.

“Ah, can I help you?” came an approaching man’s voice to his left. The man had short brown hair and a well groomed goatee. He was dressed in a humble white shirt underneath a brown leather vest, a pair of plain trousers, and heavy boots.

“I was asked to come here,” Daniel told the man. He showed the man the card he received yesterday.

The man let out a sigh. “That boy’s done it again,” he muttered to himself. “Nico!” yelled the man. The boy from yesterday walked out of the shop. Instead of being overwhelmed with guilt, he was full of the same confidence that he had the day before. “Nico, did you give this card to him?” asked the man.

“Yes,” answered Nico without hesitation. Before the man could continue to question and scold the boy, Nico quickly turned his attention to Daniel and shouted, “Please let us sponsor you!”

The man sighed. “I apologize for my son’s behavior,” he apologized to Daniel. He then turned back to Nico and said, in a more softer tone, “Nico, I told you before, didn’t I? Sponsoring is not as easy as it sounds. Besides, no big name team will want a small name shoe shop like ours to sponsor them. There are a lot of big companies out there that possess more revenue and renown than us.”

“But we won’t know if we don’t try!” protested Nico stubbornly.

“Are you a shoemaker?” Daniel asked the man, intrigued.

“Yes, I am,” replied the man. “My name is William Hawkes, the owner of Hawkes Wings. We’re just a local shoe shop, so it would make sense that you wouldn’t know of us. Again, I deeply apologize for this inconvenience of your time.”

Daniel, whose intrigue at the shoe shop had him ignore much of the man’s words after his introduction, walked into the shop. Inside, shoes of various kinds were stocked beautifully on the walls of both sides and the three aisles in the middle of the shop. He saw shoes made for casual wear, formal wear, dancing, harvesting, nobles, merchants, kids, adults, etc., etc. ‘Does he have any athletic shoes?’ he wondered excitedly to himself.

He scoured the aisles and finally found them stocked near the back of the right wall. Daniel grabbed one. He couldn’t believe what he was feeling: the leather was smooth and sturdy but at the same time soft and breathable, the insole was padded with a soft material while the outsole was made of tough rubber, the heel was carefully constructed to firmly hold the feet in place to provide better support, and the front had a beautiful curve that perfectly captured the shape of feet as if it was made to become an extension of the body rather than a garment simply for feet protection. But what surprised Daniel the most was how light it was to hold. “Owner, can I try these on?” Daniel asked William.

The owner was surprised by Daniel’s request. “O-Of course,” he replied.

Nico showed Daniel to an open area near the back of the shop for trying on shoes. ‘I see. Using an area like this will allow people to test the shoes without worrying about ruining the merchandise in the shop,’ realized Daniel with a smile. He changed into the new shoes and his breath was taken away by how soft and comfortable they were. They clung to his feet snugly but wasn’t at all inflexible, allowing for him to utilize his full range of motion.

“H-How do you like it?” asked William.

“It’s great!” replied Daniel excitedly.

“This shoe in particular is the Hawkes Wings Hero Series,” explained William. “It utilizes magic to allow the wearer to jump as high as a bird in the sky and make transitions and reactions move smoothly with no hindrances at all.”

“Sounds just like my kind of shoe,” stated Daniel. And then an idea popped into his head. “Do you have any more of these shoes?” he asked the shoemaker.

“That is the only pair of Hawkes Wings Hero Series that I have,” replied William regretfully.

“I see,” said Daniel in a dejected tone.

“However,” quickly interjected William, “I do have other Hawkes Wings Series shoes! They’re made for athletics and competitive sports!”

“Do you have enough for a whole team?” asked Daniel excitedly.

“I-I-I-I can check in the back,” stuttered William in surprise.

“We do!” answered Nico, who suddenly appeared right beside his father. “There’s the Hawkes Wings Wizard Series, the Hawkes Wings Paladin Series, the Hawkes Wings Rogue Series, and a whole host of others!”

“Nico!” hissed William.

“That’s great!” announced Daniel joyfully. “I’ll gladly have your company as our sponsor, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s more than okay!” exclaimed William in surprise. “B-B-But, are you sure? Surely our shoes do not compare to other high-end brands. After all, we’re just a local shoe shop. Our revenue is less than 15,000 kairo a year!”

‘125,000 yen a month is really low,’ agreed Daniel. “But your shoe quality is really good!” Daniel told him earnestly. “Please let us help you promote your shoes! People have to know exactly how good they are! High-end brands don’t even compare to this! And you make your shoes in store, too, right? That means that each and every shoe is carefully crafted and made with the customers in mind.”

“Well…,” hesitated William.

“Dad, we can get our name out there!” pushed Nico. “We already have a star athlete who is willing to help us!”

William glanced over at Daniel and the latter nodded his head in agreement to the boy’s words. “Alright then,” sighed William. “I’ll get you those shoes. We can set up a sponsorship meeting later whenever you’re ready.”

“Alright!” agreed Daniel.

The next day, Daniel brought the shoes to his teammates. They all liked the shoes, as Daniel had expected. Everything was going well until when Daniel told them what he did yesterday to get those shoes.

“You what?!” shouted Lira and Kody in unison.

‘Did I do something I shouldn’t have?’ wondered Daniel with an awkward little laugh.