A Promise

Reo frowned when he heard the cashier's voice.

He didn't like his tone nor his words.

Reo's previous life wasn't lived in poverty but it wasn't far from it either.

As such, he had heard those type of words countless times.

The words of those mocking the poor.

Reo's father also had his brows furrowed. Apparently, he didn't like the cashier's words either.

However,4500 yen was too expensive for a single basketball. While it's material was very good, was it really worth the 4500 yen?

On instinct, Reo's father glanced at Reo who was standing right below his shoulders.

The main reason he wanted to come to Sports Direct today was for his son's sake.

His son had always hated basketball with a passion and as his father, he took it upon himself to convince his son otherwise.

There was a lot more to the game than just dribbling the ball and scoring goals. He wanted to teach his son more about the game.

He was never that good in basketball even in middle school. As such, his one wish was that his son would be able to make it high in basketball, at least in middle school.

He knew how fierce the competition was in high school and at the higher levels so he had no hope for Reo to be doing well at that stage.

So, with Reo's previous temperament, making Reo like the game itself was already considered a massive achievement on his own.

However, for some very peculiar reason, his son had suddenly told him that he wanted to play basketball all of a sudden.

Of course, it made him happy, so happy that he nearly cried.

Since his son wanted to play the game, he would groom him to the best of his abilities and give him the best equipment possible.

So, as he reminisced about this, he stared considering about the bundle discount.

A basketball stand and basketball shoes would be a massive boost to those who just started training.

Only those in the middle-class or higher would be able to afford such a thing without making a dent in their savings.

So, weighing through the pros and cons, he steeled his heart and asked Reo once again in affirmation.

"Reo, do you really want to play basketball?"

Reo was confused for a moment. Why was his father asking him this?

Was it because of the ball? Yes, that must be it!

"Yes, father. I want to play basketball but you don't have to buy the b-",Reo wanted to convince his father otherwise but he was cut off halfway.

"Sir, I'll take the bundle deal", gritting his teeth Reo's father made his decision.

The cashier went from cold to confused.

'Isn't he living in poverty? Then, how could he afford the bundle deal?'

'It must be my mistake. They must just be conservative instead. I really have to be careful to not judge others by their words', the cashier mentally reminded himself.

Still, he wasn't going to say no to money. If his boss found out that he almost missed a the bundle deal with a customer, not only would he be fired, he would also be blacklisted.

That was not something he wanted!

So, putting a smile on his face, he responded to Reo's father.

"Very good, sir. After your payment, head to the shoe section with your receipt to chose one of the basketball shoes there"

Reo's father didn't say anything and just silently took out his debit card for payment.

After making the payment, he didn't dally around and quickly brought Reo to the shoe section.

He didn't want to spend anymore time with this rude cashier.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reo had been silent all the way home.

From the moment he picked out his shoes, Reo had not said a single word.

He had complicated feelings about this whole thing.

He knew very well by just looking at their house that they definitely did not have enough money.

So, then why?

Why did his father spend an absurd amount of money buying all those equipment?

It couldn't be just because he wanted to play basketball, right?

No parent in this type of situation would do this kind of thing.

So, when it was time for dinner, Reo decided to confront his dad about it.

Sitting at the dining table, Reo and his father had just finished their meal in silence before Reo decided to break that silence.

"Father", Reo called out for his father's attention.

His father looked at him blankly, wondering why his son was calling him.

Then, biting his lips in hesitation, Reo confronted his father.

"Father, why did you buy that bundle set? It's too expensive for us to afford in the first place"

His father, as if anticipating this talk, calmly put down his chopsticks and explained to Reo.

"It's a bit expensive but not by much. After all, you can't become a good player if you don't spend at least a little bit of money"

A lie!

Reo knew that it was a lie. His father was just trying to cover things up as to make him feel better.

"I don't need a basketball stand or the basketball shoes either. The ball is good enough for me to train with", Reo countered.

"It was my decision to make, Reo and I made the decision to give you a little extra stuff to help you out. This is not something for you to worry about", his father said in a solemn tone.

Reo kept quiet after hearing that. He knew very well that he was not going to win this argument with his father.

So, with his head lowered, Reo excused himself as he made his way upstairs.

Going into his room, Reo clenched his fists after closing the door behind him.

"Father, I promise to become a strong player. Otherwise, I will never have the courage to face you after what you have done for me", Reo whispered his promise.

Then, right after he said that, a message suddenly popped up in front of him.

[Ding! You have become eligible to own The Court Ruler System]

[Congratulations on obtaining The Court Ruler System!]

[Welcome Host!]

Unable to control his shock at the sudden appearance of messages, Reo shouted out.

"Ehhhh!!!!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sitting on the dining table with his head in his hands, Reo's father felt a headache coming on.

After Reo went up, he finally let out his pent up emotions.

He had to look strong in front of Reo as his father but at the same time, he was also slightly questioning his decision.

That bundle package was not cheap and it was not like he was earning a humongous salary in the first place.

In truth, they were actually living in poverty at the moment and that bundle package had easily taken up his entire monthly salary.

He still had to pay for the bills and there was also Reo's upcoming school fees which will be due in another month's time.

Reo's school will end in another month's time and another month after that, Reo will be entering his senior year in elementary school.

With this significant expenditure, he could only dig into his savings to pay for everything in the next one month. Following that, it looked like he was going to work many overnight shifts as well.

Also, while he was still questioning his decision to buy the bundle set, his instincts told him that he was right to do so.

However, the pros and cons were quite severe this time.

He had no idea how good Reo would become. He may as well be as good as he was in middle school if not worse.

He could also decide to drop the game at any moment to pursue other interests. There was also the matter of the price; it would seriously affect his ability to provide for the 2 of them in the next few months.

On the up side, if Reo was really serious about basketball, then it's investment was worth it. His son would have his own training center in the house to become stronger and stronger so there was no need to waste money going anywhere else to practice.

Also, not only could his son play basketball, even he could as well. It had been a long time since he had even held a basketball to begin with.

With his job conditions, he hardly had any time for himself unless it was the weekends such as this.

He had been itching to hold a ball again and shoot so it was also considered an investment for himself if he went through with the deal.

However, with all the future overtimes planned, it seemed that that idea was still far-fetched.

Looking up at the ceiling in the direction where Reo's room was, his father muttered under his breath.

"You better be grateful for this, you stinky brat. The least you could do is try to get into the first string of your middle-school's basketball club"