A week before the sports festival, the homeroom teachers of each class from all three years submitted their respective ten chosen sports events and participant lists to the school. After a day of verification and removal of duplicate events, the school compiled a total of fifty-eight unique sports events—ranging from individual to team-based—that could be conducted within the school during the festival.
That very evening, the school publicly released the complete list. It included everything from traditional events like the 100-meter dash, long jump, and high jump, to more quirky ones like tree climbing and hula hoop spinning. Most intriguing was a bizarre 2000-meter obstacle course submitted by an unknown class, mixing elements like borrowing race items and bread-catching sprints. Despite its complexity, it had no obvious loopholes, so the school approved it.
Students could only hope they wouldn't be drawn to face such odd events against other classes.
Fortunately, the school had banned any marathon or long-distance runs over 10 kilometers. Otherwise, lower-ranked classes could've easily turned the tide by exhausting their opponents through grueling endurance events. All long-duration events were cut, even football and basketball were shortened in time.
The release of this list was meant to help all participating students prepare in advance and familiarize themselves with the rules. Since each class only submitted ten events and their participants, if an unfamiliar event was drawn on the day, it would fall to the "Commander" to manage who would participate.
In that sense, the role of the Commander might be more important than it appears.
"Judo, Taekwondo, Karate, Free Fighting..."
Nagumo Miyabi looked over the list in his hand, a playful smirk appearing on his face. He asked the man before him, "If nothing else, at least the list you gave me earlier matches the school's official one."
Ryuuen Kakeru snorted with disdain, hands in his pockets. "I've always intended to cooperate sincerely. There's no reason to lie about something like this."
"You really do hold a grudge against Kitagawa, huh? You're willing to betray your class just to take him down."
Nagumo laid the list on the table and leaned back leisurely in his lounge chair. The two of them were meeting in the school's reception room, one of the few places without surveillance. Without his role as student council vice president, Nagumo wouldn't even have the authority to use it.
"You don't actually think Kitagawa and I get along as nicely as it looks, do you?"
Despite the leather couch nearby, Ryuuen remained standing, his posture tense and guarded.
"No need to be so defensive."
Nagumo shook his head. "Since I invited you here, clearly I'm open to working with you. Otherwise, you wouldn't even get a chance to meet me alone."
"I investigated your conflict with Kitagawa long ago. Truth is, you just lost to him at the start of the school year."
Nagumo smiled slightly. "If we only look at contributions this semester, you're no less competent than Kitagawa—arguably, you've done more."
"The one failed plan against Class B was just bad luck. Who would've thought a D-Class student happened to be filming?"
Since that incident had been handled by the student council, Ryuuen wasn't surprised at Nagumo's detailed knowledge.
"During the uninhabited island exam, you bore the brunt of the work. Yet afterward, all the praise went to Kitagawa for his strategy. I'd be upset too."
Ryuuen didn't respond directly, but his cold snort was almost an admission.
"Then came the VIP exam. Your class had the chance to crush the other three and jump to Class A in the first semester, but Kitagawa's personal decision ruined it. You wasted the contractual advantage, and in the end had to split 80 million points with Classes A and D."
"Even worse, Kitagawa spent 20 million of those points… on a cat."
At that, Ryuuen's face twisted in anger. Veins bulged on his forehead as he clenched his fists and growled, "Kitagawa no longer has the right to lead Class B."
Nagumo nodded in agreement. "Honestly, I admire your capabilities. After the festival, how about joining the student council?"
"In October, I'll officially become the new president. That means the vice president seat will be open."
Despite the offer, Ryuuen didn't seem interested. "All I want is for Kitagawa to get expelled. The student council doesn't concern me."
Nagumo merely chuckled. It was a throwaway line. Naturally, once he became president, he'd place his own people in the council. Offering the vice presidency was just a test. If Ryuuen showed too much interest, Nagumo would've considered him unworthy.
From Nagumo's perspective, Class B's loss in the festival was already a foregone conclusion. Ryuuen's betrayal merely added more weight to the scale.
"In a few days, I'll give you the seven most likely events my class will choose and our participants."
"I could already guess most of them myself," Nagumo replied confidently.
"Class B wants to rely on its many delinquents, use their brawling experience, and count on that half-blood giant Yamada Albert to win through brute strength. But our Class A isn't just academically strong."
With pride in his voice, Nagumo tilted his head and looked at Ryuuen.
"And choosing football for a team event? I doubt anyone with no experience can learn the game properly in a month. Just understanding the rules would be a feat."
He scoffed at the three team events submitted by Class B: football, the thirty-person pole-toppling, and cavalry battle.
"I thought Kitagawa would come up with something clever, but it looks like this is all he's got."
If Kitagawa had introduced some fresh new team event, Nagumo might have taken it seriously. But other than his specialty in football, the other two were just standard events from the school's tradition. Class A had already competed in them last year.
"All you have to do is defeat Kitagawa and get him expelled."
"That much is obvious."
With a sharp look, Ryuuen met Nagumo's gaze, then turned and walked out of the reception room.
"For a first-year, he's quite arrogant even though he came asking for help."
Another Class A student stepped out of the lounge area holding a camcorder, clearly having recorded everything in secret.
"If he acted too submissively, I'd be suspicious instead," Nagumo shrugged.
He glanced at the closed door and asked, "Do you think Ryuuen's betrayal is real?"
"Their conflict isn't new. Kitagawa beat him, and Ryuuen's not the type to accept being under someone. I'm not surprised he's striking back."
Said Secretary Komaki, another student council member.
"Still, we should be careful working with someone like him."
"I know."
Nagumo folded the list on the table and slipped it into his pocket as he and Komaki walked out of the room together.
-------------------------------------
Under the layers of scheming and secret planning, the most unusual sports festival in nearly a decade had finally begun.
As October rolled in, the weather grew noticeably cooler. Occasionally, a few yellowed leaves would flutter through the air, signaling the end of the sweltering summer.
Around the sports field, many adult spectators had gathered. They were staff from the campus convenience stores and shopping centers. With the entire school participating in the sports festival, they were given a rare day off. Given how much more interesting this year's event seemed compared to previous ones, most of them chose to come and watch as the audience.
When the students from each class and grade marched in, the crowd enthusiastically waved and cheered. The students, clearly in high spirits, smiled back and acknowledged familiar faces.
To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, the opening speech was delivered not by Horikita Manabu, but by another student from Class 3-A named Fujimaki. Perhaps it was because Horikita was preparing to step down from his position.
Scanning the field, Kitagawa noticed that a full medical team and proper treatment facilities were in place. This year, the festival extended beyond the field into venues like the swimming pool, tennis courts, and basketball courts. The school had evidently doubled its manpower and resources compared to previous years.
While standing at the head of Class 1-B's formation, Kitagawa received a message from his homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, instructing him to head to the multimedia classroom. At the same time, one student stepped out from each of the other class formations. It was clear they were all summoned "Command Towers."
The four first-year Command Towers were Sakayanagi Arisu, Kitagawa Ryo, Shiranami Chihiro, and Karuizawa Kei.
Perhaps out of guilt, Shiranami had volunteered to be the Command Tower.
Kitagawa glanced at her briefly, then nodded at Sakayanagi beside him as they walked toward the multimedia room.
In fact, two days prior to the event, they had already undergone private Command Tower training in shifts.
The Command Towers were led by their respective homeroom teachers to the designated room, each assigned a computer. To allow them to observe the matches remotely, a real-time feed was projected on a large display screen.
[All Command Towers in position.]
[Opponent selection countdown: 5 seconds.]
To prevent confusion during matchup selection, the school had decided to conduct it through a digital system—first come, first served.
The last two remaining classes would automatically be matched against each other, maintaining fairness.
Kitagawa hovered his cursor over Class 2-A's option, thinking back to the heated debates the three of them had just last month over this very choice. In the end, it would all come down to luck.
[5... 4... 3... 2... 1]
Out on the field, students whispered among themselves, hoping their Command Tower could secure a favorable matchup.
Within five seconds of the countdown ending, the full matchups were broadcast to the entire school:
[Class 3-A vs Class 3-B]
[Class 3-C vs Class 2-C]
[Class 2-D vs Class 1-C]
[Class 2-B vs Class 1-D]
[Class 3-D vs Class 1-A]
And finally— [Class 2-A vs Class 1-B]
"Command Tower of Class 1-B, please confirm the seven event categories for this matchup, including five individual events and two team events."
Hearing the announcement through his earpiece, Kitagawa let out a low whistle.
Not bad. Luck was on his side.
On the other end, Nagumo, the Command Tower for Class 2-A, was just as confident. He had received Class 1-B's event list and participants from Ryuuen days ago and had arranged specialized training accordingly. While a clean sweep wasn't guaranteed, he was confident in securing victory in the main events.
[Class 1-B event list confirmed.]
[Now starting Event 1: High Jump.]
[Both Command Towers, please confirm participants.]
[Confirmation complete.]
[Participants, proceed to the high jump venue on the field.]
As expected—high jump.
Nagumo quickly selected the strongest jumper in his class. Though this individual event wasn't restricted by gender, male students generally had an advantage, so Class 2-A chose a male participant.
The student, Hirakawa, had recorded a personal best of 1.53 meters during trials yesterday. For reference, international qualification standards for male high jump athletes begin at 1.6 meters for tier-3 athletes, 1.8 meters for tier-2, and 2 meters for tier-1.
A 1.53m jump nearly reached tier-3 athlete standards.
In fact, the boy was already training toward a professional sports career.
Confident in his choice and based on both his intel and Ryuuen's provided data, Nagumo knew Class 1-B's best jumper had only cleared around 1.4 meters.
[Class 2-A's high jump participant, Hirakawa Takuto, in position.]
A round of applause erupted from Class 2-A as their star athlete stepped forward, grinning and waving with confidence.
But his smile quickly froze.
[Class 1-B's high jump participant, Kitagawa Hotaru, in position.]
From Class 1-B's formation, a cat walked out.
Yes—a literal cat.
It tilted its head and licked its paw, so adorable that several girls in the crowd squealed with sparkling eyes.
[Class 1-B requests to raise the bar height to 2.2 meters.]
"Meow."
The white blur leapt gracefully over the bar.
The venue fell utterly silent.
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