"Hashimoto, Kitou."
Sakayanagi Arisu gave her instructions through the earpiece:
"Head to Class 1-D's area and act as temporary substitutes for this round's boys' 4x400 meter relay."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Hashimoto Masayoshi smiled gently. He paid no mind to the glances others cast at him due to the chuunibyou-like honorific he used, and instead turned to find Kitou Hayato in their class.
With a fierce face and long hair, Kitou had an appearance that didn't resemble a high schooler at all. Despite being quiet and reserved, he was without a doubt the strongest male student in Class 1-A in terms of physical ability—even stronger than Hashimoto and Katsuragi Kouhei.
"Kitou, come with me to Class D."
As he was resting on a bench due to not having any events at the moment, Kitou blinked at the call and asked in confusion:
"What's the situation?"
"3 to 2, Class D is in the lead."
Walking away from the Class 1-A base, Hashimoto and Kitou chatted as they headed for Class D. Squinting slightly, Hashimoto commented:
"Class 1-B must be under a lot of pressure right now."
"They looked dominant throughout the past semester, but ultimately that was because their leader was exceptional."
"While the class does have a few standouts, most of the students are too mediocre."
Kitou tilted his head slightly and asked:
"You seem pretty confident."
"Because Class 1-B can't even come up with four decent male athletes."
"If Kitagawa chooses to intervene in this round, even if they win, it'll only delay the match to a final tiebreaker."
"Yamada has great physical stats, but sprinting isn't his specialty. Below Yamada, there's only Ryuuen and Ishizaki."
"That lineup would already struggle against Class D alone, let alone when our Class A is teaming up with D."
Hashimoto's thoughts were sharp, showing he had done plenty of intelligence gathering on the other classes.
"What about Class 1-C?"
Kitou suddenly spoke up, turning his head toward a different direction:
"Will they get involved?"
"Ichinose Honami would never gamble her class like that. The reason our class hasn't chosen a target yet is just to keep the pressure on."
"She must be in a real dilemma right now."
"Ichinose is a good person."
Hashimoto chuckled at Kitou's seemingly random sentiment and responded nonchalantly:
"And that's exactly why Class B ended up becoming Class C."
-------------------------------------
"Class B is currently trailing with a score of 2 to 3. The sixth team event is about to start."
"It's the boys' 4x400 meter relay."
Ichinose Honami kept trying to get in touch with Shiina Hiyori via text. But once she actually received a reply, she hesitated, not knowing how to respond. She typed out several lines only to delete them, then typed them again, and deleted them once more. In the end, it was Shiina who took the initiative to send a comforting message:
"Honami-san, don't worry about us. This is Class B's issue."
Ichinose bit her lip. She almost sent the message: "Class C can come help," but in the end, her trembling fingers deleted the entire thing.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
She tried phrasing it from a personal standpoint, hoping it might alleviate some of her guilt. After all, if Class B hadn't initiated the joint plan, Class C wouldn't be in a good position either.
To Ichinose, it felt fundamentally wrong that Classes A and D were now ganging up on Class B—especially since B had helped them defeat Classes 2-A and 2-B earlier that morning.
"This is a boys' 4x400 meter relay. Even if you want to help, Honami, you can't actually compete."
With a light joke, Shiina tried to dispel Honami's anxiety, even as her own class stood on the brink of defeat.
"But still..."
Ichinose faltered. If she were the commander of Class C, she probably would have ordered her class to help Class B without hesitation, even if it meant retaliation from Class A and the possibility of expulsion.
But the problem was, Ichinose wasn't Class C's commander right now—Shiranami Chihiro was.
As Class C's leader, Ichinose couldn't gamble with her classmates' futures. If they lost, Class C couldn't come up with the twenty million private points needed to offset the penalty.
Perhaps it was precisely because Sakayanagi Arisu had calculated all this that she dared to manipulate Class C so fearlessly.
Instinctively, Ichinose wanted to reach out to Student Council President Horikita, but Class 3-A was locked in a fierce battle against Class 2-A. After a break at noon, Nagumo Miyabi had recovered a bit and was leading his class with renewed focus. The battle was no longer one-sided and had become increasingly intense.
In this situation, Ichinose had no good options.
"How did it come to this..."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kitou Hayato from Class 1-A walking toward the opposite field. It was clear that they were the reinforcements Class A had sent.
Even if Sudou Ken couldn't participate due to fatigue, Class D could still field an elite relay team: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Hirata Yosuke, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and Kitou Hayato. Meanwhile, the isolated Class B...
Even if Kitagawa Ryo chose to intervene, his teammates were limited to the not-so-fast Yamada and Ryuuen—both of whom had already exhausted themselves in earlier events. Though Ayanokouji wasn't in peak condition either, the two fresh reinforcements from Class A were game-changers.
The more she thought about it, the slimmer Class B's chances appeared.
Time was running out for Ichinose to make a decision.
The last time she felt this torn was at a department store, debating whether to steal a hairpin. Back then, the thought of "doing it for my sister" had overridden her resistance to theft.
The result had been devastating.
So now, she needed to learn from that mistake and avoid dragging others into harm.
"Class Rep."
Kanzaki Ryuji approached Ichinose, clearly sensing her conflicted and agonized state.
He spoke earnestly:
"You're Class C's leader."
His meaning was clear: no matter what decision she made, the class would accept it.
"Even if what I want to do might hurt Class C's interests?"
Ichinose asked back, clenching her fists.
"You want to help Class B, right? I think it's fine. If something goes wrong, I'll take half the responsibility with you."
Shibata Sou smiled cheerfully. His words were met with widespread approval from the class. The heavy burden she had been carrying was suddenly shared—first by one, then by two... and finally, only 1/40th remained with Ichinose.
"...Though this is just my personal opinion."
She spoke softly.
Everyone remained silent but watched her closely.
Ichinose wasn't speaking out of confidence. She was terrified of what might happen and felt like crying at any moment.
Even so, she wanted to try. She wanted to say what was on her mind.
The students who had gone through thick and thin with her over the semester understood that.
"I want to help Class B. I don't want their commander—I don't want Ryo to be expelled."
"Of course we'll support you. Right, everyone?"
Shibata called out with a smile.
In unison, the entire Class C echoed their support.
That was Ichinose's charisma. She could feel its weight firsthand.
This was something no one but Ichinose Honami could do.
"Let's go!"
-------------------------------------
[Class 1-D's commander has confirmed the participants for the upcoming race.]
The students of Class 1-D turned their attention to the four individuals already standing in the designated positions on the track:
Hirata Yosuke, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and Kitou Hayato.
"Hey, hey, this lineup is seriously strong, right? We've got a real chance to win this one!"
A male student spoke up excitedly. Class 1-D only needed one more victory to defeat Class 1-B.
That nightmare that had loomed over Class 1-D since the first day of school.
It all felt almost unreal. Their breathing grew heavier, as if they were dreaming.
"I thought we'd really end up cooperating with Class B, but it looks like Karuizawa-san had this ace up her sleeve all along."
"Ever since last semester, when she stood up to Class B over Sakura's camera, I knew she was someone who could lead Class 1-D!"
"Class 1-B backstabs allies all the time. I guess they never expected the day would come when they'd be the ones betrayed."
Whether male or female, even homeroom teacher Chabashira Sae sitting in the audience wore a faint smile on her face.
Class 1-D had already defeated Class 2-B. If they could now defeat Class 1-B during the sports festival...
She believed Class 1-D was on the brink of a complete rebirth.
"Karuizawa Kei."
Chabashira Sae savored the name. She still remembered reviewing the girl's file at the start of the school year—clearly middle or lower-tier in every category—yet now, she was the one leading Class 1-D forward.
She was even doing better than what Chabashira had hoped Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would accomplish.
While Chabashira and Class 1-D were marveling at Karuizawa Kei's growth, the girl herself was sinking into deep self-doubt in the multipurpose room.
"What am I even doing..."
Karuizawa stared numbly at the image projected on the large screen. Everything was going according to plan, and yet she felt no joy.
The fragments of memory in her mind pinned her to the seat, like a prisoner nailed to a cross.
Her whole body was paralyzed. Even a single finger wouldn't move. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw an endless void—within which, past memories flickered.
They echoed like the tides, wave after wave crashing into her.
"Karuizawa-san."
Hirata Yosuke's voice in her earpiece pulled her back from the daze.
She closed her eyes. Opened them. Closed. Opened.
Only after repeating the motion several times did she finally respond:
"What is it?"
Her lips were terribly dry. Every word felt like it was stuck to her teeth.
"Class 1-C students seem to be arriving."
Following his words, Karuizawa shifted her gaze to the left side of the screen. Ichinose Honami and a few Class C students had walked into Class 1-B's area and seemed to be speaking with Shiina Hiyori.
"Alright, I'll notify Class 1-A."
With a blank expression, she relayed the information to Sakayanagi Arisu. Perhaps due to her mental fatigue, her short message was filled with grammatical errors.
She hit the delete key.
Held it down until every letter was erased.
"...I don't want to fight Class B anymore."
Karuizawa didn't even know why she sent such a message to Sakayanagi.
"Reason."
The reply was short and swift.
"I just don't want to."
"Understood."
Sakayanagi narrowed her eyes and smiled. She had probably guessed why Karuizawa had suddenly pulled back.
What a troublesome moment to do so.
"Do you remember what I told you before the sports festival? That this time, I needed you to help him?"
Karuizawa stared blankly at the message.
Her brain took a moment to catch up.
"Actually, I didn't mean for you to help him fight against Nagumo Miyabi."
"With his abilities, Nagumo isn't even a real threat."
"What you're doing now—this is what truly helps him."
One message after another from Sakayanagi:
"Win this class battle against Class 1-B."
"That's how you can support him."
Karuizawa turned off her phone's screen. She understood what Sakayanagi meant.
"Class 1-C will probably send Shibata and Kanzaki as reinforcements. Shibata's in the school's soccer club, so Hirata, you should be familiar with him."
"Our strength lies in the fact that our four runners have practiced baton handoffs beforehand. So even if we fall behind in the middle stretch, don't panic."
"This will be the first time those four are cooperating. Their teamwork won't be as strong as ours, and they might even make mistakes."
Listening to Karuizawa's calm analysis and directions, Hirata nodded in reassurance. Aside from a slightly heavy nasal tone, she seemed to be back to her usual composed self.
"Got it."
Karuizawa took a deep breath.
She stood there, fragile and hollow, her shadow trembling faintly on the wall—but she didn't fall. She stood firm.
She needed to win against him.
To prove that even without him, she could handle this school on her own.
That's what it truly meant to help him.
To help him move on from her.
So he wouldn't have to worry about her anymore.
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