As soon as Kazuo walked out, he heard a loud, tearful voice echoing in the hallway.
"Waaahhh—! Don't drop out! Daijin! I don't want you to leave!!!"
Victory Ticket had been with Daijin earlier, so she didn't know what had happened.
However, after Daijin was taken away by the Emperor, when she got the news from others, she completely broke down in tears, unable to stop them.
And Daijin was clearly unable to handle this situation, especially with Victory Ticket constantly crying and wailing beside her. Her two ears drooped, clearly unable to bear such decibels.
"Don't be like this..."
Daijin responded in a rare soft voice, completely unable to fend off the suddenly appearing Victory Ticket. Her previous Kiai (Fighting Spirit) instantly vanished.
Biwa Hayahide emerged from behind Victory Ticket, adjusted her glasses, and frowned slightly, saying, "Although I just received the news, your situation is not optimistic at all…"
"None of your business…"
She muttered softly, but Biwa Hayahide shook her head and said, "If you want to stay, you must fight back against these rumors. You're participating in the 2000m turf race, right? This time, Victory Ticket and I will be your competitors."
At these words, her eyes instantly sharpened: "What is this? Are you trying to go easy on me? Do you think I'll accept that!?"
Her voice rose spontaneously; she clearly couldn't agree with Biwa Hayahide's suggestion.
"Calm down, Daijin. Leaving me aside, do you think the other person standing beside you right now looks like someone who would go easy?"
Following the direction Biwa Hayahide pointed, she saw Victory Ticket, who had been crying her eyes out just moments before, now with red eyes, clenched fists, shouting loudly: "Okay!! Since this is my last race with Daijin, I will give it one hundred and twenty percent of my strength!!!!"
In Victory Ticket's dictionary, there seemed to be no such words as 'give up'; even in this situation, she already assumed she would achieve ultimate victory.
Biwa Hayahide's words left Daijin speechless.
"If you can defeat us, that will be the most powerful rebuttal, don't you think?"
"The 2000m middle-distance turf race is the longest race you've encountered as freshmen, and frankly, this distance segment is also the most demanding in terms of overall ability."
Kazuo slowly walked over, "Similarly, I also hope Victory Ticket and Biwa Hayahide will approach this race with their best form."
"Only then will this race be convincing."
Daijin lowered her head, unwilling to meet his gaze, and simply walked away silently, bypassing everyone.
However, what was said just now had indeed sunk in.
Seeing Daijin hurry away, Victory Ticket immediately became teary-eyed again, like a abandoned puppy, crying out as she pounced after her.
Kazuo and Biwa Hayahide, left behind, watched the backs of the two, then turned their heads and exchanged a knowing glance.
"…"
"Mhm."
Biwa Hayahide simply nodded slightly, then quickly followed, while Kazuo, standing still, fell into deep thought.
.
During the lunch break, Kazuo found Biwa Hayahide alone as she was preparing to leave class and return to her dorm.
"Please, Biwa Hayahide, I need your help."
Facing Kazuo, who immediately bowed and lowered his posture to ask for help, Biwa Hayahide chose to stop and see what he wanted to do.
"You mean… Daijin is going to be expelled?"
This was an unheard-of event at Tracen Academy, so it was no wonder Biwa Hayahide was surprised.
In the academy's past, there had actually never been a precedent for expulsion, and the thought of Daijin, with whom she had only spent a few weeks, facing such a predicament…
The sharp eyes behind her lenses also became serious.
"Alright… What do you need me to do?"
"It's simple. Please participate in the race with Victory Ticket and run against her with all your strength."
"Is that all? If it's according to Daijin's current state…"
Biwa Hayahide didn't finish, but her meaning was already clear.
Daijin, both in terms of form and strength, had certain disadvantages in her eyes.
Who would have thought—
The man named Asama standing in front of her slowly raised his head and refused, saying:
"No… Narita Taishin, even now, still possesses absolute strength. If you don't give it one hundred percent of your strength, it will be very difficult to defeat her."
This single sentence made even the usually calm and mature Biwa Hayahide show a slightly serious expression.
They were all chosen ones, they all craved victory, and likewise, they all had an unyielding spirit.
"Do you really think so…?"
"Yes."
"…I will take this as a challenge."
"Thank you, and… please don't tell Daijin that I asked you to participate. Also, please bring Victory Ticket along to the race."
With that, the final party would also be in place.
Before leaving, Biwa Hayahide suddenly stopped. She turned slightly, her eyes behind her lenses sparkling with sharp light.
"Since you've said so, I will also give my all in the race. After all—I haven't fully utilized my abilities in a race yet."
The fearless Kiai (Fighting Spirit) that erupted was like a being revealing its true fangs… Everything had been arranged, and next—
Kazuo slowly rubbed his head and let out a long sigh.
"Now it's just Daijin left…"
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