---Notice---
I hope everyone enjoys it; thank you to all the people who randomly decided to send a shitton of Powerstones yesterday.
Can I have some more? lol
Chapter 64 is almost done. It will likely be released on Tuesday; sorry for the long upload time; I was dealing with two college issues, which are now resolved.
My discord (Best server in the world): discord.gg/X8bVrxFa
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"The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room." ~Blaise Pascal
"You look excited, Ichinose," I say, watching as our sports festival partners, Class C, prepare for what's to come.
"Ah!" Ichinose gasps, startled as I approach from behind. "You surprised me! Did you just get here? I didn't see you earlier."
"Yes, there was a student council meeting earlier today, so I was a bit late," I reply.
"I see. Well, you made it back in time. The rest of the class and I are warming up. What do you plan on doing?" Ichinose asks, now more relaxed.
"Not much. I'll participate where I'm supposed to, but for the most part, I'll treat this like a break. I need one." I stretch my arms, feeling the strain of constant strategizing. Carrying Class B through all these special exams and events should earn me a reward, but all I get is more work thrown at me. This really is like the real world.
Ichinose looks at me skeptically. "I don't know whether I should believe that."
"Of course, it's always best to assume the worst. But I mean what I say. Honestly, it's better if Ryuen handles the sports festival for Class B."
"Even if that's so, wouldn't it be best if you were more active? I don't just speak for Class B but for my class too. Class B's performance may dictate whether our team wins or loses, so I can't help but question if this is really the right choice," Ichinose explains.
"Haha." I chuckle lightly. "You're overthinking it. I'm just one person. I can't make that big of a difference."
"..."
Ichinose stares at me, clearly unconvinced.
"Well, there's also the fact that I simply prefer Ryuen to take the reins this time," I add.
"I see… I've always been curious—why does Ryuen lead Class B? Is he really that impossible to convince to cooperate? I know he can be 'heavy-handed,' but honestly, I don't hear too much about him and Class B, except that he leads most things. But wouldn't you prefer to lead Class B yourself?" she asks, genuine curiosity in her voice.
"That's a difficult question to answer," I admit. "Of course, Ryuen's position has a lot to do with how brutal he can be. Just one student can cost a class hundreds of class points by themselves. Ryuen knows this, and in a way, he uses it to hold the class hostage. However, his intentions aren't entirely bad. He's forcing Class C into an ultimatum—but without Ryuen, it would've been much harder to achieve what we have so far."
I pause for a moment, then continue, "As for whether I'd prefer to lead Class B… I don't really know how to answer that."
"I see… Well then, it seems I can't convince you to lead Class B—at least not right now. But maybe I can convince you to take the sports festival seriously. How about this? If you perform well, I'll treat you to dinner, whatever you'd like to eat," Ichinose said with a playful smile, her words drawing the attention of a few nearby classmates.
"Whatever I want? I won't lie; that's tempting," I admit, raising an eyebrow. "But what exactly do you mean by 'perform well'?"
"Well, if I told you that, you'd only aim for the bare minimum I ask of you. So just try your best, okay? I'll know if you do—and I'll keep my end of the deal in return," she replied confidently.
I chuckle lightly. "Alright then, you have a deal. I'll try my best." With that, I turn to leave, but before I take a step, Ichinose calls out once more.
"Light," she says, making me pause. "I mean it. Try your best. I'm really looking forward to enjoying a good meal with you, so don't cheat—both yourself and me." A smirk plays at her lips, her tone half-playful yet firm.
I glance back at her, meeting her gaze before nodding and walking forward.
By now, most of the students had gathered, and it wasn't long before I found myself among my classmates.
"You're finally done talking, huh? Good. The events are about to start," Ryuen says, leaning back with his usual grin.
"What events am I in again?" I ask, genuinely curious. I hadn't given much care to the schedule.
"The 100 and 200-meter sprints, the hurdle race, the obstacle course, the scavenger hunt, and the 1200-meter relay," Ryuen lists, tapping his temple as if running through the details. "I prioritized putting you in stamina and agility-related events since that's all I really know you're good at."
"That works perfectly." I nod, turning my attention to the ongoing races as the 100-meter sprint kicks off.
The early races are nothing special. A handful of students dash down the track, but there are no real standouts.
"Seems like the school is deliberately grouping the more athletic students together for later rounds," Ryuen remarks, watching alongside me.
"Yeah, I noticed that too," I respond. "It makes sense. If they split the fastest students into different races, they'd win without any real challenge. This way, they create more direct competition."
Before long, the speakers crackle to life.
"Group 4, please line up for the sprint."
"It's your turn," Ryuen says, stepping aside as I take a deep breath and move toward the track.
I line up in my lane, scanning the competition.
Shibata from Class B, a member of the soccer team, is here. He's known for his endurance and solid athleticism.
On the other side, I spot Hashimoto from Class A, who is also a soccer player.
They aren't prodigies, but they're competent. In terms of physical ability, this group isn't weak. Both Shibata and Hashimoto are known for their athleticism, meaning this sprint might not be as dull as the previous ones.
I roll my shoulders and prepare myself.
Let's see how this plays out.
I started off with an explosive launch—not enough to instantly take the lead, but definitely enough to separate myself from the bottom of the pack. The only ones ahead of me were Hashimoto, who had secured first place by a small margin, and Shibata, who was only about two steps ahead. The other seven competitors had already fallen far behind.
For a moment, Shibata glanced back, seemingly surprised to see me so close. That, of course, was a mistake. In that brief moment of distraction, I closed the gap effortlessly.
Now we were neck and neck. No matter how much he pushed, he couldn't shake me off.
I still had some gas left in the tank.
For a second, I considered holding back—keeping my true abilities ambiguous for the upcoming events. But uncertainty bothers me. There's no telling who I might face in the next events. For all I know, my next opponents could be even faster than these two. There was no point in hiding my strength. By now, everyone should understand that underestimating me is a mistake.
With that thought, I surged forward, overtaking Shibata before we reached the finish line.
In the end, Hashimoto crossed first, followed closely by me, with Shibata taking third.
As we slowed to a stop, we all took a moment to catch our breath.
"Damn it," I heard Shibata mutter under his breath. He was clearly frustrated, likely blaming himself for the mistake of looking back. But even if he hadn't, I'm confident I would have passed him anyway. Either way, I decided to give him space.
"That was impressive, Yagami."
I turned to see Hashimoto approaching with a hand extended toward me.
"I'm Masayoshi Hashimoto from Class A. I've heard a lot about you—I've been waiting for an excuse to talk to you for a while now."
I looked at his hand for a brief moment before shaking it. "Is that so? Are you a fan of mine or something?" I chuckled before adding, "Anyways, your performance was more impressive than mine. You won, after all."
Hashimoto smirked. "Maybe. But my gut tells me otherwise. Your start was explosive, but I can't help but wonder if you could've launched even faster."
I shrugged slightly. "I used to play a lot of tennis. Explosiveness is important in that sport, so there's some truth to what you're saying. But I haven't been as focused on athletics lately, so I'm a bit sloppy."
"Tennis, huh?" Hashimoto seemed intrigued. "That's a bit surprising. It's a popular sport, though not as much as soccer or baseball. I guess it's just unexpected to see a tennis player almost beat me—a soccer player—in a sprint. Then again, I don't know much about tennis." He laughed.
"You'd be surprised. It's one of the more physically demanding sports out there," I replied. "But I gave it up to focus on my studies. Though I guess saying 'gave it up' is an exaggeration. I just decided to stop playing after junior high, so it's only been a few months."
"I see. So you sacrificed a lot to take school more seriously," Hashimoto mused. Then, after a pause, he added, "I'm curious—what do you think about this school? And the whole Class A system? With all the other classes being treated as competitors?"
He was probing me.
I couldn't tell if he was genuinely interested in my perspective or more interested in the implications of my response. Either way, I didn't mind answering.
"Well, it was unexpected," I admitted. "I'm sure most of us signed up for this school expecting an easy path to success after graduation. But there's nothing to be done about it now. I have no choice but to help Class B rise to Class A."
"Well… there are always other options," Hashimoto said, watching me carefully. "Though I suppose those are a bit more complicated."
I met his eyes. "I suppose there are other methods. But I have to go with what's most realistic."
Hashimoto nodded, deep in thought. "Well, it was nice talking. Hopefully, we can chat again soon."
With that, he turned to leave, and I did the same.
The rest of the 100-meter sprints for the boys went by without much excitement.
***
"It looks like Ibuki is up next," Ryuuen said, watching the event closely.
"Yeah, and she's in the same group as Horikita. This won't be an easy race," I replied.
"Huh? You think so?" Ishizaki said, sounding genuinely surprised. "I think Ibuki has this one in the bag." He crossed his arms confidently.
Ryuuen raised an eyebrow. "And why's that? I have to agree with Yagami—this seems like a close call. I'm sure Ibuki will at least take second place, but first is up for grabs."
"Well, do I really have to explain?" Ishizaki looked at us in confusion. "I thought it was obvious…" He turned his attention back to the track.
Both Ryuuen and I followed his gaze, but we couldn't understand what conclusion he had reached.
And then he spoke again.
"Anyone can tell Horikita's got a bit more luggage to haul on her chest than Ibuki, who—on the other hand—doesn't have anything weighing her down."
There was a brief silence.
Then, at the same time, Ryuuen and I burst into laughter.
"You damn idiot," Ryuuen said between breaths, still struggling to compose himself.
"Ishizaki, I really dare you to say that to Ibuki's face," I added, still chuckling.
Oblivious to the absurdity of his reasoning, Ishizaki remained focused on the race.
As the race between Ibuki and Horikita started, things were close. Ibuki had a slight lead at first.
"You see what I'm saying?! Ibuki's got this!" Ishizaki declared excitedly.
But his excitement didn't last long.
After a few moments, Horikita pulled ahead, overtaking Ibuki. The difference wasn't massive, but it was clear.
It wasn't that Ibuki was incapable of beating Horikita—it was that she seemed to get in her own head at times. She was nervous. While she'd never admit it, I could tell.
It didn't take long for the race to end, and the winner was announced.
Horikita had won.
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I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm hoping to get this sports festival done quickly (I know you don't believe me, but trust me). Lol. Anyway, give me your opinions as of so far.
By the way, I don't think I said this previously, but I have started working on my original story. I'm really excited about it, but I will wait till I have around 30 chapters to upload it, and it also likely won't be contracted.