Chapter 264: It's Great There's No Infighting / Me vs. Nagumo Miyabi?
"I am Nagumo Miyabi from Second-Year Class A, the Overall Commander for the Red Team! I assume there is no one here who doesn't know me?
As Vice President, I give you all a word of advice: this school is a meritocracy! Those whose athletic abilities are lacking and who will clearly drag others down should proactively withdraw. Don't try to tough it out during the Sports Festival.
Furthermore, you should be glad you were assigned to the Red Team. Under the leadership of the President and myself, victory is within reach. You don't need to worry about losing those 100 Class Points.
Finally, I will hold one more meeting before the Sports Festival. The leaders of the other five classes must attend. As for irrelevant bystanders, don't bother coming just to make up the numbers."
Having finished his declaration, Vice President Nagumo Miyabi turned and left immediately, without even glancing at the crowd.
"Hehe..." Sitting on a chair to the side, the "Little Princess" Sakayanagi Arisu let out a cold, light chuckle.
Indeed, she was exactly the kind of person who knew her own limits—the one who had proactively withdrawn on the very first day, a month before the festival. Of course, she wasn't so self-absorbed as to think the Vice President was specifically targeting her. He was likely targeting everyone.
Despite this, the gazes of the surrounding classes still fell on her to some degree. After all, among everyone present, she was the only one in this state—silver hair like snow, a slender frame projecting a certain frailty, sitting calmly in her chair from start to finish. There was no malice in those looks, just pure curiosity and sympathy.
But what could she do? Sakayanagi Arisu suffered from a severe heart condition.
Forcing her to participate in sports would be no different from wishing for her death.
She personally detested being looked at with eyes reserved for the "weak," and by extension, she held a grudge against Nagumo Miyabi.
'I'll see if there's an opportunity to pay him back later' she thought.
At this time, the students of Class D began to move toward Class A. For this Sports Festival, Class A and Class D were both assigned to the Red Team.
"Hehe, Sakayanagi, you're being treated like a protected animal again!" The leader of Class D, Ryuen Kakeru, sauntered over to her, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"How many times is this? The third? Congratulations! You've perfectly dodged an exam once again."
Sakayanagi Arisu's expression soured. It was indeed the third time.
The Deserted Island Special Exam. The VIP Special Exam. The upcoming Sports Festival.
Three times in a row, she had been unable to participate directly due to her physical condition. If she weren't the Chairman's daughter and hadn't checked the procedures of previous years, she would almost suspect her father was targeting her.
"I don't need you to worry about me, Ryuen Kakeru of First-Year Class D." She looked up, a cold sneer appearing on her lips. "I'm actually curious why you're still sitting firmly in the leader's seat. Shouldn't you consider retiring? After all, it is under your 'brilliant' leadership that your class successfully secured the throne of the 'most trashy class.'"
This sentence accurately struck Ryuen's sore spot.
On the day he learned the class signs had been swapped and they had fallen to Class D, he had flown into a rage on the spot, physically punishing several boys in the class, and nearly smashing the sign representing Class D.
As for retiring? What was this woman thinking! Was he, Ryuen Kakeru, the type of person to just quit after one setback?
Moreover, he didn't actually care much about Class Points; by comparison, he valued Personal Points far more. He had already saved quite a bit—about ten million or so.
"Ahem!" Katsuragi Kohei intervened at the right time.
"Can you two stop attacking each other? We are in a cooperative relationship this time. Why don't we focus on the task at hand and listen to my thoughts first?"
Sakayanagi and Ryuen glanced at each other and stopped arguing. Neither was the type to seek petty, momentary satisfaction; the previous exchange was just an impulse to talk trash. Is it not normal to exchange a few insults before a match? Since both had landed a blow, they were even.
"Then, let's at least ensure the two classes don't attack each other. Ryuen, Sakayanagi—I can personally guarantee this. What about you two?" Katsuragi proposed in a heavy voice.
At first glance, this sounded like a strange thing to say since Katsuragi and Sakayanagi were both in the leadership of Class A. But everyone knew Sakayanagi Arisu was a notorious expert at infighting. To be safe, Katsuragi had to lay the cards on the table.
"Rest assured, I have no interest in you," Ryuen said almost without thinking. He wasn't stupid; why would he turn his blade on an ally?
"Hehe, this time... well, I won't make a move," Sakayanagi Arisu agreed lightly.
With all three making promises in front of so many classmates, it was unlikely they would go back on their word on the spot. Katsuragi Kohei looked at the consensus reached and finally breathed a sigh of relief—especially regarding Sakayanagi's promise.
It was truly wonderful that there was no infighting phase this time. It was the kind of peace of mind that would let him sleep soundly at night!
"Now, regarding cooperation with Class D, I don't think there's a need to share our participation rosters. Ryuen, what do you think?" Katsuragi added cautiously.
"Hmph, I never intended to trust you anyway," Ryuen sneered. "Non-interference suits me perfectly. Fine! That's all there is to discuss, right?"
He turned to leave but seemed to remember something, looking back at Sakayanagi: "Speaking of which, I'm curious. In the last VIP exam, why did you target Class B so relentlessly? Did someone there offend you?"
"Hehe... why don't you guess?" A trace of profound meaning was hidden in Sakayanagi's smile.
"Forget it if you won't say." Ryuen waved his hand impatiently. "I plan to continue targeting Class C. Given your personality, you won't keep chasing after Class B, will you? Don't get in my way when the time comes; we can consider it mutual non-interference!"
Ultimately, the ones occupying the Class C position now were Shimizu Akira and his group. Publicly, they were competitors; privately, there was an old debt to settle.
As for why he didn't ask Katsuragi's opinion? Was he supposed to expect that rigid man to play dirty tricks against another class?
Ryuen couldn't help but laugh internally at the thought.
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The Commander for the White Team was Igari Momoko, a senior from Third-Year Class B. After she took the stage and gave some trivial opening remarks, she dismissed the groups, instructing the two classes of the same grade to discuss their own battle plans.
Ike Kanji, Sudo Ken, and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka walked slowly over to Shimizu.
"I'm entering every event!" Sudo Ken clenched his fists. "This is a test of physical stamina, and I'm confident I can beat everyone except Shimizu! Even if I can't get that 3 million personal points, I can at least contribute to the class."
"Hey, hey, are you stupid?" Ike Kanji countered crossly. "Stamina isn't infinite! The last event is a ten-kilometer run! Don't use up all your energy and end up being unable to even walk!"
"Actually, we just need to focus on the last item," Ike recalled the rules and said. "Taking first place in an All-Participation event only gives 15 points. But the base score for a Recommended event is 50 points, and the ten-kilometer run score is multiplied by five. That means if you take first in the ten-kilometer run, you get 250 points in one go!"
250 points was nearly 16 times more than the 15 points from a single individual event. However, the competitive pressure for this project was also staggering—it meant having to choose the strongest student from all twelve classes across three grades.
"Shimizu, the Overall Commander of the Red Team seemed to look at you quite a few times."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up out of nowhere.
Shimizu was stunned and looked in the direction Ayanokouji indicated. Not far away, standing in front of Second-Year Class A, a blond male student with a frivolous air raised his eyebrows at him. Seeing Shimizu look over, he immediately looked away.
'Isn't that Nagumo Miyabi?! Wait, the President is right next to you; why are you looking at me instead of Horikita Manabu?'
This was clearly problematic.
"Don't worry about him," Shimizu replied.
Ayanokouji thought for a moment and brought up another topic.
"She hasn't looked for me since summer vacation ended."
Shimizu immediately realized who he meant. "...She hasn't looked for me either. But don't relax too soon; it's likely a matter of a day or two."
"Mm," Ayanokouji responded softly.
The "she" they were talking about was, of course, their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae. Since today was the first day of the Sports Festival opening, given her personality, she definitely wouldn't just watch the process go by peacefully.
She was surely brewing some minor schemes.
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"Yamauchi! Can't you go over there! I really can't forgive you! Rather, I feel disgusted just seeing your face!"
Karuizawa Kei's voice was filled with obvious anger, and Matsushita Chiaki beside her was also frowning. On the other side, Hasabe Haruka and Sakura Airi stood together, their gazes toward Yamauchi Haruki also filled with distance and disgust.
Yamauchi Haruki stood alone on the spot, his face looking terrible.
"Know what it feels like to be hated by the whole class now?" someone said mockingly. "Even if you posted a video of yourself doing a dogeza apology in the group chat, didn't everyone ignore you? You want us to forgive you? Dream on!"
"Sigh..." Ike Kanji sighed as he watched this.
Since the VIP exam ended, Horikita Suzune had released that crucial recording to the entire class.
Coupled with Kushida Kikyo's preparations—giving out red envelopes, asking everyone to show their phones for self-verification, and emphasizing her belief that there were only two VIPs in the class—the factors combined to make almost everyone in the class furious at Yamauchi's betrayal.
No one was willing to forgive him.
"If you ask me, that guy getting expelled would actually be a good result!" Sudo Ken remarked.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka just glanced over flatly.
"Expulsion is indeed an option, but keeping him in the class as a spare candidate for expulsion seems like a good idea too. That way, we make the best use of him."
"Uh... Ayanokouji, that joke is way too unfunny! It's giving me the chills!" Ike Kanji instinctively rubbed his arms.
Shimizu Akira, however, fully believed that what Ayanokouji said was the truth.
He could clearly feel that the current Ayanokouji was no longer deliberately acting like the harmless, honest person he had portrayed during the first few months of school.
He was gradually revealing his original personality. But this should be considered a good change.
"Shimizu-kun! Could you come out for a moment?"
A clear and lively female voice suddenly came from ahead. Ike Kanji was stunned at first, then reacted by nudging Shimizu with his elbow. "Whoa! Isn't that the voice of Ichinose-san from the other class? You're doing well, Shimizu, you're pretty popular!"
"She's likely looking to discuss cooperation for the Sports Festival with Class B," Ayanokouji judged flatly.
Shimizu nodded to the three of them, turned, and walked through the crowd toward the source of the voice. As Ayanokouji predicted, not only were Hirata Yosuke, Kushida Kikyo, and Horikita Suzune from his own class there, but Ichinose Honami, Kanzaki Ryuji, and Shibata Souta from Class B were also waiting.
"Shimizu-kun, you're finally here!" Seeing him approach, Ichinose Honami immediately gave a bright smile and waved lightly at him.
Kanzaki Ryuji also stepped forward and lowered his head. "Shimizu-kun, thanks to your help in the last VIP special exam, I wanted to say thank you in person today."
"No need to be so polite. It was just an equivalent exchange. Didn't you guys pay points as well?" Shimizu waved his hand. As soon as he said this, Ichinose Honami's cheeks turned slightly red, and her eyes flickered.
At this time, Hirata Yosuke spoke up to get the conversation back on track: "Since Shimizu-kun is here, why don't we talk about the cooperation between our two classes for this Sports Festival?"
"Speaking of cooperation, the core is whether or not to share the arrangement of participating personnel," Kanzaki Ryuji analyzed logically. "The benefits are obvious: we can avoid internal friction between the athletic students of our two classes in the same events. This way, the success rate for both sides to get points will be much higher. But there are risks. If the information leaks to Class A or Class D, our advantage will be greatly diminished, and we might even be targeted."
"I think it's a good idea!" Ichinose Honami immediately raised her hand in agreement, her tone positive. "Cooperation is always better than fighting alone."
"I object," Horikita Suzune countered without hesitation. "There's no need to take the risk of betrayal. Rather than relying on cooperation, it's better to rely on our own class's strength."
"I object too," Shibata Souta added immediately. He didn't give a specific reason, but his expression remained sour. It was unclear if he was objecting to the cooperation or if he was still bothered by Ichinose Honami's reaction just now.
Seeing this, Kushida Kikyo smiled and smoothed things over: "Actually, there's no need to rush a decision, right? Today is only the first day of the festival, and the classes haven't even finalized their rosters yet. Why don't we put this topic aside and discuss it when the situation is clearer? What do you think?"
"...That makes sense." Everyone looked at each other, agreed she was right, and temporarily dropped the dispute.
"Speaking of which, this Sports Festival seems to be a pure test of motor nerves. It'll probably be hard to manipulate the results like before," Ichinose Honami remarked.
"That's true," Kanzaki Ryuji added rationally. "If the midterms and finals are to verify academic ability, then the Sports Festival is more like an exam to check physical strength and basic skills. There's almost no room for tricks. Moreover, Hoshinomiya-sensei never said this was a special exam. Students with strong athletic abilities will definitely have a huge advantage this time."
A confident smile unconsciously appeared on Shibata Souta's face.
He was quite confident in his own physique. If he was lucky enough, he might be grouped with Ichinose Honami in the three-legged race! Just thinking about it made his heart race.
That was Ichinose Honami, the recognized number-one beauty of the first year! The person he had secretly liked since the day school started.
Although they were nowhere near holding hands, even just running side-by-side, feeling her shoulder brush against his and coordinating their rhythm, was enough to make his heart pound.
But in the next second, as his gaze instinctively followed Ichinose, he noticed something. Her peripheral vision was fixed on the figure from Class C.
It was Shimizu Akira.
The moment he saw this, Shibata Souta felt the small spark of light that had just ignited in his heart get doused by a bucket of cold water, extinguishing instantly.
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In the blink of an eye, it was 5:30 PM.
After leaving the dormitory, Shimizu Akira quickly met up with Horikita Suzune, and the two walked side-by-side toward the agreed-upon BBQ restaurant.
The restaurant for this meeting was personally chosen by Horikita Manabu. Shimizu didn't specifically ask why; Manabu was the Student Council President and a third-year student, so his daily tasks were complex. Being able to get him to meet was hard enough; there was no need to dwell on the small matter of which restaurant to pick.
As they pushed open the door, they saw Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane already waiting at a window seat. Both were in their school uniforms, and the water bottles on the table were already half empty—they had clearly been waiting for a while.
"President Horikita! Tachibana-senpai !" Shimizu stepped forward first and greeted them familiarly.
Horikita Suzune followed behind and said softly, "Brother... Tachibana-senpai ."
"Mm, sit down." Manabu looked up at them and nodded slightly.
Tachibana Akane, sitting beside him, was completely different. She quickly stood up and proactively pulled out chairs for them. "Please sit! Shimizu-kouhai, Horikita-kouhai, don't just stand there!"
Tachibana Akane looked at the two sitting together. Shimizu was tall and upright, and Horikita Suzune had a cool temperament; they looked strangely well-matched standing together.
Thinking this, she suddenly felt her role was a bit subtle—almost like she was accompanying her boyfriend to meet his future family.
She couldn't help but smile to herself.
Manabu didn't join the chatter. He just signaled the waiter, ordered a pot of barley tea in a steady voice, and after the waiter left, fixed his gaze on Shimizu.
"Shimizu, I want to compete with you in the final ten-kilometer event."
Shimizu had just picked up his teacup for a sip of warm tea. Without hesitation, he replied, "Sure. I was planning to enter that event anyway. To be honest, I mainly want to fight for that 3 million personal points."
Manabu glanced at him with a hint of approval.
"You're as honest as ever."
'Wait?! Brother's praise? I want that too! I want it so much!'
Hearing their conversation, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but speak up softly, "Brother, I will also participate in the ten-kilometer run. My reason is that I want to have a proper match with you."
Manabu turned to his sister, his eyes devoid of extra emotion.
"You're as clueless as ever."
Suzune's expression collapsed instantly, her lips pursing into a straight line, looking exactly like a kitten that had been doused with cold water.
Shimizu Akira almost couldn't hold it in. Both he and Suzune were telling the truth, yet the results were completely opposite.
The President's differential treatment was just too obvious!
Shimizu turned his gaze back to Manabu and asked, "Speaking of which, President, since you're about to graduate, may I ask which university you plan to attend and which major you want to choose?" He was truly curious about what the President was thinking.
As soon as these words came out, the always steady Manabu actually fell into a rare silence. After ten seconds, he spoke slowly, "...I haven't seriously considered the issue of university and major yet."
"Brother?" Horikita Suzune looked up sharply, her eyes wide and round. In her impression, her brother always had clear goals and thorough plans; he should have long since set his life ambitions and been moving toward them step-by-step.
How could he not have considered a university or major?
"...Don't look at your brother like that, Suzune." Noticing Suzune's jaw-dropping expression, Shimizu reached out and helplessly patted her head.
'Suzune hasn't over-idealized her brother, has she?'
Seeing this with her own eyes was no different from her "filter" shattering. But then again, she was showing this shocked expression right in front of him; where was she putting Manabu's dignity?
The President had never personally said he had selected a university or major; it was all just the sister's wishful thinking. From the President's perspective, his temples were probably throbbing and his blood pressure rising, wanting to pick up this disappointing sister and give her a good lecture.
Sure enough, Manabu's face immediately darkened, and his gaze toward Suzune was full of "emotion." Yet the person in question was still looking down, completely immersed in her obsession with her brother.
'Embarrassing. Just too embarrassing.'
One can only say the President has reasons for his differential treatment!
Shimizu thought for a moment and quickly said, "Actually, there's no rush, President Horikita. You still have half a year, and even if you wait until university to consider your future direction, it won't be too late. If the major isn't a good fit, you can always change it!"
After all, how many students have their life ambitions set in stone during high school?
He himself had only gradually clarified what he wanted to do during university through constant trial and experience. Even if Manabu didn't have a plan yet, he was already more outstanding than most.
At the very least, graduating from Third-Year Class A meant he could pick any prestigious university he wanted.
As soon as Shimizu finished, Tachibana Akane, who was busy adding meat to the grill, also stopped. "I think Shimizu-kouhai is right! You're so outstanding, President, it's okay even if you don't have a plan right now. Besides, you've been in the Student Council for so long; your ability to handle affairs and coordinate interpersonal relationships will definitely be useful no matter what industry you choose in the future!"
Listening to Shimizu and Tachibana, Manabu's tense brow relaxed slightly. He replied flatly, "Mm, perhaps."
He then seemed to remember something and looked up at the two.
"By the way, I plan to retire from the Student Council in October. After that, Nagumo Miyabi should take over the position of President."
"Nagumo Miyabi?!" The tongs in Tachibana Akane's hand stopped in mid-air. The smile on her face vanished, replaced by worry.
"President, can that person... really carry that burden?"
Manabu shook his head slightly, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
"Many people are voting for him now. At this point, I have no way to interfere excessively. Actually, letting the Student Council absorb first-year newcomers was an attempt of mine to pave the way for the subsequent handover, but... it was still too late."
His gaze fell on the dancing flames of the grill.
"When I originally chose Nagumo as Vice President, I valued his pioneering drive—a personality completely different from mine. But looking at it now, this trait of his might be a double-edged sword. If used well, it can bring new vitality to the Student Council; but if he fails to grasp the proper boundaries, problems will easily arise."
Shimizu Akira listened quietly without interrupting.
He didn't plan to say anything; if Manabu said the decision couldn't be changed, then it definitely couldn't.
Horikita Suzune frowned; she had clearly heard Nagumo's name before, and he was definitely an unpleasant person.
Tachibana Akane opened her mouth to say more, but Manabu waved his hand, his tone returning to its usual calm: "Let's not talk about that. Let's eat first; the meat is getting cold."
He picked up the tongs and precisely lifted a piece of diaphragm—glossy with oil and slightly charred at the edges—and placed it steadily into Shimizu's dish. Having done this, he looked at Shimizu, trust clearly in his eyes.
"I'm glad you're here, Shimizu. I have quite a bit of confidence in you. You should have no problem dealing with Nagumo Miyabi."
"Me vs. Nagumo Miyabi?" Shimizu's lip twitched.
Manabu placed another piece of marbled meat into Shimizu's dish.
"Mm. Your priority is to beat him in this ten-kilometer race. If I'm not mistaken, he's probably already thinking of ways to deal with you in the shadows."
"Uh..." Shimizu was about to respond when he suddenly felt the surrounding atmosphere turn strange.
He instinctively glanced around and caught two unfriendly gazes staring fixedly at the growing pile of meat in his dish—meat that the President was personally serving him, piece by piece.
One came from Horikita Suzune beside him; her brow was slightly furrowed, her eyes filled with obvious dissatisfaction. The other came from Tachibana Akane across from him; the
usually gentle and kind senpai had a faded smile, and her gaze on the meat betrayed a certain resentment.
In every sense, things felt a bit ominous...
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