Chapter 16: Ryuen’s Plan
Finally, the day of the sports festival has arrived.
After finishing the entrance procession and opening declaration, the events begin immediately. The red and white teams are set up in opposing tents, so it seems we can't interact except during the competitions. I am supposed to participate in every event. This was an arbitrary decision by Ryūen, so I thought there might be complaints from those who have better grades in physical education than me...
It seems I had somehow come to be seen as Ryūen's right-hand man.
I didn't understand why this was the case, but when I inquired in detail, it turned out that Ryūen had been keeping an eye on me, often speaking to me himself, and most notably, during the shipboard test. It seems that various pieces of information had circulated after I was seen preventing a clash with a guy named Yahiko at the restaurant, which led to this perception.
In other words, I was unofficially recognized as the strongest person in the class after Ryūen.
I really wish it wasn't like this. Well, whatever. I'm going to win first place, so it's probably better to be seen this way.
"Do your best, okay? ...Hachiman-kun."
As I was redirecting my thoughts positively, I received encouragement from Shii... Hiyori, who was about to compete in the 100-meter dash. I call her by her name because, before the sports festival started, she asked me to call her by her name since we're friends. Who could refuse such a request from someone looking up at you?
"Yeah, you do your best too, Hiyori."
Responding to Hiyori's cheer, I took my place on the 100-meter lane. Around me, due to my limited social circles, I didn't recognize anyone, but from Class D, there was a well-built and seemingly highly athletic individual.
It seems that Ryūen had orchestrated a scheme to betray someone from Class D and obtained their participation list. Thus, we were set to face lower-performing individuals with our more capable ones, ensuring we would beat Class D with certainty. Since it was thought I could win against anyone, it seems I was matched against a highly athletic individual from Class D...