Chapter 16 : Dragon Boy Strategy

The next event is the boys' team competition, Pole Toppling.

Sudo: "You guys will definitely win. Put your spirit into it, especially since that jerk from Koenji isn't here!"

Sudo steps forward and scolds the boys from Class A and Class D. Looking at the opponents from Class B and Class C, there is the formidable opponent, the biracial Albert Yamada from Class C. If only Koenji were here...

For this round, they agreed in advance during the discussion that the winner would be the one who toppled two poles first. They decided that each class would take turns attacking and defending. First up is the offense from Class D, probably considering Sudo's breakthrough ability.

Sudo: "Well, don't worry. I'll take down the opponent even if I'm alone."

Ayanokoji: "Can you please use the pole to knock them down, not people...?"

Ayanokoji says, but Sudo is unlikely to stop.

Sudo:"I can't guarantee that. I'm irritated about the Koenji incident."

Sudo points his middle finger towards the opponents, a gesture that raises concerns about violence, but...

And the whistle signaling the start of the match echoes. Sudo, who was already leaning forward before it sounded, immediately rushed forward.

??: "Stop! Stop Sudo!"

The defense from Class B shouts, and people gather around Sudo in unison.

Sudo: "What... damn, how many people are coming!?"

Initially, Sudo continued to advance while literally blowing away the opponents, but as he gets closer to the pole, it becomes increasingly difficult. I also aim for the pole, but a student stands in my way.

Kanzaki: "It's been a while, Horagasaki."

Kanzaki from Class B. It's the first time since the 100m race.

Jin: "Please be gentle."

Kanzaki: "Likewise."

After staring at each other for a while, the moment Kanzaki's gaze drops to my feet, I quickly step out with my right foot. As Kanzaki reacts, I step out to the left and turn. Then, as if cutting through, I slip through the gap between the two.

Jin: "Oh, there you are..."

Kanzaki: "Whoa!"

However, this tactic only works when the opponent is in a small number, so in a larger crowd, a different strategy is needed.

Jin: "This..."

Of course, around the pole, people are crowded, and once you get in, you'll likely be thrown out in a jumble. From here on, it's a pure power struggle. Only a few can make it through.

??: "Hey, A Class is in trouble! That Biracial guy, Yamada something, is causing a ruckus!!"

Class C has someone like that. Class D also has one, but Sudo is being held back by a swarm of people. And then, the whistle signaling the end of the first match sounds.

Looking back, the figure of the pole from the red team can't be confirmed, and it should be rolling pitifully at the feet of Class A, who were defending.

Sudo: "What the hell are you guys doing! Go with even more determination!"

??: "Even if you say that... those guys are quite strong, you know? And, my legs are a bit scraped..."

Hirata: "It can't be helped if we lose one. This time, it's our turn to defend. Let's do our best."

Hirata calms down Sudo's anger.

"Don't get angry over such things. Or rather, Hirata is getting used to handling Sudo."

"We're making noise... Next time, we'll definitely defend to the end!"

"I understand! We'll do everything we can."

Sudo: "It's not just about doing everything you can. It's about defending to the death! For as long as it takes! Come on... C, come attack us..."

Sudo mutters, and his voice is heard.

??: "All right!"

At the same time as the start whistle, a student from Class C runs energetically and charges. And then, he attacks.

"Wow, amazing!"

I quickly step aside because I'm about to be blown away. As expected, even here, Albert Yamada is making an impact. With overwhelming size and power, even Sudo struggles to keep up.

Sudo: "Gah...! Who the hell punched me in the stomach just now!?"

Sudo's agonized voice is heard. It seems that someone is taking advantage of the confusion to directly attack Sudo, as mentioned earlier. As I said before, violence is a violation. In other words, they are doing it with absolute confidence that they won't get caught. And indeed, Class C is doing well. Since earlier, they have been attacking Sudo, and now, the top of Class C, Ryuen, is stepping on Sudo's back with his bare feet.

Sudo: "Gah!"

With that blow, Sudo, who had been holding on somehow, collapses, and defense becomes meaningless as people collapse along with the pole.

The victory is decided, and Sudo glares at Ryuen.

Ryuen is amazing. That guy is interesting.

Sudo: "Hah, hah... You, isn't that a foul...!?"

Ryuen: "What? You were there? I didn't notice."

Saying that, Ryuen leaves without any sign of remorse.

Sudo: "Ugh..."

Perhaps because of the pain in his back, Sudo couldn't get up immediately.

Sudo: "That jerk, if I see him again, I'll punch him away."

Ayanokoji: "Stop it, it'll cause another uproar."

Ayanokoji reminds Sudo of the previous violent incident.

...

Sudo: "Ah, it's frustrating! I was planning to win all the matches!"

Expressing blatant annoyance towards Ryuen, the disappointed Class D openly makes sarcastic remarks towards Class A.

This guy really needs to fix his attitude.

Katsuragi: "Sorry, I couldn't break through."

Hirata: "No, it's our fault too for not defending properly. Let's do our best next time."

Even in such moments, only Hirata and Katsuragi calmly accept the results and decide to disband, returning to their respective camps.

Without a break, the first-year boys prepare for the next event, tug-of-war. Meanwhile, the girls' ball toss competition progresses steadily.

Referee: "With a total of 54 balls, the Red Team wins."

With this, the disappointing performance of the boys in the pole-toppling event is offset by the girls. As the relief from this announcement is short-lived, the referee calls them, and the explanation for the tug-of-war begins.

The rules for tug-of-war are simple: the team that pulls two times wins. The four classes gathered in the middle of the field split into two teams, each forming left and right camps.

Approaching Hirata, Katsuragi quietly whispers,

Katsuragi: "Let's use the strategy we discussed and attack all at once. Okay?"

Hirata: "Yeah, got it. Everyone, take your positions!"

The strategy is simple: "Line up according to height." That's it. By doing so, there are no irregularities in the rope, and the power is transmitted firmly. But the opponents are from Class C, led by Ryuen. Will it work out as planned?

Hashimoto: "Hey, Katsuragi, I'd appreciate it if you didn't boss us around forever."

Katsuragi: "...What do you mean, Hashimoto?"

It's been a while since I've seen that guy Hashimoto. But why now? Come to think of it, Hashimoto is under Sakayanagi's jurisdiction. Even from a distance, Sakayanagi, who has been watching as a spectator, has a faint, amused smile while looking at us. It should be obvious that there's trouble among the boys. In other words, this situation is created not by Hashimoto but on Sakayanagi's orders.

Hashimoto: "It means exactly what I said. Now, shall we? It's annoying to be seen as lacking coordination by the other side."

While Class A calms down for a moment, even Sudo can see that there is a conflict within Class A. That's how lacking their coordination is.

Sudo: "Here we go, guys!"

As Sudo shouts, they start pulling the rope at the same time as the signal for the start of the match.

"O-S-E! O-S-E!"

With the familiar cheer, Classes A and D energetically pull the rope, winning the first round on their side.

Shibata: "Hey, it's better if we cooperate, right? The opponent is strong."

Although Shibata says that, Ryuen seems completely uninterested.

Ryuen: "All right, let's change your positions. Line up from the smallest to the tallest."

It feels more like an order than an instruction. Following Ryuen's instructions, they line up from the smallest to the tallest. The arrangement of the White Team forms a gentle curve.

"Heh, easy win. There's no way we can win against them with that lineup."

"I can't say that for sure. Everyone, don't let your guard down."

"But we were relaxed earlier, right? We're not even lined up in order of height like us."

"That's not the... well, there's no time now. Just pull with all your might."

Since the intermission is over, Katsuragi seems to have given up on the explanation.

"O-S-E! O-S-E!"

With the start of the match, the cheer echoes. However, the moment the match starts, something feels different. The weight is clearly different from earlier.

Ryuen: "Hey, resist, you guys. If you lose easily, it's like a death sentence!"

Ryuen's nonchalant command resounds. Is he an instructor or something!? Still, there must be some secret to that gentle curve.

"Guah, it hurts, it hurts!"

Voices of struggle come from the front. The match, which lasted longer than the first round, resulted in a slight victory for the White Team.

Sudo: "Why is it different from earlier!? Did someone slack off!?"

Katsuragi: "Calm down, Sudo. The opponent took the correct formation, and our negligence was the main reason for the loss. But you should understand now. The opponent can fight even without coordination. Next time, let's pull the rope without letting our guard down. And when pulling the rope, it's better to pull it diagonally upwards."

Indeed, Katsuragi has managed to gather Class A together and provides appropriate advice. It's the best move he can make at the moment.

Katsuragi: "Alright, you guys did well. Let's do the same in the next round. Let those guys who think they can win feel the consequences."

The way he encourages the class is unique to someone who dominates the class. In Ryuen's case, it's like a mix of carrot and stick.

And now, the final match begins.

"O-S-E! O-S-E!"

They exert their strength on the rope with the cheers. Similar to before, the match is not easily decided. However, looking at the position of the feet when the match starts, they are slightly behind, indicating that they are being pulled towards their side.

Sudo: "We'll definitely win! Just a bit more! Pull!"

In response to Sudo's shout, they put even more effort into pulling. However...

"Uwaaah!?"

At that moment, the weight of the rope is suddenly released, and their weight, leaning backward, causes them to fall. Looking ahead, the situation becomes clear. The White Team, especially Class C, suddenly let go of the rope, causing unexpected chaos. It seems even Class B was caught off guard, as several students are lying on the ground.

Sudo: "Are you kidding!?"

Ryuen: "We thought we couldn't win, so we took a break. Congratulations to you guys for picking up such a garbage win. Your crawling appearance was amusing."

Sudo: "You bastard!"

With the incident of the pole-toppling in mind, Sudo, infuriated, tries to start running. However, Katsuragi grabs his arm to stop him.

Katsuragi: "Stop, Sudo. This is also part of his strategy to provoke us like this. It might be an attempt to exhaust our energy and aim for a foul win with violence."

Sudo: "But still!"

Katsuragi: "Calm down. What Ryuen did goes against sportsmanship, but it's not a rule violation."

Katsuragi successfully calms down the somewhat unruly Sudo. Perhaps thinking that it's pointless to continue, Ryuen, accompanied by Class C, diligently walks away.

 "Even though we won, it doesn't feel satisfying, damn it."

After the tug-of-war concludes, we return to the tent. On the way, Katsuragi walks towards Hirata and quietly apologizes. On the other hand, Sudo shifts his focus to the next event.

Sudo: "Next is the obstacle course, so those who left a disappointing performance will be trampled."

....

The obstacle race begins, and the first pair quickly starts. Ayanokoji was in the 6th pair, and I was in the 7th pair. Ayanokoji has become faster than before, and the result was third place. This guy is really amazing.

The obstacles prepared mainly are the balance beam, crawling through the net, and sumo wrestler's headgear. Also, crawling on all fours with a caterpillar made of cardboard. The difficulty is not high, but each one forces a decrease in speed.

Ayanokoji's 6th pair finishes, and our 7th pair race begins.

With the signal to start, the first person to reach the straight line to the initial balance beam was a Class B student. I followed that student and Ishizaki, entering the balance beam in third place. Here, I managed to overtake the two in front and jumped to the top at once. Crossing the balance beam at almost the same speed, I headed towards the next net crawl. As for the net crawl, there is almost no difference in speed, so I kept my position. Hurriedly passing through the sumo wrestler's headgear, bouncing like a rabbit. Wasn't that impressive? In the end, I managed to finish first, but it felt somewhat unsatisfying...

By the way, there was someone abnormally fast in the caterpillar. Maybe they were good at crawling when they were little.

It was just before the final group started. The students from Class C participating were, to put it bluntly, people who were clearly not good at sports. However, in that group, Sudo's greatest enemy stood. Yes, the fast Shibata from Class B. The moment they started, Sudo and Shibata quickly pulled ahead. Although it was only a slight lead, it seemed like Sudo was in the lead. He crossed the balance beam faster than anyone else. Shibata also chased after him from behind. Regarding the net crawl, Sudo managed to maintain his position despite his large body, firmly staying at the top.

Sudo's extraordinary jumping ability, thanks to basketball, was evident. He opened a slight gap at the next sumo wrestler's headgear, but in the last 50m, Shibata unleashed his true abilities. Sudo, feeling Shibata approaching from behind, barely maintained his position and finished first. If the last stretch had been 10m longer, Shibata would probably have overtaken him.

While strangling each other over the pond, Sudo seemed relieved with the result of being in first place.

Next is the obstacle race for girls. Soon, the two-legged race is also approaching, and there's no time to relax.

Horikita in the first group for the girls' race. In the same group, there are Yajima and Kinoshita, who were in the same group earlier.

Ayanokoji: "It's the same development as earlier," Ayakoji muttered next to me.

Jin: "True..."

When the race started, Kinoshita took the lead. Yajima was in second place, with Horikita chasing after them. Horikita's legs were fast, but she couldn't compete with those who had mastered the track and field path like the first two.

However, it wasn't an ordinary situation over there, so they were struggling a bit. The gap wasn't unexpectedly wide. At this point, Yajima took the lead. But what surprised me a little was that when Kinoshita lost balance while removing the sumo wrestler's headgear, Horikita took the lead.

"Oh..."

And she ran through the last straight at full speed. Perhaps concerned about the situation behind, Horikita kept looking back at Kinoshita. Whether it led to a slowdown or not, Kinoshita caught up with her.

And in the next moment, the two tangled legs, and while maintaining quite a speed, they fell.

"Whoa!? Something incredible happened!"

Watching as a gallery, I was very surprised. The five passed by the fallen two, and their rankings dropped sharply. Finally, Horikita got up and finished in 7th place. On the other hand, Kinoshita was deemed unable to continue the competition and was treated as the last.

Hirata: "What's wrong, Ayakoji-kun?"

"Ayanokoji: If the same 'accident' happens again next time, it might not be an 'accident' anymore."

Ayanokoji quietly muttered next to me.

Hirata: "Do you think so too? Other students may start to notice soon. The situation doesn't look good. How about Horagasaki-kun?"

Looking in my direction, Hirata sought my opinion.

Are you asking me?

Jin: "Yeah, well. It seems natural to think that way."

Especially suspicious are the current situations of Horikita and Sudo. There are too many convenient accidents happening in Class C.

Ayanokoji: "If students notice, can I count on your care?"

Jin: "Of course. That's my duty. But... is there any way to deal with it?"

Ayanokoji: "If only there were..."

Leaving that remark, Ayanokoji walked towards Horikita, who was walking with an unnatural step.

Hirata: "Are you okay, I wonder..."

Hirata muttered anxiously.

"In this situation, we have no choice but to aim for a higher rank. Let's do our best."

"That's right. Let's do our best."

"Yeah."

The obstacle race for girls is entering the second half, and it's almost time to prepare for the next event. Just before that, looking towards the front of the tent, it seemed that Kinoshita hadn't headed to the infirmary yet.

During the standby of the "two people, three legs" event, I was talking to my neighbor Miyake. In front of Miyake and me, we could see the figure of Ryuen, who seemed to have prepared a little before me, and now, Sudo and Ike's team has started...

Sudo: "Whoaaa!!"

Sudo was running around dragging Ike, who was halfway lifted or rather dragged, with a truck. Although Ike's legs were technically touching the ground, it wouldn't be considered a violation, but even if he understood the plan, Ike must have been surprised. As a result, they ended up securing the first place.

Miyake: "Wait, they got first place with that!?"

Miyake and I watched the two who reached the goal with a wry smile.

Sudo is reliable, but there is currently no one who can control that wild horse. Thinking about such things, the next pair, Hirata and Ayanokoji, started. Their pace was smooth. Due to their good compatibility, they also secured the first place following Sudo. Oh, this time they did it properly.

??: "Kyaa! Hirata-kun is cool!!"

Yellow cheers from the girls were directed towards Hirata. Ayanokoji, you did your best.

Miyake: "Ryuen also got first place?"

Miyake muttered, and upon further thought, Ryuen had also taken first place in almost every event.

Jin: "... Anyway, let's focus on this for now."

Miyake: "Yeah."

As soon as the starting signal sounded, we rushed out at a high pace. Not at full speed, but at this point, we were able to leave the other pairs far behind. Just like in practice, there was no deviation in our movements. Miyake and I maintained a considerable lead and crossed the finish line in first place.

First place in the third pair out of the ten essential events for boys. This should count as a contribution to the team, right?

Miyake: "Phew... the goal is achieved."

Jin: "Thanks, Miyake. Good job."

We untied each other's legs and returned to the D-class area, shifting our attention to watching the girls' competition. The second pair in D-class consisted of Kushida and Horikita, and although they had the best time, it should be fine. 

Jin: "Hey Ayanokoji, how are Horikita's legs?"

Ayanokoji: "I don't know the details... but it's better not to expect much."

Although they started well, due to Horikita's injury, they gradually fell behind. Despite the desire to run fast, Horikita's legs couldn't keep up at all.

Jin: "Her movements are stiff after all."

Before we knew it, they were in a battle for last place. The opponents were from B-class. At the moment, they were slightly ahead. The two decided to obstruct the progress of B-class and attempt to escape, but the B-class pair was desperately chasing. Then, in a moment of vulnerability, B-class overtook them.

As a result, Horikita and Kushida ended up in last place. Although Horikita's legs were in poor condition, the combination aimed for first place, so this defeat would be a blow to the D-class.

The next event after the obstacle course was jousting, and there was a 10-minute break during that time.

Shortly after the 10-minute break, the girls' jousting began. The first-year girls gathered on the field to listen to the rules. The rules for jousting were the same for both boys and girls, following a time-limit format. Points were awarded based on the number of enemy jousters knocked down and the number of remaining ally jousters within 3 minutes. Four jousters were selected from each class, resulting in an 8 versus 8 match.

Each jouster was worth 50 points, and there was one leader jouster per class, holding 100 points. If one had extraordinary strength, it was possible to score 400 or 500 points. Horikita served as the jouster for D-class, along with others like Karuizawa and Kushida. Especially enthusiastic was Ibuki from C-class, who seemed to target Horikita without hesitation.

??: "Oh, what the hell is that!?"

C-class completely ignored the other D-class jousters and A-class, surrounding only Horikita's jouster.

Sudo: "That's Ryuen's order. That damn guy!"

Ayanokoji:"There's no helping it. Crushing the leader is not an evil tactic as a strategy." 

Amidst Sudo's gritted teeth, Ayanokoji made a calm observation. In the midst of this, Karuizawa's jouster from D-class moved to support. However, the leader jouster of B-class, Ichinose, obstructed it. Despite the close bond between the members of Karuizawa's jouster, Ichinose's jouster was one of the top performers in B-class.

However, the coordination of Karuizawa's team was not inferior. Honestly, I thought it would be settled quickly, but the match between Karuizawa and Ichinose unexpectedly prolonged.

While we were watching Karuizawa's team, one jouster had their headband taken away. It was Horikita's jouster, who seemed to have been attacked simultaneously by four jousters, falling beautifully and looking frustrated as they collapsed on the ground.

 "Don't worry about it. It was impossible with that many jousters. Besides, the others were slow to cover."

Sudo quickly followed up as Horikita returned to the territory, chewing on the bitterness of defeat.

"Let's go, guys!"

The boys' jousting match was about to begin.

(A/N: phew this was a difficult chapter because there were so many characters having dialogue that I decided not to name who was having the dialogue because I didn't think it had much of an impact and I was also lazy :)

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