Kicking the Little Crutch Flying!

Rules: Wild mode match.

Command Tower: Allows you to trigger the surrender button on your own side.

It's a 1v1 card battle, but you can trigger your own surrender button.

The candidate for Class A is Kanzaki Ryuji.

The candidate for Class D is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Discard Warlock, matchup: Turtle Mage.

An evenly matched opponent, an evenly matched game.

Then, just before Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was about to turn the tide.

Asakusa Toru pressed the surrender button with a snap.

Class D was defeated.

The third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth.

The projects are drawn sequentially.

As the final selection began, the selected items, which had already been predetermined, were displayed on the big screen.

Chess

Chapter 297 Kicking the Little Cane Away!

"Chess" requires one person and lasts for one hour (if the pieces run out, the player loses).

Rules: Same as standard chess rules. However, the time limit will not increase after the 41st move.

Command Tower: Allows issuing instructions at any time during the game's duration, for a maximum period of thirty minutes.

The player holding the Go board in Class A, Himeno Yuki.

Wang Meiyu, the player holding the chess piece in Class D.

The player holding the pieces is not important, because as previously decided, the game will begin in half an hour when the command tower takes over.

All they had to do was hold the chess pieces for half an hour, and then make their first move.

This is a very demanding task.

But their mission was completed very quickly.

As the hourglass reached its halfway point, both players' time was up, and the command tower began to take over the game.

Place the piece.

Place the piece.

Place the piece.

It should have been 'Chess', which he cared about most. It could be said that the stage he chose himself was exactly what Sakayanagi Arisu hoped for. It was this stage that could prove something and help him regain his confidence.

She had actually been looking forward to this Special Exam even before it started.

If I could defeat this man in Chess, it would prove that he wasn't as omnipotent as I imagined.

That...

Can she regain her self-confidence?

That way, at least I can tell myself that I still have a skill, and that I have an irreplaceable part to offer.

But that was a previous thought, a thought that Sakayanagi Arisu had completely forgotten.

Because Chess is no longer important.

Holding the pieces? Making moves? Controlling everything? Dominating the board?

What are those?

I don't know, I don't know them, I'm not familiar with them, don't get involved.

Compared to this mental activity, what fills Sakayanagi Arisu's heart right now is an unprecedented 'vitality'.

"Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump..."

A powerful voice.

A loud sound.

You can feel the rhythm very clearly by gently placing your small hands on your chest.

The feeling of helplessness has faded.

A surge of vitality arose.

The congenital heart disease that had plagued her for over a decade had now quietly lost its restraining effect.

There was no burden on my body, and my body was no longer a burden. That heaviness that only disappeared in dreams was completely gone.

And this was simply because she had just accepted a gift from Asakusa Toru.

That 'miracle drug for heart disease'.

As the pills were swallowed with water, they quietly dissolved and spread throughout the body.

To be honest, she didn't pay any attention to the Special Exam at all; she didn't focus on it even a fraction of the time.

She kept a close eye on her body, pressing her small hands against her chest and pulse, occasionally touching her chest and then her neck.

My heels, which used to feel cold, are now warm again; my legs, which used to feel weak, can now be lifted high.

If it weren't for the fact that this was Special Exam, and if it weren't for the fact that this stage was something he had meticulously prepared specifically for himself.

Sakayanagi Arisu had already thrown away her broken cane and started running.

When she woke up from the dream, the thing she wanted to do most was to run.

... Not QQ Space.

No, it's not.

It's about running.

With arms outstretched, the beach is on the left and the waves are on the right. Kicking off their little leather shoes, they happily dance and twirl barefoot on the sand.

Run.

That's right, it was back on that Uninhabited Island, when she watched from afar, with her own eyes, what Shiina Hiyori did while someone was filming her with a camera.

She had been envious for a long time.

So to some extent, she actually disliked Shiina Hiyori.

But whatever Shiina Hiyori or whatever, it's fine.

Back to the present.

She regained her health.

It is often said that the less a person has, the more likely they are to pursue something.

Sakayanagi Arisu felt that perhaps that was her.

She drinks caffeinated coffee frequently because she wants to prove that her body is healthy.

Doesn't she know that coffee is bad for the heart?

She knew.

But she insisted on drinking it.

The more I drink, the more it stimulates my heart and mind, and the more clearly I can feel the reality of being alive.

After all, this was the only way she could comfort herself.

Sakayanagi Arisu has always known that there is no chance of her illness being cured.

She had long since let go of it and given up.

Since I've already given up, can't I at least have some coffee?

As long as her condition didn't worsen, Sakayanagi Narimori turned a blind eye and let her drink.

It was precisely because she felt at ease that Sakayanagi Arisu was able to focus more intently on mental activities that could be done easily, specifically Chess.

... It was just a random project I picked.

It was simply because I happened to see someone who shared a similar plight with me, but was actually completely different from me, playing this game.

That's why she chose Chess.

But now.

Forget about coffee.

Chess and such can go to hell.

Canes, hospital beds, hospitalization, IV drips, etc.

Get out of here, all of you!

"If we get to this point, we're 'doomed'."

The announcement was made softly, the result decisively—a declaration that should have been humiliating for her.

But Sakayanagi Arisu never found the words 'dying' to be pleasant to hear.

She even selectively ignored the preconditions of Asakusa Toru's words, only reading the declarative 'imminent death'.

Alas!

Liberation!

The boring Chess is over, the tedious Special Exam is over!

With a 'snap', Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her petite body from the slightly large chair, her legs, encased in white knee-high socks, rubbing together, and the girl brushed a strand of hair that was swaying slightly from her forehead behind her shoulder.

"I lost." His lips moved softly, as if he hadn't yet adjusted to his strong body, uttering the weak words, "I lost."

"I lost, I lost, I lost!"

With increasing fervor and power, and with great joy, Sakayanagi Arisu laughed out loud.

Honey, I lost.

Finally, she smiled and spoke to Asakusa Toru.

"Yes, regarding the number of Classmate Sakayanagi, the winner of event seven Chess, is Class D, which means..."

"--The match is over."

As Sakayanagi Arisu spoke, Mashima Tomoya, who had been calmly waiting for a full hour while both sides remained motionless, wasting time, seemed to have finally seized an opportunity and directly announced the result.

"Huh?"

Immediately afterward, as if belatedly realizing something was wrong, Sakayanagi Arisu finally understood.

Am I... incapable of admitting defeat?

"Wait, wait, wait a minute, teacher, um..."

Her smile vanished, and she frantically waved her small hands, trying to salvage something.

But Mashima Tomoya had already seized the opportunity, ignored her words and began to loudly announce the exam results that the neighboring Class C had already obtained.

"Class A won the previous round. Therefore, the result of this final Special Exam is six wins and one loss!"

"The exam is over. Students, please leave the classroom immediately!"

"That's all for today, and there's no need to go back to the classroom for self-study afterwards! Sakagami- sensei, we can start packing up now!"

Ignoring Sakayanagi Arisu's attempt to appeal, Mashima Tomoya immediately pulled Sakagami Kazuma and began packing, clearly indicating his intention to get rid of them.

Asakusa Toru sighed, "... Stop calling, it's time to go."

"That spendthrift woman, she took away my sixty points right away."

Winning this one less game means gaining 30 fewer points and losing 30 more, resulting in a difference of 60 points.