Honami Ichinose Understands What Her Boyfriend Means. / The Much-Anticipated Match.

"If I were to set the rules myself, then true supremacy of strength would be possible."

"Really? It seems my decision was right."

Horikita Manabu's gaze swept past the middle row of students and landed on Hashiba Hikaru.

"What decision?"

Following the other person's gaze, Miyabi Nagumo saw the tall, straight figure of the black-haired boy, who was carefully observing the battle situation on the field.

"I've picked out a great helper for you; he'll be a great asset."

"Helper?"

Miyabi Nagumo suddenly burst into laughter, then said, "Don't hide it from me, I know what President Horikita is thinking. I plan to have Hashiba take over my current position, provided he can actually do it."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, but such important appointments and removals of cadres cannot be decided by me alone; everyone should vote on them."

Miyabi Nagumo has figured out what Horikita Manabu has been up to lately. If he intends to send someone to seize power, then let's wait and see.

"I'm really looking forward to the results."

Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his tone flat.

~~~~~

298

Chapter 298 Ichinose Honami understood her boyfriend's meaning.

The two did not deliberately avoid other people during their conversation, because Horikita Manabu and Miyabi Nagumo were leaders and persons in charge of their respective grades, and the other second and third-year students basically pretended not to hear it, while the first-year students were focused on the progress of the competition and had no time to pay attention to anything else.

Only one person listened to the entire conversation: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

After clarifying the positions of these two people, he began to have new thoughts.

Logically speaking, as the current Student Council President and the future successor, the two should have a good relationship, but it seems that their conflict has been public for a long time.

[Could this be a point that can be exploited?]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka kept this in mind, but just then, he heard Hashiba Hikaru, who was standing next to him, suddenly speak to him.

"Ayanokoji, what rank are you aiming for?"

"Just do your best. I'm playing as a substitute player."

"Aren't you going to fight for victory for the class?"

Hashiba Hikaru smiled. After the physical challenge in the Bo-taoshi, the boy knew that his opponent's physical limit was also around 8 points. He wanted to see if his opponent would choose to go all out.

"I will run as hard as I can."

"That's not very convincing. They clearly paid points to participate in the battle. Doesn't Ayanokoji Kiyotaka want to serve the class?"

"What you up to?"

The handsome young man suddenly raised his head and looked directly into Hashiba Hikaru's eyes.

"It's simple. I want to see you run at full speed. After all, we haven't decided who's the winner yet, have we?"

"This kind of victory or defeat is meaningless; the result for our class is already irreversible."

After twelve matches, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew that Class C had fallen far behind and would most likely be relegated back to Class D when the final results were announced.

"How about we make a bet?"

Hashiba Hikaru didn't bring a contract with her, but her tone was confident. "Let's see who can get the best result."

What are the stakes?

"The bet... the loser has to do something for the winner. It's a verbal agreement; you can take it as a gentleman's agreement."

Staring at the other person's expressionless face, Hashiba Hikaru coaxed, "So, Ayanokoji, are you willing to accept this match?"

"Isn't it difficult to enforce a verbal agreement in the end?"

"At this point..."

Just as the boy was about to answer, a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

"I can act as your notary to oversee the outcome of this bet."

"?"

Hashiba Hikaru looked at Horikita Manabu, who was standing on the other side; it was Horikita who had suddenly interrupted him.

The Student Council President, with a calm expression, glanced at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and then said, "As a member of the Student Council, I believe that Hashiba- kun will not break his promise. I am willing to take on the responsibility of impartiality. If he loses in the end, I will supervise the execution of the result."

Is that so?

After noticing that everyone in the row was looking at him, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Then I agree. I accept the bet with Classmate Hashiba."

"To ensure fairness, let's set off together."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at Kanzaki Ryuji, who was about to rush over, while the boy from Class C was still some distance away.

"Can."

"This competition looks so interesting, can I join in?"

Miyabi Nagumo had been paying close attention to the situation here, and when he heard Horikita Manabu offer to vouch for Hashiba Hikaru, he immediately became interested.

"Is Nagumo- senpai also coming? But we're setting off together, is that alright with you?"

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly and explained the price he would have to pay.

However, the blond man didn't answer the question. Instead, he looked directly at Horikita Manabu and asked, "President Horikita, would you like to come along? I'm really glad to have the chance to compete against you."

This was his real purpose: to drag Horikita Manabu into the mess.

"This is indeed a very rare situation, so I'll participate."

Horikita Manabu replied calmly, "However, I don't intend to participate in the bet. How about we simply compete to see who wins?"

"Of course, no problem."

"Let's wait until everyone has received the baton before we start. This race is getting more and more interesting!"

Hashiba Hikaru's gaze shifted to Miyabi Nagumo, because the boy from Class 2-A, who had come in first place, had already reached the position to hand over the baton.

"Nagumo- kun, grab the baton and get ready to run!"

After he handed the baton to Miyabi Nagumo, covered in sweat, the blond man did not start the race but stood still.

"?"

"Don't worry about me, you should go back first."

Miyabi Nagumo toyed with the relay baton in her hand and said to him with a smile, "We have a more important competition to attend."

Important?

What could be more important than the outcome of the final round?

The bewildered Second Year boy eventually backed down, a scene that caught the attention of the audience, who were all surprised as to why Miyabi Nagumo, who had the Lead, hadn't started immediately.

"Oh, looks like something interesting has happened. It's a pity I'm not on the field."

In the stands, Kiryuuin Fuuka, with her silver hair, stood with Asahina Nazuna watching the match. After witnessing this scene, she let out a regretful sigh.

"What is Ya doing? Why isn't he running?"

Asahina Nazuna was quite confused, and just then, she saw another boy in her line of sight who, after receiving the baton, chose to stay still.

"What's going on...?"

On the field, after Hashiba Hikaru received the baton from Kanzaki Ryuji, he didn't start. Instead, he gave Kanzaki a look that said, "I'll explain later," and watched him leave.

"What happened?"

The students in Class A of the First Year looked at each other in bewilderment. The competition had clearly reached its final stage, but Hashiba Hikaru had stopped.

"Why hasn't Classmate Hashiba left? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, is Hashiba not feeling well?"

Just as everyone was getting anxious, Ichinose Honami seemed to have a sudden realization and exclaimed, "I know! Hikaru is probably waiting for the others to receive the baton before having a fair competition."

"Relay Race inherently create an advantage for those ahead and behind, so why wait for others?"

"No, first take a look at who all the people who stopped are."

The pink-haired girl already understood her boyfriend's thoughts, because right after Hashiba Hikaru stopped, the next person to stop was the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu.

At that moment, everyone watching the game was stunned, and a new conjecture emerged in their minds.

The three people who stopped were all the talk of the town in their respective grades: Student Council President Horikita Manabu, Second Year collective leader Miyabi Nagumo, and freshman Hashiba Hikaru, whose name had already spread throughout the school.

"Wait a minute, are these people planning a race where everyone starts at the same time? That's insane!"

Wow!!!

"We might just see them go all out to fight for first place, that would be incredible!"

No one expected things to turn out this way, and everyone's expression was filled with excitement.

Who is truly the top student in this school?

The answer is about to be revealed!

299

Chapter 299 The highly anticipated match.

When Horikita Manabu, Miyabi Nagumo, and Hashiba Hikaru stood motionless at the starting point for the final leg, all the students from both the White Team and the Red Team stared intently at the track. Such Matoba was extremely rare, and everyone wanted to know who would ultimately claim the crown.

"But... why haven't they set off yet?"

Some people raised their own questions.

While the three were waiting at the starting point, other team members who caught up from behind handed the baton to their respective teammates, and they all turned around and rushed out without hesitation.

"Yes, why haven't they set off yet? Are they still waiting for someone?"

Shibata carefully examined the few remaining students who hadn't yet received the baton in the final round, a look of suspicion on his face.

"Is it a countdown?"

"It doesn't seem like it. Perhaps there are other reasons. Let's not rush into anything; we'll find out soon enough."

Ichinose Honami expressed her thoughts: no matter what, now that things had progressed to this point, she was also looking forward to the final outcome.

"Hey, Hashiba's getting into starting position, look!"

"Really? Is it about to start?"

All the students in Class A saw Hashiba Hikaru's change in movement. The black-haired boy, who had just been standing, was now in a starting position, which would help him sprint ahead faster.

"It's about to start! What an exciting match!"

After noticing Hashiba Hikaru's movements, the blond Student Council Vice President began to loosen his joints; he, too, had a reason to strive for victory in this match.

"Indeed."

Horikita Manabu nodded without giving any further reply. He glanced at the Class C student who was about to pass the baton to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and then assumed his ready stance.

Will Ayanokoji give it her all?

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly and asked the boy next to her who had a calm expression, "We've been waiting for so long, and almost all the contestants in this row have already set off, but neither he nor the two senior students have shown any signs of nervousness."

Who knows?

After giving a curt reply, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka assumed his starting position, extending his left hand behind him to catch the baton from his teammate more quickly.

"Ayanokoji!"

When the boy's voice rang out, Hashiba Hikaru's expression changed. The next second, he and three others sprinted out from the starting point, rapidly approaching the students in front.

"Here we go!"

"So they've finally started running? Wow, is Horikita-senpai really in the Lead?"