A Cat?

Shiina Hiyori immediately refuted Sakayanagi Arisu's statement.

"But your Class B doesn't have 20 million points to protect the Commander, so the risk is much greater than for Class A and Class D."

Karuizawa Kei immediately retorted with sharp wit.

The three people's remarks, on the contrary, made Ichinose Honami fall into a state of self-doubt. She looked left and right before confirming that the others were not being sarcastic.

Instead of trying to avoid Class 2-A, they're actually going head-to-head with them?

What's the point of this?

"Hiyori, could you go to the convenience store and buy me a bag of salt and oyster sauce? I can't leave the pot while the food is cooking."

Kitagawa Ryo opened the kitchen door a crack and peeked out into the living room, speaking to it.

"I'll go now."

"Kamuro should be nearby. I'll have her deliver it over."

"I remember having these in the kitchen of my room. I'll go get them for Ryo."

The three people answered almost simultaneously.

Honami Ichinose downed the glass of cold water in one gulp.

Okay, case solved.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: A Cat?

The week before the Sports Festival, each class teacher from the three grades submitted their ten proposed sports events and participant lists to the school. After a day of verification and removal of duplicate events, the three grades submitted a total of fifty-eight different sports events that could be carried out on campus during the Sports Festival.

That very evening, the school publicly displayed these fifty-eight individual and group events, some normal and some bizarre. Among them were traditional sports such as the 100-meter dash, long jump, and high jump, as well as seemingly entertaining events like tree climbing and hula hooping. Even more interesting was a two-kilometer obstacle course submitted by some class, which included a series of complex rules such as obstacle course races and bread-carrying races, but there were no flaws in the entire process, so the school had no choice but to approve it.

The students could only pray that they wouldn't draw such an abstract project when they played against his class.

Fortunately, the school banned long-distance running events exceeding 10,000 meters or marathons for this Sports Festival. Otherwise, the lower-ranked classes could have easily engaged in a war of attrition by setting all events to be long and physically demanding events, so that even if they lost, they could drag the opposing team down with them.

Because the Sports Festival only lasts one day, events that take too long have been cut, and even events like soccer and basketball have had their durations shortened.

The reason for releasing this list is to allow all students participating in the Sports Festival to prepare in advance and understand the rules. After all, each class only submitted ten events and a list of participants. If an unfamiliar event is drawn on the day of the Sports Festival, the [Commander] will be responsible for the deployment of personnel.

From this perspective, it's possible that the Commander is more important than it appears.

Judo, Taekwondo, Karate Freestyle Fighting...

Miyabi Nagumo looked at the list in her hand, a playful smile appearing on her lips, and asked the man in front of her:

"Putting everything else aside, at least the list you gave me before does match the list released by the school."

Ryuen Kakeru put his hands in his pockets and snorted dismissively:

"I genuinely wanted to cooperate with you, so naturally I wouldn't lie about something like this."

"It seems you really harbor resentment towards Kitagawa in your class, to the point that you're willing to betray the class to bring him down."

Miyabi Nagumo placed the list on the table and leisurely leaned back in her recliner. The two of them were in the school's reception room, one of the few places in the school without surveillance cameras. If Miyabi Nagumo weren't the vice president of the Student Council, she probably wouldn't have the authority to use this place.

"You don't really think that my relationship with Kitagawa is as harmonious as it seems, do you?"

Although there was a genuine leather sofa right next to him, Ryuen Kakeru showed no intention of sitting down. He stood straight in front of Miyabi Nagumo, maintaining a high level of tension and vigilance.

"You don't need to provoke me like that."

Miyabi Nagumo shook her head and replied:

"The fact that I invited you here means I definitely want to cooperate with you; otherwise, you wouldn't even have the chance to meet with me alone."

"I've already investigated the conflict between you and Kitagawa. In fact, you only failed to fight him at the beginning of the semester."

Miyabi Nagumo smiled slightly:

"In terms of your contribution to the class this entire semester, you are in no way inferior to Beichuan; in fact, you could say you've done even better."

"The only time our design Class B failed was due to bad luck; who would have thought that a student from Class D would be taking pictures there?"

The incident involving Shibata from Class B was originally handled by the Student Council, so Ryuen Kakeru wasn't surprised that the other party knew so much detail.

"During the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, Ryuen, you took on the hardest and most tiring task. After the exam, everyone praised Kitagawa Ryo's design. If it were me, I would also feel dissatisfied."

Ryuen Kakeru snorted coldly, neither directly affirming nor denying, but this attitude seemed to tacitly agree with Miyabi Nagumo's statement.

"Then came the VIP Exam. Your class clearly had the potential to crush the remaining three classes in one fell swoop and achieve the feat of becoming Class A in the first semester of your First Year. However, because of Kitagawa's ideas, you not only wasted the contractual advantages you had accumulated, but also ended up splitting the 80 million points with Class A and Class D."

"What's even more tragic is that Kitagawa actually spent those 20 million points on a cat."

Upon hearing this, Ryuen Kakeru also showed a resentful expression, with several veins even bulging on his forehead. He clenched his fists and whispered:

"Kitagawa is no longer qualified to lead Class 1-B forward."

Miyabi Nagumo nodded in agreement:

"Actually, I really admire Ryuen's abilities. Student Council after this Sports Festival?"

"I will become the new Student Council in October after the Sports Festival ends, which will leave a vacancy for the vice president position."

Despite Miyabi Nagumo's obvious attempt to recruit him, Ryuen Kakeru seemed rather uninterested.

"I only want Kitagawa to drop out of school. As for the Student Council and all that, it has nothing to do with me."

Miyabi Nagumo smiled upon hearing this. He had only said it casually. After becoming the Student Council, he would naturally place his own people in the Student Council. The so-called vacancy for the vice president position was just a test of Ryuen Kakeru. If the other party really showed the willingness to take on the vice president position, he would think that Ryuen Kakeru was not appreciative.

From Miyabi Nagumo's perspective, Class 1-B's defeat in this Sports Festival was already inevitable, and Ryuen Kakeru's betrayal was just adding another chip to the already tilted scales.

"I'll give you the seven projects that the class is most likely to choose, along with a list of participants, in a couple of days."

"Actually, I can deduce most of it even without you teaching me."

Miyabi Nagumo smiled confidently:

"Your Class 1-B is simply trying to take advantage of the delinquents in your class, their extensive fighting experience, and the presence of the mixed-race giant, Yamada Albert, in an attempt to defeat your opponents in a head-on confrontation. But our Class 2-A is not just about academic excellence."

Her words revealed a strong sense of confidence, Miyabi Nagumo tilted her head to look at Ryuen Kakeru:

"And they even dared to choose football as a team sport..."

"I don't believe someone without a foundation in this area can play like a pro within a month. Just understanding the rules would be quite an achievement."

Miyabi Nagumo disdainfully read out the three group projects submitted by Class 1-B:

"Football, 30-man pole-climbing, and Cavalry Battle."

"I thought that Kitagawa, who was favored by that person, would come up with some new tricks, but it seems that's all there is to it."

If Kitagawa Ryo really came up with a novel team event, Miyabi Nagumo might take it more seriously. However, aside from his forte, soccer, pole vaulting and Cavalry Battle are traditional Sports Festival events at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. Their Class 2-A had already competed in them last year, which was simply laughable.

"Anyway, all you need to do is defeat Kitagawa and make him drop out of school."

"This is only natural."

Ryuen Kakeru looked up and exchanged a glance with Miyabi Nagumo, then turned his back and walked out of the reception room.

"They're clearly First Year, and they need our help, but their attitude is incredibly arrogant."

Another student from Class 2-A emerged from the tea room of the reception area, holding a video camera, seemingly having been secretly filming.

"If that Ryuen were to act all obsequious, I'd find it rather suspicious."

Miyabi Nagumo shrugged, looked at the closed door, and asked:

Do you think Ryuen's betrayal this time is real?

"The conflict between Ryuen and Kitagawa didn't just escalate in the last few days. In fact, their relationship has always been one of victor and loser. Ryuen Kakeru isn't the type to be subservient to others, so I'm not surprised at all that someone like him would turn around and bite Kitagawa."

Miyabi Nagumo in the Student Council Mizowaki, asserted this.

"Actually, we need to be extra careful when cooperating with this kind of person."

"I know."

Miyabi Nagumo picked up the list from the table, folded it, put it in her pocket, and walked out of the reception room with Mizowaki.

Amidst mutual scheming and secret plotting, this most unique Sports Festival in nearly a decade has finally officially begun.

As we entered early October, the weather finally cooled down a bit, and occasionally a few yellowing leaves could be seen dancing in the wind, reminding us that the hot summer was coming to an end.

There were many adult spectators around the playground. They were all staff members of convenience stores and shops throughout the school. Because the whole school was holding Sports Festival today, they had a rare day off. In addition, this year's Sports Festival seemed to be much more interesting than in previous years, so most of the staff members chose to come to the scene as spectators.

When the students from each grade and class lined up to enter, the audience members waved and shouted a few words in a very gracious manner. The students seemed quite excited and responded with smiles when they saw familiar faces.

To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, the opening ceremony of the Sports Festival was given by another student from Class 3-A, a senior named Fujimaki, perhaps because Horikita Manabu was about to step down.

Looking around the playground, a complete medical team and treatment facilities were already in place. This year's Sports Festival was not only held on the playground, but also in a series of areas including the swimming pool, tennis courts, and basketball courts. The school had mobilized twice as many manpower and resources as in previous years.

Standing at the front of Class 1-B, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly received a text message from his homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, instructing him to proceed to the multimedia classroom. At the same time, one person from each of the other classes also stepped forward, presumably as the [Commander] who had received the notification.

The four Commander of the First Year are Sakayanagi Arisu, Kitagawa Ryo, Shiranami Chihiro, and Karuizawa Kei.

Perhaps it was out of guilt towards the class that Shiranami Chihiro volunteered to take on the role of Commander.

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the other person, then greeted Sakayanagi Arisu beside him, and together they walked towards the multi-purpose classroom.

In fact, two days before the Sports Festival, they had already secretly gone to the multi-functional classroom in batches as Commander to receive training on the operation of the [Commander].

The selected Commander followed their class instructors to their designated locations, where each was assigned a computer. To facilitate Commander remote observation of the subtle situations on the field, real-time footage was projected onto another large screen.

[The Commander for all classes are in place]

[Five seconds left to select an opponent]

To prevent potential chaos during opponent selection, the school ultimately opted for the Commander to select opponents via computer.

Whoever is quickest gets the upper hand.

The last two groups automatically became opposing sides, which can be considered relatively fair.

As Kitagawa Ryo moved the mouse over the option for Class 2-A, he sighed. Just last month, the three of them in his room were arguing about this endlessly, but in the end, it all came down to luck.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

Students in various classes, far away on the playground, also began to discuss nervously in hushed tones, praying that their class's Commander could choose a suitable opponent to increase their chances of winning.

Within five seconds of the countdown ending, all the match results were announced and broadcast to the entire school:

[Class 3-A vs. Class 3-B]

[Class 3-C VS Class 2-C]

[Class 2-D vs. Class 1-C]

[Class 2-B vs. Class 1-D]

[Class 3-D VS Class 1-A]

As well as.

[Class 2-A vs. Class 1-B]

"Please have the Commander of Class 1-B confirm the seven events for the competition, which must include five individual events and two team events."

Hearing the announcement through his headphones, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly whistled.

You're lucky.

Meanwhile, Miyabi Nagumo, the Commander of Class 2-A, also looked very confident. After all, he had obtained the specific projects and participant list of Class 1-B from Ryuen Kakeru a couple of days ago, and had also given special training in the relevant areas. Even if he couldn't guarantee victory in every small game, victory in the big games should be quite easy.

[Specific programs for Class 1-B have been confirmed]

[The first item is now: High Jump]

[Both Commander please confirm the participating players]

[Confirmation complete]

[Please proceed to the high jump area on the playground and take your positions.]

It really was high jump.

Miyabi Nagumo casually selected the class's strongest high jumper. Although this individual event is open to both boys and girls, boys obviously have an advantage in this aspect, so Class 2-A also chose to send a boy to compete.

This boy, Hirakawa, jumped 1.53 meters in yesterday's test. It should be noted that the international standards for male high jump athletes in categories one, two, and three are two meters, 1.8 meters, and 1.6 meters, respectively.

A height of 1.53 meters is almost at the level of an international third-level athlete.

In fact, the other party is indeed developing in the direction of becoming a professional athlete.