You've Already Got a New Sidekick, Sakayanagi (Continued)

After being lectured by Horikita, Sudo's voice unconsciously softened, but he still insisted that he could win in Basketball.

"Well, while there are all sorts of ways to play Basketball, if it's a one-on-one game, I'm absolutely certain I'll win."

Sudo's words made the students in the class nod. Although many people still disliked Sudo because of his bad temper, no one could deny his talent in sports.

Shuichi Kanda nodded in agreement.

"Yes, your skill as a Basketball player is undeniable. If it were a one-on-one situation, I think you would definitely bring us a win."

"Absolutely."

Upon receiving Shuichi Kanda's approval, Sudo's face clearly lit up with joy.

"However, this Special Exam is not that simple."

"Wh-what?"

"Because you can only choose one event in a one-on-one competition." Shuichi Kanda's expression turned serious. "If this exam allows multiple one-on-one events to be registered, then we only need to choose someone who is good at a particular event. We also have Onodera in our class who is good at swimming, and I heard she is at the national level. If the goal is just to win, having her compete in a one-on-one swimming competition would solve the problem."

Onodera, whose full name is Kayano Onodera, is the girl with the best athletic ability in Class D, even surpassing Horikita.

According to Kushida's information, she is currently a member of the swimming club, and an ace at that, with her strength reaching the level of participating in the National Tournament in her first year.

This ability is absolutely outstanding in first grade, and it could definitely win a victory for the class in a one-on-one girls' swimming competition.

"Besides, Wang Xiaomei often achieves near-perfect scores in English competitions. There are quite a few students in this class who have a high probability of winning in one-on-one competitions."

"It's not Wang Xiaomei!"

Sigh, this child, in his anger, even blurted out his hometown dialect.

Shuichi Kanda ignored Wang Meiyu's protests, keeping his eyes fixed on Sudo, hoping he would realize that this exam was not so simple.

Hearing Shuichi Kanda's words, Sudo felt somewhat discouraged.

"I'm not very familiar with Basketball, I'm just asking out of interest. In a standard Basketball game, can you guarantee a victory in a 5v5 Basketball? If so, then it wouldn't be a bad idea to register Basketball as one of the events."

Basketball is not a one-man sport. Even if Sudo is very strong, it will be difficult for him to win if he doesn't have teammates who can keep up with his pace.

Upon hearing Shuichi Kanda's words, Sudo did not immediately agree, but instead frowned and began to think about what might happen.

"To be honest, if we encounter a weak team, I'm confident I can win the game by myself. However, if there are experienced Basketball among them... I can't say for sure."

I thought he would just say he could do it without any regard for the consequences, but he actually made such a constructive statement.

It seems he's kept in mind the lesson he learned from the Sports Festival.

"So, if you were to choose four useful teammates from your class, would you be confident?"

Sudo's athletic ability is outstanding among the first-year students, and it would be a waste to let him join the Rock Paper Scissors team, so Shuichi Kanda is willing to give him a chance.

"I need to see the abilities of the students in the class to know."

That's right, understanding your teammates' abilities is a very important part of teamwork.

"In that case, Basketball will be the project for now. You can select a few teammates based on the abilities of the students in the class. If the selections are suitable, I can agree to submit Basketball as a project."

Sudo nodded and then sat down.

The meeting continued, but the students in Class C were really disappointing; the events they were confident in were mostly sports.

Things like tennis and table tennis.

However, there were also unexpected surprises. For example, Sotomura who had previously been on the verge of dropping out of school volunteered, saying that he had made considerable achievements in the field of typing.

Are you sure you type very fast? And accurately?

Looking at Hideo Sotomura, Shuichi Kanda strange expression.

"Please rest assured about that. Although I'm not good at academics or sports, this is the one thing I'm very confident about."

Hideo Sotomura adjusted his glasses, exuding an aura completely different from his usual self; his confidence rivaled that of Koenji.

"In that case, please demonstrate it for me in the computer lab later. If it's acceptable, I'll consider using it."

After more than an hour of this, today's discussion has come to a temporary end.

Next, we'll gather what the students said today and then decide on the final project.

However, there are still several days before the project submission date, so there's no need to rush. It's good to take your time to think things through. As for practicing, there's even less of a rush.

Since the selected projects and candidates are all things they are good at, they only need to familiarize themselves with them a few days before the exam to maintain their skills.

In contrast, it would be much more beneficial to know about the projects of other classes and then practice accordingly.

Meanwhile, in Class D, Ishizaki and the others were somewhat conflicted about the project proposed by Ryuen.

"Ryuen, are these really okay?"

On the blackboard in Class D, ten sports were listed: Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, Kendo, Wrestling, Martial Arts Combat, Kickboxing, and so on.

In order to maximize the fighting power of Class D, Ryuen directly selected several events that require a high level of physical fitness, indicating that he plans to choose from these.

"What? Are you scared, Ishizaki?" Ryuen looked at Ishizaki's spineless appearance with disdain.

"That's not what I meant, Ryuen." Faced with Ryuen's question, Ishizaki quickly shook his head. "It's true, there are several people in our class who are very confident in fighting, such as me, Albert, and Kondo Komiya, but the others aren't that good, are they?"

"Hehe, you mean to say that there are quite a few people in other classes who are also quite athletic, right?"

Ryuen immediately saw through Ishizaki's worries: even if they won one or two events, what would happen to the other events once those strong players were exhausted?

After being pointed out by Ryuen, Ishizaki quickly nodded.

"Other classes also have students with good athletic ability. If we could have one-on-one matches against them all, we would definitely win. But the rules say that the number of students in each class cannot be the same."

"How stupid of you, Ishizaki! This is a competition, not a brawl. No one says we have to participate together!"

Ishizaki paused for a moment, not understanding what Ryuen meant.

"Does Ryuen mean that all we need to do is create Matoba where one-on-one matches are possible?" Kaneda, who had been listening below, seemed to understand what Ryuen meant.

"That's right, we just need to set the rules as a series of matches." Ryuen's face showed a mocking smile.

"Indeed, regardless of the required number of participants, as long as an elimination tournament is used, it's enough if there's only one capable competitor in a given event."

"That's right. Even in a 10-on-10 Judo, Albert alone is enough to take them all down."

"But will the school really accept the elimination rounds?"

"If it were a competition or a ball game, I doubt it would work. But for competitive sports like Karate or Judo, elimination tournaments are very common. Even if one or two events are rejected because they might be too dangerous, I've prepared more than five."

But is it really that simple?

"But, but what if we run into Ayanokoji from Class C..."

The atmosphere in Class D suddenly became quiet.

Ayanokoji, whenever fighting is mentioned, it's an unavoidable topic for first-year students, and that's Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

This heavyweight fighter who once defeated Ishizaki and Albert is still in Class C.

"Even Ayanokoji can only appear once, right? And according to the rules of the match, we might not even be able to run into Class C."

Although Ryuen knew they had virtually no chance of winning against Class C, there was nothing they could do; fighting was the only thing Class D could boast about.

If you don't choose the one with a higher win rate, are you going to choose the written exam with a lower win rate?

After the discussion ended, Shuichi Kanda planned to go to the school's café. Shuichi Kanda decided not to interfere with Class A's project and would let them decide for themselves.

Even if Class A's projects are all in their favor, they still can't beat Class C. Shuichi Kanda needs them to do is prevent Class B and Class D from getting the advantage.

Inside the school's café, Palette, when Shuichi Kanda arrived, Kamuro and Sakayanagi were already there.

Besides the two of them, there was another girl sitting next to Sakayanagi, while Kamuro was sitting opposite them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Upon arrival, Shuichi Kanda put his schoolbag on the ground, then sat down next to Kamuro and took a sip of the coffee on the table.

Hmm, I still don't like the taste.

So, Shuichi Kanda put down his cup and gently pushed it in front of Kamuro. Kamuro didn't mind and picked up the cup of coffee that Shuichi Kanda had just drunk from and put it in his mouth.

Seeing the two of them acting like this, Sakayanagi felt like he'd been fed a bellyful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

"What does Kanda- kun want with us? Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm very busy too." Unable to stand the two of them, Sakayanagi decided to finish her business quickly and slip away.

"Busy?" Shuichi Kanda glanced at Sakayanagi, then at the girl next to her, a girl with a single ponytail who seemed to have little presence.

"Are you perhaps trying to build a relationship with your new follower?"

Shuichi Kanda's words caught the other party's attention.

"Hello, I'm Miki Yamamura, um... Classmate Sakayanagi's... new follower."

Hey, you're just admitting it outright?

"She's not a follower, Miki is an important friend of mine."

Really? You used to call Masumi that too.

However, Shuichi Kanda didn't expose her. To Sakayanagi, the students in Class A were just pawns, a fact that Shuichi Kanda disliked very much.

"Hello, Shuichi Kanda, you should have seen me before."

After hearing Shuichi Kanda's self-introduction, Miki Yamamura nodded, and then continued fiddling with her phone.

Seeing this, Shuichi Kanda lost interest in her and turned his attention to Sakayanagi.

"I called you out today to discuss the project related to Class A."

Seeing Shuichi Kanda directly, Sakayanagi also felt curious.

"Oh? Kanda- san, you've already made the arrangements for us so quickly?"

"I suppose so. I hope you guys come up with your own questions, even if they're things you're good at." Shuichi Kanda nodded.

This puzzled Sakayanagi somewhat. You went to so much trouble to propose these conditions, and now you're just giving up like this?

Even Miki Yamamura, who was standing to the side, looked up at Shuichi Kanda, her eyes suggesting that Shuichi Kanda seemed to be suffering from some kind of illness.

Shuichi Kanda naturally knew what they were wondering about.

"This exam started by assigning classes from Class A. Even if Class A could choose Class C in the first round and then deliberately lose a match to Class C, that might not be the case in the second round."

Shuichi Kanda explained it, Sakayanagi understood.

Since the first match starts with Class A, Kamuro will definitely designate Class C, and Shuichi Kanda will definitely accept. Then Kamuro will throw the match and lose.

In the second match, Class B will not be able to designate Class C. However, in the fourth match, Class C's protection period will end. If Class D designates Class C at that time, then regardless of the outcome, Class A will not be able to designate Class C.

At this point, it's more worthwhile for Class A to win than for Class B or Class D to lose.

Don't underestimate this possibility. If it's to disrupt Shuichi Kanda's plans, Ryuen is very likely capable of doing something like that.

Although Sakayanagi lacked experience in combat, she was quick-witted; she understood after Shuichi Kanda out.

"I see. So you don't want Class A to send help to Class B or Class D, is that right?"

Sakayanagi picked up the cup on the table, took a sip of coffee, and then put the cup down as well.

No wonder Shuichi Kanda doesn't drink it; it really isn't very good.

But if I put it in front of Miki, would she drink it for me?

I'd like to give it a try, but it would be awkward if the other person didn't understand what I meant, so... never mind.

"That's right, that's exactly what I mean." Shuichi Kanda nodded. Although this guy could be incredibly stupid at times, he could also quickly understand what I meant.

For a moment, Shuichi Kanda couldn't tell if this guy was genuinely stupid or just pretending.

Anyway... no one's IQ fluctuates like a rollercoaster, right?

"But have you considered the possibility that in the second match, Class B might choose Class A as their opponent?"

Sakayanagi turned the question back on Shuichi Kanda.

"Let Masumi choose then. When they play against our Class C, they can use up the less outstanding members of Class A, and then when Class B chooses, they can send out all the elites, right?"

Besides, didn't this exam include the option to refuse? If Class A refuses, then Class B can only choose Class C or Class D first.

If Class C or Class D takes over Class B's command at this point, then Class C can then designate Class A again and win.

Of course, if Class B's project is one that Class C is not confident of winning, then Class A will have to take the fall.

"I see. Kanda has even been thinking about the possible order of the matches on the day of the exam?"

Sakayanagi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.