Storm Before the Match

Less than forty-eight hours remained until the opening of the Sports Festival.

Class D's classroom had transformed into a makeshift war room. The blackboard was covered in event schedules, personnel assignments, and opponent analyses. Yosuke Hirata, Suzune Horikita, Ken Sudo, Kei Karuizawa, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and the newly joined Mio Ibuki sat gathered together.

Spread across the table were three key documents: the complete rules for the Sports Festival, the supplementary scoring guidelines provided by Akane Tachibana, and an analysis of historical data that Ayanokoji had dug up from the library archives.

"So," Hirata said, pointing to a line circled in red ink within the rules, "'The difference in the strength assessment scores of substitute athletes will be factored into the class total score weighting coefficient'—what exactly does this mean?"

Ayanokoji tapped the table with his pen. "I confirmed it with senior Miyabi Nagumo from the Student Council. Simply put, if we replace a B-tier athlete with an A-tier athlete before the race, the 'base score weighting' for the class in that relay event will increase by 5%."

"And the opposite?" Kei asked.

"If we use a weaker substitute, the weighting decreases," Horikita replied calmly. "But this is dangerous. A lower weighting means that even if we place well, the actual points earned will be discounted."

Sudo scratched his head. "Isn't that fair? If someone swaps in someone stronger, they should get more points."

"The problem lies in the standard for 'strength assessment'," Mio Ibuki spoke up for the first time in a core meeting. She held internal documents from Class C—the "tribute" she had brought with her. "Ryuen is exploiting this loophole. Class C has several students who don't usually stand out but have excellent physical fitness; he plans to swap them in at the last minute for those with lower 'assessment scores' on the roster."

"How is he doing that?" Hirata frowned.

"The school doctor," Ibuki said. "A student in Class C has a father who is a doctor at the affiliated hospital. Getting a certificate for 'muscle strain, rest advised' is far too easy."

The classroom went silent for a few seconds.

"That's cheating!" Sudo slammed the table.

"It's walking the edge of the rules, but it doesn't quite count as cheating," Ayanokoji said calmly. "Just as Arisu Sakayanagi said, it's part of the 'off-field factors'."

Kei asked worriedly, "Then what do we do? Should we get someone to write fake certificates too?"

"No," Ayanokoji shook his head. "We'll take a different path."

He took out a sheet of paper listing ten names—the preliminary relay roster for Class D. "We won't swap anyone, but we will adjust the order of the legs. We'll place our strongest athletes in the legs where our opponents are most likely to let their guard down, disrupting their rhythm predictions."

He pointed to the list. "Sudo, you run the fourth leg. Conventional wisdom dictates that the strongest person is placed in the last or first leg. Both Ryuen and Sakayanagi will focus their research on our first and last legs. The fourth leg is the transition point in the middle, which is often overlooked."

Sudo grinned. "Fine, I'm with you."

"Horikita, you run the second leg. Kei, the seventh leg. Ibuki..." Ayanokoji paused. "You run the final leg."

Everyone looked at Ibuki. The final leg was usually reserved for the ace.

"Me?" Ibuki was stunned. "I just joined..."

"Precisely because you just joined," Ayanokoji said. "Other classes have the least amount of information and data on you. Ryuen will assume the final leg is Sudo or me, and he will arrange for people to interfere with or shadow that position. But you are different; your explosive power and speed are underestimated."

Ibuki looked at Ayanokoji with a complex expression, then finally nodded. "...Fine."

"Then what about me?" Hirata asked.

"Hirata, you run the first leg," Ayanokoji said. "Your stability and reaction time at the start are the best. The task of the first leg isn't to pull ahead, but to stay steady and avoid mistakes."

With the assignments finished, no one had any objections. After these few days of training, Ayanokoji's tactical arrangements had already proven his capability.

"There's one more thing," Ayanokoji brought out another document. "The individual event registration form. I need at least five people to sign up for these obscure events."

He circled a few names. "'Team Obstacle Race', 'Balance Beam Relay', 'Directional Throwing'—these events have fewer participants, less competition, and are easier to score points in."

"But there isn't enough training time left," Horikita pointed out.

"That's why we must choose people naturally suited for them." Ayanokoji looked toward the corner of the classroom. "Yamauchi, you have good coordination, sign up for the Balance Beam. Hondo, you have good arm strength, sign up for Directional Throwing. Yukimura, you have a strong sense of direction, the Team Obstacle Race needs you."

The students who were called looked at each other, somewhat surprised. These students, who usually didn't have much presence in the class, were actually being given specific tasks.

"If we can place in the top three in these obscure events, plus the points from the relay, we have a chance to break into the top two in the overall rankings," Ayanokoji summarized. "This is our core strategy: secure the relay, grab points in obscure events, and leave the popular events to chance."

Hirata looked at everyone and took a deep breath. "Then, it's settled. Tomorrow is the final day of training; everyone follow Ayanokoji's plan and practice accordingly."

After the meeting dispersed, Ayanokoji was called back by Horikita.

"Something up?"

"You didn't mention your own individual events just now," Horikita looked at him. "Which ones did you sign up for?"

"I didn't sign up for any individual events," Ayanokoji said. "I need to observe the entire process and adjust tactics at any time. Besides..."

He paused. "I suspect something unexpected will happen on the day of the competition. I must remain mobile."

Horikita was silent for a moment. "What kind of accident do you think it will be?"

"I don't know." Ayanokoji looked at the darkening sky outside the window. "But neither Arisu Sakayanagi nor Kakeru Ryuen will compete honestly. Kanji Ike falling was just the beginning."

At eight o'clock in the evening, on the roof of the special building.

Kakeru Ryuen listened to Daichi Ishizaki's report, a cold sneer hanging on his lips.

"Class D adjusted their relay order? Sudo is running the fourth leg? Ayanokoji isn't running himself?"

"Yes," Ishizaki nodded. "Our people saw it while spying on Class D's training. Also, several of their students signed up for obscure events; they might be trying to avoid competing against our main force."

"Small tricks," Ryuen said dismissively. "Is Albert ready?"

"Ready," Ishizaki lowered his voice. "During the third leg of the relay, he will 'accidentally' run out of the lane and crash into Class D's transition zone. According to the rules, if it's an 'accident', it will at most result in disqualification for the individual, not a deduction of class points."

"Make sure it looks like an accident," Ryuen said. "Also, is there any movement from Sakayanagi's side?"

"Three students from Class A went to the school infirmary today, and all of them got certificates for 'old injury re-examination'," Ishizaki said. "It should be in preparation for substitutes. Also, Arisu Sakayanagi herself signed up for the 'Chess Tournament' individual event."

A Chess Tournament? Was that even an event in the Sports Festival?

Ryuen frowned. He remembered that there was indeed an "Intellectual Competition" category on the event list, but almost no one had signed up for it in previous years. What was Sakayanagi planning?

"Forget about her," Ryuen finally said. "Our target is Class D. Especially Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... I want him to make a fool of himself in front of the entire school."

"Understood."

After Ishizaki left, Ryuen stood alone at the edge of the rooftop.

The night wind blew past, carrying a chill.

He took out his phone and sent a message: "Tomorrow afternoon, Equipment Room, proceed as planned."

Recipient: Shiho Manabe.

The girl who had been publicly humiliated by him over the poisoning incident, yet remained under his control.

At the same time, in the Class A private study room.

Sakayanagi Arisu sat in her wheelchair, a massive floor plan of the Sports Festival venue spread out before her. She moved her slender fingers across the map as if playing a game of chess.

Kohei Katsuragi stood to the side, his expression grave. "Are you really going to do this? Using your connections with the school board carries too much risk."

"Risk and reward are directly proportional, Katsuragi-kun," Sakayanagi smiled. "Besides, this isn't 'using connections,' it's just... utilizing resources reasonably. Father has always said that true strength includes all the power you can command."

"But is the target really just Class D?" Katsuragi asked, puzzled. "Even though they've improved quickly, their overall strength still doesn't match ours. Is it worth going to such great lengths?"

"The target isn't Class D," Sakayanagi shook her head gently. "The target is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka himself. I want to see what kind of expression he will make when the rules are twisted, when accidents follow one after another, and when the tactics he has meticulously laid out are dismantled one by one..."

Her eyes shone with a curious light. "Will it be anger? Frustration? Or... will he still be able to maintain that terrifying calmness?"

Katsuragi fell silent. He knew Sakayanagi's personality—once she became interested in something, she would pursue it to the end.

"Then, what do you need me to do?"

"In the Relay Race, follow our backup plan strictly," Sakayanagi said. "When the signal appears, swap the runners immediately. Also, notify Hashimoto and have him cause a little trouble for Class D in the 'Team Obstacle Race'."

"Hashimoto Masayoshi? With his personality, he might go too far."

"That is exactly why he is the one to go," Sakayanagi's smile deepened. "I need to see Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's ability to deal with 'excessive' methods."

Katsuragi nodded and turned to leave.

Only Sakayanagi remained in the study room. She picked up her phone and sent a message to Ayanokoji:

"Shall we meet at the Chess Tournament preliminary venue tomorrow at three in the afternoon? I have some new discoveries regarding 'loopholes in the rules' that I would like to share with you."

Sent.

She put down her phone and looked out at the night sky.

The game was becoming more and more interesting.