Less than forty-eight hours remained before the Sports Festival began.
Class D's classroom had become a makeshift war room. The blackboard was covered with event schedules, personnel assignments, and analyses of the competition. Yosuke Hirata, Suzune Horikita, Ken Sudō, Kei Karuizawa, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and the newly recruited Mio Ibuki sat together.
Spread across the table were three key documents: the complete rules for the Sports Festival, supplementary notes on the scoring criteria provided by Akane Tachibana, and an analysis of past years' data that Ayanokoji had dug out of the library archives.
"So," Hirata said, pointing to a line circled in red on the rules, "'the difference in the ability assessment scores of substitute competitors will be factored into the adjustment coefficient for the class's total score'—what exactly does that mean?"
Ayanokoji tapped the table with his pen. "I checked with Miyabi Nagumo from the Student Council. Simply put, if we replace a competitor assessed at B-level with one assessed at A-level before the event, the 'base score multiplier' for the Relay Race will increase by five percent for the entire class."
"And what if it's the other way around?" Karuizawa asked.
"If we use a weaker substitute, the multiplier will decrease," Horikita replied calmly. "But that's dangerous. A lower multiplier means that even if we place well, our actual score will be discounted."
Sudō scratched his head. "Isn't that fair, though? If someone puts in a stronger competitor, they should get more points."
"The problem is the standard for 'ability assessment,'" Mio Ibuki said, speaking up for the first time at a core strategy meeting. She held the internal Class C documents she had brought as her "proof of loyalty." "Ryuen is exploiting the loophole. Class C has a few students who usually keep a low profile but are in great shape. He plans to replace the people with lower 'assessment scores' on the roster with them at the last minute."
"How will he manage that?" Hirata frowned.
"The school infirmary," Ibuki said. "One of the Class C students has a father who's a doctor at the affiliated hospital. Getting a note recommending rest for a 'muscle strain' would be easy."
The classroom fell silent for a few seconds.
"That's cheating!" Sudō slapped the table.
"It skirts the rules, but it doesn't quite count as cheating," Ayanokoji said evenly. "As Sakayanagi Arisu put it, it's part of the 'off-field factors.'"
Karuizawa asked anxiously, "Then what do we do? Get someone to write us a fake note too?"
"No." Ayanokoji shook his head. "We'll take a different approach."
He pulled out a sheet of paper listing ten names—the preliminary Class D Relay Race roster. "We won't swap anyone out. We'll change the running order instead. We'll put our strongest runners in the legs where our opponents are most likely to let their guard down and throw off their predictions."
He pointed to the list. "Sudō, you'll run the fourth leg. Conventional thinking says you put your strongest runner on the last or first leg. Ryuen and Sakayanagi will focus on studying our first and last runners. The fourth leg is a middle handoff, and it's often overlooked."
Sudō grinned. "All right, I'm in."
"Horikita, you'll run the second leg. Karuizawa, the seventh. Ibuki..." Ayanokoji paused. "You'll run the last leg."
Everyone looked at Ibuki. The last leg was usually reserved for the star runner.
"Me?" Ibuki said, taken aback. "I only just joined..."
"Exactly because you just joined," Ayanokoji said. "The other classes know the least about you and have the least data on you. Ryuen will assume that Sudō or I will run the last leg. He'll assign someone to interfere with or tail us. But you're different. Your explosive power and speed are underestimated."
Ibuki studied Ayanokoji with a complicated look, then finally nodded. "...All right."
"What about me?" Hirata asked.
"Hirata, you'll run the first leg," Ayanokoji said. "You're the most consistent, and you have the fastest reaction off the starting line. The first runner's job isn't to build a lead. It's to stay steady and avoid mistakes."
Once the assignments were made, no one objected. Ayanokoji's tactical decisions had already proved their worth during the past few days of training.
"One more thing." Ayanokoji took out another document. "The individual event registration form. I need at least five people to sign up for these less popular events."
He circled several names: "Team Obstacle Race," "Balance Beam Relay," and "Directional Throwing." "Fewer people sign up for these events, so there's less competition and it's easier to earn points."
"But there isn't enough time left to train," Horikita pointed out.
"That's why we need to pick people who are naturally suited to them." Ayanokoji looked toward the corner of the classroom. "Yamauchi, you have good coordination. Sign up for the Balance Beam Relay. Hondo, you have a strong arm. Sign up for Directional Throwing. Yukimura, you have a good sense of direction. We need you for the Team Obstacle Race."
The students who had been called on exchanged surprised looks. These classmates, who usually didn't stand out, had been given specific roles.
"If we can place in the top three in these less popular events, then add our Relay Race points, we'll have a chance to break into the top two overall," Ayanokoji concluded. "That's our core strategy: secure points in the Relay Race, grab points in less popular events, and take our chances in the popular ones."
Hirata looked around at everyone and took a deep breath. "Then that's settled. Tomorrow is our last day of training. Everyone, follow Ayanokoji's plan and focus on the areas you've been assigned."
After the meeting broke up, Horikita stopped Ayanokoji.
"Is something wrong?"
"You didn't mention your own individual event," Horikita said, looking at him. "Which one did you sign up for?"
"I didn't sign up for an individual event," Ayanokoji said. "I need to observe the whole time and adjust our tactics as needed. Besides..."
He paused. "I suspect something unexpected will happen on the day of the competition. I need to stay flexible."
Horikita was silent for a moment. "What kind of unexpected event do you think it'll be?"
"I don't know." Ayanokoji looked out at the darkening sky. "But neither Sakayanagi Arisu nor Ryuen Kakeru will compete fairly. Kanji Ike's fall was just the beginning."
At eight that evening, on the roof of the special teaching building,
Ryuen Kakeru listened to Daichi Ishizaki's report, a cold smile on his lips.
"Class D changed its running order? Sudō's on the fourth leg? Ayanokoji isn't running?"
"That's right." Ishizaki nodded. "Our people watched them train. Also, a few of their students signed up for less popular events. They might be trying to avoid competing against the main runners."
"Cute little trick." Ryuen scoffed. "Is Albert ready?"
"He's ready." Ishizaki lowered his voice. "During the third leg of the Relay Race, he'll 'accidentally' run off the track and crash into Class D's handoff zone. According to the rules, if it's an 'accident,' at most they'll disqualify him individually. It won't cost the class any points."
"Make sure it looks like an accident," Ryuen said. "And what's Sakayanagi doing?"
"Three Class A students went to the school infirmary today and got notes for 'follow-up examinations of old injuries,'" Ishizaki said. "They're probably preparing substitutes. Also, Sakayanagi Arisu herself signed up for the individual Chess Tournament."
A Chess Tournament? That was an event at the Sports Festival?
Ryuen frowned. He remembered that the schedule did include an "Intellectual Competition" category, but almost no one had signed up in previous years. What was Sakayanagi planning?
"Forget about her," Ryuen finally said. "Our target is Class D. Especially Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... I want to humiliate him in front of the whole school."
"Understood."
After Ishizaki left, Ryuen stood alone at the edge of the roof.
The night wind blew past, carrying a chill.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message: "Tomorrow afternoon, Equipment Room. Proceed as planned."
The recipient was Shiho Manabe.
The girl he had publicly humiliated over the poisoning incident, yet who still remained under his control.
At the same time, in Class A's private study room,
Sakayanagi Arisu sat in her wheelchair before a huge floor plan of the Sports Festival venue. She traced a slender finger across the map, as if making a move in a game of chess.
Kohei Katsuragi stood beside her, his expression grave. "Are you really going to do this? Using the school board's connections is too risky."
"Risk and reward go hand in hand, Katsuragi," Sakayanagi said with a smile. "Besides, this isn't 'using connections.' It's simply... making reasonable use of our resources. My father always said that true strength includes all the power you can bring to bear."
"But is Class D really the target?" Katsuragi asked, puzzled. "They've improved quickly, but their overall strength is still inferior to ours. Is all this really worth the effort?"
"Class D isn't the target." Sakayanagi shook her head slightly. "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is. I want to see what expression he'll wear when the rules are twisted, when one unexpected event follows another, and when the tactics he planned so carefully are dismantled one by one..."
A curious light gleamed in her eyes. "Will he be angry? Frustrated? Or... will he still be able to maintain that terrifying calm?"
Katsuragi fell silent. He knew Sakayanagi's nature—once something caught her interest, she pursued it relentlessly.
"Then what do you need me to do?"
"Follow our contingency plan to the letter during the Relay Race," Sakayanagi said. "When the signal appears, switch runners immediately. Also, tell Hashimoto to cause Class D a little trouble during the Team Obstacle Race."
"Hashimoto Masayoshi? With his personality, he might go too far."
"That's exactly why I want him to do it." Sakayanagi's smile deepened. "I want to see how well Ayanokoji Kiyotaka can handle 'over-the-top' methods."
Katsuragi nodded and turned to leave.
Sakayanagi was alone in the study room. She picked up her phone and sent Ayanokoji a message:
"Let's meet at the Chess Tournament preliminary venue tomorrow at three in the afternoon. I've made some new discoveries about 'loopholes in the rules' that I'd like to share with you."
She sent it.
She put down her phone and gazed out at the night.
The game was getting more and more interesting.
Before you continue