After the Gunshot

The day of the Sports Festival had arrived.

The sky had barely begun to lighten, yet the campus was already packed. Students from each class wore different-colored tracksuits—red for Class A, blue for Class B, green for Class C, and yellow for Class D—moving patches of color converging on the main stadium in the morning light.

Excitement and tension filled the air. Rousing music played over the loudspeakers, while Student Council members in matching uniforms kept order at the entrances. Horikita Manabu and the other school officials were already seated on the platform.

Class D's section was to the right of the platform. Yosuke Hirata had arrived early and was handing out bib numbers and checking equipment. He had inspected each relay runner's shoes three times, making sure everything was in order.

"Listen up!" Hirata called. "No matter what happens, stay calm and stick to the plan we trained for. Remember, we're a team!"

"Yeah!"

The response was loud, but Ayanokoji could hear the tension beneath it. He stood at the edge of the crowd, his Insight (Beginner) fully active as he observed his surroundings.

In Class C's section, Ryuen Kakeru was speaking with Albert, both wearing serious expressions. In Class A's section, Sakayanagi Arisu sat in her wheelchair as Kohei Katsuragi pushed her. She smiled as she read a competition handbook. In Class B's section, Honami Ichinose was cheering on her team, but Ayanokoji noticed Tetsuya Hamaguchi's evasive gaze. He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

Everything seemed normal, yet currents of tension ran beneath the surface.

At exactly seven, Horikita Manabu's voice rang across the stadium over the loudspeakers.

"I hereby declare the first-year Sports Festival at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School officially open!"

Applause thundered.

"The first event, the Team Obstacle Race, will begin in thirty minutes. All participating students, please report to your designated area."

Class D had entered Yukimura in the Team Obstacle Race. Class B had Tetsuya Hamaguchi, and Classes A and C each had one competitor as well.

"Yukimura, are you ready?" Hirata asked.

"I'm ready!" Yukimura took a deep breath and headed for the gathering area.

Ayanokoji watched him go, then sent Ichinose a message: "Keep an eye on Tetsuya Hamaguchi."

Ichinose replied quickly: "Understood. I've already had someone follow her."

The obstacle course lay on the east side of the stadium. It had eight challenges, including a climbing net, a balance beam, a mud pit, and a high wall. The competitors from all four classes lined up side by side at the starting line.

"Ready—go!"

The starting gun fired, and all four runners charged forward at once.

Yukimura got off to a decent start. He reached the climbing net third, but climbed down quickly and moved into second. Tetsuya Hamaguchi was in first, moving smoothly.

Hamaguchi stayed in the lead through the first five obstacles, with Yukimura close behind. The competitors from Classes A and C gradually fell back.

The sixth obstacle was a "weighted carry." Each competitor had to hoist a sandbag and run fifty meters. Just as Yukimura bent to lift his—

"Watch out!"

Someone in the stands cried out.

The Class C competitor beside Yukimura "accidentally" slammed a sandbag into his foot. Yukimura jumped out of the way in time, but the interruption cost him two seconds.

"That was deliberate!" Sudo roared from the sidelines.

A referee ran over to investigate, but ultimately ruled it an "accidental collision" and called no foul.

The race continued. Yukimura had dropped to third, but he gritted his teeth and cleared the seventh obstacle, the "high-wall climb," on his first try. He overtook the Class A competitor and reclaimed second place.

The final obstacle was the "sprint rope." The competitors had to grab a rope and swing across a three-meter-wide trench.

Hamaguchi arrived first, grabbed the rope, and swung across cleanly. Yukimura arrived second. He grabbed the rope and swung hard—

Just as he reached the middle of the trench, the rope suddenly lurched violently.

It wasn't a natural sway. Ayanokoji clearly saw someone lightly kick the post anchoring the other end of the rope.

It was the Class C competitor. He pretended to lose his balance and "bumped" into the post.

Yukimura lost his balance in midair. He managed to land on the other side, but fell and scraped his knee.

"You bastard!" Sudo started toward him, but Hirata held him back firmly.

Yukimura gritted his teeth, got back up, and limped across the finish line. Second place.

Hamaguchi took first, Class C came third, and Class A came fourth.

When Yukimura returned to Class D's section, his knee was bleeding.

"Medical team!" Hirata called at once.

"I'm fine..." Yukimura clenched his teeth. "Sorry. I should've taken first..."

"You did great," Ayanokoji said calmly. "That was a deliberate attack."

He looked toward Class C's section. The competitor was exchanging a high five with Ryuen, a smug smile on his face.

[Ping! Malicious action detected: Physical interference (Obstacle Race). Recorded.]

["Helmsman in the Storm" quest progress: 1/3]

The first malicious act was confirmed.

But that wasn't the main event. The obstacle race was only an appetizer. The real highlight was the relay.

At nine thirty in the morning, the relay was about to begin.

Ten competitors from each class prepared in the warm-up area beside the track. Class D's ten runners gathered in a circle.

"One final check," Ayanokoji said. "Everyone's shoes inspected?"

"Three times," Hirata replied with a nod.

"What about the track?"

"Ibuki checked the handoff zone again just now. It's all clear," Karuizawa said.

"Good." Ayanokoji looked around at everyone. "Remember our order: Hirata first, Horikita second, Hondo third, Sudo fourth, Yamauchi fifth, Ike as the alternate for the sixth leg, Karuizawa seventh, Yukimura—despite his injury—eighth, me ninth, and Ibuki last."

He paused. "If anything happens during the race—someone falls, someone interferes, or things get chaotic—don't panic. Follow the emergency plan we rehearsed."

"Got it!"

The loudspeakers blared: "All competitors in the Class Competition Relay Race, please take your positions on the designated tracks."

The forty runners headed to their respective lanes. Class A took lane one, Class B lane two, Class C lane three, and Class D lane four.

Ayanokoji stood at the ninth-leg position, looking toward the starting line in the distance.

The first-leg runners took their places at the line. Hirata was in lane four. He took a deep breath and settled into his starting stance.

The starter raised the gun.

The whole stadium fell silent.

"On your marks—get set—"

The gun fired!

All eight runners charged forward at once—wait, eight?

The first runner from Class C stumbled at the start, losing half a beat. Was it deliberate?

Hirata got off to a steady start and held his place in the middle of the pack. At fifty meters, Class A led, Class B was second, Class D third, and Class C last.

At one hundred meters, Hirata had caught up to second place.

At the handoff zone, Hirata passed the baton cleanly to Horikita. Class D was now in second, close on Class A's heels.

Horikita's running form was textbook, but her speed wasn't exceptional. Class A gradually pulled ahead, while Class B caught up and ran neck and neck with Class D.

At the end of the second leg, Class A was first. Class B and Class D made their handoffs almost simultaneously, while Class C remained last.

Hondo ran the third leg. He was built for endurance, but his speed was average, and Class D fell to third.

Sudo took the fourth leg. As he received the baton, the whole stadium erupted in cheers—he was Class D's ace.

Sudo shot forward like an arrow. His explosive speed was incredible: he passed Class B within fifty meters and caught up to Class A by the hundred-meter mark.

"Sudo! Sudo! Sudo!"

Class D's cheers roared across the stadium.

Just as Sudo was about to finish the fourth leg and hand off to Yamauchi—

Something went wrong.

It wasn't Sudo. It was the lane beside him.

The Class C runner on the fourth leg—the big guy named Albert—suddenly "lost his balance" in the handoff zone. His enormous body, like a wall, crashed toward Sudo's lane.

"Watch out!"

Sudo reacted instantly, slowing down and changing direction to barely avoid a direct collision. But the interruption threw off his rhythm and cost him speed.

Worse, as Albert fell, his hand "accidentally" shot forward and grabbed Sudo's ankle.

"Ah!" Sudo lost his balance and hit the ground.

The whole stadium gasped.

The referee's whistle blew.

Sudo rolled twice, then immediately got back up. His right ankle was clearly sprained, and he limped as he ran.

Grimacing through the pain, he pressed on and passed the baton to Yamauchi.

Class D had fallen to last, and Sudo was injured.

"Medical team!" Hirata shouted.

Sudo was helped off the track. His right ankle was already swelling.

"Damn it..." Sudo's face was livid. "That bastard did it on purpose!"

"I know," Ayanokoji said calmly. "But the referee didn't call a foul. That means Albert acted convincingly."

He looked toward Class C's section. Ryuen Kakeru was clapping with a smile.

[Ping! Malicious action detected: Physical injury (Relay collision). Recorded.]

["Helmsman in the Storm" quest progress: 2/3]

The second malicious act.