Fitness Test

Afternoon.

The sun had heated the track until it was slightly scorching, giving off a strange smell of baked rubber.

"Damn, having PE in this weather is torture."

"Exactly. It feels like it's at least forty degrees."

"The school could be a little more humane. They could adjust class times when it's this hot."

The boys of Class 1-D were listless, gathering in small groups to chat idly.

The PE teacher stood at the front of the formation with an electronic recorder in hand and cleared his throat.

"Stand properly. Today, we'll be conducting a year-wide physical fitness test."

"Today's events are the fifty-meter sprint and standing long jump. Let me remind you that every result recorded today will be entered directly into your official school files. These records will follow you for three years, so I hope everyone takes them seriously."

The boys responded, though clearly no one took the words "entered into your files" seriously. At this free-spirited school, where no one stopped students from sleeping in class, a fitness test hardly seemed important.

Tatsuya Sakuya, however, had his own thoughts.

Records for three years—this was probably the school building a model of each student's overall capabilities. After all, this school believed in meritocracy, and physical ability was an important factor as well.

"The test will proceed in student-number order, two people per group. First group: Sudo Ken and Ike Kanji."

The PE teacher prepared to begin the day's testing according to procedure.

"Watch me!"

Sudo Ken swaggered over to the first lane.

He began loosening his wrists and neck, showing off his strong desire to perform. After all, athletics had always been his forte.

Ike Kanji, on the other hand, looked completely indifferent.

The instant the starting pistol fired, Sudo Ken stomped off the ground. His body shot forward like a beast unleashed from its restraints, and the fifty-meter distance vanished beneath his feet in an instant.

"Six point one four seconds."

The PE teacher glanced at the timer and nodded approvingly.

"Not bad. An excellent result."

"Six point one four seconds? That's terrifying!"

Yamauchi Haruki let out a strange howl from the finish line.

At the finish line, Sudo Ken stood with his hands on his hips and his chin raised.

He was enjoying the amazement and attention of all the boys in class, unable to hide the smugness on his face.

Next up was Kouenji Rokusuke. He was not even wearing standard running shoes; he merely adjusted his bangs elegantly.

After the starting pistol sounded, he ran the entire course with ease. Six point three zero seconds. Afterward, he did not even spare his result a second glance, merely saying, "What a barbaric game, utterly devoid of beauty."

The formation continued to advance, and it was soon the back rows' turn.

While the other students were discussing who could possibly rival Kouenji and Sudo Ken, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, standing not far in front of Tatsuya Sakuya, asked Sudo Ken a question.

"Sudo, can I ask you something?"

Sudo Ken was still wiping away sweat, in an excellent mood. "Yeah? What is it, Ayanokouji?"

"For an average male college student, how many seconds does it usually take to run fifty meters?"

Ayanokouji asked.

Based on his own understanding, Sudo Ken casually answered, "For an average person, around seven seconds. If you can break seven seconds, you're doing pretty well among ordinary people."

"I see. Got it."

Ayanokouji nodded.

The field was bustling with noise. Some students who had earned good results were loudly boasting about their times nearby, and no one noticed this perfectly ordinary conversation.

Tatsuya Sakuya fell into thought.

Asking about the benchmark for ordinary people?

Here, neither mediocrity nor excellence was particularly rare. Ayanokouji, were you about to start controlling your scores?

"Next group: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Tatsuya Sakuya!"

The PE teacher's voice rang out.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka walked toward the third lane, while Tatsuya Sakuya headed for the fourth.

The two crouched before the starting line.

"On your marks!"

Bang!

The instant the pistol fired, Tatsuya Sakuya completed the transfer of explosive power in a fraction of a second, his body stretching out like a cheetah.

But after the first ten meters, he reined in the force of his core muscles, keeping his stride frequency and breathing within an appropriate range.

Ayanokouji's movements were equally flawless and standard. He moved mechanically, as though following textbook instructions to the letter.

The two crossed the finish line one after the other.

"Tatsuya Sakuya, six point four five!"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, six point seven one!"

The PE teacher announced the results.

Six point seven one.

Ayanokouji had controlled his score to a level slightly above average, enough that it would not draw anyone's attention.

Tatsuya Sakuya picked up a towel to wipe his sweat and turned his gaze toward Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji was breathing steadily, pretending to have gone all out in the fifty-meter sprint.

The testing continued until four in the afternoon. Besides the fifty-meter sprint, they also tested the standing long jump.

At nine that evening, in the Lovingly United Class 1-D group chat.

The formerly quiet group chat was suddenly thrown into an uproar by more than a dozen messages from Ike Kanji.

Ike Kanji: [@Everyone, the first day of fitness testing is over! Sudo was insanely cool in the fifty-meter sprint today, wasn't he!]

Yamauchi Haruki: [Definitely. Sudo is absolutely a top contender for the overall fitness-test champion in our class.]

Ike Kanji: [Hehe, just watching is boring. Want to make things interesting? Yamauchi and I are taking bets—guess who'll be Class 1-D's overall champion.]

Yamauchi Haruki: [Minimum bet is one thousand points. Come on, come on, no changes after you place your bet.]

Sudo Ken: [Hahaha, Ike, Yamauchi, you two really get it. I'm betting five thousand points on myself taking first place.]

Classmate A: [I'm betting three thousand points on Sudo!]

Classmate B: [Kouenji looks pretty strong too. I'm putting two thousand points on Kouenji.]

Messages flooded the group chat. The boys followed suit, placing bets and egging each other on, while even quite a few girls sent popcorn-eating stickers.

Just as everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Ike Kanji suddenly tagged Ayanokouji in the group.

Ike Kanji: [@Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Ayanokouji, you're the only boy in class who hasn't joined in yet. If you're a brother from Class 1-D, come participate.]

In his dorm room, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka looked at his phone screen and frowned.

In this festive atmosphere where nearly everyone had placed a bet, would refusing to bet make him stand out too much? Besides, it was only a few thousand points.

After thinking for several minutes, Ayanokouji typed a line in the group chat.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: [Then I'll bet one thousand points on Sudo.]

He chose to go with the flow and hide among the crowd. No matter what the final result was, it would not affect him much.

Tatsuya Sakuya suddenly sent an unusually distinctive betting message to the group.

Tatsuya Sakuya: [I'll bet five thousand points that my overall fitness-test score will be higher than Ayanokouji's.]

The moment this message appeared, the rapidly scrolling group chat paused briefly.

Then, Ike Kanji sent a string of question marks.

Ike Kanji: [???]

Yamauchi Haruki: [Sakuya, what are you doing? The betting pool is only for individual champions. There's no head-to-head bet between two people.]

Ike Kanji: [Exactly. And why did you specifically choose Ayanokouji for a bet?]

Tatsuya Sakuya casually typed out an explanation in the group chat.

Tatsuya Sakuya: [I noticed my scores and Ayanokouji's are pretty similar. I'm really curious whether our overall scores will be similar too. I'll give the bookmaker ten percent afterward, okay?]

Yamauchi Haruki: [Fine, fine, then this bookmaker will take it. But it only counts if the person involved agrees! @Ayanokouji Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, someone's handing you five thousand points. Are you taking it?]

The entire class thought this was merely a joke Tatsuya Sakuya had casually made. The group chat filled with teasing and spectatorship stickers.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka held his phone and sank into thought.

If he refused the challenge, with so many people watching, he would become the center of attention. Then every move he made afterward would be scrutinized under a magnifying glass.

But if he accepted the bet, it meant he had to choose between continuing to hide his abilities and winning five thousand points.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka typed two words into the chat box and pressed send.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: [I accept.]

In the girls' dormitory, Horikita Suzune glanced at the messages in the group chat on her phone.

"Childish."

In her eyes, this was nothing more than a pointless waste of points.

At that moment, on the balcony of Room 217.

Sakuya Siba watched as Ayanokouji chose to enter the game.

"Those five thousand points are mine."