Mari Watanabe stared blankly at the two of them. Not knowing about the little incident before the match, she clearly couldn't understand their current actions.
Yunyi caught Mayumi Saegusa's wildly flailing little fists and subdued her under Mari Watanabe's watchful gaze.
Seeing Mayumi Saegusa, held tightly in Yunyi's arms, Mari Watanabe slapped her forehead. What had gotten into her? Why had she come here to watch these two being lovey-dovey?
"Um, it's my turn to go on stage next."
Just then, a somewhat timid voice reached the ears of the three.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Mayumi Saegusa Yunyi's embrace and hid behind him to block the newcomer's view.
Mari Watanabe waved her hand helplessly and said, "You don't need to pay attention to these two idiots, just go over there."
"Uh, okay."
This contestant is from the Third High School. She had faced off against Mayumi Saegusa in the competition last year and was very familiar with her strength. Originally, she felt some pressure competing after her opponent, but after witnessing what had just happened before the match, her fear of Mayumi Saegusa lessened considerably.
"So even the eldest daughter of the Saegusa Family has that side to her," the contestant thought to himself.
From the preliminaries to the quarterfinals and Mayumi Saegusa advanced all the way to the finals, maintaining a "PERFECT" record without missing a single shot.
This terrifying level of accuracy put immense pressure on all the participants in the Speed Shooting competition.
During a rare break before the finals, Mayumi Saegusa sat with Yunyi in the preparation area. She leaned on Yunyi's shoulder, her expression somewhat dejected.
"Hey, Mayumi, it's fine if you tell me what you just said. But please don't say it in front of your opponent! Otherwise, you'll make them cry," Yunyi kindly advised.
"Hmph, of course I know all that," Mayumi Saegusa said sullenly. "I originally thought it would be easy to achieve. But now it seems it's still a bit difficult."
The two were discussing the bet that Yunyi had made with Mayumi Saegusa.
Since the quarterfinals, the Speed Shooting competition has changed to a competitive format. Two sets of target throwers will launch the same number of two different colored targets into the air at the same time. The contestants need to shoot down their own colored targets, while also being able to hinder their opponents from shooting down their own targets to some extent.
Mayumi Saegusa tried to complete the competition according to Yunyi's requirements. Unfortunately, she tried twice, and her best score so far was 100:27, which was two points short of winning the bet.
The two targets seemed simple, but actually completing them in the final match was quite difficult. Failing to achieve the targets meant losing Yunyi's bet, which is why Mayumi Saegusa seemed somewhat disappointed.
"Okay, I promise you, if you win the championship, I'll grant you one request, okay?"
Seeing Mayumi Saegusa's current state, Yunyi still tried to comfort her. But instead of helping, his words only fueled her fighting spirit!
"Hmph! I don't need it! So what if it's faster! I'll show you!" Mayumi Saegusa said angrily.
After saying that, without waiting for Yunyi to say anything more, she picked up the CAD software that was placed aside and walked towards the competition venue.
Yunyi followed behind her until they reached the end of the contestant tunnel before stopping. Looking at the spirited young woman in front of him, Yunyi gently hugged her.
"Go for it! We'll be waiting for your triumphant return."
Mayumi Saegusa stepped onto the competition platform, smiled at the Third High School contestants standing to the side, and then got into position to wait for the competition to begin.
As the signal lights changed, the competition officially began. The target throwers started operating, and the first wave of six targets—three white and three red—flew into the aerial target area.
"Bang~"
A crisp Rupture sound rang out as the three red targets that Mayumi Saegusa needed to break exploded almost simultaneously. This scene caused many people watching the match in the stands to pause in surprise for a moment.
Even Tatsuya Shiba, who was watching the match with Miyuki Shiba and the others, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he witnessed what had just happened. At first, he was only surprised for a moment, but as the match continued, his surprise grew. In the end, he even activated his "eye" to observe Mayumi Saegusa's match.
"So fast, even faster than the semi-finals just now! Was the president hiding her strength earlier?" Miyuki Shiba asked, somewhat uncertainly.
"No, something feels off." Shizuku Kitayama gently objected to Miyuki Shiba. She felt that Mayumi Saegusa on the competition stage seemed different from when she was in the semifinals.
"The activation of magic is now much smoother."
Having stopped using his "eye," Tatsuya Shiba responded to his younger sister's question, but he was still speculating as to why the magic was being activated more smoothly.
Hearing her brother's words, Miyuki Shiba looked around. Her actions puzzled Tatsuya Shiba, and just as he was about to ask, Miyuki Shiba spoke first, " Yunyi hasn't come back since he left with the student council president, right?"
"Yes," Shizuku Kitayama replied.
"She's probably with the student council president, right?" Honoka Mitsui chimed in.
"So it seems the president's condition has improved even more than before. Is it related to that guy?" Erika Chiba asked.
"I think that's the case. It seems the president really likes Yunyi." Miyuki Shiba said with certainty.
"What are you talking about?" Tatsuya Shiba was completely bewildered; he had no idea what the four girls were saying.
"A wooden man wouldn't understand." Shizuku Kitayama stabbed Tatsuya Shiba straight in the lungs.
"That's right, brother really doesn't understand," Miyuki Shiba added.
Erika Chiba and Honoka Mitsui exchanged a glance, then silently avoided the question.
"It's beautiful."
At that moment, Mizuki Shibata's voice reached everyone's ears. She had taken off her glasses at some point, looked at Mayumi Saegusa on the field, and couldn't help but praise her.
Whether her words were a compliment to Mayumi Saegusa or to her magic, only she herself knew.
"Thump!"
A long blast signaled the end of the competition, and the big screen once again displayed a "PERFECT" score. The winner of this score was, of course, Mayumi Saegusa. However, Mayumi Saegusa was not interested in her own score at this moment. She looked at the big screen on the opponent's side, and when she saw the number on it, Mayumi Saegusa immediately jumped off the competition platform and excitedly ran towards the contestant's tunnel.