In the next twenty minutes, the class discussed the list of participants for the upcoming Sports Festival.
"Even though I don't know how we'll handle everyone participating, I want to compete in all the recommended events! That way, we'll win for sure!"
Sudou Ken's face was filled with eager excitement as he loudly declared.
For Sudou Ken, the Sports Festival was practically heaven.
'Sudou perfectly embodies the phrase "simple-minded but physically gifted." For him, the Sports Festival is a great stage to shine.'
Saiki slightly turned his head to look at Sudou Ken.
'I really hope Sudou participates in all the individual events. That way, the rest of us can just focus on the team events.'
Sudou Ken's physical abilities were among the best in the entire grade. If he participated in all the events, he could definitely achieve some decent results.
After Sudou Ken spoke, the attitudes of the other students in the class varied.
[If Sudou competes, we won't have to do much, right?]
[Wait, why should he get to participate in all the events? The top placements come with point and score rewards!]
[How can we let Sudou hog all the benefits!]
Some people strongly agreed with Sudou Ken's proposal. If he participated in all the events, their class could achieve excellent results, and students with weaker athletic abilities could avoid the risk of losing points.
However, many others opposed the idea. For them, this was also an opportunity to earn points or scores. For students with poorer performance, Sudou Ken's proposal essentially robbed them of their chance.
"This method is feasible. Your athletic abilities far surpass everyone else in the class, so there's no harm in you participating in all the individual events. It's also within the rules for one person to compete in multiple events."
Horikita Suzune nodded in agreement. For the sake of the class's overall performance, Sudou Ken's proposal was undoubtedly correct.
"But we also want a chance! After all, placing in the top three means earning points!"
Ike Kanji, standing nearby, voiced his dissatisfaction. The once close-knit friends now had a slight rift between them.
"Doing that would lower the class's chances of winning."
"Well, that may be true... but we still want more opportunities..."
"You're not cut out for it, Kanji."
Sudou Ken mercilessly dismissed Ike Kanji's concerns.
"I was considering your idea of participating in all the events, but we can't just let you do that without any oversight."
Horikita Suzune, who had initially agreed with Sudou Ken's proposal, now voiced her opposition.
"Why?"
Sudou Ken's face was filled with confusion. He didn't understand why Horikita Suzune was opposing him.
"Because stamina is limited. Continuously participating in various events will inevitably drain your energy, making it difficult to maintain a winning streak."
"Even so, it's better than leaving it to the athletic idiots! Even if I'm tired, I'll still contribute more than those guys."
As Sudou Ken spoke, he cast a disdainful glance at the other boys in the class.
Including Saiki.
'Yare yare, I've been lumped into the "athletic idiot" category.'
Saiki wasn't surprised by this. In fact, he considered it a good thing. Being seen as an athletic idiot might help him avoid participating in too many events.
Ike Kanji and the others felt annoyed by Sudou Ken's words, but they couldn't immediately refute him. Horikita Suzune, on the other hand, felt that the class couldn't reach a consensus on the matter, so she decided to stop engaging in the argument.
...
During the second period, the entire class headed to the gymnasium, where students from all three grades would meet for the first time.
The gymnasium was spacious, but the sea of people made Saiki feel like he was in a noisy marketplace.
However, Saiki could still faintly hear the thoughts of a few people nearby.
[Brother... is my brother here?]
[At the Sports Festival, I'll show everyone what I'm made of.]
[I don't want to participate... I don't want to participate...]
Just then, a boy walked to the center of the stage and spoke in a loud, clear voice:
"I'm Fujimaki from Class 3-A, the overall commander of the Red Team."
"First, a piece of advice for the first-year students. Some of you might think this is unnecessary, but remember this: the Sports Festival is very important. The experience you gain here will definitely be useful elsewhere. Many of the upcoming exams might seem like games, but each one will be a crucial battle for survival in this school."
"Right now, you might not feel it, and you might not have much motivation—but since you're participating, you must aim to win. Remember this feeling, and make it a shared goal for everyone."
Fujimaki delivered a motivational speech, though it wasn't particularly inspiring.
'A high school where survival is at stake? Really?'
Saiki shook his head.
"The only event that involves all students is the final 1200-meter relay. Everything else is divided by grade. From now on, students from the same grade in the same team should gather and start discussing their plans."
After Fujimaki finished speaking, the students from Class A of the first year immediately approached Class B.
Katsuragi Kohei and Hirata Yosuke briefly exchanged words, confirming their cooperation.
Class A and Class B were, at least on the surface, the top two classes in the school in terms of points. However, this was based on previous written exams and special exams, and it had no direct connection to the upcoming Sports Festival results.
Most importantly, the point gap between Class A and Class B was shrinking. In a way, the two classes were also competitors.
Cooperation was also an opportunity to gather information about each other.
Meanwhile, Ryuen Kakeru led Class D out of the gymnasium without any intention of cooperating with Ichinose Honami's Class C.
Even so, Ryuen Kakeru wore a confident smile, as if victory was already in his grasp.
[The key to this Sports Festival isn't the events themselves, but the arrangement of participants.]
Saiki faintly heard Ryuen Kakeru's thoughts.
After Ryuen Kakeru left, Katsuragi Kohei shook his head and pointed to the side:
"This is Sakayanagi Arisu. Due to her physical condition, she can only sit in a wheelchair. Please understand."
'So that's Sakayanagi Arisu?'
Saiki turned to look at her. Whether it was through rumors or Ryuen Kakeru's thoughts, Sakayanagi Arisu was someone they were all very curious about.
Class A was divided into two factions, with Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei leading each faction.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat in her wheelchair, wearing a hat with silver-white hair cascading down. Her doll-like face and petite figure made her look adorable.
[So cute!]
The moment they saw Sakayanagi Arisu, almost everyone's thoughts aligned.
This made the few discordant thoughts stand out even more.
Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew that the girl who looked like a doll had a personality that was completely different from her appearance.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to contribute as a competitor. In all events, I'll have to forfeit, which will likely cause trouble for both classes. For that, I apologize in advance."
Sakayanagi Arisu immediately apologized to everyone present.
"No, it's fine!"
"The school is so heartless. They know some people have mobility issues, yet they don't make any exceptions."
"Don't worry about it!"
No one in the room blamed Sakayanagi Arisu.
Even Sudou Ken, who had earlier thought that those who were bad at sports would drag the class down, now wore a smile and comforted her.
'Yare yare, is being cute a free pass to do whatever you want?'
Saiki sighed inwardly. If he or anyone else tried to use a similar excuse to skip the Sports Festival, even if they apologized sincerely, they would undoubtedly face criticism.
Saiki also noticed that the Class A students were divided into two groups. One group stood behind Katsuragi Kohei, while the other stood near Sakayanagi Arisu.
However, the number of people near Sakayanagi Arisu far exceeded those near Katsuragi Kohei.
The balance within Class A had already been completely disrupted.
Nearby, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune seemed to be discussing something, but Saiki didn't pay much attention. His only thought was when he could leave this place.
...
After forty minutes of discussion, the afternoon classes ended, and everyone left the gymnasium to make their own arrangements.
Just as Saiki was about to head to the café, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stopped him.
"Saiki, can we talk for a bit?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression remained unchanged.
"Sorry, I have something to take care of."
Saiki immediately replied.
'It's the first day of school, and there's a limited-edition pudding available. I'm sure a lot of students will be rushing to buy it.'
"Are you planning to go to the café to buy the new pudding? If so, I've already asked a classmate to get it for you."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied.
[Saiki seems to place a lot of importance on sweets. It might be a deliberate persona, but for now, it can serve as a reason to further our interaction. When Class D left earlier, I had Manabe 'help' buy it and placed it somewhere in the school. To avoid drawing attention, I asked Yamauchi to retrieve it.]
'Having Manabe help... does that mean using the recording to threaten her? Threatening Manabe to buy pudding... and then having Yamauchi retrieve it?'
Saiki couldn't help but purse his lips, feeling a bit sorry for their fates. However, since Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had helped him get the limited-edition pudding, it was a good deed in a way.
"Alright."
"Saiki, who do you think the traitor in our class is?"
"Kushida."
Saiki instinctively said the name.
[As expected, Saiki has already figured out that there's a traitor in the class. He might have realized it even earlier than I did.]
'Yare yare, I completely forgot about that.'
Saiki then remembered that he had never told anyone about the traitor in the class.
However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knowing about it didn't have much of an impact.
"Is it because of the results of the Privileged Student exam?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked.
"Yeah."
Saiki nodded.
'Actually, I knew about it last semester.'
"This Sports Festival isn't just about physical ability. The most important thing is the allocation of participants."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued.
"If we can figure out the other classes' participant arrangements, we'll have a huge advantage in this Sports Festival."
"That's true."
"At the end of the last exam, Ryuen said he would target our class in the next exam. He's probably planning something for this Sports Festival. The fact that he left the meeting early is likely because he's already made his preparations."
As Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke, he glanced toward the door.
"But Horikita doesn't seem to have noticed this at all. Her perspective is too narrow. Although she's grown compared to before, she's still far from being ready to reach Class A. I'm sure you think the same, Saiki. As a tool, she's not quite useful yet."
'Your misunderstanding of me is getting deeper and deeper...'
Saiki thought to himself, but he responded without showing any emotion.
"Yeah..."
"I want Horikita to grow. She needs to face setbacks to realize her shortcomings. So, I have some ideas, and I hope you can cooperate with me."
"Cooperate?"
"I want to borrow your Karuizawa. During the class meeting..."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka then explained his plan.
[Karuizawa should be completely obedient to Saiki now.]
'Hey, hey, what do you mean by "my Karuizawa"?'
Saiki's eyebrow twitched, but he shook his head.
"What you want to do has nothing to do with me. But if you want Karuizawa to do something, you can go talk to her yourself. There's no need to involve me."
Saiki didn't want to get dragged into more trouble, and he also felt that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's plan was far from reliable.
"Is that so?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed a bit surprised by Saiki's response. His mind quickly raced as he tried to figure out why Saiki had answered this way.
[Did Saiki reject my plan?]
[Is there a flaw in my plan?]
[Or does Saiki have a better idea?]