Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 176: You Lost from the Start!

Ryuuen glanced at Shiina but didn’t linger and quickly left.

The girls’ events had already ended, and next up were the group competitions.

And this was his main stage!

The strategy for Class D this time was twofold:

1. Frame Horikita and extract points from her.

2. Take down Sudo and destroy Class B’s plan to score points!

Without Sudo, Class B might end up in last place.

If that happened, they would lose 200 points from the Red vs. White competition and another 200 points for ranking last in the grade.

That would drop Hikigaya’s Class B from 1,091 points to 691 points.

A straight downfall!

Ryuuen had assigned someone to observe Hikigaya Hachiman and found that his physical ability was just above average.

In other words, he wasn’t on the level of a “cheat player.”

So, all he could do in this sports festival was sit back and watch others dominate.

Then he should watch carefully—watch how his class rises to the top, Hikigaya.

At that moment, Ryuuen was brimming with confidence.

.

.

.

After the first-year individual events ended, the first group competition was the Pole Toppling Match.

This was a boys-only event, a Red vs. White team battle.

Class A and Class D formed one team, while Class B and Class C formed the other.

The rules were simple:

Each team had to protect their own flagpole while trying to knock down the opposing team’s flagpole.

There were no restrictions.

Of course, blatant violence wasn’t allowed.

But as long as no one saw it, anything went.

“Let’s discuss our strategy,” said Kanzaki, stepping forward with the Class C students. He spoke calmly, “Our Class C will handle defense, while your team focuses on offense. How about that?”

“Sounds good.”

Hirata nodded lightly, having no objections.

The Pole Toppling Match couldn’t be practiced in advance, so there was no teamwork to rely on.

Although both teams were cooperating, if they all focused on offense or defense together, it could become chaotic.

So, splitting roles seemed like the best approach.

Since Kanzaki and Class C chose to defend, the Class B boys had to take charge of the attack.

Hirata glanced at Hikigaya, who nodded and walked over to Sudo, as if to discuss tactics.

To be honest, this was Hikigaya’s first time participating in a Pole Toppling Match.

But even though he had never “eaten pork,” he had at least “seen pigs run.” After roughly understanding the rules, he was fine going with the flow.

However—

He needed to prepare.

Kushida had already informed him of Ryuuen’s plan against Horikita, but she hadn’t said anything about Ryuuen’s plan against Sudo.

The Pole Toppling Match would take place on a sandy field, meaning dust would fly everywhere.

Moreover—

While the school had cameras, they were only installed near the finish line.

There were no cameras at the Pole Toppling Match area.

Clearly, this was a perfect playground for rule-breakers.

So, for safety reasons, Hikigaya made some preparations.

He handed a recording pen to Sudo.

“Sudo, take this pen for me. I’m worried I might fall and break it,” Hikigaya said.

“Tch, what a hassle,” Sudo muttered. But he didn’t refuse and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

Meanwhile, the Red Team was also finalizing their strategy.

Class A’s students surrounded their flagpole, while Class D focused on attacking.

“Alright!”

Sudo clenched his fists and confidently declared, “Everyone, let’s do our best! This time, we’re definitely gonna win!”

He had no talent for academics, but when it came to sports, he was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone!

“Yeah!!”

The Class B boys cheered in response.

But—

Their energy seemed weak, scattered, and even made some Class C students almost burst out laughing.

“Wait, someone’s missing.”

Hirata frowned.

With Koenji forfeiting, Class B had only 19 boys in total.

But there were only 17 present.

“Isn’t it normal for Koenji to be missing?”

“That selfish guy not being here is actually a good thing.”

“Yeah!”

Koenji’s behavior had obviously frustrated the Class B students, but he didn’t seem to care.

However—

Since Hikigaya had accepted Koenji’s money and put it to good use, he said:

“Hey, if this keeps up, Koenji will end up in last place and get a 10-point deduction in all subjects.”

Oh!

Some of the students who were angry a moment ago suddenly felt relieved.

Since Koenji forfeited, he would be considered one of the last-place students.

In the school’s rules, the bottom 10 students would each receive a 10-point deduction in all subjects.

And since Koenji was a top student, a 10-point deduction meant nothing to him.

However—

There were still nine more spots for the bottom 10 students.

For Everyone’s Benefit

“But, Yamauchi still hasn’t arrived.”

At this point, Sudo Ken voiced his dissatisfaction, “Where did that guy go? Is he going to forfeit too?”

Having just been shut down by Koenji, Sudo was in a bad mood.

“Sorry, sorry. I went to the bathroom for a bit.” Yamauchi arrived late.

“Yamauchi, you’re so slow! We had almost 20 minutes of rest time earlier, so why did you just go now?”

“Well…”

“Alright.” Hirata intervened to smooth things over, and everyone got into position.

“Shh!”

With the sound of the whistle, the students from Class B and Class D charged at the same time toward the enemy flagpole.

Students from Class C and Class A guarded their respective flagpoles, surrounding them with their bodies to defend against the opposing side’s attacks.

Katsuragi from the Red Team was a rather composed individual, so he calmly directed all Class A students to stay at the flagpole.

It was a more stable approach.

However, Class C was different.

Under the leadership of Kanzaki Ryuji, they split their forces, sending half of their team to actively intercept Class D’s attackers!

“We don’t need this many people,” Kanzaki said with a serious expression. “Ten people are enough. Too many will just interfere with each other. We only need to keep them outside!”

The flagpole itself wasn’t that big.

Five or six people could form a circle around it.

With twenty people, it could easily form three circles.

But doing that would mean that most of the people wouldn’t be contributing much.

On the other hand, the attacking team didn’t have such worries.

They could attack from any direction.

So, although Kanzaki’s team was defending, they also provided support.

“Ah!”

Sudo took the lead, his speed incredibly fast. He quickly pulled ahead of his teammates, shouting as he dashed toward Class A’s defense line.

Then…

He was surrounded by Class D students.

“What are you doing?!”

Sudo angrily questioned.

These people had no sense of rules!

Since Ryuuen’s team was supposed to be the attackers, weren’t these Class D students supposed to be attacking Class C’s defense line instead?

“Sudo Ken.”

Ryuuen Shou glanced at Sudo and gave a silent signal to a nearby student.

Then…

“Whoosh!”

A Class D student suddenly threw a handful of sand he had secretly picked up into Sudo’s face, forcing him to scream and close his eyes, his hands instinctively covering his eyes.

In the next moment, Class D students acted like they hadn’t noticed him at all.

They pushed him to the ground and began punching and kicking him.

To the outside observer, it appeared like an accidental trampling.

“Let’s go.”

The whole event took less than half a minute. When the other Class B boys arrived, Ryuuen signaled and led the Class D students toward Class C’s side.

“Ah! Bastards!”

Sudo curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach, spitting out dirt and sand, his heart filled with anger.

It was always like this.

Every time, it was the same.

Class D’s sneaky guys always resorted to these kinds of tricks!

“Sudo, are you okay?”

Hirata rushed over to him, asking with concern.

“Bastards, even like this!”

Sudo struggled to stand up, his gaze fixed on the distant flagpole. “Even like this, I will win!”

Sudo shouted angrily, getting back on his feet and quickly running toward Class A’s camp.

His eyes were fixed solely on the flag. If he could just knock it over,

They would win!

Those sneaky Class D guys were only attacking him because they were afraid of his strength, right?

So as long as he could win—

“Get out of my way!”

Sudo roared, pushing back his Class B and C teammates who were too close.

Then he charged directly toward the flagpole defended by Katsuragi and the others.

Faced with Sudo’s reckless determination, Katsuragi and the others exchanged serious looks.

Sudo Ken, who had become a regular member of the basketball team just a week after entering school, was terrifyingly strong in sports, making him a formidable opponent.

“Shh!”

But at that moment, the whistle blew again.

Sudo had just reached Class A’s defense line.

Clearly, he hadn’t won yet.

But the match had already ended.

Turning around, the White Team’s flagpole had already been knocked over by Class D.

Including Hirata and Kanzaki, the students from Class B and C wore unsightly expressions.

Sudo Ken was undoubtedly a monster.

But Class D’s Albert was no slouch either.

In fact, in terms of strength, Albert could probably take on three Sudo Kens!

Just a moment ago, Albert had broken through Class C’s defense line as easily as tossing a baby chick.

They hadn’t even been able to resist!

Class D won the first round of the Pole Toppling Match.

Luckily, this match was a best-of-three.

So they still had a chance.

“Damn, if you guys had kept up with me earlier…”

Sudo muttered bitterly while propping up the flagpole that had been knocked over.

“It’s because you charged too fast!”

“We couldn’t keep up at all! What was I supposed to do?”

“And when we finally got there, you told us to get out of the way…”

“You guys…”

Sudo was so angry he couldn’t even speak.

Although he had indeed charged ahead too quickly and the others from Class B couldn’t catch up in speed,

It was also true that the others from Class B had backed off.

When Sudo was surrounded by Class D, many students from Class B instinctively stopped in their tracks.

Even though Hirata was urging them to help, it had no effect.

There’s a saying: “A wolf leading a pack of sheep can defeat a sheep leading a pack of wolves.”

Class D was undoubtedly led by wolves.

As for Class B, they weren’t led by wolves, nor by sheep.

They were completely leaderless.

Class B was just barely holding together.

So, they were especially easy to waver.

And once people waver, once they hesitate, they will lose.

“My hand is all scraped up… it hurts so much.”

“…”

Sudo had completely run out of words.

He wasn’t trying to offend anyone by cursing them; he just wanted to motivate them.

But facing useless people, he couldn’t even bring himself to shout.

“Sorry.” Kanzaki and the others appeared somewhat apologetic. “We didn’t expect Albert to be so strong, so we didn’t leave enough people to defend the base.”

“It’s too late to say anything now,” Sudo said, clearly displeased.

“Shh!”

“Both teams, switch sides!”

At that moment, the referee blew the whistle, raising his right hand and loudly announcing.

So the members of the Red Team and White Team each carried their flagpoles toward the opposite field.

“This time, you guys can be the main attackers,” Hirata said, taking a deep breath as he spoke to Kanzaki.

Class B wasn’t united.

Hirata knew this. He knew it was a problem, but he hadn’t thought about changing it.

Because he was Hirata, the representative of “everyone.”

If it were like Class D, it would almost feel like he was oppressing the others.

So he couldn’t accept that and could only maintain the status quo.

But a Class B like this, they wouldn’t win.

“Alright.”

Kanzaki Ryuji nodded lightly, saying nothing further.

In reality, Class C had to take a big portion of the blame for the loss earlier.

If they hadn’t split their team, it might have been possible to keep Albert out.

After all, Class C had 20 boys.

Albert could take on five or six people at once, but he couldn’t take on twenty.

“Ryuen.”

Katsuragi looked at Ryuen Kakeru with a calm gaze, “This time, it’s our turn to attack, right?”

“Sure. We’re all tired from before, so we’ll stay to defend the base,” Ryuen replied.

There was no problem with that.

Although Ryuen had seen the scene where he and his group surrounded Sudo earlier, as part of the same team, he couldn’t say much about it.

And Albert had indeed quickly secured a victory.

On the other hand, in Class C, Hachiman stayed by the flagpole of the White Team.

He quickly pulled out some pre-prepared tape from his pocket and quickly stuck a recorder to the pole.

After finishing this, he withdrew his hand.

At that moment—

“Shh!”

The whistle blew again, signaling the start of the second round.

However, the students from Class A, who were prepared to attack, were dumbfounded when they saw that all the students from Class D had left and completely abandoned the task of defending the flagpole.

“Ryuen, what are you doing?!”

The students from Class A finally reacted, shouting loudly.

Two students from Class A rushed over to prop up the flagpole, which was about to collapse without support.

“I promised you could attack together, but I didn’t say we had to defend!”

Ryuen laughed as he led the Class D students past Class C, charging straight toward Class B, who were guarding the flagpole.

“How dare you!”

The students from Class A became somewhat angry, but they restrained themselves because they didn’t want to lose the game.

They could only stay in place and guard the flag.

“Albert, take them out!”

Ryuen had a mischievous grin on his face as he made a throat-cutting gesture, looking at Class B with strong contempt.

“How dare you! You’re just Class D!”

“Who do you think you are!”

“Take them out!”

The students from Class B were instantly enraged, and they acted like they had been given a shot of adrenaline after previously hesitating in the first match.

Ignoring Hirata’s loud pleas, they each rushed forward.

“Teammates, you can’t carry us!”

Sudo was seething inside. Even someone as fond of violence as he was held himself back because he knew his role.

His job was to guard the flag.

But these guys… they were completely incapable of leading!

“Heh…”

Ryuen watched the scene with a sly smile on his face, clearly pleased with how things were unfolding.

The members of Class D, seeing Class B’s reaction just as Ryuen had predicted, also couldn’t help but smile.

Then—

“Whoosh!”

“Ah! Why is the wind and sand so strong? I can’t see!”

The students from Class D seemed to have prepared for this, each kicking up sand with their feet, instantly turning the field into a storm of dust. The students from Class B rushing forward had to close their eyes to avoid getting hurt.

But with their eyes closed, they couldn’t defend themselves.

They were easily picked off one by one by the students from Class D.

“Bang!”

One by one, the students from Class B were knocked to the ground, curled up in pain, unable to get back up.

It wasn’t because they were seriously injured, but because of their willpower.

But they didn’t contribute nothing.

At least they managed to slow Albert down for a while.

Even if only temporarily. Because the students from Class D had already reached the base that Sudo was guarding.

“Ah, who kicked me again! Ryuen, this is too much, it’s a foul!”

Sudo gritted his teeth, holding onto the flagpole, but couldn’t help but scream.

There were very few Class B students left around him.

It was already hard to protect the flag, let alone protect Sudo.

So once again, Sudo was angrily attacked by the students from Class D during the confusion.

It wasn’t accidental; it was premeditated.

This might be Class D’s strategy—to beat Sudo as much as possible, not just for this game of flag toppling.

Because their real goal was to injure Sudo as much as they could!

How many points could they score from this Red-White flag toppling match?

Ryuen’s goal was never just one win or one loss.

His goal was the ultimate victory!

As long as they could defeat Sudo here and injure him,

Then with Kōgenji not competing, and Class B losing Sudo, how could they possibly win?

“Heh.”

Ryuen coldly watched the struggling Class B students. These guys were so naive.

There was no need for any tactics like the “Tian Ji’s horse racing.”

All they had to do was take out the strongest member of the enemy team, and no matter what, they would never lose!

“So what if I fouled? What are you going to do about it?” Ryuen walked up to Sudo, crouching down in front of him.

Sudo was still desperately holding onto the flagpole.

“Hand it over!”

At Ryuen’s command, Ishizaki Daichi immediately approached Sudo and reached into his pocket.

“What are you doing?!” Sudo immediately shouted.

But this wasn’t the first time he had faced Ryuen. Being restrained by Ryuen’s people was not new to him either. He was just putting up a tough front.

So Ishizaki quickly found something in Sudo’s pants pocket.

It was a voice recorder.

“That’s not mine… Ryuen, you…” Sudo also noticed this.

But when he looked toward the direction of Hikigaya, he realized that Hikigaya had already been surrounded by four of Ryuen’s students, who had been specifically tasked with keeping him away. He couldn’t get over there.

“Heh…” Ryuen sneered at this.

Then,

“Hikigaya’s defense strategy is just like this.” Ryuen took the recorder from Sudo’s pocket and snapped it in half with a “crack.”

“Now, let’s end this match!” With that, Ryuen pushed forward with his right hand, and the White Team’s flagpole immediately fell to the ground.

Without a doubt,

The flag-toppling match had been lost by the White Team.

Although the White Team couldn’t be said to have not tried,

The students from Class B had completely fallen into the rhythm set by Class D.

Especially under the leadership of some “bad teammates,” they threw their own strategy into disarray and lost the entire match.

Although Sudo felt incredibly frustrated,

A loss was still a loss.

“How dare they! We absolutely cannot lose again!”

Sudo, lying on the ground, slammed his fist hard into the ground, his face filled with anger and resentment.

The students of Class D had been ruthless, but also cunning.

They didn’t hit his face, nor the exposed skin.

Even if he disclosed it afterward,

Because the violence wasn’t witnessed, he couldn’t prove that he was unharmed initially.

So there was a possibility that he had intentionally hurt himself to frame Class D.

There was no way to accuse them!

He had already experienced something like this once before.

So he knew how Class D would likely respond.

What Ryuen had just destroyed was the pen Hikigaya had left on him—it wasn’t just any pen, but a voice recorder. The experience of him being bullied by Ryuen would have been recorded, but now the recorder was destroyed.

This meant that although he was beaten, he couldn’t get any revenge!

And Ryuen must have seen Hikigaya hand him the recorder, which was why he deliberately destroyed it.

How dare he!

“I absolutely cannot lose to someone like Ryuen!”

Sudo shouted loudly, clearly injured, but still having the possibility to fight back.

…

Ten minutes later.

The students from Class B and Class C were standing on the same side.

It was now a tug-of-war competition.

Once again, they were divided into red and white teams.

This was one of the few cooperative competitive events.

For Sudo, this was his best opportunity to redeem himself!

Tug-of-war was much more straightforward than flag-toppling, and it was a more pure test of the teams’ strength.

The thick hemp rope used for the tug-of-war was tied in the middle with a red ribbon, and placed on the ground with three white lines marked—two dashed and one solid—along the middle solid line.

The strategies for the tug-of-war were also completely different for the red and white teams.

Perhaps because the players in Class C hadn’t been utilized well in the flag-toppling competition, Class C’s Ryōji Kanzaki suggested a plan where the stronger, taller, and heavier people should be placed at the back.

Hirata gladly agreed.

However, the Red Team was different.

The stable Class A wanted to implement this strategy.

But the Red Team was not just Class A.

“How dare you, Ryuen! You bastard!”

“Not cooperating at all!”

The students of Class A were almost at their breaking point, their patience with Ryuen running thin.

This was because Class D had shown no intention of cooperating whatsoever. The positioning of their team members was completely random, and even Albert, the strongest member of Class D, was placed at the front!

Although it was indeed intimidating, the effectiveness of this strategy was incredibly low when it came to utilizing strength!

“We have no choice,”

Katsuragi Kohei sighed deeply. “Let’s continue for now.”

Although he had expected Ryuen would not cooperate, he couldn’t deny that there was a possibility Ryuen would simply abandon his team and run off with them.

“Shh!”

The whistle blew.

Immediately, all the members of the White Team lowered their bodies and set their weight low. This would make it harder for the opposing team to pull them.

Class C’s students, although also attempting the same thing, were, without a doubt, not getting any cooperation from Class B.

“Ha!”

Sudo seemed to unleash all his frustration from the previous flag-toppling match, shouting as he pulled on the rope to drag it back.

Then…

“Shh!”

The whistle blew again.

The White Team had won.

However, everyone was still in a daze.

Because they had only pulled once, and the rope had easily crossed the line.

The referee immediately blew the whistle.

And just like that, they won.

“Hah, Class D trash!”

Sudo finally burst into loud laughter, releasing all the frustration from being beaten earlier.

“Ryuen.”

On the Red Team’s side, Katsuragi spoke seriously, “We’re all part of the Red Team, after all. If we lose, it will be a loss for both sides. I hope you can seriously consider it and cooperate with us sincerely.”

“Cooperate?”

Ryuen sneered, raising his hand. “You guys from Class A are really just as naive as ever.”

If before, Ryuen had looked down on Ichinose’s class, now, he looked down on Katsuragi’s class the most.

He may enjoy playing underhanded tricks,

but he would also admit when he was wrong.

So when he lost to Hikigaya’s class, he would seriously reflect and regroup.

The reason he had been losing all this time,

he had figured it out.

It wasn’t because of Horikita.

He now knew that the true enemy from the start had been none other than Hikigaya Hachiman.

Looking at Class A, what did they have?

If it were Sakayanagi, he might be cautious, but now, with two factions competing, Katsuragi was completely being played by Sakayanagi, and Katsuragi didn’t even realize that he had become a pawn on the chessboard.

“Shh!”

The whistle for the second round quickly sounded.

The Red and White Teams readied themselves again.

In the second round, however, there were no changes to their positions.

The Red Team had won, so they didn’t think their positioning was an issue.

Their performance just now said it all.

So, they chose to continue.

Meanwhile, the Red Team had no other options.

Class A’s students had grown numb with anger, knowing that no matter how furious they were, it wouldn’t change anything.

The guys from Class D had no sportsmanship at all.

“Ready, one, two!”

The students of the White Team shouted their slogans loudly, and their movements were synchronized as they leaned back.

“Pull!”

“Bang!”

At the command, everyone used all their strength to pull the rope toward their side, lowering their center of gravity as much as possible.

They were trying to win—

and then, they all fell heavily to the ground.

Everyone’s backs were harshly rubbed against the uneven sand, and they felt a sharp, burning pain.

“Haha, the idiots from Class B and C.”

Ryuen laughed loudly as he looked at the Red Team, with members of Class D wearing mocking smiles.

Yes.

The White Team had won.

Once again.

Because no matter how hard Class A tried, when every member of Class D gave up on holding the rope, it was impossible for them to win.

Class A students were all dragged forward unsteadily.

And everyone in the Red Team fell to the ground.

They had won.

But they didn’t feel the thrill of victory from the competition.

Instead, there was a sense of anger from being pitied and looked down upon.

“Ryuen!”

Sudo climbed up from the ground, the pain from the fall stirring his emotions and reminding him of how Class D had used trickery to beat him in the flag-toppling competition earlier.

He roared in anger, but all he received was a mocking gaze from Ryuen.

“So this method only works on idiots like this.”

Ryuen sneered inwardly, his gaze, however, focused on Hikigaya Hachiman in the crowd, his expression serious.

This lowly tactic worked perfectly on Sudo, who was too dim-witted to see through it.

But it was only effective on fools.

If it were someone a bit more clear-headed, they wouldn’t fall for it.

Because they would know it was a form of psychological manipulation.

“Well, well, this is really something, Ryuen.”

Katsuragi’s gaze turned cold.

He had been tricked by Ryuen before—and it had been a terrible experience.

So, he knew this was a very dangerous man.

With his intelligence, it was easy for him to see that this was Ryuen’s provocation, his psychological game.

It was all part of his plan to destabilize the White Team’s mental state over two team battles, causing them to lose their composure and perform poorly in future matches.

Even knowing this, even Katsuragi, usually calm, was incensed.

Ryuen was treating all of them like fools!

Moreover, the tug-of-war was a best-of-three event, so with Ryuen’s manipulation, the victory in the tug-of-war had been handed to the White Team.

“Still as selfish as ever, thinking of everyone else as idiots. Ryuen, you’ll regret this sooner or later.”

Katsuragi shot Ryuen a deep look before turning to leave.

The alliance between the Red and White Teams still had one more event left: horseback battle.

Katsuragi had originally thought there was room for collaboration with Ryuen, but now, seeing things clearly…

There was no longer any need.

Ryuen had deliberately provoked the White Team, and he probably wanted to do something dangerous. Such a thing was something Class A absolutely could not get involved in.

“Though I didn’t expect Sudo to be so resilient—he took a beating and still managed to last this long—Sudo no longer poses a threat.”

Ryuen ignored Katsuragi and coldly withdrew his gaze, no longer concerned with the ineffectually furious Sudo. “People like him, who lack reason, are meaningless. Even if they’re physically strong, they’re still fools. Let’s just have him exit the scene.”

“As for Hikigaya…”

Ryuen narrowed his eyes, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

Sudo was about to be eliminated. What could Hikigaya possibly do to turn things around now?

…

The tug-of-war was over, and there was a brief break.

The boys’ team events were nearly finished.

Only the horseback battle remained.

This event involved four people in a team, with three of them acting as the horses carrying the fourth person.

The person being carried wore a headband and was considered the general.

The winner was determined by whoever could pull the opponent’s headband off.

Meanwhile—

Since the flag-toppling event, the progress of the boys’ and girls’ events had started to diverge.

The boys were about to begin the horseback battle.

But the girls were still in the middle of the ball-toss competition.

“Let’s continue cooperating.”

Kanzaki and the students from Class C walked over. After the last two team events—one loss, one win—the morale of their side had been worn down by Ryuen’s tactics. Kanzaki didn’t think this was a good situation.

So, he said, “Capture the leader first. I suggest we take out the dangerous Ryuen!”

Kanzaki wasn’t lacking in physical strength, and although he usually didn’t voice his opinions, that didn’t mean he lacked his own perspective and insight.

“I suspect Ryuen is using provocation on us,” Kanzaki said. “And the target of his provocation…”

At this point, Kanzaki paused for a moment.

And the student who had just been addressed by Kanzaki, Hirata, was at a loss.

Because the person most affected by Ryuen’s influence was the weak link in his class, Sudo, who was the backbone of their team for this sports festival.

“I understand this matter,” Hikigaya finally spoke.

“As long as you understand,” Kanzaki replied.

However, there was little reassurance on his face, because it was very difficult to calm down Sudo, who was already in a state of turmoil.

Just like right now.

“Ryuen is mine!”

Sudo, with bloodshot eyes, shoved the students around him and stepped right in front of Kanzaki, staring him down.

“No one can take him away!” Sudo yelled angrily.

“Sudo, calm down, this is a team competition,” Hirata quickly tried to soothe him.

But unfortunately, even if Hirata switched to a more maternal tone, Sudo wouldn’t have been able to stand it.

After two rounds of events, he had been beaten, provoked by Ryuen, and his so-called teammates… they had been completely useless!

“I’ll say it again, he’s mine!”

Sudo glared at Hirata, his voice trembling with anger, as if it was a volcano on the verge of erupting. “Ryuen is mine! I want to face him one-on-one, and anyone who tries to interfere will be ready to be taken down by me!”

“Sudo…” Hirata knew Sudo had completely lost control.

“Since Sudo wants him, then let’s give Ryuen to him,” Hikigaya finally spoke up. “I’ll arrange for others to assist.”

“No need!” Sudo retorted. “I’ll charge straight to Ryuen myself!”

“This…”

Hirata let out a helpless smile. Because right now, Sudo wouldn’t even listen to help. This was a clear sign of him losing his rationality.

So, with a helpless sigh, Hirata turned to Kanzaki and said,

“Sudo… he’s been a bit shaken up, but he’ll be fine in a while.”

Except for Hirata, the other students in Class B kept their heads down, like ostriches pretending not to see.

“I see, I understand.”

Kanzaki glanced at Hikigaya, then nodded lightly, saying to Sudo, “He’s yours.”

But inside, he was feeling slightly down.

Because it seemed like Hikigaya had already written off Sudo, and without Sudo’s strong offensive ability, their side’s advantage was very low, especially since Ryuen’s class had monsters like Albert.

Time was not on their side.

“Whoosh!”

Both sides took their positions.

Each team had four members, and Class B, due to the continued absence of Takahara, only had 19 people.

Although one group had to have two people carrying one “general,” they still managed to form 5 teams. With Class C, they had a total of 10 teams.

The Red Team had the same number of teams.

“Charge!”

Both sides yelled and rushed towards each other.

However, something seemed off because only one group from the White Team moved.

And from the Red Team, only 5 groups moved.

All 5 groups were from Ryuen’s team.

Class A seemed to be avoiding the confrontation.

But…

“You’re mine!”

Sudo, in a rage, charged towards Ryuen, shouting at the D-class students who were blocking his way, “Get out of my way!”

“…”

The D-class students exchanged glances, then made way for him.

But in his fury, Sudo didn’t notice this, thinking that they had just gotten back up.

However, once Sudo passed, the D-class students reformed their defense line.

Their faces showed obvious mockery.

It was as if they were thinking, “Idiots like those from Class B are so easy to fool.”

“Hikigaya-kun, what should we do?”

Hirata, carrying Hikigaya on his back, watched the scene and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Hikigaya said. “We might as well just watch the show. I don’t expect us to win anyway. As for Sudo, he’s already done his best.”

“Right now, no one can convince him, so let him take the gamble.”

“Is that so…” Hirata sighed slightly with regret.

Because of Sudo’s current behavior, he felt a bit responsible for not being able to help.

“Also, don’t you think Ryuen is targeting us quite strongly? It’s like he has full control over our movements,” Hikigaya continued.

“You mean…” Hirata suddenly got an unexpected result.

Does that mean there’s… a spy in our class?

Why would a classmate do something like that?

Hirata immediately grew worried.

Sudo was doing quite well by not rushing to find Takahara in the beginning.

At this moment, Hikigaya, who had been watching, thought to himself.

Moreover,

Sudo had indeed been useful.

In the 100-meter sprint, hurdles, 200-meter individual race, and the three-legged race, Sudo had helped Class B win four consecutive first-place finishes.

And in the subsequent tug-of-war, it was clear that Class D had given up because of Sudo.

So, even though Sudo didn’t realize it, his contributions were actually significant.

Therefore,

Although Sudo had already been provoked and exhausted from overexertion, and there wouldn’t be much he could contribute in the upcoming male and female three-legged race after lunch, or he might get angered and hard to calm down by Ryuen, his impact had still been enough.

“Ryuen, you’re dead!”

Sudo angrily charged toward Ryuen.

Ryuen, on the other hand, was confidently sitting on one of the D-class students, wearing a mocking smile.

As expected,

This attitude further enraged Sudo, who had already been short on rationality.

“Miyake, hurry up!”

Sudo angrily shouted at the student Miyake, who was beneath him.

Miyake, however, was on the verge of tears.

Unlike his name, Miyake wasn’t a shut-in; that title belonged to Dr. Sotomura.

But even so, Miyake was just an ordinary person who was bearing a weight he shouldn’t have at this age.

For events like the “Horseback Battle,” a registration form was required.

From the beginning, he had been grouped with Sudo.

But the original plan was for him to be the “horse” and Sudo to be the “rider.”

After all, even though Sudo had good physical strength, he was more suited to being the horse rather than the rider.

The reason was that although the final outcome of the “Horseback Battle” depended on who first grabbed the opponent’s headband, the horse’s role was more crucial than the rider’s.

However, Sudo was already enraged.

He didn’t care about the plan at all and insisted on Miyake being the horse.

And seeing Sudo’s furious expression, Miyake didn’t dare to refuse.

Thus, they ended up in the current situation.

“Pathetic!”

Ryuen provocatively leaned his head forward toward Sudo.

Sudo, clearly not thinking, immediately reached out to grab his headband. But after several attempts, he couldn’t get a hold of it.

Then, when Sudo didn’t give up on his attack, Ryuen easily tilted his head and dodged Sudo’s assault.

Using this opportunity, Ryuen closed the distance and snatched the headband off of Sudo’s head.

“Heh, what a waste.”

Ryuen sneered, not caring at all about the disoriented Sudo, and turned to join the battle.

It was enough.

Sudo Ken was finished, and now they couldn’t afford to give up on the game just yet.

“Miyake, you bastard…”

Sudo still refused to admit his defeat and glared at Miyake with bloodshot eyes.

“Want to blame me?”

Miyake, as if finally exploding after being bullied for too long, also had bloodshot eyes. “You insisted on making me the horse, and now you can’t even do it yourself! Losing the match, and now you want to take it out on your classmate? Well, come on then, hit me!”

Miyake had had enough and was ready to lash out.

“I…”

Sudo angrily raised his fist but realized the stares of the other students around him were piercing.

Like sharp, cold needles, they stabbed into his heart.

The word “worthless” once again flashed before his eyes.

“How dare you!”

Sudo shouted, clutching his head, and ran off like a giant, impotent, raging waste.

Because of Sudo’s impulsive actions, the formation of the White Team was easily disrupted by the Red Team.

Eventually, only a few groups were left standing.

But they still had to face the siege from the Red Team, or rather, Class D…

As for Class C, due to Class A’s influence, they had been completely eliminated.

However, Class C’s sacrifice wasn’t without benefit—at least Class A had been wiped out as well.

“Hirata, it’s our turn next,” Hikigaya said, urging Hirata, who had been staying put, seemingly unaffected by the start of the match.

Hirata, who had been feeling down after realizing there was a spy in their class, was lost in his own thoughts.

“I’ve found an opportunity to win,” Hikigaya continued.

“And don’t think too much about it,” Hikigaya added. “Sudo’s already gone, and now it’s up to you to calm him down. Or are you saying we should just let Sudo quit?”

Uh.

This sentence felt like a secret code, and Hirata quickly snapped back to his senses.

Then, along with Tokimura and a random male student, they headed toward Ryuen, following Hikigaya.

However, it wasn’t an attack.

Hikigaya took the position of the “horse,” but his hands were crossed in front of him, showing no signs of making an attack.

“What’s this? Giving up on yourself?”

Ryuen looked at the group of Hikigaya that had arrived in front of him, intrigued. “If you ask me nicely…”

“You cheated,” Hikigaya replied flatly. “Your headband is glued with hair wax, so it’s hard to tear off.”

“Sudo may be impulsive, but his attacks are effective. There’s no way he would have failed to grab your headband after several attempts.”

“…”

Ryuen fell silent, his face darkening.

He knew it. As soon as Hikigaya’s group appeared without making a move, it seemed odd, and now he realized they were observing the situation.

Yes, he had cheated.

Because in some ways, he was like Katsuragi — a calm and composed man.

So, although he had a method to deal with Sudo by angering him and driving him off, if it hadn’t been for him ripping Sudo’s headband off first, and instead, if Sudo had snatched off his headband…

He would have been the one to lose.

And everything he had done before would have been meaningless, because Sudo would have gained a sense of accomplishment from defeating him.

And after that, there would be no more team events.

Trying to find another chance to make Sudo drop out would be incredibly difficult.

So, to make absolutely sure, cheating was the only way.

Although Sudo hadn’t grabbed the headband, he still applied the hair wax.

But who could have known that it would be discovered?!

“You really are something,” Ryuen said with a darkened face, raising his voice. “We give up!”

“What…?”

Katsuragi’s face showed a look of surprise, which quickly shifted into anger.

In the “Horseback Battle,” there was no best-of-three format!

It was decided by a single round.

They were so close to winning but now had to concede, sacrificing the favorable position they had gained by defeating Class A.

“Give up?”

The referee, who had been watching the match, looked surprised, then jogged over to ask, “Are you sure?”

Though it was a sports competition, giving up was allowed.

Because forcing the enemy to surrender was also a reflection of skill.

“Yes, I don’t want to continue, I concede…” Ryuen said.

But at that moment…

“Referee, I report!”

Hikigaya shouted loudly. “Class D’s Ryuen cheated! His headband is glued with hair wax! He’s conceding because he’s afraid of being caught cheating!”

“Hmm?”

The referee’s eyes suddenly became sharp.

“Dammit!”

Ryuen swore loudly.