Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 180: Ryuen’s Class, 0 Points!

The 1200-meter relay requires six students from each class, with the stipulation that there must be three boys and three girls.

This means that each person only needs to run 200 meters.

In reality, this is still considered a short race, as long as the explosive power is strong enough.

For Class 1B:

The three boys originally slated for the relay were Sudo, Hirata, and Hachiman.

Because of Ayanokouji’s intervention, Hachiman ended up on the sidelines. The faster runners are always chosen for the relay.

As for the girls, the lineup included Kushida Kikyo, Onodera, and Horikita.

However, due to Horikita’s injury, there was now an open spot. So, Hikigaya arranged for Matsuhita Chiaki to fill in.

Initially, Onodera was considered a key player, but she was intended to contribute to the mixed-gender two-person-three-legged race for scoring, so she would be replaced.

But now, since Ayanokouji had taken Onodera under her wing, after five rounds of the two-person-three-legged race, Onodera still had the stamina to participate in the 1200-meter relay.

So, because Onodera continued to participate, the substitute girl could take a rest.

This meant there was one more girl idling at the venue.

Sudo, who had been brought back by Hirata, made a statement.

“I am deeply sorry!”

Sudo bowed to his classmates.

Hirata had brought him back, and Sudo let go of his unwarranted pride.

He knew that by returning to participate, he could somewhat salvage his image.

Even though his earlier efforts had been in vain, it wouldn’t result in being hated by others.

But if he didn’t return, he would definitely be isolated, and it would truly be over for him.

He might even end up like Yamauchi.

If they won the competition, everyone would cheer, but Sudo wouldn’t be part of it. They would think of him as expendable and insignificant.

If they lost the competition, things would be even worse. Everyone would blame Sudo, and he would have no chance of continuing at this school.

So, he had no choice but to return and compete.

Moreover, he had promised Hirata that he must win, using his strength to change the class’s perception of him.

Thus, Class B was well-prepared.

Meanwhile, in Class A:

“We’re doomed, we’re doomed!”

“Even if the red group’s class sweeps the 1200-meter relay, our Class A will lose 200 points because we’re in the red group.”

“The white group gains +200 points.”

“At this rate, our Class A is going to fall behind!”

In Class A’s camp, the students were despondent, like wilted eggplants.

Katsuragi, who was responsible for updating the scores in real time for all four classes, noted that not only had Class A lost its advantage, but someone had also noticed the results of the red-white competition.

The white group had gained an absolute advantage.

As members of the red group, they could almost only accept the point deduction.

Upon realizing this, Class A’s students were shaken.

They had always taken pride in being from Class A, but now that pride was completely shattered.

At this moment, someone left the camp.

“Kamuro, where are you going?”

Hashimoto noticed Kamuro.

“Of course, I’m going to prepare for the competition,” Kamuro Masumi replied. “Even if we lose, we’re still in the competition, aren’t we?”

“If we give up here, we’ll lose even more points, right?”

Indeed.

The competition was still ongoing.

The red-white competition had been lost, but if the class ranked poorly in the overall grade rankings, they would continue to lose points.

That would only make things worse.

Thanks to Kamuro’s reminder, everyone suddenly realized that this little dog from Sakayanagi also had a cool side.

“Then we leave it to you!” Katsuragi said. “After this sports day, I will resign as Class A’s representative. I will follow Sakayanagi’s orders from now on.”

“Given the current situation, we can only rely on her to turn things around.”

“Katsuragi—” Even Katsuragi’s biggest fan, Totsuka Yahiko, couldn’t help Katsuragi find an escape route.

Because even he didn’t want to see Class A fall behind.

Meanwhile, in Class C:

“White group victory!”

The students in Class C were in a good mood. They had already prepared for the possibility that the red-white competition would result in a loss and a 200-point deduction.

But now, for some unknown reason, they were set to win.

Class C’s victory in the red-white competition, along with the +200-point reward, was a done deal.

“However, Hikigaya-kun still has a hidden trick up his sleeve,” said Ichinose with a slight hint of worry.

The fact that Hikigaya’s Class B managed to catch up so quickly, and is even currently leading in points among the four classes, indicates that the other side has been hiding a secret backup.

After the desert island exam, everyone’s eyes were focused on Koenji.

Then, Koenji withdrew, and all the classes were relieved.

But Class B still had Hikigaya and Sudo.

However, Sudo was also absent.

Who could have expected that Hikigaya-kun was still holding onto a monster that could potentially be even more terrifying than Koenji?

As expected, once you become an enemy of Hikigaya-kun, things get really bad.

“Indeed, it’s terrifying.” Kanzaki Ryuji, who had hoped to score points in the mixed-gender two-person-three-legged race while Sudo was absent, said, looking disheveled.

His confidence had also been shaken.

Class B, which had originally come from Class D, now seemed to have so many monsters.

Or was it that the school’s initial evaluation criteria were wrong from the start?

“However, it’s not entirely time to relax yet,” Ichinose continued, “because, looking at the current scores… our class is at the bottom of the four classes.”

“So if we don’t rank in the 1200-meter race, we will lose 200 points for being in last place.”

The current scores of the four classes in the first year are as follows:

Class A: 856 points
Class B: 938 points
Class C: 810 points
Class D: 846 points

Class C’s score was very close to the other two classes, and while they were somewhat far from Class B, if they didn’t do anything, they could end up in last place.

“Anyway, if we finish the exam with the lowest score, our class won’t lose points.”

“But right now, it’s also an opportunity.”

“Although my physical stamina is poor, I can only cheer you on,” Ichinose began to rally her classmates’ spirits.

“Let’s go!”
“Let’s go!”

The morale of Class C was instantly boosted.

They encouraged each other.

Meanwhile, in Class D:

“Damn it,” Ryuen couldn’t help but curse.

He hadn’t even considered the possibility of losing the red-white competition.

At the same time, now that the white group had gained so many points over the red group, although he still had evidence of the male students in his class violating the rules in the pole vault competition, which he could use to threaten Class A…

Because they were in the same large group, Class A didn’t want to lose and would have to compromise.

But now that the red group had already lost, bringing out the evidence of his class’s male students’ violations had no threat anymore. It would only put his own students in a bad situation.

So, his plan to extort millions from Class A had failed before it even started.

Thus, with some celebrating and others feeling frustrated, the 1200-meter relay race began.

…

“Bang!”

In the distance, the sound of the starter gun and whistle echoed.

Everyone instantly held their breath, nervously watching behind them.

Waiting for the other students to catch up.

“Swish!”

Twelve classes, twelve runners, stood on the same starting line.

However, unlike the other classes, Class B of the first-year had a girl standing at the starting line.

“Ah!”

Onodera gritted her teeth and made a determined dash forward.

Her athletic ability was rated as B, but at that moment, she felt overwhelming pressure, even feeling out of her depth.

From the start, she had fallen behind in last place.

The world record for the 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds.

Typically, people take 13-14 seconds to run 100 meters.

The world record for the 200-meter dash is 19.19 seconds.

Generally, people take 25-28 seconds to run 200 meters.

Roughly speaking, the first 50 meters are the acceleration phase.

The middle 100 meters are the full-speed burst phase, and the final 50 meters tend to slow down due to exhaustion.

So, although the 200 meters is a short race, it is actually harder than people imagine.

“Bang!”

The gunshot rang out, and Onodera from Class B gritted her teeth and took off from the starting line along with everyone else.

However, in terms of physical stamina, girls are generally weaker than boys.

Their speed is slower, and it takes longer for them to accelerate.

As a result, their stamina depletes faster as well.

In just a moment, the boys from other classes had already pulled ahead of Onodera.

Although the gap wasn’t huge, it still put a lot of pressure on the girl psychologically.

This pressure pushed her to accelerate even faster.

The 200-meter race, compared to the 100 meters, gives people a chance to keep pushing their limits and accelerate even further.

“Ha! Ha-ha!”

When Onodera, giving her all, reached the second baton handoff position—where Ayanokouji, who had previously been almost invisible, but now stood out—she immediately extended her hand to pass the baton.

However, the person in the lead had already gained a lead of more than 20 meters.

While the time difference might only have been two or three seconds, the distance was a much heavier psychological burden.

“——” Ayanokouji’s expression didn’t change.

“Bang!”

But soon, he practically snatched the baton from Onodera’s hand and forcefully stomped his foot on the ground.

Then, using the small reaction force, he shot forward like a swift predator.

“No way, he’s that fast…”

“That guy must be a monster!”

“He’s basically a professional athlete!”

“Did Class B have someone like that?”

The fact that Ayanokouji was being used as a secret weapon to gain points in the mixed-gender two-person-three-legged race hadn’t yet been revealed to everyone.

Only Katsuragi and Kanzaki knew about it in detail.

They understood that he was a monster.

And now, the surrounding people were seeing this monster for the first time.

They could only gape as they watched the brown-haired figure flash past like a whirlwind.

Clearly, he had started last.

Clearly, the people nearest to him had a lead of at least ten meters.

Yet, even in this situation, he still managed to overtake everyone within a matter of seconds!

Even the fastest runner, who had a lead of about 20 meters, was overtaken by him!

In fact, he even pulled ahead of the other by several meters!

A person like that was simply beyond their understanding!

“Go for it!”

Class B’s third runner was Kushida Kikyo.

The baton arrangement for Class B was set by Hikigaya Hachiman.

And Hikigaya’s arrangement was unique.

Normally, the first and last legs are assigned to boys to gain an advantage, but Hikigaya had decided to assign girls to both.

As for Kushida…

She was running the third leg.

However, most other classes had boys running the third leg.

This meant she would have to compete against physically gifted athletes from other classes, and even seniors, using the stamina of a girl.

Although she was inwardly cursing Hikigaya for the arrangement, Kushida had no choice but to accept it.

Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself.

She watched as Ayanokouji sprinted toward her, and she took the baton from his hand with precision.

Gripping her teeth, she focused her strength on her legs and dashed toward the fourth leg.

Her stamina wasn’t weak; her physical ability was impressive. She could even outpace some of the boys in her class.

But competing with the other class members made her feel the pressure.

So, even though she was the first to start, she didn’t dare slack off and gritted her teeth, pushing herself to reach the next baton handoff.

However, the weaknesses of girls in terms of stamina inevitably began to show.

Even though she was trying her hardest, she gradually got caught up during the 200-meter run.

In this kind of race, even a second’s lead could equate to several meters of distance.

“My turn!”

Sudo confidently grabbed the baton from Kushida’s hand, then charged forward with a fury.

He had been beaten by Ryuen, insulted by him, and forced to flee like a defeated dog.

What’s worse, the relationships he had carefully built with his classmates had all crumbled due to his own weakness.

Now, the way the others looked at him made Sudo instinctively uncomfortable!

“How dare they!”

Sudo screamed in rage, his strong and powerful legs bursting with incredible potential.

Like a whirlwind, he overtook the competitors ahead.

Eventually, he caught up with the man who had originally led by more than ten meters!

“Hirata, please!”

Sudo shouted loudly as he extended his hand to pass the baton.

Hirata was running the fifth leg, and by the time the baton reached him, he was already in first place. With his steady pace and the fact that most of the fifth leg runners were girls, they couldn’t catch up to him.

So, when it was time to hand off the baton, it directly gave the class a massive advantage of nearly 25 meters.

The audience couldn’t help but erupt into applause.

In a corner of the audience seats, a silver-haired girl with purple pupils watched the final leg of the race about to begin and suddenly spoke to Hikigaya.

“Hikigaya-kun, your arrangement of participants is truly unique.”

The runners for the final leg had come out, and they were all strong competitors—from Horikita to Nagumo, from Shibata of Class C to Albert of Class D. It could be said that all of them were boys.

However, for Hikigaya’s class, the final leg runner was a girl.

From the earlier roster, it was known that her name was Matsuhita Chiaki.

“Mm.”

Hikigaya responded, “Matsuhita seems to have hidden her strength, so she was placed in the final leg. She couldn’t hide it anymore.”

“And even if she’s placed in the final leg, it doesn’t matter.”

“After all, the likely first-place runner will be Horikita.” Hikigaya said. “I have no doubt about that. And trying to compete for first place no longer holds any significance for my class.”

“……” Sakayanagi.

Indeed.

Currently, Class B was in the lead with the highest overall score, and as long as no other class in the same grade could get first place and the 150 points, they couldn’t surpass Class B. So, even if they did nothing, Class B would still be ranked first in the grade.

Sakayanagi, although silent, seemed to be focusing her gaze on Hikigaya.

In other words.

It seemed like it was just as he had thought.

She was probably still waiting for his response.

Regarding the 20 million points offer to buy him into her class, or rather… this was most likely Sakayanagi’s one-sided confession.

And as for confessions…

“Sakayanagi.” After a brief consideration, Hikigaya spoke. “I have an answer for your invitation.”

“Oh?” Sakayanagi Arisu then abandoned her gaze on the final leg of the race and turned toward Hikigaya.

But Hikigaya said,

“I can offer the same terms.”

“If you pay the 20 million points, would you be willing to come to my class?” Hikigaya invited.

“……” Sakayanagi.

(#￣～￣＃)

Sakayanagi’s mood wasn’t good because it felt like they were speaking different languages, it was like a cicken talking to a a duck.