Chapter 243: Scavenger Hunt, Hikigaya Wears Glasses
The "accident" involving Class A and Class B led to the disqualification of Ichinose Honami, Shiranami Chihiro, Manabe Shiho, and Kinoshita Minori.
It even affected students in other lanes, indirectly impacting their results. Hikigaya and Haruka's position was very fortunately undisturbed, and they eventually took third place in the event. Though the personal points and bonus marks weren't much, "mosquito meat is still meat"—it was a pleasant surprise.
'Did Ryuen do this?'
"Tsk..."
Hikigaya quickly dismissed this guess. Although Class A and Class B belonged to the opposing Red and White teams and were immediate rivals in the class competition, thinking carefully, if Class B dragged Class A down with them in a mutual destruction, the biggest beneficiary was Class C.
This didn't seem to fit Ryuen Kakeru's MO.
'Could it be Sakayanagi?'
Hikigaya looked toward Sakayanagi Arisu in the spectator stands.
She seemed to sense his gaze and smiled at him from a distance. This "loli brat" was incredibly annoying; she loved playing the "riddler"! In the short term, Hikigaya couldn't determine if this was Sakayanagi Arisu's handiwork. His intuition told him it probably wasn't. But if you said Sakayanagi Arisu knew nothing, Hikigaya didn't quite believe that either. At the very least, this loli brat definitely knew some inside information...
Hikigaya turned his attention back to the victims: "Ichinose, and Shiranami-san, are you guys okay?"
"Mnh~ I'm fine, it's just a minor superficial injury..." Ichinose Honami's brow was furrowed, yet she forced a strained smile onto her face.
"Ichinose-san, being too stubborn isn't necessarily a good thing. Because doing so often leads to ignoring the feelings of those around you."
Hikigaya thought of his past self.
One day, while making breakfast for Komachi, he accidentally scalded his thigh with boiling water.
To keep his sister from worrying, he endured the pain and pretended nothing was wrong. He dragged it out until the wound became infected, and he was eventually sent to the hospital. At the time, Komachi was both heartbroken and angry, washing her face with tears every day.
Therefore, Hikigaya could understand Ichinose Honami's desire to maintain the dignity of an older brother/sister figure. Even if someone punched her teeth out, she would force herself to swallow them into her stomach!
"Yeah, Honami-chan. You just blocked for me to protect me and took a hit; did you bump anything?" Shiranami Chihiro was full of concern, checking carefully by touching here and there.
"I'm fine, Chihiro-chan." Ichinose Honami shook her head.
"Those people from Class B are too detestable; they'll use any means just to win!" Shiranami Chihiro felt indignant.
"Perhaps... it was just an accident?" Ichinose Honami still didn't want to believe someone had framed her.
"Honami-chan, you're just too kind! Sooner or later you'll be sold off and you'll still be counting the money for them!" Usually, Ichinose Honami looked after Shiranami Chihiro like a younger sister, but now the roles were reversed with Shiranami Chihiro doing the lecturing—it was a bit of a reversal of the natural order.
In the spectator stands, the people of Class B were also very dissatisfied with the results of the race.
"What was that idiot Manabe doing! Falling over is one thing, but she even got Kinoshita injured!"
Seeing the injured Kinoshita Minori being carried away on a stretcher by school medical staff, Ibuki Mio was very irritated. This was because Kinoshita Minori was the girl with the best athletic grades in Class B. Especially in running events, even the stubborn Ibuki Mio had to admit defeat. For this reason, Class B used Kinoshita as an ace, signing her up for multiple running events. Now that Kinoshita was "accidentally" injured, her subsequent events would likely be affected to varying degrees.
For Class B, this was undoubtedly a huge loss!
"It seems a spy has infiltrated our class." Shiina Hiyori's eyes were as calm as still water, but the words she spoke made it impossible to stay calm.
"A spy? Who!" Ibuki Mio was startled first, then her expression instantly turned dark.
"It's hard to say right now..."
Shiina Hiyori said this, but she clearly had a suspected target in mind, glancing discreetly at a certain someone. Considering there was no substantive evidence, she couldn't well accuse someone out of thin air.
"Hachi, the events we participated in are all finished. Let's go back and prepare a victory feast with Airi~~" Hasabe Haruka pulled Hikigaya away from the arena with a swagger.
The next event was the Tug-of-War.
This event didn't need much explaining; it's a staple team event for almost any sports festival. Class A and Class D each sent ten people.
Class D continued to use Hirata Yousuke's tactic—they only cared about the "minimum guarantee" and didn't think about winning at all. The final result was no surprise; the White Team won.
Consecutive failures, combined with the backbone Ichinose Honami being in the infirmary treating her wounds, meant Class A's morale took a major hit.
Although Kanzaki Ryuji possessed leadership, he was personally not eloquent and couldn't comfort Class A's emotions well.
As an onlooker, Hikigaya felt a bit bad for Class A—stuck with "pig teammates" like Class D, they could only accept their bad luck.
The last event of the morning was the Scavenger Hunt (Borrowing Race). After this match, there would be a midday break, with the remaining events held in the afternoon. Hikigaya had originally planned to slip away early to buy food at the cafeteria. Unexpectedly, he was intercepted halfway.
"Hachiman-kun, where are you going?"
Kushida Kikyo seemed to have been watching him for a long time; as soon as she saw him move to slip away, she ran over immediately. "I'm about to participate in the Scavenger Hunt; aren't you going to watch me?"
"Can I not watch?" Hikigaya asked tentatively.
"Huh?!" Kushida Kikyo's eyes bugged out, almost unable to stop herself from turning into a yaksha (demon)!
"No, I really want to watch. I super want to watch Kikyo-chan's race!" Hikigaya was forced to change his tune.
"That's more like it~ Hehe~~"
Only then did Kushida's anger turn into a smile.
On the other side, Hikigaya also noticed that among the contestants sent by Class B was Shiina Hiyori. On the field, the first thing Shiina Hiyori did was lock eyes with Hikigaya, waving at him with a smile.
'No, Hiyori-san? You are currently a contestant for the White Team; waving to someone on the Red Team—is that appropriate?'
As luck would have it, Kamuro Masumi also appeared among the Class C contestants.
"Hmph!" Kamuro Masumi gave him a cold, arrogant glare.
'I suppose that counts as a greeting.'
"Hachiman-kun, where are you looking?" Kushida Kikyo squinted, staring at him with a fake smile, a terrifying aura radiating from her.
"Kikyo, do your best!"
Hikigaya said the words, but he didn't really care in his heart.
This Scavenger Hunt wasn't a contest of physical strength, but mostly luck. Before starting, each contestant draws a slip of paper and must bring the target written on the paper to the stage for the referee's confirmation. The items to be "borrowed" were bizarre; what you drew was pure luck.
If you were lucky, the target was a hairclip, and a girl could just take it off right there. If you were unlucky and the target was a desk, you'd have to run back to the school building and carry a desk over. There were also some rather abstract things...
The race began! The contestant from Class A was Yumekoji, a cute-looking girl. She soon arrived on stage holding a glass box.
"Student, the item you drew was [A Perfect Work of Art]. This is...?" The referee was Mashima-sensei; being a fair man, there was no need to worry about him favoring anyone.
Yumekoji opened the glass cover labeled "Biology Room." Displayed before everyone was a dissected frog specimen.
"This frog specimen perfectly displays its flesh, bones, and internal organs. Ah~ such a beautiful biological structure, don't you think this is a great form of art?" Yumekoji explained the "art" in her hands to everyone with excitement.
"Ah, this..." "Yumekoji-san's taste is certainly unique." People on stage discussed with varying expressions. Even the people in Class A found it a bit hard to accept.
"Rejected." Mashima-sensei, after serious consideration, made a negative judgment.
"Eh?! Why?" Yumekoji looked baffled.
"I don't deny your artistic viewpoint, but your speech failed to convince everyone to recognize it," Mashima-sensei said in a heavy voice.
Hikigaya showed a thoughtful expression, muttering to himself: "It seems the judgment for this Scavenger Hunt is very subjective. The key lies in whether the contestant can use an appropriate reason to convince everyone."
For example, a painting. Whether it looks good or not isn't the most important part; what matters is how you make others feel it's a good-looking painting. Yumekoji's personal hobby failed to convince Mashima-sensei, and she was ultimately judged to have failed. lzoK
After that, other contestants presented their borrowed items. Most were rejected by Mashima-sensei, and very few were approved. "It really is a troublesome race; luckily I didn't participate."
As an onlooker, Hikigaya didn't have to worry about these annoying problems.
Finally, it was Kushida Kikyo's turn.
As she pulled the slip from the box, a complex expression of surprise, shock, and shyness appeared on her face. This made Hikigaya very curious. What on earth did Kushida draw? Could it be something easy to get?
She turned around and strode toward the spectator stands.
'Eh? Is the target for borrowing a specific person?'
Hikigaya blinked: "Why does it look like she's coming for me?"
Under the unbelievable gazes of the crowd, Kushida Kikyo walked up to Hikigaya and grabbed his hand. "Come, follow me!"
"Wait... Kikyo, what exactly is your borrowed item? It can't be 'Dead-fish Eyes', right!" Hikigaya really wanted to complain.
"Urusai (Shut up), just follow me obediently!"
Kushida didn't explain, forcibly pulling his hand and walking onto the stage. Instantly, the eyes of the entire field were focused on him.
"Student, the item you drew was [A Man Full of Charm]."
Mashima-sensei glanced at Hikigaya, his brow furrowing unconsciously. At first glance, Hikigaya's face was fairly handsome, but the dead-fish eyes ruined the aesthetic; it was truly hard to call him a "man full of charm."
Not only did the referee not approve, but even Hikigaya himself didn't admit it: "Hey, Kikyo, are you joking with me?"
"No, I believe Hachiman is a man full of charm!" Kushida Kikyo's voice was firm and powerful.
"Huh?"
"For real?"
"Does Kushida-san actually like this type?"
"Dammit... give me back my little angel Kushida!"
A chorus of wails erupted from the stands. This was because Kushida Kikyo was quite popular in the whole school year. Previously, she had never publicly shown favor toward any boy.
Now, specifically naming Hikigaya and leading him on stage made it hard for people not to draw associations.
"What is the reason?" Mashima-sensei's face was cold, clearly not accepting Kushida Kikyo's claim.
"Please wait a moment... Um, which student could lend me their glasses for a second? Thank you~" With Kushida Kikyo's excellent connections, she easily borrowed a pair of black-framed glasses from a boy in Class B.
"It is my honor to be able to lend something to Kushida-san!"
The boy who lent them was flushed with excitement, his mind even starting to automatically play out a beautiful fantasy: Is my youth finally about to arrive?
"What are you doing? I'm not nearsighted." Hikigaya didn't understand, instinctively trying to dodge.
"Don't move!" Kushida Kikyo personally placed the glasses on Hikigaya's head.
In an instant, all the chatter in the arena vanished!
"What the hell?" zoxK Hikigaya only felt everything go blurry; the high-prescription glasses made it impossible to see the view ahead. He could only hear the voices of the people around him.
"A man full of charm—is there any question?" Kushida Kikyo presented her case with conviction.
"None..." Mashima-sensei gave Hikigaya a deep look.
He never expected that Hikigaya, with his dead-fish eyes obscured, would have such an unimaginably different side!
"Dammit..."
"Explode, normie!"
"Hiding a super handsome guy like this is just cheating!"
"Where did you come from, some light novel protagonist?"
After a brief silence, various evaluations erupted from the stands.
"What's the situation, are we done?" Hikigaya felt a bit dizzy.
"It's okay now~ Hachiman-kun."
Kushida Kikyo quickly took off the glasses without a moment's hesitation, as if afraid people would look at him for a second too long.
At the same time, she returned the glasses to the Class B boy, not forgetting to say thank you. The "spring" of a certain glasses-wearing boy withered at that moment...
"Wearing a pair of glasses makes me a charming man? Mashima-sensei is too easy to fool." Hikigaya felt confused.
"Yes, yes~ I know. Hachiman-kun's true charm isn't limited to glasses."
Kushida Kikyo giggled and pushed Hikigaya's back, exiting the arena.
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