The announcement regarding the Sports Festival did not merely shake Class 1-B. At that exact same hour, across the entire first-year building, identical shockwaves were crashing through the other classes as their homeroom teachers finished detailing the complex structure of the competition. The new rules devised by the school seemed intentionally crafted to shatter the students' routines, forcing them out of their comfort zones and compelling them to fight beyond the boundaries of control they had thus far established.
Advanced Nurturing High School never allowed its students to rest; every changing season brought with it a brand new battlefield.
Inside Class 1-A, the atmosphere felt considerably more organized compared to the other classes, yet it remained cloaked in a heavy aura of seriousness.
"Ah honestly, the school is truly cruel for giving us a schedule this packed, aren't they~?" whined Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher of 1-A, standing at the podium with a deliberately fabricated, childish expression. "You all have to run, jump, and play tug-of-war until you're exhausted under the scorching autumn sun. Not to mention the threat of a ten-mark deduction in every subject. How terrifying! But, Sensei is absolutely certain Class A can get through this easily, right?"
Even though their homeroom teacher acted cheerful and relaxed, not a single student in Class 1-A responded with laughter. The tension in the room was far too thick. After Hoshinomiya finished handing out the guide sheets and the details of the thirteen events, the vast majority of the students immediately shifted their gaze to a single focal point in the center of the room—Ichinose Honami's desk.
As the leader of Class A, the strawberry-blonde girl did not look panicked reading the array of looming penalty threats. On the contrary, the gentle smile that usually graced her face slowly faded, replaced by an intensely sharp and pragmatic analytical gaze.
Her extensive experience 'transacting' during the Island Exam and the mentally draining psychological tension of the Zodiac Exam had forged her into a completely different entity. She knew that not a single exam at this school was purely about physical strength. If it were purely a battle of muscle, the school wouldn't allow them to compile their own participant rosters. Everything always culminated in information management, negotiation, and human resource allocation.
"Up against Koroizumi-kun again, huh..." Ichinose murmured softly, resting her chin on her folded arms atop the desk. Her eyes continuously scanned the guide sheet, absorbing every single detail regarding the penalty rules and bonus marks.
Those words slipped out with a tone hinting at mental exhaustion, yet deep within her irises, a burning spirit radiated. In the past, during middle school, Ichinose might have prioritized the values of universal friendship and naive justice. She would have tried to embrace everyone indiscriminately. However, the 'entrepreneurial' lessons and the value of transactions she had learned from Seiji during that middle school incident had seeped deeply into her current leadership style.
She knew that Koroizumi Seiji from Class B was not an obstacle that could be conquered merely through hard work, good intentions, and encouraging cheers from the sidelines. The young man was a living anomaly, a shadow teacher capable of transforming any exam into his own personal chessboard. If Ichinose let her guard down even slightly while arranging her formations for this festival, Seiji would exploit it without mercy.
"And for this festival, we've been placed in the Red Team," Ichinose continued, slowly raising her head to look at Kanzaki Ryuji and several other class executives currently gathered near her desk. "That means, we have to cooperate with Class 1-D. Ryuen-kun's class."
Hearing that name, Kanzaki furrowed his brow deeply. His usually calm face now radiated fierce rejection.
"Cooperating with Ryuen Kakeru?" Kanzaki said, crossing his arms over his chest. "He is like a wild, untamable wolf, Honami. His track record on the island exam showed exactly how dirty he plays. He could easily ignore our team's overall points and sabotage Class A from the inside just to serve his own ego and personal gain. Relying on him in team events like the Relay or the Cavalry Battle is tantamount to suicide."
"That's true," Ichinose nodded in agreement, validating her deputy's concerns. However, a faint, highly calculated smile now adorned her beautiful face. "But we have no choice but to ensure he doesn't do that. The rules have been set. We cannot eliminate Class D from the Red Team. I hope Ryuen is willing to cooperate. If not, it will be incredibly difficult to win against the combination of Class B and Class C on the White Team."
For Ichinose, this was a crucial battle to defend the throne of Class 1-A. Class B, led by Suzune (and driven by Seiji), was now breathing right down their necks with an incredibly slim point margin. If Ryuen intended to destroy everything from the inside, then Ichinose was fully prepared to swallow him whole at the negotiation table. She would use whatever 'currency' was necessary—be it private points, promises of future alliances, or the bartering of information—to bind the tyrant of Class D. She had to ensure the Red Team moved under a single command, or they would all perish together.
Meanwhile, in Class 1-C, a completely different response was exhibited by the group slowly creeping upward, aiming for the top spot.
"Fufufufu..."
An elegant, soft laugh drifted from Sakayanagi Arisu's lips, shattering the stiff silence in her classroom the moment their homeroom teacher stepped out. The laughter was gentle, yet it managed to make every student in the class halt their activities and turn toward the queen.
The lilac-haired girl sat at her desk, elegantly crossing her legs while resting her chin on the tip of her wooden cane. Her sharp purple eyes glinted with intense fascination—an enthusiasm she rarely displayed—as she reread the sports festival documents on her desk.
"This is interesting," Sakayanagi said, her voice as light as a feather yet as sharp as a razor. "Very interesting. It seems the school truly understands how to present a magnificent stage of entertainment for us."
Sakayanagi tapped the faction list on the paper with her slender fingernail. White Team: Class B and Class C.
Her mind drifted to the eccentric young man who had ruined her perfect chessboard during the Island Exam, the figure who had casually manipulated hundreds of students aboard the cruise ship Speranza, ensuring everyone won private points without anyone suffering a loss. Koroizumi Seiji.
Being in the same faction as Class B meant Class C wouldn't have to brace for a direct, lethal attack from Seiji during this festival. Conversely, the system forced them to align their strategies to ensure the White Team's victory.
"This is a rare opportunity that might not come twice," Sakayanagi murmured, a smile full of obsession blooming across her pale face. "We can observe the workings of Koroizumi-kun's brain from an incredibly close distance. We will see how he allocates his pieces. What kind of tactics the shadow teacher will devise to maintain his class's dominance on a physical field, where he cannot simply hide people away. We will cooperate with Class B flawlessly... naturally, while ensuring we extract maximum profit from every single move they make."
On the other side of the first-year corridor, Class 1-D exuded an aura that was far darker, colder, and suffocating.
Ryuen Kakeru sat at his desk, his posture careless, both feet propped up on the table, paying no mind to the fearful stares of his classmates. He had quickly skimmed the newly distributed sports festival documents, then crumpled them into a ball and carelessly tossed them onto the floor.
The tyrant who had experienced the shattering of his ego on the North Beach—when he was forced to feel the primal terror radiating from an assassin's aura—had now risen once again. Instead of crumbling and giving up due to that fear, Ryuen's mentality had been sharpened within the flames of that hell. His crude tyranny, which previously relied solely on thuggish violence, had now evolved into the cunning of a predator—far calmer, highly calculated, and immensely lethal.
He visualized the faction list in his mind. Class D was on the Red Team with Class A. That meant the opponents they had to defeat on the field were the alliance of Class B and Class C.
Ibuki Mio, who was leaning against the wall near the window, crossed her arms over her chest. She stared at Ryuen with a mixture of respect and skepticism. Her loyalty to Ryuen had wavered on the island, but she knew this man was the only person in their class with the guts to swim against the current of this school.
"So, what's your plan this time?" Ibuki asked sharply, breaking the oppressive silence. "You're not actually going to obey and act as Class A's errand boy, are you? Cooperating with Ichinose sounds like a bad joke. We know she leads with extreme calculation now, especially after you sabotaged their exam on the island."
Ishizaki and Albert, standing behind Ryuen, remained silent, gulping nervously, waiting for absolute instructions from their leader.
Ryuen slowly lowered his feet from the desk. He leaned forward, smirking widely, baring his teeth like a wolf that had just caught the scent of blood in the air.
"Win? Of course I want to win a crushing victory at this festival," Ryuen chuckled, his eyes radiating a glint of madness that was now controlled with extreme precision.
His mind replayed that terrifying memory. The memory of Seiji Koroizumi standing before him on the sandy beach, projecting a murderous intent so vivid it paralyzed Ryuen's body, refusing to respond. Ryuen knew exactly how much of a 'monster' that young man from Class B was. If he relied solely on thuggery, crude sabotage, or direct violence like he usually did, Seiji would shatter his strategies with ease.
To take down a monster, you needed an army far larger than just pawns from the bottom class. You needed shields, spears, and an abundance of resources.
"If I want to win and destroy Class B..." Ryuen murmured, licking his dry lower lip. "...I have to cooperate with Ichinose, yeah."
Ibuki frowned, unable to believe what she was hearing. "You? Cooperating sincerely with Class A?"
"This isn't cooperation," Ryuen corrected, his sly smile widening even further. "This is parasitism."
Ryuen stood up, glaring at his entire army in Class 1-D, who immediately bowed their heads.
"Listen to me, all of you," Ryuen ordered with undeniable authority. "Each class is going to prepare a class participant roster, right? We are going to accept Ichinose's offer of an alliance. We will let that girl believe she holds the reins over the Red Team. We will use her sheer numbers, her intellect, and Class A's wealth of private points as our meat shields to absorb all the traps and pressure Koroizumi has undoubtedly prepared."
Ryuen laughed softly, visualizing the bloody scenario he would paint on the field later. "And while Koroizumi is busy clashing tactics at the top level with Ichinose... that's when our fangs will pierce his neck on the actual track. We will secure the points for ourselves, let Class A exhaust themselves, and seize everything."
In just a few short hours after Chabashira Sae's announcement, Advanced Nurturing High School had completely transformed into an invisible battlefield.
The rules written on those sheets of paper were crystal clear and absolute. Each class would hold discussions and ultimately had to prepare a finalized class participant roster to submit to their homeroom teachers. They were free to determine who would participate in the sprint individual events, who would bear the burden in the tug-of-war, who would run in the joint relay, and even who would be sacrificed in the stamina-draining events so their elite students could shine.
This was no longer just a running race or a ball toss. This sports festival was the manifestation of a massive clash of ideologies.
On one side, the White Team, consisting of Classes B and C, would bear witness to how Sakayanagi Arisu's elegant, genius tactics would have to meld with the unpredictable scenarios woven by the shadow teacher, Seiji Koroizumi. It was a terrifying combination of ruthless, absolute intellect and immeasurable, lethal combat experience. Sakayanagi wanted to observe Seiji, and Seiji would undoubtedly use Sakayanagi to cover his tracks.
On the other side, the Red Team, consisting of Classes A and D, would champion the strength of Ichinose Honami—now increasingly mature and pragmatically realistic thanks to the valuable lessons learned from Seiji in the past. However, Ichinose now had to bear the heavy burden of controlling the tyranny of Ryuen Kakeru, the tyrant who had evolved into a calmer predator, fully aware of just how terrifying the monster waiting for them in the opposing faction truly was.
Sakayanagi's genius tactics and Seiji the shadow teacher VS Ichinose's calculated realism and Ryuen, who knew exactly what kind of monster Seiji was.
The four rulers of the first-year cohort had now set their respective targets and ambitions.
Chess pieces were being carefully evaluated and would soon be arranged upon the running track. Value-exchange strategies, secret negotiations, pawn sacrifices, and individual pride would all be pitted against each other until the very last drop of blood under the scorching autumn sun.
And amidst the storm of preparation and swirling intrigue, the former assassin who started it all simply sat quietly at his desk, staring out the window. A faint smile was etched across Seiji Koroizumi's face. He was looking forward to the moment he could step back onto the field and teach his students a thing or two about the true meaning of victory. The lesson had only just begun.
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