The playground at Advanced Nurturing High School is exceptionally well-maintained, as one would expect from a top-tier national sports school. The 400-meter track is covered in tartan (the red rubber flooring used in athletics stadiums), and a goal can be set up to turn the inside into a soccer field.
I'm standing at the end of that track, at the 100-meter start line. I ran a 50-meter dash during the physical fitness test in May, but this is the first time I've run on a proper track in about a year.
"Hey, your shoes are so unfair! You're not even in the track and field club!"
Ike, in the lane next to me, protests as he looks at my feet. Well, I get what he's saying. I'm wearing a pair of high-end sprinting spikes, the real deal that costs nearly 30,000 yen. I borrowed them on the condition that I'd help out the track team in the tournament in October.
"If you're gonna do it, you might as well go all out. I want to see what my best is right now."
It's been about a week since I started training. I can really feel the effects of not having moved my body for six months. My best record in middle school was in the late 10-second range... I guess if I can break 11 seconds, that'll be a passing grade.
"Alright, you guys ready?"
"Whoa! Kikyo-chan, watch this!"
Kushida, who Ike nominated, holds up a starter pistol to give the signal. Yosuke, holding a stopwatch 100 meters away, gives an OK sign, and Kushida raises the pistol.
"Good luck, everyone! Alright, get set... ready, go!"
Bang! I push off hard with my feet to the sharp sound. I can hear Ike's surprised voice from behind, but I ignore it and blast through the finish line. The other students cross the finish line a few seconds later.
"Hah... hah... you're way too fast!"
"That's amazing... first place, Tsugumi-kun, with a 10.88. Second place..."
Oh, that's not bad. Considering I haven't practiced much and am running in a heavy jersey, that's not a bad time. As I listen to Yosuke writing down everyone's times, Suzune hands me a bottle of water.
"Oh, thanks."
"I'm speechless. Sudou-kun is amazing too, but I feel sorry for him being in the same class."
"I'm just a jack of all trades. I definitely can't beat him in basketball. I'm just a little better at a lot of things."
I've been training for efficiency since I was a kid, so I'm pretty confident in my athletic and reflex skills. I'm not sure if I could beat Koenji or Kiyotaka in pure physical ability or power, though.
"What I'm saying is that being 'a little better' is at a national-level in everything you do... Well, whatever. Next up is Ayanokouji-kun. He said he was going to go all out this time, but I wonder how he'll actually do?"
Suzune watches Ayanokouji standing at the start line with great interest.
"He's planning on getting a good enough time to be a recommended competitor but not so fast that other classes get suspicious. The relay is three guys and three girls, so... he'll have to beat Yosuke, who's in third place right now."
By the way, Sudou-kun is in second place with a 12.13, and Yosuke is at a 12.79. Spikes usually make you about a second faster, so I think they both have enough running ability to join the track and field club if they get serious.
While I'm thinking about this, the bang of the starter pistol echoes across the field.
"He's picking up the pace. It might be too fast... oh, he slowed down."
Kiyotaka slightly reduced his speed in the second half even though he couldn't see his time. That's some serious ability to control his pace. After everyone crossed the finish line, Yosuke looked at his stopwatch and ran up to Kiyotaka happily.
"Wow! You're fast too, Ayanokouji-kun! Is this from our special training? It's a 12.48."
"I see. I have to thank Tsugumi."
Yeah, right. He could easily run in the 10-second range, too. If anything, it seems like adjusting his time was harder.
"So the boys for the relay will be Tsugumi-kun, Sudou-kun, and Ayanokouji-kun. That's amazing! We might even be able to beat the third-years with this!"
Even though Ayanokouji-kun beat his time, Yosuke's face was nothing but happy. Ugh, he's a saint. I'll have to do my best for him.
---------
A week has passed since each class started preparing for the sports festival. Class C, who had announced their intention to break away from their alliance with Class B, was being led by a man named Ryuuen, who had come up with a "secret plan."
The place he went to was a private karaoke room on the school premises. There should have been a better place to meet with a student, but it seemed that a classroom wasn't a good option.
"...You're late."
"I'm not. The time is exact."
When I opened the door to the room, there was already someone inside. The voice that came toward Ryuuen made no attempt to hide its displeasure. Without minding it, Ryuuen sat on the sofa and faced the student with a look of amusement.
"You seem pretty grumpy, Kikyo."
"Of course I am. It's so annoying. That damn woman Horikita!"
The student's name was Kikyo Kushida. She was a student who was always mentioned as a central figure in Class D. For a student in Class D, the sight of her talking to the enemy, Ryuuen, in a closed room would be incomprehensible.
"Don't get so angry all of a sudden. You're annoying."
"Just so you know, it's partly your fault. I went to the trouble of telling you that I was the VIP, and you couldn't even use that effectively!"
Kushida curses with a vulgar mouth. If Ike saw her, he would undoubtedly faint. Ryuuen, without hiding his look of exasperation, crossed his legs and spoke to Kushida.
"Then I'll ask you one thing, Kushida. In the VIP test, what did you expect me to do when you exposed that you were the VIP?"
Seeing that Ryuuen remained composed, Kushida's anger subsided, and she replied quietly.
"...By telling you the VIP, I expected you to crush Class D... to crush Horikita and eventually get her expelled. That was the condition for my cooperation with you."
"I see. So, let's say I rejected Saito's proposal and correctly guessed the VIP's pattern. Then what would happen after that?"
"After that?"
Ryuuen continued to explain to the seemingly uncomprehending Kushida.
"There's no doubt that the traitor in Class D would be exposed. If that happens, you're done for."
"Huh? I don't get it. There's no way I'd be exposed just for that. They're all idiots, and not a single one of them has figured out my true nature."
Kushida asserts that she will never be exposed as a traitor. She seems to be convinced that the trust she has built in her class can't be broken so easily. In reality, even if Ryuuen's situation happened, very few students would be able to figure out that Kushida was the traitor.
"That's a lie."
"Huh?"
"You said that no one has figured out your true nature, but is that really true? If so, it's a strange story. Even from my perspective in another class, I hear a lot about Kikyo Kushida. That she's an 'upstanding student who treats everyone equally.'"
"...What about it?"
The wind knocked out of her sails, Kushida asks quietly. Whether by coincidence or necessity, Ryuuen, who had suffered a defeat, was beginning to develop a charisma that could talk circles around Kushida.
"I found it strange that someone like you would want to get Suzune expelled. Even if your influence has increased, I don't think you can condemn her past actions without proof. You've been exposed, haven't you? I don't know who it is, but someone knows."
"..."
Kushida's face twists as she's hit with the truth. Ryuuen wasn't actually sure of it. But her reaction told the whole story. Looking at Kushida, Ryuuen let out a chuckle and continued.
"Certainly, the condition you presented was to get Suzune expelled. But at the same time, I said this, didn't I? 'Don't lie.' So, who is it?"
"That's..."
"If you don't tell me, this deal is off. There's no point in talking to someone who can't sacrifice anything for their goal."
"Wait!"
"...Huh?"
Kushida stops Ryuuen from leaving with a loud voice. He turns back, smirking to himself that it went according to plan, and Kushida quietly spoke the student's name.
"Ayanokouji-kun. He's the only one who knows my true nature."
"Oh? Ayanokouji. No wonder you're so anxious."
Ryuuen, who knew Ayanokouji and Horikita had a close relationship, muttered in agreement.
"You get it now, right? Is this good enough? ...If you break your promise, I won't let you get away with it."
Kushida snaps back with a fierce look. Her anger at having to expose her weakness must have been great.
"Heh heh heh... Then it was even more correct not to move. If the VIP test had ended in a complete victory for Class C, there's no doubt that Saito would have been convinced there was a traitor. Maybe your true nature has already been exposed to him?"
"...No way. I threatened him that if he told anyone, I'd spread a rumor that he tried to rape me, and I even have proof."
"Huh? Proof?"
Ryuuen asks, intrigued by the story that Kushida's ears heard. Thinking that there was no reason to be silent now, Kushida went on to explain the plot she had carried out against Ayanokouji.
"---So, a coward like Ayanokouji-kun can't spread rumors. Get it?"
Kushida explained with a hint of triumph, but Ryuuen was dumbfounded by the patheticness of her plan.
"Do you seriously think that fingerprints would remain on a uniform from three months ago?"
Ryuuen continued to explain to the dumbfounded Kushida.
"Even if fingerprints were left, you'd just get told off for not reporting it to the school sooner. That plan of yours isn't a deterrent at all."
"...Then, then what should I do?!"
"That's why we cooperate with each other when our interests align. You keep feeding me information about Class D, and I'll use a different approach to get Suzune expelled. That's why I'm telling you to just do as I say."
Ryuuen spoke with absolute confidence. Kushida was being led in a direction where he would take the lead, but she couldn't realize it. The "intensity" of Ryuuen and his words was that great.
"...What are you going to do this time?"
"As I told you before, I'll have you leak the entry list. But I'm not going to form every team based on it. I won't make any overt moves either."
"Why not?"
"There's not much benefit. The outcome of whether the Red or White team wins will largely depend on the results of the second and third-years. I can't interfere with that."
Ryuuen explained everything carefully and then went on to talk about his goal. Certainly, the sports festival is different from a test like the uninhabited island test, where nearly 300 points can move. It's not impossible to intentionally drop a rank, but Ryuuen's idea of keeping his spy card hidden is very logical.
"So I'll form the teams in a way that the traitor won't be exposed and aim for a solid second place. It's my guess that Class D will be in first place unless something major happens."
"That's... true."
Saito, Sudou, and now Hirata, and Ayanokouji, who is starting to show his true colors. Among the girls, Horikita, Onodera, and even the Kushida he was talking to now would earn a lot of points at the sports festival.
"Well, just be patient for now. When a big test like the uninhabited island one comes along, I'll turn everything upside down."
He must have judged that it would be better to save his trump card for later rather than use it in a sports festival where winning doesn't have many benefits.
"Okay. For now, I'll do as you say."
"That's a smart choice. I'll be counting on you, Kushida."
"...If you betray me, I won't let you get away with it."
Kushida left the room as if the conversation was over. Ryuuen watched her go in silence, took out his smartphone from his pocket, and opened a certain screen.
"Stupid women are easy to manipulate."
He pressed the play button on the screen, and a certain voice began to play from it.
"Of course I am. It's so annoying. That damn woman Horikita!"
"Heh heh heh... this is getting interesting."
---------
The eyes of the laughing Ryuuen in the quiet room were looking not just at the sports festival but beyond it. When he would finally take down the stronghold of the other classes... no one knew yet.
============
🚀 Want Full Access NOW & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!
Free readers - don't worry, I'll still be posting daily updates here. But P4tr3on members get the VIP treatment!
Your support helps me create more wild stories like this. See you on the dark side! 😈"