There was a relay race this afternoon.
At 2:20 PM.
However, it seemed there had been an unexpected incident—
"I heard that the Red Team's cheering squad relay runner accidentally fell."
"What should the Red Team do? The cheering squad is the last leg, right?"
"They'll probably switch people."
By the track, next to the tennis courts, people were whispering.
Ishigami Yu glanced into the crowd and saw a familiar back: his junior high classmate, Kyoko Otomo.
She had been his light in junior high—a light that illuminated his gloomy life. Kyoko Otomo was one of the few people willing to talk to him back then, and also the catalyst behind Ishigami becoming the "God of Laziness."
"Ishigami-kun, you seem to be having a lot of fun."
In his mind, her words from earlier, when she had come over to talk, kept replaying—like flickering black-and-white TV snippets, like a phone suddenly ringing during class. A chill ran up from the soles of his feet.
He really didn't want to see her. To see this symbol of his failure. But some things eventually had to be faced.
This idiotic woman. My life was ruined by you. At least have some self-awareness.
Ishigami Yu sighed inwardly.
"Hey! Ishigami!" Onodera Rei saw him looking down, lost in thought, and shouted. "The team leader fell, why are you still spacing out!?"
Not far away.
Shirogane Miyuki finally broke free from his father's entanglement. He was also going to participate in the relay race soon, as the Student Council representative.
"Sakurai, that one—do you still remember her?" Shirogane glanced at Kyoko Otomo.
Golden hair, a single ponytail, a white suit uniform—she was from another school, visiting. Her presence here this time probably meant she had accumulated a lot of anger. After all, from her perspective, in junior high, Ishigami Yu had hit her boyfriend in front of everyone, which had also led to her breaking up with him. It was normal for her to be angry.
"Her boyfriend—I think his name was Ogino something." Sakurai Saki recalled.
When Kaguya had heard about it, she had directly had Shuchiin Academy's VIPs "humanely eliminate" him. Now, no one knew where he had run off to.
"He was a scumbag who cheated on many people. Ishigami hit him back then to protect Otomo."
To summarize, the matter was not complicated. Ishigami's crush had been deceived by a scumbag. Ishigami Yu, upon learning the truth, had gotten angry and beaten the scumbag up, then had been suspended. To protect Kyoko Otomo's reputation, Ishigami Yu had not exposed the truth. He had thus been misunderstood as a pervert who, failing to force a breakup, had resorted to violence.
"Aren't you going to comfort him?" Sakurai asked with a smile. "Aren't you the one who loves comforting others the most?"
"Why don't you go?" Shirogane Miyuki retorted.
"I'm not good at that kind of thing. And Ishigami's emotional knot needs to be untied by himself." Sakurai's smile widened. "Do you really think he's hurt? Ha. He's not that fragile."
"The team leader got injured when he was hurdling earlier. He twisted his ankle—can't compete."
"What should we do then? Who should we put in?"
"I don't know! A problem suddenly came up right before the race…"
Listening to the team members' discussion, Kazeno—the cheerleading squad leader—who was resting against the wall, suddenly spoke up. "Ishigami, you go. I heard you ran very fast in junior high."
Vice-leader Tsubame Koyasu also smiled. "Ishigami-kun can definitely do it."
"I don't think so," Onodera Rei said expressionlessly.
Ishigami Yu rolled his eyes at her. "Then you go?"
Onodera Rei said angrily, "I'm worried you'll embarrass yourself up there. If you lose, you know what people will say about you, right?"
"Then I just need to win." Ishigami Yu's voice was calm.
Give it his all. Show his true ability. Meet the expectations of his seniors.
He just needed to do those things.
"Next, the opposing relay race will begin…"
"In this event, the Red Team's cheer squad and cultural clubs will team up to compete against the similarly combined White Team's cheer squad and sports clubs."
"Every participating athlete must carry their respective club's iconic item to compete!"
In the spectator stands.
"Chika is actually going to represent the Tabletop Game Club in the competition…" Sakurai Saki murmured.
Then he looked at Shirogane Miyuki in the athlete's seating area. "Shirogane is really going to wear pure gold accessories. That stuff is actually quite heavy."
After all, it was an accessory representing Shuchiin Academy's two hundred years of history—also the Student Council's emblem.
"The Kendo Club has to wear protective helmets. The Archery Club has to carry bows." Kaguya Shinomiya watched the track. "Sakurai-kun, looking at it this way, the cultural clubs have a huge advantage. It's really unfair."
She was a supporter of the sports clubs.
"You support the White Team?" Sakurai was shocked.
"?" Kaguya-san's face was full of question marks.
What are you saying, you fool? We are both members of the White Team, aren't we? If not the White Team, then who should we support?
"...The Student Council represents the Red Team, Kaguya-san."
Kaguya Shinomiya heard this and looked at the white headband on his forehead.
"Are you serious?"
She didn't want to lose. Even if the opponents were the other members of the entire Student Council—she didn't want to lose. Even if it meant betraying the entire Student Council, Kaguya Shinomiya was still invincible at Shuchiin Academy.
"Kaguya-san, you might want to use your nearly atrophied brain to think about this." Sakurai General Affairs reasoned, "It's perfectly fine for us to support either team. If we support the White Team and win, we'll share the fruits of victory together. If we support the Red Team, it's full of Student Council members—so we don't really lose. It's a win-win!"
"...When people are talking, it's best to sit up straight, Sakurai-kun." Kaguya Shinomiya pointed to his forehead.
"I'll return that remark to you, exactly as is." Sakurai Saki felt she was clearly trying to be a traitor to the Student Council. And she was even the vice president.
"Red heart radish." Kaguya Shinomiya's tone was cold.
White skin, red heart.
Sakurai Saki said nothing. The race had begun.
"Shirogane!!! Go for it!!" He shouted.
He didn't shout for the Red Team. He still had some dignity.
One relay runner after another sprinted with all their might. Soon, it would be Ishigami Yu's turn.
"Ishigami-kun is with…" Kaguya Shinomiya's expression changed mid-sentence.
Why was she here? And talking to Ishigami-kun?
Not far away, Kyoko Otomo's voice was quite loud. Both of them heard it, mainly because she was shouting—
"Ishigami!!! You made me break up with my boyfriend!!! What are you so happy about now!! It's all your fault!! Go face-plant the ground! You idiot!!"
Ishigami Yu's shoulders trembled at her words.
He was laughing.
"Hahahaha."
After laughing, Ishigami Yu rubbed his nose, suppressing his laughter. "Sorry—seeing you're still so silly, I feel relieved."
Just keep being kept in the dark like this. After all, her smile was the treasure he had once wanted to protect. Just keep being happy like this, Otomo.
"What do you mean?!" Kyoko Otomo's face was full of disbelief.
Ishigami Yu slightly tilted his head back, looking at her with the same expression as Kaguya Shinomiya, and said coldly: "You're noisy, idiot. Shut up."
Looking at the approaching relay baton behind him, Ishigami Yu slightly bent down and got into position.
Snap!
Grip tight.
Charge! Charge forward!
And—leave the past behind!!!
Sprint!! Accelerate!!
"Ishigami!!! Go for it!!!"
"Ishigami-kun!! Go for it!!"
Faster and faster—until he couldn't hear anything. There was only one goal. The finish line.
Surpass the past. Leave the opponent behind.
Almost there. Just one last step.
As he crossed the finish line, the entire field fell silent. Then cheers erupted, echoing across the sports ground.
"The Red Team won!!!!"
"We won!!!!"
"Well done!! Ishigami!"
The members of the cheering squad surrounded Ishigami.
Not far away.
"Shirogane, see?" Sakurai Saki walked up to Shirogane Miyuki, who had just finished running, and handed him a bottle of water. "He's not that fragile. If he wants to do it, he can still do it."
Shirogane Miyuki took a sip of water, looked at Ishigami Yu—surrounded by everyone, blushing and not daring to speak—and said, "Indeed."
Sakurai then looked at Kaguya Shinomiya, who had just walked over with a displeased expression. "Our only junior won. Why do you have that expression?"
"You hateful traitor." Kaguya-san rolled her eyes at him.
"What? You're not a member of the Student Council anymore?"
"You're still on the White Team!!"
The two started arguing again.
Shirogane Miyuki sighed at the sight.
His junior had regained some confidence. But when would the relationship between these two seniors improve? Every time I go to the Student Council Room, it feels like a battlefield.
It's troublesome.
Patreon Rene_chan