Chapter 275: Why Risk Your Life for a Few Hundred Thousand Points? / Ryuen Kakeru is Part of the "Play"
"?" Karuizawa Kei furrowed her brows, staring at Ryuen Kakeru with a look of pure confusion.
"What are you acting for? Didn't you already get our class roster from Yamauchi Haruki ages ago? And your own homeroom teacher gave you the official list this morning! Why are you acting like this is the first you've heard of it? Is your memory really that bad?"
Beside them, Shimizu Akira couldn't help but raise a hand to cover his face.
Ryuen's jaw twitched.
He had, of course, known Horikita Suzune was in the first heat; he was just pretending otherwise for dramatic effect.
Being publicly questioned on his intelligence by a "fake gal" he looked down upon felt like a supreme insult.
He suppressed his anger and looked at Shimizu.
"Shimizu Akira, you haven't answered my question yet."
"Why should Shimizu answer just because you asked?" Kei cut in immediately, her tone righteous. "
Do you really think you're someone important?!"
'Give her an inch and she takes a mile, huh?' Ryuen felt his patience reaching its limit. In the next month or two, he'd definitely have to show this arrogant woman her place.
"Ignore him, let's just watch the race." Shimizu hadn't spared Ryuen a glance the entire time. He and Kei turned their eyes toward the field.
The obstacle course had been underway for a minute. The track featured balance beams, hurdles, crawl nets, and sack races—standard equipment, though nowhere near the difficulty of military training.
Suzune was currently in second place after the crawl net, trailing Class D's Kinoshita Minori.
"Our Kinoshita Minori joined the track and field club the moment she entered the first year. She's already a reserve regular," Ryuen noted with a smirk.
The smirk didn't last. During the sack race, Suzune maintained her speed while Kinoshita lost her balance, faltering for a few seconds. Suzune surged past her. As they entered the final 50-meter sprint, Suzune was clearly in the lead.
"Oh look, our Horikita-san accidentally overtook your track star," Kei said, deliberately mocking Ryuen.
"Don't celebrate too early." Ryuen's eyes were glued to the sprint, still brimming with confidence.
"Honestly, where do you get your courage?" Kei asked, turning to Shimizu.
"Shimizu, why is Ryuen so average, yet so..."
Shimizu rubbed his forehead again.
"He's probably fantasizing that Kinoshita will pull some dirty trick to mess with Suzune."
Ryuen's expression froze, though he forced a calm facade.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Shimizu sighed at his refusal to admit defeat.
"Ryuen, stop acting. I knew you'd target Suzune in the obstacle course."
"You!" Ryuen's mind buzzed. This didn't sound like a joke. He had only discussed this plan in a private Class D meeting.
'Could there be...'
Shimizu saw the look on his face.
"Stop looking for a mole. Your roster gave you away. You're using the 'Tian Ji's Horse Race' strategy, right? All the pairings were strictly adjusted. This Kinoshita is athletic, and you put her in almost every event. In previous races, she was matched against our average girls. Why would you suddenly put her against a powerhouse like Suzune for the obstacle course and body-contact events? Anyone with a brain would smell a rat."
Ryuen was stunned. He had done exactly that.
Was it really that obvious? Who says "normal people" notice details like that?
"Wait! Who said I was doing anything dirty?" Ryuen snapped back.
"Kinoshita just wanted to test herself against Horikita!"
"Give it a rest," Shimizu waved him off.
"Kinoshita is in the track club; Suzune isn't in any clubs. They don't even know each other. If anyone wanted a 'fair' grudge match, it would be Ibuki. It would make more sense to send her. Besides, you aren't the type to listen to your classmates' suggestions anyway."
He glanced at Ryuen's stiff face and added, "I can guess why you didn't send Ibuki. She wanted a fair fight, you wanted her to play dirty, you two clashed, and you were forced to use Kinoshita instead. Right?"
Ryuen's face turned pale, then red. Every word was a direct hit.
'Is this guy using a map hack?'
It was as if Shimizu had been standing there watching him argue with Ibuki.
On the field, Suzune crossed the finish line and began tidying her uniform. Kinoshita finished last, looking frustrated but having done nothing. Then, Ryuen watched as Suzune calmly pulled two small, black earplugs out of her ears.
'Earplugs?!'
He had told Kinoshita: 'If you're winning, do nothing. If you're losing, yell her name to distract her; if that fails, attack her brother, Horikita Manabu, verbally; if that still fails, insult Shimizu Akira!'
The entire verbal harassment plan had been rendered useless by a pair of earplugs.
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Kinoshita, panting and red-faced from the race, stared at Suzune.
She had been screaming her lungs out while running to follow Ryuen's orders, ruining her own breathing rhythm and finishing last. And the target hadn't heard a single word.
"Horikita, you!" Kinoshita stepped forward.
"You brought this on yourself," Suzune interrupted calmly.
"Were you really going to 'self-destruct' with me? Think about it. If you got hurt and lost your value to the track club, or suffered a permanent injury..."
She repeated the words Shimizu had told her to say: "Would Ryuen even look at you then? Would you have a place in Class D? You're just a student. I don't know how many points Ryuen promised you, but it's likely only a few hundred thousand. Is it worth throwing away your future in track for that?"
The realization hit Kinoshita like a bucket of ice water.
'Why risk your life for a few hundred thousand points?'
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"Fine! Well done, Shimizu, Horikita!" Ryuen hissed, gnashing his teeth. "How dare you drive a wedge between me and my subordinates right in front of my face!"
Kei, who had just come over to chat with Shimizu, was enjoying the show. As expected of her "host"—the sense of security was immense.
"He's been your toy from the start, hasn't he?" she whispered, hugging his arm.
"Shimizu~ since Kinoshita was being 'unclean' on the track, shouldn't she be disqualified?"
Ryuen glared at them. "Disqualified? You have no evidence! This is all your delusion!"
Just then, a middle-aged man with a camera approached them.
"Shimizu-kun, long time no see."
"You—!" Ryuen's pupils shrunken. It was the man who had proctored the Deserted Island exam. But now he was wearing a Sports Festival official uniform.
"Wait! Why are you proctoring this too?!" Ryuen barked.
"Kid, you clearly haven't experienced the real world," the man sighed.
"The island exam is once a year. We can't only work once a year, right? We do odd jobs at the school. Being a referee isn't exactly high-specialty work." He turned to Shimizu.
"By the way, Shimizu. Following your suggestion that the obstacle course has complex props and is prone to 'accidents,' we installed several hidden cameras."
He glanced at Ryuen, whose face changed instantly.
"I just reviewed the footage. Unluckily, the audio clearly recorded Kinoshita-kun repeatedly using improper language to distract Horikita-kun, and even insulting the Student Council President and yourself. This is a severe violation of fair play."
Shit! Ryuen froze.
Caught again? Shimizu used an acquaintance to monitor the area? How underhanded!
The official walked away, and soon, the speakers blared:
[Announcement: Kinoshita Minori of Class 1-D is disqualified from all remaining events for malicious interference. Her personal points will be cleared. Let this be a warning to all.]
The crowd went silent. Many eyes turned to Class D.
"Ryuen's at it again? Caught red-handed?"
"Kinoshita was a track club star. What a waste of a good card."
Two Class D boys ran over to Ryuen.
"Ryuen! You said the plan would work!"
"This is like the tenth time! How many times are you going to let Shimizu play you? Stop embarrassing us!"
Ryuen was already fuming. He glared at them.
"Tokito Hiroya, you think you can talk to me like that? Class meeting, now! Get back there!" The boys grumbled but followed him, cowed by his lingering authority.
"Shimizu, I don't get it," Kei whispered.
"Ryuen messes up every time, so why is he still the leader? Hiyori was so much better during the island exam."
"Hiyori isn't interested in leading," Shimizu explained.
"And despite this setback, Ryuen's 'Tian Ji' strategy is still working. Class C is still behind in total points. If Ryuen quit now, Class D would collapse into chaos.
By the way," Shimizu asked, "did you see my text on Friday? About me being the one who rented the cameras?"
"Eh? I already told you that you were amazing! Do I need to organize a better speech to praise you?"
Shimizu smiled. His "manager" was truly and cutely simple.
He had thought her earlier praise was sarcasm, but it was 100% sincere.
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The Three-Legged Race began. Shimizu was in the third heat with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Ayanokouji knelt to tie their ankles together.
"Shimizu! Long time no see!"
Hashimoto Masayoshi (Class A) greeted them warmly. Ever since the island exam, when Shimizu shared snacks with him, he had been friendly. His partner, Kito Hayato, remained silent, wearing his usual gloves. On the other side, Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Souta (Class B) nodded seriously.
"I'll follow your rhythm," Ayanokouji said flatly.
"Ready... GO!"
Shimizu surged forward like a bullet. Beside him, Ayanokouji was in perfect sync. The strap between them never pulled taut; they moved as one body.
"Wait up, Kito! Slow down! You said you'd follow me!" Hashimoto yelled from behind as they struggled.
"Give it everything!" Shimizu whispered.
"Everything?" Ayanokouji's breathing quickened slightly.
"Fine. I told you, I'll follow your lead."
Shimizu stopped holding back. His speed exploded. No matter how fast he went, Ayanokouji was right there, his strides matching with precision. They left the other teams in the dust.
"Wow! Look at them go!"
"It's Shimizu and that other guy! They're running the three-legged race as fast as a 100m sprint!"
They crossed the finish line with an overwhelming lead. "Shimizu/Ayanokouji team: First Place!"
Hashimoto and Kito took second several seconds later. Kanzaki and Shibata took third.
"We were several seconds behind Hashimoto," Kanzaki noted, untying his legs.
"My fault," Shibata panted, looking at Shimizu. He had wanted to compete with Shimizu, but he realized they weren't even on the same level.
'I'll keep trying! I'll give my all in the next events!'
Shibata's fighting spirit suddenly flared up.
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The Cavalry Battle and 200m Sprint followed. Shibata won the 200m against Kito, but in the Cavalry Battle, he was no match for Kito's strength and lost his headband quickly.
Class D stayed out of trouble for a while—Ryuen had been humbled by the disqualification.
Shimizu turned his attention to the upperclassmen. President Horikita Manabu won his events through pure skill.
Vice President Nagumo Miyabi's wins, however, felt "fake"—his opponents barely resisted, as if they were letting him win.
Shimizu remembered Kamuro's warning: Nagumo was going to target him in the 10km run. Ryuen's storm had passed, but Nagumo's was just over the horizon.
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