Chapter 005 The Sports Festival: At last, Katsuragi's Class (formerly Class A, now Class B) seizes the opportunity!
Hikigaya Hachiman had cast a shadow over everyone. There was no doubt about that. However, giving up just like that wouldn't be like Katsuragi.
Thus, Katsuragi continued, "But—this grouping isn't just for the first years. The entire school is divided this way.
Keep in mind, the current Class B of the second years was also originally Class A.
Second-year Class B is Kiriyama-senpai's class. Like us, they fell from Class A. But they haven't given up; they are still climbing back up. And we haven't given up either."
No one spoke. However, the eyes of a few people changed slightly. It wasn't the certainty of "we will definitely win," but rather the indignation of "we haven't lost yet."
"Furthermore," Katsuragi added, "the Red-White confrontation depends on the total score of all school years. In our grade, there's us. In the second year, there's Kiriyama-senpai's class. As for the third year's Council President Horikita—"
He stopped abruptly. A boy in the back row named Oda had raised his hand. He usually didn't talk much and had a low presence, but at this moment, he held his hand up with a subtle expression.
"Katsuragi-kun," Oda began. "The third-year Class A... they are on the Red Team, right?"
Katsuragi froze for a moment, then nodded.
"Correct. Council President Horikita's class is in the Red Group. But for our White Group, our third-year partner is—"
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood. The third-year White Group consisted of Class B and Class D. Since third-year Class A was in the Red Group, and Classes B and D were in the White Group, it meant their third-year partner wasn't the strongest Class A, but—the leftovers.
Horikita Manabu was hailed as the strongest Student Council President in history, and his class had never lost a single member, steadily maintaining their Class A status. Now, that legendary third-year Class A was standing directly opposite them.
The classroom fell silent again. This silence was heavier than before, like something was pressing down on everyone's chest. Katsuragi opened his mouth to say something but realized he didn't know what to say. He had intended to boost the class morale, but it had backfired into a slump.
Yes. The White Group had the original first-year Class A and the original second-year Class A, but the third-year Class A was not among them.
"So..." someone whispered, "for our White Group, from first to third year, our partners are always—Class B and Class D?"
No one answered him because the answer was too obvious. Katsuragi could argue based on the initial combat power of two former Class As in the White Group, but two Class Ds... no, counting the third years, that made three Class Ds that could hold them back.
The silence in the classroom deepened.
Morishita Ai, who had beautiful violet-blue hair, sat in the seat in front of Sakayanagi. She held the materials but wasn't looking at them. Suddenly, she looked up, scanned the classroom, and then turned around, lowering her voice. "Sakayanagi-san."
Sakayanagi tilted her head slightly. "Yes?"
"Aren't you worried?"
"Worried about what?"
Morishita opened her mouth, wanting to say "worried about losing the Red-White confrontation," "worried about Class D holding us back," or "worried that our White Group lacks an advantage across all three years." But looking into Sakayanagi's calm eyes, she suddenly felt like these questions didn't need to be asked.
Sakayanagi looked at her, the curve of her lips deepening. "Morishita-san, what you want to talk about is Class D, right?" Morishita blinked, then nodded.
Sakayanagi let out a soft laugh and shifted her gaze toward the sports field outside the window.
"From the grouping perspective, the White Group indeed has no advantage other than two former Class As wanting to climb up and the third-year Class B making a final struggle.
On the other hand, the Red Group has the Student Council President, Vice President Nagumo, and Hikigaya Hachiman. It is indeed a rather dire situation.
However, this also means that since the enemies we face are quite fearsome, the White Group should be able to become even more united," Sakayanagi said.
Hearing this, Morishita fell into thought. She wondered what Sakayanagi meant—was it literal, or did she have another perspective?
Soon, another voice rang out.
"Actually."
Everyone quickly looked over and saw it was their classmate, Shiraishi Asuka. During the Deserted Island and VIP exams, Shiraishi had proven to be quite clever, noticing things others easily overlooked. Did she have an insight this time too? She did.
She spoke up: "Normally, Class D is indeed a drag. However, the first-year Class D isn't completely without combat power. Class D has Koenji Rokusuke. And Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."
The classroom fell silent for a moment. Koenji Rokusuke—the man who finished the Monkey Group exam by himself on the deserted island. A monster whose physical ability, academic ability, and observation skills far exceeded normal people. And Ayanokouji Kiyotaka—the one who made both Class A and C suffer on the island, and the one who defeated Ryuen on the deck.
"Koenji... is indeed a monster," someone whispered.
"Ayanokouji is strong too, right? Didn't he knock Ryuen down?"
"But Class D only has those two. What about the others?"
"In terms of individual combat, Koenji and Ayanokouji are indeed strong. They can earn many points alone," Morishita joined the conversation. She paused, her tone turning heavy. "But mandatory events require everyone to participate. What about the rest of Class D? You know their physical stats. They can't run fast, they can't jump high, and they have no strength for tug-of-war. Even if Koenji and Ayanokouji earn a lot of points, if everyone else loses points in every other event, how much will actually be left after the trade-off?"
No one answered. Morishita continued, "Moreover, while you can choose people for recommended events, the slots are limited. How many events can Koenji and Ayanokouji enter at most? What about the rest? Who fills the gaps?"
The classroom was quiet again. Everyone was thinking about what Morishita said, but no one wanted to voice it. Because voicing it meant admitting that their White Group might truly be unable to beat the Red Group.
Katsuragi stood by the podium and remained silent for a long time. Then he spoke. "Morishita is right." His voice was deep.
"Class D indeed has shortcomings. But that is no reason for us to give up."
He looked at Morishita without flinching. "This time, we are striving for victory in the Red-White confrontation. Therefore, what we need to determine is not whether Class D is a drag, but how we can make the White Group win."
No one spoke, but the eyes of several people shifted. "Furthermore," Katsuragi continued, "it is a fact that Class D has Koenji and Ayanokouji. Whether we can utilize that point is the key."
Morishita looked at him and said nothing more. Asuka Shiraishi withdrew her gaze and looked down at her hands on the desk. She suddenly said, "Strong individuals can certainly earn points. But if the entry list is leaked, even the strongest will be useless."
Everyone's eyes turned to her again. Shiraishi didn't look up. "Everyone knows the situation in Class D. As soon as they formulate an entry list, it will likely be seen through by the other classes immediately. If the other classes arrange their own lists based on Class D's, then no
matter how strong Koenji and Ayanokouji are, they will be targeted. If they can't get points, our White Group loses a massive chunk of our score."
The classroom was so quiet the wind outside could be heard. Morishita leaned back and sighed softly. "Shiraishi is right. Class D... has long been as leaky as a sieve."
No one refuted this because they all knew it was the truth. The students of Class D had varied motives. Some just wanted to slack off, some just wanted points, and some didn't care about the class at all. Expecting them to keep the secret of an entry list was even more unrealistic than expecting them to take first place in a race.
Katsuragi was silent for a long time. Then he spoke, "We can't control Class D. But we can control ourselves." He looked at everyone in the room. "Our entry list must not be leaked. There's no problem with that, right?"
No one spoke. Although there had been a traitor on the deserted island, now that the class had become Class B, it involved their own direct interests. Naturally... they couldn't be short-sighted anymore.
Sakayanagi sat in her seat, appearing very well-behaved. But SakayanagArisu i being well-behaved meant she was being absolutely anything but. Kamuro Masumi, sitting behind her, noticed this detail. Sakayanagi had taken out her phone and seemed to be composing and sending a message to someone. She didn't wait for a reply before putting the phone back in her drawer.
Just then, a light cough was heard. It was the homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei, standing below.
"Katsuragi, do you have anything else to say?" Mashima-sensei asked.
"Not for now," Katsuragi said.
"Right." Mashima nodded, then added with a hint of regret, "Then there is one more thing I need to inform you of." The classroom went quiet.
"Sakayanagi Arisu." Mashima's gaze landed on her. "Due to physical reasons, she is prohibited from participating in all events."
The classroom froze for a moment. Following the excitement, silence, disappointment, and then the encouragement, the class paused briefly. Because... Sakayanagi's inability to participate meant automatic point deductions for those events. It wasn't just Class D being a drag; Class B had one too.
Fortunately, it was only Sakayanagi. Since they had all trained hard during the break, they felt they should be able to easily make up for that portion of the points.
"This is due to physical health, so there's nothing more to be said," Katsuragi finally concluded. As a class representative, he still had grace and wouldn't blame Sakayanagi for potentially dragging down the class.
However. "Since you brought it up separately, Sensei, is there any other information you want to tell us?" Katsuragi followed up.
"Yes." Mashima nodded. "The top three individual scorers in each school year will receive a reward of +10 points to all subjects in the next written exam. At the same time, the ten students with the lowest total individual scores in this exam for each grade will face a penalty of -10 points to all subjects in the next written exam. These ten spots are divided into 5 males and 5 females."
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Meanwhile, in the Class C classroom. Sakagami Kazuma pushed up his glasses and looked up from the materials in his hand, scanning the forty faces in the room.
"Those are the basic rules for the Sports Festival.
However, there is one more thing to add."
Then he announced the rewards and punishments for the top ten and bottom ten individual scorers.
As his voice fell, the classroom was quiet for less than two seconds.
"Eh?!" Screams erupted from several directions almost simultaneously. A short-haired girl in the front row covered her face with both hands and slumped onto her desk, her shoulders shaking. A boy in the back row suddenly sat bolt upright, his chair legs scraping harshly against the floor.
"Minus ten points for all subjects? Isn't that the end?!"
"My written exams were already touch-and-go; minus ten points is as good as asking me to drop out..."
"The Sports Festival tests physical strength; what does it have to do with written exams? What is the school trying to do?"
"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. I did nothing but eat and sleep during the break—I haven't run once!"
The voices exploded like a disturbed hornet's nest. Some slammed the desks, some held their heads, and others started counting on their fingers to see which events they could place in—only to give up halfway because they realized they couldn't place in any of them.
Sakagami didn't stop them. He just stood quietly at the podium, waiting for the clamor to subside slightly before speaking again.
"The rules have been announced; panicking now won't help." His tone remained steady. "You have two weeks to prepare. Instead of complaining here, you should think about how to improve your physical fitness before the exam."
The classroom gradually quieted down. But that silence wasn't one of relief; it was a heavier weight pressing on everyone's chest. A ten-point deduction for all subjects was a nearly fatal blow for Class C, which wasn't academically strong to begin with. Conversely, a ten-point addition was the icing on the cake for strong students, but a lifesaver for the weak ones.
Ryuen Kakeru leaned back in his chair with his legs up on the desk, twirling a pen in his hand. His expression was the same as usual, but his eyes were scanning the room as if calculating something. His gaze paused on Albert.
Albert sat in the last row, his massive frame like a wall. Even though Albert was just sitting there silently, he carried a natural sense of pressure. But he was currently looking down at the materials with a serious expression, as if struggling to understand the dense text of the rules. Yes. For some students in Class C, they couldn't even fully understand the rules of the exam.
Ryuen stared at him for two seconds and then spoke, "Albert." Albert looked up at Ryuen. "Did you exercise over the break?" Ryuen asked. Albert nodded, his voice deep and brief. "Ran. Every day."
The corner of Ryuen's mouth curled slightly. Albert's physical ability was already the strongest in Class C, and he had run every day during the break—his entry into the top ten individual scorers was practically a given. The reward of +10 points to all subjects might not mean much to him, but for Class C, those ten points could be placed on someone who needed them more.
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