Chapter 049: What's the Use of Running Fast? This is a Team Competition, Bro!
Ryuen's fingers paused on his knee.
Hikigaya.
800 million. He had indeed written that plan. Back during the deserted island exam, he still had ambition, but... after the VIP exam, he realized he couldn't beat Hikigaya no matter what.
Especially now that Hikigaya had already led his class to advance to Class A, it didn't look like he could be easily knocked down by any means.
So, he had thought—if you can't beat them, buy them.
20 million points can upgrade a class or prevent expulsion, and what he wanted to do was use 20 million points to upgrade a class.
And it wasn't just for one person; it was for everyone.
Just thinking about it was exciting. It was such an incredible, insane idea, but he knew that once it was achieved, it would definitely become a legend in the school, and his legend would remain in this school forever.
But he also knew that 800 million was an astronomical figure, and they might never be able to scrape it together.
"That plan," Ryuen's voice lowered, "was just something I wrote randomly."
Ibuki looked at him. "It wasn't written randomly. You were serious."
Ryuen did not speak.
Hiyori sat in the corner, listening to all of this quietly. Her mind was spinning rapidly.
Two plans.
The first plan: buy Ayanokouji. 20 million, for one person. He could help Class C win, but his method was by any means necessary. He would sacrifice others, he would betray, and he would utilize people. The ordinary students of Class C would become pawns on his chessboard.
And the second plan: 800 million, pooling the points of the entire class together to buy the entire class's way up. No need to sacrifice anyone, no need to betray anyone.
But 800 million might never be gathered.
Hiyori closed her eyes.
Why did Ayanokouji want to come to Class C? He was clearly doing fine in Class D—no, he wasn't doing fine in Class D. He was isolated by the whole class, his reputation was ruined, and he couldn't even borrow a mirror. He needed a new class, a class where he could display his abilities. Class C had Ryuen, Albert, Ibuki, and a group of "soldiers" who had already been
trained to obey orders. If he took over Class C, he wouldn't need to start from scratch; he just needed to replace Ryuen.
Hiyori's eyelashes trembled slightly.
She suddenly understood.
Ayanokouji wasn't helping Class C win; he was helping himself win. Perhaps he wanted to prove that he was stronger than everyone else. Class C was just a tool for him to prove himself. He didn't care what would happen to the students of Class C, he didn't care who would be sacrificed, and he didn't care who would be expelled. He only cared about whether he could win.
Hiyori opened her eyes and looked at Ryuen. Ryuen was leaning back on the folding chair with his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze falling outside the tent. His expression was very calm, but Hiyori noticed that his finger was tapping lightly on his arm. He was hesitating.
"Ryuen-kun," Hiyori spoke up.
Ryuen looked toward her.
"Ayanokouji-kun's method can indeed make Class C win. But what is the price of winning? Who will be sacrificed? Who will be expelled? Can the students of our class survive until the very end under his plan?
And including you, I think you would probably be the first one eliminated by him, as long as you don't support his plan."
"..."
Ryuen remained silent for a long time.
"I don't know," Ryuen said. "But if he wants to eliminate me, then it's impossible for me to bring him over."
Hiyori looked at him and didn't speak further.
Although Ryuen always had the mindset of a tyrant, Hiyori felt that Ryuen was also like a big brother. If it really required the whole class to sacrifice just him, he would probably...
...choose to do so.
Because she knew that if Class C could really scrape together 800 million, Ryuen would choose this path without hesitation. Not because he didn't want to win, but because he didn't want to sacrifice anyone. He was the most ruthless person in Class C, but he was also the one who protected his own the most.
Granted, Ryuen's approach carried a bit of fantasy.
It was even basically impossible to achieve.
But in the end, perhaps it could allow a few students, or if there was a chance, 10 students from the class to upgrade.
Therefore.
The latter was the only way out for the ordinary students of Class C.
Hiyori closed her book and placed it on her knees.
Then she sighed softly.
Because.
Why were the boys in this school all so terrifying?
Hikigaya-kun was terrifying, Ayanokouji-kun was terrifying, and Ryuen-kun was also terrifying.
Everyone had their own set of logic, and everyone felt they were right. Placed in the middle, she could only watch, listen, and then sigh silently in her heart.
Where exactly was the path for Class C?
Because there was actually one more thing she didn't dare to say out loud.
That was, Hiyori felt the school would not recognize the entire Class C successfully climbing to Class A. In fact, she feared Ayanokouji also knew this, and what Ayanokouji wanted was to carry Class C up and then prove his own strength.
So, this was actually a scam.
Class C never had a chance to begin with.
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Meanwhile, in the Class D tent, the atmosphere was heavier than the sand on the battlefield.
It was a suffocating heavy feeling.
Some people squatted on the ground, tracing lines back and forth in the sand with their fingers, drawing and erasing, erasing and drawing. Some leaned back on folding chairs, looking up at the top of the tent with blank eyes, unsure of what they were thinking. Still others lowered their heads, staring at their phone screens, which displayed a screenshot of a report card. The scores of the four classes were neatly arranged there; the numbers for the Red Team were glaring, while the numbers for the White Team were heartbreaking.
"We lost the Red and White face-off," a boy's voice came from the corner, carrying a flat tone of resignation. "Our White Team is going to lose 200 points. What is Class D's class evaluation score right now?"
"130 points," Yukimura Teruhiko's voice came from another direction. Then it was also accompanied by a slight sigh.
Although they knew it was basically impossible to win, losing this miserably still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"130 points minus 200 points... minus 70 points." The boy's voice dropped a bit lower. "We are at the bottom of the grade rankings too, right? Do we have to lose another 200 points? Won't that be minus 270 points?"
The tent fell quiet for a moment.
A huge silence.
But.
"Wait a minute." Ike Kanji stood up from his folding chair, the expression on his face not looking good. "What do you mean by negative points? Can scores even be negative?"
No one answered him. Even Yamauchi Haruki didn't give him any attention.
But Yamauchi was already prepared; he definitely wasn't going to pay any money to the school.
Except.
"Also," Ike Kanji's voice grew louder, "we get 20,000 points for living expenses from Hikigaya-kun every month. If the class score becomes negative, will the school deduct money from our personal points? Won't we have to pay out of our own pockets every month then?"
This sentence caused several people's expressions to change. Some frowned, while some opened their mouths and closed them again.
But panic was certain.
"I'll go call Chabashira-sensei," a girl stood up and walked outside the tent.
No one stopped her.
A few minutes later, Chabashira Sae walked in.
She was wearing a red tracksuit, still with her single ponytail, and her expression was no different from usual—cold, calm, with the corners of her mouth slightly pursed. Her gaze swept around the tent, paused briefly on those tense, uneasy, and anxious faces, and then withdrew.
"What is it?" Chabashira asked.
Several students gathered around. Ike Kanji was the first to speak, talking very quickly with a sense of urgency as if "this is a major issue." "Sensei, if the class score becomes negative, will the school deduct money from our personal points?"
Chabashira glanced at him. "No."
Ike Kanji froze for a moment. "Really?"
"There has been no precedent of negative scores in the past." Chabashira's voice was very calm. She knew what the students of this class would care about, so she continued, "But even if a negative score does occur, the school will not require students to pay extra money. You can rest assured about this. However—"
She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, "If it remains negative, the school will not distribute living expenses either. So you still need to work hard."
Some people breathed a sigh of relief, some lowered their heads, and some turned their faces away.
Chabashira looked at these reactions and didn't say anything more.
After all, this was Class D.
She was already very used to it.
Then she turned around and walked back outside the tent. After taking two steps, she stopped again, without turning her head back.
"The 1200-meter relay is the last event. It will be over once it's run." Her voice drifted over from a distance, "No matter what the result is, just do your best."
After saying that, she continued walking forward, her footsteps gradually fading away.
Obviously, as the homeroom Sensei, she didn't have much expectation for this class right now. She didn't before, and she wouldn't now, but she wouldn't pressure them anymore either.
And along with Chabashira's voice.
The air in the tent loosened up a bit, but not by much.
Negative scores wouldn't deduct from personal points, which was good news. But the fact itself that the class score was negative didn't change. Negative scores meant no living expenses, and no living expenses meant that for the next two-plus years, they would have to find a way themselves.
And with Class D's current capabilities, they obviously couldn't solve this problem.
But that would be under normal circumstances, and the fact that negative scores wouldn't deduct living expenses also meant they could still get 20,000 points per month from Hikigaya's side as a safety net!
So to speak, Horikita-san from the deserted island exam, you did a great job!
And Horikita Suzune speechlessly discovered that the surrounding students seemed to be looking at her with fervent gazes once again.
And at this moment.
Hirata Yousuke walked into the tent from outside. His face carried exhaustion, fine beads of sweat were seeping from his forehead, and his tracksuit was stained with quite a bit of sand. His pace was a bit slower than usual. He walked to the middle of the tent, stopped his steps, and looked at the people present.
"Sudo-kun..." Hirata's voice was a bit strained, "He isn't coming back."
No one spoke. Ike Kanji sighed, and Yamauchi Haruki turned his head away. Some shook their heads, some lowered their heads, and some sat there expressionlessly, as if they had known this would be the outcome all along.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stood at the edge of the tent with his hands in his pockets. His expression didn't change at all, but something flickered slightly in those golden eyes.
Sudo wasn't coming back.
He had long anticipated it.
With Sudo's self-esteem, after being publicly humiliated by Ryuen in the pole-toppling competition, after being surrounded and attacked in the cavalry battle, and after Miyake brought out a voice recorder to stand up for him but he said "I wasn't bullied," it was impossible for him to return to this sports field.
So to speak, Hirata was destined to fail.
Then, Ayanokouji stepped out from the edge of the crowd and stood in the middle of the tent.
"Leave the rest to me." Ayanokouji's voice wasn't loud, but every word was spoken clearly. "For the 1200-meter relay, I will run the final anchor leg. I will win."
Ike Kanji looked at him, his brow furrowing. "On what grounds?"
"Based on my speed," Ayanokouji said. "You saw it during the scavenger hunt. That wasn't my full strength, not even half of it."
Ike Kanji opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but swallowed the words back down when they reached his lips. Because he had indeed seen it—Ayanokouji's explosive power at the start of the scavenger hunt, that kind of speed that left everyone behind, didn't look like something a student of this age could run.
"So what?" a girl's voice came from the crowd, carrying clear dissatisfaction. "Didn't you say before that you would sweep all the recommended events? What was the result? You didn't manage to run a single one of the men's or women's three-legged races. You only took third place in the scavenger hunt. Right now, Class D is still at the very bottom of the grade. Is this how you 'leave it to you'?"
Several girls nodded along.
Ayanokouji's words were indeed unconvincing. He said he would sweep all the recommended events, but as a result, no girls were willing to team up with him for the men's and women's three-legged races, and he didn't manage to run a single one of the four events. He said he could get a high score in the scavenger hunt, but he only got third place. Now he said to leave the 1200-meter relay to him, so why should they believe him?
Ayanokouji fell silent for a second.
"I will work hard in the 1200-meter relay." His voice didn't change. "I will let everyone see a different me. This sports festival is not the end point. There will be more special exams in the future. I will fight for the class with all my might."
"The future?" the girl's voice became sharper. "We don't even know if we can survive today!"
"Exactly, what's the use of you just talking about the future?" another person chimed in.
"Sudo-kun was harmed into this state by you, and now you come out to say 'leave it to me'?"
The voices grew more and more numerous, increasingly chaotic. Ayanokouji stood in the middle, surrounded by those voices, his expression showing no change whatsoever.
And the students' chatter quickly turned into blaming each other.
"That guy Sudo too," a boy's voice came from the back of the crowd, carrying clear dissatisfaction. "He has the strength but didn't show it. If it weren't for him not coming, our Class D wouldn't have ended up this miserable."
"That's not right for you to say, is it?" Hasabe Haruka's voice came from another direction. "Sudo-kun was surrounded and attacked by Ryuen in the pole-toppling competition, stepped on and kicked, yet he held onto the flagpole alone and refused to let go. He did his best. He did his best more than a lot of people. The reason he became like this now isn't because he didn't work hard, it's because someone sold out Class D's participation list.
That person wasn't Sudo, it was Ayanokouji."
At this, everyone's gaze shifted toward Ayanokouji.
Hasabe looked at Ayanokouji without backing down. "Ryuen targeted Sudo because he knew Sudo was Class D's strongest combat asset. How did he know? Because someone gave him the participation list. That person was you."
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