After measuring our athletic abilities we decided to hold a discussion.

Sudō-kun did indeed have quite impressive athletic ability but even while saying he would take it easy he still lost in every event to Kiyotaka-kun who is actually extremely competitive.

I mean even though Sudō-kun’s grip strength was close to 90 kilograms Kiyotaka-kun calmly put up a three-digit number which is clearly abnormal.

Kōenji-kun, who could probably match that record, was even more obviously holding back.

He probably will not participate in the sports festival.

“Alright then let’s decide things one by one. First I want to ask you this. Kōenji are you going to follow my instructions?”

“Hmph don’t you think that question itself is nonsense Red Hair-kun. You know the answer yourself even as you ask it don’t you. In the first place there is no one who has the right to give me orders. Even if the opponent is a monster boy I might consider it just a little. And since he has already made it clear that he will not take command of the sports festival then of course I will do as I please.”

“Why the hell not. If you actually tried, wouldn't Class D be able to win easily?”

“…Yeah that’s just how Kōenji is. Our combat power drops a lot but it can’t be helped.”

It seems Sudō-kun had the same expectations as I did and I really think he has grown up a lot.

Even though he was surprised at suddenly becoming leader by Kiyotaka-kun’s nomination it might actually turn out fine.

Compared to Yamauchi-kun who is only good at barking, the difference is truly like heaven and earth.

I was also at that convenience store on the day of the entrance ceremony along with Kiyotaka-kun.

That is why I also know what Sudō-kun was like back then when he was violent.

If it were the Sudō-kun from that time it would not be strange at all if he had already punched Kōenji-kun by now.

It has not even been half a year since then.

If you think about how Sudō-kun had already been corrected by the time of the violence incident, you can see just how incredible Kiyotaka-kun’s skill is.

I secretly think his ability to control people’s hearts is nothing short of brainwashing.

“By the way, what about Aniki? He said he would not give instructions but is he also going to hold back in the events?”

“I will basically hold back but I have no intention of compromising on placement. I have no intention of losing.”

If that is the case then I might be able to feel quite relieved.

If both Kōenji-kun and Kiyotaka-kun were absent the loss would be far too great.

Kiyotaka-kun really is competitive after all.

So then the real problem is…

“I think the participation order is important but more than that I think the most important thing is who goes in the recommended events. That’s why I want to discuss that. Horikita and Hirata are you fine with that?”

“I think so too. All-participant events are exactly what they sound like so everyone participates.”

“That’s right. What matters is who goes. In other words, who we choose in order to win.”

I think that is fine as well, so I show my agreement.

“About that though, to avoid the bottom ten penalty I want to put people who are really likely to end up at the bottom into the recommended events. If the number of events they participate in increases then even if their placements are low I think the chance of avoiding the penalty goes up.”

“Hirata-kun. It’s not that I don’t understand what you’re saying. A ten-point deduction on the written exam is a fairly heavy penalty. Under normal circumstances I would take that into consideration.”

“Then…”

“But this time it could even affect the results of the upperclassmen who are on the same Red Team. What if by acting only with ourselves in mind we end up losing the red-white match because we don’t get enough points. If we lose the red-white match it’s minus 100 CP. I don’t think that’s a good move.”

“I can’t deny that. But among the recommended events there is one where the results probably won’t change much no matter who goes and that is the scavenger race. So I want to have people who are bad at sports go in that one.”

Even if having higher running ability still makes it easier to win, the scavenger race might ultimately come down to luck.

That much compromise should be fine.

“…The scavenger race does indeed have a high chance of being decided by luck. Very well. I’ll leave that to you Hirata-kun. In exchange for that I will choose members who are focused on winning for everything else.”

For Class D and Class A and for my reward.

* * *

Things are going smoothly or rather as expected.

There is nothing in particular for me to say.

It does feel like Horikita is getting a bit too fired up.

She said in other words that it might trouble the upperclassmen but is that just because the president is in the same group.

“Hey, are you even listening properly?”

“Yeah I’m listening. It’s not like I want to get tired either…”

“You said you would leave it to me. Then I will use whatever I can. There is no way I would leave you our strongest asset in Class D idle.”

Well that’s only natural.

I have no complaints about that but being made to participate in everything except the scavenger race is just plain annoying.

Right now my only personal objective is my match with the president in the relay.

“About how to handle the participation sheet. We cannot allow information about this to leak to other classes. So to be absolutely safe could everyone turn off their phones and submit them.”

“Eh isn’t it a pain to take out our phones just for that?”

“Information leaking isn’t something that’s going to happen is it. Is it really necessary to go that far?”

“I said we have to be absolutely safe. We can’t say for sure that there is no one in the other classes with hacking skills so I want to ban recording video and taking photos on phones. That’s why everyone hand them in.”

Hmm.

Normally, there wouldn’t be anyone who would pass information to rival classes so it’s not a bad method.

The real reason might be that she doesn’t trust her classmates that much.

“Likewise photography with cameras is also prohibited. Though there are very few people who even have cameras, so there’s not much point in saying it.”

“But won’t we forget the participation order? It’s at least eight events per person right. I feel like we’d mess it up.”

“I just want to deal with this participation sheet which is a lump of information and risk. I plan to submit it right before 5 PM on the day before the sports festival. Until then I will keep it on me at all times. Then when we submit it only I will take a photo and send it to everyone later. After 5 PM changes are not allowed so even if information is leaked after that it won’t be a problem.”

That’s clever.

The reason for not submitting early is probably to reduce the risk of hacking like she said.

If the photo Horikita takes gets stolen between submission and 5 PM on the day before the sports festival then everything would be meaningless.

In truth deciding early would make practice easier and by keeping it on her person without leaving data anywhere she can manage it.

With this the risk of information leakage is extremely low.

“Then this is settled. I will seal it tightly and manage it myself until submission. Let’s all work together and do our best at the sports festival Class D.”

“Yeeeah.”

“There’s something I’m wondering though. For things like the two-person three-legged race pairs and the cavalry battle combinations there’s compatibility right. What if we want to change them later.”

“We haven’t actually submitted it yet so there’s no problem changing it. For changes like that I’ll remember them and change them right before submission. Forgetting your own combination is a problem but that monster over there probably has everything memorized so you can just ask him.”

Calling me a monster is rude.

Though of course I remember everything.

Horikita’s strategy here is quite good.

If you were really going to be wary of hacking then there is also the possibility of the classroom security cameras being hacked but that’s honestly something you can’t really do much about. We can just hope the school has proper countermeasures.

More than that she might be more afraid of the photo of the participation sheet leaking to SNS or club friends.

Or maybe this is her all-out attempt to block Kikyo from passing information to Class C and secure her own victory.

That’s not bad either.

It all depends on how the other monsters move.

* * *

“Sorry for calling you out Ayanokōji. How are the preparations for the sports festival going?”

“They’re not bad. But small talk is pointless. Get to the real reason you called me here President.”

I had been called by the student council president Horikita Manabu and visited the student council room.

“…Do you know Nagumo Miyabi?”

“Ah that blond vice president guy. I’ve seen him and it’s not like I don’t know him. Did something happen with him?”

He’s flashy so he’s easy to remember.

Not that I ever forget anything.

“For some reason Nagumo seems obsessed with me. And Ayanokōji he also knows that I have my eye on you. You can guess the rest right.”

“…You mean he might not like me and come pick a fight. If it’s just a bit of trouble I’ll just beat him back normally.”

“Probably. I know your ability firsthand. Even so in that case Nagumo will probably use the power of numbers from the entire second year. For now let’s set that aside. I told you before that I might ask you for a favor someday. What I’m about to talk about today is related to that.”

“Go on. Let’s start with that.”

Otherwise I can’t judge anything.

“Thanks. If things continue like this my term as student council president will end and Nagumo will naturally become the next president. That is almost certainly what will happen. But the problem is Nagumo becoming the top. We don’t know what will happen once Nagumo becomes president but until now I’ve been able to keep him in check because I was here. Letting him stand at the helm and wield the power of the presidency to do whatever he wants in this school is not something I want. That’s why I want you Ayanokōji to be in a position to keep an eye on Nagumo. Ideally with joining the student council in mind. Nagumo likes strong people like how he… dotes on me. He will probably take a liking to you as well as a playmate.”

He almost said obsessive just now.

Don’t sic a guy like that on me.

“As student council president I have carried out special exams and it’s not that no one has been expelled. Even so I have tried to design exams that minimize expulsions. But Nagumo is different. This is still just speculation but I believe Nagumo will promote ‘true meritocracy’ and conduct special exams to cut off the weak. I want a deterrent to stop that. That is my request. Of course while I am still a student I will do everything I can. In a way I helped shape who he is now by working with him in the student council.”

“I see. I understand the situation. But this school acknowledges meritocracy in the first place and even tacitly allows violence. In such an environment I don’t think there’s any need to let the weak stay.”

Personally I’d say I’m closer to Nagumo’s side.

If there’s some use then even weak people are fine but there’s no reason to keep truly useless defective products in your class.

If you can expel them properly there are people it would be better to get rid of.

Though considering there will probably be penalties for expulsions or for classes with expulsions you should think about how to use them.

“I thought you would say that. But Ayanokōji I want you to learn as well. You have no interest in others but I want you to learn emotions. As Suzune’s brother I believe this is necessary so that Suzune won’t be sad.”

Even back in May I thought the same but there’s nothing going on with Horikita.

The future is uncertain so it’s not impossible but still.

“What does expulsion really mean? I want you to understand the special nature of this school as well. That’s why I want you in the student council.”

“Sorry, but I’m not interested right now. Why not invite your sister instead?”

“It’s still too early for Suzune. You already know don’t you? Just changing the object of her dependence doesn’t mean she has truly grown. Even so, there has been some improvement. She’s one step away.”

I think so too.

The time when Horikita will emerge from her shell is near.

This sports festival will probably turn into a turbulent event.