Chapter 63: Get Set, Go! (2)

“I repeat, even if you couldn’t visit the venue in person, there’s no need to be disappointed. If you subscribe to our Chronos channel, you can watch the games as vividly as if you were watching them right in front of you!”

“With the individual events in the morning over, the school rankings are being updated one after another. The current number one school is… unbelievable, it’s none other than Gehenna.”

-Crash!-

“Ahaha…yeah…I see…”

“E-eek…sister…?”

While Seia-senpai and Nagisa-senpai were busy with the executive committee’s work, Mika-senpai and I were both excluded from the executive committee in the name of condition management as participants in important events.

Mika-senpai initially suggested that it would be better for her, who has some degree of combat power, to participate in the executive committee,

but she was resting after hearing Nagisa-senpai’s message to win since the Justice Realization Committee and many other schools were participating.

The small talk during the break was quite enjoyable, but since we spend a lot of time together,

even long hours, the topics of conversation quickly ran out, and we turned on the Chronos channel that continues to broadcast the Great Sports Festival.

However, was it because the timing was bad?

Just as the first games ended, Chronos was broadcasting the results of the games…and at the same time as the news that Gehenna was the number one school, senpai’s body shot out like a phantom.

“Sora-chan…let’s definitely win…?”

“Sister…that…TV…is Millennium property…”

“Ah.”

Mika-senpai’s…hatred for Gehenna itself was gradually, very gradually decreasing,

but that was because Mika-senpai herself had some leeway and the overall atmosphere of the school itself was losing its disorderly hatred for Gehenna.

But…I said it was decreasing, it hasn’t disappeared yet, and even if it has softened, it was clear that she still had a strong aversion to Gehenna.

It’s just that there was no clear trigger, and the hatred that was originally rooted in her was still deeply ingrained, so it was still intensely remaining.

It quickly showed in action, and as a result…um…it resulted in the waiting room TV being smashed.

The amount to be compensated has increased…but…well, what can I do…it’s already been done…

“Oh, by the way, Sora-chan, what was your next event?”

“Ah…come to think of it, it’s next, borrowing things…isn’t it?”

Borrowing things, basically the same as running…but it’s a kind of race where you get the item written on the note you received while running and run towards the goal again.

I’m confident in my athletic ability, and it’s a game that requires a certain level of intelligence and composure, so I was selected.

“Hmm…? Hehe…that’s right…Ah, it’s right after this event!”

“Ah?! I’ll be going!!”

The time I spend with Mika-senpai always passes quickly, so I didn’t check even though my event time was approaching…and in the end, I had to hurry out only after Mika-senpai told me that it was the next event.

I was left with a question about the sudden change in senpai’s mood, but I didn’t have the time to worry about it at the moment…and since it wouldn’t have a negative effect,

I cleared the miscellaneous thoughts in my head and hurried to the athlete waiting room.

“Ah, Sensei. You were here.”

[Noah? Welcome. You’re working hard.]

Noah, the secretary of the Millennium Science School Seminar, is a bit of a prankster, but she doesn’t cross the line and generally cares deeply for her friend, Yuuka, so she was a child I also thought well of.

“Fufu, you worked hard late into the night yesterday. Did you get some sleep?”

[Yeah, thanks to the students’ consideration, I took a short break.]

Just yesterday, I spent the whole day helping Yuuka with Noah until late at night to prepare for the Millennium Festival.

Noah’s question was probably conscious of this.

“Yes, I also took a nap before the opening ceremony started. It seems like a few big commotions passed by while I was napping, though…”

[Haha…]

Yeah…big commotion…it passed…if there’s any relief, it’s that the big commotion naturally passed without leaving any trouble.

“Still, it’s good to see everyone so energetic and having fun.”

[It was worth the hard work preparing.]

“That’s right. Then the next event is…oh my, it’s the borrowing things race.”

Borrowing things…it was a game that was always played at sports festivals when I was in school…

and I have a memory of an incident where a friend of mine, who was an executive committee member, made a public confession on the school’s sports field because of a prank.

It’s a word that reminds me a little of my school days, and I could be lost in memories for a while.

“I think I’ve had enough rest, so I should get ready to go out.”

[Are you participating in the borrowing things race as a player, Noah?]

“No, I’m participating as a referee, not a player. Originally, Hanaoka-san from the Game Development Department was going to participate, but due to Yuuka-chan’s strong request, Yuuka-chan took her place.”

Well…Yuzu would want to run away from a place where people’s attention is focused like this if possible…rather, Yuzu would be grateful for Yuuka’s suggestion.

But…Yuuka wasn’t that active of a child either, but it seems that Yuuka also has a lot of expectations for this Millennium Festival, and she was full of motivation.

“Fufu, borrowing things….This borrowing things race is a popular event that causes a lot of buzz every Millennium Festival.

The contents of the note are determined by lottery so that even the executive committee members don’t know,

but it’s an unwritten rule of the Millennium Festival to include one note that says ‘the person you like’ for the fun of the game.”

[I see…pfft…that sounds fun…]

A piece of my past memories rises to the surface like a bubble from the sea of memories once again.

I liked it quite a bit, but more than that, the first thought that came to mind was a child I was thinking of.

“….I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of note Yuuka-chan will pick in this game.”

[I’ve also become excited about a child.]

“Oh my…well, Sensei. Please continue to enjoy watching the games.”

Certainly…Seia and Nagisa…and Mika, did they all say they would watch this game properly?

Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to see something interesting…

Fortunately, I hurried to the stadium as soon as I heard Mika-senpai’s words, so fortunately, the misfortune of not being able to participate in the game because I was late did not happen.

“It’s been a while, Hayase-san.”

“Ah, it’s been a while. Was it after the last time we were on duty?”

Just before getting on the starting line, I saw Hayase-san, who it’s been a while since I’ve seen, in the waiting room, so I felt a welcome feeling and greeted her.

I haven’t met Hayase-san much outside of work, but we relied on each other a lot when working together, so the feelings we had for each other remained good.

“Ugh…I came out to win this game…I wonder if it’ll be hard…ugh…”

“Haha…it might be very different in borrowing things, so I won’t go easy on you?”

It wasn’t a deep relationship, but it was a relationship where we could say we were close to each other, so the small talk we could share continued, but the start time came.

Like with Mika-senpai…I guess my sense of time gets a little dull when I’m chatting with someone I’m even a little close to.

“Everyone! Please get ready now!”

Around the time the start time was very close, a familiar voice resonated through the waiting room’s speaker, and at the same time,

an executive committee member who appeared to be a student from another school entered the waiting room and announced the start of the game to us…

and after that, everyone took their place on the starting line without any special events.

“Ah. Speaking of which, the players participating in the borrowing things race are entering the track!”

Certainly, everyone may not have only good feelings for each other, and it may not be a relationship where everyone completely trusts each other,

but unlike the waiting room, which was noisy with small talk or burning fighting spirit, everyone on the starting line was quietly holding their posture.

Everyone is from a different school, has different tendencies, and even the thoughts they have for each other are different, but everyone standing here has only one purpose and is waiting for only one signal.

-Bang!!!-

At the same time as the gunshot and broadcast announcing the signal, everyone who was standing in place started to run with all their might…except me.

I was running while maintaining my pace with some leeway.

The reason is that I have not only this event, but at least two more, so I was in a state that required some pace control.

That doesn’t mean I gave up on this game, so I maintained a speed that was just behind the student from SRT Academy in the lead.

SRT Academy was closed down, but the student in front of me is a player running under the name of SRT Academy with the help of Sensei, is it SRT after all?

She was the first to get the note of the item to borrow with a stable and fast pace and speed compared to anyone else participating in the game except me.

I’m starting to feel a little regret that I thought wrong from the beginning.

It’s clear that I would probably be ahead of her in speed and stamina in an all-out sprint, but I started to think that it was probably my mistake to give up the lead to preserve my strength for later.

It was a thought I had because I was able to leave a considerable amount of energy even though I ran at a reduced speed to control my pace, but this thought didn’t last long.

This thought was shattered for a ridiculous reason.

“Let’s see, the item I need to bring….4.2 inch white phosphorus smoke grenade? Where in the stadium am I supposed to get something like that?!”

“Ding~ Disqualified!”

“D-disqualified?!”

“As I said before the game started, it’s a rule of borrowing things to cross the finish line with the contents of the note kept secret. It’s no fun if other students know the contents of the note…no, you might get help from other students.”

? Ushio-san just said…it’s no fun.

I definitely heard it…well…it’s none of my business, but it seems to have become a bit of a sad event for that Saki student.

Who would bring a white phosphorus smoke grenade to a stadium like this?

Even I would be so flustered at the sight of such a note that my head would freeze.

Apart from that, my note was enough to make me flustered…

“…”

“Fufu…”

Ushio-san was smiling meaningfully in front of the table where I received the note…and my expression was getting worse in real time.

But…well, what…damn it…

“Sigh…”

Still, was it because I saw the student named Saki in front of me first, or was it because I knew who to…no…who to look for?

I rush to the stands in a state where the reason is unclear.

There was no need to even think about what was written on the note in the stands.

It’s just a matter of shouting once, just once.

Ah…damn it…what’s the difference between this and a full-blown coming out?

Still…it’s three people, so it’ll be fine…

“Huuuuh..”

I take a deep breath as much as possible…shout with all my might, spitting it out.

I shout with all my might the word that I’ve come to say a lot recently.

I already know which direction they’re in, so I throw away worries and shout.

I shout until my throat is sore in case they don’t hear.

“Sisters!!!!”

And…it was so effective.

“Ahaha! Yeah! I won the bet! Nagi-chan!!”

“Kyaaaaa!!!”

“P-please!! Say something!! Before you do it!!! Mika!!!!!”

My favorite people in the high stands started free-falling to the stadium.

I fix my posture by pulling one leg back and planting it on the ground.

I spread my wings and arms as wide as possible to increase the volume.

-Thud!, Screeech-

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t reduce all the impact, so I left a mark on the stadium floor and slid backwards, finally succeeding in catching all three who jumped.

Two of them…were already unconscious, but still, thanks to spreading my wings as wide as possible, the impact was successfully minimized…and thanks to that, all three were unharmed, and thanks to that, I felt a sense of relief even in this urgent situation.

“Ahaha☆ Yeah! It ended up like this after all!”

“We don’t have time! Let’s run!”

I lifted up Nagisa-senpai and Seia-senpai, who fainted while free-falling, and ran with all my might towards the finish line with Mika-senpai.

“…It’s over…!”

“Hee…three people…fufu…”

“Ahaha☆ Yeah! Our Sora-chan is really capable~”

“Sister..!”

“I see…it would be good to get rid of prejudices. Fufu…”

“Ugh….”

Well…yeah…it would be nice if it didn’t spread to Hayase-san…I work with Hayase-san often, you know…

It was a moment when, very unexpectedly…one more person was added to the list of people who found out about our relationship.

The borrowing things race…we won…