Apart from competing against Class D, Katsuragi also approached the students participating in the assigned events.

"Kamuro and I will do the three-legged race," Kaoru thought for a moment.

"Oh, and let's add the scavenger hunt too."

Initially, Kamuro remained silent, but upon hearing him mention the scavenger hunt, she decisively said.

"I'll join the scavenger hunt as well."

Katsuragi looked at the two of them and give them a reminder.

"The scavenger hunt is a team event. Each group can only send one student."

"What's the big deal? Didn't the competition chart say so?" Kamuro crossed her arms, her expression slightly cold.

"Each class has to send six students anyway. One more won't matter."

Kaoru glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu not far away.

She was quietly observing their discussion, showing no signs of anything unusual.

"Fine. What other events do you want to join?" Katsuragi asked.

Hashimoto Masayoshi suggested, "There are twelve of us here. Each should participate in at least three events, right?"

"Aside from the relay and tug-of-war, which require a lot of stamina, the scavenger hunt and three-legged race are relatively easier. I suggest assigning the most athletic students to the first two events."

Shinji Matoba's words earned nods of agreement from many.

Soon, everyone had their events assigned.

However, when it came to the final relay race, Katsuragi hesitated.

According to the rules, each class would send six students for the 1,200-meter relay, with an equal mix of boys and girls in pairs.

Kamuro was naturally assigned, but the selection for the boys' team was uncertain.

Hayato Kito and Hashimoto Masayoshi were likely the most athletic boys in Class A—even Katsuragi Kouhei had to admit he was slightly inferior.

Logically, they should be the ones sent, but considering their affiliations, Katsuragi found himself in a dilemma.

Though some of Sakayanagi's faction had switched sides, the core members still showed no intention of defecting.

For instance, Hayato Kito, Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kamuro Masumi were all key members of Sakayanagi's faction.

Honestly, if not for Katsuragi decent performance during summer break, some students who were on the fence might have leaned toward Sakayanagi Arisu—Shinji Matoba being one example.

"No problem, I'll join the relay too," Kaoru said with an easy smile.

Katsuragi breathed a sigh of relief.

With this guy around, even if Sakayanagi's faction slacked off, nothing too bad should happen.

"Then let's practice based on this list for now. We'll finalize the lineup and order in the last week."

Even knowing Class A would likely lose, they still had to put in some effort—at least for appearances.

...

Time passed, and it was now afternoon.

When Class A arrived at the gymnasium, they found Class D had been waiting for a while.

"Come on, Class A! Watch how I take you all down single-handedly!" Sudou taunted right off the bat, cracking his knuckles with eager anticipation.

"What the fuck did you just say? Show some respect to your betters, you Class D trash!" Totsuka Yahiko immediately bristled.

He wasn't scheduled to compete but had just come along to watch.

"I'm going all out!" Sudou declared triumphantly, finally getting his moment to shine.

In contrast, Horikita remained calm as she addressed Katsuragi.

"The events will be the 100-meter dash, hurdles, pole toppling, ball throw, and tug-of-war. We won't consider others."

Some events weren't suitable for direct confrontation, like three-legged races, horseback battles, and scavenger hunts.

"Agreed, though we don't have many participants," Katsuragi said. "To save time, we should wrap up today's matches quickly."

"That's what I was thinking," Horikita nodded, her gaze briefly landing on Kaoru.

By now, the gymnasium had been set up with makeshift competition areas, with equipment borrowed from Class D.

Their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, served as referee, keeping score and blowing the whistle.

Perhaps because it was their first direct confrontation with Class A, nearly all of Class D had gathered to watch.

Moreover, since neither class had kept it completely secret, Classes B and C had naturally caught wind of it.

However, Class C didn't send any students—only Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji stood in the spectator seats, observing from afar.

The first event was the 100-meter dash.

Both classes formed two groups based on their participants, then competed against each other.

Kaoru was among Class A's starting lineup, while Sudou led Class D's team.

"Just watch me, Horikita," Sudou muttered under his breath as he assumed a textbook starting stance.

Kaoru glanced at Horikita Suzune in the distance, who misinterpreted it as a challenge and turned away with a frown.

Whistle—

As Chabashira Sae blew the whistle, Sudou beside Kaoru exploded forward with astonishing momentum, instantly seizing the lead.

Not only did Class D students look stunned, even Class A showed signs of unease.

In just over ten seconds, the race was decisively over.

Sudou took first place, with Hashimoto Masayoshi in second—a full 1.05 seconds behind, which spoke volumes.

"No way! That's impossible—he must be doping!" Totsuka refused to believe someone from Class D could perform at that level.

"You're the one on drugs! Ken's going pro—he's a future national basketball player!" Ike Kanji defended his friend, glaring daggers at Totsuka Yahiko.

"It just a fluke."

But Totsuka Yahiko's stubborn denial was quickly shattered again.

Sudou remained exceptionally dominant in subsequent events, consistently ranking at the top, leaving Class A students exchanging uneasy glances.

Katsuragi expression darkened.

He had handpicked Class A's best competitors, yet only Hashimoto and Kito could barely keep up with Sudou.

Fortunately, Class A's goal wasn't to win but to better manage their students and remind them they couldn't afford to slack off yet.

"Tch, never thought Class D would have someone like that."

As the matches neared their end, Kaoru was resting when Kamuro suddenly approached him.

"The school always needs to give other classes some hope, otherwise even Class A wouldn't have the desire to win," Kaoru glanced around but still couldn't spot Kouenji Rosuke anywhere.

"You're running so slow—are we really not going to lose this time?" Kamuro sat beside him, then caught a faint scent from him and subtly turned her face away.

Kaoru Mitoma watched as Horikita Suzune and the others gathered around Chabashira Sae, clearly tallying the final scores, and muttered.

"It's not an official match, why run so fast?"

"Tch." Masumi fell silent.

The earlier match had left her somewhat exhausted, her body radiating heat, her chest slightly damp with sweat.

Since this was just a practice match, Sakayanagi hadn't bothered to come in person—otherwise, she'd probably accuse Kamuro of trying to seduce Kaoru again.

Kamuro glanced at Kaoru intermittently, but he showed no reaction.

Instead, she noticed a few gazes fixed on her.

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