Bang!
The screen showed Hayato Kito swinging his tennis racket, the camera capturing the tennis ball smashing hard into the ground as Class 1-B's student failed to intercept it.
Thus, this tennis match concluded.
"The score is five to three, Class A's victory."
Chabashira Sae's voice was quite indifferent.
After all, this was a match between Class 1-A and Class 1-B, and it was already decent that she wasn't slacking off.
"Hehe, this is the third victory, isn't it?"
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at Ichinose Honami. "What a pity, Ichinose-san. I didn't go easy on you."
Tennis was Class 1-B's event.
Losing to opponents on their home ground was truly inexcusable.
Ichinose Honami lightly pressed her lips together.
Who could have expected that Hayato Kito, whom Sakayanagi Arisu substituted in, would be so formidable, completely overwhelming their class's student.
"Class A's students are indeed amazing. Kito-kun's athletic reflexes are so strong."
Though a trace of unwillingness flickered across her expression, the girl soon wore a warm smile and sincerely praised her opponent.
"That serve just now carried an overwhelming momentum, quite different from Hashimoto-kun."
Her expression seemed genuine, which inexplicably irritated Sakayanagi Arisu.
Still, she maintained a deliberately indifferent facade and said coolly, "Even if you praise them here, they can't hear you."
The implied meaning was: Stop putting on an act here.
"I know. But as an opponent, I truly respect them."
Ichinose Honami gazed at the screen, where Shibata Sō was pestering Kitō Hayato, trying to invite him to play soccer.
A faint smile lingered on her lovely face.
Sakayanagi Arisu took a deep breath, finally understanding the source of her irritation.
Despite having lost, Ichinose Honami wasn't showing the expected reaction, making Arisu feel as though she had punched cotton—utterly powerless.
"The next event is—the Modern Literature Exam."
Chabashira Sae announced the result of the draw.
For the Modern Literature Exam, each class would send four participants.
The competition would last 50 minutes, covering questions from the first-year curriculum.
The side with the highest total score would win.
As an interference method, the command tower could substitute an answer for one question.
This was Class A's forte. When it came to written exams, Sakayanagi Arisu was 90% confident she could defeat Ichinose Honami.
"Ichinose-san, if you lose this match as well, Class B will have no chance of defeating Class A."
Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes.
She was speaking the truth—only four victories were needed to establish the basic winning formula for this exam.
Currently, Class B still had zero points, while Sakayanagi Arisu had already secured three victories.
The situation was extremely unfavorable for Ichinose Honami, especially after losing in tennis—their own specialty—to the opponent. The circumstances couldn't be worse.
Unexpectedly, Ichinose Honami simply nodded.
"The gap between us and Class A is indeed significant. Class A has too many outstanding students. In a straightforward clash, we would inevitably lose."
From a purely student-oriented perspective, Classes A and B didn't seem vastly different.
Neither had obvious weaknesses, unlike Classes C and D, which were composed of either delinquents or average students.
Although both Classes A and B had weaker students, their numbers were small.
In terms of overall capability, the two classes were nearly on par.
Ichinose Honami had initially believed her classmates weren't too far behind, but facing Class A now, she was gradually realizing where the gap lay.
The reason the school had placed them in Class B, not Class A.
"Finally realized the problem?" Sakayanagi Arisu said coolly. "You're not actually weak—it's just that the cards I hold are too good."
Class B was only slightly flawed compared to Class A, like a student who could score 99 points versus one who could achieve a perfect score.
The difference might seem negligible, but the latter was fundamentally superior to the former.
"Yes, without a direct confrontation, I might never have noticed this issue."
Ichinose Honami smiled. "Still, I believe in everyone in Class B."
Sakayanagi Arisu watched her selection of participants in silence before speaking coldly, "Do you think I can't see through this? You're trying to exchange pieces with me - three out of ten events are written exams: Modern Literature Exam, Chemistry Exam, and English Exam."
Ichinose Honami's movements paused slightly as Sakayanagi continued, "You've already forced me to sacrifice two of my top players in Chess and Mental Arithmetic. For the upcoming Modern Literature Exam, I'll have to deploy another top player, while you can just send some weaker players to trade with my best."
Indeed, to ensure victory in every event, Sakayanagi had to go all out.
Even knowing Ichinose might be exchanging pieces, she still had to deploy her top players.
Otherwise, she risked losing.
Once Sakayanagi's top players were exchanged, if the next event turned out to be English Exam or Chemistry Exam, Ichinose could deploy their class's top players to secure the first victory.
"Your Tennis exchange also took out my top player. If we draw Volleyball next, we'll likely face a fair fight where no one can predict the outcome."
Sakayanagi finished in one breath, "This situation is unfavorable for me, but it's your opportunity."
Kito was one of Sakayanagi's strong cards, one of her so-called top players, but because Ichinose had deployed Shibata Sō, he had to be substituted in.
After three consecutive victories, Sakayanagi had already lost Katsuragi Kohei, Kaoru, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and Kito Hayato.
If she lost four more top students in this Modern Literature Exam, Class A might face a complete reversal.
"Not just Volleyball - your Sketching and Texas Hold'em are also aimed at this."
Sakayanagi seemed to have completely seen through Ichinose's scheme, "Sketching avoids Class A's strengths, while Texas Hold'em can level the playing field between us. Both have elements of clever maneuvering - even I can't guarantee a hundred percent victory."
If she had been unaware, Ichinose might have actually succeeded.
However, Sakayanagi had already seen through the plan.
"Ichinose-san, don't you want to win?"
Sakayanagi's expression remained impassive.
This plan was clearly meant to help Kaoru, "Even if you succeed, what would you gain?"
This plan couldn't bring Class B ultimate victory because Class A's advantage was too great - it would only leave them with a slightly respectable defeat.
Strangely, Ichinose showed no guilt or panic at being exposed.
"Well, Sakayanagi-san really can see through my thoughts. That's exactly what I was thinking."
The girl smiled gracefully, "So I gave up."
Gave up?
Sakayanagi tried to maintain her smile, but it only made her expression appear stiff.
She clearly hadn't expected this response from Ichinose.
"Although this might have been our only chance at victory, it was too easily seen through by Sakayanagi-san, and there was no guarantee we could win four consecutive matches."
Ichinose smiled playfully, "So I simply gave up!"
Sakayanagi's breath hitched for a moment before she tightly gripped her cane, "Can I interpret this as surrender?"
She tried desperately to remain calm, even considering dismissing Ichinose's act, but Ichinose's expression didn't seem like she was joking.
"How could I possibly admit defeat? I've said it before—Class B will go all out this time."
A trace of defiance flashed in Ichinose Honami's eyes. "If... if we can't even win a single match against you when giving our all, what right would Class B have to chase after Class A in the future?"
Sakayanagi Arisu was momentarily taken aback, then an inexplicable emotion surged within her.
After all that talk, she really just wanted to help him!