Time quickly passed to physical education class, and Hirata led the D-class boys to do physical tests.
"Alright! Next group, prepare!"
Hirata Yosuke held a stopwatch in his hand and a whistle around his neck. He directed the order while not forgetting to give an encouraging smile to every student who finished running.
"Sudo-kun, 12.1 seconds! That's amazing!"
"Hehe, this isn't even my best form yet!" Sudo Ken proudly wiped his nose and didn't forget to glance at the girls, as if wanting someone to witness his extraordinary performance firsthand.
In the line behind, two figures stood side by side.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked forward expressionlessly, his dead fish eyes showing no fluctuation.
He subconsciously looked at Natsukawa Sosuke beside him.
Natsukawa was idly moving his wrists at this moment, and seemingly noticing Ayanokoji's gaze, he turned his head and revealed a meaningful smile.
"What's wrong, Ayanokoji? Nervous?"
"No. Just wondering what speed I should run at to be considered 'normal'.
"Normal, huh..." Natsukawa Sosuke stroked his chin, as if recalling something, "In this school, the so-called normal standard is very high. Do you remember us running on the uninhabited island at sunset? That was... oh, sorry, wrong channel."
"I remember."
"Exactly. Everyone who gets into this school has some outstanding qualities. If you run too slowly, it will seem strange instead." Natsukawa spoke nonsense with a serious face, "So, show some enthusiasm, Aibo. At least maintain a similar level to when we were on the uninhabited island."
Ayanokoji nodded thoughtfully.
"Next group! Natsukawa-kun, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji!"
Hirata's call interrupted his thoughts.
The two walked to the starting line.
"On your marks—get set—"
"Beep!"
The moment the whistle blew, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka moved.
To avoid appearing strange, he referenced Natsukawa's speed on the uninhabited island and adjusted his muscle exertion.
Starting, accelerating, sprinting, the wind whistled past Ayanokoji's ears.
'This should be fine, right? Probably just middle-of-the-pack for the class.'
Just as he crossed the finish line and was about to slow down, Hirata's surprised voice reached his ears.
"13.02 seconds! So fast!"
"Eh?"
Ayanokoji was slightly stunned. He subconsciously looked back, wanting to see how fast Natsukawa, who had given him the standard, had run.
Then, he saw Natsukawa Sosuke struggling in the middle of the track with a pained expression, his face so distorted as if he was about to gasp his last breath.
Finally, he crossed the finish line in 15.8 seconds.
"Hoo... hoo... I'm so, so tired..."
Natsukawa leaned on his knees with both hands, panting heavily, looking completely drained. But when he looked up at Ayanokoji, his eyes were clearly filled with — amusement.
Ayanokoji: "..."
Ayanokoji looked at the surprised gazes from his classmates around him, especially Sudo's approving look that seemed to say, "Oh, you actually have some tricks up your sleeve." He felt as if his peaceful life was waving — goodbye to him.
"Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, that was impressive!" Hirata walked over, genuinely praising him, "You usually don't show much, but I didn't expect your explosive power to be so strong. Have you practiced before?"
"...It's alright. I usually go for morning runs, but that's about it."
"I see, Masumasune!"
Ayanokoji turned his head and gave Natsukawa, who was still acting, a deep look.
The next test item was grip strength.
Having learned his lesson, Ayanokoji decided to change his strategy.
Like a silent ghost, he quietly lined up behind Natsukawa.
It was Natsukawa's turn to test.
Natsukawa Sosuke picked up the dynamometer, glanced at Ayanokoji behind him, and a mischievous smile once again curved his lips.
'Want to copy my homework? Ayanokoji-kun, slacking off is not good behavior.'
Natsukawa took a deep breath, his arm muscles slightly bulging, and the pointer on the dynamometer in his hand instantly soared.
60kg.
For a normal high school student, this was definitely a very impressive figure.
However, the moment Natsukawa let go, he not only didn't show a smug expression but rather shook his hand as if he had performed poorly.
'60kg?'
'No. His forearm muscles weren't fully tensed, and his deltoids weren't assisting.'
'He's fishing.'
It was Ayanokoji's turn.
He picked up the dynamometer and squeezed it expressionlessly.
The pointer slowly rotated, finally stopping at an extremely subtle number.
49.5kg.
This was the data he derived by reverse-engineering Natsukawa's prankster mentality, which he believed to be more reasonable. By keeping the number at this level, even if it was slightly high, it shouldn't attract too much attention.
"Tch, boring."
Seeing this result, Natsukawa Sosuke pouted. He had originally wanted to see if Ayanokoji could give him more entertainment, but he didn't expect this guy to have gotten smarter.
"Natsukawa-kun, 60kg, very good!" Hirata recorded the data and said with a smile.
"It's alright, maybe I just had a burst of cosmic energy."
Since Ayanokoji didn't take the bait, there was no point in continuing the act. For the remaining items, the two tacitly maintained a "not good, not bad" range, fully embodying the persona of ordinary high school boys... Soon, all tests were completed.
On the other side of the sports field, Horikita Suzune walked over, holding the girls' test data sheet.
Her ponytail was tied high today, revealing her slender, fair neck, and even in a slightly loose tracksuit, she couldn't hide her cool and aloof demeanor.
"Hirata-kun, this is the girls' data."
"Thank you for your hard work, Horikita-san." Hirata took the form and handed her the boys' record board, "This is for the boys, you can take a look too, it'll be useful for planning tactics later."
Horikita Suzune took the record board and quickly scanned it.
Sudo Ken's data was far ahead, with all indicators being top-notch. Hirata Yosuke followed closely, being very well-rounded.
However, when her gaze fell on that familiar name, her brows couldn't help but furrow slightly.
[Natsukawa Sosuke: 50-meter dash 7.8 seconds; Grip strength 60kg; Seated forward bend 10cm...]
'This guy...'
A hint of annoyance flashed in Horikita Suzune's eyes.
Others might be deceived by these seemingly ordinary figures, but she wouldn't be.
During the summer vacation on the cruise ship, she had repeatedly reviewed the details of the uninhabited island exam. The reason Class D was able to get such high points, besides guessing the leader, was that Natsukawa Sosuke had occupied a large number of strongholds through some means.
And to frequently shuttle between various strongholds on that complex, desolate island, this definitely required astonishing stamina and explosive power.
'These results are fooling no one!'
She subconsciously looked up at Natsukawa, who was resting in the spectator stands not far away.
Natsukawa was sitting ungracefully in his seat; next to him was Ayanokoji, like a robot.
Horikita originally wanted to walk over and question him, expose Natsukawa's disguise, and make him contribute his true strength to the class.
But just as she took half a step, she stopped again.
'No.'
'Since he wants to hide his abilities, if I expose him now, with Natsukawa's personality, he will definitely use all sorts of sophistry to deflect me.'
A light bulb went off in Horikita Suzune's mind.
'Since you like to act like an ordinary person, then I'll let you act to your heart's content.'
...With the completion of the physical tests, the crowd on the sports field gradually dispersed, and free activities began in the class.
Natsukawa Sosuke stretched, planning to find another spot to continue slacking off.
However, just as he turned to look for a quiet corner,
A red figure abruptly entered his line of sight.