Following the commotion of the team events came the individual Obstacle Race.
Natsukawa Sosuke was assigned to the last group of the men's division.
The starting gun fired.
Natsukawa ran out unhurriedly.
He walked across the balance beam, climbed over the wooden wall... this series of obstacles posed no difficulty for him. He completed the race without drawing attention, maintaining a normal pace as if he were exercising in a park, ultimately securing third place.
Perfect.
After crossing the finish line, he did not linger on the sidelines but headed straight for the exit.
The next group was the women's Obstacle Race.
As he passed the starting line, he saw Horikita Suzune warming up. She still maintained her icy demeanor, focused on adjusting her condition.
'Good luck, Suzune,' he silently wished in his heart.
He muttered the phrase internally, then left the track without looking back.
"After running for so long, I definitely have a bit of low blood sugar."
"I wonder if the School Infirmary sells glucose. Back in high school, I often bought glucose to drink when I didn't want soda. I'll go check."
He turned his back to the race track and walked briskly toward the deep shadows of the Teaching Building... Emerging from the School Infirmary, which smelled strongly of disinfectant, the sunlight outside seemed rather harsh.
Natsukawa Sosuke carried an ice pack and slowly strolled back to Class D's main base.
The atmosphere in the resting area at this time seemed somewhat subdued compared to before.
Natsukawa glanced over the tent; Horikita Suzune was sitting alone on a folding chair.
Her head was bowed, her hands tightly gripping the fabric of her sweatpants over her knees, her knuckles white. Although she desperately tried to maintain her usual cold and arrogant posture, her slightly trembling shoulders and pale complexion revealed the fact that she was currently enduring pain.
Natsukawa walked up to her, his shadow falling and enveloping her.
Horikita Suzune suddenly lifted her head. Seeing it was Natsukawa, her eyes flickered instantly, and she subconsciously tried to pull her injured leg back, but gasped sharply due to the pain.
"...It's you."
Her voice was somewhat dry, and her gaze shifted, unwilling to meet Natsukawa's eyes.
The "proof of crime"—filling out all the recommended events without his consent—felt like a searing hot iron, making her extremely guilty. She assumed Natsukawa had come to hold her accountable, to mock her distress, or to criticize her self-serving decision.
"Ice it first. What? Are you surprised to see me?"
Natsukawa Sosuke tossed down the ice pack he brought back from the School Infirmary, his tone flat.
"Or are you worried that I've come to settle the score with you over that entry form?"
Her secret exposed, Horikita Suzune bit her lip and, clinging to her last bit of pride, said, "That was for the class's victory... In this class, the optimal solution is for capable people to contribute more."
"Optimal solution?"
Natsukawa sneered. Instead of getting furious or questioning her as Horikita expected, he looked at her with pity.
"Put away your self-aggrandizing rhetoric, Horikita. I'm not that petty. Since my name is already on the list, I have no intention of running away."
Horikita breathed a slight sigh of relief, but immediately, Natsukawa's next sentence struck her heart like a heavy hammer.
"However, your behavior of relying only on petty cleverness truly disappoints me."
"Disappointed...?" Horikita was stunned.
"Isn't that right?"
Natsukawa sat down in the empty seat beside her, his gaze not on her, but directed toward Sudo Ken, who was warming up in the distance.
"You initially claimed you looked down on Sudo and the others, calling Sudo an idiot who only uses violence, saying he doesn't study and only crams before exams, an irredeemable 'defective product'."
"But as the leader of the class, when facing the major test of 'class competition,' how is what you're doing now any different from him?"
Horikita Suzune's tone was somewhat agitated: "You're comparing me to them?"
"The fundamental way you handle events is the same."
"On weekdays, you turn a blind eye to the class situation, disdaining to learn about any classmate's strengths or personality. You refuse to communicate, refuse to build relationships, and seal yourself off in that lofty ivory tower."
"Then, when a Special Exam—like this Sports Festival—arrives, you start panicking. Just like Sudo, who only starts flipping through books right before an exam, you try to cram and sneak by using so-called'strategies,''surprise attacks,' or relying on'strong individuals' like me."
"Look around you."
Natsukawa stretched out his hand and pointed to the vacuum zone surrounding Horikita.
"It's been so long since school started, yet you don't even have a single faction of your own. Once an unexpected situation arises, once your petty cleverness is seen through, what else can you do besides sit here feeling sorry for yourself and clinging to that ridiculous pride?"
"Is this what you call'strength'? Is this the 'growth' you wanted to show your older brother?"
"Stop it!!"
Horikita Suzune's cheeks instantly flushed crimson—an emotional reaction born of extreme shame, indignation, and having her sore spot hit.
Her chest heaved violently as she glared intensely at Natsukawa.
"What do you know! I'm just... I'm just using my own method..."
"Your method is a complete and utter failure."
"I believe you must have tallied the points Class D has gained so far and the approximate points of the other classes. Tell me, what level is Class D's current score at?"
"I..."
"The aloofness you display is merely a clumsy imitation of the external image your older brother projects."
"Admit it, Horikita."
"Your supposed loftiness is nothing more than a fig leaf covering your incompetence."
"You possess neither the charisma to lead a class nor the wisdom to understand people, and you haven't even completed the most basic 'preparation.' You are just a willful little girl living in a dream."
"If you keep this mindset, let alone catching up to your perfect older brother, you won't even make it to Class C in this lifetime."
Every word was like a slap across Horikita Suzune's face, stinging painfully.
She opened her mouth, wanting to refute, wanting to defend herself, wanting to use her proud logic to shatter Natsukawa's accusations.
But recalling the points the class had earned and seeing her classmates in disarray due to a lack of effective leadership, she found she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
(Was I... truly wrong?)
(Were the actions I've always insisted upon truly just a display of incompetence?)
Seeing her like this, Natsukawa did not stop.
He stood up and looked down at Horikita.
"Since you want to see me exert myself so badly, I'll grant your wish."
"You must know my performance from this morning. In all the upcoming competitions, including the final relay race, I will give my absolute best."
"I will let you see with your own eyes that even with the'strongest piece,' in the hands of an incompetent player, the game... remains a checkmate."
...
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