“Yeah, it was really a battle of willpower at the end there. But, well, I guess a big reason why I managed to win was because neither Kagami nor Saijou participated in the event.”
With a slightly puzzled expression, Touya named two individuals with top-level recognition among the sports clubs at school. They were considered the prime candidates to win this sandbag-lifting event during the planning stages. Kagami was a refreshing and handsome rugby player known as the absolute best player in the rugby club, while Saijou, the captain of the judo club, was an athlete at the national level and known as a reserved but very gentlemanly student. Both were quite popular with the girls, and their fame at school was almost on par with Yuushou’s. In fact, they were quite a bit more popular than Yuushou among the boys as well.
“…I’m actually surprised they weren’t part of the sandbag event, too. I guess maybe they just weren’t interested in a simple competition of raw strength. Either way, you managed to win while up against athletes, which is still incredible.”
“Thanks, Kuze. As Chisaki’s boyfriend, I’m just hoping I did enough to not be an embarrassment,” said Touya, smirking with evident satisfaction…all while Chisaki could be seen in the background carrying seven bags of sand at once. But Masachika simply chose to pretend that he didn’t see anything.
“Y-yeah, she high-fived you, so I’m sure she was really proud of you. She knows she can depend on you.”
“You really think so? I guess all that hard work really paid off, then! Ha-ha-ha!”
He didn’t see a thing, and he definitely didn’t see Chisaki being offered a platform cart by the committee members, only to refuse it with a smile while waving her free hand. Not even the announcer was mentioning what was going on!
“Hey, uh… Masachika?” Alisa whispered.
“I didn’t see a thing,” came his hushed response.
“…Me neither.”
Alisa, following Masachika’s lead, also pretended not to notice. At any rate, Touya still had a long way to go before he could become the kind of man his girlfriend could rely on when she needed some muscle.
“And now, for the teacher relay! Homeroom teachers from each grade and class on each team will be passing the baton! Starting for the red team, it’s Mr. Sendagawa of Class 1-A! Will having quit smoking during summer break pay off?! Next, starting for the blue team is Ms. Tabata of Class 1-C, who supposedly just got a new, younger boyfriend! Next up, starting for the green team, is Ms. Kohinata of Class 1-E, the ice-water enthusiast who apparently only drinks ice water in the winter, too! And for the yellow team—”
The audience roared with laughter at the lighthearted, revealing tidbits about the teachers included with their introductions, and Masachika was laughing along with them…when Alisa suddenly stood up after checking the field day schedule.
“The event after the next is the cosplay race, so I’m going to go get ready.”
“Oh, all right. See you later.”
“You’ve got this, Alisa.”
Right after Alisa left, one of the sports festival committee members called out to Touya and asked, “Hey! Sorry for bothering you, but do you think you could help us set up the ball-tossing game?”
“Oh, sure.”
“Wait. Sit. I’ve got this.”
After Masachika sat Touya back down, he promptly rushed over to help the committee member set up the game…
“…Wait. ‘Ball tossing’?”
…without even realizing what he had gotten himself into.
“I feel abused…”
After helping set up the ball-tossing game, Masachika was roped into assisting with the actual competition. And as expected, it was a disaster. His job was to hold the pole for the basket and count the balls afterward. This meant standing directly underneath the pseudo-basketball hoop…which meant that he might take countless balls to the face. Of course, he could lower his head to protect his beautiful mug, but that only meant that the balls would be whacking him on the back of the head. Therefore, he decided to be brave, with his chin held high…when a ball suddenly smacked him right in the cheek, of all places. At first, he figured someone must have accidentally kicked a ball, but numerous balls continued to come flying over from the side… There were so many balls that it better have been an accident, he thought.
“Well, at least the basket didn’t break over my head! That’s a plus!”
At least, that was what he told himself to feel better…as pitiful as that was. At any rate, it wasn’t long before the announcer presented the next event.
“Next up is the costume race.”
The moment the event was announced, the audience erupted with even more excitement than ever before. It was time for the costume race—a glorified cosplay competition where one boy and one girl from each class participated, and, as usual for events like these, the most attractive students were always chosen. When Masachika looked over at the waiting area before the starting line, he was surprised to see so many familiar faces. In fact, most of the first-year girls were involved with the election in one way or another.
But, well, this is hardly even a competition, so it doesn’t matter who wins… I’m sure Alya’s going to go for first place because she wants to beat Yuki, though. All I ask is that she doesn’t get hurt.
Masachika wished Alisa the best from afar while he waited at the finish line for sports-festival-committee-related work. Before long, the first-year girls were lined up at the starting line, then they suddenly dashed off the instant the starting pistol was fired.
“Whoa! That’s Alya for ya. Look at her go.”
Alisa was in the lead, followed closely by Yuki. The rest were neck and neck until they arrived at the designated spot with several black plastic bags placed on the ground.
“The contestants have arrived at the costume station, where their choice will determine their fate!”
Of course, the costumes varied widely in terms of how long they took to put on and how easy they were to run in. In fact, it could be said that this was the most important part of the race, but all Masachika could do was pray that Alisa would get a costume that she could run in comfortably. Before long, Alisa and the others each took a plastic bag and disappeared into a large, dark tent set up along the course.
“The contestants have all entered the changing zone! Who will be the first to emerge in costume?!”
Fortunately, there were several members of the handicraft club waiting inside the tent to help anyone who needed assistance changing into their costumes. Apparently, they wanted to ensure that no one would be left behind due to a complicated costume. While Masachika wanted to question the wisdom of creating such intricate outfits, he appreciated the effort to keep the changing times relatively even for everyone. At any rate, a few minutes went by when a figure eventually emerged from the tent.
“Oh?! The first to emerge is—”
Her silver locks danced in the breeze, kissed by the sunlight.
“Kujou!”
“Yes!!”
As the crowd erupted in cheers, Masachika pumped his fist in the air, and—
“Hmm?”
He frowned as he took another look at Alisa’s costume. She was wearing the classic white sailor uniform, the epitome of youth, with a blue schoolbag slung over her shoulder. And in her mouth…was a slice of bread.
“I can’t believe my eyes! A sailor uniform?! No! This is cosplay of your good ol’-fashioned comic book heroine, loved by girls all over the country!”
The announcer’s commentary was met with laughter from the audience. Meanwhile, Alisa, clearly oblivious to the commotion, began to dash off with the slice of bread still in her mouth.
Her silver hair danced in the wind, her skirt bouncing with each step while the bread bobbed up and down. As she rounded the corner, revealing a bit of her midriff from her too-short sailor uniform, a certain portion of the audience exploded in excitement, for some strange reason.
“She’s turning the corner! She’s going around a freakin’ corner!”
“Who do you think she’s going to bump into?!”
With all eyes on her, filled with a bizarre sense of anticipation, Alisa sped around the track while nothing out of the ordinary happened until, eventually, the second runner burst out of the tent.
“The next contestant is coming out of the tent! It’s—huh?”
The commentator’s voice, which had initially risen with excitement, faltered. And it was no wonder why, either, for what emerged was…not exactly an ordinary costume but a full-on mascot costume.
A rather silly, endearing dinosaur-like figure, which was seemingly constructed from paper and plastic, had emerged with Ayano’s expressionless face peering out from its neck.
“This is…Kimishima? Is she dressed as a T-Rex? Or something? It definitely looks like she drew the short straw when it comes to costumes!”
The commentator, clearly unsure of how to react, tried to muster up some enthusiasm, when suddenly—
“…! Mn…!”
Ayano-saurus, with her tiny legs, began to sprint forward as hard as she could. Her head, made of paper, bobbed wildly from side to side while her tail wagged furiously. Though she was hardly running—despite her best efforts—the sight of her waddling along brought laughter and squeals from the female spectators.
“Ayano is sooo cute!”
“I want to take her home!”
“Look this way!”
She had, without a doubt, become their mascot. At any rate, no more than a few seconds had gone by before a pink figure came bursting out from the tent as well.
“Oof! That’s bad.”
Masachika let out a gasp, a mix of shock and pity, the moment he witnessed the next competitor. Because the pink figure that had emerged was…truly pink from head to toe, wearing a pink bodysuit and a helmet that had what appeared to be a horn sprouting from it.
“Ooo?! Is that—? Is that the pink ranger?! I have no idea what that is! I don’t even know who’s inside that suit!”
The commentator and the audience burst into laughter with a mix of amusement and surprise. But when the pink superhero (superheroine?) started chasing after Ayano-saurus, the comical pursuit sent the crowd into fits of laughter, with tears in their eyes.
“Look at the superhero go!”
“Run, dino-girl! Run!”
But amid the cheers and applause, Masachika muttered, “Seriously, who is that, though? It doesn’t seem to be Yuki… Don’t tell me that’s Nonoa—”
But his concern was quickly dismissed.
“Someone else is emerging from the tent…! Oooh?!”
After a string of comedic costumes, a more serious cosplay outfit appeared, causing the commentator’s excitement to soar.
“Is that…a police officer in a miniskirt?!”
The audience erupted into cheers at the sight of the blond beauty, looking like some sort of crooked cop in a comic book who would chew gum and blow bubbles.
“It’s me! I did it! Arrest me!”
“I’m a criminal, Ms. Officer!”
Amid the crude cheers of the dirty-minded gentlemen, Nonoa, armed with handcuffs, ran with her beautiful legs wrapped in fishnet stockings.
A miniskirt-clad police officer was chasing a superhero, who was chasing a dinosaur. It was an incredibly surreal sight, to say the least. And before long…
“Aaand Kujou just crossed the finish line! Not only was she lucky enough to pick an outfit that was perfect for running and easy to change into, but she also ran incredibly well!”
Masachika rushed over to greet Alisa at the finish line.
“Good job, Alya. Congratulations on getting first.”
“Thanks.”
“Supposedly, you change out of your costume in the building over there…but I think your gym clothes are still in the tent.”
Masachika glanced toward the changing area, where he coincidentally saw Yuki emerging from behind the curtain.
“Oh, that’s…”
“She looks incredible…”
They both let out audible gasps of admiration at Yuki’s attire. She was wearing a pure white and red dress, exuding a sense of purity. Her long black hair was tied back, adorned with an intricate golden crown, and in her hand was one of those sacred bells used in traditional shrine maiden dances.
“Oh! It’s Suou, dressed as a shrine maiden! And a kagura shrine maiden, at that!”
Her outfit, which undeniably conveyed a sense of holiness and elegance to Japanese people, perfectly suited Yuki, who was classically beautiful…as long as she kept her mouth shut. However…
“That looks really hard to walk in, huh?”
Yuki was rather short, so the hakama skirt was dragging on the ground. She was also wearing tabi socks and straw sandals, which only made running more difficult. But despite Masachika’s expectations, Yuki managed to jog at a surprisingly fast pace, all while making sure not to dirty her outfit.
“Man, I’m impressed she can run like that.”
“But…she looks like she’s going to get last place, at this rate. She might be able to pass Ayano, though…”
“Yeah, the second-year girls are already getting lined up at the starting line. They might even pass Ayano if she doesn’t pick up the pace.”
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