Chapter 214: Ichinose: I'm Looking Forward to Hikigaya's Performance
"First, as someone who has been through this, I want to give the first-years an important piece of advice!
Please make sure to take this sports festival seriously—not just because it is an exam.
The experience gained during the sports festival will also be applicable in your subsequent exams."
Fujimaki Akira gave this explanation with great earnestness.
'So that's how it is...'
Hikigaya had previously considered this possibility. Immediately following the sports festival would be the midterm exams.
He estimated that it wouldn't be as simple as a normal written test; there would likely be even more troublesome rules waiting for them then.
In Class 1-A below the stage, there was no shortage of clever students who took note of this. As for Class D... one could only say their performance was "stable."
"Future exams involving inter-class competition will only increase in frequency. You must be prepared for a long-term battle.
Those who cannot adapt will be completely eliminated!
You wouldn't want to see friends you spend every day with get expelled, would you?"
Fujimaki's words made the students of Class 3-A—noted for their unity—look solemn. The reaction from Class D was much calmer. This was only because they had already experienced an expulsion crisis during the summer, where three people were kicked out at once! After passing the initial period of panic, Class D had quickly returned to a state of tranquility.
Except for one person... Hirata Yousuke sat with his fists clenched and a face as dark as ink, clearly still brooding over the reduction of Class D's ranks.
Hikigaya took a moment to count and found that Class 3-A still had a full roster of 40 students!
After more than two years of various exams and overcoming countless difficulties, Class 3-A had managed to keep everyone from falling behind. This only proved that the leader of Class 3-A was incredibly capable—Horikita Manabu!
In comparison, Class 3-D only had 30 people left, meaning 10 had been expelled. The gap between the two was glaringly obvious!
Hikigaya also took a look at the second-years.
Class 2-A had 27 people... Good grief! They had lost 13 students! The leader of Class 2-A was Nagumo Miyabi, who was the complete polar opposite of Horikita Manabu! Nagumo was currently surrounded by several girls, looking like he thoroughly enjoyed being "amidst the flowers," chatting and laughing with multiple girls with ambiguous intimacy.
A certain orange-haired senpai seemed to notice his gaze and waved at him from a distance.
"Asahina-senpai..." If possible, Hikigaya wished she wouldn't be so conspicuous.
"Hachiman." "Are you very close with Asahina-senpai?" Kushida Kikyo cast a suspicious look his way.
"Uh, I guess so..." Hikigaya responded vaguely. He had known Asahina-senpai for quite some time—even longer than his own Class D classmates. However, they rarely had the chance to meet at school; they mostly chatted online.
"I often talk to Asahina-senpai about Hachiman-kun," Sakura Airi added, rare for her to take the initiative to speak.
During the club recruitment activities in the first semester, under Hikigaya's guidance, Sakura Airi had joined the Photography Club where Asahina Nazuna was a member.
The two of them were on good terms.
"Sigh~ Airi, you really make me worry." Hasabe Haruka massaged her forehead helplessly. Who talks to another woman about their own man? She thought to herself: Isn't that just inviting a wolf into the house?
As for herself, she was Airi's closest best friend, so she didn't count as an outsider!
On the other side, perhaps noticing Asahina Nazuna's actions, Nagumo Miyabi followed her gaze and quickly spotted Hikigaya.
"Hoh! An interesting kouhai." Nagumo narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, "Previously, because of President Horikita's warning, I didn't have the chance to contact this kouhai. I can use this sports festival to have a good chat with him!"
"..." Hikigaya clearly noticed Nagumo's attention and felt a sense of impending trouble.
"The sports festival events are basically divided by grade.
Except for the final event, which is an all-school grade project: the 1200-meter relay race!
For details, ask your respective homeroom teachers. That concludes the explanation.
You are now free to engage in activities."
Fujimaki Akira returned to Class 3-A and took a few classmates to Class 3-D to negotiate—likely to discuss competition deployments.
At the same time, Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji, representing Class 1-A, proactively approached Class D.
"Hi hi~ Friends from Class D, hello~~" Ichinose Honami's friendly greeting received enthusiastic responses from the Class D crowd.
"Ichinose-san."
"Ichinose-san."
Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo stepped forward at the same time to greet her. The two looked at each other, seemingly reaching a temporary agreement in an instant.
"As expected, Horikita-san and Kushida-san have such a great relationship~" Ichinose Honami smiled slightly.
'Is this girl sure she isn't 'pink on the outside, black on the inside'?'
Hikigaya really wanted to roast her, but he held back.
"Ichinose, I'll leave the communication here to you. I'm going to talk to Hirata's side."
Although Kanzaki Ryuji didn't show much on his face, a hint of contempt flashed deep in his eyes.
Hikigaya could roughly read his mind: a whole semester had passed, and Class D still hadn't produced a single designated spokesperson.
It was far too surreal!
Horikita Suzune also seemed to pick up on Kanzaki Ryuji's attitude, and her expression turned awkward.
Kushida Kikyo took the opportunity to seize the floor: "Ichinose-san came over to discuss our participation in the sports festival, right?"
"Mhm~ exactly." Ichinose Honami nodded and continued, "There are thirteen events in total. Considering the participants' physical stamina, we must work out a reasonable plan in advance. For example, in our respective strong events, we should try to avoid redundant waste of combat power."
Kushida Kikyo's brain didn't catch on immediately: "So, specifically, how should we do that?"
Horikita Suzune was the first to grasp the meaning: "Simply put, the students in the class who are good at sports will serve as the core combat power. Since Classes A and D are both in the Red Group, we are allies. We should distribute our core combat power across different events."
Being upstaged felt bad, but Kushida Kikyo had to admit that this was the gap in ability between her and Horikita Suzune.
"Mhm~ Horikita-san is right." Ichinose Honami smiled and then shifted the topic: "By the way, what events does Hikigaya-kun plan to sign up for?"
'Hey, hey? Weren't you guys talking about official business? Why did the conversation suddenly turn to me!'
Hikigaya felt helpless: "I haven't decided yet."
"No can do~ Hikigaya-kun, you should get more fired up!" Ichinose Honami took a step forward, looking at him with burning eyes.
"I'm actually looking forward to Hikigaya-kun shining brilliantly on the field."
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