RAW

To make it onto the podium in the mixed relay, they would have to advance through the preliminaries, semifinals, and finals.

After lunch had ended and some time had passed, their class’s PE representative came over to call Haruto and the others.

“The preliminaries are starting soon, so get ready.”

At those words, their classmates gathered under the waiting tent began shouting words of encouragement.

“All right! Give it your best, Otsuki! Akagi!”

“Aizawa! Tojo! You got this!”

“First things first, make it through the preliminaries!”

Haruto responded to their cheers with a small nod, while Tomoya enthusiastically raised an arm.

“Leave it to us!”

Following behind the two boys, Ayaka spoke with a nervous expression.

“D-Do the preliminaries really start this early...?”

“We have to run three races in total. We’d be exhausted if they were all back-to-back, so they leave some time between the preliminaries and semifinals.”

As Saki explained, she waved to their classmates.

“Everyone, cheer us on!”

Guided by the PE representative, the mixed relay participants gathered in the center of the track.

“We’ll begin the preliminaries with the first-years. Please move to your respective positions.”

At those instructions, the first-year students headed toward their starting points.

Haruto’s high school had eight classes in each grade, with one relay team representing each class, making twenty-four teams in total.

For the preliminaries, the eight teams from each grade were divided into two groups of four, resulting in two races per grade and six races overall.

As Haruto watched the first-years moving into position, Shizuku suddenly popped out from the group of fourth runners.

“Oh? Aya-senpai, you look like you’re about to spray vomit everywhere.”

Shizuku tilted her head, her face completely expressionless.

Ayaka quickly shook her head.

“I-I don’t! I’m fine. Stay calm. Yes, I’m perfectly calm.”

Rather than answering Shizuku, it sounded more like Ayaka was trying to convince herself.

Wanting to ease her nerves even a little, Haruto gently placed a hand on Ayaka’s shoulder.

“We practiced a lot. You’ll be fine.”

“Y-Yeah! You’re right! I’ll be fine!”

As Ayaka desperately nodded at Haruto’s words, Shizuku continued.

“Aya-senpai has a special move, so the preliminaries will be a piece of cake.”

Haruto looked curiously at Ayaka.

“A special move?”

“Indeed. It is an incredibly powerful debuff technique unleashed by Aya-senpai. Its name is... ‘Boob Jiggle.’”

“Boob Jiggle? What’s that? Does she make the ground shake or something? How?”

“No. It isn’t the ground she shakes, but rather Aya-senpai’s—”

“I’m not shaking anything! And you don’t need to explain it!”

Ayaka’s face turned bright red as she hurriedly cut Shizuku off.

“Look! The staff are calling you! You’d better hurry!”

“Hmm. Very well, senpais. Let us both do our best.”

With that, Shizuku ran over to the PE representative a short distance away, who was shouting, “Stay in line!”

Having been teased by Shizuku, Ayaka seemed to have regained some of her composure. She went over the conditions for advancing from the preliminaries with Haruto and the others.

“Um... to make it to the semifinals, we either have to finish first or have one of the fastest times in our grade, right?”

“Yeah. First place automatically advances to the semifinals. Then, I think the two teams with the best times in each grade also advance.”

After hearing Haruto’s explanation, Tomoya smiled confidently.

“So basically, half of the eight second-year teams make it to the semifinals. When you put it that way, this’ll be easy.”

“Don’t say that and then trip or something, okay?”

Saki gave the completely relaxed Tomoya a flat stare.

“And don’t drop the baton either. Underhand passes have a higher risk of that happening, remember?”

“There are no failures for the man who has become Pass-Taro!”

Tomoya grinned and gave Saki a thumbs-up.

“Besides, I trust Saki with my life!”

“...Yeah, yeah.”

Saki gave him an exasperated look and turned away.

At that exact moment, an announcement echoed across the entire field.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The time has finally come! The mixed relay!”

The broadcasting committee was responsible for commentary during the sports festival, and every year they put extra effort into commentating the mixed relay, one of the festival’s biggest events.

“Which team will conquer this year’s relay?!”

The excited voice filled the school grounds.

Haruto glanced beside him and saw Ayaka with her eyes closed, taking deep breaths as though meditating.

“First, a quick explanation of the preliminaries and semifinals! The preliminaries are divided by grade! The eight teams in each grade will be divided into two groups, with four teams competing in each race!”

The announcer explained what Haruto had just gone over.

“The winner of each race automatically advances! The two fastest remaining teams from each grade will also advance from the preliminaries! Then, the semifinals will consist of two races with six teams each! The top two teams from each semifinal advance to the finals! And as wild cards, the two fastest teams among those who lost will also earn a place in the finals!”

After hearing the explanation, Tomoya tilted his head and looked at Haruto.

“Was the mixed relay format this complicated last year too?”

“It was exactly the same last year. And it’s not even that complicated.”

“Did we have wild cards last year?”

“They called them repechage spots last year. They just changed the name. The system’s the same.”

“I see. ‘Wild card’ sounds kinda cool, doesn’t it? Like some sort of dark horse.”

Tomoya placed a hand on his chin.

“Coming back from defeat to claim victory... Now that’s a hype storyline.”

Hearing him, Saki immediately warned him.

“Focus on making it through the preliminaries first. Getting a good placement in the preliminaries gives you a better matchup in the semifinals.”

“Aye, aye~”

Overlapping Tomoya’s carefree reply, another announcement rang out.

“Now then! It looks like everyone is ready, so it’s time to introduce our teams! First, our opening runners! First-Year Class A, Saku Harimoto! First-Year Class B, Keita Yoshida!”

The broadcasting committee member called out the names of the students participating in the first race one after another.

Each name was met with cheers and applause from the respective classes.

The introductions continued until finally, Shizuku’s name was called among the fourth runners.

“And now, the anchors who carry their teams’ hopes of victory! First-Year Class A, Yuto Nakamura! First-Year Class B, Shizuku Dojima! And—”

The instant her name was called, an even louder roar erupted across the field.

The cheers coming from the first-year waiting tents in particular were practically explosive.

In response, Shizuku raised both arms toward the sky without changing her expression.

Then she struck a pose as though drawing back the string of a bow.

The instant she did, the cheering somehow grew even louder.

“WOOOO! GO, DOJIMA-SAN!”

“SHIZUKU-CHAN IS THE STRONGEST!”

“YOU’RE THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WORLD!”

“I LOVE YOUUUU!!”

Most of the passionate cries came from the first-years, but even a few upperclassmen were enthusiastically cheering for her.

Seeing just how popular she was, Haruto couldn’t help muttering,

“She’s insanely popular...”

“Everyone’s probably extra hyped because it’s the sports festival. Still, that’s pretty crazy.”

Tomoya nodded in agreement.

“And it’s not just the guys. A lot of girls are cheering for her too.”

“True.”

Apparently, Shizuku was just as popular with the girls as she was with the boys. Plenty of high-pitched voices shouting things like “Do your best!” could be heard from the waiting tents.

“Shizuku-chan is strong and cool even from a girl’s perspective.”

Ayaka, who had been concentrating with her eyes closed until now, opened them and watched Shizuku basking in the cheers.

“She has this strong sense of self, I guess. She knows exactly who she is. Sometimes I find myself wishing I could be more like Shizuku-chan.”

Ayaka seemed to genuinely adore Shizuku’s personality, judging by the gentle smile on her face as she watched her.

Haruto also looked at Shizuku and smiled faintly.

“I’d be a little worried if you started making jokes with a completely straight face all the time like Shizuku does, though.”

“Fufu. That’s both part of Shizuku-chan’s charm and one of the things that makes her troublesome. And it’s not good how she’s always teasing me either.”

Ayaka spoke cheerfully, a smile in her voice.

Haruto laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Now then! It’s time for the first race! Everyone, cheer them on with everything you’ve got!”

The announcement for the start of the first race rang out.

The cheers that had filled the grounds until moments ago suddenly stopped.

Tension hung heavily in the silence.

Then, tearing straight through it—

BANG!

The starting pistol fired.

Every runner on the starting line took off at once, and an enormous roar of cheering erupted as though pushing them forward.

As the baton passed from the first runner to the second, Saki spoke with an excited expression.

“Oh, Shizuku-chan’s team is looking pretty good, isn’t it?”

“Well, their team consists of a natural-born sprinter, someone obsessed with running shoes, and someone who loves watching track meets. Makes sense they’d be fast.”

“No, that doesn’t make it make sense.”

Saki lightly shot down Tomoya’s logic.

While they were talking, the baton was already approaching the anchors.

Shizuku’s team was in first place, but the gap between them and second place was extremely small.

Everything now rested on the anchors.

Seeing that, Ayaka clenched both hands tightly.

“Come on, Shizuku-chan!”

“Her opponent’s a guy, huh? Well, Shizuku should still be fine.”

Having known Shizuku for years, Haruto was well aware of her physical abilities, so he watched the race with far more confidence than Ayaka.

Then came the anchor showdown.

The instant Shizuku received the baton—

She shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Her speed was extraordinary.

The tiny gap between first and second gradually began to widen.

It didn’t matter that her opponent was a boy.

Her overwhelming speed simply left him behind.

Tomoya stared in amazement, while Saki, who had experience in track and field, could only give a wry smile.

“That’s insane! Her speed has gotta be bugged!”

“That’s seriously ridiculous. She really is a cheat character.”

Shizuku maintained her lead and crossed the finish line in first place before casually beginning an elegant victory lap.

Thunderous applause and cheers rained down upon her.

“The winner of the first preliminary race is First-Year Class B! They advance to the semifinals!”

Hearing the announcement, Shizuku slowly came to a stop.

She turned toward Haruto and the others and raised both hands in V-signs.

She was too far away for them to hear anything, but her expressionless lips were clearly moving.

Haruto smiled.

She was probably saying, “V for victory.”

And with Shizuku’s race finished, Haruto steeled himself.

They were up next.