Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Sports Festival #17
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"Our class is ranked first?"
The rankings displayed on the large scoreboard set up on the stage proudly showed our class at the top.
Lee Sea, having heard my words, explained it to me.
"Since we made it to the finals in both soccer and dodgeball. Just advancing to the main rounds gives you a solid base score."
"Ah, yeah, that makes sense."
The men's team event soccer and the women's team event dodgeball—ours was the only class to advance to the main rounds in both.
If we won soccer and dodgeball and placed in the top ranks in tomorrow's relay race, we could aim for the overall victory with an overwhelming score margin.
"Oh, does the three-legged race count toward the points too?"
"Yeah, probably."
Lee Sea pulled out the informational handout from her pocket and opened it.
She carries that around with her... I threw mine away.
As expected of the diligent and meticulous Lee Sea.
"Hmm... Ah, here it is. The three-legged race does affect the points."
"We have to win this one."
Hong Yeonseo reacted to my words.
"Even without points on the line, I had no intention of losing."
Lee Sea smiled, tucked the handout away again, and said,
"There are a lot of scored events tomorrow, so don't feel too much pressure."
As Lee Sea said, the first day's events were mostly individual competitions.
Individual events only awarded points to the participating student who placed, with no effect on the class score.
Tomorrow featured team events like mass jump rope and relay races.
...Truth be told, Hong Yeonseo was an overpowered card in the sports festival.
The points she racked up alone could have put any class in first place.
Even in team events, individual prowess still shone through.
Well, in soccer, we had the ace of the first-year soccer team in our class, so the balance was broken from the start.
At least the guy didn't participate in anything else since soccer was his only interest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -The three-legged race will begin at the first sports field shortly after 5 PM... Participants from each class, please gather 15 minutes before the start of the race...
As the individual events on the field wrapped up, a broadcast announcement came over the speakers from somewhere.
The first sports field was right here where we were.
Along with the announcement, staff members appeared out of nowhere and started sprinkling powder on the dirt ground to draw lines.
If they're going to do that, why not just hold it on the track field? No dirt would get everywhere. But the clouds of dust rising up were part of the sports festival charm, I suppose.
...Not that I particularly liked it.
"Let's get ready!"
Hong Yeonseo, who'd been sitting restlessly, suddenly jumped to her feet.
"We still have 10 more minutes."
"Let's go early and do some warm-ups! Come on!"
"Uwah."
Hong Yeonseo yanked me up from where I'd been lounging.
As she stood, Seong Yurin silently joined us, and we headed toward where the staff was stationed.
"Yeonseo, fighting~!"
"Ijin and Yurin, you got this too!"
Cheers came from classmates we barely even talked to usually.
These were the things that made you feel a sense of belonging to the class.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...What the heck is that?"
"What? Oh? They're bringing over some desks?"
While we were gathered with participants from other classes stretching, staff members over yonder grunted as they hauled several desks to the center of the drawn line and set them down.
They were long, rectangular desks like you'd see in a lecture hall.
And on top of each desk sat a box.
Seong Yurin, pondering deeply, spoke up as if something had clicked.
"Mission boxes...?"
"What?"
Hong Yeonseo looked baffled, not understanding, but I got what Seong Yurin meant.
"Ah, those things."
You know how they have those sometimes.
Like, bring someone over, or fetch something.
No, aren't those just for kids...?
This wasn't some shonen manga.
......
I absentmindedly guessed it right.
Yeah, it was weird there weren't any events in this sports festival episode.
I'd never heard of something like this anywhere.
Must be a surprise event prepared by the school.
Well... it was the last event of the first day, and three-legged races were more fun event than serious competition anyway, so it fit.
It did count toward points, though... Eh, no need to take a high school sports festival that seriously.
Being first in class rankings didn't come with some grand prize or anything.
I'd heard some kids were pretty intense about individual events, but that had nothing to do with me.
"Looks like it since they placed them right in the middle of the course."
I nodded in understanding, and Seong Yurin nodded back.
"Yeah... I remembered it right away since I've done it before."
"Really? We never did that at our school."
"First time for me too."
In reality.
......It was a common trope in anime and such.
"Sounds fun! Just running would've been kinda boring."
Hong Yeonseo grinned.
Well, without something like this, we'd probably have won easily anyway.
It might come off as arrogant, but that's how I saw it.
Even Seong Yurin, the weakest link among us, had talent in moving her body according to Hong Yeonseo.
She was just inactive by nature.
"What if it's something like stealing the principal's wig?"
"You think they'd put that in there...?"
This wasn't a manga.
......Speaking of which, the principal wears a wig?
I recalled the principal's head from the one time I'd seen him and shook my head.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With 15 minutes until the start, once all participants had gathered, the staff signaled, and the broadcast echoed through the field.
-The three-legged race, the final event of Day 1 at Dawn High School's sports festival, will begin shortly at the first sports field... Spectators, please...
After various announcements, the event explanation started coming through the venue's microphones and speakers.
The sound quality was definitely better than the broadcast, making it easier to hear.
The explanation covered the three-legged race, obvious from the name: three participants per class with their legs tied together, running.
And it included details on those mission boxes.
-Inside the boxes on the desks in the course are papers with fun random missions~ Who knows what mission you'll get!
The MC, probably a senior from the broadcasting club, hyped up the crowd enthusiastically.
I wondered if those seniors did commentary for the soccer match too.
This school had so many talents, it seemed plausible.
After firing up the audience with cheers, the capable MC handed the mic to the staff.
Following the staff's instructions, we lined up and tied our legs with the provided straps.
With three participants per class from so many classes, the wide field was packed lengthwise.
We gave a quiet "Fighting!" and took our positions.
I could faintly hear our class's cheers in my ears.
And our mothers were probably watching us right now too.
A simple race: from one end of the long oval field to the other, first to the finish line wins.
...With mission boxes added. The three-legged race curtain rose.
Just before the starting signal, even the roaring cheers fell silent as everyone held their breath.
-Bang─!
The sharp crack of the starting gun rang out, and we began stepping in sync as practiced.
We'd only practiced a couple times, but with our natural senses, we quickly hit our stride.
"Hut. Two!"
"Dude, you're shouting like some old man..."
"Hut. Two! Hut. Two!"
"Pfft."
Seong Yurin and I chuckled, but matched Hong Yeonseo's cadence as we ran.
Unlike two-legged races, three-legged was tricky.
Some classes who hadn't practiced couldn't even start properly, as evident from the outset.
In that regard, we were doing great.
Sure enough, we were leading, and our figures appeared on the scoreboard displaying class rankings.
...Where was that camera filming from?
Squinting, I spotted what looked like a big broadcast camera on the far side of the field.
Probably handled by broadcasting club students too.
As I ran lost in idle thoughts, I spotted the desk ahead.
"Hong Yeonseo. You stop first."
With multiple legs linked, we needed a signal to halt.
"Got it. Three more steps then stop? I'll call it."
"One, two. Three!"
Under Hong Yeonseo's lead, we stopped precisely in front of the desk.
"Whew... Let's see."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The large scoreboard on the field stage.
Three handsome youths and beauties ran in perfect sync and stopped before the mission box.
Behind the cheering crowd's roars, the face of the young man who pulled out a paper from the box and unfolded it stiffened.
He scratched his head as if aware of the camera and held up the paper backward.
The paper in the hand of the young man, Seo Ijin, read: [The middle person carries the two on either side and runs].