And the afternoon events continued to progress and the competition finally came down to the last event, the cavalry battle.
"This is the last event… This year was by far the much more intense competition compared to a normal athletic festival."
"I guess so. And it's going to be nationally televised, so that's great."
"I-I can relate to why people would want to see this when the event is this spectacular. It may not be comparable to the Olympics or the National Athletic Meet, but it is still very exciting."
"Yes! And this time, it's a very close match with the white team. We're losing now, but if we win this cavalry battle, we will be the winners!"
Ryo was right, so far, it was a close match, and the pair that wins this cavalry battle would likely determine the outcome of this competition.
"So, are you ready?"
"Of course!"
"Leave it to me! I, the [Nobleman of Cavalry], will support you well!"
"I-I'll do my best!"
It was decided that our horses would be Ryo, Shingo-kun, and Akira, and I would be the rider on top.
I asked them if they were sure it should be me, but all three nodded vigorously and unanimously agreed that only I could do it.
Since they expect so much from me, I must do my best…
"Well, the next cavalry battle will be the last event in the athletic festival. With the intense fight up to this point, the current scores are very competitive, and the winner of this cavalry battle will be the athletic festival champion!"
"As for this cavalry battle, the teachers, including myself, will be there to support students. I know everyone is tired because they have given their all so far, but that is why you must be careful not to get hurt."
After all, competition is a competition, and it seems to be conducted with the support of the teachers.
So, all the boys formed up on horseback, and I got on top of them, and then the game started.
The rules of the cavalry match itself were to fight freely for a certain period, and then the remaining pairs would fight one-on-one.
"You guys! Drag down the general of the red teeaaamm!"
"Go for the general of the white team!"
There was also a general cavalry rider from each team, both were strong seniors in their third year.
Following the instructions of these seniors, the riders maneuver their horses, and finally, the battle between the riders begins.
"Bring me that head!"
"Sink they down!"
Isn't it too noisy?
When the charge began, everyone's eyes were bloodshot, and they madly headed for the other rider to take him down!
"Oooh, there's some fierce fighting going on! However, looking at the situation, I would say that the white team has a slight advantage."
I fought to not lose to the other seniors, but I couldn't move as fast as I wanted because of the crowded battlefield and the possibility of injuring my opponent if I really tried to beat him.
As I tried to find the right balance of strength under these circumstances, the match progressed.
"T-the white team! They're making it look like they are going after the red team's general, but they are cutting down the forces around them!"
As Shirase-san announced, before I knew it, the other riders in the red team were overwhelmed by the white riders who were teaming up, and by the time the time limit approached, there were only three riders left in the red team including me and the general's rider.
In contrast, the white team had more than ten riders left.
"This is a complicated situation for the red team! Is victory for the white team sealed at this point?"
In accordance with the rules, the one-on-one battles would start here, but the general cavalry would be last, and we would be the team ahead of him.
"I-I wonder if we'll be alright…"
"Umm… indeed, I must say that it seems quite hopeless even for me, the [Nobleman of Cavalry], to turn this situation around…"
Akira is right; it will be very tough for the red team to regain ground from here.
When it came time to start the single horse race, the red team's riders, who had remained until then, lost in that first race.
Now there were only two riders in the red team, us and the general's cavalry.
With the difference being so great, the white team was now confident of victory and could see that they had enough time to win.
However──.
"Yuuya-kuuuuuuuuuun! Do your beeesssssstt!"
"Ryo, Shingo, and Akira, too, don't loseeeee!"
"Go out there and die for your teacher's bonus!"
We couldn't afford to lose with cheers flying one after another from the red team's tent.
"I-I can hear… them cheering for us…! This way, I can continue to fight for as long as I want!"
"A-as expected, it's hard to say exactly this much, but… I'll do my best!"
"Yeah! There's no way we can finish without defeating a single rider with all this support!"
Ryo and the others who were cheered on by everyone had braced themselves once again for the first battle.
Then──.
"T-this issssss!?"
Shirase-san's shout echoed through the air.
As soon as the one-on-one battle began, we rushed into the fray with the force of a crushing blow, knocking down the other rider after another.
"S-strong, he's strong, participant Yuuya! He knocked down the white team's cavalry one after the other!"
"Haaah!"
"Aghhh!"
One by one, we were knocking down the riders. But since the one-on-one battle is a winner-takes-all system, we will continue to fight until we lose.
"T-the arms of this [Nobleman of Cavalry] are screaming!"
"You said you could fight as long as you wanted before we charged!"
"I-I'm sorry, Ryo-kun! I-I think I might be getting to the end of my rope…!"
"Shingo too?"
Yes, Ryo and the others who were supporting me were reaching their limits.
I was trying to reduce the burden on everyone else by taking out the attackers and knocking them down quickly, but even so, the strain on the arms of the three men below was tremendous.
And because Ryo and the others charge at them without fear, I am also able to fight with a sense of freedom.
"Sorry, everyone! We're almost there…!"
I took down the other rider even more quickly, and finally, only the general rider of the white team was left.
"W-what can I say! No way, the participants Yuuya and the others really knocked down that many riders by themselves!"
"Kyaaaa! Yuuya-kun, that's amazing!"
"I knew he was extraordinary in the first place, but seeing him again, it's amazing."
The red team's waiting tent erupts in cheers as we have made it all the way to a one-on-one battle with the white team's general.
"Generaaaalll! Don't you dare loseeeee!"
"The other team is tired from their back-to-back battles! We should definitely win this oneeee!"
The white team's fighting spirit did not wane in the slightest. In fact, they were more combative now that their teammates were gone.
Then, the opposing general looked me straight in the eye and said with dignity.
"You're really a great foe, Tenjou! But it will be us, the white team, who will win this match!"
"No! We, the red team, will win…!"
With those words as our cue, we clashed.
But the opposing general's cavalry was composed of strong students playing the role of the horses, and Ryo and the others, who were already exhausted, were knocked away!
"Whoa!"
"Hold on, Shingo, Akira!"
"I-I'm holding on!"
"Hmph!"
Ryo and the others tried to fend off the onslaught of the seniors somehow, but it didn't work.
I tried to beat the general as quickly as possible, but the cavalry was so skillful that when I tried to engage them, they quickly pulled away. This caused Ryo and the others to lose their balance, and this continued as a vicious cycle.
But…!
"Haaa!"
"W-what?"
The general's cavalry charged when Ryo and the others had lost their balance, but I took advantage of that by supporting my almost collapsing balance with my torso, and I finally caught the other general!
"Whooaaaaaaa!"
"Haaaaaaah!"
The opponent was not giving up but fought back desperately. I tried to use my strength to dismount the general of the white team, but──.
"I-I'm sorry, Yuuyaaaaa!"
"!"
Finally, Ryo and the others ran out of stamina, and our horses fell apart.
But I took advantage of the momentum to grab the other general, and dragged him to the ground with me!
Then, the other general and I landed on the ground at the same time.
"I-it's settled! What a surprise, participant Yuuya has collided with the white team's general cavalry! With this, the cavalry battle was won by the red team! The red team is the winner of this year's athletic festival…!"
"""WHOAAAAAAAAA!"""
When Shirase-san made the announcement, loud cheers echoed through the ground.
"Yu-Yuuya! You did it! We won!"
"What do you think? This [Nobleman of Cavalry] lives up to the name with this strength of mine!"
"A-as expected of Yuuya-kun! I can't believe you took the opponent out in that situation, too…!"
As Ryo and the others ran up to me and told me this in hushed tones, the senior, who was the general of the white team, held out his hand to me.
"It was a good match. A total defeat for us."
"T-thank you very much!"
I shook hands with my senior.
＊＊＊
All the athletic events had been completed, but everyone decided to do a folk dance at the end of the festival.
Naturally, the students had practiced in advance, but it was a different feeling when we danced after the competition.
We switched one by one, and regardless of whether we were in the white or red group, we danced with Kaede and the other girls in the red group, as well as with Yuti from the middle school.
I was nervous because I had never danced with girls my own age before, and I ended up dancing with Kaori.
"Yuuya-san!"
"Kaori!"
As we took each other's hands and began to dance, I was still embarrassed.
Then Kaori opened her mouth.
"Congratulations to the red team for winning the competition. Yuuya-san was really cool in the cavalry battle, you know?"
"I-is that so? Um… T-thank you…"
My face gets all flushed when someone tells me to my face that I'm cool…
"Since I'm in the white group, I really should be cheering for the white group, but I… ended up cheering for Yuuya-san."
Kaori laughed like a child who had just been caught in a prank, and I couldn't help but be amused.
"But it was really fun, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was fun."
We look at each other and laugh.
───My first athletic festival after coming to Ousei Academy ended in this way.