The third event, chess, ended in an epic victory for Class C.
A roar of disbelief and cheers erupted from the Class C spectators as they processed the gravity of the situation.
The game, chosen by Class A itself and helmed by the formidable Sakayanagi, had been turned on its head by none other than the unpredictable Koenji.
His eccentricity, which had once been regarded as a liability, became the key to their success.
Koenji, who had approached the game with his usual carefree attitude, could have easily chosen to sit out the entire match, leaving his class at a severe disadvantage.
Yet, he hadn't.
In a twist that no one could have predicted, Koenji not only played but also triumphed over Sakayanagi, a player known for her precision and strategic genius.
Not knowing what exactly happened behind the scenes, an imminent sense of victory engulfed the hearts of class C students, as their, once withered hope, started to bloom once again.
On the other hand, Sakayanagi was shaken by this kind of development, but quickly regained her composure.
Her resolve to thoroughly crush class C in the upcoming events only became stronger, as the next event to be competed on was announced.
The announcement of the next event sent a ripple of excitement through the air—Archery. This would be the fourth event, and both classes immediately began to strategize.
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Target Archery
Required Participants: 1 Person
Allotted Time: 30 seconds per shot.
Rules:
- Each player would be allowed 6 shots at the target at a distance of 70 meters.
- There are 5 different scoring zones, the more the shot is towards the center, the more points.
Commander: The Commander can provide strategic advice to the player for a maximum of 3 minutes.
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Finally, an event from class C's selected set.
Winning this event would further their chances of winning the special exam as a whole.
So, to keep up the pace, class C had to choose their best player in this regard.
"Yamauchi-kun."
After regaining her composure, Sakayanagi resumed her playful behavior.
Because, she, surely, got the answers to her questions, she asked to Yamauchi before.
"It seems to me like you have set your foot on a forbidden territory."
As there were 2 teachers beside them, in that room, she chose her words to be vague, but understandable to Yamauchi.
She was able to deduce everything about Tsukishiro's involvement in the chess event, and somehow was able to connect the dots, but the thing she was referring to as 'forbidden territory', is something beyond that.
"I really have no idea what you are talking about.", Yamauchi feigned ignorance with his relaxed tone and behavior.
"Fu fu ~ You will know soon enough.", she replied.
A battle of words had once again begun.
But this time, Yamauchi was no cornered rat. He was the one holding the cards, albeit hidden.
Sakayanagi's cryptic warning did little to shake his confidence.
He smiled slightly, his eyes revealing nothing of the thoughts running through his head.
"Please assign your respective players.", Sakagami reminded of the passing time as usual.
"Yamauchi-kun, I heard that a week ago, the students of class C filed a complaint against you, for using unfair means in the in-class voting special exam. Is that true?", Sakayanagi asked with her usually devious smile.
That rechecking event was not published to everyone, and was contained within students of class C, their homeroom teacher, the recheckers of the ballot papers, and the acting director himself.
Information regarding this was not exposed to any one other than that.
Even the homeroom teachers of other classes were not aware of it.
That was why, even Sakagami along with Hoshinomiya were beyond surprised.
As the commanders were allowed to have a battle of words, Sakayanagi could talk about it however she wanted.
Yamauchi's heart skipped a beat as Sakayanagi dropped that bombshell.
The complaint she mentioned wasn't public knowledge, nor was it supposed to be.
It was an internal matter that had barely been resolved, swept under the rug by Tsukishiro's manipulation.
Yet here was Sakayanagi, bringing it into the spotlight.
"Remaining silent wouldn't work on me, you know. You are just too easy to read, Yamauchi-kun. But, judging from the teachers' expressions, I think it was supposed to be a secret of only class C. My apologies for spilling it out."
Sakyanagi's information network was nothing to scoff at, but this was completely an internal matter, which she just casually revealed.
"Though their complaint bore no fruit, they must hate you so much to make you the commander, with no protection point. Don't you think they just want you to be expelled as soon as possible?"
The silence that engulfed that room, was only broken by Sakayanagi's sarcastic remarks.
"Is that so?", replied Yamauchi, seemingly ignoring while making his choice for this archery event.
"That's right. Also, rumors say that you had a hand in conspiring against Sakura-san to expel her, and you even succeeded in it."
"What are you trying to imply?", Yamauchi asked Sakayanagi
"All I am saying is that, shouldn't you pick your player for this archery event very carefully after thorough consideration of this matter? I mean, the only student, enrolled in the archery club from your class, Akito Miyake-kun, was a friend of Sakura-san, was he not?"
"So?"
"Feigning ignorance, huh? Alright, let me make it clear for you. If you select him as the player for this event, then he might try to intentionally lose this event as a means of revenge from you, for expelling his friend, whether it's true or not."
"Then, I am supposed to pick another student instead of Akito for this event, is what you are saying, right?"
"That's not true at all, Yamauchi-kun. I am just implying that you should rethink your choices and reconsider the player for this archery event."
"Well well, aren't you generous for thinking positively about your opponent, Sakayanagi? But, you need not worry. Because, I have never felt much reassured by my choices in my entire life ever before."
Sakayanagi tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable.
"Oh, I see. You've grown quite confident, Yamauchi-kun. But I wonder if your confidence will hold up when things take an unexpected turn."
Yamauchi flashed a smile. "We'll see, won't we?"
The tension between them was palpable, but the time for words had passed. The room fell into a hushed silence as the selections for the archery event were shown on the large screen.
Class A : Katsuragi Kouhei
Class C : Akito Miyake
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Author's Notes :
A few more events to end the last special exam of first year.
Please comment down your thoughts on this arc so far.
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