Meanwhile, Ryuuen Kakeru had witnessed Kamuro Masumi and Sudou Ken's speed firsthand, his brows furrowing tightly as a sense of unease settled in.
"Hey, Ibuki, don't lose," he said to Ibuki Mio, who was about to step onto the track.
"Save that line for the next person," Ibuki Mio retorted without turning back.
There was no way she would lose—especially not to someone she had already defeated once before.
"Heh, quite the fighting spirit," Ryuuen muttered, though his gaze remained fixed on Class A's direction.
No matter how many top-tier competitors they had, victory would ultimately be determined by total points.
Ibuki took her position on the track, with Horikita Suzune standing just two or three meters away. Their eyes met briefly.
They had clashed head-on during the uninhabited island exam—a brutal, no-holds-barred fight where Horikita, despite running a high fever, had stubbornly held her own against Ibuki for several minutes.
Though the battle had ended with Horikita collapsing unconscious, her tenacity had left a deep impression on Ibuki.
Now, the two faced each other again—this time on the racetrack.
Ibuki glanced at Horikita, who was taking deep breaths before settling into a flawless starting stance, completely ignoring Ibuki's presence.
This irritated Ibuki.
How dare this loser act so dismissive? If she had beaten her once, she could do it a hundred more times today.
Unaware of Ibuki's thoughts, Horikita kept replaying the earlier scene in her mind—Kamuro charging toward the finish line like an unstoppable force, igniting her own competitive spirit.
She could do it too.
She absolutely could.
Because soon, she would be competing on the same stage as her brother.
She wanted to run that fast.
She wanted to impress him.
Whoosh—
As the runners burst from the starting line, Kaoru quietly made his way to the spectator stands.
This was the final heat for the girls' division and the last 100-meter dash of the first-year events.
His movement went mostly unnoticed, as most eyes were glued to the track, where Horikita and Ibuki were neck-and-neck, their close race stirring tension among the onlookers.
However, Ryuuen, who had been closely monitoring Class A, quickly picked up on the shift.
The spectator stands weren't empty—employees from the Keyaki Mall, having heard about the sports festival, had taken time off to watch.
The school hadn't stopped them, and now they were thoroughly engrossed, occasionally waving to the students below.
Of course, there were exceptions among the spectators.
Ryuuen spotted Kaoru approaching Sakayanagi.
She wore a faint smile as the two exchanged words, and after a moment, Sakayanagi pulled out her phone.
Since it was a competition, most participating students hadn't brought their phones.
Ryuuen didn't think Sakayanagi intended to contact someone—he just found it strange.
The moment he received the competition roster from Nagumo Miyabi, Ryuuen realized who had prepared it.
Yet, the mastermind behind it was chatting and laughing with Kaoru, making it impossible to guess what she was scheming.
Katsuragi was currently ostracizing Sakayanagi—Ryuuen knew this.
That was precisely why he had chosen to cooperate with Sakayanagi during the previous VIP Test, while also stirring up internal conflict within Class A.
Though Class C had ultimately lost.
Ryuuen was deep in thought.
He wasn't questioning Sakayanagi abilities—he just wondered what she was planning now.
It was clear that the other party had contacted Nagumo Miyabi, who then passed the information to him, tasking him with dealing with Kaoru and Class A.
Both sides seemed to be using him as a pawn in their schemes.
Ryuuen was more than happy to play the role of their blade—though his was no ordinary blade, one that also had its sights set on its employers.
"Wow, wow, wow! Ibuki is actually losing!" Ishizaki Daichi's loud exclamations from beside him abruptly interrupted Ryuuen's train of thought.
On the track, Ibuki Mio was trailing behind Horikita Suzune by a body's length, panting heavily as she crossed the finish line in second place.
Perhaps hearing Ishizaki's voice, Ibuki kicked the grass in frustration, sending a small cloud of dust into the air.
She had lost to someone she had once defeated.
She had been leading at first—so how had this girl caught up to her at the last moment?
Horikita Suzune wasn't feeling much better either.
Her stamina was on par with Ibuki's, but she had remained calm.
Racing required technique, and she had simply applied what she had learned correctly.
Even so, it had been a close call.
A single misstep could have cost her the race.
Gasping for breath, she instinctively glanced toward the third-year section, hoping to catch a glimpse of her brother.
But she quickly suppressed the thought and turned away.
She wanted to stand proudly on the track and run alongside him as equals.
Instead, her gaze drifted toward Class A.
Not spotting Kaoru, she frowned slightly and scanned the area, only to see him speaking to Sakayanagi across the railing in the spectator stands.
After exchanging a few words, Kaoru turned and walked back to Class A.
Horikita bit her lower lip.
She hadn't expected him to watch her race in the first place.
But one day, she would shatter his arrogance.
Without a word, she returned to Class D's waiting area.
The first-year 100-meter dash was over, and next up were the second and third-year races.
Once all students had competed, the next event would be the hurdles.
She needed to rest properly beforehand.
"You did well. Second place is fine too," Ryuuen said with a faint smile.
"You earned Class C 12 points, Ibuki."
Ibuki walked past him, pausing briefly.
"I won't lose the next race."
"I hope so. Right now, someone else is more anxious than we are." Ryuuen's eyes landed on the second-years entering the track, including Nagumo Miyabi.
"When the time comes, don't hold back."
He had no particular expectations for the girls' races.
The plan was to use weaker players to eliminate their stronger ones, then have his own stronger and mid-tier players take out their remaining competitors.
Ibuki simply wanted a rematch with Horikita Suzune.
On top of that, Class A seemed intent on feeding points to Class D, giving Class C the perfect opportunity to snatch those points for themselves.
The only headache now was how to handle Kamuro and Kaoru.
Their sudden improvement had disrupted Ryuuen's plans for them.
Still, while it was troublesome, the points from individual events weren't that significant.
He could afford to let them have those—how much could two people really take?
The real prize was the team competitions, where a single victory could net them 500 points at once!
Ryuuen Kakeru was aiming for the team competitions.
Winning a few rounds here would essentially secure the top spot in this sports festival.
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