Chapter 174: Sudo has become the class leader!

After getting approval, Sudou looked even more pleased with himself. Kanda Shuichi walked over, and as he passed by Kushida, he gave a light cough to get her attention. 

"As expected of Sudou. No matter what you do, you're always number one in the class. That's impressive!" 

Catching Kanda Shuichi's hint, Kushida immediately praised Sudou. 

"Heh, it's nothing. But if that guy had actually run, who knows how it would've turned out." 

Sudou glanced toward Koenji, who was still relaxing under a tree. 

"Even so, you're really amazing. I guess you're the leader of this sports festival, Sudou!" 

"Leader? Me…?" 

Kushida's words caught Sudou off guard. He blinked in surprise and pointed at himself. 

"I think so too," Kanda Shuichi added. "This sports festival is the perfect chance for athletic students to shine. And even among them, you stand out. For the sake of the class, wouldn't you take the role?" 

Hirata, standing nearby, also nodded in agreement, acknowledging Sudou's skills and encouraging him to step up as leader. 

"Well, I mean… I've never really been the leader type…" 

Sudou usually acted on his own or with a small group. He looked unsure and glanced at Horikita, silently asking for her opinion. 

"In theory, you're not the kind of person who teaches others. As a leader, Hirata would probably be better…" 

"Who cares? Just seeing Sudou giving it his all is enough to fire everyone up, right?" 

Kanda Shuichi cut Horikita off, clearly supporting Sudou for the role. 

After all, Kushida didn't want Horikita to lead. Otherwise, she wouldn't have praised Sudou and suggested him for the position. 

"I never said I was against it. Why are you in such a rush?" Horikita frowned, then turned to Sudou. 

"If you're confident you can lead Class D to victory, I won't object to you becoming the leader."

"Then it's settled. I'll lead Class D to victory in this sports festival."

Sudou clenched his fist, full of confidence.

"Don't get cocky. You'll regret it later."

Horikita warned him like she was reminding herself, then left to continue practicing.

Watching her walk away, Sudou's face turned a little red. He clenched his fist again.

After school, Kushida didn't hang out with her friends. Instead, she went grocery shopping with Kanda Shuichi, and they headed back to the dorm together.

"Horikita didn't get to be the leader. Happy now?"

"Hmph, that bitch should've just accepted my nomination. Why did she have to act all neutral?"

You're really petty, you know that?

"By the way, how's the thing you promised me going?" Kushida suddenly looked up at Kanda Shuichi.

"The thing I promised? What thing?"

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about teaching Horikita a lesson."

Kushida's face was full of annoyance.

Seriously? You're still hung up on that? Didn't you already get a little payback today?

"I've already taken care of it. Ryuen will get the detailed info about Class D and the match order soon."

"Did you give it to him yourself?"

As soon as she asked, she realized the answer. Kanda Shuichi was looking at her like she was an idiot.

"You have someone in Class C?"

"Don't worry about it. The point is, Ryuen's going to target Horikita hard and make her suffer."

It's better not to mention Karuizawa. The fewer people who know, the better.

Seeing that Kanda Shuichi didn't want to explain further, Kushida dropped the subject.

"Aren't you going out with your friends today? You should still have plenty of points, right?" Kanda Shuichi asked while putting the ingredients into the pot, glancing at Kushida, who was sitting on the bed swinging her feet.

"Yeah, I got some points from the special exam, so I'm doing pretty well."

"Then why not go have fun?"

"Because I need to keep an eye on you. Can't let some other girl steal you away."

???

What other girl? Are you serious? And what do you mean by 'other'? Are you calling yourself one too? We're not even a thing.

Ignoring Kushida, Kanda Shuichi put the lid on the pot and grabbed his textbook to study.

"You're going to study?"

"Yeah. Waiting for food to cook is boring, so I usually read during this time."

Kanda Shuichi leaned back comfortably in his chair as he spoke, flipping open a book. This time, he was reading the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes cases. 

It was something Shiina had recommended when they ran into each other before, but he hadn't had time to read it until now. Come to think of it, it had been a while since he last visited the library. 

"Are you really just going to let me sit here like this?" 

"Then why don't you dance for me?" 

"Pfft!" 

"I'm not stopping you from doing anything. Do whatever you want. Or, if you're bored, why not throw a few more insults at Horikita?" 

How am I supposed to insult Horikita while you're reading? That would just interrupt you, idiot! 

Feeling bored, Kushida grabbed a book from Kanda Shuichi's shelf and started reading as well. 

Seeing her quiet down, Kanda Shuichi smirked slightly. Now this was more like it. Instead of badmouthing others, it was better to focus on improving yourself. 

He kept reading while keeping an eye on the food cooking on the stove. Before long, it was time for dinner. 

"Hey, Kikyo, put that down." 

"Huh?" 

Clearly, Kushida was completely absorbed in the book. Did she not usually read novels? 

"Dinner's ready. Go serve yourself some rice." 

"Oh." 

Only after Kushida set the book down did Kanda Shuichi catch the title on the cover—*And Then There Were None*. 

Great. Is she planning to learn all the scheming and backstabbing from that book? 

Life carried on as usual, and so did gym class. 

After being appointed as Class D's leader for the sports festival yesterday, Sudou immediately took charge. 

During gym class, he gathered the students right at the start and began coaching them. His first lesson was about tug-of-war techniques. 

With nothing better to do, Kanda Shuichi decided to watch from the sidelines. 

"You guys are wasting way too much energy, and your pulling force is completely off. At this rate, you won't even win the matches you *should* be able to win!" 

Sudou didn't hold back as he scolded Ike and Yamauchi, who clearly had no idea what they were doing. 

To demonstrate, he had them grab one end of the rope while he took the other—then, effortlessly, he pulled against both of them and won. 

"See? You're not using your strength properly. Watch my posture carefully. Tug-of-war isn't just about arm strength. You have to use your waist too—your *waist*!" 

He tossed the rope back to Ike and Yamauchi, letting them practice on their own. 

"Uh, Sudou, could you help us out over here later? We're having trouble with the cavalry battle." 

"Got it, I'll be there in a sec." 

Class D had a lot of students who weren't athletic—or had never even participated in these kinds of events before. So, Sudou ended up running all over the field, acting like a firefighter, helping wherever he was needed. 

And it wasn't just the boys. Even the girls were calling out to Sudou for advice. 

"Pretty capable, huh?" 

Watching Sudou working hard, Kanda Shuichi gave him a straightforward compliment. If things continued like this, Sudou would probably gain a lot of favor from the Class D students by the end of the sports festival. 

"If only he wasn't 'like that,' then praising him wouldn't be a problem." 

As if to prove Horikita's point, Sudou suddenly lost his temper and started physically disciplining the unmotivated Ike and Yamauchi. 

Horikita sighed at the sight and then walked off to start warming up. 

It seemed like Sudou didn't understand the difference between himself and others. Simply put, he lacked awareness. He assumed that if he could do something, then others could do it too. And when they couldn't, he got angry. Honestly, this kind of temper wasn't suited for someone in a teaching role. 

On the other hand, Hirata was completely different. He stood near the girls waiting for Sudou's guidance and gently demonstrated the proper posture for cavalry battle, making things easier for them to understand. 

Seeing this, Kanda Shuichi walked toward Hirata. He had something to discuss about the cavalry battle event. 

"Something wrong, Kanda?" 

After helping one group of girls steady their stance, Hirata noticed Kanda Shuichi approaching. 

"Yeah, it's about the cavalry battle. We have twenty boys in our class, which means we can form five teams of four. But I probably won't be able to participate." 

Hearing this, Hirata nodded in understanding. 

"Yeah, there's not much we can do about that." 

"So I'd like to be grouped with Koenji. Judging by his attitude, he's probably not going to take the competition seriously. And since cavalry battle is all about teamwork, he likely won't cooperate. It's best if we don't count on him as part of our fighting force from the start." 

Hirata thought for a moment, then nodded. 

"You have a point, Kanda. But I don't think we should just exclude Koenji from participating altogether. I'll ask him about it later." 

"That works too. If he does decide to compete, it'll be a great boost for Class D's strength." 

With that, their plan for the cavalry battle was settled, and Kanda Shuichi's placement was mostly decided. Not that it mattered—he was just a filler participant anyway, so whichever group he ended up in wouldn't make much of a difference. 

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