Chapter 175: Ayanokouji’s Forced Perspective Shift!  

The three-legged race was an event that some people could do quite well. For example, the pair of Yukimura and Kanda Shuichi. Even though neither of them had great athletic ability, their coordination was solid, so their speed was decent. 

Then there was Sudou and Ike. Their coordination was terrible, but Sudou's sheer strength and speed completely made up for that weakness. 

Of course, while some people were doing well, others were struggling. 

One of them was Horikita Suzune, who prided herself on her athletic ability but was now having a hard time with this event. 

Her partner was Onodera, a member of the swimming club and another student with excellent athletic ability. 

Logically, this should have been an ideal pairing. Their heights were similar, and their 100-meter sprint times were nearly identical. In fact, Horikita was even slightly faster than Onodera in a straight race. 

Yet despite being a pair that everyone expected to take first place, their performance in the three-legged race was painfully slow. 

"Aren't those two ridiculously slow? What's going on?" 

Most of the students had noticed how unusual Horikita and Onodera's performance was. 

Since they were seen as one of the strongest pairs, even Sudou paused his coaching to run over and watch them practice. And when he saw their situation, his face showed clear surprise.

But soon, Horikita and Onodera ran over and stopped. 

"Hey, Horikita, can you try to match my pace a little better?" 

Onodera sounded frustrated. 

"The timing was definitely off. But that wasn't my fault—it's because you're too slow." 

"Wha—" 

Onodera was stunned. How could someone say something so ridiculous with such confidence? 

"Obviously, the slower person should match the faster one's pace. Expecting me to slow down for you is just strange." 

Onodera was speechless. It was like she was meeting Horikita Suzune for the first time. Wasn't the speed of a three-legged race supposed to be based on the slower person? 

What was wrong with Horikita Suzune? 

"Pfft… Hahaha." 

Hearing Horikita's words, Kanda Shuichi suddenly burst out laughing, which immediately earned him an annoyed glare from Horikita. 

"What are you laughing at?" 

"Can't I laugh? Isn't it great that you, Horikita Suzune, lost to me, Kanda Shuichi, in a three-legged race?" 

"You're talking nonsense." 

"Then how about we have a match? The loser has to agree to do one reasonable favor for the winner. What do you think?" Kanda Shuichi raised an eyebrow, deliberately provoking her. 

"If you're so eager to work for me, I suppose I'll accept." 

Getting Kanda Shuichi to do something for her—something reasonable, of course—was a tempting offer for Horikita. Even if he wasn't great at sports, his intelligence was undeniable. 

"Onodera, would you mind teaming up with Horikita again?" Kanda Shuichi turned to Onodera, who was still looking dumbfounded. 

"I don't mind, but…" 

She glanced at Horikita, her expression saying everything. 

"What about you, Horikita? Want to switch partners?" 

"No need." 

And with that, the match was set. 

Kanda Shuichi teamed up with Yukimura Haruhiko, who he had just been practicing with, while Horikita stayed with Onodera. 

Everyone in Class D knew that Kanda Shuichi wasn't physically strong, and Yukimura had already resigned himself to finishing in the bottom ten during the sports festival. In terms of physical ability, these two were likely the weakest not just in Class D, but among all the first-year boys. 

On the other hand, Onodera was a member of the swim club, just like Sudou. She had made the main team in her first year, meaning her athletic skills were far above Kanda Shuichi and Yukimura's. 

As for Horikita, her sprinting speed was even faster than Onodera's. There probably weren't many girls in their class who could outrun her. 

Looking at the lineup, the outcome seemed obvious. But what happened next left most people in shock. 

"Hirata, I'll leave the starting signal to you." 

After tying the rope, Kanda Shuichi casually asked Hirata, who was standing nearby, to give the signal.

"Got it." 

Since everyone thought this was going to be a one-sided match, there was no need to assign a serious referee. 

"On your marks, get set... 3, 2, 1, GO!" 

As soon as Hirata gave the signal, Kanda Shuichi and Yukimura Haruhiko started running at their usual pace, while Horikita and Onodera were slightly ahead at the beginning. 

But soon, problems arose in their group. Their speed started dropping, and they were easily overtaken by Kanda Shuichi and Yukimura Haruhiko. 

Seeing herself getting overtaken, Horikita immediately tried to speed up. However, this completely threw off her rhythm with Onodera. Forget about accelerating—they ended up completely stopping. 

Kanda Shuichi and Yukimura Haruhiko reached the finish line without any trouble. Looking back, Horikita and Onodera seemed to have already given up on the race. 

"Good job, Yukimura." 

"Nah, beating a seeded player like that... I can't help but feel a little proud." 

After defeating Horikita and Onodera, even Yukimura, who usually had a serious expression, showed a slight smile. 

The key to the three-legged race was first understanding your partner's speed. Once both partners could match each other's pace, they could move forward smoothly. 

But Kanda Shuichi had no intention of pointing this out to her. If she needed someone to teach her something this simple, he'd end up exhausting himself. 

Still, he walked over to Horikita. 

"Don't forget, you owe me a favor, Horikita." Kanda Shuichi said playfully. "If you break your promise, I'm sure your brother won't be too happy." 

"I always keep my promises. You don't need to worry about that." 

As expected, the moment Horikita Manabu was mentioned, Horikita Suzune became much more serious. 

"Good." 

Meanwhile, Ayanokouji and Hirata's teamwork was exceptionally smooth. Their speed kept increasing, and they effortlessly overtook Kanda Shuichi and Yukimura Haruhiko. 

The difference was so obvious that there was no need for a competition—anyone could see it just by looking. 

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by. The sports festival was now less than two weeks away. 

Because of the upcoming event, Sudou had completely set aside his studies, but when it came to sports, he never slacked off. 

Even though he was already the strongest in Class D—arguably the best in the entire grade—he never let it get to his head. Every day, he was either teaching others how to improve or practicing his own events alone. 

Even as some classmates started slacking off, Sudou remained fully focused, training tirelessly without showing the slightest hint of laziness. 

His classmates couldn't help but be amazed at his endurance. At this rate, he might really be able to perform at his peak in every single event during the sports festival. 

During this time, Hirata also coordinated with Ichinose, going over strategies, especially for team-based events like cavalry battles, pole-toppling, and tug-of-war. 

So far, everything was going according to plan—almost too smoothly. 

But while everyone was busy preparing, one person was falling behind. 

Horikita Suzune. 

After that race, she kept changing partners for the three-legged event, but every single time, she ended up arguing with them, leading to an awkward breakup. 

In the end, she decided to compete with the girl she had the shortest practice time with, but their speed was even worse than Kanda Shuichi's team. 

After silently observing for two weeks, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka finally decided to step in.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" 

"What do you want?" 

Horikita's tone wasn't exactly friendly when she responded to Ayanokouji. After all, losing the three-legged race to Kanda Shuichi, who was terrible at sports, and then being forced to agree to his request had been bothering her for two whole weeks. 

"I think you should try learning to compromise a little more." 

"…You're not the first person to tell me that." 

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, as if recalling a few things. 

"I just wanted to get the best result possible, so I refused to make compromises. Is that really so wrong? The three-legged race isn't like regular running. Even someone who's slower should theoretically be able to match their partner's pace to some degree." 

"But in the end, your results were a complete mess." 

"That's because my partners weren't trying hard enough. It's not my fault." 

"You're really stubborn, aren't you?" 

Ayanokouji sighed as he looked at Horikita, who was just as stubborn as ever. Meanwhile, Kanda Shuichi, who was casually watching, felt like calling her stubborn was an insult to the word itself. 

She's not stubborn—she's just an idiot! 

And what did Ayanokouji do next? He took out a rope used for the three-legged race and held it up to Horikita. 

"Let's run one together." 

"Since there's also a mixed-gender three-legged race, I should check your ability as a teammate. That's fine, right?" 

"You think you can keep up with me? You'll just slow me down." 

"If we go by your logic, speed shouldn't matter, right?" 

Nice, Ayanokouji! Using her own words against her—smooth move! 

"…Fine. I'll tie it." 

Horikita took the rope from Ayanokouji and tied their legs together. 

"Alright, let's go—" 

With that, Ayanokouji took off running, dragging Horikita along. Their speed was surprisingly fast at first, but soon, Horikita's expression began to change. 

"W-Wait! Slow down!" 

But Ayanokouji completely ignored her and just kept accelerating. 

"Didn't you say matching your partner's pace shouldn't be hard?" 

"That's… I know…!" 

She had just said that a few minutes ago—there was no way she could take it back now. Gritting her teeth, Horikita tried her best to keep up with Ayanokouji's pace. 

But no matter what she did, she just couldn't match his rhythm. Just as she was about to trip and fall onto the rubber track, Ayanokouji reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. 

Then, after saying a few words to her, he untied the rope around their legs and walked away. 

Horikita Suzune never considered things from another person's perspective. When she practiced with girls, she was always the faster one. But this time, Ayanokouji had forced her to experience what it was like to be the slower one. 

Forcing her to switch perspectives like that—now that was a perfect move.

Over the past few days, Ayanokouji had been observing the overall movements of the class. If things continued like this, Class D might really have a chance to win. 

However, Kouenji Rokusuke was still a problem. Word was that he had no intention of participating in the sports festival, which was definitely bad news for Class D. 

Even so, Ayanokouji wasn't planning to approach him. That guy was a headache whether he was an ally or an enemy, and as someone who preferred to stay out of trouble, Ayanokouji wasn't about to make things difficult for himself. 

Sigh, if only Kanda would persuade Kouenji. But it was clear that he had no intention of getting involved in this sports festival. 

If Kouenji participated, and they combined his strength with Sudou's, Class D would have a much better chance of winning. 

Unfortunately, Kouenji was no longer at risk of expulsion, and he wasn't short on private points either. Expecting to see him compete in the sports festival was probably unrealistic. 

During this time, Kanda Shuichi had been keeping up with all the latest gossip, but he hadn't neglected his physical training either. In PE class, he made sure to keep himself busy instead of standing around. 

Even though he didn't do any intense workouts, the lingering summer heat of September and the outdoor activities left him drenched in sweat by the end of every class, sometimes even gasping for breath. 

But after two weeks of this, his stamina had noticeably improved. 

Looks like even if I started off weak, my body is still that of a teenage boy in his prime. 

Ever since the sports festival began, Kanda Shuichi had been cooking less. With PE classes draining so much of his energy every day, he decided to take a break from cooking and give himself some time to rest. 

It seemed like most first-year students were in the same boat—apparently, even the usual crowds at Keyaki Mall Shopping Center had thinned out these past few days. 

The exhaustion could be seen from the guests who regularly showed up at Kanda Shuichi's room. 

Even Kushida, who was always surrounded by friends, had been spending her time in Kanda Shuichi's room just reading books, which showed just how tiring the PE classes had been. 

But on weekends, no one was heading to school to practice for the competitions. Even though winning was important, there was no need to go overboard. 

Even Sudou had chosen to rest on the weekend, balancing work and recovery to keep his body in peak condition. Let alone the regular students who tended to slack off in the first place. 

Kanda Shuichi had also accepted an invitation to Keyaki Mall Shopping Center—someone was treating him to a meal again. 

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