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“Athlete's oath!”

In the blink of an eye, the day of the sports festival arrived.

I was only a bystander, a minor player so to speak, but I remember that the people in the sports club were practicing as if they were condensing their youth.

In reality, there was only about two weeks between the start of the second term and the sports festival. Even in that short period of time, the sports club was having exchanges that could have been written into a short story, and I respect them for that.
While you guys were working hard, I was resting in the shade, you know.

“Exit!”

The opening ceremony is over and the event begins.

First up is the boys' and girls’ short distance running.
I don't know if it's a matter of distance or excitement, but the order is that the girls run first, followed by the boys.

In the fourth lane for girls, Hiuri is lining up.
Normally, I should be cheering for my teammates in the same class or the same color, but well, there are a lot of boys around me who are already starting to make a racket, so there’s probably no one who would blame me if I were cheering for Hiuri.

Pan!

The sound of a pistol echoes and the first runner starts running.
The live commentary is done by the broadcasting club. The not particularly interesting, template-like live commentary echoes through the premises.

My school is, honestly speaking, not a very interesting school.
The school rules are lax, and in that respect it is said to have a more liberal school culture than other schools, but other than that, it is actually a school with nothing to write home about.

If there were interesting events or live commentary, I would enjoy watching them... but unfortunately, I'm only interested in events Hiuri is participating in and events Tadashi is participating in.
And, the events Hiuri is participating in and events Tadashi is participating in are almost the same.

“Ah, Hiuri.”

While I was spacing out, before I knew it, Hiuri's turn came.
There was no nervousness on her face, and she seemed to be in his usual condition. We checked our conditions last night as well, so she should be able to run without any problems.

“Do your best, Hiuri.”

My voice was lost in the hustle and bustle of the surroundings. But, well, even if she can't hear my voice, Hiuri will be fine.

Pan!!

The sound of a pistol echoes, and along with Hiuri, several runners start running.
Since it is a short distance running, there are no curves, just a straight line, so the difference in ability is much more obvious than in long distance running.

Hiuri is one of the most athletic people in the entire school year. Little by little, she comes out ahead.
And just like that, she reaches the goal.

“All right.”

I do a small fist pump.
My team came in third place, so I shouldn’t be happy about that, but for me, I'm just happy that Hiuri won. To begin with, I don't really care about overall results.

“Hmm, our girls' ranking isn't that good... Kazuki, I know you're happy that the princess won, but you should watch my match as well.”
“I get it already. Tadashi, do your best. Or rather, hurry up and get to the gathering point.”

After the girls' short distance running, the boys’ short distance running will immediately begin.

Tadashi is participating in two events: short distance running and relay. The person in charge of preparation is probably in trouble, so stop grinning and go quickly.

Just as Tadashi moves to the starting point alongside the other players, Hiuri and the others return.
However, Hiuri is in a different class, so our tents are different. I can still talk to her, but I don't have that much courage.

Since I have no choice, I watch over Tadashi. I have no choice. I have no choice (dissatisfied).

Pan!!

The length of the short distance running is the same for both boys and girls. Hence, the event progresses more quickly for the boys who, on average, are faster on their feet.
Tadashi was further back than Hiuri was, in the sixth row, but he started at almost the same timing.

I didn't have the impression that Tadasi was very fast... but he came in second.

Iffy—...

“How about that, haa, Kazuki.”
“I'm sorry to interrupt you when you are catching your breath, but your rank is iffy.”
“I know, righttt...”

Tadashi groans. If he was in first place, or if not, if he was in last place, he could have still said something.
Of course, second place is still good enough in terms of overall performance. However, since he asked for my impressions, I can't think of a better comment than “Iffy”.

“Damn, I'm going to destroy the relay...”
“Yes yes do your best.”

The events in which Tadashi competes are relay and short distance. Considering that Hiuri is participating in the long distance running to adjust the number of participants, it means that both of them originally participated in the same events.

After the short distance running, next is the three-legged race. No one I know is participating here.

“Sakura Hiuri! Look here! at this heroic figure of Kaga Ryuto!”

No one I know, is participating

And after that is the tug of war. Yes, it's my turn.

“Win properly okay—”
“Well, I'll do my best in moderation.”

It's an event that we can't win if I’m the only one trying my best. That's not a reason for me to cut corners, but it's also not a reason for me to work myself to the point of exhaustion.
I lightheartedly meet up with others and stand in front of the rope.

The tug of war Red team, 35 people in total, fights against the Green team.
This tug of war is using a tournament system. The order is determined in advance by lottery. Since there are five teams, there is a seed, which may seem unfair, but in this tug of war, points are awarded for each match, not just the final ranking, so there is a high possibility that the seeded team will have less points than the other teams even if they take first place.

The seeded team is the blue team to which Hiuri belongs. I'd like to fight them if I can, but since the opponent is seeded, I won't get a chance to fight them if I lose here.

Pan!!

The signal rings out and both parties start pulling the rope.

In one of the few practices we had, we decided on a yell. Together with that, everyone pulls the rope.

“Go for it—!”
“Pull—!”
“Do your best—!”

Perhaps because the students from different grades are mixed together, there is a lot of cheering. The fact that both boys and girls are participating means that they are cheering without barriers.

Although I participated in the event thinking that I didn't want to stand out or that people wouldn't know if I made a mistake, seeing so much support really motivates me.
It was the same last year, but this feeling of being cheered by everyone unexpectedly raises my motivation.

Panpan!!

The pistol shots go off twice. This is the end signal.

...

“That was a shame. It was close.”
“This is more frustrating than I thought.”

The next match was against the yellow team, but we lost that. Unfortunately, we couldn't fight against the blue team.

“Still, you sure worked harder than I expected, Kazuki.”
“Yeah, somehow, I'm really motivated.”

But, I didn't have this much motivation last year.. .is it because I had a goal?
Or is it because I’m in an environment where Hiuri is watching? I also have more friends in my class than last year, so that might have been a factor.

Whatever the case, it means the match was more memorable than last year.

“I’ve got to try my best too!”

Tadashi raises his voice.

The sports festival still continues.

――――

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