Relay Preparations (1)
“Hey, hey, Shuhei-kun, want to practice baton passes after this?”
The class had just finished deciding who would participate in which events for the sports festival, and everyone was starting to head home, little by little.
As I returned to my seat from the teacher’s podium and started packing up, Hasumin called out to me.
Hasumin and I were part of the same team for the co-ed Swedish relay.
The team was made up of the two of us, plus Nitta-san, a member of Hasumin’s light music club, and Date, a first-year regular on the basketball team.
Normally, I guess you’d expect the girls to be picked from sports clubs too, but our class didn’t have a single girl in any athletic club. So instead, they chose Hasumin and Nitta-san for their strong physical abilities.
“I’m down. But are Date and Nitta-san free after this?”
“Mei’s good to go. And Date-kun said he’s fine for a bit before his club activities start.”
“Alright, then let’s head to the courtyard and get some practice in. I’ve never done a baton pass before, so I figured I should try it at least once before the real thing.”
Before I went off to another world and came back, I wasn’t especially athletic—just a quiet guy in the go-home club who kept to himself. I’d never once been chosen to run in a relay race.
Naturally, I’d also never had the chance to practice baton passing.
“Rogeer~ Date-kun, Mei, we’re doing this nooww~”
When Hasumin called out to them, the two—who had been watching us—raised their hands in acknowledgment.
The four of us quickly regrouped, grabbed the practice baton our class had been loaned for the festival, and made our way to the courtyard.
“So, about the running order,” Date said as we walked. “Since the rules say we have to alternate between boys and girls, I was thinking Nitta-san first, then me, then Hasumi-san, then Oda.”
He offered the suggestion while we were on the move.
“Yep, yep, I agree. I think Shuhei-kun, our ultra-athlete, is the perfect choice for anchor.”
Hasumin chimed in with approval,
“Same here. The anchor leg is a full 400 meters, after all. If we’re aiming to win, then we obviously need the fastest runner at the end.”
It looked like Nitta-san was on board with the idea too.
Since boys generally had the advantage in terms of stamina, putting a guy in the anchor position was the logical move if we wanted to win.
That meant our order naturally became: girl → boy → girl → boy.
Most likely, since Hasumin and I were close, she got placed as the third runner. With the alternating gender rule, that left Date second and Nitta-san first.
“Got it. Leave the anchor leg to me.”
“Oho! You said it! Shuhei-kun’s in go-mode. I think we’ve got something to look forward to!”
“Of course. If I’m going to do this, I’m aiming for first place—no less. Just make sure you all hand off the baton to me cleanly.”
“Yeah! Let’s start practicing like crazy today. We’re aiming for first place in the co-ed Swedish relay! And the overall grade championship too!”
Hasumin thrust her right hand, clenched into a fist, high into the air.
“““Yeah!!”””
Date, Nitta-san, and I raised our fists and shouted in unison.
Date had enough athletic talent to become a regular on the basketball team in his very first summer. Hasumin and Nitta-san were also both seriously athletic.
And I—having fought as a hero for five years in another world without suffering a single defeat—
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call us the fastest relay team in the entire first-year class.
(Not just our physical abilities—everyone’s motivation is sky-high. As long as we don’t screw up, we’ve got a real shot at taking first place.)
However—
I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t use any of my Hero Skills during the sports festival.
The thing is, if I did, I’d be blowing past human limits by an absurd margin.
The world record for the 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds, but if I ran seriously, I could do it in five. That’s not just a little suspicious—it’d be a total disaster.
To put it in simpler terms, that’s about 72 kilometers per hour.
And factoring in the acceleration from a standstill to top speed, my peak would hit close to 90 kilometers per hour.
That’s far beyond what any human could possibly manage.
And the athletes in our school—the ones who watch sprints and drills every day—would immediately notice something was off. No excuse would cover that.
Besides, even without using my Hero Skills, the body I forged through five years of life-or-death combat was already more than enough. I had more physical ability than I knew what to do with.
So I decided—I’d enjoy this sports festival using nothing but my own strength, fair and square.