Sports Festival (2)
“Great job, Shuhei-kun! Here, have some Aquarius.”
After taking first place in both the 100-meter dash and the 1500-meter run, I returned to Class 1-5’s waiting area, where Hasumin came running up to me, holding out a PET bottle.
“Thanks, Hasumin… Ahh, it’s cold and feels amazing… I feel alive again…”
“You ran the full 1500 meters at max effort—of course you’re exhausted. Still, congrats on that commanding first place. The crowd went wild for you! What a heartthrob!”
“Haha, thanks. But honestly, it wasn’t exactly a commanding win. I had to stay on edge the whole way through.”
“Yeah, when you broke away right after the start, they caught up with you almost immediately.”
A senior from the track team. A senior from the soccer team. And me.
The three of us battled it out in a fierce dead heat, and I barely managed to pull ahead in the final sprint to clinch the win.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect them to keep up with such a fast pace right from the start. My plan was to go all-out early and discourage them into giving up, but of course, the captain of the soccer team and the ace of the track team weren’t that easy to shake. They weren’t just fast—their mental toughness was next level.”
“Yeah, it was a nail-biter all the way up to the final lap. Even I was shouting my lungs out cheering for you.”
“I heard you loud and clear, Hasumin.”
“Really? Even with all those other girls from different classes screaming their hearts out?”
“Really. You were shouting, ‘Last lap! Go, go, go!’ weren’t you? Thanks to that, I managed to hang in there for the final push. I mean it—thanks for cheering me on, Hasumin.”
“Ah… so you actually heard me… Ehehe… I’m glad I could help.”
Oh, come on. Don’t look down all bashful and start fidgeting with your face all red.
If a cute girl like Hasumin looks at me like that, I might actually start thinking she likes me or something.
“Your cheering really gave me a huge boost, you know.”
“Your time was, like, right around four minutes, wasn’t it? That’s crazy fast!”
“Yeah, from the very beginning, it was like we were daring each other to back down. No way I was gonna lose to them, and I was dead serious about it. I gave it everything I had.”
It was the first time in ages I’d pushed myself that hard just to win.
Since coming back to this world, I don’t think I’ve ever pushed my body to its absolute limit like that.
(Though seriously, for an event that’s supposed to be unpopular, every class was way too into it.)
Practically every team sent in their top-tier long-distance runners. Because of that, some of the students who were just filling a slot ended up getting lapped and were on the verge of tears.
Just as I was talking about all that with Hasumin, sipping from the Aquarius bottle—
Pin-pon-pan-pon—
[All participants in the girls’ backward race, please gather at the entrance gate. I repeat, all participants in the girls’ backward race—]
“Oh, that’s me!”
“Good luck. Don’t trip, alright?”
“Hehe, don’t worry—I practiced running backward on my own, so I’ve got this. I’m feeling pretty confident, so make sure you’re watching, okay? And don’t forget to cheer for me too!”
“You got it.”
With that, Hasumin left the waiting area and headed off toward the entrance gate.
A little while later, the girls’ backward race began.
“Go, Hasumin! You can do it!”
Hasumin had clearly put in the practice—when she reached the toughest part of the course, a zigzag section that had to be navigated backward while keeping a kendama balanced on its center dish, she handled it with effortless grace. If the kendama fell, you’d have to start that entire section over from the beginning—but Hasumin breezed through it and crossed the finish line in first place.
After she returned, I congratulated her, and then the lunch break was announced—a full hour of rest.
Together with Hasumin, I headed back to the classroom for a bit.
“Here you go—your bento, Shuhei-kun.”
Hasumin handed me a boxed lunch.
“Thanks for going out of your way to make this for me. I really appreciate it.”
“I-It’s just a thank-you gift, so you don’t have to make a big deal out of it or anything.”
“Maybe not, but still—you made it for me. Of course I’m grateful.”
“Y-Yeah… well, you’re welcome… Ehehe…”
Since it was the sports festival today, Hasumin had made a lunch just for me.
As I held the bento in my hands, I found myself remembering the little conversation we had earlier—