Co-ed Swedish Relay (5)
Of course, by now the gap was far too wide—realistically, there was no way Hasumin could catch up to the other classes.
Even though the third runner had to cover 300 meters—a long distance for a girl, more middle-distance than sprint—
With a gap this big, impossible meant impossible.
And still, Hasumin ran with everything she had.
Her face twisted with desperate intensity, she pushed herself far beyond her limits, running with every ounce of strength she could muster.
Focused solely on passing me the baton one second faster—even a heartbeat faster—Hasumin kept charging forward, powering through a full lap and a half of the track.
And as I watched her, pouring her entire soul into every step, a fierce fire of fighting spirit erupted inside me—!
It was the same fierce sensation I’d felt a few times back in my hero days.
Yes, that’s what this was—
The mental battle-readiness of an invincible hero standing at the brink of a decisive showdown, prepared to turn the impossible into reality—!
Hasumin’s devoted struggle had lit a roaring blaze within the heart of my inner hero—!
She came running toward me, to where I waited at the very edge of the baton-pass zone.
Her mouth was slack with exhaustion, her cute face twisted in pain and fatigue.
And yet, with the last dregs of her strength, she forced her arms to pump, her legs to move, and raced toward where I stood.
“I’m right here! Come on, Hasumin!”
I reached my hand out from the far edge of the takeover zone,
“Haai!”
And as I firmly grasped the baton—brimming with all her hopes—
“OOOOOHHHHH――!!”
I burst forth like a bullet fired from a gun, charging ahead at full throttle!
Behind me, I could feel Hasumin collapsing from sheer exhaustion, her strength spent completely.
But I didn’t look back.
Because right now, there was only one thing I had to do!
Take this desperately entrusted baton and pull off a comeback in the final 400 meters!
That was all—!!
In the co-ed Swedish relay, the anchor runs 400 meters.
Our school’s track was 200 meters per lap, so I had to run two full laps.
To be honest, turning the race around at this point was going to be incredibly tough.
(But that doesn’t matter! No matter what, I will catch up! That’s all that matters now! I’ll show them—the strength of the undefeated hero who saved the other world, Orphermaus!)
I broke into a full sprint, tearing after the runners ahead with all I had!
[Whoa, look at that! Class 1-5 is making an insane comeback! That speed—what even is that?! And wait, it’s you again?! Damn it, first-year golden boy—I finally learned your name! Oda Shuhei!]
[Hey, Captain, doesn’t it seem like he thinks this is a 100-meter dash? He’s totally overdoing it, right?]
[Can he really keep up that pace for 400 meters!? No way—there’s no chance! He can’t! He better not!]
[Captain, I told you, no personal feelings in the commentary!]
[This isn’t personal—I’m speaking on behalf of all mankind!]
[Uh-huh, sure you are.]
[While we’ve been arguing, he’s somehow climbed all the way to second place!]