Chapter 79 – ７９ – First-Year Inui Dormitory Sports Day Meeting

Sports Festival Arc

“Now then, I’m impressed to see everyone here. Usually, there are one or two slackers every year, but this year, those who aren’t here have either provided a proper reason or contacted us… No, really, I’m impressed. Your diligence is commendable.”

Monday afternoon.

A meeting regarding the Sports Festival was being held in the large conference room of the Inui Dormitory, where nearly all the first-years and some of the second and third-years had gathered.

The person speaking from the podium was the Dormitory Head of the Inui Dormitory, Head Katsura.

“Now then. I feel bad for such diligent students, but the Inui Dormitory’s policy for the Sports Festival is simple: ‘As long as you follow the rules, you’re free to do whatever you want at your own risk! Yoshi!’ That is all!”

“!!?”

And so, the Dormitory Head—the person who was supposed to be leading them—had just announced that there was no actual policy.

Hmm, well, that figures.

“I knew it.”

“Well, that’s how it goes.”

“Rule check: Yoshi!”

“Why did you say ‘Yoshi’?”

“I mean, it’d be a pain if things were forced on us anyway.”

“There might be some ‘please step in for adjustment’ requests, but being locked down from the start is no good.”

“It’d be lame to say, ‘Someone from another dorm is entering this, so please change your event.'”

“Being free to do what we want means we’re also free to follow whoever we choose as an opponent!”

“Hyahha! Head Katsura gets it!!”

For the Inui Dormitory, I suppose this is fine.

Some people were buzzing with excitement, while others nodded calmly, but no one looked troubled.

“Hmm, I see.”

“I see, I see.”

“Correct, wrong, wrong, correct…”

“…”

Meanwhile, Suzu and the others were calmly observing their classmates.

I see what’s happening.

Based on the reactions to Head Katsura’s words, they were likely establishing a priority list of who to approach when adjustments to the event participants became necessary.

By the way, Mr. Suwa and Ms. Shishiwashi were standing next to Head Katsura with wry smiles.

“And with that, I’ll leave the rest to the first-years. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask Kumashiro or Maruta over there; that should cover most things.”

“I’m Misumi Kumashiro-kuma. I’m an A-Rank Evaluated second-year of the Inui Dormitory, so I’ll answer easy questions-kuma.”

“I am Matsuri Maruta. I am an A-Rank Evaluated third-year of the Inui Dormitory and also the Public Morals Committee Chairman. Think carefully about the meaning of the words ‘at your own risk.'”

With that, Head Katsura left the room.

As for the two people introduced in his stead… Ms. Maruta was, of course, that Ms. Maruta.

I hadn’t realized until the representatives from each grade gathered over the weekend, but it seemed Ms. Maruta was in the same Inui Dormitory as I was.

To make matters worse, her room was apparently directly above mine.

As for the other one, Senior Kumashiro… I don’t sense any motivation from him.

He looked like a bear taking a nap at a zoo.

Also, what is up with that speech quirk, Senior?

“Uh, alright, let’s start the explanation for the Sports Festival. Once the explanation is over, everyone please write your current preferences on a piece of paper and submit them. We’ll organize them here by next week, and then next week we’ll discuss the parts that need adjustment.”

“Please hold your questions until the explanation is finished. Mr. Suwa and I have done some research, so we should be able to answer most things.”

Mr. Suwa and Ms. Shishiwashi began the explanation.

The content… yeah, it was easy to understand.

It included predictions on what kind of abilities were required for each event, so while there were many options and one might hesitate, it seemed unlikely that anyone would choose something they were completely unsuitable for.

“Naru. Have you decided which ones to enter?”

“Mostly.”

“As expected. Ichi is still a bit undecided.”

“It is easier for Naru to choose given his abilities, is it not? I am jealous.”

While the two of them were explaining, I decided on the events I would participate in and wrote them on the paper.

Suzu and the others seemed to have mostly decided as well.

Since we were at it, we decided to show each other our lists, and these were the results:

Naru: Dance, Forced Breakthrough, Pro Wrestling

Suzu: Curved Path, Discus Throw, Damage Contest

Ichi: Stepping Stones, Target Shooting, Scavenger Race

Marie: 400m, Shot Put, Scavenger Race

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing. This is only the first choice, right? Yeah.”

“Hmm?”

Apparently, there was something wrong with the events I chose.

Suzu and the others all had subtle, conflicted expressions.

But based on my Masked Form’s performance… my body control is practically perfect, so I chose Dance; my defensive capabilities are overwhelming, so Forced Breakthrough; and I’m strong in a brawl, so Pro Wrestling. There shouldn’t be any problem.

I’m an A-Rank Evaluated, so in times like this, I should throw myself into the roles where I can act as a main force.

“Well, you’ll find out next week, Naru. Yeah.”

“I see.”

Well, I probably just overlooked something; there was likely an event I had to enter for the sake of adjusting the number of participants.

If adjustments are needed in that area, I’m fine with it, so I’ll just wait until someone approaches me.

“Ms. Suzu, is the Damage Contest okay? I think it has a strong random element.”

“It might be a fail. Well, I guess that depends on the other people. Marie… honestly, do you have any motivation?”

“It is not that I lack motivation, but the Sports Festival and I just do not get along. So, I will just play it safe this time. Ichi… you are actually aiming solely for Target Shooting, are you not?”

“That’s right. I don’t mind if adjustments are made to the other events.”

I see.

I felt a slight sense of incongruity, but it seems their choices were made with the possibility of being targets for adjustment in mind.

Presumably, other students also have parts they absolutely won’t budge on and parts they can compromise on.

And then, by next week, they’ll identify the areas that need adjusting and actually carry out the coordination.

As I thought, the role of the coordinator seems extraordinarily difficult.

“That concludes the explanation for the Sports Festival. Now, please leave the room once you have submitted your requested events.”

“If you have questions, please direct them to Mr. Suwa, myself, Public Morals Committee Chairman Maruta, or Senior Kumashiro. Additionally, Ms. Minasono and the others will also take questions. Please do not leave anything you don’t understand unresolved.”

And so, the explanation ended.

A question period followed.

That said, all I had to do was stand behind Suzu and listen to the conversations.

“About my Masked Form…”

“Regarding my Masked Form…”

“I have this kind of ability…”

“If I want to use my ability…”

Now, I see why the Sports Festival is organized by dormitory.

Just by listening to the questions, information that shouldn’t be easily leaked to the outside—details about each person’s Masked Form abilities and Skills—was gathering.

Yeah, I’ll make sure not to leak anything.

Eventually, these things might become known through the sight of Duels, but that’s no excuse for me to leak information now.

“Alright, we’ll summarize where adjustments are needed by next week.”

“Thank you.”

And so, the Inui Dormitory meeting for the Sports Festival ended successfully.