My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 225

I looked at our target, the white team's pole. Guarding it was Hayama Hayato. Despite the distance, he seemed to sense my gaze and smiled in our direction.

—I accept the challenge. Let's have a fair and square, yet despicable and insidious, head-on confrontation.

× × ×

As soon as the signal flare fired, both sides immediately mobilized their entire forces.

The roars and shouts of the boys on the field, coupled with the enthusiastic cheers of the girls off the field, almost made the atmosphere at the scene boil over.

Ebina, who was in charge of live reporting, was particularly excited.

"The pole-pushing competition officially begins—a pole-pushing contest presented exclusively by boys! A battle of offense and defense! Both sides exchange blows! First, the White Team launches the first attack!"

The preceding text contained a lot of nonsensical content, while the report itself was quite normal. I'm not sure what to think.

With Hayama as their leader, the White Team was in high spirits, and all the members appeared well-trained. They adopted a tactic of concentrated firepower and single-point breakthroughs to attack the Red Team.

Needless to say, the boys in the red team quickly broke apart due to their lack of coordination and were soon forced back under the pole.

The White Group surrounded Tozuka and a few others who were guarding the pole.

"Wow, wow..."

Faced with the fierce battle, Totsuka would sometimes crouch down and sometimes twist to dodge attacks (so cute). If he were to be breached here, there would be no one left to guard the pole. At this moment, several team members came to provide support.

One of them managed to drive away the enemy troops who were confronting Totsuka, but the guards also suffered considerable losses.

Upon seeing this, Totsuka hurriedly ran over.

“S-Sorry!”

"Not at all! For our general, this little thing is nothing!"

Upon hearing this, Totsuka smiled shyly.

"Thank you……"

"...Ugh!"

The other person inadvertently looked directly into his smile, revealing a carefree expression that said, "I have no regrets in this life," and collapsed helplessly to the ground.

"Our team is full of idiots..."

I observed the situation from a corner of the field for a while. Judging from the current situation, Totsuka and the other defensive teams should be able to hold on. Only then did I move forward with slow, lazy, yet determined steps.

Just as I reached the halfway point, a loud roar came from the center of the enemy lines.

"Ughhhhhh—"

Covered in mud, Timber Stand staggered as he walked the path to glorious death. Seeing his eerie appearance, everyone stood at a distance, observing, none daring to approach him.

"Ugh, cough! Even if I, Yoshiteru, die here, victory will never die! I will have no regrets in my life (Note 57: from Raoh's dying lines in Fist of the North Star)... What a regret... ugh!"

His death was so striking that both the enemy and our side gave way.

Amidst the rising dust, Timber Steward, with his disheveled hair, continued to stagger along, emitting various strange groans.

That guy is still as annoying as ever... but thanks to him drawing everyone's attention, I was able to carry out my task.

The sounds of the timber emplacement struggling in the distance hadn't ceased, and the Red Team's position continued to be under heavy attack. In other words, neither the Red Team nor the White Team had noticed my movements.

Besides, I'm an expert who doesn't attract much attention.

This is precisely the ability cultivated through years of being a lone wolf – the invisible small business!

I took out the bandage I had put in my pocket and tied it around my head. That way, if the White Team didn't look closely, they would probably think I was one of their own.

Next, I used this method to infiltrate the White Group, break through the enemy lines, and enter an uninhabited area.

The lumber stand emitted another strange cry, drawing everyone's attention. Good, that's it, continue to distract everyone...

The white team's pole is almost in front of us. All we need to do is lean over and easily push it over.

Before that, let's confirm how many people are defending. Just as I looked up, I suddenly heard someone speak to me.

Hi. I knew you'd show up.

"Hayama..."

Hayato Hayama laughed heartily, and I followed suit with a twisted smile.

At this moment, I was surrounded by his men.

Ye Shan pointed to the headband on his head and asked:

"Your head is bandaged, are you injured?"

"Who told me to be such a headache..."

His tone was as if he had seen through a child's prank, making even me feel embarrassed. I guiltily unwrapped the bandage. Then, he looked at Zaimokuza. Zaimokuza continued to emit more strange groans, staggering as it walked.

"That guy is Zaimokuza, right? Using him as bait is indeed a good plan. But—"

At this point, Ye Shan stopped smiling and stared at him with a serious expression.

How could I not notice your actions?

"Don't flatter me. I'm not that great."

My skin felt the pressure from my surroundings. Outside of Hayama, others were also closing in.

I glanced around, searching for a way out. Hayama noticed this and issued his ultimatum.

"Don't get me wrong. Since you're going to use tricks, we'll deal with it as a team."

"It's clearly a case of majority violence..."

"That's not a nice way to put it. It should be called a 'material force tactic'," Hayama grinned.

He can still smile at a time like this; he really has a good personality. This guy is quite awkward, isn't he? — However, now is not the time to analyze Hayama. I slowly raised my hands. Hayama, unable to discern the purpose of this action, asked:

"Do you want to surrender?"

Given the current situation, it certainly seems like a surrender. But unfortunately, you're wrong.

"No... Zaimokuza!"

I swung my raised hand forcefully towards the pole.

"oh--"

Upon receiving the instruction, the lumber saddle rolling around nearby immediately jumped up, aimed at the pole, and charged straight down.

"If you're using a quantity tactic, we're using a weight tactic."

The White Team members were completely bewildered. It was only when Hayama saw my wicked smile that he realized what was happening and quickly gave instructions to the others.

"This is bad! It's a trap within a trap! Everyone, get back to defend!"

Kebu, Yamato, and Ooka reacted quickly and stepped forward to stop the timber frame.

"Don't even think about passing!"

"If there's a way, let's give it a try!"

"I'll play along too!"

They formed a solid human wall, blocking the way for the lumberjack. However, the lumberjack was fearless and showed no sign of stopping, charging straight ahead.

"Force your way through—get out of the way!"

The speed at which the timber support sprinted at full speed increased its weight, generating tremendous power that smashed through the human wall and reached the pole.

The pole jerked, then swung back, continuing to sway. The audience gasped in astonishment. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the pole's movements, forgetting to make a sound.

Finally, the pole tilted and fell down.

At that moment, the entire arena erupted in cheers. Amidst the frenzied cheers, Timber Stand let out a victory roar louder than anyone else's.

× × ×

Autumn is deepening, and the wind blowing into the office adds a touch of chill. Drinking a warm MAX coffee in this kind of weather is especially delicious.

Wisps of white steam rose from the teacup on the table.

It feels like it's been ages since I've spent my after-school time like this in the clubroom. A few days after the sports meet, the Service Club returned to normal. To put it simply, Yukinoshita and I picked up our books again, and Yuihama picked up her phone again to pass the time.

Even so, the sports meet still left a lingering impression.

Under the snow, I closed the book.

"I can't believe we still lost the game after doing so much..."

"Ah... it's quite surprising that they were disqualified for a foul."

The two girls talking like this while drinking tea sounded really jarring to me.

"If someone hadn't sabotaged our headbands, we would have won..."

Yukino glanced over with displeasure as she finished speaking. She was clearly unhappy with the results of the sports meet. Well, given her competitive nature, her dissatisfaction was understandable.

"Don't say that, it's not entirely his fault."

Yuigahama sensed the impending storm and quickly stepped in to smooth things over. Speaking of which, "impending storm" is somewhat similar to "Yukino's thoughts run fast"—could this be the origin of the original name?

Yukino sighed softly and looked into the distance.

"That's how it seems on the surface..."

As they said, the final result of the sports meet was that our red team lost, and the reason was the foul behavior in the pole-climbing competition.

At the closing ceremony, when Sagami announced the results of the competition, the scene was so bad it was almost unbearable to watch.

"Regarding the final pole-splitting competition, after investigation, it was found that both the Red Team and the White Team committed fouls and dangerous acts, therefore the competition is declared invalid and neither team will receive any points. Further details will be announced at a later date."

She simply announced that the White Team was temporarily declared the winner.

In reality, in chaotic events like pole-climbing competitions, it's impossible to check each participant individually. Some might sneak up after being knocked down, some might resort to violence, or some might even change the color of their headbands...

Upon hearing the match results, the Red Team immediately erupted in protests, demanding that Sagami clearly explain who did what.

However, such matters are difficult to explain in detail. Because during the competition, without a complete grasp of who did what, it's impossible to make a 100% accurate assessment. Understanding that humans cannot definitively determine the existence of ghosts and UMA makes this point easier to grasp. Although the burden of proof lies with the organizing committee monitoring the participants' conduct, if they don't disclose the facts, outsiders will never know the truth.

Thanks to this, my foul was not made public. Besides, no one can prove that no one else committed any fouls besides me.

"Since the chairman has already made that decision, isn't that fine?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Yukinoshita immediately looked over coldly.

"It's clear you haven't reflected on your actions enough..."

Hearing her say that, I was speechless. It seems that Yukinoshita and Yuihama already knew about my violation through intermediaries, and also understood that Sagami was referring to me at the closing ceremony.

Now that my actions have been completely exposed, I'm too embarrassed to continue pretending to be stupid.

"Sorry... I thought no one had noticed..."

After apologizing with utter remorse, Yuihama held up a finger and said something to me:

"How is that possible? You can see it very clearly."

"Yes. When I saw you take out the bandages, I was wondering what you were going to do with them." Yukinoshita sighed helplessly.

I see. They witnessed it from that moment on; no wonder they knew I fouled…

"Oh, is Yukino watching it too?"

Yuihama realized she wasn't the only one watching and turned to Yukinoshita in surprise.

Yukinoshita blinked several times as she was stared at.

"...Just right."

She muttered this to herself, then turned her face away, looked back at the book in her hands, and lost interest in the matter.

Why are you looking...?

I understand that in team competitions like this, people naturally tend to look at those they know. For example, during the previous competition, the "Battle of a Thousand Horses," I kept staring intently at them, so I'm even lowering my voice to say this now, feeling a bit guilty.

Yuihama noticed the somewhat heavy atmosphere and said in a cheerful voice:

"No, but Senior Xun is still very happy!"

This is our only salvation.

Despite the Red Team's loss, Xun still had pleasant memories. If possible, we would certainly like to help her win. However, things rarely go as planned.

Yukino smiled gently at Yuihama.