COTE : Backed By Black Technology System-Chapter 188 - : The Final Relay and the Sports Festival Results

It seemed that Sudou's return had given Class D a boost of confidence. Whether it was the mixed-gender three-legged race or the four-way tug-of-war, they managed to achieve good results.

But even so, Class D still trailed behind Class A, which was also part of the red team.

However, no one was complaining anymore. Everyone had accepted the outcome and focused all their attention on the final 1,200-meter relay race.

"For the girls, Kushida will take Horikita's place," Hirata decided.

"Alright! I'll do my best!"

Since she was entrusted with the role, Kushida immediately nodded, determined to give it her all.

The issue, however, was with the boys' team.

Originally, the fastest runners in the class were Sudou, Hirata, and Miyake.

But after what happened in the item search race earlier, Ayanokouji had suddenly displayed an unbelievable level of speed. At that pace, probably only Sudou could match him—Hirata and Miyake wouldn't stand a chance.

So if they wanted the class to win, it only made sense to have Ayanokouji run in the final relay.

"Switch my spot with Ayanokouji," Miyake Akito offered. "Since he revealed his speed earlier, it must mean he actually wants to run in the final race."

"Besides, I'm pretty fast, but compared to what Ayanokouji just showed... I'm way too average."

"Miyake, don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone is different, after all."

To everyone's surprise, Sudou actually stepped up to comfort Miyake.

Well, this was one of the only three sports festivals in high school, so Miyake must have really wanted to run.

"It's fine. I'll try to make myself more useful in the future."

Miyake gave a thumbs-up, smiled, then looked at Kanda Shuichi. "Shuichi, I'll leave the substitution points to you!"

Kanda Shuichi rolled his eyes without saying a word and just silently pulled out his phone.

And with that, the final lineup for the sports festival was set.

Since the final relay race included all the senior classes, the twelve runners would start side by side. The fastest ones could take the inner lanes first, avoiding the chaos behind them and gaining an advantage.

Looking at it that way, putting Sudou in the first position was actually a lucky move.

The order was: Sudou as the first runner, Hirata—who had steady speed—as the second, followed by three girls, including Kushida, and finally, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had just shown incredible speed.

"Everyone, let's do our best!"

"Sudou, we're counting on you!"

"Hirata, you can't lose!"

"Kikyo-chan, go for it!"

Cheers erupted from Class D's camp. Seeing everyone so united, Hirata couldn't help but feel emotional.

"Let's go, everyone!"

Sudou, full of energy, stepped onto the track.

Class D had a clear advantage in lane placement, positioned in the innermost lane, while Class 3-A was on the outermost. This positioning alone could save them more than two seconds.

Sudou showed no signs of nervousness. The moment the starting signal went off, he took off with a perfect start.

In an instant, he widened the gap between his class and the others, sprinting at full speed in the innermost lane.

His wild speed drew gasps from the crowd. Then, he flawlessly passed the baton to Hirata.

"It's all yours, Hirata!"

As the second runner, Hirata took the baton. Maybe the class's newfound spirit had fired him up, because he unleashed a speed unlike anything he'd shown before, widening the gap even further.

But as the third leg began, the upperclassmen started picking up speed. Even with Onodera, a strong athlete, Class D's lead was shrinking. The next runners, Maezono and Kushida, pushed themselves to the limit, trying to pass the baton as quickly as possible.

"You're not planning to hold back anymore?"

At the final position, Horikita Manabu stood next to Ayanokouji, speaking calmly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ayanokouji wasn't about to fall for such a simple probe. "I'm just a little faster than usual."

"Really? But in the 100-meter dash, the hurdles, and even the 200-meter race, you didn't leave any solid results. How do you explain that?"

"Because my stomach was feeling bad at the time."

Ayanokouji's clumsy excuse left Horikita Manabu speechless, as if he was seeing someone else's shadow in him.

"You're really starting to act more and more like Kanda."

"Uh, but I'm probably faster than him."

...

"So, what exactly happened with your class? This morning, it looked like a complete mess, like it was about to fall apart, but by the afternoon, that feeling was completely gone during the competition."

"You sure notice a lot of things. Is the student council president that free?"

"As I thought, you're becoming more like Kanda Shuichi."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't deny it. He had been observing Kanda Shuichi's habits for some time and had even learned from him to some extent, so it wasn't surprising that they seemed similar.

While they were talking, Shibata from Class 1-A and Nagumo from Class 2-A had already received the relay baton and were sprinting forward almost at the same time.

But Class 3-A had fallen behind because their fourth runner had tripped, slowing them down a lot. Right now, they were just catching up alongside Kushida from Class 1-D, who was performing exceptionally well.

"President, you better not lose to me!"

At almost the same moment, Ayanokouji and Horikita Manabu took the baton from their teammates and charged toward the finish line.

Shibata and Nagumo had been ahead by more than ten meters, but the gap was closing fast—visibly fast.

"No way..."

Shibata's face showed disbelief as Ayanokouji and Horikita Manabu overtook him. Nagumo, on the other hand, was completely shocked.

He had always admitted that he wasn't as fast as Horikita Manabu, but what was going on with this first-year kid?

He wasn't just keeping up with Horikita—no, he was even faster than him!

In the final leg of the 1,200-meter relay, a dark horse had appeared—Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Not only did he surpass Nagumo, the top second-year runner who had been ahead by over ten meters, but he even managed to barely edge out the current student council president, Horikita Manabu, who had started at the same time as him.

"Not bad."

At the finish line, Horikita Manabu, slightly out of breath, spoke.

Even though he had lost, he still praised Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He had given it his all and still lost—there was no reason to regret it.

Hearing Horikita Manabu's words, Ayanokouji nodded and walked back to where Class D was gathered.

As soon as he got back, he was met with another Horikita's shocked voice.

"You actually beat my brother? That's impossible."

So they're both Horikitas, but why is your level so much lower?

"There's nothing impossible about it. No one can win forever."

Kanda Shuichi's words made Horikita Suzune freeze for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, it's not that I can't accept my brother losing. I just can't accept that he lost to Ayanokouji."

Wow, just how little do you think of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?

With the relay race over, the school quickly announced the results.

All the students turned their eyes to the huge screen above the stadium seats.

And now, the final results of this year's sports festival will be announced—

The numbers for the red and white teams started counting up on the screen. The numbers kept rising, but soon, the white team's numbers stopped, while the red team's numbers kept going up.

Seeing this, it was obvious—AD Alliance's red team had won in the end.

The rankings for each grade were then displayed on the screen, with all twelve classes divided into three groups.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Class 1-D naturally focused on the first-year rankings.

First place: Class 1-A.

Second place: Class 1-B.

Third place: Class 1-D.

Fourth place: Class 1-C.

Seeing the results, the students in Class 1-D felt a bit down, but they didn't make a big fuss. Some even seemed a little happy.

"Whoa! We're not in last place?"

"So that means we only lose fifty class points?"

Even though Kouenji forfeited, even though Sudou missed all the required events after the tug-of-war, and even though a lot happened... Class 1-D still managed to overtake Class 1-C in the afternoon's recommended events.

As for Ryuen, even though he got his hands on Class 1-D's event lineup, he could only really take points from the weaker students.

When it came to the recommended events in the afternoon, knowing the lineup didn't help much. Most classes would send in their best athletes anyway.

At that point, it was all about skill—and luck.

Class 1-D, blessed by the goddess of luck that afternoon, won several first-place finishes in the scavenger hunt. They also did well in the three-legged race.

They even won the tug-of-war and the 1,200-meter relay, both of which were major point-scoring events.

It was thanks to Ayanokouji's unexpected performance that Class 1-D shot past Class 1-C, which also had missing participants.

But since they still missed a lot of events, they couldn't surpass Class 1-B.

As for Class 1-A, they did exceptionally well in this sports festival.

If this ranking had been announced before the sports festival, Class 1-D might have been disappointed. But after everything that happened, this result was truly exciting.

"And now, we'll announce the best athlete from each grade."

Unfortunately, Sudou didn't make the cut. Even though he won all the events he participated in, missing several matches significantly lowered his evaluation.

Instead, the honor went to Shibata Sou from Class 1-A.

"Ahh! I knew it!"

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