READ VOLUME 1 TO VOLUME 4.5! SORRY, THAT IT's SEPERATED INTO DIFFERENT BOOKS!
Ryuen has begun starting his attacks against Class C- slowly but surely trying to make his way towards victory. But what if he loses?
Sakayanagi has learned some interesti...
"I heard your leg was injured. Show me." He pulled Kinoshita-san's leg out from beneath the sheets. "Whoa, this looks bad. I'm impressed you've held up, considering all you're dealing with."
After being informed of Kinoshita-san's conditions as well for my own well-being, I arrived in the infirmary, I encountered Ryuuen-kun there.
Kinoshita-san's right leg was bandaged tightly. Her injury looked painful.
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"Sorry. I tried my best, but...my leg just won't listen. That's why— hng!"
"Don't blame yourself, Kinoshita. I know you wanted to participate in the three-legged race." said Ryuuen.
"We ran into each other by accident, Kinoshita-san. Why are you saying that I made you fall?" I interrupted.
Kinoshita-san averted her eyes. Ryuuen-kun stood in front of me. "You really did this on purpose, didn't you?" he asked me.
"Stop fooling around. I would not do something like this."
"You can never really know someone, can you? Convenient, isn't it? Kinoshita-san, who just so happens to be better at sports than you, suffers a serious injury and has to withdraw. She was going to compete in all the recommended-participant events, too. Meanwhile, you continue taking part despite your injuries. I'm not supposed to find that suspicious?" he said.
I understood all too well the significance of losing a teammate. But, after hearing the eloquent speech Ryuuen-kun had prepared, my doubts about him only grew. Had Kinoshita-san purposefully run into me on his orders? Had he chosen her specifically to collide with me, since she was more athletic than I, and Ryuuen-kun could deflect any suspicion? All of the above would've likely be the case.
But what did he stand to gain from having Kinoshita-san run into me, when she had a higher chance of winning the race to begin with? Furthermore, if she'd planned to take part in all the recommended-participant events, Class C would lose about 400,000 points paying for her substitute competitors. Would Ryuuen-kun make such a sacrifice simply to defeat me and bask in his superiority?
No... he simply wanted to humor me.
"What are you thinking?" Ryuuen-kun asked. He leaned toward me, hands in his pockets, looking as though he saw right through me. "We can keep going back and forth on this, but it won't settle anything. Isn't that right, Kinoshita?"
"Horikita-san..." Kinoshita-san hesitated. "When I fell, you said...that I definitely wouldn't win."
"Nonsense."
"Horikita, you only looked behind you when you raced with Kinoshita. Why did you do that?" Chabashira-sensei asked me again.
"Because she kept calling my name when she was behind me. At first, I ignored her, but then I thought something was strange, turned, and looked back."
"Is that true, Kinoshita?"
"I never called her name." Kinoshita-san said.
"Is that absolutely true?" I asked her. "Do you really claim it as such?"
