Chapter 457: The Kibasen/Cavalry Battle Tournament
Seeing Mafuyu return with the two students, Hachiman smiled.
"Thank you, Mafuyu-sensei."
Hearing Hachiman's praise, Mafuyu was surprised to find herself feeling a bit elated. This was not a good sign—after all, she was a teacher!
To avoid revealing her emotions, Mafuyu suppressed her joy and maintained her usual cool demeanor as she nodded.
"It's nothing, just a small task."
With that, she led Zaimokuza and Ebina into the room.
"Yahallo, Hina, Zaimokuza-kun," Yui greeted them cheerfully.
However, seeing Hachiman and the others, Hina looked puzzled.
"Yui, Hachiman, and Yukinoshita-san? Did you ask Mafuyu-sensei to call us here?"
"Hehe, actually it was Hikki," Yui admitted with a sheepish smile, feeling a bit awkward about summoning them out of the blue.
"Oh, I see. So, Hachiman, why did you call us?" Hina asked, turning her attention to Hachiman.
Zaimokuza also chimed in, "Indeed, my best friend, what do you wish to discuss with us?"
Hachiman explained with a smile, "It's like this: the school is holding a sports festival soon, but the traditional events are too boring. We need your help to come up with an interesting event."
"Ah, you want us to come up with an exciting and thrilling event? Leave it to me," Zaimokuza declared confidently, patting his chest.
Hina nodded in agreement, "No problem, you just want something thrilling, right?"
"As long as it's thrilling, it doesn't matter what kind," she added with a mischievous grin.
Seeing this, Yukino hesitated. "Are you sure it's okay to leave this to them?"
She knew that neither of these two were exactly normal. Zaimokuza, with his severe chūnibyō (middle school 2nd-year syndrome), was someone Yukino knew well from his novels. As for Hina...
Yukino had heard about her interests and felt uneasy about what might happen.
"Well, we don't have much choice right now," Hachiman shrugged indifferently.
Having read the original story, he knew what kind of idea they would come up with. Setting aside other concerns, in terms of fun, it was pretty good.
Sure enough, after an intense discussion, the final theme events were decided.
For the girls, they adopted Zaimokuza's suggestion of "Cavalry Battle." No surprise there, considering he's a heavy chūnibyō patient who fantasizes about being General Yoshiteru.
As for the boys, the final event chosen was Ebina's suggestion of the "Pole Push Competition."
With the main events settled, the next issue was the attire.
Initially, standard sports uniforms were deemed sufficient. However, both Zaimokuza and Ebina argued that identical sports uniforms would be too boring; at least the general's attire should be special.
After their persistent arguments, it was decided that the general would wear Western-style light knight armor.
For the design of these outfits, Ebina naturally enlisted Saki Kawasaki.
Finally, after several days of preparation, the sports festival officially commenced.
Seeing the lively scene on the field, Meguri walked over to express her gratitude.
"Thank you so much. This sports festival has indeed become much more interesting."
"The task isn't finished yet, Shiromeguri-senpai," Yukino replied calmly, surveying the bustling surroundings.
Yui also nodded, grasping Meguri's hand, "That's right, Senpai. This sports festival is a competition between the red and white teams. Let's win together."
"Yes, let's do our best," Meguri responded with a cheerful smile.
That's right; hosting a sports festival means aiming for victory.
...
Soon, after the opening ceremony concluded, the sports festival officially began.
Hayama and the others didn't plan to participate in traditional events like running. Instead, they took on the role of the first aid team, helping to treat students who might get injured during the events.
Yukino and Yui planned to conserve their energy for the final "Cavalry Battle" to decide the victor.
As for Hachiman, he had no interest in participating. Given his current physical condition, joining a running race would be unfair to others, and he wasn't that uncouth. Without Hachiman and the others participating, the red team's performance wasn't impressive.
On the other hand, led by Hayama, a sports prodigy, the white team achieved victory after victory. Soon, after all the traditional events concluded, the score gap between the red and white teams had widened to 100:150.
However, the next event was the girls' "Cavalry Battle." Winning this event would earn the team thirty points, giving the red team hope.
It's worth mentioning that besides Yukino and Yui, Saeko and Kotonoha were also placed in the red team. Thus, the red team's main players were Yukino, Saeko, Yui, Kotonoha, and Meguri, along with five other girls.
As for the white team, it consisted of Yumiko, Ebina, Saki, and Utaha as the main players.
Hmm... they're all familiar faces.
But upon closer comparison, there was still a significant gap between the two sides.
For the red team, Saeko and Yukino were undoubtedly the key players, with exceptional athletic abilities.
As for the white team, only Yumiko could hold her own, with Saki being somewhat capable. The rest, including Utaha and Ebina, were more likely to be dead weight.
As the signal to attack was sounded by Shizuka, the match began, with both sides charging forward.
In this "Cavalry Battle," victory would be determined by snatching the opponent's headband.
As soon as the match began, Saki set her sights on Meguri.
With Yukino and Saeko posing formidable opposition, Yui was a challenging target due to their classmate relationship. Although Kotonoha appeared easy to handle, attacking her risked being surrounded by Saeko's defenses.
Ultimately, Saki opted to target the relatively vulnerable Meguri.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated. Upon charging towards Meguri, she found herself confronted by two groups of defenders.
Meguri, known for her "Megu-Megu Energy," possessed a strong personal charm and had already arranged for bodyguards.
Seeing the two groups blocking her path, Saki hesitated to act recklessly.
Meanwhile, Ebina had no such reservations and decisively set her sights on her close friend, Yui, sprinting towards her with a wicked grin.
Terrified by Ebina's sinister expression, Yui urged her classmates to run faster, realizing the impending chase across the field.
However, the highlight of the match was undoubtedly the showdown between Yukino and Yumiko.
Yumiko had always harbored disdain for Yukino, and with them on opposing teams, a clash was inevitable.
Confidently charging towards Yukino, Yumiko extended her hand, intending to end the match with a single strike.
However, Yukino, perceptive as always, saw numerous flaws in her approach. With a slight twist of her body, Yukino evaded Yumiko's attack and, in the blink of an eye, snatched Yumiko's headband, securing victory.
"Uh-oh!"
Realizing her headband had been taken, Yumiko exclaimed in dismay. However, her earlier momentum prevented her from stopping in time, causing her and her teammates to tumble to the ground.
Hachiman, serving on the rescue team, hurried over to assist.
Fortunately, their clothing provided adequate protection, and after confirming no injuries, Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief.
Wiping the dirt from Yumiko's face, Hachiman shook his head with a hint of exasperation. "Why did you charge in so recklessly? Now you've fallen."
"What's that supposed to mean!"
Unhappy about losing the match, Yumiko shot back upon hearing Hachiman's remark.
Ignoring her, Hachiman shrugged and made a mental note of the incident.
Before long, the "Cavalry Battle" concluded.
With Yumiko, their main force, defeated, the outcome was one-sided.
In the end, Yukino obtained four headbands, Saeko three, Meguri two, and Kotonoha one.
As for Yui, she spent the entire match evading pursuit but managed to hold onto her headband with Yukino's help, a cause for celebration.
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Chapter 458: Using Saika's Beauty Trap
"Good job, everyone."
As the girls came off the field, Hachiman greeted them with towels and water.
Receiving the items he handed out, the girls' expressions softened.
"We did it. Now it's up to you," Yukino said.
Yui nodded in agreement. "That's right, Hikki, it's all on you now."
Even Saeko and Kotonoha chimed in with their encouragement.
Hearing their words, Hachiman's face lit up with a confident smile.
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
He then opened a bottle of water for each of the girls and handed them over.
On the other side, seeing this, Yumiko and her team couldn't help but feel a bit envious. They knew that, as opponents, Hachiman wouldn't be offering them towels and water.
But would Hachiman care about such things? Picking up some towels and bottled water, he approached Yumiko and her group.
"Here, Yumiko. You guys worked hard too."
Seeing him offer the supplies, the girls couldn't help but feel happy.
After all, if a guy cares about you despite being opponents, isn't that something to be happy about?
Although Hachiman was their opponent, Yumiko couldn't help but say, "Do your best out there, don't embarrass me."
Hachiman smiled slightly at her words.
"Don't worry, I won't hold back."
With that, he returned to his team.
It was now time for the boys' competition.
The boys' event was the "Pole Push" suggested by Ebina. In her words, there was nothing more exciting than watching a bunch of boys fighting over a pole.
However, just as Ebina was about to broadcast her corruptive commentary, there was a loud "snap," and the sound cut off.
Back at the red team's camp, Hachiman saw a group of red team members huddled together, looking at something.
Curious, he made his way through the crowd and understood the situation.
Standing in the middle was a petite figure dressed in a black captain's outfit.
It was Saika.
According to the rules, the captains of each team had to be the club presidents of sports clubs. The white team's captain was Hayama, the soccer club president, while the red team's captain was Saika, who had just become the tennis club president.
Seeing Hachiman approaching, Saika's face lit up with a radiant smile, and he jogged over to his side.
"Hachiman, you're here!"
Watching Saika's almost girlish running style, Hachiman felt a bit strange but still greeted him, "Ah, Saika. Hello."
"Hello, Hachiman."
Saika's smile became even brighter at Hachiman's greeting, but then he seemed to grow a bit bashful.
"Hachiman, do you think I look weird in this outfit?"
Caught off guard by Saika's girlish demeanor, Hachiman was momentarily stunned. He quickly collected himself and shook his head.
"Not at all. I think it suits you perfectly, Saika. You look great."
"Really? That's wonderful."
Saika's smile grew even more radiant, and perhaps out of sheer happiness, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.
Seeing Saika's captivating appearance, the surrounding team members were all smitten.
No wonder fans used to say that if Saika had been born a girl, there wouldn't be any competition for Yukino and Yui—Hachiman would have made his choice long ago. Even Hachiman, despite knowing better, felt a twinge of affection looking at Saika's current appearance, let alone the other team members.
Thus, a strange scene unfolded in the red team's camp: a group of boys smiling blissfully at another boy.
The few who remained unaffected, besides Saika himself, were Hachiman and Zaimokuza.
Hachiman was largely immune to Saika's charms, having experienced so much already. Zaimokuza, on the other hand, was a hardcore otaku who didn't find real-world girls appealing, let alone a boy like Saika. His dream was to marry a female voice actor to experience the feeling of having a 2D girlfriend.
Seeing the state of his teammates compared to the white team's members, who were all ready and raring to go, Hachiman couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated.
After some consideration, Hachiman made a decision.
He decided that he and Zaimokuza would lead a group of ten boys to charge, while the rest would protect Saika, the commander, and their flagpole.
This Pole push or Bo-taoshi game involved fifty members on each side. If it weren't for the need to keep things reasonable, Hachiman believed he could take on fifty opponents by himself. However, to avoid shocking the spectators too much, he chose to include Zaimokuza and others in the charge.
The red team members had no objections to this plan. After the cultural festival, Hachiman had earned some respect. Once the charging team was selected, Hachiman and the others began their warm-up exercises, preparing for the upcoming battle.
Soon, Ebina's voice came over the loudspeakers.
"Alright, everyone. Up next is the highlight of this sports festival, the boys' 'Bo-taoshi' match. Let's introduce the commanders of both teams."
"First, the white team's commander, the soccer club captain, Hayato Hayama!"
Cheers erupted, particularly from the girls, as Hayato's charming looks and sunny disposition had made him quite popular among them.
Then it was Hachiman's turn.
"And for the red team, the commander is the tennis club captain, Saika Totsuka!"
Saika's name prompted a cheer as well, with both girls and boys joining in. With his adorable looks, it was no surprise Saika appealed to everyone.
With the introductions complete, it was time for the commanders' motivational speeches. While Hayato's speech was enthusiastic, Saika, encouraged by Hachiman, stepped forward a bit shyly.
"Um... everyone, I'm Saika Totsuka, the commander of the red team."
"Let's all do our best together and make sure we win!"
Saika's adorable smile accompanied these words.
Inspired by Saika's "charming" encouragement, the red team's spirits soared.
Seeing this, Zaimokuza gave Hachiman a thumbs-up.
"As expected of you, my friend. Using beauty to rally the troops!"
"Hey, as long as everyone's motivated, it's all good,"
Upon hearing this, Hachiman shrugged and then turned his gaze towards the opposing team, where Hayama and others were already poised and ready.
Just then, Yukino stood between the two sides, holding a starter pistol.
"Bang!"
With the gunshot, the match officially began.
The vanguard units of both sides charged forward directly.
Seeing this scene, Ebina, as the announcer, couldn't contain her excitement and spoke again.
"Alright, it's finally started! The highly anticipated Bo-taoshi match!"
"A contest purely among men, a battle of pole-pushing between men! Both sides entangled, attackers and defenders clear at a glance, robust bodies pushing and shoving against each other, heavy breathing... Ah!"
Just as Ebina was getting overly excited, another "bang" was heard, and then her voice cut off once more.
Unlike Hachiman's team, Hayama's white team had dispatched half of their members to charge.
Even though Zaimokuza could handle three opponents alone, some managed to break through to the rear. However, Hachiman had planned ahead, and a large number of defenders surged forward, blocking these intruders.
The two sides became entangled, each struggling against the other without clear dominance.
However, being in the red team's rear area and benefiting from numerical superiority, they quickly suppressed the charging members of the white team.
Unlike the others, Hachiman confidently strode towards the white team's flagpole.
However, Hayama swiftly led his team to block his path.
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