Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 5: Chapter 18.1 - The End of the Sports Festival

"You've really caused a commotion..." Horikita's perplexed sigh hurt my feelings, but at least she was thankful.

"Don't be too hard on Kiyotaka-kun. He beat Horikita-senpai and Nagumo-senpai without breaking a sweat!" Kikyou crossed her arms as she puffed her chest, looking proud. Saying that I beat them without breaking a sweat would be an exaggeration.

The race ended with me being crowned the victor. The crowd was surprised, to say the least. The loudest group was, of course, Class 1-A. Some of the boys even teared up because of the hype. I wish they could stop the overreaction. I'm the one getting embarrassed here, you know?

"You're the prime target for Nagumo now. Are you really okay with this?" she asked.

"Yeah. I made it clear that the whole race was your idea. Since you were injured, it only made sense for you to assign someone else."

"But that's the thing. If it was someone high profile like Hirata-kun, then I think Nagumo would understand. But you're unknown in the senior sphere. Not only that. Hirata-kun would probably put up a good fight, but there's no way he can compete with my brother on that level. Even Sudou-kun would lose. But you beat him. Saying that it caught everyone off guard would be an understatement."

"That's right... Iida-senpai and Konishi-senpai approached me earlier. They were really freaking out, you know? You're the talk of all the third-years right now," said Kikyou.

"Iida-senpai... and Konishi-senpai?" muttered the curious Horikita.

"They're from Horikita-senpai's class. Kiyotaka-kun became acquainted with them recently," she explained.

"I think we're still fine for now." I finally spoke. "Their reactions are strong, but that's just because of the novelty. In the end, you're still the mastermind behind that show in Nagumo's mind."

We also have the first-years to assist us with that. I don't know about Sakayanagi's class, but everyone from Ichinose's class knows my ridiculous record during swimming, and Ryuuen wouldn't hide anything if his classmates ask him about my physical abilities. If they're acquainted with seniors and those seniors ask about me, they'll be able to answer in a way that would make it feel like my show of athleticism wasn't that much of a big deal. 

If I decided to hold back from the very beginning, this move would've been much riskier.

"It's not that strange, anyway. Your results for the entire sports festival were near-perfect already," Kikyou shrugged.

Because of my absence, I failed to take the MVP title. And for the overall results...

Earlier...

"Kiyotaka-kun!" Kikyou ran up to me, most likely going for a hug. However, she managed to stop herself before doing anything careless.

Not even one second after I heard her voice...

"Kiyotaka!"

"Ayanokouji!"

The boys tackled me with all their might, with Ken leading the charge. I accepted my fate and fell to the ground.

"I knew you were gonna win!" Ken celebrated.

"You were fast as hell! What the heck was that Ayanokouji?!" Ike excitedly asked.

"You don't even look tired!" yelled Onizuka.

"I'm actually in a world of pain right now, so please get off me..."

I'm a warrior who gave everything he got for everyone. I would appreciate it if you could treat me more gently.