COTE: The Quiet One Can Be Dangerous

Vol. 5 Chp. 5: Final Stretch

'...': Writing
'...': Sign language
"...": Text to speech

The bell rang, and the second half of the sports festival began. It was time for the Recommended Participants' events, where only the elite students from each class would participate in the remaining four competitions.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Kagurazaka with a crow on his shoulder, 'Are you participating in the scavenger hunt?'

"I'd rather not, honestly..."

I won the game of rock-paper-scissors, so I'll be one of six participants from each class in the upcoming scavenger hunt contest. The contest is designed so that one person from each category will compete, forming four groups for the race.

Sudou was the other competitor for the scavenger hunt, and he seemed pumped about this.

"There are items marked as difficult to obtain in this scavenger hunt. It is possible to draw again, but there will be a 30-second window before you can do so. It would be best to inform the referee when you draw lots of your desired course of action. In addition, the contest will end as soon as three contestants clear it. That will be all."

Pretty soon, the first started, and everyone was simultaneously dashing toward their designated box. Sudou was the first to reach his, with the others lagging.

But speed wasn't a deciding factor. You would need a bit of luck to draw the lot and get an easy thing to find.

He seemed to be running toward me until he turned and ran straight toward our camp. I didn't know what was happening, but he seemed to be causing a stir. It didn't take long to see Sudou running toward the finish line with... a shoe?

It looks like luck was on our side.

Then, after several tens of seconds, Class A came in, followed by Class B and then Class C at last place.

It was my turn, and I lagged behind the others.

Carefully, I retrieved a piece of paper from the box before me. It had been folded into quarters, but I unfolded it without tearing it.

"Bring along ten friends..." I muttered.

As I read the paper, I felt my vision narrowing. Making even one friend, let alone ten, is challenging for me. I can't even think of ten people to start with.

Luck wasn't on my side...

~Timeskip~

I failed...

"Ayanokouji, what were you spacing out for, man?!" Sudou was angry.

"Two of the lots were impossible for me," I answered.

"They couldn't have been that bad," Sudou scoffed.

"I had to find ten friends."

"Man, why do you have to make things complicated?" Sudou asked, "Hirata and Kushida could've helped you."

Sudou is giving me advice... I must be dreaming right now.

"Whatever... You better give it your all during the omnidirectional tug-of-war," Sudou said.

~Timeskip~

I don't know how, but we managed to win the event.

Sudou was supposed to participate in every event, but Kagurazaka convinced him to sit and rest up.

Unfortunately, I was the one that ended up taking his spot...

Horikita couldn't compete, so Hirata was going to call out to see if anyone was interested in participating, but Kushida came running over before he could.