You Will Regret This Ichinose! [113]

After finishing the explanation of the Sports Festival rules, Hoshinomiya-sensei left the class to discuss freely.

“Uesugi, doesn’t this setup for the Sports Festival seem a bit unreasonable?”

Behind him, Shibata Sō had also noticed the importance of the entry list. He nudged Uesugi’s hand and asked in a hushed voice.

“This is where the school’s twisted sense of humor comes in. By making students finalize the entry list in advance with no changes allowed, if another class gets ahold of it, they can strategically target us.”

Kanzaki Ryūji, still staring at the blackboard where “Entry List” was written, explained calmly.

“……”

Shibata scratched his head. “So… where exactly is the unreasonable part?”

The surrounding students simultaneously facepalmed in sync.

Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. And this guy is supposed to be the most athletic one in our class…

Clearing his throat, Uesugi began his bullshit elaboration.

“This is just like the Chinese tale of ‘Tian Ji’s Horse Racing Strategy’.”

Tian Ji’s Horse Racing?

Everyone turned to Uesugi with curiosity.

Then, with an air of absolute seriousness, Uesugi began.

“Imagine that three students from each class participate in three events. Our class sends Uesugi Gen (strongest horse), Kanzaki Ryūji (middle horse), and Shibata Sō (weakest horse). The strongest horse will definitely beat the opposing middle and weakest horses.”

Shibata’s mouth twitched slightly at this analogy.

“Wait, wait—leaving Kanzaki aside, why am I the weakest horse and you the strongest?”

“Details, details—don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Uesugi waved him off and continued.

“Our opponents, Class C, also send three participants: Albert (strongest horse), Ryūen Kakeru (middle horse), and Ishizaki Daichi (weakest horse). Assuming our class is stronger overall, we would win in a normal setup.”

Wait, why is Class C’s arrangement so normal compared to ours?

The former B-Class students nearly choked on their own suppressed complaints.

“But if the entry list is leaked, they can rearrange their matchups to strongest vs. weakest, middle vs. strongest, and weakest vs. middle. Even if our class is superior, we’d still end up losing.”

Shibata pounded his fist into his palm. “Ohhh, I get it now!”

“But stealing another class’s entry list directly is very difficult. The best method is infiltration and espionage.”

“Which means…”

“This brings us to the ever-popular ‘Undercover Spy’ minigame. Kanzaki was right—this is just another scheme from the school to undermine class unity.”

Uesugi shamelessly condemned the school’s tactics.

Thinking about it—every Special Exam so far had revolved around espionage in some way. A single well-placed spy could completely shift the power balance.

Man… should’ve recruited that Master Thief girl when I had the chance.

Uesugi felt a pang of regret.

“Of course, this only applies when both sides are evenly matched. If one side just brute forces their way through with sheer physical ability, then no amount of strategy matters.”

Kanzaki lowered his gaze. “Like Kōenji Rokusuke from Class D.”

This Sports Festival didn’t restrict how many events a single person could participate in. Meaning, if someone had the endurance, they could theoretically dominate every single event.

And from what Kanzaki had seen during the luxury cruise competition, Kōenji’s absurd physical prowess had left a lasting impression.

“If he does participate, it’s actually a good thing for us.”

Ichinose Honami approached from the front row, waving at Uesugi with a smile.

“After all, this time we’re on the same team as Class D, right?”

Uesugi stroked his chin.

He recalled that Horikita Suzune had mentioned signing a contract with Kōenji during the cruise competition—only for Kōenji to withdraw from the match entirely after getting annoyed by Ryūen.

While the exact contract details were unknown, one thing was certain: the value Kōenji brought to the deal had to be worth more than 6.3 million points.

And with the Sports Festival only awarding 50 class points at best, there was no guarantee Kōenji would even participate.

After all—

He’s a man who values beauty and freedom above all else.

—

“Oi, Kōenji. You’re seriously not going to help?”

Sudō Ken scowled at Kōenji Rokusuke, who was lounging in his seat, one leg propped up on his desk as he casually filed his nails.

“Hmph~ How unfortunate. I haven’t been feeling my best lately. I’ll leave the Sports Festival in your capable hands.”

Kōenji blew on his freshly polished nails, completely indifferent.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Sudō slammed a hand on Kōenji’s desk, his patience already wearing thin.

“Of course, there’s always an alternative option. As the heir of the Kōenji Conglomerate, I am a man of my word, Horikita-girl.”

Kōenji smirked meaningfully.

“I’ll pass.”

Horikita Suzune flatly rejected him without hesitation.

“I’d rather use that favor when it’s actually needed.”

She was direct—but at the same time, it was a clear acknowledgment of Kōenji’s abilities.

“Well then, I suppose there’s nothing to be done.”

Kōenji retrieved a mirror and admired his reflection with narcissistic satisfaction.

“But are you sure you’re okay with this? I hear there’s someone you’re particularly interested in.”

For once, Horikita took the initiative to ask a question.

She remembered that Kōenji had gone out of his way to challenge Uesugi Gen—only to get caught in Ryūen’s trap instead.

“Ah~ Yes, I do find Uesugi-boy quite fascinating. But that has nothing to do with you all, does it?”

“If he competes, we’re bound to cross paths eventually.”

“So can I take that as confirmation that you’ll be competing?”

“You may interpret it however you like. But a beautiful man is never bound by obligations.”

…

Ayanokōji Kiyotaka silently observed the entire exchange, making no effort to interject.

Ryūen wouldn’t let this go anytime soon—he’d keep hunting for the masked attacker that beat him.

For now, it was best to keep a low profile.

Since Ryūen hadn’t summoned him last night, it meant he still didn’t know that Ayanokōji was aware of Yamauchi’s voyeurism scheme.

As for why Yamauchi hadn’t snitched on him…

It was likely because after seeing Ike get called out and beaten again, Yamauchi wanted to avoid a third round of punishment.

With Ryūen now facing disciplinary complaints, he’d have to lay low for a bit.

That only left one person to worry about—

Uesugi Gen.

That man definitely knew about everything Ayanokōji had done.

Yet he was doing nothing about it.

Treating him as invisible.

If Ayanokōji tried to provoke him now, it would be disastrous.

The immediate threat of expulsion was gone.

But if he clashed with Uesugi—

There would be no more peaceful school life.

—

T/N: yes keep peacful school slife

This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!