To help students prepare for the upcoming Sports Festival, the school thoughtfully increased the number of physical education classes from September to early October.
Uesugi Gen glanced at the blazing sun hanging high in the sky, then at the distant heat waves distorting the scenery.
In response—
Wow, thanks a lot, school.
However, his former Class B classmates didn’t seem to share his sentiment. Especially the boys, who clearly preferred running around on the field over sitting through dull and tedious lectures.
At that moment, they were enthusiastically discussing a particular topic.
Shibata: “Who’s the strongest athlete in our grade?”
Sumida: “Huh? That’d be Sudo Ken, right?”
Hamaguchi Tetsuya adjusted his glasses. “That depends… but yeah, it’s probably Sudo. That’s just my personal opinion, though.”
Kanzaki: “Isn’t it Sudo? But if we count the people who aren’t interested in competing, the rankings might change a little.”
…
The Sports Festival hasn’t even started, and you guys are already fighting over who’s the top dog?
Sigh~ What a lively bunch.
Resting his cheek on his palm, Uesugi let out a bored yawn.
Last night at the dorm, “Accomplice-chan” had pestered him for quite a while before he finally escaped. Then, following the sacred gamer’s creed of “Sleep is optional, but gaming is not,” he played for a bit longer.
The result? Severe sleep deprivation. And the next period was none other than the dreaded P.E. class.
According to Ichinose’s plan, P.E. class would begin with a series of physical ability tests for all students, determining the most suitable candidates for the recommended events in the Sports Festival.
The events were divided into two categories—mandatory events like the 100-meter dash, which all students had to participate in, and specialized events like the 1200-meter mixed relay, where only a few select students would compete.
But none of that had anything to do with Uesugi.
As the former Vice President (crossed out), no, Class President of ex-Class B, all he had to do was say he didn’t want to participate, and no one would question it.
That meant the physical ability tests in today’s P.E. class were completely pointless to him.
So Uesugi made a swift and decisive choice—skip class.
He glanced at the classroom clock. Eight minutes until class started.
Surveying the room, he took in the situation.
The boys were still locked in their debate, now arguing over which class had the strongest overall athletic ability. The girls, on the other hand, were passionately recommending different brands of sunscreen to each other.
As for Ichinose—she wasn’t in the classroom. She had gone to find Hoshinomiya-sensei to prepare the equipment for the upcoming tests.
Which meant…
The enemy was defenseless.
An open goal.
If he slipped out of the classroom now and made his getaway along the way, even if they realized he had ditched, it’d be too late to catch him.
Victory is within reach!
At some point, Uesugi had already lifted himself slightly off his seat, casually making his way toward the door.
Since the next period was P.E., even if he walked out in broad daylight, no one would find it suspicious.
Perfect.
He nodded to himself.
Once outside, all he had to do was walk a little farther and then make his escape. By the time they noticed he had ditched, it’d be too late to drag him back.
And then—
Ichinose blocked his path.
“…Uh, Honami, did you get the equipment?”
Keeping a straight face, Uesugi greeted her while smoothly sidestepping to the left like a crab, attempting to slip past her.
But Ichinose, still smiling warmly, clasped her hands behind her back and effortlessly mirrored his movement, blocking him again.
“…”
Looking at Ichinose’s gentle yet knowing smile, Uesugi suddenly had a bad feeling. He quickly asked,
“Honami, do you need something? Class is about to start.”
At that moment, Ichinose finally revealed her true intentions. She slowly brought her hands forward and clasped them together.
“Ne, Gen-kun, let’s enter together.”
“…Enter what?”
“The mixed-gender three-legged race.”
Knew it!
Uesugi took a small step back and immediately tried reasoning with her.
“Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Neither of us are particularly athletic.”
Indeed, according to the school’s records, both Uesugi and Ichinose Honami had a physical ability rating of C. There were plenty of students in their class who were stronger than them.
Ichinose tilted her head slightly, then countered effortlessly,
“I was in the track and field club back in middle school. I’m pretty confident in my speed, you know?”
“Well, that’s great and all, but I’m just a shut-in otaku who barely leaves his room. My stamina is abysmal.”
To sell the act, Uesugi even coughed a few times, putting on a show.
Ichinose simply smiled knowingly.
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
She took a step closer, extended a slender finger, and lightly poked his arm.
“Gen-kun, back on the cruise ship, you carried me without even breaking your breathing rhythm.”
Uesugi remained composed and continued his desperate attempt at denial.
“That’s only because you’re unexpectedly light. Honestly, I was already exhausted back then.”
His stubborn refusal seemed to frustrate Ichinose, who puffed out her cheeks in protest.
“Gen-kun… you don’t want to pair up with me, do you?”
Uesugi immediately denied it.
“Of course not! Why would I not want to team up with you, Honami? It’s just… wouldn’t it be unfair to the class?”
“There must be other students who want to participate in the event. It wouldn’t be right for us to take the spot without asking them first.”
Hearing his response, Ichinose instantly brightened up, returning to her usual energetic self.
“No worries! No one in the class wanted to sign up for the mixed-gender three-legged race, so as the class leaders, we have a responsibility to step in and fill the gap.”
“…”
Uesugi fell silent.
A co-ed three-legged race—a perfect excuse for physical contact with the opposite sex—was a popular event. There was no way no one had signed up.
The only explanation was…
Expressionless, Uesugi turned back to glance at the now eerily silent classroom. Then, he looked at the girl in front of him, smiling radiantly.
So… you all set me up, huh?
Just you wait.
Still, what was done was done. Getting schemed against by this bunch wasn’t the worst thing in the world. At least, he wasn’t as soft-hearted as he had been at the start of the school year.
Sighing in resignation, Uesugi reached out and took Ichinose’s small hand.
“The sun is brutal. The next month is going to be rough.”
Ichinose beamed.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! As long as you’re with me, it won’t be tough at all!”
—
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!
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