Chapter 67
Sports Festival②
The cheer battle had reached its peak with the Red Team leader versus the White Team leader in a contest for the vice-leader spot. Somehow, Seiya had become the heroine of the story. I think I’ll talk about that part somewhere, sometime.
Now, it was time for the club competition relay organized by the cultural clubs. Four teams were participating: the Home Economics Club, the Research Club, the Art Club, and the Film Study Group. The first-place team would be able to parade around the track for one full lap as a promotion for their club.
After the cheer battle, I was quickly dragged away by a senior from the Home Economics Club. In the changing room, they made me wear that completely black, knight-like armor suit. It even came with a helmet-like mask that completely covered my face.
What if my nose itches…? To hide the armor further, they made me wear an even larger, cape-like cloak. The mask was unavoidable, but it was hard to move in, and my vision was very limited.
This time, I was the anchor. With Seiya and Tsukiyo running before me, I didn’t think we’d lose easily… but losing would still be embarrassing, especially since I’m in the track and field club.
But this mask is so bad for vision that if I ran full speed, I’d probably fall.
When I returned to the athletic field, four acquaintances were already gathered, wearing hemp-like cloaks. From an outsider’s perspective, this group looked a little suspicious.
“You look the funniest.”
“My vision is awful in this mask. Am I wearing something like that hemp cloak too? Can I even run properly?”
“Taiyo-san, are you okay?”
“I’ll do my best not to fall.”
Apparently, my mask had already become a bit of a topic. Since Seiya and Tsukiyo were participating, it seemed like the Home Economics Club was planning something outrageous, and people began to gather around the track.
All five of us were wearing hemp cloaks, so the other runners from different clubs gave us puzzled looks.
The running order was: Urabara → Sera → Tsukiyo → Seiya → me. Apparently, the order was decided according to the roles assigned by our costumes. Being the anchor didn’t really suit me.
“Go for it, Konori!”
“I’ll blast ahead for you!”
“This outfit is so embarrassing…”
Urabara didn’t seem very enthusiastic. Unlike Tsukiyo or Sera, she wasn’t the type to appear in public.
The first runner was called to prepare.
“Konori… just take it easy and run calmly.”
“Seiya-san…”
Seiya gently stroked Konori’s head with a soft smile. Urabara blushed, looking pleased.
That’s why he keeps getting popular, I guess. But this was probably his way of encouraging her.
Urabara seemed to have steeled herself and walked toward her lane.
“Here we go! The inter-club relay has begun! This event pits the cultural clubs against each other, along with one or two types of the athletic clubs… The cultural club representatives, who might have seemed like a mere prelude, have suddenly unleashed the Home Economics Club!”
The announcement came from the president of the school’s broadcast club, who had also been very talkative during the cheer battle.
It seemed like the broadcast added an extra boost to hype up the relay. And the audience’s cheers were incredible.
“The competing teams are the Home Economics Club, Research Club, Art Club, and Film Study Group. Whoa, isn’t the entire Home Economics Club just a bunch of reinforcements? But Mister Seiya Kannagi is part of the Home Economics Club? Show us the domestic darkness lurking behind that handsome face!”
“What’s ‘domestic darkness’?”
“He’s just speaking off the cuff; don’t pay it any mind.”
I continued chatting with Seiya about that.
The first and second runners ran 100 meters, while the third, fourth, and fifth runners ran 200 meters.
Our costumes from the Home Economics Club were designed so that passing the baton in the relay would create a kind of “story.” I had been told what to do as the final runner beforehand.
The broadcast club had also been briefed, so they would support us to hype things up. Either way, with the Kannagi siblings functioning as they do, the event was guaranteed to be exciting.
Urabara removed her hemp cloak. What appeared underneath was an absolutely adorable little witch girl outfit: a pink-themed Lolita dress that looked like something straight out of an 8:00 a.m. anime. At a little over 150 cm with a childlike face, it suited Urabara perfectly.
I had known she would run in a costume, but this was my first time seeing it. She really was cute.
The audience cheered. Urabara tried shyly to hide her body.
“The first runner for the Home Economics Club is first-year student Konori Urabara! Transformed into an adorable appearance—so cute! Absolutely wonderful!”
Was there a girl that cute at our school? She fit it perfectly. She was always with Kannagi-san, wasn’t she? I didn’t realize she was this cute.
Voices praising her were everywhere. Since she had been in the shadow of Tsukiyo and Sera, she hadn’t been noticed much, but she definitely held her own in charm.
She might not like it, but after this relay, she was likely to gain popularity.
And a boy who had a crush on Urabara had been waving a flag and cheering for her alone—a one-person cheering squad.
Urabara ran with a magic wand alongside the baton, portraying the role of a witch in her story.
“Now… the fateful relay begins!”
“On your marks… Get set!”
With the sound of fireworks, the four runners started running.
