Masumi handed over the water that Houtarou had asked her to buy from the vending machine.
She noticed that instead of drinking it, he turned and walked toward Suzune.
"Water? Set it aside for now, I'm recording." Suzune said as she saw Houtarou approach with Masumi, "What are you doing right now?"
"Scouting…"
Suzune's eyes widened in understanding. Beyond their own class's testing, scouting other classes was crucial. Even without spies to investigate the order of other classes' players, knowing the number of seed players each class had was essential.
"Looks like your class did some strategic planning before coming to test." Houtarou observed.
Since his Class A had finished testing, Class C's delay suggested they'd been in discussion.
"More or less, my suggestion was rejected." Suzune said quietly.
"Oh. I see."
Though her insights were practical, it seemed questionable whether Class C had the luxury to reject them.
"I wanted to use Sun Bin's racing strategy." Suzune explained, "The plan was to designate some students as sacrificial pawns while letting our seed players focus on scoring points. This would help us avoid last place. But the potential pawns objected — they worried that if they forfeited like Class B's students did, their individual scores might still end up in the bottom ten."
She was trying to protect their Class Points, but her classmates weren't convinced.
After all, of Class C's current 780 Class Points, 50 belonged to her, plus Houtarou's 270 points. Her desire to protect these points was understandable.
The Sun Bin strategy could work — sacrificing some students' interests for the greater benefit of the class. Class A would have agreed to such a plan.
But this was Class C, where students seemed ready to quit from the moment they were assigned. Convincing them would be challenging, especially since they'd shown they'd rather pay money for peace when they had the means.
The person who should have been managing this situation was Rokusuke, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Kōenji thinks that even if we get last place in the sports festival, we're still in the safe range." Suzune reported.
They had essentially given up.
With a likely loss of 100 points in the red and white competition, plus another -100 for last place, their current 780 Class Points would drop to 580. Between Houtarou and Suzune's combined 320 points, plus Kōenji's 225, they'd remain in the safe zone.
This explained their inaction. Or rather, Kōenji probably realized he couldn't manage the class anyway. The students' direct opposition to Suzune's suggestion had likely reinforced his understanding of Class C's nature.
That's why he'd stopped showing up.
"But I think you can try harder." Houtarou said, "Even though Class C is struggling, you should at least maintain appearances. Otherwise, you won't bait Ryūen into breaking the rules."
"Why?" Suzune asked, confused.
"Because the plan has begun." Houtarou explained, "Ryūen might make a move. Now that he's in Class D, his only option is to use underhanded methods to bring down your class. But in your current state, he doesn't even need to break rules to defeat you. Therefore, I suggest we center the class ranking list around Sudō. We'll use him as bait."
"You mean..." Suzune had been following him for over three months now, and she was beginning to understand his thinking.
"Originally, your class had two impressive athletes — Kōenji and Sudō. Since Kōenji isn't coming, let's use Sudō. Have him appear early and make it obvious. With his current confidence, he'll want to take first place right from the start. Let him attract Ryūen's attention." Houtarou said.
"But that won't work, will it?" Came a voice, "Class C's situation is so dire that even if we showcase someone like Sudō, Ryūen won't take it seriously."
This was Masumi.
She had been following behind Houtarou and noticed that after asking her to buy water, he'd given it to Suzune instead.
The gesture made her feel... conflicted. She could now understand Arisu's dissatisfaction.
Yet she soon realized that Houtarou was openly discussing the plan with Suzune in her presence.
Could this mean she was trusted enough to hear it?
"That's exactly why we need to position Sudō carefully." Houtarou said, "Class C still has a chance of winning. While Suzune's racing strategy would have caught Ryūen's attention, the weaker athletes won't cooperate, so we need a different approach. I've found a strategy that might lead to victory.
Mashima-sensei explained the nine compulsory events that every student must join — those can't be changed. But there are also the recommended events for strong competitors: Scavenger Hunt, Four-Way Tug of War, Mixed Gender Three-Legged Race, and the All-Grade 1200m Relay.
These recommended events offer significantly higher points than individual ones. First place earns 50 points, second place 30, third place 15, fourth place 10, and fifth place 8.
The final event — the All-Grade 1200m Relay — triples these points. First place gets 150 points, second 90, third 45, fourth 30, and fifth 24. It's clearly the centerpiece. These recommended events account for potential athlete unavailability.
I noticed something in the materials that others might have missed. There's a rule allowing participants to substitute players for 100,000 points, with no limit on substitutions. In other words..."
Houtarou paused.
"We can exploit this loophole. Sudō excels individually, and we can showcase his abilities repeatedly in the mixed gender three-legged race. By having him substitute in multiple times for first place, we can accumulate high points. This could be Class C's path to victory."
After a moment, he looked directly at Suzune.
"Of course, don't foolishly think you should participate just because we found this loophole. Simply share this strategy with your classmates. Since Sudō wants to dominate everything anyway, let him become Class C's hero. Though if Ryūen makes his move, he'll likely prevent Sudō from even participating in the three-legged race."
"Then finally..." Suzune had understood.
He wasn't actually trying to help Class C win points.
"Sacrifice Sudō, catch Ryūen breaking the rules, and then..." Houtarou said, "We can claim all the points his class earned in the Special Exam."
"Could it be…" Suzune realized, "That during the VIP Exam agreement, when you stopped Ichinose and the others from reporting Ryūen for attacking Ibuki's group, it wasn't about getting his signature — it was for this moment?"
"Pretty much. Ryūen already has a record with the Student Council. If Class B's angels had reported him back at school initially, he wouldn't dare use underhanded methods in this sports festival — he would have faced expulsion. But since they didn't report him, Ryūen still feels bold enough to act. However, if he uses underhanded methods again now, we can bring up his Student Council record, forcing his entire class to pay up to avoid expulsion."
In other words, they deliberately let Kakeru off the hook, waiting for him to use underhanded methods one more time so they could collect his Points again.
As expected of you. This is far more intriguing than merely handling entry forms and directing Class A's strategy.
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