Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「I think it should be me, Chihiro, or Yuuki at the first round. Marika or Hana, it would probably be better to abstain from the competition」

「...I agree」

Yotsuba nodded at Lucille's direct statement.

「I'm not saying that Hazuki-san and Mishuku-san are not good enough, but a simple direct competition is not suitable for them」

「But if I enter this match, I can take a shot at my [Looting]」

「Well, I'm afraid it's too much of a gamble. It would be great if you win, but if they can read your intentions, that's the end of it」

「Well... that's right...」

Hana nodded easily and changed her opinion.

She was probably concerned about the danger that Lucille had indicated. After all, at least one of the three schools, Shibatsuru Academy, must be aware of Hana's [Looting].

When one of the suggestions is dismissed, Chihiro raises his hand.

「If we consider the recovery, I think it would be better for me to go. At least I can take a nap during the second event」

There will be a meal break between the second and third events.

If that time can be used for sleep as much as possible, the fatigue can be alleviated considerably by [Sleep Enhancement].

Kamishiro thought about this for a while and shook his head.

「No, I'll be the one to participate in this event. If I don't compete in this event, I don't have any idea why I was chosen as the representative」

「But, Kamishiro-kun, you will be the trump card in the third and later events, too」

「Then, Izumi-kun, can you beat Shiramine-senpai and Fuwa-senpai?」 (*Nb: Fuwa: the muscle third year student who has [Toughness] ability)

Chihiro was at a loss for words when Kamishiro looked at him with straight eyes.

Chihiro still does not know what Sayuki's ability is. But he could imagine that neither Sayuki nor Fuwa was a half-bad player. It is not easy to say that he can win.

Kamishiro, on the other hand, has trained with Sayuki and others many times. Chihiro, on the other hand, has fought only Kamishiro.

Kamishiro, who has repeatedly fought against superior opponents, is surely more likely to face a strong opponent whom he has not seen yet.

But whoever fights, if he does not win, his fatigue and injuries will be in vain.

Then the question is, who is the most likely to win?

「...Please don't push yourself too hard」

「I know. There's more than one battle, after all」

「Okay, let's leave the first event to Yuuki. Yotsuba?」

「Yes. ...As Kamishiro-kun and Izumi kun said, if you think it's too hard to win, you can abstain from the first event. Please leave as much energy as possible」

At Yotsuba's words, Kamishiro nodded his head "yes".

Then Hana tilted her head.

「Now, the second event. What are we going to do about this?」

The theme was eating, of all things.

Chihiro even wonder if this is something that should be done in a battle of abilities. It's so peaky that none of the members have the ability to adapt to it...

No.

「I guess we'll have to ask Lucille-senpai」

「It seems so. Maybe none of you can eat better than me」

Lucille shrugged her shoulders without pride.

Her [Genius] ability makes her a genius in every field, but at the cost of consuming a lot of calories and sugar. This is why Lucille eats a lot of sweets on a daily basis.

Her stomach is probably also suited for eating large amounts of food, and she must also be a genius at cooking okonomiyaki.

Of course, Chihiro is not making fun of her while thinking this.

「The third event is Principal's idea, and I think we have an advantage in this event. With Hazuki-Senpai's [Telepathy], we can easily keep in touch with each other, and we should be relatively good at brainwork」

「That's why we included this category」

To this idea, Chihiro wondered whether he should thank Principal Ootori.

「Now we just have to wait and see what will happen in the fourth and fifth events」

「Well, we won't know that until we see the results」

Yotsuba narrowed her eyes.

With 5 to 20 players per team, the outcome of the competition could be unpredictable. The opponents have a chance to win, too, depending on how they play the game.

Either the devil or the snake will come out.

However, it is not a hopeless battle when considering the events.

「Let's win」

Chihiro muttered to himself.

Kamishiro responded decisively.

And the other three answered in succession.

「Yeah, sure」

「Yes. Of course we'll win」

「Absolutely. No one fights with the intention of losing」

『We must win』

Then they all looked at each other and laughed.

After the strategy meeting, they told the staff about their orders.

And the staff told them that after the third event, they could reduce the number of participants later, so they decided to have all five of member participate in the event.

Now it was time to change clothes.

「We're not going to change here, are we?」

「Of course not. We can use the changing rooms in the training center」

The men and women of the four schools will use the changing rooms, which are sometimes used by all the classes of one school year at once. The number of rooms and the space are sufficient.

So, each school is assigned a separate changing room, which also serves as a waiting room.

『Also, please bring in Aoi-chan's costume』

Aoi's outfit should also be brought in, since it might be useful in some way.

It is true that there is no better place to have a change of clothes... is there? Although Chihiro still had some doubts about this, he agreed, and Kamishiro and him split up and carried two sports bags' worth of clothes.

After that, Chihiro put on his usual tight-fitting sportswear and put on his gym clothes over it. The jerseys might get in the way of his movements, so he decided to keep it folded for the time being.

After changing his clothes, Chihiro saw Kamishiro began to do some preparatory exercises in the remaining time.

The preparation exercise, though, was quite hard from Chihiro's point of view.

「How are you feeling?」

「Oh, I'm close to perfect. And I'm excited. It's not often that I get a chance to fight against students from other schools」

There is definitely a smile on his face as he answers.

He is quite a battle junkie.

That must be why he caught the attention of Sayuki and Fuwa.

「Besides, I can't lose here in order to get revenge on you」

「...Hahaha. I'm always losing in class, though」

「No, you're the real deal」

――Even if that's true, the victory was the result of many factors.

Chihiro stopped saying what he was about to say, as there was no point in saying it.

He joins the girls and moves to the training area.

When the four schools gathered again, all of them were in battle mode, of course.

All the students of Shibakkou Academy, Kyushu, were wearing black uniforms.

This all-male team also gave a sense of dignity, which made Chihiro feel like a child, thinking that the team looked strong.

Shibaryuu Academy, Osaka, like Shibahou, had a variety of clothing styles. This is probably due to the fact that they are a mixed team of men and women.

And Shibatsuru Academy, Sapporo, wore white training wear. The tight, thin, stretchy material covered the supple limbs of the girls, clearly highlighting the lines of their bodies. Although they were wearing gym clothes or jerseys over their training clothes to protect them from the cold...