Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「Wow, the upperclassmen are awesome」

Chihiro heard his classmates saying this as they returned from their events. At the same time, he had a different impression from them.

It is true that the upperclassmen are great. He could tell that by watching them.　However, not all first-year students are inferior.

They are trying to catch up with them.

There must be those who are willing to take on the challenge, regardless of the grade difference.

Then, Chihiro glanced.

He glanced at Kamishiro, sitting next to him, who seemed to be in a state of excitement.

The trembling in his body must be a warrior's instinct.

「...Then, I'm going to go」

Kamishiro stood up and tightened his mouth.

Chihiro half-reflexively spoke behind him. 

「Kamishiro-kun」

「Hmm?」

「Well, do your beast」

Kamishiro paused for a moment, and then replied, "Oh, of course". Then he went to his event, the 200-meter run.

As a result of the race, Kamishiro came in first place.

Well, he started the race with a serious expression on his face. From the very first run, Kamishiro made a gap between himself and the other runners. It seemed that he had not spared any physical strength, and was truly unbeatable.

「Oh. That Kamishiro fellow is on fire. It's good that he's doing so well, but he should think about his pace」

「...Well, that's the good thing about Kamishiro-kun, isn't it?」

He's too straightforward and hard-working for his own good.

This seemed to have a positive effect on the other students as well, and the students of 1-C became excited by Kamishiro's victory, increasing their motivation for their respective events.

「As expected, when people see something like that...」

「When people see something like that, they get excited, don't they?」

Yes, the ace has brought out a good flow.

Chihiro, who wished it would go on like this, somehow followed Kamishiro with his eyes. He slowly walked back to his seat, only to be stopped by a girl.

She is small.

Well, not really, but in general. She is shorter than Maria, maybe less than 150 centimeters tall (4.9ft). Her body, wrapped in gym clothes, had a girlish shape, but her breasts are very flat.

If it's not for her hair, which, whether naturally or intentionally, creates an exquisitely balanced bounce and volume, her appearance might be overlooked.

And her eyes.

Different from the harshness of Riko's eyes, these powerful eyes, full of self-confidence, are impossible to miss once people see them.

「That’s...」

「Hmm? Oh, yes. That’s Yuse Shuka, Class A, Rank C」

Shuka and Kamishiro exchanged a few words - or rather, Shuka seemed to be almost unilaterally confronting Kamishiro.

Chihiro couldn't hear their voices, but it seems that they are saying something like, "You can't beat me" or "Don't get carried away just because you won a little".

I see.

That girl is certainly a source of anxiety for Class C. Her passion and fierce temperament, visible even from a distance, are sure to set the mood.

Even more so than Kamishiro, given that she's a girl.

「I'm back」

「Oh, Kamishiro has come back」

「Congratulations on your first place」

As Kamishiro returns to his seat and receives praise from the classmates, the 100-meter run for the girls are started. Shuka is in the third position, in order of grade.

「Izumi」

「Yes」

Chihiro nodded to Maisaka, who stared at the ground more intently than ever.

The race lasted only a moment.

At the signal to start, Shuka sprang out like a bullet. Her initial speed is fast. Certainly, in terms of instantaneous power, Shuka greatly surpassed Kamishiro. In a race of only one hundred meters, this meant a lot, and she crossed the finish line in first place, seconds ahead of the second place runner.

「Wow, what a girl」

「Small but fast!」

「...Don't use the word "small"」

Amidst the cheers, Kamishiro whispered, "I see", it seems he has some trauma.

This performance by Kamishiro and Shuka seems to have ignited not only Class C and Class A, but also Class B and other classes.

Gradually, the sports festival entered a heated mood.

The ball game.

The upperclassmen of the B class started high jumping with a lot of balls, aiming to score a lot of points at once, but Riko developed multiple illusions without even pretending to hold the balls from the beginning. She distracts the other class by placing basket dummies in their positions.

On the other hand, Class A identified Riko's illusions calmly and quickly, and threw the balls steadily to score points. At the center of it all was...

「Mishuku, san?」

「Oh, there she is. That girl must be using some kind of sight-improving ability or something」

Indeed. She's taking off her glasses and throwing the balls into the real basket with ease and precision. She is probably using the ability of a student who is not currently participating in the competition with [Looting].

Maybe the light is dim or something, and she could distinguish the real from the illusion.

「I knew she'd come. Seeing that class A isn't in an uproar, I guess she didn't just take it by force, but borrowed it after telling her classmate about the situation」

Then, Maisaka muttered again, "Such a nuisance".

And after the time is over, the final result of the ball game goes to Team C, who wins by a narrow margin, thanks to Riko's efforts to replace the illusion and hide the real basket from the public.

After that, Hana participated in several other events.

Each time, she had a different ability.

Although her appearance is rather plain, she has achieved a great deal. The fact that she could choose an effective ability for each event is powerful, and the impact of using someone else's ability had a great impact on the other classes, mainly the first-year students.

But, as a female, it's difficult for her to compete with Kamishiro. So, she split the events with Shuka, who was in the same grade, and consistently scored points. 

「It's a good thing that she doesn't seem to use Yuse's ability...」

「Shuka-san probably refused. Well, she's rather proud」

Shuka didn't want to give up her powers to someone else, even temporarily. Well, Chihiro understand that feeling.

Speaking of which, Maisaka must have noticed that Chihiro's mind reading has returned, but he hasn't said anything. Maybe he doesn't want to mention it, or maybe he doesn't think it's necessary.

Anyway, Yuse Shuka is exactly like a female version of Kamishiro. She is almost unbeatable in the running events, and she always sending points to the A Team.

「And now, comes the real challenge, Izumi」

「Well... the real challenge...」

The cavalry battle is the last event before the lunch break. It's a showy event, so the parents could watch it while eating their lunches early, and the school could easily cope with any injuries.

Chihiro's face tightened up at Maisaka's encouragement, but then Kamishiro put his hand on his shoulder.

「Let's go, Izumi-kun」

「Yes」

Chihiro nodded and stood up. As he moved, Maria and Riko gave him a look, to which he replied with a slight flutter of his eyelids.

（I'll do everything I can）