I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

Yukino stared blankly at the screen indicating the call had ended for a long while.

The final result of the ball game was that Soubu Taka won and advanced to the final. The final battle will be held tomorrow night at the regional stadium. Another interesting thing is that because Hayama had to conserve his energy for the ball game, he rarely signed up for other events. Even so, he always came in first place. However, because he signed up for very few events, the Red Team's score was only slightly behind the White Team, which made everyone in the Red Team feel very relieved.

Second day

Standing on the playground, sand swirls in the wind.

Himekoji, wearing a red headband and the student council president's armband, headed to the operations tent.

He glanced around; everyone was making a racket and seemed somewhat unsettled. Some people were wearing sportswear like him, holding white or red headbands; some had them tied on their heads, while others wore them around their necks.

Some people are full of energy from the start, while others lazily say, "I'm so tired—". Also, Mariya-chan, why is your headband tied so beautifully?

Fortunately, the weather was sunny and the cool breeze was very pleasant. It was a perfect time for light exercise. Just walking to the operational tent felt like taking a stroll.

This can be considered an auspicious day for holding a sports festival.

The costume design for the women's final competition, the horseback riding battle, was kept strictly secret. The three designers would not reveal it, and the student council members were also given a gag order by Himekoji. It can be said that the girls were a little nervous about this mysterious costume while waiting for the final battle. Yukinoshita and Yui looked absent-minded in the tent.

"Haruto-kun~"

Kasumigaoka, having finished her registration work, suddenly ran over and hung on Himekoji's back. Like Himekoji, she hadn't participated in any events and hadn't changed into her sportswear. As always, she wore Sobu High School's pleated skirt uniform and bright black stockings. Because the weather was gradually getting colder, these stockings were thicker than the ones she wore in Ningyocho during the summer vacation.

Overall, it looks very high-quality. Because black is slimming, the person looks slimmer and taller.

She suddenly pounced on Ji Xiaolu, which immediately drew envious and jealous glances from a group of boys, but neither she nor Ji Xiaolu paid any attention to it.

"I need to arrange some work for you now. What about Shiyu?"

He untied her arms from around her neck and walked alongside her.

"I'm planning what kind of excuse to use to bring Haruto-kun to the sports storage room and, by some small accident, lock the door from the outside."

"...Oh, and then what?"

"Of course, we should just enjoy the sounds of jubilation outside in a secluded corner and make love to each other. Haruto-kun, don't make me say it out loud. Shouldn't guys be more proactive in these situations?"

"There were so many more opportunities back in Ningyocho than in that kind of place."

“No—, Haruto-kun,” Kasumigaoka said seriously, pressing his shoulder down and pointing a finger to his lips. “Doing lovey-dovey things on the edge of exposure will definitely excite me more. Just imagine, because it’s the sports festival, the sports warehouse will be frequently visited, but we’re already naked inside, so whenever someone comes in, we have to find a corner to hide. If Haruto-kun touches me even slightly at that time, I’ll make some strange noises that will arouse suspicion, right?”

"...What kind of weird fetish is this?! Shouldn't you go to a quieter place to do naughty things?! And even if something like that really happened, I wouldn't take advantage of you when someone came in."

Chapter 173 But, some people just like shameful games.

"Um... I still hope you won't be so gentle with me at times like that... What's this called, decisive action? Strike when the time is right?"

She pulled on Himekoji's tie, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Um, I also hope that when you talk about such embarrassing things, Shiyu, you won't have such a serious expression... It makes you look so solemn, it startled me."

"Well, speaking of which, what kind of work is Haruto-kun going to arrange?"

Having absorbed enough of Haruto's so-called energy, Kasumigaoka loosened his tie, stretched his body, and walked alongside him.

"That tent where free water and energy drinks are distributed is originally the responsibility of Hachiman and Zaimoto, but they're going to participate in the men's putting competition soon, so they need to find someone else to replace them."

"Oh...right, the first volume of my new work has been published. Yes, it's the one I told Haruto-kun about back in Ningyocho. It's currently receiving rave reviews."

"Shiyu is amazing... Wait, wait a minute, has this book really passed the review and been published??"

"Yeah, I already told Haruto-kun that this story was bound to be a bestseller." Kasumigaoka lowered her head, trembling with excitement as she said, "And those readers have already started 'buying stocks' and speculating on the story from the very beginning, ah~ ah~, I really wonder what their expressions will be when they find out that the heroine single-handedly kills all the other bastards in the ending... hehehehehe..."

"I... I think I need to talk to Editor-in-Chief Hedgehog Cat and ask them to cancel this book as soon as possible. It's practically an act of revenge against society! Shouldn't the main female lead be a virtuous, kind, understanding, and gentle girl next door? Don't turn her into a villain, you bastard! Give me back my feelings of being moved!"

For some reason, even though it was noon, Ji Xiaolu felt a chill run down her spine.

“Ms. Machida is very supportive of me. She even said, ‘Those bitches should be severely punished.’”

Kasumigaoka immediately returned to normal and continued to follow Himekoji's footsteps.

"That person seems to be in a bad situation too... They're almost thirty and still not married, and don't even have a boyfriend."

"Well, thanks to this, I can only hold onto the sheets with one hand every time I climax. What a poor BBA."

"...Ahem!" Deliberately avoiding conjuring up the scene described in Kasumigaoka's words, Himekoji coughed twice and went to the tent where free water was being distributed. There, Hachiman and Zaimokuza were sitting idly in a daze. On the last day, because there were very few sports activities left, there weren't many people coming to get water.

Because there was more than one type of sports drink provided, the large storage box next to Hachiman was filled with all sorts of bottle caps, some of which had been thrown out by impatient people and rolled a little further away. Yesterday, Himekoji told Orimoto about Soubu High's grand finale entertainment program; he wondered if she had come, but even if she had, it seemed she hadn't visited Hachiman's place, otherwise he wouldn't have entered this utterly bored state of contemplating life.

"God back."

Himekoji waved his hand in front of Hikigaya. Hikigaya blinked and stared blankly at Himekoji. Well, this expression made Himekoji feel a little guilty. It was as if he had banished a normal person to the wilderness and then only remembered to bring him back after several years.

As for Zaimokuza, he had already turned his head to the side because Kasumigaoka was coming over, so he couldn't make normal eye contact with her.

"what's up?"

Hachiman answered in a seemingly indifferent manner.

“I’m going to assign you a new job,” Himekoji said, noticing that Hachiman’s eyelids were twitching. He patted Hachiman’s shoulder mischievously. “Don’t look at me like that, your eyes are going to rot. Actually, the job I’m going to give you isn’t too difficult for you. Well, it’s probably something like—winning against the White Team in the putting competition later, or more accurately, winning against Hayama Hayato.”

"I thought I was going to be used until I died again."

"But there are rewards too, at least you can drink whatever you want, right?"

"Anyone who comes to Soubu High School can drink for free, as long as they can drink it."

"Ahem, but I just want to remind you of something," Ji Xiaolu tapped the table, warning, "I don't know what method you plan to use to win, but don't try anything illegal or cheat. Losing is fine; at most, you'll be placed on probation or expelled..."

"Hey, hey, hey, is this really okay? I get the feeling you're radiating a strong sense of threat."

"It's all an illusion, an illusion. I admire you. Keep it up! The girls' horseback riding battle seems to be starting soon. I'm going over there now."

Himekoji casually assigned Eriri and Megumi Kato, who were volunteers nearby, to take charge of the task. While the work was being handed over to Zaimokuza in Hikigaya, Himekoji had already returned to the operations tent with Kasumigaoka.

"Under the snow, there's Yuihama. She should go change her clothes. We'll take care of things here."

"Please don't make it sound so natural for girls to change clothes, okay? It always reminds me of really bad things..."

Yukinoshita rubbed her forehead in dissatisfaction and complained.

"Well, yeah, they suddenly started talking about changing clothes or something..."

Yuihama stammered in support.

"Ah, changing clothes is that one, right? That embarrassing p-lay!"

Kasumigaoka, who clearly understood the final design template of the armor skirt, clapped his hands with pleasure and looked at the two people with satisfaction.

"Shameful play-ay?!!"

Yukinoshita and Yuihama shouted in unison, then exchanged a knowing glance, let out a worried "Uh...", blushed, and turned their heads away.

"Why do you two seem to be expecting something..."

"That's not true at all!"*2.

"Ahem, whether it's true or not, let's go over there. As a general, you must set an example and charge into battle."

"Um..."

Because two eye-catching girls in the tent simultaneously shouted "Shameful!", coupled with Himekoji and Kasumigaoka, with whom he had long been rumored to be dating, the boys around them seemed to be glaring at Himekoji with fiery eyes, while the girls looked away with disdain and whispered among themselves, probably saying something like, "The president has made his move again..."

Student council president Haruto Himekoji has an excellent reputation and is currently being victimized.

About ten minutes later, the generals led by Ebina arrived. Kasumigaoka was nowhere to be seen, as she had just been in charge of checking the girls. She would continue to be in charge of the boys' section, while Hachiman was already in line.

Chapter 174 There's no escaping it, [Yukino Yukinoshita] chooses to fight.

While checking the headband, Yukinoshita asked Ebina a question.

"Is the line ready?"

"Um"

Ebina answered succinctly, gesturing for inspection. Then she simply waited to enter. That wasn't a problem.

"...What's with this outfit?"

"...I want to know too!"

Yukino sighed deeply. She was wearing an overly ornate, somewhat lewd, armor-like skirt. Incidentally, it was all molded by her family's building materials company; anything from the Yukino family was guaranteed to be top-notch.

The armor on the hands was separate, revealing glimpses of skin through the gaps. The back and shoulders were open, which looked very beautiful. The breastplate and gauntlets had a somewhat heavy feel, but the skirt gave a light and airy impression, appearing quite soft. In addition, there were greaves. Because they were all custom-made for the female contestants, they fit each one perfectly. The body measurements for each girl came from the student council's database.

Yukinoshita looked at her gauntlets, feet, and collar with a puzzled expression, seemingly unaware of why she was dressed like this.

Yui touched her breastplate, then her gauntlets, and then tugged at the hem of her skirt to confirm. She then blushed instantly.

"Ugh, this is so embarrassing... No wonder Kasumigaoka-senpai called it a shameful play..."

Well, this is a cosplay in front of the whole school... Ebina watched the very shy Yuihama with a satisfied expression. Kawasaki, who had also changed her clothes, was standing nearby. Ah, Kawasaki is going to wear this too. She was walking behind Ebina, seemingly trying to use Ebina to block her view. When she saw Himekoji looking at her, she immediately turned her head away.

"Ebina, you seem to be in a lot of interest."

“After all, it was designed by us, so there’s no shyness involved.” With that, she pushed Kawasaki out from behind her. Kawasaki kept muttering things like, “W-what are you doing? Wait a minute…” And just like that, Kawasaki was pushed in front of Himekoji. Ebina gestured to Himekoji and said, “It’s quite a pleasure to see the creator wearing this outfit himself.”

"I...I have already regretted it and reflected on it!!"

Kawasaki only faced Himekoji for a moment before immediately closing his eyes and shouting.

"What's there to reflect on?" Himeko looked around, nodded in satisfaction, and gave a thumbs up. "My fellow battle maidens, you can wear these outfits home after the competition. They're really great and suit you all perfectly!"

"Who would wear something like that home?!"

Yuihama, Yukinoshita, and Kawasaki all blushed and complained at the same time.

"And don't call me War Maiden!"

Kawasaki raised his leg towards Himekoji and gave a perfunctory kick, but the power and speed were too poor to hit her.

"Oh, right, Juya, what are you hiding? Come out!" Ji Xiaolu pulled Juya, who had been hiding in the back, out. Juya was a little different from usual today. If it were the usual Juya, she would definitely be the first to come over and say some tempting things to Ji Xiaolu. Just as Ji Xiaolu was thinking this, he suddenly noticed that the beauty mark at the corner of Juya's eye was no longer near her left eye, but near her right eye.

Holy crap... This isn't Mariya, it's her twin sister, Shizuka.

So Himekoji let go of her arm. It was fine to tug at her arm, but it was a bit strange to pull at her sister whom she didn't know at all.

Meanwhile, her younger sister was still wearing a wig, and Mariya herself was hiding somewhere, waiting to switch identities with her sister later. (It's worth noting that her sister, Shizuka Gidou, usually has short hair and wears men's clothing. If she wears a wig with the same hairstyle as Mariya, people who don't notice her beauty mark won't be able to tell them apart. They have to "change gender" and maintain it for three years of high school. Whoever's true gender isn't discovered by anyone with a school registration within those three years will inherit the Gidou family fortune... What kind of crazy setup is this?)

Since Kikuya was in the White Team, Shizuku naturally wore the blue armor dress. Because it would definitely be exposed if the girls changed clothes together, Kikuya could only let her younger sister take her place.

"Why is it in a Western style...? Wasn't it supposed to be a samurai?"

Yukinoshita suppressed her embarrassment and tugged at her skirt. What made her even more ashamed was that this thing was made by her own company. It seemed that the company was unusually enthusiastic about making armor for the second young lady.