I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Oh? Is that so? Then I'm truly honored. So, what do you say, Rinne? Do you want to have a match with me?"

Horikita Suzune hesitated when faced with Horikita Manabu's invitation.

In fact, Horikita Manabu was not wrong. The kind of recognition that Horikita Suzune wanted was something that even Horikita Suzune herself couldn't quite explain, and Horikita Manabu couldn't fulfill it even if he wanted to.

Since it was impossible to satisfy Horikita Suzune's desire for approval.

So all Horikita Manabu can do is let Horikita Suzune try to surpass him.

But this is extremely difficult for Horikita Suzune. If Horikita Suzune can step onto this track today, it will prove that Horikita Suzune is still worth saving.

But if she doesn't even have the courage to step onto this track, then it can only mean that she will still be bound by the figure of Horikita Manabu.

Looking at the track in front of him, and then at his brother who was clearly unprepared.

Horikita Suzune gritted her teeth. She didn't know what choice to make. If Horikita Manabu was only powerful in her mind before, then the evaluation that Amane just gave showed that she might not have really understood Horikita Manabu at all.

Horikita Manabu has probably grown to a similar level to Amane now. It's hard to say whether I will become like Horikita Manabu in the future, let alone who I am now.

However, Horikita Manabu is about to graduate, and if I don't give him a good match while he's still in school, I'll definitely regret it in the future!

Horikita Suzune... Go for it!!!

"I'm willing... to have a match with you, brother."

Horikita Suzune stood on the track next to Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu smiled with satisfaction upon seeing this.

"Confidence is a good thing, but I hope you don't burst into tears later."

"I'm not a child anymore!"

"Hmph, how about we settle this with three laps?"

Horikita Manabu spoke casually.

No, this number must have been carefully calculated by Horikita Manabu.

The track they are currently on is the track and field club's dedicated field. One lap is a standard 400 meters, and three laps determine the winner, which is 1200 meters.

This distance is very suitable for both high school boys and girls.

Even in the relay race at the forest school, where each person had to run 1200 meters, Horikita Suzune was able to complete the race smoothly and achieve top results.

This means that the total distance does not have any advantage due to gender or age, making it a very suitable distance.

"No problem, this will work... Huh?"

Horikita saw Amane in the distance and suddenly remembered something. Looking down, he realized that Amane had untied the red rope and run to the side with the sachet.

She didn't seem to feel anything at all throughout the whole process; I really don't know how Tianyin did it.

"Is there anything else?"

"That's all. Let's begin. Tianyin, could you please give us a signal?"

"no problem!"

Tianyin looked left and right, and finding nothing useful, quietly moved to the side of a small tree.

With a click.

Horikita Manabu was speechless.

"What you're doing constitutes vandalism..."

"Huh? Really? I didn't see it."

Tianyin smiled and approached the two with a small branch in her hand. She raised the branch high and then swiftly swung it down.

"start!"

At the command, Horikita Manabu charged out first, with Horikita Suzune following closely behind.

Judging solely from distance, Horikita Suzune wasn't actually that far behind Horikita in learning.

The problem is... Horikita Manabu runs barefoot on the playground, so naturally he can't compare to Horikita Suzune, who is wearing sneakers.

This could be considered a disguised concession, right?

In the blink of an eye, the two, not to be outdone, flashed past Amane again. The result of the first lap was that Horikita Manabu was about ten meters ahead of Horikita Suzune.

It's not common to see someone running at such an incredible speed barefoot.

Horikita Manabu is a well-rounded talent, but physical fitness is just one aspect of his that is not particularly outstanding. When it comes to well-rounded talent, many people's first impression is that he has no special characteristics.

If you think that way, you're making a big mistake. Imagine dividing people's abilities into five levels and assigning them scores.

So, someone who can only get 50 points in all five abilities is undoubtedly an ordinary person.

However, once these five abilities reach 70 points, one becomes like Hirata, an excellent talent, but one whose excellence requires further consideration.

When all five abilities reach 80 points, this person will be an all-around, invincible talent in the eyes of ordinary people, without any flaws.

Once you reach ninety or ten points, that's roughly the terrifying realm of an all-around genius.

According to Amane's rating, Horikita Manabu is an all-around genius who can score 92-95 points in almost all abilities. It is precisely because he is so versatile that he gives people the feeling that he is very strong but mediocre.

While Tianyin was still pondering, the second lap had already ended.

At this point, Horikita Suzune's breathing was completely disordered. Originally, running this distance would have been an easy task for her, but in order to overtake Horikita Manabu, she had to speed up desperately, which caused her body to start to suffer after only the second lap.

The distance between the two is currently about ten meters, but Horikita Suzune's stamina is declining rapidly, making it very difficult for her to overtake Horikita Manabu.

But... if Horikita Suzune persists with her fierce determination, it's not impossible for her to overtake Horikita Suzune.

It remains to be seen who will emerge victorious.

Chapter 180: You've Grown Up (6K)

The match between the two was nearing its end.

Horikita Manabu's feet stomped rapidly on the track, making a series of rapid, rustling sounds.

Despite having run two laps at full speed, Horikita Manabu showed no signs of fatigue. From beginning to end, he maintained a firm grasp on his running rhythm, or rather... he controlled the rhythm of the entire race.

Looking at Horikita Manabu's tall and swift back, Amane felt that even the phrase "arrow released from a bow" couldn't describe Horikita Manabu's current state. He was much stronger now than during the Sports Festival. There was no doubt that Horikita Manabu was not as indifferent as he appeared after losing to her at the Sports Festival. He must have undergone professional training in track and field or long-distance and short-distance running afterward.

Otherwise, even if Horikita Manabu were in top form, he wouldn't be able to run wild like a runaway horse like he is now.

Gradually, Horikita's running figure and Amane's own figure in her memory began to overlap. If they were to compete again, even she probably wouldn't be able to win as easily as last time.

"Now I understand why Rinne is under so much pressure. A hard-working genius like her, isn't this driving her crazy? It's terrifying~"

After so many observations, Amane was quite certain that the shackles troubling Horikita Suzune came from Horikita Manabu's excellence, but it was impossible to make Horikita Manabu give up his efforts.

Therefore, all Horikita Suzune can do is keep striving and pursuing what she is doing now.

Amane gently shook her head as she watched Horikita Suzune's breathing become erratic. Under normal circumstances, there was no way Horikita Suzune could overtake Horikita Manabu under such a significant disadvantage.

The reason why Horikita Suzune had hoped to surpass Horikita Manabu was entirely because she hadn't properly learned about Horikita Manabu for two years.

She thought that Horikita Manabu was on the same track as her, only that he had started a distance ahead of her. She believed that as long as she kept working hard and accelerating, she would eventually be able to surpass Horikita Manabu.

But reality is far crueler than dreams. While Horikita Suzune was working hard, Horikita Manabu was also running faster with an effort that far surpassed Horikita Suzune's.

This means that in reality, it is virtually impossible for Horikita Suzune to catch up with Horikita Manabu.

There are exceptions to everything.

Tianyin took a small piece of candy out of her pocket, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.

This candy has a texture similar to coffee milk, and its outer shell is coated with a particularly bitter, dark chocolate-like flavor.

Inside is a sweet milk filling.

To get a taste of the filling, you either have to slowly savor its bitterness or bite directly into its bitter outer layer.

Horikita Manabu listened to the whistling wind in his ears, feeling every muscle in his body working perfectly, his feet throbbing slightly from the rapid contact with the ground.

But this pain paled in comparison to the joy he felt at that moment.

Horikita Suzune is still the same Horikita Suzune, no doubt about it—the indescribably clumsy younger sister who never forgot to try.

Although the gap between the two is widening at a visible rate, only Horikita Manabu knows that even if all the school's top athletes teamed up, at most only five could keep up with his speed.

Horikita Manabu also has his own points of pride.

Even now, his breathing is still steady, and you can't even tell from his expression that there's any change. His breathing is still very regular, so this chase can probably be over for Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Suzune could only watch as the figure in front of her grew ever more distant.

Even though her breathing was already difficult, she did not lose heart. The problem was that no matter how firm Horikita Suzune's belief was, her body was very real.

Feeling her increasingly heavy footsteps, Horikita Suzune, no matter how unwilling she was, had to admit that Horikita Manabu's speed was something she could not surpass at the moment.

But why does Horikita Manabu keep running along the outermost circle?

Horikita Manabu chose the outermost track from the beginning, while Horikita Suzune originally chose the second to last track. However, in order to chase after Horikita's back, Horikita Suzune was forced to also run on the outermost track.

Clearly, the outermost track is the least suitable for her. If she changes her track now and starts chasing from the innermost track, she might have a chance to overtake Horikita Manabu.

So now the most crucial question is facing Horikita Suzune.

Does she want to defeat Horikita Manabu, or is she just chasing after his shadow?

Although she won by defeating Horikita Manabu in the inner circle, it's hard to judge whether this counts as surpassing Horikita Manabu.

However, if you were chasing Horikita on the outermost track, winning would certainly be considered a fair and square victory.

But... victory is an almost impossible option for her.

What should she do?

Is it a desire for victory or simply a fulfillment of one's own wishful thinking?

The distance on the final lap was constantly shrinking, and both players had rounded the second bend, meaning that only two hundred meters remained, leaving Horikita Suzune with little time to think.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

Horikita Suzune let out a loud shout that was completely out of character for her.

The cold air rushed down her throat and into her internal organs.

The cold and stinging sensation brought back her sanity and everything she had lost.

Horikita Suzune began to accelerate and veer off the outermost track.

She made her choice.

Horikita Suzune wants to win this match for herself!

Horikita Suzune frantically swung her arms, realizing that her strength was rapidly waning, and chose to fight back desperately.

Ever since she started elementary school, she seemed to be bound by something, and from then on she began to run and chase endlessly.

Even though sometimes she herself doesn't know what she's chasing.

As they grew older.

Horikita Suzune believes that she is chasing after that eternally excellent older brother, and she is chasing after his shadow because of her admiration.

Horikita Suzune once considered these days to be the best of times, until...

"I'm graduating."

Horikita Manabu calmly told her that he was going to a boarding school and that they might not see each other for about three years. No, what Horikita Manabu said at the time was...

"If you remain this weak, we may never have the chance to meet again."

Admittedly, no matter who you look at it, this is just a little trick by Horikita Akihiro to scare Horikita Suzune, but some people will always believe it.

That person's name is Horikita Suzune.

From then on, she began to run even harder, just to become more outstanding so that her heartless brother would notice her more.

'You've become stronger, Rinne.'

Horikita dreamed countless times of Horikita Manabu patting his head and praising him.

Perhaps this is the recognition she wants.

but……

When she wakes up from the dream, Horikita Suzune always smiles self-deprecatingly in front of the mirror. She knows that getting her brother to say such things might be harder than climbing to heaven.

But so what? Even if it's about climbing to the heavens, there will always be a fool who tries to do it.