Chapter 29: Kuzuo Kuzuhara and His Futile Efforts

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Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

The next chapter is the last one, followed by an epilogue!
There are two more chapters after this, one being an epilogue. The author has posted one chapter for Arc 2, but it’s been almost two months since it’s been uploaded.

“Kuzuhara Kuzuhara, just to be sure, are you sure you want to play rock-paper-scissors-paper? It’s hard for me, as the supervisor, to say this, but don’t you usually pick a competition that’s more advantageous to you?”

Hitori-sensei looked at me, astonished, urging me to reconsider. But, well… I didn’t change my mind.

“Don’t worry, this is fine.”

“I see… Got it. Now we will play the second game, rock-paper-scissors-scissors!”

As she announced that, a loud murmur could be heard echoing around the schoolyard.

“R… Rock-paper-scissors~?!”

“Oi, come on, is he serious?!”

“Rock-paper-scissors in an impeachment trial… That’s unprecedented. Has he given up already?”

Amidst the buzz, Abashiri gazed sharply at me.

“I see… You have a lot of confidence playing this game. (His calm expression reminds me of a fierce fighter in the middle of the battlefield… There are no doubts. This guy is a pro at rock-paper-scissors.)”

“Oh, you know what I mean? (What the hell is he on about? Confidence with rock-paper-scissors?)”

“Of course! According to a recent study conducted by Harvard University, when humans play this game face-to-face, the winning percentage never converges to 50%, even after hundreds of thousands of attempts. Subtle changes in facial expressions, habits that the players themselves are unaware of, and things like these all intricately mix into one. This is an ultimate battle of thought, this is rock-paper-scissors!”

“Indeed! (This guy is a different kind of weird than Sakura, wow.)”

My gaze and his clash violently, and we begin the match.

“Rock, paper, scissors—”

I’m so hungry, I can’t wait to get this over with so I can get the hell home…

Statistics show there’s a 70% chance that the first move will be rock or paper! Paper is the strongest move with the best chance of winning, however, my opponent is a pro player who’d naturally know such a fact. In other words, what I should choose is ignorance! I’ll abandon the data, and choose this!

“—Shoot!”

I went rock, he went scissors.

Yaay, I won.

“Guh! A twist of a twist of a twist! I self-destructed!”

Abashiri was wide-eyed in astonishment, right hand trembling wildly. He then exhaled deeply.

“Fuh—… It seems… It seems that I’ve underestimated Kuzuhara. Even if he’s rotten, he’s still the vice president, and it seems that he’s got his talent to be discovered by Shirayuki-san.”

“Ah, yes. (Pfft~! What is up with this guy, he’s too funny!)”

… Anyways, that’s one win and one loss. The trial finally reached its final round.

“Um, this was over very quickly… Well, that’s okay. We’ll now decide the final event!”

As the teacher announced that, the election committee brought out a large box.

“This box contains 40 balls, each one with the name of a competition engraved on it. The one I draw will be the final bout! With all that said, let’s go!”

The teacher put his hand inside the box and pulled one at random.

“And the final competition will be—”

She held up a crimson ball, all eyes focusing on it.

“—The 400-meter run!”

A moment later, Abashiri burst out into high-pitched laughter.

“Heh, heh, hahahahaHAHAHA~! Too bad, Kuzuhara! I am the ‘Fastest Man in Tokyo’ in the 400-meter run! You don’t stand a chance!”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Oh, this will be pretty hard.

This race in particular separates those who practice track and field and those who don’t.

“Aw, if there was at least a little more luck involved, you’d have a chance… Oh well, it’s impossible now.”

“I knew Abashiri would win this trial.”

“Well, it was obvious.”

All onlookers were convinced that he had won already.

“Kuzuhara-kun, do you have a plan…?”

“No, there’s no strategy for a purely physical race.”

“Oh, that’s… True.”

Shirayuki looked down with a somber expression.

“Kuzuhara-kun, if you give up all of it ends here! If you lose this, I’ll kill you, so move your damn legs!”

Sakura was gutsy as ever.

After that, we moved to the track. Abashiri and I got into position as the teacher pointed her starter pistol at the sky.

“Are you two prepared? Okay, on your marks, ready… Go!”

As the loud boom of her gun echoes, we both run out at the same time.

… You’re fast indeed.

Wow, Kuzuhara has more legs than I thought…

I ran at a decent speed but kept losing ground bit by bit. By the time we finished the first turn and went into a straight line, we were already apart.

“S—So Fast! That’s what I’m talking about, the ace of the track team! Tokyo’s fastest is no mean feat!”

“Well, that’s just the way it is.”

“We got a new vice-president!”

The onlookers enjoyed Abashiri’s prowess at running.

Well, I guess this is it…

I’ve done well enough so far… The rest of the game is just a matter of waiting, and the game is set.

And as I tried to cut off my feelings—

“Good luck, Kuzuhara-kun!”

“You can’t lose! Where’s your big, fancy attitude, huh?! You’ll try until you die!”

The only two who hadn’t given up yet were Shirayuki and Sakura. Well, Sakura’s strange cheers aside, Shirayuki acted out of character. She cheered desperately, trying so hard to urge me on.

No, no, no, take a good look! We’re already extremely far apart. There’s no way I can win now, no matter how hard I try.

These are just futile efforts.

As these thoughts rush into my mind, I realized how ugly I looked, how unsightly I was.

At that moment, a memory surges from the back of my brain.