After the tug-of-war ended, several other common sports festival events were held, such as the giant ball roll and the obstacle course.
The fourth event was the ball toss.
The mascot-like Elf surprisingly put her hands on her hips, stood out, and enthusiastically requested to participate:
"I want to join the ball toss competition!"
Since transferring here, relying on her deceptively cute appearance and her lack of malicious intentions, Elf had successfully been promoted to the class's "pampered pet."
Now that Elf volunteered to compete, everyone else naturally agreed.
"Sora, I'm heading out. Wait for my good news."
Yamada Elf put her hands on her hips, looking proud and valiant, and joined the other team members in the competition.
"Good news?"
Sora shook his head, completely pessimistic about her chances.
"Probably won't be seeing any."
Elf's hobbies were eating, drinking, and having fun. She never exercised. Now suddenly wanting to participate in a sports festival event, she was bound to lose miserably.
"Elf actually went up to compete. Has she been secretly exercising lately?"
Kuroneko quietly walked over, her small face full of curiosity.
She originally thought they were both slackers who avoided exercise whenever possible. Now that Elf was suddenly being active, she couldn't resist coming over to ask.
Sora shook his head:
"Elf's only exercise is playing video games with Sagiri after meals."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Kuroneko's eyes widened, unable to resist saying:
"Elf never exercises, yet she still dares to participate in an event?"
Sora's tone was dark:
"You know Elf's personality. Proud and arrogant, completely lacking self-awareness of her own limits. She'll definitely come back crying later."
Gokou Ruri: "..."
Facts proved that Sora's guess was entirely correct.
After the competition ended, Elf, who had enthusiastically gone to participate in the ball toss, came back sniffling and crying softly.
From beginning to end, Elf was just a spectator on the field. Her score was left a hundred thousand miles behind, unable to even see the opponents' taillights.
"We're all high school students, why is the gap so huge?"
Yamada Elf sniffled, her voice aggrieved:
"How can they jump so high and run so fast? From start to finish, I could only catch a glimpse of their backs."
Hey, hey, don't misuse idioms. 'Catch a glimpse of their backs' implies you're close enough to catch up. You couldn't even see their taillights. You should use 'left in the dust' to describe it!
Sora, with his hands in his pockets, complained upon hearing this:
"You're completely insulated from sports. You spend every day eating and playing, never exercising. It's completely normal for you to lose."
"Idiot Sora, who says I don't exercise?"
Yamada Elf put her hands on her hips, her entire body stubbornly refusing to admit defeat:
"I clearly exercise at night, alright."
Sora glanced over: "Exercising in video games?"
"Of course not. Playing the piano also counts as exercise." Yamada Elf proudly lifted her cute chin, speaking plausibly.
"Playing the piano exercises the fingers, making them more nimble. Hasn't it made Sora feel much more comfortable?"
"Eh... comfortable?"
Tiara, passing by, quickly widened her eyes. She involuntarily slowed her pace and secretly pricked up her ears to eavesdrop.
Gossip is a girl's nature, and Tiara was naturally no exception.
What does finger nimbleness have to do with feeling comfortable?
Why are these two things linked together?
Tiara lowered her small head in confusion, looking at her own right hand.
As she looked, the scene of her accidentally grabbing something when they won the tug-of-war quietly surfaced in her mind.
"C-Could it be... that kind of thing?!"
Tiara flusteredly hid her hands behind her back, her pretty face rapidly flushing red.
The student council frequently confiscated contraband items from students. While organizing some miscellaneous items previously, she had seen an unspeakable, terrible manga. Some blush-inducing scenes in it perfectly linked nimble fingers with making boys feel comfortable...
"Izumi-kun is going too far!"
Tiara held her breath, secretly clenching her pink fists.
Elf-sensei is still a child. How could you be so cruel!
No!
I can't just sit back and watch!
But Elf-sensei seems to be enjoying it. How am I supposed to intervene?
Amidst her wild thoughts, Sora's voice rang out:
"Last time I asked you to massage my shoulders, you had absolutely no strength in your hands. No matter how nimble your fingers are, it won't be comfortable."
"I was hungry that day, that's why I didn't have any strength."
"..."
Tiara, eavesdropping with pricked ears, froze upon hearing this. She couldn't help but turn her head to look.
(So they were talking about a shoulder massage?!)
(I actually misunderstood that Elf-sensei and Izumi-kun were doing that kind of thing... I'm so terrible!)
Tiara suddenly recalled a sentence she had accidentally seen:
"A lewd person sees everything with a dirty mind."
At this thought, Tiara felt completely awful.
(So... the lewd person is actually me?)
(My head is actually full of dirty thoughts?)
(Impossible!)
(I'm not that kind of person!)
(I've long forgotten the contents of the manga I read back then... Eh, eh, eh, why is the memory getting clearer and clearer?)
Tiara widened her eyes in a panic. Her mind involuntarily recalled more of the manga's contents, and she even subconsciously substituted herself and Sora into it.
(H-Hurry up and stop, ahhhhh!)
To drive the terrible images out of her mind, Tiara hurriedly hugged her head with both hands and shook it rapidly.
"Tiara, are you okay?"
Elf's worried voice suddenly rang in her ear.
Bamatsu Tiara turned her head and realized that Sora and Elf had walked up to her at some point.
"I-I'm fine..."
Tiara's pretty face was burning hot. She frantically averted her gaze, completely not daring to look at Sora. After all, just a moment ago in her head, Sora was the male lead in a doujinshi.
"You suddenly shook your head just now. Do your ears feel uncomfortable?"
Yamada Elf's small face was full of curiosity:
"Did a bug get in your ear?"
"N-No bugs..." Tiara stammered. "My ear just itches a bit."
"If your ear itches, why is your face super red?"
"Because... because I just exercised..."
"But Tiara didn't participate in the ball toss competition just now, did you?"
"..."
Although he didn't know what was going on with Tiara, the girl's blushing clearly had nothing to do with itchy ears. Sora reached out and pressed down on Elf's small head, looking at Tiara:
"Basori-san is probably just too nervous. Go grab a drink of water and rest for a bit."
"I-I'll go get some water!"
Feeling as if she had received a royal pardon, Tiara hurriedly turned and fled.
Half an hour later.
The Sports Festival reached the classic three-legged race.
"The race is about to start. Where is Sato-kun?"
"I'm sorry, he ate something bad and his stomach hurts. He ran to the restroom."
"What about the three-legged race?"
"We'll have to sub someone else in..."
"But the three-legged race requires a lot of coordination. Without practicing together, it definitely won't work, right?"
"..."
Seeing the race about to begin, many people started to get anxious.
"I'll do it."
At the critical moment, Shiina Mahiru stepped forward calmly.
"It's Mahiru-san!"
"With Angel-sama participating, we're sure to win."
"Long live Angel-sama!"
"..."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately someone asked:
"Who does Mahiru-san want to team up with? Do you want to team up with Ryoko-san?"
"I haven't practiced with Ryoko-san. Teaming up rashly definitely won't have any coordination." Angel-sama gently shook her head, her voice soft.
"Don't worry everyone, I already have someone in mind to team up with."
After speaking, Angel-sama's gaze shifted. She strode over to Sora, ignoring the subtle and surprised gazes of others, and softly invited him:
"Sora-kun, let's participate in the race together, okay?"