Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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21, Baton Passing


 Then we practiced tug-of-war and cavalry competitions, with only a few class periods left.

"Then let's run the mixed gender relay once!"

 It was a member of the sports festival committee who said so in a loud voice.
 The competitors took their starting positions on the track and lined up in a pre-determined order, just as they would on the day of the race.

 By the way, I was chosen as the first runner because of my athletic ability.
 The starting runner for 2-B during joint practice came up next to me...

"... Group A, T-Tomoki-kun is the one who is going to run?"

 He asked me with a frightened expression.
 I nodded my head silently, apologetically.
 Then, a short scream was raised, "Hih, I'm sorry!"

"Good, Tomoki-kun! Group B is scared!"
“I think my plan to make Tomoki the first runner and scare the rest of the class into taking first place is going to work.”

 ... That's the kind of strategy you had!?
 When I was a little depressed, thinking that I had not been chosen because of my athletic ability,

“Yuuji-kun, do your best!”

“Tomoki, I trust you!”


 The cheering voices of Kana, Asakura, and my other classmates reach my ears, filling my body with motivation.

 Then I finally hear the signal to start and I begin to run.

 I run out with a bang.
 I was the one who pushed the runner next to me out of the way and quickly made a huge difference.

“Good, Tomoki-kun!”

"That's awesome!!"

 While listening to the cheering of the gallery, I headed for the next runner to pass the baton that I had been clutching...!?

“GYAA—————!!”

 To my surprise, it was the next runner who ran away from me, screaming and running as fast as he could.
 Without slowing down, I asked a question,

"Wait, why are you running away!?"

 I couldn't pass the baton and kept running...

"Hiiiiiiiih!!"

 The frightened runner fell on his knees.
 I almost stopped to help him up, but,

“F-For the time being, keep running, Tomoki—!”

 I heard Asakura's voice.

 He fell down, he wasn't really hurt, and he might just be scared if I reached out to him.
 ...I didn't know what was going on, but it had to happen.
 In order to pass the baton to the next runner, I had to keep running—.


——— seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

 And in the end, I continued running until I passed the baton to the second runner, Kana.
 I had to run the middle distance in the relay at the sports festival, and it was just plain hard for me.

"... No, sorry Tomoki. Your serious running and your devilish expression were so scary that I ended up running away from you. No, even if we get along well, scary things are still scary."

"Asakura..."

 Asakura, who had been silently running as fast as he could and running away from me, was smiling apologetically and bitterly.
 Asakura, who usually treats me normally, even ran away from me, how scary I was...

"That said, we're in trouble..."

 The person who said this to us was a member of the sports festival committee.
 In fact, if you, the second runner, had taken my baton, I wouldn't have been in trouble.
 I stared at him.

"D-Don't stare at me, Tomoki..."

"I-I'm sorry"

 For some reason, I apologize to the sports festival committee member who has a frightened expression on his face.
 Before I knew it, my classmates had gathered around me.
 Then, to those who were worried about what to do,

"We'll have to change the order."

 Ike expressed a perfectly reasonable opinion.

"If it's Kana, it won't be a problem if you're before or after Yuuji, right?"

 Kana nodded at Ike's question.

"It's obvious! If that's the case, it would be good if Yuuji-kun ran either in front of or behind me, because I might be more motivated that way..."

 I heard Kana's last few words when she said it as if she was embarrassed,

"Bfrustating...why is it always Tomoki, dzamn it..."

 Asakura and the other boys in the class who are determined to kill.

“Then, it's decided. Let's change the first runner to Saiki from the track team, and the last three runners to Kana, Yuuji, and me."

 To Ike's words, a member of the sports festival committee responds.

“But if you do that, we won’t be able to scare the other runners with Tomoki-kun and run solo?”

 Ike, who asked me about that strategy, of which I was completely uninformed, the executor of such an operation, answers in a roundabout way.

"No need for that little trick, right? Yuuji will pass the baton to me in the first place, and I won't give up first place."

 Strong words that he doesn't usually say.
 I could immediately sense that those were words of concern for me.

"Indeed, with Ike and Tomoki, there's plenty of room to do what we normally do..."

“Not to mention Ike, Tomoki was really fast too!”

"It's just as Ike says!"

 The classmates' expressions light up.

"I mean, I did something bad to Tomoki, I'm sorry."

 A member of the sports festival committee bowed his head toward me.
 I guess he is apologizing for not taking the baton and running away.

"No, don't worry about it"

"I see. Thanks. I knew Tomoki is a good guy, though his face is scary ... Let's do our best for the sports festival!"

 Saying that, the sports festival committee held out their hands towards me.
 I answer, "Yeah," while squeezing his hand back, but I feel awkward.

 ...What was this guy's name again?
 Kidding, I can't even ask now.

 When I smiled sympathetically,

“Yuuji-kun! I'm glad they switched the order."

 Kana walked up to me.

"Right. I look forward to working with you."

 I remove my gaze from the sports festival committee member, whose name I don't even know, and then turn to Kana to answer.
 Then she nodded her head and said, "Yes!" and,

"Please accept my baton and feelings properly, okay?"

 Kana said with an upward glance.

 Unsure how to reply, and with a vague expression on my face, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw Ike surrounded by everyone else.

 Against Ike, who brought the class together in no time at all, I knew I was no match for this guy.
 That's what I thought.