ALL NOVEL Chapter 73
“Next up is the three-legged race. All participants, please—”
The noon section of the sports festival had progressed smoothly, and it was finally time for the big final event, the three-legged race. The competitors had already gathered in the center of the field, and among them were Ryuichi and Shizuna.
“Alright, we’ve got this.”
“Yeah.”
The three-legged race was a competition in which two people ran in pairs, and the most crucial factor to achieving victory was for both runners to synchronize their breathing and movements.
While most pairs were male-male and female-female, Ryuichi’s partner was, of course, Shizuna. Shizuna tied their legs together with a string and smiled happily.
“Now you won’t be able to get away from me for a while, Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
“…Normally those words would be a little terrifying, but since you’re the one who’s saying it, it just comes off as cute. Really cute.”
Both Ryuichi and Shizuna had some free time on their hands since their turn had yet to come, but they were completely flirting with each other while cheering for their own team. Their classmates looked on with smiles, but the seniors and juniors, especially the boys without girlfriends, stared at them with vexed looks.
“Oh, it’s almost time.”
“Yup.”
Finally, it was their turn.
“Do your best out there, Shishido, Shizuna!”
“Yeah!”
“Of course!”
Sohei cheered them on, and they replied back before lining up at the starting point. As usual, the grounds were filled with a lively atmosphere of cheering, and the voices of Chisa and the other girls could be heard quite loudly as the two lined up. Ryuichi and Shizuna both nodded at each other, saying, “We can’t lose this,” and with the sound of the pistol signaling the start, they began their run.
“Woah, the Shishido-Shizuna pair is really fast!! Both their starting dash and their follow-up are swift and nimble!”
The two of them were in perfect sync. Since it was a three-legged race, they could not run at full speed, and Ryuichi and Shizuna also had different strides when running, so Ryuichi was basically matching Shizuna’s stride.
“One, two; one, two; one, two.”
“One, two; one, two; one, two.”
The two of them calmly chanted the shouts they’d practiced as they ran. Perhaps the pairs behind them were struggling a bit, but the distance between Ryuichi and Shizuna and the others was quite wide, and they should be able to reach the goal with enough time to spare if they continued at this rate. However, it was then that an unexpected accident occurred.
“Huh?”
It was Shizuna’s voice. Ryuichi, drawn by her voice, turned his gaze quickly and saw a child jumping out of the audience seats. It seemed that they had come out to catch a ball that had rolled in front of them, but the timing at which they’d done so was very bad.
“Ugh…”
“Shizuna?!”
It would have been best if they could avoid the kid, but it had happened so suddenly that they had no choice but to stop. Since their legs were connected by a string, stopping suddenly would naturally cause them to lose their balance slightly. Just as it seemed like they had fortunately come to a perfect stop, Shizuna fell to her knees and collapsed.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh… Yes, I’m okay.”
The surroundings quieted down a little at the cute intruder, but soon a woman who appeared to be the child’s parent said she was sorry and apologized before returning to the audience with the child in her arms.
The competition seemingly came to a stop for a brief moment, but no one was angry, so Ryuichi also hoped that the woman wouldn’t be too angry with the child.
“Well, it’s fine. Shizuna… Shizuna?”
“I-I’m okay.”
Shizuna, who had been holding her ankle, slowly stood up. However, upon seeing her acting as if she was enduring some pain, Ryuichi instantly knew what had happened to her.
“Did you get a sprain?”
“…Yes.”
Of course, it didn’t seem to have swollen yet, but it would still be a disaster if it got worse from Shizuna pushing herself to run. Therefore, Ryuichi untied the string that bound them together before Shizuna could even say anything.
“Ryuichi-kun?!”
“Leave it to me. Since all these people were watching, I’m sure they’ll forgive me for this much.”
With that, Ryuichi picked Shizuna up. She let out a small squeal and hugged his body, putting her arms around his neck.
“She sprained her foot, so we’re gonna continue like this! You fine with that, student council prez?”
“Of course!”
The president, who was serving as live commentator for the event, gave a thumbs-up.
“Hang on tight.”
“………”
Shizuna nodded her head as her face flushed bright red. Ryuichi tried to run as lightly as possible so as not to put too much strain on Shizuna’s body, but of course, doing so meant that he was overtaken by the slower runners. In the end, Ryuichi and Shizuna were the last to reach the goal.
“…Hmm?”
“Huh?”
The moment they crossed the finish line, they were greeted by a great number of applauses.
It was easy to imagine how they must’ve been seen by them: a boy running with a girl in his arms in a princess carry to overcome an accident in front of a large crowd of people watching… When all was said and done, it was incredibly embarrassing.
“…Well, for now we should head to the health committee guys.”
Just like that, they headed to where the health committee members were standing by. By the time they arrived, the area where she had sprained her leg was a little red, so it was decided that she would get first aid treatment in the form of a compress.
If it had been any more serious, she would’ve had to be taken to the hospital, so Ryuichi was relieved at the news. Sakie, who was standing next to him, was also relieved to hear that it didn’t seem to be too serious.
“But still, you were pretty cool back there, Ryuichi-kun.”
“…Ah~.”
In truth, he hadn’t actually thought about carrying Shizuna princess-style. He knew he couldn’t have her forcing herself, but the instant he saw her staring at the goal, trying to endure the pain, his body spontaneously leapt into action.
“I only pray that Shizuna-chan’s leg heals without problems, but I certainly do have a longing to be treated like that someday too.”
“Totally. Well, I’d actually prefer fucking like rabbits than romantic novelties like that, though.”
Chisa’s words shocked the students on the health committee. From there, Ryuichi waited on Shizuna, and the sports festival came to an end after the rest of the events played out.
In the end, Ryuichi’s team won first place, and there was talk of having a party after the festival.
“Wanna come with, Shishido?”
“Nah, I won’t go. Sorry.”
Ryuichi said this while looking at Shizuna’s leg, and the male student who spoke to him readily relented and nodded in understanding. After he wished Shizuna a quick recovery, he asked her this question somewhat embarrassedly
“By the way, Rindo-san.”
“Yes?”
“Does it really make you happy to have your boyfriend carry you like that?”
“It makes me really happy. I feel like I’m falling more and more for Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
“Oh… Gah, strong men really are popular with the ladies, huh.”
Not really, that’s just a special case, Ryuichi thought as he gave a wry smile.
Chisa and Satsuki would be getting together at Shizuna’s house again today, as they were going to have another evening party to celebrate Ryuichi and Shizuna’s hard work at the sports festival. It seemed they would be coming after they did some preparations, so Ryuichi and Shizuna went home first in the car Sakie was driving.
“Wait a sec.”
Ryuichi was the first to get out of the car once they arrived home. He went around to Shizuna’s side and took her hand, holding her up in his arms again.
“Geez, you really didn’t have to.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m doing this because you, a wonderful girl, are now my girlfriend.”
“…It feels like I’m getting more and more corrupted with every word you say.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re already corrupted, you know?”
Sakie launched a direct attack at her with that calm retort.
Even though it was only a sprained ankle, if it got worse, it would be painful for her to even move her leg. Therefore, it would be best for her to rest for today and pray that her injury didn’t get any worse.
“Then I guess I’ll fawn on you more than usual today, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Perfect. So, what do you want me to do?”
Ryuichi replied as such to her as she sat on the sofa. When Shizuna heard him ask her what she wanted him to do, she gave him a heated look, and her eyes grew intoxicated for some reason.
“…What’s wrong?”
“If you ask women what you want them to have you do from up there like that, you’re going to make them tingle, you dummy.”
“…So it’s my fault?”
“Yes. Of course it’s your fault, since you, a wonderful man, have become my boyfriend now, Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
Those words were like a kind of payback for what he had said earlier. Later, Chisa and Satsuki joined them as promised, and the evening turned into a lively one.
This was Ryuichi’s first time seriously participating in a sports festival, and it would remain etched in his memory forever with wonderful memories.