Trinity’s Jet Ski Club, first-year student, Ajitani Hifumi.

“Pfew, huff. Hoo… I somehow made it this far…”

Hifumi was the kind of person who never missed mentioning the word “ordinary” when introducing herself.

Living an ordinary life, going through an ordinary school life, and planning to graduate ordinarily, Hifumi found herself, thanks to yesterday’s opening game, about to break out of that ordinariness right here and now.

Of course, plans are just plans, and they don’t always go as one wishes depending on the circumstances. But at least Hifumi herself was aware that this venture was quite far from a normal life.

I wonder if Misono Mika knows.

The girl Hifumi had secretly signed up for the jet ski event, understanding how much Mika longed for victory, was diligently practicing in the spare time left over from her other activities.

…She did take a slight hit on her grades for this, but her scores weren’t exceptional; she was hanging just around average. A little drop in performance was something she could easily recover after the festival, so Hifumi thought it would be fine.

In other words, she’d decided to look away.

[Final of the Individual Jet Ski Event. Presenting the final four.]

The names and associated academies were called out one by one.

Gehenna Academy first-year Natsume Iroha, second-year Wanibuchi Akari.

Trinity General Academy first-year Jomae Saori, Ajitani Hifumi.

Upon seeing those familiar faces and names, Hifumi found herself feeling a little intimidated.

They were all no pushovers. Especially those two from Gehenna, who had toppled Azusa in the previous round, were definitely a cause for concern.

Thus far, the Gehenna students had been living in their own little worlds, showing no cohesion whatsoever, but these two were different.

Initially, Iroha came in with the mindset to win, but a bit half-heartedly, while Akari had already secured a medal as one of the terms in her deal with the student council president, preoccupying her mind more with food contests than the race.

Their unexpected synergy bore fruit, and they successfully outperformed Azusa, showcasing a distinctly Gehenna-style approach.

[In this match, both Trinity and Gehenna have sent two players from each academy, almost resembling a team battle. Unlike other Gehenna representatives, who were focused on individual play, these two displayed quite a bit of coordination. We could expect a different dynamic compared to the finals of the two-person jet ski event held on the first day.]

This match was still an individual event, but looking at the overall results, the academy’s medal count shaped the outcome. In a situation like this, it would naturally lean towards a team setting, but if other students advanced to the finals, the maximum potential of Gehenna’s disunity would be fully displayed.

[That seems to be an issue we’ll have to wait and see about…]

[…What part were you referring to, Senior Administrator Amau?]

Today’s commentary was managed by the Justice Realization Department’s Vice President Hanekawa Hasumi and the Senior Administrator of the Student Council, Amau Aco.

Unlike the first day, where the passionate Student Council President was absent, they had to commentate actively, unlike Mika and Makoto, who could relax and watch the game.

[In the previous opening event, players Ajitani Hifumi and Natsume Iroha filled the roles of drivers for the hosts’ boats. The competitive spirit of Hina, without giving an inch, was truly impressive——Ahem.]

[…Indeed, the splendid display put on by Mika during the opening event was——Wait a moment. That’s not the topic we were discussing, is it?]

[Anyway, towards the end of the opening event, due to the competitive drive of the two drivers, both boats capsized at the same time, leaving the winner undetermined. However, both drivers are now here, representing their academies.]

Aco continued speaking from the commentary booth, calmly until he suddenly shot a sharp glance toward Akari.

[From my analysis, Natsume Iroha’s ability to work with that delinquent from the disreputable club comes from her lack of seriousness in the past events. With a competitor previously unable to settle the score, that raccoon will surely bring her A-game to this final. This suggests that this match is likely to take on a 1v1v2 structure, or even a complete individual battle, Hanekawa Vice President.]

[Delinquent club’s troublemaker… raccoon…?]

[…I’m not sure what you mean. It’s not really important, so please don’t worry about it.]

With a refreshing smile, Aco applied some unspoken pressure. Hasumi, having received the direct hit, nodded with a sullen expression.

Meanwhile, Hifumi, seated on her jet ski with a highly tense face, held onto the handlebars tightly. To ease her nerves, she muttered soft words to herself.

“Awooo… I can do this. I can do this…!”

She had to maintain her composure to start perfectly on cue.

Start. More than anything, the start is crucial. If she lost her lead at the beginning, navigating through the rest would be too tricky.

If they blocked her path, even if she crashed out of frustration, both would retire. The one who was slightly ahead would score higher. This meant that taking the lead right from the front was always advantageous.

Thus, the course for the individual jet ski competition was exceptionally complex. Results based on the positions given on a straight course were practically impossible.

“Don’t be so tense over this simple task, Hifumi. We’ll take both the gold and silver medals. I’d love to hand over our second gold medal to Mika myself, but I think the odds are more in your favor.”

“Y-Yes?! Oh, I appreciate the faith, but… being compared to someone as amazing as Saori makes me feel a bit pressured…”

“Heh. No need to be that humble. I’ve firmly decided to support you with everything I’ve got.”

“Ahahaha…”

Hifumi let out an awkward laugh and soon realized her tension had completely melted away. Saori’s words were surprisingly helpful.

[At last, it seems like the athletes have finished preparations. The individual jet ski finals, representing the pride of both academies, are finally set to begin. Well, we’ll win without even needing to watch.]

[…Senior Administrator Amau, are you openly biasing the commentary now?]

[Biasing? I’m simply stating the facts…]

As the commentary booth’s banter continued, the race was just moments away from starting.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Hifumi concentrated fully on the starting signal, gripping the handlebars tightly.

Vrooom——

With a loud noise, four jet skis sliced through the water.

[The match has started. Leading off is Trinity’s Jomae Saori. A disappointment for Senior Administrator Amau, who predicted a Gehenna victory—Wait? What was that?]

While Hasumi looked surprised, Aco wore a smile that seemed refreshing.

[…Heh. Jomae Saori has been disqualified for a false start. Really unfortunate.]

The anticipated 2-to-1 match-up in the finals instantly shifted to a personal medal-color deciding battle.

“Waa—!”

Also, Mika, who had just finished her duties and arrived at the venue, felt as if lightning struck from a clear sky upon hearing this news, standing in shock.

*

Thanks to Seiya’s arrival, T-party duties didn’t take long to finish.

Azusa and Saori had certainly been entered into the individual jet ski category, so I quickly wrapped up my tasks, imagining them in the finals snagging two medals. I thought to myself that if these two brought home that many medals, I could die a happy person.

Yet, when I checked post-work while riding the transport helicopter to the festival, Azusa didn’t make it to the finals and had been eliminated.

I had been on edge, thinking that because of Azusa’s exit, there was a red flag popping up, but when I looked at the confirmed list of finalists, I let out a sigh of relief.

To my astonishment, the best driver from Trinity had secretly signed up and reached the finals without me knowing.

Moreover, seeing Saori’s name right beside hers made me feel, “Ah, we definitely have two medals coming.” I felt so much better.

Yet, why was it, upon arriving on-site, that the word of Saori’s disqualification reached my ears?

I knew the machine to detect false starts was installed. However, the start signal was entirely unpredictable, ringing randomly within about three seconds. I couldn’t understand how a false start occurred.

Above all, while I was heavily involved in the overall organization of the event, the detailed rules of each event were more in the hands of the academy officials. If I had been involved, I would’ve wanted some lap penalties for false starts instead of an immediate disqualification.

[They detected an absurd speed of 0.0043 seconds from Jomae Saori. Considering the various requirements, it seems it was more likely a mistake than an intentional false start…]

“Yeah, she probably just messed up.”

Anyone can make a mistake. Our Saori, who looks like the poster child for perfection, is not exempt.

No matter how strong she appears, she’s still just a 16-year-old student.

[Mika…?]

“Ahem. According to today’s schedule, you weren’t supposed to participate in the competition commentary, so why are you here…?”

“It’s been a while, Mika… Well, I was wondering why you were here too.”

“It’s been ages since I saw you. How have you been, Aco-chan? Hanekawa-chan looks healthy too, which is great. Thanks for your hard work! By the way, the reason I came here…”

As Aco quickly shut off the mic upon noticing Mika’s intrusion, he shot a question at me. Hasumi followed up with a similar question. It was an obvious inquiry.

“Ahaha, it’s simple really. I wanted to see how our kids would perform. So, I finished up the tedious paperwork as quickly as possible! I had no idea I’d be greeted with such shocking news upon arrival.”

After replying to both, I asked an attendant to bring me a chair. Having come this far, I decided to watch the finals from here.

I nonchalantly reached for the mic sitting next to Aco and leaned my face toward him. Aco, panicked and aware of the live mic, tapped my arm, bewildered about my actions.

Why was I leaning toward Aco instead of Hasumi? Simply because this was closer. A perfectly average reason.

[Saori-chan, it’s okay! No need to feel down. You’ve done well so far, so just leave the rest to Hifumi-chan!]

Once I said that, I felt a tinge of regret as if I wanted to say a bit more.

[Trinity fighting! Hifumi-chan fighting——!!!]

So I shouted loudly enough to shake the stadium with my supportive message.

To ensure Saori wouldn’t blame herself. And to empower my proud junior.