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Chapter 130 Part 1

Quiz Championship (3) ~In the Sun and Dust~

The second round was a knockout tournament in which the 136 groups were divided into 12 groups, with the number of groups from both schools set to be as close as possible.

The track was separated into the first and second halves, and six circles with a radius of about 5m were arranged along the track lines at a moderate distance from each other.

The contestants sat outside the white lines of each circle.

A desk and a small speaker were set up in the middle of the circle, and an executive committee member was holding a booklet with the questions written on it and a microphone.

On the outer side of the contestants, referees were keeping a close eye on them to make sure they were not violating any rules.

The executive committee member would read out the question, and when they figured out the answer, they had to dash over and press the answer button on the desk.

Then, they would get the right to answer the question, and after whispering their answer to the executive committee member, if they got it right, they would receive a bean bag like the ones used in tama-ire (ball tossing game).

Once they got three bean bags, they could go to the person in charge in the middle of the track and hand them over to advance to the third round, so they explained.

The first 25 groups to hand over their bean bags in each half would advance to the third round, for a total of 50 groups. It was a tough competition, where nearly two-thirds of the remaining contestants would be eliminated.

Yuu’s group was among the groups in the first half, so he went to the circle they were assigned to and sat down with Masaya.

There were 11 groups competing there.

Except for Yuu and Masaya’s group, they were all girls.

There were no first-year students that he was familiar with, but there was a group of second-year students that he recognized, as they had called out to him outside before. There was also a group of young teachers in charge of girls’ classes at Sairyou mixed in with them.

As Yuu and Masaya were the only boys’ group, they were attracting an unusual amount of attention.

Until just a moment ago, there had been a lot of cheering for both schools from outside the track.

Yuu and Masaya in particular were receiving not only cheers from the boys but also high-pitched cheers from the girls, and they both waved back at them shyly.

However, when the announcement from headquarters began, the place quieted down in an instant.

『Any groups that don’t get the right to answer after the start must return to the outside of the white line. If the referee declares that the answer is incorrect, the chance to answer will be given to another group, so please compete for the right to answer again. From here on, whenever I give the signal, the executive committee members will read out the question. You can answer even if you don’t listen to it until the end, but I believe it would be easier to get the right answer if you listen to it carefully. Now then, let’s begin.』

*Fweet* As the whistle rang, the executive committee member in front of Yuu read out the question.

『The first Prime Minister of Japan was…』

Several groups were about to rush out at that point, but it seemed that they stopped themselves.

At the same time, Yuu almost clicked his tongue.

History itself was his forte, but with the large outbreak of the Red Death, the history after the modern era was pretty different from the history he was familiar with, so he had no complete confidence in the names of the historical figures.

The question continued to be read out.

『Tokugawa Sadako, but the third one was….』

As he got tapped on the shoulder, Yuu and Masaya rushed out.

Now that it had come to this, he had no choice but to rely on Masaya’s knowledge.

However, the first to reach the button and press it was a group wearing Sairei’s gym uniforms.

They dashed out the moment 『third』 was mentioned, so it seemed their boldness paid off.

When one of them answered in the ear of the executive committee member, she quickly raised the red flag she was holding.

「Correct!」

This was for tallying up the points, and if a group from Sairyou got it right, the white flag would be raised.

「They beat us to it…」

「If you don’t read it carefully enough, you’ll get it wrong, but if you’re too careful, the other groups will beat you to it. It’s hard to grasp the question.」

『Next is the second question. Given how ever-changing they are, there is this phrase, autumn weather is as fickle as man’s heart, but…』

In this world, it seemed that the phrase referred to men, not women.

Perhaps this, too, was because in this world, multiple women were desperately trying to win the hearts of a single man.

『With the clouds that are often seen in autumn…』

At that point, some groups dashed out, but as expected, they were in the minority, and Yuu’s group was still listening.

『The weather changes…』

At that point, Yuu and Masaya broke into a dash.

But this time, the first to reach the button and press it was a group from Sairyou, wearing their uniforms.

However, the executive committee member declared that their answer was incorrect.

At that point, Yuu and Masaya, who had returned to the white line, made a mad dash.

This time, they were able to press the button first.

When Masaya asked Yuu if he was confident in his answer, he nodded.

It was half a gamble.

「Y, your answer please.」

As Yuu approached her, the female student serving as the executive committee member could not hide her nervousness.

Wearing a green-trimmed gym uniform, she was a second-year student at Sairyou.

She was a little shorter than Yuu. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, so her tiny ears were exposed.

Yuu put his mouth close to the executive committee member’s ear.

「Cirrocumulus clouds.」

「… Ahn!」

Since he had rushed over, his breath must have hit the inner side of her ear.

She shivered a little.

However, after looking at the booklet to make sure, she raised the white flag.

「C… Correct!」

「Yes!」

When he was reviewing his middle school materials at home, he saw and read it in the science textbooks and reference books, and it still remained in his memory.

With a smack, he gave Masaya a high-five to express his joy.

Eight questions after, the Sairei group that got the first question right became the first group to advance to the next round

On the tenth question, Yuu’s group was one step away from passing with two correct answers, but after three more questions, they saw off another group that advanced to the next round.

「It’s getting bad.」

「Yeah, we’re only one question away, but it’s so far away.」

They could see that about 10 groups had already gathered in the center of the track.

At present, the groups that were one step away from passing were Yuu’s and one other group.

No matter what, he wanted to advance to the next round.

On the fifteenth question, they got the right to answer but it was incorrect, and the Sairyou’s teacher group, who was able to get the correct answer for the first time, was overjoyed.

At these kinds of events, it seemed that it was easy to forget your position as a teacher, and they bounced around like children despite their age.

Yuu could only stare at the swaying breasts of the female teachers, who were dressed in T-shirts.

『The sixteenth question. Huh…? W, who was it, that came up with such a question…?』

The executive committee member expressed slight surprise as she looked at the booklet.

「Read it out quickly!」

A voice called out.

The other groups were advancing to the next round one after another, so they were getting impatient.

『Y, yes. Well then… I’ll read it. The bone that is around this area is called the tailbone, but…』

The executive committee member pointed with her hand to the top of her buttocks, which were covered by her bloomers.

Next, she spread her legs about shoulder-width apart and pointed to her crotch, saying, 『Right here』.

At that point, Yuu made a dash.

Two other groups followed behind, but Yuu reached the button first.

The executive committee member, red in the face, looked at Yuu, who had pressed the button, with upturned eyes.

It was as if she was waiting for a confession from a boy.

Approaching her from the front, Yuu put his right hand on the hand of the executive committee member that was still placed between her legs, and brought his face closer.

As she instinctively closed her eyes, he brought his mouth to her ear and whispered.

「That’s… pu-bic-bone!」

「Ahn.」

「Oops!」

As Yuu’s breath hit her, she nearly gave way at the knees, so he held her up by her sides.

「Is it correct?」

「Yesh, it… it’s… correct.」

The executive committee member somehow managed to raise the white flag and handed Yuu a bean bag with her other hand.

「D, do your best on the next round, too, Hirose-kun.」

「Yeah… Yes, thank you. And thank you for all your hard work.」

As she handed him the bean bag, she cheered him on in a low voice so the others couldn’t hear, and the moment he saw her smiling face, Yuu was captivated and thought; So cute!

It was to such an extent that it made him reluctant to part with her just like that, and even though it was just for a brief moment, he started to conjure up words after words.