～Third Defeat～ Farewell Season
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, I found myself at the Toyohashi City Athletics Stadium with Yana and Yanami, near our residence.
The one-on-one 100-meter sprint, marking the third defeat in the last weekend of March between Yakishio and me, had been settled. We were here for special training.
As my body exerted itself in a full-speed sprint over 100 meters and crossed the finish line, Yanami pushed the button on the stopwatch.
"... How many seconds was that?"
I inquired, steadying my trembling knees.
I thought I had run relatively well just now. Perhaps I could aim for a time in the 14-second range.
"Let me check. It was 16.5 seconds."
What?! I was taken aback. Looking at the stopwatch, the LCD display indeed showed 16.5 seconds.
If anything, it was even slower. Yanami sighed in amazement.
"Nukumizu-kun, are you satisfied with this? You only have three weeks."
"But I have a handicap. I just need to aim for the average time of the Tsuwabuki first-year boys, and the difference between Yakishio's best time becomes my handicap."
"So, how will you compete on the day?"
"Well, I'll start, and after 2.5 seconds, Yakishio will start. The one who reaches the goal first wins."
Yanami nodded in understanding.
"Now, Nukumizu-kun, what's your target time?"
"Well, it's the average of Tsuwabuki first-years, so... 14.5 seconds."
Yanami raised an eyebrow.
"What was Nukumizu-kun's time earlier?"
"... 16.5 seconds."
"..."
Ahem. I coughed, attempting to cover it up.
"Nevertheless, the goal is clear. I'll shorten my time by 2 seconds, and Yakishio will update his best time. The one who gets closer to the goal wins."
Yanami shrugged and placed her hands on her hips.
"Hey, how did it even come to this competition? Nukumizu-kun, you're not that passionate a character, right?"
"I couldn't help it because of the flow. If I didn't say anything, he would have quit the literature club."
"Even so, isn't this time too slow? If Lemon-chan updates her best time, 2 seconds won't be enough to catch up."
"Yakishio, with someone like you, even shaving off 0.1 seconds is tough. I only have room for growth in a sense, so I have a chance of winning."
"Well then, let's help you grow. I'll measure one more time, so go back to the starting line."
Will running repeatedly make 100 meters faster? It's a question, but there's no one here who can answer it.
By the time it was revealed that Yanami had missed measuring the times after the third run, Komari, holding a large bag, appeared on the field, looking around nervously.
"Hey, Komari-chan, over here. Come on, wave your hand, Nukumizu-kun."
"I'm tired... oh, okay. Got it."
Komari, seeing us waving our hands, approached with quick steps.
"Komari-chan, did you bring what I asked for?"
