sweets ✧ r.kaji ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

33: strategy meeting

the air crackled with a tension that spread through everyone's nerves like the plague. the representatives of each class from the first to the third years were gathered up in mizuki's strategy meeting room—which was just an unused classroom available. the lights were turned off to allow the projector to clearly be shown on the white pull-down screen.

all the four kings and their advisers were present as well.

"the battle will commence nine days from today. right at 00:00," mizuki announced, voice dripping with a practiced formality. "their goal, as written on the letter...is to annihilate bofurin. once they've accomplished that, they're going to return the town to how it once was."

"how it once was"—a euphemism that basically meant that they wanted to return it to the turmoil it survived a few years ago. the time when no one could step out of their homes without the worry of having your items stolen, getting kidnapped by gangs, or being caught up in fights. you weren't there during the time, but umemiya's casual stories about it already told you enough; it was an age no one wanted to go back to.

"they did not indicate any details about where they're going to attack, and therefore, we do not know where they'll be coming from. we'll need to create a line of defense across the whole town," mizuki continued, "thus, for us...this will become a large-scale defensive battle to protect the town."

the words were striking. you heard some of the first years stirring and watched mizuki reprimand them with kusumi, enomoto, and kaji in a way that almost made you laugh. when he started talking, you cleared your throat and wiped the smile off of your face.

"next...during the three days after we received the letter of the challenge, we've come up with a plan based on our numbers and forces. here, i'll announce where everyone will be stationed."

everyone seemed to sit straighter and listen properly to his speech. it was the most important part of their plan after all; knowing where you'll be stationed was essential.

mizuki continued, "the area beyond the tracks belongs to shishitoren and will be excluded. hence, we only need to protect three main locations. the forest park...the river...and the main road. the forest park is big, and its roads are narrow. so teams zojo and komoku will be stationed there." the respective teams nodded in acknowledgement. "the main road gives us great visibility, but it extends down the town. so...team jikoku, with their excellent ability to adapt and work together will be stationed there."

you nudged kusumi, who was beside you, lightly. "mizuki-shi's done his research, huh? he's even got momo-senpai and tsubaki-nii's teams' fighting styles covered."

he nodded in response with a smile.

"lastly, there are three bridges across the river. it's narrow, and it'll keep our men separated. so, i want strong individual fighters there. and that means the tamon team will defend the river," mizuki declared.

you glanced around at your team, and saw that the first and third years looked serious. compared to kaji's cool expression...ugh, stop thinking about him!! you shook your head. how come your mind always found a way to relate everything to that boy?

"th-that means...we'll split the team into three groups, and each bridge will have one class-worth of people protecting it," nirei clarified, making you direct your attention back at the discussion.

"correct," came mizuki's answer.

"b-but...this means...since we don't know where they'll be attacking from, i understand why you want us defending all possible directions...but if they only focus on one of these locations and attack there, they'll b-break through our defenses really fast and end up destroying the town," nirei said. his voice was shaky, but his words were well thought of.