I am not familiar with the world of cavalry battle rules, so I don’t know if this is orthodox, but the cavalry battle at Aotaka High School follows these rules:

• 『If the rider’s hat is removed, the cavalry is out.』
• 『Once the last cavalry is eliminated, the ranking of that team is decided.』

In other words, there are no “defeat points” like in other games, and the goal is simply to stay in the battle until the end.

However, if you just keep running away, your allies will gradually decrease in number, and you’ll eventually be surrounded by enemies. Whether to attack or escape… tactics will vary depending on the team.

“Natsuki, what should we do? I’m fine with attacking,” Hiura, who leads our cavalry, asks me.

The cavalry leader is essentially the brain of the team. They need to instantly sense the movements of the enemy and quickly relay that information to the two cavalry behind. In that regard, Hiura, with his unparalleled athletic ability in our group, is more than qualified for the role.

To be honest, it’s a much more important role than mine as the rider, and Hiura holds the fate of our cavalry in his hands.

“…No, let’s keep moving around the outer circle for a while and observe. I think our group will have the highest chance of winning if we’re the last ones remaining. We’ll attack when there are fewer teams left.”

Hiura’s presence is a big asset. If we were to take the initiative now, we could probably eliminate a few cavalry teams. However, in the chaotic battle where most teams are still intact, there’s a risk of being ambushed from behind. I want to avoid that.

“There are quite a few aggressive cavalry teams, so I think we can stay out of combat until around fifteen teams are left. Let’s attack after that.”

“Yeah, it’s better to stand out at the end. Well then, let’s stay out of the way for a while.”

As Hiura changes direction, the two behind us follow suit.

“Let’s stay near the corner by the school building. It seems like there’s a lot of combat near the spectator space for some reason.”

Maybe the intense desire of the Aotaka students to impress the Suzakura students is why the battles are happening closer to the spectator area.

The Suzakura students watching must be having a blast. They’re seeing the boys clash with intense force right before their eyes.

In less than three minutes, the 40 cavalrymen were reduced to 11.

Group 1: 3 cavalry Group 2: 3 cavalry Group 3: 4 cavalry Group 4: 1 cavalry

These are the remaining numbers.

Group 4 looks like they are a prime target, but they’ve adopted an ace strategy, concentrating their strongest athletes into one cavalry. The rider, Sato, is the captain of the basketball team, and the other three riders—Tanaka from judo, Asakura from soccer, and Nakamura from track—are all top athletes recognized at school assemblies. They are undoubtedly the top contenders for victory in the cavalry battle.

“Wow, Group 4 is still going strong. I was hoping they’d be eliminated, though,” Hiura, from the track team, mutters with disappointment. As an athlete, he must have felt the strength of their cavalry more deeply than I did.

“It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped. We’ve conserved our strength well so far, so maybe we can still win.”

“Yeah. Look at Sato, he’s got about ten hats stuck to his hands. He’s probably getting tired.”

That was exactly my plan. The only way we could possibly defeat that super cavalry was by exploiting their exhaustion.

Cavalry riding itself is physically demanding, and being caught up in a fight only adds to the burden. Even though they’re top athletes, their arms, legs, and back must be reaching their limits by now.

On the other hand, we’ve been minimizing our movements to conserve energy. The others still seem capable of fighting.

“Natsuki, did you plan this? You’re pretty clever.”

“Recently, my part-time job’s been really busy. I’ve had to think and act quickly to keep things going. I guess that helped me develop some flexible thinking.”

The restaurant Cyberia had completely changed before and after Tachibana-san came. The manager’s even increased the hourly wage by 30 yen because of the overwhelming business.

“So, ‘Prince of Suzakura’ is drawing all the girls in, huh? If I didn’t have club activities, I would’ve worked there too.”

“Sounds like heaven,” mutters Hiura.

“Well, not really. The customers are really just after Tachibana-san.”

Even if Suzakura students are there, I probably won’t be noticed. The truth is, they probably don’t even realize I’m a server at Cyberia.

“I see… then I’ll have to take down Nakamura and show off.”

Hiura starts walking.

Our battle is about to begin.