It must have been both long and just an instant. Right now, I’m standing on the white line, waiting for the baton to arrive.

“Hey, your name’s Natsuki, right?”

My heart was pounding loudly in my chest. Sato’s voice barely made it through the gaps between my racing heartbeat.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I heard something—Suzakura’s students coming was thanks to you, right?”

Sato didn’t seem nervous at all. At the point where the baton was handed to the fourth runners, Class 4 had a slight lead. Maybe that gave him confidence. Or maybe, as a member of the Going-Home Club, I wasn’t even on his radar.

“I guess. Maybe.”

My brain didn’t have enough oxygen to carefully pick my words. I just responded bluntly.

“For real? Man, I’m seriously grateful. Like, actually, thanks a ton.”

Sato playfully patted my shoulder. I didn’t even have the energy to react. The baton would reach me in just half a lap. My eyes had been locked onto the fourth runners the entire time.

“Thanks to you, I get to show off my cool side to the Suzakura girls. No way I don’t get a girlfriend after this!”

Sato gave a little shiver. Maybe he was getting too excited thinking about his bright future.

“You never know. Look, they’re neck and neck now.”

Takamachi, the fourth runner for Class 1, was running with fierce determination. As they rounded the final corner, he finally caught up to Class 4’s back.

“Whoa, Ryosuke’s getting caught up to… Well, whatever. You’re in the Going-Home Club, right? Sorry, but no way I’m losing to someone like you. I’m the fastest second-year in the basketball club.”

Maybe that was supposed to be his declaration of victory. Sato said it as if it were a fact, rolled his neck once, and got into position. Class 4, slightly ahead, was running on the inside lane.

“NATSUKIIIIIIII! I’M COUNTING ON YOUUUUUUUU!!!”

Takamachi shouted as he dashed toward me, stretching out the baton.

The soles of my feet were burning. My blood felt like it was boiling.

A hard sensation in my palm. A jolt of electricity ran through my body. It felt like everyone’s hopes had been passed onto me.

『Alright—this is it, whether they laugh or cry, the anchor leg has begun!』

◆

I couldn’t understand what was happening. I felt like I was floating in a dream.

Even in this hazy state, my body kept desperately pounding against the hard ground.

“────,──────,────!!!”

“─────────,────!!!”

Shouts erupted from all directions, slamming into my body like shockwaves. My brain couldn’t process what anyone was saying.

Half of the track remained. The only thing I knew for sure was—there was a back in front of me.

I was about a meter behind. No matter how hard I pushed my legs, the gap wouldn’t close. My lungs felt like they were going to burst out of my mouth from the pain. Why won’t the gap close?!

“─────────,────!!!”

Frustrating.

Frustrating, frustrating, frustrating, frustrating!

I had never felt so pathetic in my life. My mind wasn’t working, but that feeling alone burned deeply into my heart. If I lost here, I felt like I’d never be able to lift my head again.

But the gap wouldn’t close.

“────,─────,────!!!”

I reached the third corner. My vision swayed like it was melting. I might die. That’s fine. Just let me win. I don’t need anything else, just make me faster right now.

Please, I’m begging you, God.

“────Natsuki!”

A voice rang out.

My gaze instinctively turned toward the sound. A male student from Aotaka High School was standing at the final corner.

…No, that couldn’t be right. The Aotaka students were all supposed to be wearing their jerseys. There shouldn’t be anyone in uniform. Who was that?

—Who was that dazzling guy cheering me on with everything he had?

“Natsuki, just a little more! You’ve got this!”

—Of course, it’s Tachibana Iori.

“UOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Something inside me exploded. The pain vanished like it was never there. My body felt so light, as if I’d grown wings.

…Before I realized it, I was sprinting down the final stretch. An overwhelming euphoria wrapped around me. Maybe this is what it feels like when you surpass your limits.

Sato’s back was right in front of me now. So was the finish line.

I didn’t know if I could overtake him.

I just let my body explode forward with everything I had.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

—It might have been an incredibly ungraceful way to finish the grand event of the Aotaka Festival.

“Hah, hahh, hahh… Hah, hah, hah…”

I collapsed onto the ground, rolling as I crossed the finish line. I couldn’t tell up from down, left from right. The sky looked completely white, as if my brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen. My vision spun wildly.

Had I won? Had I lost? I had no idea.

But there was one thing I knew—I didn’t see a back in front of me anymore.

I really, really hoped I had won.

“Hah… hahh… hah…”

I could barely feel anything except the warmth of the sun on my skin and the coolness of the ground against my back. It felt surprisingly nice.

Suddenly, my vision went dark. Did it turn into night all of a sudden? That couldn’t be. Someone must be standing over me, blocking the sunlight. That much, I could tell.

“…………”

I barely managed to open my eyes.

There stood—a prince, shining brighter than the sun.

“…You were amazing, Natsuki.”

The prince offered me her hand, smiling like a true maiden.