Hell Marathon

Although there had been some strange scuffles, the male students participating in the “Hell Marathon” were tied together at fixed intervals with a single rope.

As I muttered to myself, “This is just like prisoners,” Nickbacca-san stood right beside me with the rope tied on, legs planted wide.

The moment our eyes met, he immediately picked a fight.

“Nikukukuku! You’ve got that ‘The teacher’s joining too!?’ look on your face, celebrity boy!”

“No, not really.”

I was telling the truth, but that seemed to rub him the wrong way.

Nickbacca-san leaned his face in close and growled in a low voice.

“You really made a fool of me in P.E. the other day…! I went easy on you back then, so don’t get full of yourself…! I’m good not just at fighting, but at endurance running too…! Think you can keep up with a military-trained marathon, huh…!?”

“Well, I’ll do my best.”

“You can act relaxed now, but only for the moment!”

Nickbacca-san raised his head and shouted to the students filling the schoolyard.

“Very well! We begin the ‘Hell Marathon’! This ‘Hell Marathon’ has no course! Leave the school grounds and keep running north, north, until the very last runner gives up! All non-participants are free to do as they please! And runners! Are you done warming up!? Line up at the start line!”

We lined up before the white line drawn in the middle of the schoolyard, with Nickbacca-san at the center.

“After my signal, put in your earplugs while running! Here we go! ‘Hell Marathon,’ start!”

Before the declaration even finished, Nickbacca-san burst forward with heavy, pounding steps.

I followed after him and put in my earplugs.

Just before all sound was cut off, jeers flew my way.

“Man, that trash is seriously done for this time…!”

“Yeah, all the selected guys were track club back in middle school, right!?”

“Run at their pace and he’ll be worn out in no time and dragged along!”

“So he’ll end up tattered like garbage! This is gonna be fun! Gyahaha!”

My eardrums were nearly polluted by crude laughter, but they were cleansed by bright cheers.

“Please do your best, Leo-kun!”

“We pray for your valiant effort, Master!”

I waved back at the two of them, then remembered something and finished my preparations.

I activated Jack-of-All-Trades’ Dexterous Job Change skill and switched to a job that seemed good at running.

Then I activated Dexterous Body, securing the stats needed for a marathon.

For now, having Endurance and Agility at 1000 each should be enough.

Before I knew it, the lead group had already left the academy grounds, and I was in last place.

Ahead of me were men pulling hard at the rope, just like sled dogs dragging me along.

Every so often, someone would glance back and shoot me a glare full of hostility, as if to say, “Just you wait…!”

“Hey now, isn’t it dangerous to go that hard from the start?”

Leopin threw out those words, but with everyone wearing earplugs, there was no way his voice reached anyone.

The students in the lead group muttered resentful complaints, turning them into fuel for running.

“Damn that trash…! He won’t be acting so relaxed for long…!”

“To think he’d treat Lady Monaka and Lady Kotone like assistants…!”

“How enviable—no, unforgivable…!”

“In that case, we’ll drag that worthless loser around early on…!”

“And show Lady Monaka and Lady Kotone just how broken he looks…!”

“Then they’ll surely lose interest in him…!”

“Just you watch, trash…! Running’s the one thing I’m good at…!”

Leopin wasn’t especially good at marathons, but the other participants had been selected for a reason—every one of them was fast.

Thanks to that, the Hell Marathon started at a blistering pace.

United in their goal to bring Leopin down, they kept sprinting at nearly full power.

But even after about ten kilometers across the grasslands, when they looked back, Leopin still looked calm.

“Tch…!”

They growled and pushed the pace even higher.

Yet after twenty kilometers, thirty kilometers, even forty kilometers…

Leopin followed along steadily, without a single drop of sweat or change in expression.

The male students, on the other hand, were drenched in sweat, every face twisted in agony.

“Huff, huff…! W-we’ve already run forty kilometers!?”

“So why does he still look fine…!?”

“I-is that guy a monster!?”

Nickbacca, running at the front, glanced back with sweat spraying off him.

“N-niku! No, he’s just putting on a brave face! He’s gotta be suffering too!”

Even though they were supposed to be wearing earplugs, they were conversing normally.

The reason was probably obvious by now.

“N-niku! Everyone, hang in there! There’s that thing waiting at the fifty-kilometer mark! We’ll be in heaven, and he’ll be headed for hell…!”

And so the Hell Marathon reached the fifty-kilometer point.

There stood a tent with a sign reading “Rest Area.”

Inside, the vice principal in an apron waved energetically and shouted.

“Good work-zansu! You should rest here-zansu!”

The lead group dove into the shaded tent and collapsed in a heap.

The vice principal snipped the rope connecting them to Leopin with the scissors in his hand.

Leopin, arriving last, tried to step inside to catch his breath, but the vice principal blocked his way.

Since the vice principal seemed to be saying something, Leopin removed his earplugs to listen.

“Leopin-kun is forbidden to enter here-zansu! Look, it’s clearly written-zansu!”

What the vice principal pointed to was the “Rest Area” sign.

In small letters at the bottom, it read, “Students of the Special Training Class may not use this.”

“Shoo, shoo, go over there-zansu! You’re disturbing the rest of our excellent students-zansu!

It’ll be a good lesson for a dropout to suffer alone under the blazing sun-zansu!”

The vice principal waved Leopin away.

Behind him, the students lounged with fans and cups of water, speaking with heavy sarcasm.

“Ahhh, this is the best! It’s like heaven in here!”

“Compared to this, outside is totally hell!”

“Aww, too bad you can’t come somewhere this nice!”

“Well, what can you do? You’re a dropout!”

“That trash is gonna burn up under that sun! Gyahahahahaha!”

…Dodobodobodo…

Suddenly, the sound of something approaching came from behind.

When Leopin turned around, it was a carriage.

On the driver’s seat sat Domanna-san, cracking the reins and shouting, “Hyah!”

She charged right up in front of Leopin.

“Do-doooon! Sorry to keep you waiting-aaaaaaaaa!”

…Zushyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The carriage slid sideways and came to a stop right next to him.

On the large sign mounted to the side of the carriage were these bold words.

“Special Training Class — Exclusive Rest Area”

“W-wh-wh-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?!?”