In the forest.

  “Hold!”

  As the scout at the front suddenly halted, the rest of the group stopped behind him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  A member in the middle called out at once.

  “There’s someone up ahead.”

  No sooner had the scout replied than the bushes up ahead rustled, and a boy strode carelessly into their field of vision.

  “Ah—”

  The boy seemed rather slow on the uptake, looking utterly “shocked” to find so many people before him.

  After a long moment, he finally “regained his senses” and let out an exaggerated shout.

  “Uh-oh! Run!”

  He then turned and fled at once.

  “That’s Klein from Ander’s team! Their camp must be nearby! After him!”

  The group of over a dozen reacted instantly, charging after Klein.

  “Stick to the plan we agreed on! Once we find their camp, don’t fight them head-on—all of us charge together and seize the flag! No matter how strong they are, they can’t hold off all of us at once. If even one of us pulls the flag, we win!”

  As they gave chase, the temporary leader of the allied team reaffirmed their strategy.

  To ensure the plan went smoothly, their group could not spread out too far. However, this meant that with some members lacking stamina, keeping up with Klein grew difficult.

  Yet they never lost sight of him—for one simple reason……

  “Help——!”

  “Cheaters! You’re cheating! I’m reporting you——!”

  “Wait, I take it back! Don’t chase me——!”

  Klein ran while yelling at the top of his lungs in an excessively dramatic fashion.

  With a voice that loud, losing him was simply impossible……

  Listening to Klein’s over-the-top cries, the temporary leader of the allied team frowned, sensing something was amiss.

  But before he could dwell on what that unease might be,

  Klein’s voice shifted ahead.

  “Help! Ander, save me! The enemy’s here!”

  At those words, the dozen-strong team instantly perked up and accelerated their pace.

  “……”

  Watching Klein’s absurdly hammy acting, Ander’s expression was utterly pained.

  I’m never letting him do this kind of job again……

  For all his internal grumbling, Ander quickly slipped into his role.

  “What!? Where are the enemies?!”

  “B-Behind me!”

  Klein skidded to a stop beside Ander, gasping for breath.

  For all his overacting, he was genuinely exhausted from running.

  “Behi—”

  Ander had just lifted his head to look where Klein had indicated when a flood of people burst into view.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “What!? You guys—you formed an alliance?!”

  Ander exclaimed in feigned shock.

  “Hahaha! It really is their camp!”

  The moment the temporary leader saw it was indeed Ander, the flicker of doubt he’d felt earlier vanished entirely.

  “Everyone, stick to the plan—charge!!”

  The word “charge” had barely left his lips when the entire group surged forward.

  “Come on! I won’t let you get past me!”

  Ander charged forward with a look of righteous anger—yet the group had no intention of fighting him at all. They simply ran straight past him.

  “Haha~! Who wants to brawl with you? Our target is the flag!”

  “What!?”

  Ander “panicked”.

  “Not so fast! Klein, move! Protect the flag!”

  “Huh? Ah—right, right! You won’t lay a finger on our flag!”

  Klein threw himself at the flag, attempting to shield it with his body—an act that only made the opposing team more determined to pull it free.

  Several members grabbed at Klein’s clothes, but he clung stubbornly to the flag beneath him.

  “You’ll have to step over my dead body to touch that flag!”

  “Well done, Klein! Hold him off! I’ll take them down right now!”

  Ander charged toward the flag.

  “Trust me! I won’t let them—”

  Klein had just let out a bold declaration when he suddenly felt his body lifting off the ground.

  “Huh?”

  Klein twisted his head to find several of the enemy lifting him up into the air……

  Then, one of them smiled and pulled the flag out of the ground right in front of Klein’s eyes.

  “No——!”

  Ander let out a dejected, defeated cry.

  Yet that wail of failure sounded like the greatest victory to their opponents.

  “Sorry, Ander. You’re just too strong, so we had to take the low road. Blame it on your own carelessness~!”

  Ander stood up, shooting them a heavy, grim look.

  “……I concede defeat.”

  “Klein, let’s go.”

  “Y-Yeah, okay.”

  Klein followed awkwardly. Even though they were only tricking the enemy, the scene had been thoroughly humiliating.

  Watching the pair admit defeat so straightforwardly, the allied team of over a dozen was stunned at first—but they quickly erupted into cheers.

  “We won! We beat Ander’s team!”

  “Let’s keep going! Wipe out everyone else—top rankings are all ours!”

  “Move out!”

  The group marched forward with triumphant swagger, a far cry from their cautious, tentative demeanor from moments before.

  In their eyes, the greatest threat had been eliminated, and the rest would be a clean sweep.

  ……

  The second they were out of the enemy’s sight, Klein burst out laughing.

  “Hahaha~! Those suckers fell for it hook, line, and sinker! They’re probably dreaming of total victory right now!”

  Ander smiled faintly. “Let’s go. Our mission is complete. Not sure how Hulim’s doing—we can head over and help if needed.”

  The two soon arrived at the rendezvous point.

  “Ah…… Ander! You guys are here!”

  Nia was already waiting for them.

  Klein was surprised to see the normally timid Nia had returned first.

  “Oh, Nia, you’re back early. Did you finish your task?”

  “Yes……”

  Nia nodded softly.

  “I’ve led several other teams to that area. They should have run into the allied group by now.”

  Ander thought for a moment and said:

  “In that case, we can launch our counterattack without worry. Let’s wait for Hulim to return before we move——”

  “I’m already back.”

  Whoosh!

  The three felt a gust of wind descend from the treetops, and a familiar figure appeared before them.

  “Whoa! That was stealthy, Hulim!”

  Klein marveled at her entrance.

  Ander asked: “Hulim, have you taken care of their camp?”

  “Yes, it’s done.”

  Hulim nodded.

  Rustle!

  She then tossed a large pile of flags onto the ground.

  “All of them are here.”

  “Incredible! You took down so many flags alone—wait a second, Hulim…… doesn’t the number seem a little off……”

  Hulim tilted her head in confusion.

  “It’s correct. They’re all here, exactly as I said.”

  Whistle——!

  A burst of flame suddenly shot into the sky, exploding high above the forest.

  Everyone still searching the woods, and those in the middle of skirmishes, all froze and stared up at the sky in disbelief.

  The allied team, who had been so triumphant moments before, now wore expressions of complete bewilderment.

  “I-It’s over? But……”

  They stared at the several other teams that had inexplicably converged on them at the same time.

  They hadn’t even captured the flags of these random opposing teams yet……

  “Wait…… Hulim, when you said ‘all of them’…… do you mean every single flag?”

  “Yes.”

  Upon receiving her confirmation, the three inhaled sharply in shock.

  “?”

  Hulim didn’t quite understand why the three looked so incredulous even after seeing the pile of flags—especially since the exam-ending signal had already been fired.

  Was it really that strange that she’d just gone ahead and captured all the teams’ flags on a whim, since she had plenty of time to spare?

  ......

  ......