“Declaration! We pledge to participate in the sports day in the spirit of sportsmanship….”
Finally, the sports day had begun.
“Go, Red Team!”
“White Team, win this!”
As expected from an event for the extroverts, the atmosphere was brimming with excitement.
Of course, I was sitting all the way in the back, eating a yakisoba bun I bought from the school store.
The cheerleading performance was scheduled for after lunch, before the group events started.
In other words, I just had to sit here quietly by myself throughout the morning and kill time.
Honestly, I didn’t care who won—I just wanted this to be over quickly.
Having to come to school on a Saturday felt like pure torture.
Some might say, “But you get Monday off, so it’s fine,” but come on.
Since we had to come to school on a Saturday, getting Monday off was just basic compensation!
Oh well.
There was no other choice.
It was time to use the ultimate move that only a true introvert could pull off—spacing out while daydreaming.
“Haaaaah….”
I am a plant.
A plant that absorbs this warm sunlight and grows…
One day, I will become a towering baobab tree and astonish the world….
“Kayano! What are you doing here all alone?”
“Ugh….”
My ultimate move was shattered by none other than our class’s biggest extrovert, Tateyama.
“T-Tateyama…”
“Oh, do you not like these kinds of school events?”
“Y-Yeah… I’m not really into… sports….”
Of course, I had been doing dance training lately, so I was a bit more active than before.
But at my core, I was still an indoor person.
Getting all hyped up over sports day like the extroverts? Not happening.
“What about your family? Did they come?”
“T-They… c-couldn’t make it….”
“I see. My parents are busy too, so they couldn’t come either.”
Well, in my case, I was the one who told them not to bother.
Families usually come to sports day to watch their kids do well and capture those moments in photos, right?
But I wasn’t doing anything at all today.
Wouldn’t it just be awkward if they showed up?
“Oh, by the way, earlier, Chi-chan and Sacchin did the three-legged race, but in the middle, their legs got tangled, and—”
Tateyama casually sat down next to me and started telling some story I couldn’t follow.
Chatting so naturally with a classmate she wasn’t even close to—she really was the ultimate extrovert.
Of course, after White Day, I felt like we had gotten a little closer.
But that didn’t mean we were hanging out and chatting all the time.
Still, thinking that this moment would become one of those high school memories I could look back on someday… it felt kind of different.
More importantly, I wasn’t freaking out even though someone I wasn’t close to was sitting next to me.
Isn’t that a huge sign of growth?
Of course, I still couldn’t initiate conversations, and making eye contact was out of the question.
But in the past, I would’ve already made up some weird excuse and run away.
I had to tell Koga about this later and get some well-deserved praise.
“Oh, did I talk too much? Sorry, Kayano. You probably wanted to be alone.”
“I-It’s… fine….”
After all, thanks to Tateyama’s chatter, I realized I had taken another step forward.
[The next event is the obstacle course. The obstacle course will begin shortly.]
“Ah, it’s my turn now. I’ll get going first, Kayano. I’m definitely coming in first, so cheer for me!”
“Good luck.”
With that, Tateyama stretched a little and got up.
As she walked toward the field, she suddenly turned back and looked at me.
“…But Kayano, are you sure you’re okay with the cheer squad?”
“The ch-cheer squad? Ah, y-yeah. It’s not really a problem or anything.”
“Well, I guess if you agreed to it, that means you think you can handle it.”
“Y-Yeah….”
Honestly, all I had to do was sit in the back, so it wasn’t even a matter of being able to do it or not.
How should I put this?
Yeah. I was more like… someone who cheered for the cheer squad?
That’s how Hinoshita-senpai explained it.
While everyone else was busy doing cheerleading, I just had to stand in the back and clap a few times to show support.
Just like that, my obligation to participate in sports day was practically erased.
What a sweet deal.
“Alright, got it. Then I’m really going now. You got this, Kayano!”
“T-Tateyama, y-you too…!”
Tateyama waved at me before dashing off toward the field.
…Cheering me on, even though I wasn’t doing anything at all.
Extroverts really do have the best personalities.
And just as she had declared, Tateyama confidently took first place in the obstacle course race.
Watching her bite into the hanging bread… It was seriously way too hot….
★
I’m the type to bring a homemade lunch to school.
After all, my mom is busy, and my older sister has been living on her own since I was really young.
Of course, I only started making my own lunches in the second semester of my first year of middle school, so it’s not
like I’ve been doing it for that long.
But twice a year, I don’t bring lunch from home.
And those two days are sports day and the school festival.
On sports day, I just get this weird craving for store-bought bread and snacks.
And during the school festival, there’s food everywhere, so bringing lunch feels pointless.
Can’t you just eat both bread and a homemade lunch?
Sorry, but my stomach is way too small for that.
They say girls have separate stomachs for meals, desserts, and snacks, but that’s not true for me.
Even finishing a single burger is a challenge….
Anyway, since today was sports day, I was about to head to the school store during lunch, just like always—
“Minaya.”
“…M-Mom?”
My mom suddenly appeared in front of me.
…What?
“Weren’t you not coming?”
“Watch your words. I was going to come at first, but you stopped me, remember?”
“That’s true, but… I told you. The only thing I’m doing today is the group event, so there’s nothing to see. And for the cheer squad, I’m just sitting in the back….”
“Still… I don’t get that many days where I’m free like this.”
…If she puts it like that, I really don’t have anything to say.
I know she always feels a bit guilty about being so busy with work.
“Are you… unhappy that I came?”
To anyone else, Mom probably looked as blank-faced as always.
But I could tell.
She was feeling incredibly down right now.
“…Lunch.”
“Huh?”
“Did you bring lunch?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Let’s sit over there and eat together.”
“Oh… O-Okay!”
Spending lunch with Mom at sports day for the first time in a long while—
“Ah, sushi!”
“I picked some up on the way. Got all your favorites.”
Of course, it was a lot more fun than usual.
★
[Hinoshita-senpai: Come to the science lab by 1:30.]
Just as I was finishing lunch, I got that message from my senior.
So, after asking Mom to wait in the parent seating area, I immediately headed to the science lab.
“Ah, Kayano.”
When I arrived, Hinoshita-senpai was the only one there.
“W-Where is everyone else…?”
“Hm? Oh, they’re all outside getting things ready. There’s a lot to do.”
“Aah….”
Right. Even though I was just sitting in the back, the seniors had a lot of work to take care of.
They needed to check everything they had practiced too.
“And the reason I called you here is this.”
Senpai pointed to a coat rack behind her.
Hanging there was the same dazzling blue dress I had seen two days ago—the one I was supposed to wear.
“It’s about time for you to change. Oh, and once you’re done, come back here.”
“Understood….”
I took the hanger from her and made my way to the changing room.
It was a little tricky to put on by myself, but since I had practiced ahead of time, it wasn’t too bad.
…Wait. But the dress senpai was supposed to wear wasn’t in the lab.
Where did she put it?
I had that question in mind as I finished changing and returned to the science lab.
“Senpai, I-I’m done changing….”
“Ah, okay. Hold on….”
For some reason, Hinoshita-senpai was wearing a gakuran.
…Huh?
“U-Um, Senpai…?”
“Just a sec, Kayano. Let’s talk while we move.”
She suddenly grabbed a large cloth from the table and draped it over me.
“H-Hiiik?!”
“Sorry. Something’s come up on the other side, so we need to hurry. Just follow my lead.”
“A-Alright….”
Standing behind me, senpai placed her hands on my shoulders and slowly guided me forward.
What’s going on? If it’s urgent, shouldn’t we just go straight to the cheer squad’s area?
Did something serious actually happen?
Still, did she really have to drag me around like this? It felt like I was being kidnapped….
And also—
“S-Senpai, why are you wearing a gakuran…?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“A-Aren’t you going to wear a dress?”
“…Huh? That dress was always meant for you.”
“…What?”
What… does that even mean?
Before I could ask, senpai stopped walking and pulled away the cloth covering me.
“Alright, let’s get ready quickly. We don’t have much time! What’s the issue with the music?”
“Oh, the audio is coming out distorted. We tried switching the file, but…”
Surrounding me were the same cheer squad members I had met on the first day in the science lab.
And for some reason, every single one of them was wearing a gakuran.
But more than that, what really stole my attention was—
“T-This… What is this…?”
It was the massive throne I had seen on the field that morning.
I had wondered where it went, and apparently, it was here.
But why was it here of all places…?
“Kayano, do you want to sit down first?”
“W-What do you mean…?”
“Hm? I told you from the start, right? You just have to wear that dress and sit on this throne. Oh, and I’d like you to rest your chin on your hand and cross your legs. That way, you’ll look even colder and more intimidating.”
What… what is even happening right now?!
How did things turn out like this?!
What I had been told was—
‘On sports day, just wear the outfit we give you.’
…Huh?
‘And just sit in the back.’
…Wait.
…T-They tricked me.
Explore 
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://pienovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8a139feff85da5ae8f397525db78a6bb_152005_ori-150x150.webp)
![[TS/LoL] Cross-Eyed Ma-Mang](https://pienovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4d9865fb-b419-4875-8c15-19bf74208f02-150x150.webp)
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve!