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Strategy Meeting!

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*Today’s Journal*

 

Our team, Catrap, follows a basic principle and that is to do our best without overexerting ourselves. However, there’s a difference between not pushing ourselves too hard and slacking off. With Lites’ proposal of “overwhelming victory to leave no grudges”, I think it’s important to do everything we can.

Unlike the traps we used in the previous semester’s competition, they might be hard to use this time. Of course, the opponents will be on guard. Also, this semester, unlike last time, there will be battles in urban areas. Whether the battle takes place in a practical area or an urban area will be determined by a lottery the day before the match. If we plan to set traps, we need to think of ones that can be used in either area.

Furthermore, the reconnaissance situation is very different from last time. Last time, no one expected a first-year student to conduct reconnaissance, and we didn’t bother scouting them either. But this semester, things are different. Each team is preparing their strategies and will also be countering reconnaissance.

What this means is that some teams might thoroughly capture reconnaissance teams, hide the information, or intimidate their opponents. Others might deliberately ignore them, intentionally spreading false information, or carry out conspicuous reconnaissance to make their opponents underestimate them.

As for us, we plan to just ignore the reconnaissance teams. If we spot them, we’ll pretend not to notice. Whether it’s effective or not, we’re hoping the opponents will underestimate us by chance. Also, the team we need to scout isn’t just the 2-C team.

We have to prepare for the possibility of advancing further, so we need to keep an eye on teams in our own tournament bracket. It’s difficult to check everyone, so we’ll need to narrow it down to a few teams to scout.

The information war has already begun.

 

—

 

The members of Team Cattrap gathered in the club room as usual. Today was a strategy meeting for the second half of the inter-school competition. The story progresses under the leadership of the strategic planning duo Maria and Heinz.

“Alright, let’s start by checking the tournament bracket.” (Maria)

We were in the bracket with the number-one seeded team.

Normally, every bracket would have a seeded team, but this time, one of the second-year teams disbanded, so there was no third seeded team. However, to balance things out, the team originally slated to be the third seed was placed in the bracket of the third seed.

The three seeded teams were those that reached the finals last semester, with Seed 1 being the champion team. That meant the team that includes Saras-senpai.

Our first match, as Maria had already informed me, would be against 2-C’s Team A, called the Rackers. Apparently, two to three players from Zess’ team, whom we beat in the last semester’s competition, joined them.

“If we win against the Rackers, we’ll face the winner of the match between 1-B’s Team C and 3-B’s Team B. I think 3-B’s team will win,” (Maria)

I don’t disagree with that. I feel bad for Team B, but judging from the class practice, I think they have little chance of beating the third-years.

“If we get through that, it’s likely we’ll face Saras-senpai’s team, Eagle, in the third round.” (Maria)

Maria continued.

If things go smoothly, we’d be up against Saras-senpai’s team in the third round. We can’t reach the finals without getting past them. Maria’s luck with the draw is a fine line. Should she be considered a positive that she didn’t get matched up so early on, or a negative that she’s in the same league as the number one seed?

“Well, Saras-senpai’s team will likely face other third-year teams in the second round, so they will likely lose some. However, Eagle pulled off a major upset last year by making it to the finals as second-years, and won the first half of this year. It’s no exaggeration to say they’re the strongest team in the school. If they play it safe, they’ll make it here.” (Heinz)

I agreed with Heinz. We were narrowing down our potential opponents for a reason because of the lack of time for reconnaissance. The only ones available to conduct reconnaissance for our team were me, the Scout Sonia, and the Commander (Raider) Hana.

Technically, I was not a designated scout, but I got permission from Fol-sensei before the last semester’s competition, so I would be helping with reconnaissance again this time. Even so, it would be impossible to scout every team with only three of us. Honestly, we would probably only be able to fully scout two teams. We may not even get a chance to scout Saras-senpai’s team.

We might not even make it that far.

There was also the issue of each person’s ability. Compared to Hana and me, Sonia is a little inferior in ability. However, that didn’t mean Sonia had no talent.

In terms of scouting, Hana had nearly caught up to me, thanks to years of experience in the forest. However, her shooting ability still hadn’t improved much. Her aim was weak, and her range was short. On the other hand, Sonia had been diligent in practicing both scouting and shooting, as well as building her stamina.

Though it was hard to quantify, if I were to put it in terms of stats, Sonia’s overall improvement seems to have been the most significant. If I were thinking long-term, Sonia’s progress seems to be on the right track.

Still, it was true that Sonia didn’t have the required skill level yet, and she knew it very well. Plus, there was a big difference between simple reconnaissance and gauging an opponent’s strength. In that regard, the three of us were still more or less beginners. So, we decided to narrow down our predictions and focus on what reconnaissance we could manage.

“Let’s focus our reconnaissance on the 2-C team, the Rackers, and if we win, the 3-B team. Based on the situation, we’ll decide whether to expand our efforts.” (Heinz)

“Right.” (Maria)

With that, we narrowed down our immediate targets for reconnaissance to 2-C’s Rackers and 3-B’s team.

“Now, as for what the other members need to prepare…” (Heinz)

As I listened to Heinz’s instructions, I heard Sonia, who was sitting next to me, softly whisper.

“Let’s do our best!” (Sonia)

 

—

 

After that, we frequently skipped out of afternoon practical lessons to gather information on the two teams. We occasionally passed by scouts from other classes, and it seemed everyone was busy moving around, just like us. So far, the reconnaissance on 2-C’s team had been going smoothly.

The Rackers were cautious, but since they added members from a disbanded team, their team size has grown to twelve. Perhaps, that was why I overheard them saying, “We can’t lose to Catrap!”, but they seem a little overconfident. It seemed likely that they werere still underestimating us.

In the previous semester, our surprise attack using traps was a key factor in our victory. It seems they believe that as long as they watch out for traps, they would be fine. In other words, they didn’t think we could win in a direct confrontation. In fact, when I checked, they never attempted to scout us.

On the other hand, 3-B’s team was very thorough. All the third-year teams were more cautious overall. Even during class, they remain vigilant. I remember once, when we were out scouting, another team’s Scout got caught, and we had to rush to escape.

One day, while I was pondering possible strategies during a walk, I saw Saras-senpai coming from the main street of the academy.

“Hey, Lux, are you heading to the Military Building?” (Saras)

“No, just thinking while taking a walk,” I replied. (Lux)

“I see. Oh, by the way, have you seen the tournament bracket for the semester’s competition?” (Saras)

“Yes.” (Lux)

“If you win two matches, you’ll face our team, Eagle.” (Saras)

In other words, he was declaring that her team wouldn’t lose easily.

“You’re very confident.” (Lux)

I told him about my honest thoughts with a bitter smile.

“Well, yeah.” (Saras)

He replied casually, which made me believe that her team really was strong.

“Actually, I’d like your team to make it to the third round.” (Saras)

“Why’s that?” (Lux)

“Well, you guys had a really interesting way of fighting last semester. A lot of upperclassmen are paying attention to your team.” (Saras)

“…I see.” (Lux)

“And, for us third years, this will be our last competition. So, I’d really like to face your team and give it my all.” (Saras)

“I can’t promise that. We’re a bit too laid-back,” I said. (Lux)

“That’s fine. It’s just a personal request. Well, I’m off now. See you then.” (Saras)

He said, while heading towards the Military Building.

I watched him walk away for a while before muttering to myself.

“Hmm…” (Lux)

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