Swimming Lesson

After the lunch break, the long-awaited swimming lesson finally arrived for the boys.

"Wu Hu!" Ike let out a strange cry and took the lead, calling Ayanokoji as they headed towards the indoor swimming pool. Konoe also silently followed the group of boys.

As soon as they reached the locker room, Sudo, in his haste to change, immediately stripped down to his underpants. His visible muscles made it clear that his body had been thoroughly trained through sports, and his physique was clearly superior to that of the other students.

"Sudo, you're really open about it. Don't you care about the eyes around you?" Ayanokoji struck up a conversation with him, as the surrounding students were all wrapped in bath towels while changing.

"What's there to be flustered about when changing clothes if you're into sports? Sneaking around will only draw more attention."

"Hey, Konoe, isn't your skin a little too pale?" Ike's voice came from the side, and Ayanokoji turned his head to look.

"Don't get all eager to touch me, or I'll punch you." Konoe's voice was several degrees colder, but Ike didn't seem to care at all.

"Speaking of which, Konoe, you're quite good-looking. You always seem a bit feminine. Are you cross-dressing? How about we take it off and let everyone see? Hahaha." Yamauchi laughed as he approached them.

Seeing Konoe's face darken, Ayanokoji, who had finished changing, came over to smooth things over.

"Everyone hurry up and change. We're not going to make the girls wait for us, are we?"

Mentioning the girls, Ike and Yamauchi immediately stopped focusing on Konoe and quickly put on their swimsuits.

Soon, the boys emerged from the locker room one after another. Ayanokoji waited quietly for Konoe to finish changing before leaving.

Ayanokoji noticed that Konoe looked very thin, or rather, sickly. Judging by his muscle distribution, he looked like someone who had just started working out. Strangely, Konoe didn't seem to be a picky eater and often ate sweets.

"How is it?" Ayanokoji asked casually, wanting to see if Konoe had been affected by what just happened.

"Hm? Don't worry, I'll do my warm-up exercises. By the way, aren't you being a bit too concerned about me? It's just a swimming lesson."

Seeing Konoe's reply, Ayanokoji thought it should be fine.

In fact, Konoe did remember the incident, but he felt it wasn't worth getting angry over trivial matters, so he wouldn't fly into a rage.

The 50-meter swimming pool had crystal-clear water and, being indoors, was unaffected by the weather. Kogenji, standing nearby, nodded in approval. His muscles looked quite exaggerated.

"Where are the girls? Haven't the girls finished changing yet?"

Ike hummed a tune as he looked for the girls.

Meanwhile, Konoe glanced up at the spectator stands above the swimming pool. Students who couldn't participate in the lesson due to physical reasons usually sat there to observe.

A few minutes later, the girls began to emerge one after another.

"Hasebe's not here! What... what's going on! Doctor!" Ike shouted something nonsensical.

Ike was referring to a beautiful girl named Hasebe Haruka, who was known for her beauty and was often the subject of male attention and discussion. However, she would respond to these gazes with a look of disdain and overt revulsion.

At this moment, Konoe also noticed that one boy hadn't changed into his swimsuit. It seemed to be... Sotomura... Sotomura Hideo. The "Doctor" Ike mentioned was skilled in computer-related matters.

The Doctor was in the spectator seats, looking around anxiously, but he didn't notice Hasebe behind him.

"Disgusting."

It turned out Hasebe had also chosen to observe. She had clearly heard Ike shouting and had sharply criticized the Doctor for staring at the girls' bodies.

Hasebe sat on the platform, scanning the boys below with a contemptuous gaze. Her eyes met Konoe's.

Hasebe was indeed a beautiful girl, and it was no wonder Ike was so excited, Konoe thought. However, he felt that if he looked away now, he would lose, so he stared back at Hasebe's eyes. He wasn't sure what kind of competition he was winning.

After a while, Hasebe looked away. Konoe felt a small sense of triumph, but then he realized how childish his actions had been and felt a bead of sweat on his brow.

Students began to fill the spectator seats one by one, about seven or eight in total.

Konoe turned his head to look at the pool. In the clear water, the girls were playing with each other.

After watching the beautiful girls in their swimsuits for a while, the boys shifted their gaze away.

"What are you thinking about?" Konoe asked caringly, seeing Ayanokoji with his head down.

"I'm battling myself," Ayanokoji said, glancing towards the girls before lowering his head again.

"? What do you mean..."

Konoe followed Ayanokoji's gaze and began to observe the girls. Then, he understood Ayanokoji, and with a blush, lowered his head like him. Reacting in any way here would be too problematic.

"Speaking of which, your muscles are quite developed. Are you good at any sports?" Konoe wanted to change the subject.

"No, I've never joined any clubs. It's probably natural."

Konoe looked at his own body, pale and thin.

"Are you kidding me?" Konoe replied, annoyed.

"Alright, everyone gather around!" The voice came from a charismatic Muscle Uncle, who not only had the aura of a gym teacher but also that of an athlete. He could attract anyone, regardless of gender.

"Quite a few observers? I'll let it slide for the first time, but next time, no observing without a special reason," he said sternly.

"I'll be direct. After the warm-up, we'll go straight into swimming. I want to see your abilities."

"Teacher, I'm not very good at swimming..." A boy spoke up, voicing Konoe's thoughts.

"Since you are my student, I will definitely teach you to swim before summer. Don't worry."

"No, you don't have to force me to learn. I don't go to the beach anyway."

"That won't do. It doesn't matter if you can't swim now. I will help you overcome it. Once you learn to swim, it will definitely come in handy later. Absolutely."

Hearing this, Konoe began to take swimming even more seriously.

Whether this was out of the teacher's sense of responsibility or because it would actually be useful later, learning to swim during class was very beneficial for him.

After the warm-up, the teacher had them swim fifty meters to gauge their abilities. Those who couldn't swim were told to get in the water first to acclimate, with their feet able to touch the bottom of the pool.

Seeing that everyone had mostly adapted, the teacher moved on to the next stage.

"Alright, now we'll proceed directly to a competition. Fifty-meter freestyle for both boys and girls. The first-place student will be rewarded with five thousand points. The slowest one will have to attend remedial lessons."

As expected, the winner among the girls was Onodera Kayano, a member of the Swimming Club, with a time of twenty-six seconds. However, Konoe was surprised that Kushida placed fourth with thirty-one seconds. Horikita came in second, indicating her considerable athletic prowess.

On the boys' side, Sudo finished the fifty meters with incredible momentum, taking only twenty-five seconds. Ayanokoji clocked in at thirty-six seconds, but it seemed he liked to dive underwater mid-swim every so often, for reasons unknown. Hirata finished in twenty-six seconds, proving the strength of the Soccer Club members.

Kogenji, wearing a uniquely distinctive pair of Speedos, churned up a significant amount of water as he swam. Surprisingly, he was very fast, finishing in twenty-three seconds.

"It seems my muscles are as beautiful as ever. Not too bad, right?"

Konoe mentally commented that he was a monster.

After swimming fifty meters, he was still unfazed, casually pushing his hair back as if he had just taken a leisurely stroll.

After the race, the teacher allowed everyone free time. Konoe used this opportunity to diligently practice swimming in the water.

Just as the Swimming Lesson concluded, Konoe finally managed to control his body in the water.