Swimming Class

Although Shintō Katsuya had learned all the necessary procedures from Tachibana Akane, there was still one headache-inducing problem: forming a club required at least three people, but Shintō couldn't find a single suitable ally other than himself.

"Sigh, the road to entrepreneurship is as difficult as ever. Whatever, I'll just take it one step at a time."

Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Shintō picked up his bag and headed toward the school building.

Shintō arrived at the classroom ten minutes early every day, but today, he was met with a scene that made his jaw drop.

"Morning, Yamauchi!"

"Morning, Ike!"

The Idiot Duo was already greeting each other in the classroom, beaming with joy.

It was rare enough for these two not to be late, so who knew what kind of wind had blown them in today.

But clearly, both of them were in a good mood, even going so far as to greet Shintō as he walked through the classroom door:

"Shintō, you're a bit late today."

Perhaps because Shintō was generally well-liked by the girls, these two usually didn't give him the time of day, so their behavior today was truly abnormal.

"I've always arrived at this time. What about you two? Did something good happen?"

Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance and then let out a lecherous laugh in unison:

"Hehehe, don't you know what day it is today?"

"It can't be helped, I suppose. After all, Shintō's tastes aren't quite the same as us men..."

They were likely referring to his love for all kinds of sweets, though it was mostly just the usual resentment these two held toward Shintō.

"This... haha, I really don't know what day it is."

Faced with their mockery, Shintō didn't take it to heart. After all, if one could understand the world of an idiot, how would they be any different from an idiot themselves?

"Hahaha, you really are something. Let me tell you, today's class is going to be amazing~"

Class?

Shintō recalled the schedule for a moment, then his expression shifted to one of sudden realization. No wonder these two were acting like they'd been injected with adrenaline.

Before he could even speak, Yamauchi voiced his expectations for the swimming class:

"Who would've thought we'd have swimming class this early in the season? Speaking of swimming class, that means girls, and speaking of girls, that means... swimsuits, right?! This school is awesome!"

Swimming class was co-ed, and since the girls in Class D were generally very attractive—not to mention girls with explosive figures like Kushida—it was no wonder these two losers were so excited.

Shintō Katsuya chuckled twice and stopped participating in their conversation.

A while later, Ayanokōji arrived at the classroom. Although it was unclear when he had become friends with these two idiots, it had to be said that thanks to him, Ike and Yamauchi stopped pestering Shintō and instead dragged him to the side to talk.

As for the topic of conversation, it was still just swimsuits and the like.

Ayanokōji listened blankly, nodding from time to time, but from his calm eyes and tone, it was hard to tell how interested he actually was.

Suddenly, Yamauchi spoke in a hushed tone—though he didn't actually lower his voice:

"Hey, Ayanokōji. Did you know? Sakura confessed to me!"

??????

Sakura?

Shintō remembered her as a girl who sat in the back row, wearing glasses and sporting twin tails. She had a very low presence, didn't seem to have any friends, never spoke in public, and rarely appeared in anyone's field of vision outside of class.

Someone like that would confess to Yamauchi?

What kind of international joke was this?

Considering this guy's habit of bragging, it was probably a lie he'd made up to gain some so-called masculine pride.

Of course, the even more outrageous part was yet to come.

"Oh? Well, congratulations."

"Are you kidding? A frumpy girl like that isn't my type. At the very least, it has to be someone on the level of Kushida or Hasebe!"

Fortunately, Sakura wasn't present, so the trash talk from this guy was limited to their own little circle of self-amusement.

Time skipped to the afternoon: swimming class.

The boys had changed into their swimsuits early and lined up by the pool. Kōenji, who considered himself the protagonist, didn't even forget to style his hair at a time like this.

"Ho-hahahaha! As expected! My physique is the most perfect! I am the most beautiful person!"

Although his personality caused him to make many enemies, no one could refute him at a time like this; the muscles on Kōenji's body were exceptionally well-developed.

If one had to find a word to describe Tarzan, it would have to be Kōenji!

Sudō, as a sports student, also had a decent set of muscles, but compared to Kōenji, he was still lacking.

Of course, that wasn't the focus of Shintō's attention. What truly caught his eye was Ayanokōji.

Although his muscles weren't bulky, Shintō didn't doubt for a second the immense energy contained within that body.

This guy... could he be an assassin from some special organization? Combined with that poker face and his dead-sounding voice...

But as the saying goes, when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you.

Ayanokōji was also sizing up Shintō Katsuya.

The two seemed to share a certain similarity in this regard; it wasn't as exaggerated as Kōenji, but there was absolute power contained within that small frame.

But if there was any difference, it was likely the large scar on Shintō's chest. Others might not notice it, but Ayanokōji was certain it had been caused by some kind of explosive.

[Shintō Katsuya...]

The two locked eyes once again, but after spending this time together, Shintō had gradually come to believe that Ayanokōji wasn't gay, so he no longer felt a wave of goosebumps.

"What's wrong, Shintō?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just curious, do you do any regular training?"

"Uh. Tea ceremony, calligraphy, piano."

Tea ceremony, calligraphy, and piano can build muscles like that?! Who are you trying to fool?!

"Hahaha, Ayanokōji-kun is truly humorous."

Seeing that Shintō didn't believe him, Ayanokōji could only try to change the subject:

"Forget about me, that thing on your body is..."

Ayanokōji naturally asked what the other boys had been wanting to ask as well.

"This, huh... it's a bit embarrassing to say, but I once loved tempura so much that I even went out of my way to visit the god of tempura frying. This scar is from when I mishandled the oil vat back then."

Neither of them could utter a single word of truth, so they both wisely stopped asking any further questions.

As for the girls, it took quite a while before they started coming out of the changing room one after another.

The Idiot Duo, who had been looking forward to this scene for a long time... and of course, it wasn't just them; the gazes of almost all the boys were drawn over, including those of Shintō and Ayanokōji.

Even though they were school swimsuits, one could still tell that the girls had fine figures.

Kushida Kikyo even walked up to the boys quite generously and did a spin, instantly locking the gazes of the Idiot Trio firmly onto her.

Why call it a trio? Naturally, because this group had added a new member, Sudō, the red-haired, short-tempered athlete.

"Alright! It's class time now, everyone, line up!"