The Swimming Race

"Does anyone in class not know how to swim? Or is anyone unable to swim because they're feeling unwell? Raise your hand."

At Sakurajima, most students learned to swim at an early age, so those who had never learned at all were in the minority.

As expected, only a few girls raised their hands.

Everyone else looked at the pool, eager to get in.

"Alright, I won't say much to those of you who can swim. Remember to warm up. You can do as you like for the rest of class. Those of you who still can't swim, come with me and I'll teach you the basics."

"Want to race me, Yorozuya boy?"

Just as the class broke up, a taunting voice rang out beside Shintō Katsuya.

Only Kōenji would call him by that nickname.

"Racing sounds like a hassle. Besides, there's no need for you to race me, is there? I forfeit."

"I wouldn't mind giving you five thousand points if you can win."

Five thousand points... Who did he think he was looking down on?!

Shintō lifted his eyelids slightly. "Are you planning to go all out?"

"Ha ha ha ha! Holding back on purpose is ugly. Against an opponent like you, giving it my all is the only thing that suits my aesthetic. After all, I'm the most beautiful man in the world!"

Well, it looked like Kōenji wasn't planning to hold back.

"Huh? Then I'd be guaranteed to lose. Forget it. Go find someone else. Surely there's someone besides me worthy of being your opponent?"

Shintō Katsuya wanted to turn Kōenji's attention toward Ayanokōji.

At that, Kōenji glanced casually at Ayanokōji, then shook his head.

"Even if he agreed to race me, I doubt he'd give it his all. That means I'd be certain to win. Not that even going all out would let him defeat my beauty, but I still don't want to bully the weak."

"How about this? If you agree to race me and give it your best, I'll give you five thousand points. If you win, I'll give you another ten thousand."

Kōenji seemed eager to settle things once and for all with Shintō.

"You really are a pain... Fine, fine. I'll race you for the points, but don't get your hopes up."

Shintō Katsuya wasn't an all-around expert. There were plenty of things he wasn't good at, and swimming happened to be one of them.

"Teacher! Would you be so kind as to referee our race?"

Kōenji called out to the teacher. He used polite words, but his tone didn't sound polite at all. It was more like an order.

But the teachers at Advanced Nurturing didn't usually take offense at students' attitudes. The teacher nodded, picked up a whistle, and came over to the pool.

Seeing that there was a show to watch, the other students abandoned what they were doing and gathered around. After all, who didn't like watching a race?

"Are they racing? Kōenji and Shintō? Who do you think will win?"

"Probably Kōenji. He's so big, and he looks like he's had really professional training."

"I think so too. His muscles look so elegant..."

"Come on, this isn't the time to swoon over him!"

Some students, of course, were watching Shintō instead. Ayanokōji wasn't the only one—there was also someone watching with a thoughtful expression.

"One hundred meters, any stroke you like. When you're ready, we'll begin."

"On your marks... Go!"

At the sound of the teacher's whistle, both men plunged into the water almost simultaneously. Since there were no restrictions on swimming style, Shintō chose the faster freestyle, while Kōenji made the race more challenging for himself by choosing the more tiring butterfly stroke.

At first, they were neck and neck. Shintō might even have been a little faster, but both completed the distance in around twenty seconds.

"Hey, seriously? Is this the kind of speed you'd see from a world champion?!"

"Are these two really high school students?"

Even Horikita, who always thought highly of herself, and Sudō, who was quite confident in his physical abilities, had to admit that Shintō and Kōenji were far beyond them.

Only Ayanokōji could tell that neither of them was giving it their all. They were surely capable of going much faster.

"Ha ha ha ha! Not bad! In that case, I'll show you what I can do!"

It was hard to believe Kōenji had enough energy left to laugh and taunt his opponent at a time like this.

He kicked hard with both legs and shot forward at incredible speed. Shintō didn't dare let up; he adjusted his breathing and pursued him.

Before long, Shintō was half a body length ahead again, but Kōenji overtook him once more barely half a second later.

They chased each other back and forth, and neither could call the winner until the very end.

"Over!"

Finally, the race ended with a whistle.

To the naked eye, they seemed to have reached the finish at the same time. Without a professional camera to record the race, the referee was at a loss.

"This race..."

"Kōenji won."

Shintō Katsuya made the call for the teacher. As one of the racers, he'd been able to see that Kōenji was just a little faster, even if the difference was nearly negligible.

"Well, it does seem that way."

Kōenji wiped his carefully tended hair with a towel. He'd won, but he couldn't smile. Swimming wasn't his opponent's strong suit, while it was one of his own greatest strengths.

Shintō took the towel Kushida Kikyo kindly handed him, thanked her, then went to rest on a nearby chair.

I really have been slacking off. My body feels like it's gotten rusty...

"You're pretty impressive, Shintō."

Ayanokōji handed him a bottle of mineral water.

"It's nothing much. My family's sort of a family of swimmers."

This wasn't the time to say something like "I'm average" or "I lost, after all." That would just sound like he was showing off.

Shintō knew just how inhuman his and Kōenji's times were.

"That's impressive. You and Kōenji are so different in build, yet you were evenly matched."

"Oh? Do you really think build is the deciding factor in a race?"

Shintō narrowed his eyes slightly. Ayanokōji was always trying to get him to reveal things. He really was a dangerous guy.

"At least it has a big influence. Like Sudō and Ike—if they raced, Sudō would definitely win."

"Maybe I'm just an example of survivorship bias."

Ayanokōji nodded and didn't press him any further.

Still, his conclusion was that Shintō Katsuya was no pushover. He might have been trained by some organization similar to the White Room.

Shintō (Ayanokōji): This guy's dangerous. I need to keep my distance.