Always Giving It My All

"Good morning, Kanzaki-kun."

"Good morning, Miyano-kun. It's quite rare for you to be the one greeting me."

"It's only the second day of school, is it really that rare?"

"It's because I've judged that you aren't the type of person to go around greeting others."

"Well, actually, I had someone confess to me yesterday, so I'm in a good mood today."

"You confessed to your childhood friend?"

Kanzaki Ryuji widened his eyes. He had assumed it would take another year or two of back-and-forth, so how did it happen so suddenly?

"Quite the opposite, she was the one who confessed to me."

Miyano Makoto corrected him. He had clearly said he "was confessed to," and there was a massive difference between the two.

"...I don't think there's any difference."

Kanzaki Ryuji concluded.

"Class is about to start, you should head back to your seat."

"Do we have swimming class today?"

Back at his seat, Miyano Makoto asked Kanzaki Ryuji.

"What, are you looking forward to it?"

Kanzaki Ryuji glanced at Miyano Makoto sideways; he felt he had seen right through the other's true nature.

"How could that be? I am devoted to Honami."

"Then why are you even asking?"

"Can't I ask?"

"...I give up, I apologize. It was my fault."

"To err is human, to admit it is divine. I forgive you."

"Thank you for your forgiveness."

For some reason, Kanzaki Ryuji felt exhausted talking to Miyano Makoto. Was this what it meant to be love-struck?

"The second period is the swimming class you mentioned."

"Is that so? Then I'll have to show them what I've got."

"And yet you said what you said earlier. You were clearly looking forward to it."

Kanzaki Ryuji couldn't help but retort. What a man who says one thing but means another.

"I just get a little excited thinking about showing off my skills in front of my classmates."

"Who knows, maybe I'll finally get a taste of that popular life!"

"..."

"I think you're already living that popular life."

Kanzaki Ryuji wanted to convey this fact to Miyano Makoto.

"Really?"

Miyano Makoto scratched his head and said no more, as the teacher for the first period had already arrived.

The first period ended, and the swimming class Miyano Makoto had been looking forward to arrived.

"Let's go quickly!"

Miyano Makoto said in a rush.

"Can you go back to how you were yesterday? I'm not quite used to you like this."

"Like this? Alright then."

Miyano Makoto returned to his calm demeanor.

"Is this better?"

"Yes, exactly like that! Let's go."

Kanzaki Ryuji nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

Miyano Makoto successfully blended into the group of boys.

"Which girl in class do you think has the best figure?"

"Amikura Mako, I guess."

"Shiranami Chihiro."

"Kobashi Yume."

Everyone had their own answers.

Miyano Makoto couldn't join in on such a conversation because he couldn't even match the names to the faces.

"What a failure, sigh..."

Miyano Makoto let out a soft sigh.

"What's wrong?"

Kanzaki Ryuji was very concerned about Miyano Makoto's mental state.

"It's just that, even now, I still can't recognize everyone in the class."

"That's perfectly normal, isn't it?"

Kanzaki Ryuji explained, "Just as you said, it's only the second day of school. If someone could recognize the entire class this quickly, that would truly be incredible."

"Thanks, I feel much better after hearing your comfort."

"You're welcome, it's what I should do. Of course, part of the reason for this is that you ran off on the day of the entrance ceremony."

Kanzaki Ryuji accepted Miyano Makoto's thanks calmly and pointed out the problem with him, "I hope you can open my eyes during the swimming class later."

"I will."

After quickly changing into his swim trunks in the locker room, Miyano Makoto followed behind Kanzaki Ryuji.

"Why are you following me?"

"Because I want to follow you."

"You don't happen to like men, do you? I've heard that such people exist lately."

"That's not it, don't talk nonsense."

Miyano Makoto flatly denied such an outrageous conjecture; his sexual orientation was perfectly normal, and he had all the expected reactions toward girls.

The girls also gradually walked out of the locker room.

"Teacher, why isn't the swimming class held with all four classes together?"

Miyano Makoto raised his hand to ask, immediately attracting the attention of most people.

"Because there are too many people. Four classes total 160 students. Even if many don't participate, this number is still more than our small pool can handle."

"Alright! Everyone, come over and gather!"

The "small pool" referred to a 50-meter-level swimming pool.

After answering Miyano Makoto's somewhat silly question, the swimming teacher issued his instructions.

"Very good, only seven people chose to audit."

He nodded, "Now, follow me and do some warm-up exercises. After that, get in the water and let me see your skills."

Miyano Makoto followed the crowd, lazily paddling through 50 meters just to warm up.

"Alright, now the boys and girls will compete separately. I will reward the fastest student with 5,000 private points. Conversely, the slowest student will have to obediently accept remedial lessons!"

"How about it? Do you have the confidence to take first place?"

Kanzaki Ryuji held a blind confidence in Miyano Makoto.

"I will win."

Miyano Makoto had already made his declaration of victory.

"Then I'll look forward to competing against you."

Hearing this, Shibata Sou also became eager to try. Although swimming wasn't his strong suit, he knew a little bit about it.

The competition started quickly. Due to the number of people, the boys were divided into four groups, while the girls were divided into three.

Miyano Makoto was in the first group of boys.

He dove into the water with a graceful posture and swam toward the opposite side with all his might.

"What?!"

"That guy is abnormally fast!"

"What a terrifying talent."

Kanzaki Ryuji stood on the shore and sighed. He hadn't expected Miyano Makoto's true strength to be this terrifying.

It should be far beyond the level of an average university student, right?

"22 seconds? And that's with my manual recording error. This student, have you considered joining the swimming club?"

"It's a pity that I've already joined the student council. If the teacher can convince the president, I will consider it."

"Is that so? I will go negotiate with them, please, you must join our swimming club!"

"Mn."

Miyano Makoto nodded in agreement.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with my daily student council activities, I'll leave the rest to you, teacher."

Even though he rarely went there anyway.

"Leave it to me!"

The swimming teacher patted his sturdy chest; he was already fantasizing about Miyano Makoto dominating the competition.

"Everyone else, continue the race!"

The first place in the boys' group was taken by Miyano Makoto without any suspense, and he received his 5,000 private points as he had hoped.

His current private point balance was 5,205,000.

He should ask Ichinose Honami for 200 private points at noon.

That way, it would add up to 5,205,200 private points, which would be quite aesthetically pleasing.

"Not bad at all!"

Shibata Sou wrapped his arm around Miyano Makoto's neck.

"I'm convinced of my loss."

"Thanks, your level isn't bad either."

That was a lie.

Miyano Makoto hadn't even noticed what Shibata Sou's time was.

"Stop teasing me."

Shibata Sou gave a bitter smile.

"Compared to you, my results are too embarrassing to show anyone."

"But there's no need to compare yourself to me. If you keep comparing yourself to people who are better than you, won't you live a very tiring life?"

"That's true."