Swimming Competition, Deleted Scenes, and the Girls' Cheers

It seemed the boys in Class B had better personalities.

Thinking of how the boys in Class D had loudly discussed the girls' figures during swimming class in the original, even making a breast ranking,

the atmosphere among the boys in Class B was undoubtedly much better.

But... they were still boys, after all.

Before the girls arrived, they had acted like gentlemen.

But when they saw the girls they spent every day with show up in one-piece swimsuits, quite a few boys stared wide-eyed.

The girls in Class B were every bit as attractive as those in Class D, the protagonist class. There were just as many cute girls among them.

Seeing the girls in one-piece swimsuits, the boys felt they were in for a real treat.

"It's so great that we got to come to this school."

"Having swimming lessons in spring doesn't seem so bad, either."

The boys discussed it in hushed voices, grateful to the school for giving them this opportunity.

As everyone gathered by the pool, their swimming teacher walked over. He had well-built muscles and looked like a beefy muscleman.

"Before class starts, let me ask: how many people in this class can't swim?"

The swimming teacher asked with a smile. "If you can't swim, please raise your hand."

Six people in the class raised their hands, both boys and girls.

"Fewer people can't swim than I expected."

The swimming teacher nodded in satisfaction. "Don't worry. I'll make sure everyone learns to swim by the end of this term."

"Since no one chose to observe from the side today, and so many of you can swim, let's get straight to the competition."

The swimming teacher continued, "We'll split into two groups, boys and girls. The first-place finisher in each group will receive 5,000 personal points."

His announcement sent the class into a buzz of excitement.

For students who had only just started high school, 5,000 points was already more than the pocket money they used to get each month.

The personal points on offer immediately got them fired up.

"This seems like a scene that was cut from the anime."

Hearing the swimming teacher, Dokuho Kouya thought to himself.

To make production easier and appeal to the anime's audience, the Classroom of the Elite anime had made sweeping changes to the source material.

The class of forty had been cut down to just twenty-five students, and in the first season, the stories of many female characters had been assigned to Horikita Suzune. Those were all choices made by the anime production team.

On top of that, the swimming lesson scenes had been almost entirely cut, with the second episode featuring them as a treat for the audience.

"The swimming teachers in every class are offering personal points to the winners. The school probably instructed them to do that."

Dokuho Kouya figured the school wanted to hint to students that, aside from the monthly living allowance it provided, there were other ways to earn personal points.

Like draining the teachers' wallets, for instance.

But even in the original, that had only been mentioned once and was barely brought up again.

Maybe the anime production team had considered that and decided to cut the scene entirely.

"Ryuji's always trying to figure out what the school is thinking these days. Hearing the teacher offer points to the winners, he'll probably have some ideas, won't he?"

Dokuho Kouya glanced curiously at the purple-haired boy in the group.

The boy had his head slightly lowered, looking as though he were deep in thought.

It seemed Ryuji Kanzaki really was pondering the meaning behind the swimming teacher's words.

Whether he could figure it out, though, depended on how good he was at it.

A lot of students from Class B were taking part in the swimming competition. The boys and girls were each divided into two groups.

Dokuho Kouya was assigned to the first group of boys.

As he warmed up, Sota Shibata, one of his classmates, ran over. "Kono, want to see who can swim faster?"

"I don't think I'd be any match for you, Sota."

Dokuho Kouya wasn't particularly interested in the swimming competition, so he turned down Shibata's challenge.

For one thing, this wasn't a special story event, so there was no point in putting on a strong performance.

For another, his physical abilities would be considered excellent at a regular school, but at Advanced Nurturing, he was probably only a little above average.

Even if he gave it his all, he might not beat Shibata, who was a natural athlete.

"Really?" Sota Shibata blinked. "I thought your athletic ability would be just as good as your brains."

Hey.

You're not wrong.

They really were about the same.

Dokuho Kouya figured his academics and athletic ability were both a little above average at this school—in other words, a B.

If he hadn't read the original and gotten a boost from the system, he'd actually be no different from most of the students in Class B.

After the warm-up, the boys in the first group jumped into the pool and began the competition.

He'd expected everyone to watch quietly from the sidelines, but the girls in the class actually started cheering them on.

"Good luck, everyone!"

"Swim faster!"

"Go, Kono!"

With the girls leading the way, the boys started cheering from the sidelines, too.

After the first group finished swimming, the top four would advance to the next round.

Dokuho Kouya didn't think there was any point in swimming again, so he adjusted his pace and deliberately finished in fifth place, getting himself eliminated.

"Kono, thanks for the effort." A brown-haired girl held out a towel. "Want to dry off?"

"Thanks, Sayo."

Dokuho Kouya took the towel from her and began drying his body and hair.

Sayo Ando said regretfully, "You were so close to making it to the next round. What a shame."

"With my ability, even if I made it to the next round, I'd probably come in last," Dokuho Kouya said with a smile.

No wonder some people would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

Coming in last had to feel awful.

"Aren't you in the first group for the girls' competition, Sayo? You should start warming up now," Dokuho Kouya reminded her.

"Mm-hmm." Sayo Ando nodded, her face turning slightly red. "I'll go warm up in a bit."

After taking the towel Dokuho Kouya had just used, the girl hurried over to the girls' group.

"Well, isn't that youthful?"

Just then, a purple-haired girl walked over.

Mako Amikura had let down the high ponytail she usually wore. Her purple hair fell like a waterfall, making her look more reserved than usual.

But the moment she spoke, the reserved air she'd built up vanished in an instant.

"Kono, did you hear someone cheering you on just now?"

Mako Amikura giggled behind her hand. "That was Sayo cheering for you."

"I know." Dokuho Kouya nodded, then smiled. "I didn't just hear Sayo cheering me on. I heard you, too, Mako."

"Thanks for cheering me on."

"Huh?!"

Mako Amikura's pretty face flushed as she looked dazed. "You actually heard me? I was speaking so quietly..."