Lost the Match, Won at Life

"I-I-I, I still need to prepare for my race, I'm going to go warm up!"

Mako Amikura dropped that sentence and ran off as well.

Wuwuwu.

Why did it turn out like this?

She had clearly been very quiet.

Filled with doubt and confusion, Mako Amikura ran back to the girls' side.

Watching the back of the purple-haired girl, Dokuho Kouya thought to himself, "So Mako was cheering for me too."

In reality, he hadn't heard Mako Amikura's cheers at all.

But since so many girls in the class were shouting encouragement, given Mako's personality, she would definitely have joined in.

Even if she hadn't joined in, she would have at least been talking to the friends around her.

Therefore, Dokuho Kouya had deliberately said he heard Mako Amikura's voice, without specifying that he heard her cheering for him.

No matter what choice the girl had actually made, this sentence could be applied; it was essentially a universal phrase.

"Kouya, you really are popular."

Other boys finished drying off and came over to Dokuho Kouya to tease him.

"After seeing a girl hand you a towel, I truly understand what it means to win the race but lose at life," Shibata joked.

Or rather, this wasn't a joke, but the genuine sentiment of the boys who had successfully advanced.

"I originally thought that after you said those things in class, people might keep some distance from you, but it seems that's not the case."

Ryuji Kanzaki had also seen the scene just now and felt genuinely puzzled.

Based on his observations over this period, Dokuho Kouya had a great relationship with everyone in the class; there was no sense of him being ostracized at all.

"Perhaps it's because everyone is very kind," Dokuho Kouya said with a smile, looking at the harmonious students of Class B.

After the boys' races concluded, the girls' competition began shortly after.

Sayo Ando and Mako Amikura were assigned to the first heat.

"Go for it!"

"Honami, don't give up!"

The cheers from their classmates rang out again, coming from both the girls who were about to compete and the boys who had already finished their races.

The cheers were primarily focused on Honami Ichinose.

Due to reasons everyone understood, the pink-haired girl faced significant resistance while swimming, keeping her mostly at the back of the pack.

While everyone else was cheering for Honami, Dokuho Kouya looked at the other two figures in the pool and called out, "Sayo, Mako, you guys do your best too!"

The girls currently swimming heard Dokuho Kouya's cheers and reacted differently.

Sayo Ando swam even harder; originally ranked third among the girls, she quickly overtook Yuki Himeno to move into second place.

Mako Amikura, however, lost her composure upon hearing the cheers and was gradually overtaken by the others.

The first heat of the girls' race ended; Sayo Ando took second place, while Mako Amikura finished eighth.

As a side note, Honami Ichinose came in ninth.

"You both worked hard."

Dokuho Kouya handed towels to the two girls who had raced so hard.

"Thank you."

Sayo Ando took the towel to wipe her face, then said with a hint of dejection, "It's rare that Kouya-kun helped cheer for me, but I didn't manage to get first place."

"Kozue-san is also very athletic, you don't need to take it to heart," Dokuho Kouya comforted her.

The winner of this heat was Kozue Minami, the purple-haired girl who always wore her hair in small buns. Although she had never joined any sports clubs, her athletic ability was exceptionally outstanding.

In any other school, she would likely be the kind of powerhouse figure recruited by clubs as a ringer.

Sayo Ando had nothing to be ashamed of in losing to her.

"Wuu... I'm the one who should be feeling dejected," Mako Amikura said, her shoulders drooping in disappointment.

She had been swimming just fine, but after hearing the cheers, her performance fell apart, and she dropped to the bottom of the rankings.

"Maybe my voice startled you," Dokuho Kouya comforted the girl with long purple hair.

"It's not that, I just lost my own rhythm," Mako Amikura pouted, clearly dissatisfied with her own performance.

It was a rare opportunity to show off in front of Kouya-kun, but she had ended up messing it up.

"That was probably my fault then."

Just as the boy was conversing with the girls, the second heat of the girls' race concluded, moving the competition into the final round.

"I have to go to my race now," Sayo Ando, who had successfully advanced, said with a wave of her hand and a slight blush, "Kouya-kun, Mako, I hope you'll keep cheering for me."

"That goes without saying."

"Mhm, I'll definitely be cheering for Sayo!"

Having received confirmation from Dokuho Kouya and Mako Amikura, Sayo Ando offered her thanks before returning to the poolside to participate in the race.

Although Dokuho Kouya and Mako Amikura cheered for her as hard as they could, Sayo Ando still failed to secure victory in the final, losing to the same opponent by a margin of about two seconds.

And so, the swimming competition for Class 1-B came to a smooth conclusion, with Sota Shibata taking first place in the boys' division and Kozue Minami in the girls' division, both receiving 5,000 private points from the swimming instructor.

Setting the girls' side aside, the 5,000 private points didn't actually hold much significance for the boys.

"Shibata, you're treating us today, man!"

"Alright, alright, I'll treat you guys to eel rice bowls tonight!"

The boys who were close with Sota Shibata egged him on to host a dinner, and he readily agreed, telling them to order whatever they wanted.

Tonight's expenses would be covered by Master Shibata!

After school.

Dokuho Kouya did not head to the club activity building, but instead went to the faculty office to look for his homeroom teacher.

"Oh my, what brings little Dokuho to see me?"

Upon seeing Dokuho Kouya arrive at the office, Chie Hoshinomiya, the homeroom teacher for Class B, waved at him enthusiastically.

If not for the fact that she was wearing casual clothes of her own choosing rather than the school-issued uniform, one would never guess that she was actually a teacher at the school.

"Little Dokuho, could it be that you've finally had a change of heart and are willing to contribute to the class?" Chie Hoshinomiya blinked her beautiful eyes, her pretty face filled with anticipation.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Teacher."

Dokuho Kouya walked up to the beautiful teacher and voiced his thoughts, "During swimming class, I heard that the instructor was willing to give 5,000 private points to students who performed well."

"So, I wanted to see if there were any similar opportunities here with you, Teacher Hoshinomiya."

According to school regulations, the homeroom teachers of each class were not allowed to interfere excessively in the students' competition.

They could not show favoritism during special exams, but giving out a few points as a reward should still be permissible.

Hearing the boy's words, Chie Hoshinomiya pouted, saying with feigned dissatisfaction, "Little Dokuho is such a bad boy, asking such a cute teacher for money."

As she spoke, she swung her small, pink fist and slowly tapped it against Dokuho Kouya.

Heh, your true nature isn't cute in the slightest, Dokuho Kouya thought to himself, neither dodging nor flinching.

After throwing a few punches, Chie Hoshinomiya felt it was pointless and stopped her movements.

"Little Dokuho, it is possible to get money from me, you know."

Chie Hoshinomiya's eyes turned cold, losing the air of a cute little sister she had just moments before, "If you can take down Class D, I can give you 300,000 private points."