Lost the Competition, Won at Life

"I-I-I still have to get ready for the competition, so I'm going to warm up!"

Mako Amikura dropped that line and ran off too.

Waaah.

Why did this happen?

She'd clearly said it so quietly.

Puzzled and confused, Mako Amikura ran back over to the girls' group.

Watching the purple-haired girl's retreating figure, Dokuho Kouya mused to himself, So Mako was cheering me on too.

He hadn't actually heard Mako cheering.

But so many girls in the class had shouted their encouragement that, given Mako's personality, she must have joined in too.

Even if she hadn't cheered, she must have said something to the friends around her.

So Dokuho Kouya deliberately claimed he'd heard Mako's voice, without saying that he'd heard her cheering him on.

Whatever the girl had actually chosen to do, he could use that line. It was practically a universal phrase.

"Kouya, you sure are popular."

The other boys had dried off and come over to tease Dokuho Kouya.

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

Or perhaps it wasn't a joke at all, but how the boys who'd made it through the qualifiers truly felt.

"I thought that after you said something like that in class, people might keep their distance from you. I didn't expect things to turn out this way."

Ryuji Kanzaki had witnessed the scene too, and he was genuinely puzzled.

From what he'd seen lately, Dokuho Kouya got along well with everyone in class. He didn't seem to be ostracized at all.

"Maybe it's because everyone's so kind." Dokuho Kouya smiled as he watched the Class B students getting along so well.

After the boys' competition ended, it was soon time for the girls' events.

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

"Do your best!"

"Don't give up, Honami!"

Their classmates' cheers rang out again. Some of the girls were waiting to compete, while the boys had already finished their events.

Most of the cheering was directed at Honami Ichinose.

For reasons everyone understood, the pink-haired girl faced a lot of resistance as she swam, and was almost always at the back of the pack.

While everyone cheered Ichinose on, Dokuho Kouya watched the other two lovely figures in the pool and called out, "Sayo, Mako, you two do your best too!"

The girls swimming heard Dokuho Kouya's cheers and reacted in different ways.

Sayo Ando swam with even more determination. She'd been in third place among the girls, but soon passed Yuki Himeno and moved into second.

But Mako Amikura lost her rhythm when she heard him cheering and gradually fell behind the others.

The first girls' group finished their event. Sayo Ando came in second, while Mako Amikura placed eighth.

Incidentally, Honami Ichinose came in ninth.

"You two worked hard."

Dokuho Kouya handed towels to the two girls who'd given it their all.

"Thank you."

Sayo Ando took the towel and wiped her face, then said with some disappointment, "It's a shame I didn't get first, even with you cheering me on, Kouya."

"Kozue's good at sports too, so don't let it get to you," Dokuho Kouya said comfortingly.

Kozue Minami had taken first place in their group. The purple-haired girl always wore her hair in a little bun on top of her head. She'd never joined a sports club, but her athletic ability was exceptional.

At another school, she'd probably be the kind of powerhouse the sports clubs tried to recruit as an outside ringer.

Sayo Ando had no reason to feel bad about losing to her.

"Urgh... I'm the one who should be disappointed," Mako Amikura said, her shoulders drooping.

She'd been swimming just fine, but after hearing him cheer, she'd lost her form and ended up near the bottom.

"Maybe my voice startled you," Dokuho Kouya said, trying to comfort the purple-haired girl.

"That's not it. I just lost my rhythm." Mako Amikura puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy with her performance.

She'd had a rare chance to show Kouya what she could do, but she'd messed it up.

"Then I guess that's my fault too."

While the boy and the girls were talking, the second girls' group had finished their event, and it was time for the finals.

"I have to go compete now." Sayo Ando, who had qualified, waved her hand, her face slightly flushed. "Kouya, Mako, I hope you'll keep cheering me on!"

"Of course."

"Mm-hmm! I'll definitely cheer you on, Sayo!"

After getting Dokuho Kouya and Mako Amikura's assurances, Sayo Ando thanked them, then returned to the side of the pool to compete.

Even though Dokuho Kouya and Mako Amikura cheered her on with all their might, Sayo Ando still failed to win the final. She lost to the same opponent by about two seconds.

And so Class 1-B's swimming competition came to a smooth close. Sota Shibata took first place among the boys, while Kozue Minami took first place among the girls. Both received 5,000 private points from the swimming teacher.

The girls' prize was one thing, but among the boys, getting 5,000 private points wasn't really a big deal.

"Shibata, you're treating us today!"

"Sure, sure. I'll take the guys out for eel rice tonight!"

The boys who were friends with Shibata urged him to treat them that evening. He happily agreed and said they could order whatever they wanted.

Tonight's bill was on Shibata!

After school.

Dokuho Kouya didn't head to the Club Activity Building. Instead, he went to the teachers' office to look for his homeroom teacher.

"Oh, Kouya, what brings you to see me?"

After Class B's homeroom teacher, Chie Hoshinomiya, saw Dokuho Kouya enter the office, she waved to him warmly.

If she weren't wearing the casual clothes she'd chosen herself instead of the school uniform, you'd never guess she was a teacher at the school.

"Kouya, don't tell me you've finally changed your mind and decided to contribute to the class?" Hoshinomiya said, batting her lovely eyes with an expectant look.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

Dokuho Kouya walked up to the pretty teacher and explained what he had in mind. "During swimming class, I heard that the teacher in charge of swimming was willing to give 5,000 private points to students who did well."

"So I wanted to see if you had any similar opportunities, Hoshinomiya-sensei."

According to the school's rules, homeroom teachers weren't allowed to interfere too much in the students' competition.

They couldn't show favoritism during a Special Exam, but they should still be allowed to offer some points as a reward.

After hearing him out, Chie Hoshinomiya puffed out her cheeks and said unhappily, "Kouya, you're such a bad boy, asking such a cute teacher for money."

As she spoke, she swung her small fist slowly toward Dokuho Kouya.

Heh. There's nothing cute about your true nature, Dokuho Kouya grumbled inwardly without dodging.

After throwing a few punches, Chie Hoshinomiya lost interest and stopped.

"Kouya, it's possible to get money from a teacher."

Hoshinomiya's eyes turned cold, and she no longer seemed like the cute girl she'd been a moment ago. "If you can defeat Class D, I'll give you 300,000 private points."