"Hey, what happened to Baiye?" After changing into their swimsuits, Hamaguchi looked at Ying, who seemed utterly devastated, and asked Beppu beside him.
"He proposed a bet, but Kanzaki vetoed it before they even got it off the ground. He's been like this ever since."
Hamaguchi and Beppu exchanged glances, then sighed.
On the way to the pool, the boys from Class B were unusually excited.
"Which girl in our class do you think has the biggest boobs?"
"Ichינose, probably."
"Definitely Honami."
"Don't you dare sully Honami by comparing her to the other girls! There's no comparison!"
"But have you noticed? Amikura Mako's figure is pretty great, too."
"True. Kobashi Yume, too."
Ying followed the rest of the class to the pool in a daze, apparently still dwelling on his chance to make a fortune.
"Twenty observers! Class B has more observers than any other class. Pay close attention and learn everything you can. I'll have every one of you swimming by the end of summer!" The swimming instructor energetically explained the precautions and outlined the upcoming lessons.
"All right, now for the part you've been looking forward to most. A fifty-meter swimming race, with boys and girls competing separately. I'll give the winner of each group five thousand points! Let's see some spirit, boys!"
"All right!" The class suddenly erupted with excitement, except for one person, who was still somewhere else entirely.
"Crap... I'm a... failure of a man..."
"Does Baiye-kun like Spider-Man?" A sweet, youthful voice brought Ying back to reality.
He looked up. It was Ichinose, wearing her swimsuit. The school swimsuit hugged her well-proportioned figure, tracing her graceful curves. Her limbs were fair and slender, and her light-brown hair fell down her back. A bright, sunny smile lit up her face. Ying couldn't help staring, lost in the moment.
"Um... Baiye-kun?" Ichinose waved a hand in front of Ying's eyes.
"So beautiful... Oh, Ichinose-san, hello." Ying bashfully turned his head away and awkwardly greeted her.
"Oh! Hello?" Ichinose seemed to realize what had happened. Blushing a little, she picked up on his greeting and returned it.
"Ahem... Was there something you wanted, Ichinose?" Ying cleared his throat, managing to regain some composure.
"Oh. Actually, I came to talk to you about selling information last time." Ichinose came back to herself, too.
"I see. How much have you sold? You must've earned a lot of points by now." Ying smiled faintly, as if he wanted to show off that it had been his idea.
"Hehe, you're funny, Baiye-kun. Though, in a different sense, Class B really has earned a lot. I followed your advice and signed favorable contracts with Class A and Class C. In exchange, we shared some of the information Hoshinomiya-sensei had given us."
Huh? What contracts? What advice?
"But things are a little complicated with Class D. Since Class A and Class C are strong rivals to Class B, we can only build closer, tighter cooperation with Class D. The problem is that Class D doesn't seem united yet. So I wanted to ask you, Baiye-kun: what do you think we should do?" Ichinose frowned slightly as she waited for Ying's advice.
What the heck? Why couldn't Ying understand what Ichinose was talking about? He was completely baffled.
"If not everyone in Class D is willing to buy, why not just find the ones who are?" After thinking it over, Ying figured Ichinose must've run into trouble trying to sell information to Class D. After all, Class D was still scattered, and students like Ikeyamauchi certainly wouldn't spend points on information for the sake of their class. So she could just pitch it to the students who cared about their class. She might not earn much, but she should still make some points.
"Oh! I get it now. Thanks, Baiye-kun!" Ichinose smiled and ran off.
Watching Ichinose's happy expression, Ying's lips curled into a faint smile.
Once Ichinose had earned some points, it shouldn't be unreasonable to ask her to share a little of the profit.
"Ying! Don't go easy on me. Let's have a fair fight!" Shibata said passionately, holding out his fist to Ying.
"Yeah! Sata-suu-gai!" Ying held out his own fist and bumped it against Shibata's.
"Haha, did you just give me a weird nickname?" Shibata chuckled.
"On your marks!"
After the instructor called them to the starting line, Ying and Shibata focused all their attention.
"Go!"
Ying and Shibata jumped into the water at the same time. As soon as the race began, they pulled ahead of the other swimmers in their group. But this was clearly not Ying's limit. He kept speeding up and had pulled half a body length ahead of Shibata when...
Fuck! My leg cramped!
Ying had been dazed and listless at the beginning of class, and had even forgotten to warm up. Now that he'd suddenly started such strenuous exercise, his right foot cramped before he'd swum even ten meters.
But Ying was a real man. The strong never complained about their circumstances. He gritted his teeth and kept swimming. Not only that, but he actually continued to pick up speed. Just as he was nearly three-quarters of a body length ahead of Shibata...
Fuck! My other leg cramped!
Ying had only just gotten used to the cramp in his right foot when his left foot cramped, too. Then his left hand, his right hand, his left thigh, and his right thigh...
During the latter half of the race, Ying grew slower and slower, but he still beat Shibata by a hair.
"Let's hear it for the winner—Baiye Ying!"
"Ying! Ying! Ying!" The whole class cheered his victory.
"Ying, you rascal. I can't believe I still lost to you in the end. You weren't holding back near the finish, were you?" Shibata looked at Ying in the next lane, resigned to his loss.
Huh?! Where was Ying!? How had he disappeared so fast?
Then Shibata noticed a few bubbles drifting on the surface of the water. He looked down.
"Coach! Someone's drowning!" Shibata shouted.
In the infirmary, Kanzaki stared speechlessly at Ying, who was reclining on a bed.
"You're something else. I can't believe you finished the fifty meters and even took first place while your whole body was cramping. I honestly don't know what to say."
"Kanzaki, it's no big deal. Don't make such a fuss, hahaha!" Ying laughed it off, but didn't dare meet Kanzaki's eyes.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Just then, someone knocked on the infirmary door.
"It's probably Shibata. I'll get it." Kanzaki walked over to the door.
"Who are you... Student Council President Horikita!?" Kanzaki's startled voice came from the doorway.
President Horikita walked in with his secretary, Tachibana.
"Um, hello, Student Council President?" Ying was completely confused. He had no idea why the Student Council President wanted to see him. Was gambling forbidden at school? Was he going to be expelled for breaking the rules?
"You're Baiye Ying, correct?" President Horikita's calm voice made the others tense up.
"I'm here to invite you to join the Student Council."
"!?" All three people in the infirmary were startled.
"Um... Is it okay if I don't join?" Ying asked quietly.
"How dare you refuse the President's invitation!?" Tachibana suddenly snapped angrily.
President Horikita raised a hand to silence Tachibana, then continued. "On your first day, you already seemed to have noticed the rules. On your second, you made a fortune in the Chess Club, with the help of Sakayanagi from Class A. And today, you finished the fifty-meter race despite cramping all over, even coming in first."
Kanzaki was shocked by this. He had no idea where the Student Council President had gotten this information—or how he knew things that even Kanzaki didn't.
"Even so, I..."
Seeing that Ying still wanted to refuse, President Horikita continued.
"I also know that you're desperate to collect personal points. I don't know what you want them for or how many you need, but if you join the Student Council, I'll personally transfer ten million personal points to you."
Ying looked at President Horikita's serious expression, Tachibana's furious one, and Kanzaki's shocked one, then sighed.
President Horikita thought it was a shame, but he also knew you couldn't force someone to like you.
"President Horikita, your offer is great, but I... can't refuse! I look forward to working with you, boss!"
Horikita Manabu: He agreed?
Before you continue