Kushida smiled faintly. "You've got it wrong. That's not what I meant. Speaking of which, last week, when I asked Shimizu whether he could swim, he said he hadn't really practiced. But look at him now—" She pointed toward the pool. "He swam the whole course in just over twenty seconds."
Just then, a commotion broke out in the boys' section.
Ken Sudō and Kouenji Rokusuke had already cleared out a corner of the pool, each claiming a lane and instinctively turning it into a contest with Shimizu Akira.
Some of the spectators whistled, while others clapped and cheered. The quiet swimming lesson had instantly become a small arena.
Several boys jostled one another, seeming eager to join the impromptu race.
After a heated discussion, everyone's attention finally settled on Hirata Yosuke and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"You two are up!" one boy declared.
"Actually, based on their builds, Hirata and Ayanokoji are the best choices," the girls murmured.
Hirata Yosuke smiled warmly. "If that's what everyone thinks..."
Beside him, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka remained as expressionless as ever, merely giving a slight nod of agreement.
"See? The other competitive boys can't hold back anymore," Kushida said, watching the scene. "Shimizu's physical talent is incredible, too. I'm so jealous. He must be the kind of genius who'd win first place in any sport he signed up for."
Because of what she'd gone through in middle school, she had long since realized her greatest advantages weren't physical strength or exceptional intelligence.
So when she saw classmates blessed with outstanding talent, she couldn't help feeling envy and jealousy.
"What do you do at five thirty every morning? Do you usually exercise?" Horikita Suzune suddenly asked.
"At that time..." Kushida Kikyou blinked, looking a little confused. "I'd probably still be asleep. But on my days off, I make sure to run five kilometers."
Horikita's gaze passed over her and settled on the agile figure in the pool. "That person has gotten up at five thirty every day to train since the second day of school. He's on the track at seven sharp to run laps. He said he's kept it up for eight years."
"How many days have you kept it up? You just..." Horikita suddenly turned toward Kushida, her eyes sharp as ice. "Go for a run every now and then. What gives you the right to judge someone else's talent? At your current level, you're nowhere near qualified to talk about physical ability."
Kushida's sweet smile froze, and her voice trembled unnaturally. "Well..."
"I-I'm sorry!" she hurriedly bowed her head. "I... I was just saying it offhandedly. I absolutely didn't mean to belittle Shimizu's efforts!"
Horikita couldn't even be bothered to raise an eyebrow. She simply shifted aside coolly, putting up an invisible wall of silence.
"Horikita..." Kushida forced a smile, but her voice sounded taut as a drawn bowstring. "Could you tell me... why you keep refusing to accept my friendship?"
The air seemed to freeze for several seconds.
"...I understand." Kushida's smile stiffened completely, a shadow passing through her eyes. "Even explaining is too much trouble for you. I won't make a fool of myself, then. Sorry to bother you, Horikita. I'll apologize to Shimizu properly later."
(This stuck-up bitch! How many times have I lowered myself to approach her?)
(Die, die, die! Why doesn't Horikita Suzune just get struck by lightning and die already?)
(I let one honest thought slip, and this bitch seized the chance to humiliate me!)
(I've been losing at sports to those musclebound women since middle school. Why should I waste my time working on my weakness? Is her brain full of cement? Good thing we weren't in the same class in middle school... Otherwise, I'd have had a miserable time.)
(Wait... Could this woman have a crush on Shimizu Akira? She's defending him so fiercely, and even remembers his morning running schedule perfectly!)
(What a disgusting stalker! Who'd ever like an obsessive woman like you?)
She turned with her flawless smile still in place, her eyes settling once more on the figure cutting through the water.
(And Shimizu Akira... He was definitely playing dumb during the selection last time, wasn't he? He actually picked Kouenji!)
(Those muscles are from training? Eight years? As if!)
(Though... the way he gave up his seat to that old lady did make him seem genuinely dumb.)
(A simple, good-natured guy like that... He'll be easy to handle.)
(Now that my Horikita route is cut off, I can only get information about "that matter" from him and use it to learn more about Horikita...)
(And Hirata, too! Everyone in the class likes him! I'm the only central figure this class needs!)
(Aaah... This is so annoying! Why does nothing ever go my way?)
(I'll have to "let off steam" again tonight.)
Just then, Kushida Kikyou rested her fingertips lightly against her chin, and the gloom in her eyes vanished.
She suddenly broke into a radiant, springlike smile, cupped her hands around her mouth, and called toward the pool, "Shimizu—good luck!"
Shimizu Akira, between breaths, suddenly noticed that four competitors had appeared in the pool.
(All five lanes are occupied?)
The cheers all around him surprised him, especially since some of them included his name.
(That's strange... I haven't done anything special for the class.)
Though he was puzzled, it did feel good to have everyone cheering him on.
When he reached his tenth lap, he glanced around while turning and saw that only Kouenji Rokusuke was still going.
Ken Sudō and Hirata Yosuke had already dropped out, and even the inscrutable Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had disappeared.
(Sudō and Hirata probably gave it their all... But Ayanokouji definitely held back.)
Shimizu Akira recalled Ayanokouji's well-defined muscles, which seemed far beyond what his abilities suggested. The lines of his body cutting through the water clearly held tremendous explosive power.
A physique built through years of training wasn't something you could develop by casually swimming around.
"All right, that's enough!" The gym teacher, who had arrived at some point, blew his whistle and interrupted the impromptu race. "You're both winners!"
The teacher checked his stopwatch and had to admit that the two students had far exceeded his expectations.
To avoid disrupting the other students' lesson, he decisively brought the increasingly intense contest to an end.
As a reward, the teacher transferred five thousand Private Points to each of them, then enthusiastically invited them, "Would you consider joining the Swimming Club? With your abilities, you'd definitely become key members of the school team."
Shimizu Akira wiped the water from his face and politely shook his head. "Sorry, sir. I've already joined the Boxing Club."
"Hmph~" Kouenji Rokusuke elegantly tossed his wet blond hair and flashed his signature arrogant smile. "Activities at a club of this level aren't enough to pique my interest~"
Shimizu Akira sat on the edge of the pool to rest.
Nearby, Karuizawa Kei was surrounded by her group of gyaru friends, their laughter ringing like little bells.
Ever since joining the Boxing Club during lunch, she seemed to have come alive. Her laughter was louder, and the deliberately gyaru mannerisms in her gestures seemed much more natural than before.
Shimizu Akira thoughtfully turned his gaze away.
(She's starting to open up now that she has someone to protect her?)
What surprised him, though, was that Kushida Kikyou came straight over to him.
The girl approached with a light step, her voice clear and bright. "Shimizu, you were amazing! You got first place!"
"Not first place," he corrected calmly. "Kouenji was there too."
"Oh, come on." Kushida clasped her hands together and tilted her head with a playful expression. "A tie for first is still first! In everyone's eyes, you're the undisputed winner!"
Shimizu Akira knew exactly why she was so fixated on the title of "first place."
—She simply thought that standing in the spotlight would draw more attention to her.
"Shimizu," Kushida suddenly changed the subject, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward slightly.
"Are you and Horikita dating?" She blinked her seemingly innocent eyes, her tone as casual as if she were asking about the weather.
"No." His answer was curt and clear.
"Really? You're sure?!" Kushida let out a small sigh of relief before seeming to realize what she'd done and quickly covering it with a smile. "Ah, I was just a little curious..."
Shimizu Akira watched her in silence. This girl really knew what she was doing: the perfectly timed body language, and that look like she had something to say but was holding back.
Any other lovestruck high school boy would probably already have mistaken her behavior for interest in him.
"Oh, right!" A rueful look appeared on Kushida's face. "I have to offer you a proper apology, Shimizu!"
"When I was talking with Horikita..." Her voice grew softer, and her fingers nervously twisted together. "I accidentally said something wrong. I said your strong body was thanks to natural talent... I brushed aside all the effort you put into exercising every day..."
Her tone was full of remorse by the end. When she peeked up to check Shimizu's reaction, her lashes fluttered like those of a small animal that had done something wrong.
Anyone would feel sorry for her and find it hard to blame her.
Shimizu Akira felt nothing at all. If anything, he found it a little ridiculous.
—That wasn't saying the wrong thing. She'd simply let her true thoughts slip.
But after a moment of silence, Shimizu Akira replied with a trace of wry resignation, "I was just lucky! Yeah, I've got good 'natural talent.'"
What could he say? It wasn't like he could tell her about "System Shenlan Stat Allocation," was it?
"..."
Kushida Kikyou's eyes widened slightly.
Because she'd been sensitive to people's personalities since childhood, she'd long made a habit of observing the acceptance speeches of "first-place winners."
Most people would speak emotionally about how hard they'd worked and the obstacles they'd overcome, as if their worth couldn't be proven without mentioning sweat and tears.
But this boy...
He was actually so frank about crediting his accomplishments to "natural talent"?
In all her years, she'd never heard anyone admit, in such a matter-of-fact tone, that they were the one favored by heaven.
But rather than some shallow admiration for his honesty, a more precise judgment had already formed in her mind.
(Shimizu really is just as simple as I expected.)
She was about to speak, but he broke the silence first.
"Kushida... You work hard."
"...Huh?" Kushida Kikyou paused, then gave him a puzzled smile. "Why would you say that all of a sudden, Shimizu?"
"Your skin's a little darker than before," he said, seriously pointing to his own arm. "You must have gone to the pool to practice swimming last weekend, right?"
"Huh? Y-You noticed..." Kushida Kikyou paused, her long lashes fluttering softly as a natural look of surprise spread across her face.
She hadn't expected it. None of the other students at the pool had noticed, but this person had picked up on the detail.
"Look, everyone in class has a pretty normal skin tone. You're the only one who practiced swimming ahead of time," he continued.
"Oh, come on... It's only because I'm not very good at swimming." Kushida lowered her head with feigned shyness, though the corners of her mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
He/She Sure Was Simple
(Tell me more... How could those mediocre people possibly compare to the effort I put in?)
The week before, Kushida Kikyou had already used her carefully cultivated network of connections to find out when the other classes had swimming lessons.
When she learned that the gym teacher would hold a freestyle race during class, she immediately realized it was a perfect opportunity.
So, over the weekend, while the other students were probably enjoying their time off, she spent hours alone in the pool, practicing each detail of her strokes, breathing, and turns over and over.
Her arms ached from the constant training, but she merely shook off the water and dove in again.
(I have to make it perfect...)
Now that someone had exposed her secret effort, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.
It was as if an audience had finally seen the care she'd put into a meticulously arranged stage. The shame of being seen through and the hidden pleasure of it mingled, making her heart beat a little faster.
Her dark thoughts from earlier quietly faded, replaced by a subtle sense of exhilaration.
(Heh... Shimizu's pretty good with his words today. I'll go a little easier on you tonight. That bitch, though... won't be so lucky.)
The gym teacher's booming voice suddenly rang out by the pool. "Girls, get ready! The fifty-meter freestyle race is about to start. First place gets five thousand Private Points!"
A few minutes later.
Kushida Kikyou stood at the edge of the pool, her gaze discreetly sweeping over the lane markers.
(Swimming may not be my strong suit... but I didn't spend these past two days practicing for nothing.)
(I only wanted to get some information about Horikita Suzune out of Shimizu Akira... But we ended up talking for so long without me even realizing it. Talking to him is pretty relaxing.)
(Still... since Shimizu is so simple.)
She narrowed her eyes slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
(I'll save all that for next time.)
(Kushida really is simple.)
Before you continue