Swimming Time

"...I was just curious."

"I get a little exercise now and then."

He didn't like exercising, and he didn't like working out at the gym.

Real training was grueling. It strengthened your bones and made your muscles more flexible; building muscle was secondary.

His current strength came from the system's enhancements. The previous night, he'd raised his strength to 10.

He didn't look particularly strong, but Ayanokoji was a skilled fighter and immediately noticed the strength hidden beneath his body.

Before long, Yamauchi and the others arrived, too.

"Where are the girls? Aren't they here yet?"

Eito replied, "They're probably still getting changed."

"How about we go sneak a peek?"

"Go on, Yamauchi. I'll keep watch."

"Heh, I'm just kidding. What if the girls end up hating us?"

Don't worry. They already hated him.

Just then, Ike came over and looked at Eito with a displeased expression.

"I heard you've been pretty full of yourself lately."

"What's up?"

"You even walked to school with Kushida this morning. I'm so jeal—so pissed!"

"What, what? Takeda, you actually went and did something like that behind our backs?" Yamauchi clutched his chest, looking betrayed.

He remembered parting ways with Kikyo just before they reached the classroom, so as to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

He hadn't expected anyone to find out anyway.

But they'd only walked to school together. Was it really that big a deal?

"No, we just happened to run into each other on the way. Nothing happened. We're just ordinary friends."

A sweet laugh interrupted them.

"That's right. Takeda was such a gentleman. He didn't do anything to me on the way here."

Why did that sound so strange?

The heroine of the story was standing right in front of them.

Her deep blue swimsuit hugged her full breasts, and her smooth, fair skin had a slight softness to it. It was easy to imagine how springy and soft it would feel to the touch.

"Did he really not do anything?" For some reason, Yamauchi clutched his waist and crouched down.

"Well, he did accidentally brush my hand when we were going upstairs." Kikyo smiled at Eito. "Isn't that right, Takeda?"

"...I forgot."

Chapter Eleven: Swimming Time

"Um, Takeda, what are they going to do?"

Kikyo looked curiously at the three idiots hurrying toward the bathroom, bent over.

"It's like this..." Eito leaned slightly toward her and whispered in her ear.

"Wha—"

Kikyo blinked, her little face flushing as she covered her mouth with her hand, looking incredulous.

"I'm not lying."

Because it was the truth.

If she were a more assertive girl he didn't know very well—Horikita Suzune, for instance—she would have slapped him by now.

But Kikyo understood him. Blushing, she asked, "Would you do something like that too, Takeda?"

Heh.

"I'll tell you next time."

"Whaaat?"

As they were talking, the other girls came out, too.

"We can talk later. I'll go over there first."

Kikyo waved goodbye to them.

Yes, there was also Ayanokoji.

Eito asked him, "What do you think she's up to?"

"Trying to win you over?" Ayanokoji replied.

"That's possible, but I doubt it's the most likely explanation."

"Then..." Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes slightly. "Horikita?"

"I think so, too." Eito nodded. For now, that seemed the most likely possibility.

But what did he have to do with Suzune? Was Kikyo trying to get him to help make Suzune furious? He'd be happy to do that, but considering Suzune's personality—and the compass attacks he might have to deal with at any moment—he decided against it.

The possibility he feared most was something else. He'd offended Kikyo before, and now she was going out of her way to get along with him. Could she be trying to seduce him, wait for him to let his guard down, catch him in the act, then threaten him mercilessly?

"Takeda, you wouldn't want anyone finding out you're a pervert, would you?"

That was terrifying!

Wait, why was he assuming he was a pervert?

"Takeda, want to go for a swim?"

Ayanokoji asked as he began warming up before getting in the pool.

"You're so eager. Don't tell me you have an ulterior motive?" Eito had started suspecting everyone of having an ulterior motive.

Ayanokoji explained expressionlessly, "It's my first time swimming with a friend, so I'm looking forward to it."

"Uh... All right, then."

When Yamauchi and the others came out, they were stunned.

Most of the girls in their class were members of the observer group. In other words, they weren't taking part in the lesson, so they didn't need to wear swimsuits. The members of the observer group were all sitting on the second floor.

Yamauchi was so devastated that he could have cried. He'd been hoping to catch an eyeful.

Fortunately, Kikyo and Suzune were among the girls who had changed into swimsuits.

Suzune was out of the question. Yamauchi was most afraid of assertive girls like her. After she'd mocked him mercilessly when he tried to hit on her at the start of the school year, he'd never dared speak to her again. To get back at her, he'd also said plenty of nasty things about her to his friends.

Kikyo seemed to be talking to her friends, and he didn't have the nerve to go over right then.

But luckily—

Heh heh.

He still had a secret weapon.

He'd already planted a camera where the girls changed. As long as he went back to retrieve it after swimming class, he'd definitely get something good.

Only he, Ike, Sudo, and Professor knew about it. He'd originally planned to tell Eito, too, but after seeing how close he was with Kikyo, he changed his mind.

Little did he know that Eito had already seen through his plan. And Eito had asked Sato for help with this in advance.

After that, the coach led the members of the swimming group through the competition.

The first-place prize was 5,000 points.

They competed in groups of five. In the girls' group, the first-place finisher was Onodera, an athletic girl who clocked an impressive 26 seconds.

Suzune took 28 seconds, and Kikyo took 31.

Then it was the boys' turn. Hirata was undoubtedly the girls' favorite, and he finished first in his group with a time of 26.13 seconds.

His swimming form and strong, graceful physique alike drew cheers from the girls.

Soon, it was his group's turn.

The members of the group made for an interesting lineup: him, Ayanokoji, Sudo, Yamauchi, and Koenji.

Before the race, Sudo walked right up to him and spoke arrogantly.

"Takeda, let's race. Whoever wins gets to pursue Kushida. The loser has to stay away from her from now on."

"Uh... Isn't that a bit much?"

The race was ridiculous. If he won, he got nothing; if he lost, he couldn't talk to Kikyo anymore. Only an idiot would agree. Did Sudo think he could trick him like Yamauchi?

Yamauchi came over, too. "What's wrong? Scared? I guess you're not all that special after all, Takeda. Tch."

"Fine. But I want Yamauchi to join in, too."

"Huh—"

"What, are you scared? You just said someone else was scared. Turns out you're the one who's really afraid."

"Hmph! Fine, let's do it. Like I'd be afraid of a nobody like you, Takeda."

"Good. Then it's settled." Eito took his place. "The three of us who finish last can't talk to Kushida anymore. Second place doesn't count. Got the rules?"

"No problem." Sudo flexed his muscles, looking completely at ease.

Yamauchi gave a quiet "Mm," clearly lacking confidence.

"Boys, can I join the race?" Koenji asked brightly from nearby.

Sudo shot him a disdainful glance. "What's it to you?"

"Sudo, you do have a rather short temper. But it doesn't matter whether I join or not. I'll come in first either way."

"You—!" Sudo clenched his fists in anger, the veins standing out on his hands.

He and Koenji had never gotten along, and they even sat in front of and behind each other. They'd had plenty of clashes.

Koenji ignored him and looked at Eito with interest instead.

"Takeda, was it? You have a nice physique. I like it."

"If I understand you correctly, you don't mean it that way."

"Hahaha! You may be right. I like all beautiful things, whether beautiful girls or your body, which seems to embody strength itself. How about a race? I'm looking forward to competing against you."

"No, thanks."

"All right. If you're ever interested, come to my room. I can take a closer look at your body."

"Really, no thanks."

They took their positions. The race was about to begin.

"Good luck, Takeda!"

Kikyo waved her hand and cheered.

"Uh..."