In Classroom of the Elite, but in the Underworld Chapter 9

"...I'm just curious."

"I do a little bit of training."

He didn't like working out, nor did he enjoy going to the gym to exercise.

True training is grueling; it focuses on the strength of the skeletal structure and the flexibility of the tendons, while muscle mass is actually secondary.

His current strength was enhanced by the system, and he had increased his strength stat to 10 last night.

Although he didn't look particularly muscular on the outside, to a combat expert like Ayanokoji, the power hidden beneath his body was immediately apparent.

Before long, Yamauchi and the others arrived as well.

"Where are the girls? Haven't they come yet?"

Eito replied, "They're probably still changing."

"How about we go peek?"

"Go ahead, Yamauchi, I'll keep watch for you."

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

Rest assured, you're already hated.

Just then, Ike walked up, looking at Eito with some displeasure:

"I heard you've been acting pretty arrogant lately?"

"What's wrong?"

"You actually walked to school with Kushida this morning. It's so envi... it's so detestable!"

"What, what? Takeda, you actually did something like that in secret?" Yamauchi clutched his chest, wearing an expression of betrayal.

He remembered that to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, he had parted ways with Kikyo before reaching the classroom.

He hadn't expected to be found out anyway.

But it was just walking to school together; was it really that big of a deal?

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

At that moment, a giggle interrupted their conversation.

"That's right, Takeda-kun is very much a gentleman. He didn't do anything to me on the way here."

Why did that sound so strange?

The protagonist of the story was already standing right in front of them.

A dark blue swimsuit wrapped around her ample breasts, and her fair, smooth skin had a slight plumpness that left no doubt about its elasticity and softness to the touch.

"He really didn't do anything?" For some reason, Yamauchi clutched his waist and crouched down.

"Oh, he just accidentally brushed my hand while we were walking up the stairs." Kikyo looked at Eito with a beaming smile, "Right, Takeda-kun~"

"...I forgot."

Chapter 11: Swimming Time

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

Watching the trio of idiots hunched over as they ran toward the restroom, Kikyo asked curiously.

"It's like this..." Eito leaned slightly to the side and whispered into Kikyo's ear.

"Eh--?"

Kikyo blinked her eyes, her face flushing slightly, and she covered her mouth with her hand, looking somewhat incredulous.

"I'm not lying to you."

Because it was the honest truth.

If this were a girl he wasn't as close with, or one with a more aggressive personality, like Horikita Suzune, she would have already slapped him across the face.

However, Kikyo understood him and even asked with a blush:

"Then, would Takeda-kun do something like that too?"

Heh.

"I'll tell you next time."

"Eh eh eh?"

While the two were talking, the other girls came out.

"Let's talk later, I'm going over there now."

Kikyo waved her hand and then bid the two of them farewell.

Yes, there was also Ayanokoji.

Eito asked:

"What do you think she's trying to do?"

"Pursuing you?" Ayanokoji replied.

"I wouldn't rule out that possibility, but I think it's unlikely."

"Then it's..." Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes, "Horikita?"

"I think so too." Eito nodded; as things stood, that was the most probable scenario.

However, what did Suzune's business have to do with him? Could it be that she wanted him to help drive Suzune to an early grave? Although he would be more than happy to do so, considering Suzune's personality and the potential for future compass attacks, he decided it was better to let it go.

But what he feared most was another possibility. Since he had offended Kikyo before, could her being so proactive in getting on his good side be a trap to seduce him, wait for him to let his guard down, seize some dirt on him, and then ruthlessly threaten him:

Takeda-kun, you wouldn't want people to find out you're a pervert, would you?

That was too terrifying!

Wait, why was he assuming he was a pervert?

"Takeda, are you going down to swim?"

Ayanokoji said this while doing warm-up exercises before entering the water.

"You're so eager, do you have some ulterior motive?" Eito now felt like everyone had an ulterior motive.

Ayanokoji explained with a blank expression:

"This is my first time swimming with friends, so I'm looking forward to it."

"Uh... alright then."

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

Because most of the girls in the class were members of the observation group, meaning they weren't participating in the lesson and naturally didn't need to wear swimsuits; at that moment, the observation group members were all sitting on the second floor.

This caused Yamauchi, who had been hoping to feast his eyes, to break down and feel like crying.

Fortunately, Kikyo, Suzune, and others had changed into swimsuits.

Suzune was out of the question, as Yamauchi was terrified of such strong-willed girls. After being ruthlessly mocked during his attempt to hit on her at the start of the term, he never dared to speak to her again, and to get back at her, he often bad-mouthed her to his friends.

As for Kikyo, she seemed to be talking to her friends, and he didn't have the guts to approach her right now.

However, fortunately—

Hehehe.

He still had a secret weapon.

He had already installed a camera in the girls' changing area, and as long as he went to retrieve it after the swimming lesson ended, he would definitely get his hands on something good.

Only he, Ike, Sudo, and the Professor knew about this. He had originally wanted to tell Eito, but seeing how close he was to Kikyo, he decided against it.

Little did he know, his plan had long been seen through by Eito, and the favor Eito had asked of Sato beforehand was precisely about this.

Afterward, under the coach's guidance, the members of the swimming group began their competition.

The prize for first place was 5000 points.

In a group of five, the first place in the girls' group was an athletic girl named Onodera, who swam a great time of 26 seconds.

Suzune clocked in at 28 seconds, and Kikyo at 31 seconds.

When it was the boys' turn, Hirata was undoubtedly the focus of the girls, swimming a time of 26.13 seconds to take first in his group.

Whether it was his swimming form or his strong, graceful physique, he drew waves of cheers from the girls.

Soon, it was his group's turn.

The members of this group were quite interesting, including himself, Ayanokoji, Sudo, Yamauchi, and Koenji.

Before the race, Sudo specifically walked up to him and said arrogantly:

"Takeda, let's race. Whoever wins earns the right to pursue Kushida, and the loser is not allowed to go near Kushida ever again."

"This... that's not a good idea."

This competition was too ridiculous; it was essentially a no-win situation for him where he got no reward for winning, but couldn't talk to Kikyo if he lost. Only a fool would agree to this—did they think he was as gullible as Yamauchi?

Yamauchi also chimed in: "What, are you scared? So you're nothing special after all, Takeda. Tch."

"Fine, but I demand that you participate too, Yamauchi."

"Eh—"

"What, are you scared? You were just saying others were scared, so it turns out the one who's actually scared is you?"

"Hmph, I'll race! I'm not afraid of a nobody like you, Takeda."

"Good, it's settled then." Eito stood at his starting position. "The three of us who finish last won't be allowed to talk to Kushida anymore. Second place doesn't count. Do you understand the rules?"

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

Yamauchi gave a small, weak "uh-huh," looking clearly lacking in confidence.

"Boys, are you going to let me join the race?" came the bright voice of Koenji from the side.

Sudo cast a disdainful glance at him: "None of your business."

"Sudo-boy has quite a temper, but it doesn't matter; whether I participate or not, I will be in first place regardless."

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

He and Koenji had always been at odds, and since they sat one behind the other, they had plenty of conflicts.

Koenji ignored him, looking at Eito with interest instead:

"It's Takeda... right? You have a nice body, I like it."

"If I'm not mistaken, you don't mean it in that way, right?"

"Hahaha, your understanding might be correct. I love all beautiful things, whether it's a beautiful girl or that body of yours that embodies power to the extreme. Do you want to race me later? I'm looking forward to competing against you."

"No need."

"Fine. Whenever you're interested, you can come to my room, and I'll study your body more carefully."

"I really don't need to."

The group took their positions, and the race was about to begin soon.

"Takeda-kun, good luck!"

Kikyo waved her small hand and shouted.

"Uh..."