Classroom of the Elite, A Hypocritical Gray Life

"Alright—everyone, gather 'round!"

After everyone had entered the room, the muscular teacher who had been waiting on the sidelines radiated a thick, intense heat, as if he were shouldering the weight of an absolute victory.

"Not a single person in your class is observing? Excellent!"

"Then we'll cut straight to the chase. After we finish the warm-up exercises, we're going straight into the pool. I'll run a small assessment to get a rough idea of your capabilities, and then I'll formulate a lesson plan."

"If we already know how to swim, what are we supposed to do in the following classes?" we chatted with the teacher while doing our warm-ups.

"Mostly stroke refinement and physical conditioning. Of course, there will be free time. Even if your swimming right now is just for fun, you never know when you might need it in the future."

Once the warm-ups were over, everyone was instructed to swim a simple fifty meters. The depth of the pool wasn't a concern; even those who couldn't swim could touch the bottom just by relaxing their bodies.

I was the second-to-last person to enter the pool because Kanzaki was afraid I'd have an accident on the pool ladder, so I lost my chance to be dead last. Although I wasn't sure how things could possibly go wrong enough for me to have an accident, I accepted his good intentions anyway.

It had been over a year, I think, since I returned to the water after such a long time. The water temperature in the pool was vastly different from my past experiences. It was warm and comfortable. After getting my ears wet, I tried swimming a bit.

My movements were stiff, but it was fine.

I followed the main group to the other side at a slow pace, and without a doubt, I was among the slowest.

"Raku, you really are slow. You were almost beaten by the girls," Shiratori joked with me at the edge of the stairs.

"There's no rule in this world that says boys must be stronger than girls."

"Can you do the freestyle?" Kanzaki chimed in from the side.

"Yeah, I've learned it," I replied uncertainly.

"Freestyle is faster than breaststroke."

"I know, but it's also more exhausting." I dragged my dripping body across the deck and found a random spot to sit down.

"It was only a fifty-meter warm-up, and you're already panting and your body is trembling. Just how long has it been since you last exercised—never mind, you're a lost cause. I won't say anything else."

The fact that I was panting was true, but it wasn't due to exhaustion; it was caused by excitement. My adrenaline always surged during the initial stages of specific situations. I desperately tried to suppress this inner impulse to face the upcoming exercise with a calm mind.

"It seems your class will have a very easy time in future lessons," the teacher said, looking at us with affirmation. However, the malicious smile that followed gave me a huge sense of crisis.

"Then let's go straight into a swimming competition. Boys and girls will each race fifty meters freestyle."

"Eh?! A competition right away?" Takashima shouted excitedly. "If it's a competition, then I have no choice but to unleash the full power of the Land Swordfish."

"You weren't that fast just now, though."

"I just wasn't serious before. Next, I'll show you what real technique looks like."

The teacher ignored the students' bickering and continued to explain the rules of the race.

"Of course, since it's a competition, there will naturally be rewards. I will give the first-place student a special prize of five thousand points. Conversely, the slowest person must attend remedial lessons. These lessons will be held with students from other classes, so you'd better be prepared."

"There's remedial work?! But I'm not very good at swimming."

"Held with other classes? That means if I have to do remedial work, I'll be losing face in front of other classes."

"No way—!"

Listening to the desperate cries of the students who lacked confidence, I couldn't help but feel a sense of misery myself.

"Looks like you might be in trouble."

"...I don't think it'll come to that." I glanced toward the girls' side and noticed a hint of worry in Ichinose's eyes.

"Then let's start with the girls. We'll do it in groups of five, and the student with the shortest time wins. As for the group members, choose them yourselves; I won't interfere."

"Ichinose, good luck."

When the first group went, the boys' side was very enthusiastic with their cheering, while Ichinose looked a bit embarrassed. In less than a month since enrollment, Ichinose had gained a high reputation and even had a certain level of interaction with students from other classes. From that perspective, she was truly impressive.

"Ichinose's physical ability probably isn't that great."

"I don't know, I haven't asked."

"After all, carrying around something that big makes it hard to move, right?"

"I suppose," I said uncertainly. If you asked me if I could determine the answer to that question while carrying a backpack or a weapon, I might be able to. But as for breasts, I had no experience... perhaps it felt like wearing a school bag on your front?

"Everyone, it's starting!"

"Three, two, one!"

After the whistle blew, the five girls jumped into the water simultaneously. Ichinose took the third lane, Shiranami took the second, Kobashi Yume took the first, and I couldn't identify the other two because I hadn't seen them clearly, but judging by their figures and hair color, they were likely Hosaka and Motohashi.

From the very beginning, Motohashi took the lead, Shiranami followed closely behind without showing weakness, while Ichinose struggled a bit, sitting in fourth place. This state continued until the end of the race.

"Ah, I was so close to first place."

"That was close, that was close," Motohashi exclaimed, patting her chest.

"But I didn't expect Honami to be bad at sports."

"Haha, my physical fitness wasn't particularly good to begin with. Even though I exercise, it doesn't seem to have much effect."

"It's fine, that's part of your charm, too~" While the girls were joking around, most of the boys' gazes were fixed on the fleshy curves of their thighs and buttocks.

The first-place time was thirty-one seconds, while Ichinose's was forty-one seconds.

The competition proceeded in an orderly fashion, and in the end, Wakayama Kayoko took first place overall for the girls with a time of twenty-nine seconds.

"That's amazing."

But there is still a huge gap from the world record. If I remember correctly, the fastest record for the women's 50-meter freestyle is around twenty-three seconds, and for men, it's twenty seconds.

"We're going to be racing next. Don't you feel nervous?"

"Nervous? Not really. I'm just a little afraid of being put on the list for remedial classes."

"You should at least have some desire to win, shouldn't you?"

"As long as I meet the minimum requirements, that's enough."

"...Then you'd better work hard."

"I'll take your word for it."

Due to the enthusiastic competition among the boys, I was undoubtedly placed in the fifth lane of the final heat. Currently in first place is the soccer club's young star, Shibata Sou, with a time of twenty-six seconds. It's hard to imagine this is the level of a high school student; this ability could already be classified as a national second-tier athlete.

After clearly understanding the strength of most people, I began to focus my attention on the race ahead.

In the lane next to me is my good friend Kanzaki. On the surface, he gives off a calm and indifferent vibe, yet his inner desire to win is extremely intense. Honestly, he's usually such a cool-headed person; why does he always get so fired up at critical moments?

Competing in the adjacent lane, the contrast between Kanzaki and me will directly make me look pathetic.

Ah, it's too late to change heats now. I can only give it my all to avoid finishing in last place.

While thinking about such things, I quickly dove into the water as the whistle blew.

In my peripheral vision, Kanzaki took first place in our heat with an extremely fierce offensive, also clocking in at twenty-six seconds. On the other hand, I finished in thirty-eight seconds, placing around sixteenth.

Anyway, this way I should be able to successfully avoid the time-consuming remedial classes.

"Wow, Kanzaki, your time is the same as Shibata's."

"That's super fast!"

"Not bad, not bad. Although it wasn't particularly stunning, this result is enough to be admired." The teacher clapped from the side. "However, since you two are neck and neck, it's hard for me to give out points. Why don't you two have a race to decide the winner?"

"Alright, go for it, Shibata!"

"Go, Kanzaki, take him down, Shibata!"

"Kanzaki, want to have a race?" Shibata walked up to Kanzaki and asked.

"Let's do it then."

"He really is getting fired up," I muttered in the direction of Kanzaki.

Dragging my exhausted body, I arrived at a spot that could be rated as the 'best spectator angle.' Most of the others were at the end of the pool, wanting to find out who would claim the title of first place.

I don't care who wins; after all, the outcome of this race won't affect my interests, so I chose to observe the process.

Just as the race was about to begin, I suddenly sensed something approaching me, and it was even deliberately concealed. I instinctively wanted to move away from this position and look behind me, but considering everyone here was a student, I chose to wait quietly for the movement to unfold.

"Are you ready?"

Under the teacher's signal, a hand gently poked my back and kept tapping. Ichinose was looking at my back with curiosity.

"...What are you doing?"

"Raku-kun, you have several faint scratches on your back. Were you injured before?"

"Ah, you mean those? These are from a few months ago when I was walking in the forest park and got scratched by thorny branches. It hurt like crazy back then."

Hasn't my skin recovered to how it used to be?

However, after I explained, Ichinose still didn't stop her restless hands.

"Scars are something most people have to some extent, is there any need to be so curious?"

Having a girl's fingers poking at my back like that is just too much torture.

"Sorry, I was just a little curious."

"Curious about what?"

"No matter how I look at it, Raku has the type of body that can swim very fast."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have any confidence when it comes to swimming."

"But clearly, you didn't use all your strength."

"Whether it was my full strength or not, I'm not sure, but I've already tried my best to mobilize all the muscles in my body."

Ichinose began to stop fixating only on my back, passing her hands through the gap between my bent legs and my body, and kept touching my chest and stomach.

Poke, poke, poke, poke--

"Can you stop that? Someone will see us."

"Raku-kun's muscles are very firm. You must have done some training," Ichinose said nonchalantly.

"Not long ago, I even got the evaluation of 'soft and powerless' like pork from the grocery store from Kanzaki. If you're trying to comfort me, I appreciate the sentiment."

"That's not it, I'm stating a fact. Your body is clearly in great shape." As she said this, she pinched my forearm. "The muscles in your forearm are also very well-developed, in every aspect."

"Maybe it's just because I'm thin. Although I'm an energy-saving enthusiast, I surprisingly can't put on weight."

"Oh--...?"

Ichinose leaned her body in a little closer, her ample chest completely occupying my field of vision and even pressing against my right arm.

This isn't looking good; isn't there anyone who can save me? Or has no one even noticed what's happening over here?

"The match has already started."

"Mm... Raku, try using some force."

"It's not very sturdy; doing that will only make your hopes fall through. Besides, I'm not exactly good at exerting force out of thin air..."

"Just use a little bit of strength, consider it a way to satisfy my curiosity, okay? If it really doesn't work, I can lend you my arm as something to grip."

Don't get so close.

With Ichinose pressing her face against mine, I found myself completely unable to get angry. Using a girl's arm as a target for destruction would lead to moral condemnation no matter how you look at it, so I decided to use just a little bit of force.

"Is this... okay?" I asked Ichinose, who was inches away, with extreme caution.

"I said use your full strength, Raku."

"This is already about enough."

"That's obviously not right." Ichinose's face puffed up in a pout, and she leaned in even closer. The sensation of our noses touching felt like it would happen the very next moment, and those massive weapons of hers scrambled my thoughts, causing me to inadvertently lean backward, my arm bracing behind me. Even at this moment, Ichinose didn't move her hand from my upper arm.

Crap.

"Doesn't this mean it's quite sturdy..." Before I could finish, Ichinose stared blankly at my abdomen, the roots of her ears turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

I hurriedly pulled my body back into an upright position, but it was clearly already too late.

"Ah..."

"..."

"Oh, oh, oh—! Shibata was still 0.6 seconds faster!"

"It seems like things have ended over there..."

"Mm..."