Match

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

This was Suzuki Tsubame's second week here.

"Hey hey, this afternoon's swimming class! We're in for an eyeful!"

Yamauchi was brimming with excitement, sharing his joy with Ersha.

"Speaking of which, we'll see for ourselves this afternoon. Kikyo's should be the biggest, right?"

Ike Kanji said, gesturing wildly with his hands. It was about as sleazy as it got.

"I'm not so sure. I think Hasebe's is the best in the class."

Yamauchi looked like he was laying down the law.

"I think..."

This topic drew in quite a few like-minded guys, even Ayanokoji drifted over.

"Ayanokoji, what do you think?"

Yamauchi tossed the question to Ayanokoji. Gotta hand it to Kuroya Keisaku, he really had something—he'd stumped Ayanokoji on the spot.

"Uh... I'm not really clear on that sort of thing."

Ayanokoji looked blank, but Yamauchi wasn't about to let him off.

"Ayanokoji, as the fifth-place holder on the First-Year Handsome Ranking, don't you have a crush? Someone like you could get into a relationship anytime, right?"

"Uh... even if you say that, I really don't."

Idiotic answers—Suzuki Tsubame found them a little amusing.

"As the top of the Handsome Guy Ranking, what are your thoughts on seeing this news?"

A voice came from beside him.

Suzuki Tsubame turned his head and saw Horikita Suzune sitting upright, silently reading a book.

Strange, was someone asking me?

Suzuki Tsubame scratched his head. The voice was definitely Horikita's, but with that aloof attitude of hers, was that really okay?

"Well, I'm a bit surprised, actually. In my opinion, Suzune's looks are enough to claim the top spot, yet she ended up at just seventeenth."

"Come to think of it, I even voted for you." Suzuki Tsubame said with a smile.

"Hmph. Sorry to disappoint you."

Horikita didn't change her posture. In her view, this kind of ranking was meaningless—it was based on student votes, and without any campaigning, she'd naturally dropped to seventeenth.

What surprised Suzuki Tsubame was himself. He and Horikita were both equally reserved.

Even when girls invited him out, he politely declined, yet his vote count was this high.

Did they actually like that kind of thing?

Swimming pool.

Men's changing room.

"Suzuki-boy's muscles look quite strong."

Koenji said with keen interest, his eyes appraising like he was examining a work of art.

His words drew everyone's attention in the room.

"Suzuki, how did you build those? Why can't you tell at all when you're wearing clothes?"

"Hmm... maybe because my frame is on the smaller side, haha."

Suzuki Tsubame laughed it off, trying to move past the topic. After all, he knew exactly how he'd gotten his physique.

"Let me tell you, Suzuki's muscles all came from playing basketball."

Sudo walked over, speaking enthusiastically, and even showed off his own arm to everyone.

"Last week during club recruitment, I saw it with my own eyes—Suzuki didn't miss a single three-pointer."

"Really? Suzuki?"

Hirata looked skeptical. Suzuki Tsubame's build was strong but very well-proportioned.

If you only trained one sport, it was hard to work out your whole body, right? Like with himself playing soccer—his upper body wasn't as strong as his lower body.

"Uh... pretty much. Sometimes I also practice calligraphy."

Suzuki Tsubame scratched his head, making a small joke.

Hirata didn't press further. After all, everyone had their own secrets.

After changing into their swim trunks, they all left together.

In the vast pool, only Horikita was there among the girls so far.

She wore a thin jacket, crouching alone not far from the pool.

As expected, she was being isolated—though she probably didn't care anyway.

"Yo, Suzune, pretty efficient, huh."

Suzuki Tsubame walked up beside the girl alone, teasing her.

Horikita didn't reply. His words were clearly poking fun at her for squatting out here all by herself.

"Suzune-chan, need me to teach you how to swim?"

Having grown up in the countryside, Suzuki Tsubame was a master at catching fish and scooping up shrimp—skilled in all of it.

If it weren't for the years he spent running along rice paddies and swimming in wild rivers as a kid, Suzuki Tsubame doubted he'd even survive in a top-tier high school.

"Not needed."

Horikita's answer was curt. Swimming was also one of the courses she had to learn.

It was hard to imagine how Horikita managed to master so many skills—except for giving birth... well, she had that covered too.

"By the way, doesn't Suzune ever feel lonely?"

A week ago, Horikita had pushed her long-term task to 30% in just two days.

A week later, it hadn't budged at all. A little reminder was necessary.

"Not that I won't be here whenever you need me, but—"

"Not needed."

Suzuki Tsubame didn't get to finish before the girl cut him off.

"Right now, life is fulfilling. Whether it's studying or cooking, I enjoy it all."

Horikita spoke seriously.

Looking at the girl's resolute gaze, Suzuki Tsubame had nothing left to say.

"Ooh! Ooh ooh!"

Recognizing the voice, Suzuki Tsubame turned his head.

Sure enough, Yamauchi and the others were hooting and hollering, staring at the girls coming out of the women's changing room.

Kushida Kikyo and the gyaru group were pretty open about it, while most other girls draped loose school uniforms over themselves to cover up.

For example...

[Sakura Airi]

[Appearance: 9.9]

[Intelligence: 6.5]

[Physique: 6]

Pretty average except for her looks, was Suzuki Tsubame's assessment of her.

With stats like that paired with that face, it was fortunate she knew how to protect herself.

[Hasebe Haruka]

[Appearance: 9.6]

[Intelligence: 7]

[Physique: 7]

Hmm... Sakura, Ichinose, Hasebe—these should be the three big shots of the original story, right? Everyone else, even Chabashira and Kiryuin, fell a step short of them.

"Everyone, please gather over here!"

Not far away, a teacher holding a stopwatch was shouting, but with little effect—after all, over the past two weeks, the teachers' performance had been plain for everyone to see.

Looking at the sparse crowd, he called out helplessly:

"Today we're holding a swimming test. The first-place boy and girl will each receive 5,000 points as a reward! Anyone who fails, stay after class for extra practice!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the effect was immediate.

"Ooh! If I get those 5,000 points, I can have a feast tonight!"

Ike's face lit up with excitement. Hard to believe this guy had blown through 100,000 points in just one week.

"Huh? Didn't I tell you before? I was the ace of the Swimming Club back in vocational school."

Yamauchi's smug expression once again pushed the limits of human civilization's concept of shame.

Just then, a blond guy wearing nothing but a pair of briefs walked over.

In his own words, only this could highlight his beautiful physique.

"Suzuki-boy, wanna have a match?"

A confident smile flashed across his face.

"Hmm... I don't think that's necessary. And even if I refuse, we'll still have to do the test soon, right?"

Suzuki Tsubame didn't want to get tangled up with the other party any more than necessary. There was no need for it.

Koenji wasn't too surprised by his refusal. If anything... this made it more interesting.

"How about this? We both go all out. If you lose, there's no penalty. If you win, I'll agree to anything you ask, as long as it doesn't violate my personal code of ethics."

Then he continued:

"Even if that request... is to serve as a senior advisor at the Koenji Group after graduation, with a monthly salary of one million yen."

What he meant was that if Suzuki Tsubame won, he could pocket one million Island Coins every month after graduation, with no work required.

Converted, that was a monthly salary of fifty thousand in his past life.

Once he figured that out, Suzuki Tsubame could only nod and agree.

Fifty thousand just lying there on the ground—no normal person would pass it up just because they didn't want to bend over.

The teacher who had called out earlier led the students through various stretching exercises.

Even in an indoor pool, warming up the body was essential. Trust me, no one wanted to embarrass themselves in front of the opposite sex.

"Next, when I call your name, please gather at the diving platform."

"Sotomura Hideo, Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji..."

As the ten people took their positions one by one.

"Ready!"

With the sound of the whistle, everyone dove into the water.

Well, this group wasn't much to look at. Basically a bunch of scrubs duking it out.

The fastest was Sotomura at 31 seconds, Ike at 34, and Yamauchi hit a staggering 45 seconds.

"Damn it! If I hadn't gotten injured during middle school training, I wouldn't have—"

Yamauchi, who had just climbed out of the pool, started stirring up trouble again. Since he was so eager to go back to middle school, Suzuki Tsubame decided to help him out.

He claimed he couldn't stand to see others suffer.

"Next group! Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Sudo Ken, Hirata Yosuke..."

Unexpectedly, this group brought together the five students with the best physiques in the class.

Looking at the expressionless Ayanokoji, Suzuki Tsubame said to Sudo beside him:

"By the way, those guys from earlier were way off, right? A normal student should be able to swim under 25 seconds, shouldn't they?"

Sudo nodded in agreement. "Those guys are just pathetic. I could swim under 25 seconds with one hand."

Ayanokoji watched them, a bit stunned. So that was how it was?

He had thought that thirty-something seconds was normal for an average student. He'd originally planned to swim 33 or 34 seconds. Looked like he'd need to pick up the pace a little.

"Ready!"

With the whistle, they shot into the water like five arrows loosed from a bow.

Fifty meters—not too long, not too short.

For a beginner, finishing fifty meters basically left you completely exhausted.

But for Suzuki Tsubame, who had been swimming in wild rivers and catching fish and shrimp since childhood, an indoor pool felt like a little girl.