Pool Battle: Class A vs. Class D

"Are we really competing against Class A?"

"That's right. First place gets a reward of 9,000 private points."

The moment they heard about the private point reward,

the Class D students, who had already begun grazing on grass, had their eyes light up. This was 9,000 points! If they got it, they could go at least three days without eating the vegetable set meal!

Just thinking about that vegetable set meal, something only students from the Great Cold Nether Kingdom could enjoy willingly,

they all gave it everything they had during the selection rounds.

The girls' division went first.

There were five people in each group, taking turns in the selection tests, after which the winners from the preliminary groups would compete.

The group selections were quickly completed. The winners were Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Sato Maya, and Onodera Kayano.

It was worth mentioning that Hasebe Haruka had a smooth start in the third group and was once in the lead. However, the burden on her chest was too great, causing her to gradually fall to last place and lose regretfully.

The winners' match for the girls' division concluded, with Horikita and Onodera emerging victorious.

After watching the refreshing girls' competition, the boys were eager to take the selection test,

but the swimming instructor deliberately interrupted them.

"Boys, wait a moment. We'll announce the selected female contestants first."

"...Onodera Kayano, all of you are outstanding swimmers and performed excellently, but don't become arrogant because of that."

"Class A's contestants are not to be underestimated either. They completed their selections yesterday, and since the competition won't begin until the day after tomorrow,

learning some information in advance won't affect the match. So, I obtained Class A's contestant list from their swimming instructor.

Here is the contestant information."

"Kamuro Masumi, ..., Sakamoto Junichi."

"Isn't that cheating?"

Ike Kanji muttered quietly from below.

"It's fine. The teacher said it won't affect the competition."

Yamauchi threw an arm around Ike's shoulders. The two were only fooling around, completely failing to notice the information the teacher had announced. These idiots were used to having fun all the time.

Now that the class points had given them a sense of urgency, their foolish nature had not diminished in the slightest.

Ayanokoji, who had been quietly observing, raised his head slightly to glance at the swimming instructor.

Although he had heard a name worth noting, he had no particular plans.

Meanwhile, Koenji Rokusuke, who had been admiring himself ever since class began, turned his gaze toward the teacher.

"Hahahaha, so that's what this is about. In this school,

there is someone else with the same status and standing as me. How interesting!"

Koenji laughed loudly as he started brushing back and shaking his hair.

"Allow me, this handsome man, to show you the elegance of swimming."

His voice rang out, drawing the entire class's attention to Koenji in the back. Quite a few people wore expressions of disgust.

"Then the boys' competition will begin. Come draw your numbers from the cardboard box by the front entrance."

The teacher announced the start of the competition.

It was also five people per group.

Five boys stood poised in front of evenly spaced swimming lanes.

At the command, the boys shot into the water, instantly shattering the pool's calm surface.

Their arms churned fiercely, splashing up sheets of water, while their legs kicked rapidly as well. The leader had already surged twenty meters ahead, but second place followed closely behind, only five meters away. No upset occurred, however. First place

crossed the finish line and became the winner—Hirata Yosuke.

Second group: Miyake Akito. Third group: ..., and in the final group, Koenji Rokusuke.

Class D's Sudo had no intention of participating.

After the conflict at the last study session, he had grown even more disgusted with studying. By extension, he no longer cared about class activities either.

He was single-mindedly focused on improving at basketball. He only slept in class, and because of his pride, he regarded Horikita's invitation with complete hostility. The study group's progress currently stood at zero.

The winners of the boys' groups gathered together for the final test.

The results were Hirata Yosuke and Koenji Rokusuke.

The teacher announced in a routine manner that the four contestants had been selected, then launched into a five-minute motivational speech.

At the back of the group, Horikita squeezed Ayanokoji's shoulder hard.

"Class D currently has zero sources of private points. Points are important at this school, so we cannot pass up opportunities to obtain them."

"So that's why you entered the competition."

"Ayanokoji, I think you should participate in the swimming competition too. I observed you during the previous swimming class.

Your upper-body and back muscles are well developed. You exercise regularly, don't you?"

"No. I was a shut-in throughout middle school."

Horikita wore an expression of obvious disbelief.

"You couldn't have such a strong body without long-term training."

Ayanokoji wanted to make another excuse, but Horikita cut him off.

"Anyway, I hope you can do your part for the class."

Ayanokoji said nothing. If it meant Horikita would stop poking him with her compass, he would consider it.

"Hey, Horikita, there's something I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me that before the competition started?"

"The competition had already begun. Suddenly interrupting it to remind you would have affected the competition."

So she was thinking about the team.

Ayanokoji kept that reason in mind, though he felt it was not the real reason.

Time passed quickly, and Thursday had arrived—the day of the Class A versus Class D competition.

A large crowd had gathered by the pool early on. Besides the Class A and Class D students cheering for their own contestants, there were also people from Classes B and C who had come to watch the show.

Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B, and Ryuen Kakeru of Class C were there as well.

Once all the contestants had arrived, the two teachers shook hands amicably and announced the start of the competition.

There were eight contestants in total from Classes A and D, with the boys and girls competing separately.

They would use a one-on-one elimination format, with the first person to reach the opposite side winning.

The girls' division went first.

At the sound of the whistle,

the match between Class A's Morishita and Class D's Horikita began.

The Class D boys had already started cheering Horikita on. In terms of looks alone, Horikita was unquestionably top-tier, but because of her personality,

her popularity was far lower than Kushida's. Still, in the boys' eyes, Horikita-chan was pretty cute too. Through this competition, the Class D boys reached a consensus on one matter, unexpectedly increasing their cohesion.

Horikita was exceptionally athletic among the girls. She took the lead from the start and maintained a certain distance from Morishita, but Morishita kept biting at her heels through the first fifty meters.

This surprised Class D greatly. In the end, though, there was no real danger. Horikita widened the gap during the latter fifty meters and claimed victory in 28 seconds.

Quite a few Class A students were feeling frustrated, but in the eyes of all the boys, victory or defeat was not the most important thing. What mattered was the graceful sight of the girls striving for victory.

Next up were

Kamuro Masumi and Onodera Kayano.

Kamuro had the strongest physical ability among Class A's girls, so her appearance immediately boosted Class A's morale. They hoped to secure this victory.

The whistle sounded!

Kamuro Masumi and Onodera Kayano leaped into the water at the same time!