Swimming Class

Although Katsuya Shinjo had learned all the necessary procedures from Akane Tachibana, a headache-inducing problem remained: forming a club required at least three people, but Katsuya couldn't find a single suitable ally besides himself.

"Sigh, the road to entrepreneurship is as difficult as ever. Whatever, I'll just take it one step at a time."

Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Katsuya picked up his bag and headed toward the school building.

Katsuya always arrived at the classroom ten minutes early to take his seat, but today, he witnessed a scene that left him stunned.

"Morning, Yamauchi!"

"Morning, Ike!"

The Idiot Duo was already in the classroom, greeting each other with radiant, beaming faces.

It was rare enough for these two to not be late, so who knew what kind of wind had blown them in today.

But clearly, both of them were in a great mood, even going so far as to greet Katsuya as he walked through the classroom door:

"Katsuya, you're a bit late today."

Perhaps because Katsuya was generally popular with the girls, these two usually didn't give him the time of day, making today's behavior truly abnormal.

"I've always arrived at this time. What about you two? Did something good happen?"

At this, the two exchanged a look and then let out a lecherous laugh in unison:

"Hehehe, don't you know what day it is today?"

"It really can't be helped, I suppose. Katsuya's tastes are a bit different from us men..."

They were likely referring to his love for various sweets, though it was mostly just the usual resentment these two held toward Katsuya.

"This... haha, I really don't know what day it is."

Facing their mockery, Katsuya didn't take it to heart. After all, if one could understand the world of an idiot, how would they be any different from an idiot themselves?

"Hahaha, you really are something. Let me tell you, today's class is going to be amazing~"

Class?

Katsuya recalled the schedule for a moment before his expression shifted to one of sudden realization. No wonder these two were acting like they'd been injected with adrenaline.

Before he could even speak, Yamauchi voiced his expectations for the swimming class:

"I didn't expect us to have swimming class this early in the season. Swimming class means girls, and girls mean... swimsuits, right?! This school is awesome!"

Swimming class was co-ed, and given that the girls in Class D were generally very attractive—not to mention girls with explosive figures like Kushida—it was no wonder these two bottom-tier men were so excited.

Katsuya Shinjo chuckled twice and stopped participating in their conversation.

A while later, Ayanokoji arrived at the classroom. Although it was unclear when he had become good friends with these two idiots, it had to be said that thanks to him, Ike and Yamauchi stopped pestering Katsuya and dragged him to the side to talk instead.

As for the topic of conversation, it kept circling back to swimsuits and the like.

Ayanokoji listened blankly, nodding from time to time, but from his calm eyes and tone, it was hard to tell how interested he actually was.

Suddenly, Yamauchi spoke in a hushed tone—though he didn't actually lower his voice:

"Hey, Ayanokoji. Did you know? Sakura confessed to me!"

??????

Sakura?

Katsuya remembered her as a girl who sat in the back row, wearing glasses and sporting twin tails. She had very little presence, didn't seem to have any friends, never spoke in public, and rarely appeared in anyone's field of vision outside of class.

Someone like that would confess to Yamauchi?

What kind of international joke was that?

Considering his habit of bragging, it was probably a lie he'd made up to gain some so-called masculine face.

Of course, the more outrageous part was yet to come.

"Oh? Then congratulations."

"Are you kidding me? A frumpy girl like that isn't my type. At the very least, it has to be someone on the level of Kushida or Hasebe!"

Fortunately, Sakura wasn't present, so the nonsense coming out of this guy's mouth was limited to their own little circle of self-amusement.

Time skipped to the afternoon: swimming class.

The boys had changed into their swimsuits early and lined up by the pool. Koenji, who considered himself the protagonist, didn't even forget to style his hair at a time like this.

"Ho-hahahaha! As expected! My physique is the most perfect! I am the most beautiful person!"

Although his personality caused him to make many enemies, no one could refute him at a time like this; the muscles on Koenji's body were exceptionally well-developed.

If one had to find a word to describe Tarzan, it would be none other than Koenji!

Sudo, being a sports student, also had a decent set of muscles, but compared to Koenji, he was still lacking.

Of course, none of this was the focus of Katsuya's attention. What truly caught his eye was Ayanokoji.

Although his muscle mass wasn't large, Katsuya didn't doubt for a second the immense energy contained within that body.

This guy... could he be some kind of assassin from a special organization? Combined with that poker face and his dead-sounding voice...

But as the saying goes, when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

Ayanokoji was also sizing up Katsuya Shinjo.

The two seemed to share a certain similarity in this regard; while not as flamboyant as Koenji, they both possessed absolute strength contained within relatively small frames.

But if there was any difference, it was likely the large scar on Katsuya's chest. Others might not notice it, but Ayanokoji was certain it had been caused by some kind of explosive.

[Katsuya Shinjo...]

The two locked eyes once again, but after spending this time together, Katsuya had gradually come to believe that Ayanokoji wasn't gay, so he no longer felt a wave of goosebumps.

"What's wrong, Katsuya?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just curious, do you do any regular training?"

"Uh. Tea ceremony, calligraphy, piano."

Tea ceremony, calligraphy, and piano can build muscles like that?! Who are you trying to fool?!

"Hahaha, Ayanokoji-kun, you really are humorous."

Seeing that Katsuya didn't believe him, Ayanokoji could only try to change the subject:

"Forget about me, that mark on your body is..."

Ayanokoji naturally asked what the other boys had been wanting to ask as well.

"This, huh... it's a bit embarrassing to say, but I once loved tempura so much that I even went to visit the God of Tempura. This scar is from when I mishandled the equipment and got burned by the oil vat."

Neither of them could utter a single word of truth, so they both wisely stopped asking any further questions.

As for the girls, it took them quite a while to start trickling out of the changing room.

The Idiot Duo, who had been looking forward to this scene for a long time... and of course, not just them, as the gazes of almost all the boys were drawn over, including Katsuya and Ayanokoji.

Even though they were wearing school swimsuits, one could still make out the girls' fine figures.

Kikyo Kushida even walked up to the boys quite openly and did a spin, instantly locking the gazes of The Idiot Trio firmly onto her.

Why call them a trio? Naturally, because this group had added another member: Sudo, that hot-headed redhead athlete.

"Alright! It's class time now, everyone, line up!"