Horikita: You Have No Right to Refuse!

If there was one boy who didn't look at the girls with strange eyes, it was Hirata. Has this guy already attained enlightenment or something?

After the whistle blew, Horikita, who was in the fourth lane, dove into the water and took the lead right from the start. Kikyo followed closely behind, but she was clearly a step slower in terms of speed.

Horikita maintained her lead all the way to the finish line without a single moment of suspense. She finished the fifty-meter swim beautifully; as expected, Horikita is quite formidable when it comes to sports. If you add her academic ability to the mix, she definitely wouldn't have been placed in Class D if not for her poor interpersonal skills.

"Whoa! Nice job, Horikita."

"That's a shame, so close, Onodera!"

Her time was around twenty-eight seconds, while Kikyo was slightly slower at thirty seconds. That should be considered quite fast, yet Horikita climbed out of the pool slowly, not even panting or flushed.

However, the boys clearly weren't prioritizing the results; their gazes were primarily fixed on the girls' supple backsides. Even Ju Ji was the same—as expected, the girls' races were much more pleasing to the eye.

Happy times are fleeting. In the end, a girl from the swimming club named Onodera achieved an overwhelming victory with an impeccable time of twenty-six seconds. Is the competition in this school's clubs a bit too intense? Even ordinary members have this kind of strength.

"As expected, Horikita-san is very good at swimming."

"I wouldn't call it 'good'."

"I wasn't very good at swimming in middle school, but after training desperately, I learned how to do it."

"I actually think Kushida-san swam quite well. But 'training desperately,' huh? Maybe someone else should try that too."

Perhaps having acknowledged each other's strength, Horikita and Kushida began to chat in a friendly manner after the race ended. Of course, Kikyo led most of the conversation.

"Is that Ju Ji-kun? You two really are close, aren't you."

"Shinomiya? We're just normal classmates. You're the one calling him by his first name, Kushida. Did he threaten you?"

"Threaten? Nothing of the sort. Isn't it normal for friends to call each other by their first names?"

On the surface, the interaction between the two seemed quite smooth. For some reason, Ju Ji felt a chill run down his spine. It felt as if something quite ominous was about to happen later.

In the first group of the boys' division, Sudo achieved an overwhelming victory, swimming the fifty-meter distance with astonishing momentum. Both boys and girls let out cheers of admiration.

"Nice job, Sudo, it only took you twenty-five seconds."

It was truly impressive, even a second faster than Onodera from the swimming club. Even Ayanokoji couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Incidentally, Ayanokoji finished in the middle of the pack, in twelfth place.

"Sudo, do you want to join the swimming club? With a little training, you'd easily be able to compete in tournaments."

"My heart is set on basketball; swimming is just for fun."

"Ah... I really hate those guys with great athletic ability, don't you, Shinomiya?"

Ike poked Ju Ji's elbow with a jealous look. And don't drag Ju Ji into this, okay? He's just not good at swimming; it doesn't mean he lacks athletic ability.

Although Sudo was stronger in terms of raw power, he was clearly inferior to Hirata in terms of popularity. As soon as Hirata stepped up, he drew cheers from most of the girls in the class.

Hirata-kun's popularity had surpassed the point of being infuriating and reached a level that was simply dumbfounding. Even Ju Ji had to admit he was a little envious of him.

Without any surprises, Hirata won his group with an overwhelming performance, though his time was twenty-five point three seconds, which was a bit slower than Sudo's.

"Please, everyone, don't argue over me, because I belong to all of you. Just watch closely and see what someone with real talent looks like when they swim!"

Koenji seemed to take all those cheers as his own. His tone was also incredibly provocative. Furthermore, for some reason, he was wearing swim briefs that emphasized his crotch, causing many girls to look away.

The subsequent race held no surprises; Koenji won the boys' division outright with a time of twenty-three seconds. Both his physical and academic abilities were top-tier. However, he was just too antisocial and arrogant. He seemed to look down on everyone. In a sense, he was a bit like Horikita, but he was clearly in the genius category.

"Ju Ji, why is your face so red... Is your health still not fully recovered?"

"No, my health is fine. It's just a bit too hot."

After the race ended, Kikyo came to Ju Ji's side to talk to him. But did Kikyo really not know the reason? It's hard not to have your heart race when a beautiful girl in a swimsuit is right next to you. The gazes of the boys around them were piercing—could they not do that?

"Come to think of it, it's quite strange. The school has had swimming classes since April."

"Perhaps it's because of the excellent indoor pool. But you really are a good swimmer, Kikyo."

"Not really, I wasn't very good at it before either. How about this? I'll teach you how to swim later, Ju Ji. I have quite a bit of experience with swimming practice. Teacher, can I participate in the remedial lessons later?"

"Of course, you're very welcome!"

Kikyo didn't seem to give Ju Ji the option to refuse, asking the teacher directly. However, compared to a muscular male teacher, Ju Ji preferred practicing with a beautiful girl in a swimsuit. There was nothing to refuse, and it was a fact that he wasn't good at swimming.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Kikyo."

"Mm, see you later then!"

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Kikyo returned to the girls' line. The swimming lesson wasn't over yet; it was now time for free practice. The remedial lessons would take place after school in the evening.

Just then, Ike, wearing an expression like a vengeful spirit, suddenly lunged over.

"Ike, what are you doing? I didn't provoke you, did I?"

"Aren't you doing it right now?"

Ike wrapped his arm around Ju Ji's neck and whispered.

"You already have Horikita-san, yet you're making a move on Kushida-san. Kushida-san is my target."

"I understand, but Horikita and I aren't in the kind of relationship you think."

I don't know why everyone seems to misunderstand the relationship between Ju Ji and Horikita. Isn't it just that they are often together? Friends are the same way, and besides, they aren't even friends. Thinking of this, Ju Ji felt a bit of a sting in his heart.

Besides, Ike's target was set a bit too high. There are things in this world that are achievable and things that are not. Kikyo is not someone on Ike's level that can be conquered. The two are simply not in the same league.

"I'm going to join the make-up lessons after Shinomiya as well; I've already gotten the teacher's approval. I'll be helping you train until you've completely mastered swimming. Prepare yourself to train until you drop."

"No, I..."

"What are you trying to say? As my assistant, it would be too pathetic if you couldn't even swim. You don't have the right to refuse."

Horikita was as overbearing as ever, as if she would beat Ju Ji to a pulp the moment he showed any intention of refusing. Without any surprises, Ju Ji chose to prioritize his survival. But Horikita, why did you and Kikyo end up scheduled for the same time?

Isn't this redundant? Is it still too late to turn down Kikyo now? In the end, Ju Ji gave up on thinking; things would work themselves out when the time came. It was just learning to swim, after all. It wasn't anything strange, so what would it matter even if both of them were there together?