Swimming Lesson

Toru Hasegawa was reaching his limit.

He couldn't just force himself to finish the bento like a character in a manga or anime; that would be irresponsible toward his own body.

He snapped the lid back onto the pink bento box and returned it to Arisu Sakayanagi exactly as it was.

"I truly lack the fortune to enjoy this, so please, handle it yourself!"

With that, Toru Hasegawa walked straight out of the classroom, heading toward the convenience store to buy a bento.

"Classmate Sakayanagi... are you alright?"

Masumi Kamuro hoped Arisu Sakayanagi wouldn't take her anger out on her; after all, every debt has its debtor, so she should go bother Toru Hasegawa instead!

"I'm fine, it's my own issue." Arisu Sakayanagi shook her head and handed the bento box to Masumi Kamuro. "Help me dispose of this, I'll wait for you here."

"Understood."

Masumi Kamuro nodded obediently, took the bento box, and dashed out of the classroom like a gust of wind.

"Thank goodness there's no problem this time, otherwise I'd be forced to eat at the cafeteria from now on."

Until the swimming class began, Toru Hasegawa hadn't noticed anything wrong with his body, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.

"Very good, only one person chose to observe." The swimming instructor nodded with great satisfaction. "I'll get straight to the point. After the warm-up exercises, I want you all to swim so I can see what your actual strength is."

Except for Arisu Sakayanagi, who was physically unable to participate in sports, everyone else in Class A chose to join in.

Toru Hasegawa silently glanced at Masumi Kamuro, who was wearing a swimsuit, and discovered that she was unexpectedly well-endowed.

Beyond the standard school swimsuit was flawless skin, and the long, slender legs beneath it drew the attention of quite a few boys.

Toru Hasegawa didn't dare look for long; he quickly withdrew his gaze, raised his hand, and said to the instructor:

"Um, actually, I'm not very good at swimming."

His words seemed to flip a switch, and many others immediately chimed in; after all, no one had expected to start with swimming activities right away.

"It doesn't matter. I will definitely make sure you all learn to swim before the summer is over."

The swimming instructor flashed a set of pearly white teeth, causing Toru Hasegawa's body to shiver involuntarily.

The muscular man's smile reminded him of some rather unpleasant things.

"In any case, those who can't swim don't have to participate in the competition for now. The rest of you, split into groups by gender. I will give the student who takes first place a special reward of 5,000 points. Now, start warming up."

Following the instructor's command, all the students began their warm-ups.

Toru Hasegawa was assigned to the first group of boys.

"You're that guy who's always following Princess around, right? My name is Masayoshi Hashimoto."

A blond guy sidled up to him and said.

< src="https://e1.kuangxiangit./uplos/chaptersnew/964/264132/250327/1743082418-100434764-113160759.jpg" alt='Masayoshi Hashimoto'>

"No, you're wrong about that." Toru Hasegawa corrected him. "She's the one who's always clinging to me, not the other way around. Please don't get that mixed up."

"Is that so..." Masayoshi Hashimoto said, noncommittally.

Toru Hasegawa asked casually, "By the way, how is your swimming level?"

"It's alright, I guess."

"People who say they're 'alright' are usually anything but."

Toru Hasegawa muttered to himself; only those who say they can't do something are truly being honest.

And as he had predicted, the facts followed suit: Masayoshi Hashimoto clocked in a solid time of twenty-six seconds, while he managed forty seconds, which was fairly standard.

"Is this what you call 'alright'?"

It was rare for a boy to take the initiative to talk to him, and even though he sensed some ulterior motives, Toru Hasegawa still threw the conversation back at him.

"Just average, just average." Masayoshi Hashimoto said modestly. "Look at that guy over there; now that is impressive."

As he spoke, he pointed his finger toward a boy with long blue hair not far away.

< src="https://e1.kuangxiangit./uplos/chaptersnew/964/264132/250327/1743082436-100434764-113160759.jpg" alt='Hayato Kito'>

Toru Hasegawa noticed him too, mostly because the guy didn't look like a high school student at all, but rather like someone involved in the underworld.

"I remember... his name is Kito, right?"

"That's right. Don't let his appearance fool you; he's actually unexpectedly delicate in his thinking."

Is "delicate" the right word to describe a guy?

As Toru Hasegawa thought this, he saw Hayato Kito, who had just finished with an impressive time of twenty-five seconds, looking a bit flustered after returning to the shore.

Especially those hands of his—he seemed not to know where to put them, moving them up and down, and Toru Hasegawa even felt a bit embarrassed for him.

In the end, Hayato Kito claimed the reward offered by the swimming instructor: 5,000 points.

"What are you doing?"

Since he couldn't keep eating bento boxes forever, Toru Hasegawa planned to head to Keyaki Mall to sort out his dinner, but Masayoshi Hashimoto, who had initiated a conversation with him during swimming class, ended up tagging along.

"Let's add each other as friends first."

Masayoshi Hashimoto made the request to exchange contact information with a grin, and Toru Hasegawa readily agreed.

"By the way, have you been here before?"

"I have. Why do you ask?"

"This is my first time. If you don't mind, do you have any recommendations for places that are affordable and filling?"

Toru Hasegawa figured that having a veteran guide would make things much more convenient.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't here to eat back then."

And so, the two grown men stood there staring at each other.

"...Let's just find somewhere to eat."

Toru Hasegawa concluded; without any prior knowledge, some lessons just had to be learned the hard way.

Just then, someone unexpected approached them.

"Um... could it be that you two are struggling with what to have for dinner?"

Toru Hasegawa turned around to see a girl with hair color similar to Masayoshi Hashimoto's. She was incredibly cute, her school uniform stretched tight across her chest, and she wore black stockings beneath her skirt that struck a chord with his personal preferences.

< src="https://e1.kuangxiangit./uplos/chaptersnew/964/264132/250327/1743082466-100434764-113160759.jpg" alt='Kikyo Kushida'>

"Yes, may I ask who you are...?"

"Ah, let me introduce myself. I'm Kikyo Kushida from Class D. My goal is to become friends with everyone. You two are first-years as well, right?"

This sentence calmed the inner turmoil that had just stirred within Toru Hasegawa.

Something wasn't right. This person was suspicious.

How could any normal human being's wish be to become friends with everyone? Anyone with a sound mind would know that was impossible just by giving it a little thought.

Toru Hasegawa glanced at the number above her head: 60. It was standard, neither high nor low.

"I'm Toru Hasegawa, and this is Masayoshi Hashimoto. We're both students from Class A. To be honest, we were just wondering what to have for dinner, so it would be great if you could help us out."

"Mhm, mhm." Kikyo Kushida nodded, then looked at Toru Hasegawa as if she had suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "Could you be the Hasegawa from yesterday's club orientation?"

"Unless there's someone else named Hasegawa... that would be me."

"I knew the voice sounded familiar! It wasn't until I heard the introduction that it clicked. Ehehe." Kikyo Kushida tapped her head lightly with her fist, looking incredibly cute.

"Anyway, follow me."