The Change in Ken Sudō

However, perhaps it was because Suzuki Niyama-ji became a teacher that he had such strong thoughts.

Kanji Ike nudged Yamauchi Haruki with his elbow, and the two of them kept their eyes glued to the girl.

They only started doing calisthenics pretending when Mr. Sato Kenichi blew his piercing whistle.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka jumped into the pool, and the long-lost feeling of buoyancy reminded him of the beach last summer.

The water temperature was just right; he glided across the surface like a silver fish, covering fifty meters in the blink of an eye.

"See that? My freestyle swimming is textbook perfect!"

Kanji Ike climbed ashore, shaking his head, water droplets tracing shimmering arcs in the sunlight.

"Next, the boys' and girls' group competitions!" Mr. Sato Kenichi announced, clapping his hands. "The first place winner will receive 5000 points, and the last place..."

He deliberately dragged out the word, "Stay and practice!"

"Only five thousand?" Yamauchi Haruki muttered under his breath, "Back when school started, Ms. Chabashira Sae casually gave out one hundred thousand..."

Although 5000 points is already a lot, Chabashira Sae's outstanding performance has led the students in Class D to look down on her.

Sato Kenichi's expression froze instantly.

He rushed to Yamauchi Haruki in three quick steps.

"You said Chabashira Sae gave 100,000 yen? And for three people?"

His voice even changed tone by the end.

Hirata Yosuke from Class D, stepped forward and gently explained the special reward from that day.

Sato Kenichi stroked his chin thoughtfully, but his gaze was suddenly drawn to the other end of the pool.

Koenji Rokusuke stood with his arms crossed in the shallow water, his blond hair gleaming in the sunlight.

He looked down at Tanaka Yukishin, who was playing in the water like a joyful dolphin, stirring up sparkling water with every turn.

"I never expected that the tyrannical Club Tyrant, Tanaka-kun..." Koenji Rokusuke drawled, "Would play in the water like a three-year-old."

In the swimming pool, Tanaka Yukishin was getting used to the increased water affinity brought about by the [Dragon Bloodline] upgrade.

If before he was merely benevolent towards water, now the water seems to have gained life, embracing him.

Experiencing a completely different sensory feedback than before, he sighed inwardly.

Now, not counting other gifts.

They are capable of surviving natural disasters.

The tsunami could not drown him, a descendant of the dragon.

Under the influence of his mental scanning, he possessed a reaction time 100 meters faster than top martial artists who could react to the earthquake by sensing the tremors and making decisions before taking action.

There was nothing he could do about the volcanic eruption, but with his physique, after hearing the sound, he used his mental power to sense that he wouldn't be hit by the lava spewing from the sky.

Hurricane... The effect of [Dragon Bloodline] on wind is currently unclear.

At this moment, Koenji Rokusuke's words interrupted his thoughts.

"What's the matter?"

"Obviously." Koenji Rokusuke opened his arms wide, revealing his sculpted muscles. "Shall we have a gentleman's contest?"

"Ha! A swimming contest?"

Tanaka Yukishin as if she had heard the funniest joke and couldn't stop laughing.

The sight startled the girls nearby, who all turned to look.

And that is indeed the case.

If we're talking about other skills, Koenji Rokusuke might have a stroke of luck, like winning the lottery.

So swimming would mean a 100% loss rate.

How could a human possibly swim past a dragon...?

Although he is not a dragon, he merely possesses the Dragon Bloodline.

But it's not something that humans in the everyday world can win.

"If we're only talking about swimming ability, then come challenge me to a swimming contest when you can return unharmed from a tsunami using only your own body."

He wiped away tears of laughter and gave an impossible answer.

Koenji Rokusuke's face darkened.

At that moment, Sato Kenichi interrupted, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two.

"Two top students with scores in the hundreds of thousands? Should we participate in the competition later? Class D is full of hidden talents..."

"Not interested."

Tanaka Yukishin darted into the water like a fish, disappearing into the bottom of the pond like a phantom of ethereal blue.

Koenji Rokusuke, however, curled the corners of his lips into a smile.

"That sounds interesting."

The match began soon.

The girls were divided into three groups, their swimsuits blooming like flowers on the blue water.

The boys sat by the pool looking serious, but their eyes were practically glued to the girls.

Kanji Ike was even more obsessed, muttering "Kushida- chan... Kushida- chan..."

It looks like a stuck tape recorder.

The boys nearby couldn't help but frown.

A sharp whistle pierced the air above the pool, and five beautiful figures simultaneously leaped into the water.

Horikita Suzune darted through the waves in the second channel like a silver arrow, her swimming technique so perfect it would put even professional coaches to shame.

She led by half a body length the entire time, and the splash she made when she touched the wall just wet her eyelashes.

"Twenty-eight seconds exactly!"

When Sato Kenichi pressed the stopwatch, his eyebrows shot up.

The boys' cheers were mixed with whistles.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka subconsciously glanced at it a couple more times.

After all, she was the only girl in the class who would take the initiative to talk to him.

When the second group of matches began, the entire pool suddenly erupted in cheers.

Kushida Kikyo stood on the diving platform, smiling and waving, and the boys' formation immediately erupted in a monkey-like howl.

Someone accidentally pinched the shoulder of the person next to them, causing pain; another person pretended to stretch but actually adjusted the tightness of their swim trunks.

"Nice to meet you!"

Kushida Kikyo's voice trailed off like it was dipped in honey.

The splashes she made when she entered the water seemed to be sparkling with starlight, and her time of thirty-one seconds drove the boys wild.

For girls, excessively large breasts in certain areas can indeed affect their athletic performance.

However, for boys, they wish it could last as long as possible.

Results of Group 3.

Onodera Kayano from the Swimming Club crushed the entire field with a time of 26 seconds.

Professional athletes are indeed very strong.

The boys' competition then began with whistles.

Ken Sudō shot into the water like a cannonball, and the curtain of water he created in his freestyle stroke almost made Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, choke on water.

When the 25-second result was announced, Kanji Ike was jab Ken Sudō's body with his elbow.

"Are those muscles inflated? They're definitely inflated!"

Hirata Yosuke's appearance caused the girls' screams to rise several degrees.

His slender figure entered the water like scissors slicing through silk, and his time of 26.13 seconds made Ken Sudō's expression change.

"The Basketball Club," Hirata Yosuke smiled, flicking the water droplets from his blond hair, "Shall we have an extra game?"

"That suits me perfectly!"

Ken Sudō's roar made Kanji Ike's ears ring, but he didn't notice that the girls were all secretly staring at Hirata Yosuke's dripping collarbone.

The two had a pretty good relationship, so...

Friendship first, competition second?

When Koenji Rokusuke untied his yukata, revealing his swim trunks, the entire pool fell into an eerie silence.

The boys instinctively brought their legs together, while the girls collectively turned away.

"The ancient Greeks proved it long ago," he said, stroking his sculpted abs, "That the golden ratio should be paired with the golden section."

The moment the whistle blew, Koenji Rokusuke's entry into the water nearly made Sato Kenichi's jaw drop.

His freestyle strokes didn't look like swimming; they looked more like Poseidon cleaving the waves with his trident.

The time was 23.2 seconds.

As he emerged from the water, he casually tossed his wet hair back, a gesture that prompted the three girls to immediately declare their intention to join the Classical Aesthetics Research Club.

"Interesting."

Ken Sudō's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.

In fact, the final match was a Koenji Rokusuke and Ken Sudō.

Others may not be nameless, but they lack competitiveness.

The duel between the two resembled a performance art piece.

The former swam like Apollo driving his chariot of the sun, while the latter was like an enraged bull.

When Koenji Rokusuke won by a landslide, the water droplets from his hair flashed rainbows in the sunlight.

"Koenji Rokusuke!" Sato Kenichi shouted, chasing after Koenji Rokusuke, "Have you considered the national tournament?"

"The arena of mortals is not worthy of my aesthetics."

Koenji Rokusuke put on his yukata and, before leaving, cast a meaningful glance in the direction where Tanaka Yukishin was.

The latter is currently at the bottom of the pool, further adapting to the water, with strings of bubbles rising to the surface like pearl chains.

After watching the match, Horikita Suzune walked towards Ayanokoji Kiyotaka with a thoughtful expression.

"I see the value you speak of."

"Yeah..."

Chapter 71, Section 70 Ken Sudō Incident

Ken Sudō ran across the court, sweat streaming down his face.

His movements were more aggressive than usual, as if he wanted to vent all his frustration on the basketball.

"Hey, Sudo! Concentrate!"

The roar of the Basketball Club seniors came from the sidelines.

Ken Sudō snapped back to reality, only to realize that he had been daydreaming again.

He hastily wiped the sweat from his face, muttered a "sorry" under his breath, but his eyes quickly became unfocused again.

Three days have passed since the study session ended in a falling out.

He longed to go back, but he was afraid of being rejected, and even more afraid of being mocked to his face by Horikita Suzune.

Apologize?

The boy's intense yet useless pride held him back.

"Let's go to the study session hosted by Hirata tomorrow."