Soul Strength

The long-awaited swimming lesson began.

The boys let out a chorus of groans—though really, only a few were howling; most were just a little disappointed.

It was because the swimming teacher had just said, "The school has plenty of swimming facilities. From now on, public swimming lessons will be held separately for boys and girls.

Of course, if you want to practice on your own, whether with friends or a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can come to me or the gym staff and rent a private venue using points. The school guarantees complete privacy."

Ike Kanji shouted, "As if any girl would ever accept an invitation like that!"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded along, but inwardly thought that the only boys in the class who could successfully invite a girl to swim together were probably Hirata and You En.

"Professor" Sotoyama Hideo clutched the camera he'd bought with a hefty amount of points, feeling a bit disappointed.

Yamauchi Haruki wore a look of displeasure and kept complaining nonstop.

Sudo Ken, already annoyed, snapped at him, "Wasn't it you guys who kept talking so... obviously that made the girls want to separate from us?!"

Hirata Yosuke walked over. "Alright, alright, stop arguing. We finally have a swimming lesson—why not just enjoy it and have some fun?"

The gym teacher approached. "PE class has teaching goals too. You have to meet my requirements first before you can have free time."

"Oh."

A few scattered replies, sounding rather listless.

But it was a different story on the girls' side.

In the girls' pool, the teacher in charge was also a female PE instructor. According to her self-introduction, she was a former professional swimmer.

As for the separation of boys and girls, the happiest one was Kei Karuizawa.

Yet she put on a regretful expression and said to her clique, "I prepared a really cute swimsuit to show Hirata, but I guess I won't get to use it."

Sonoda Maedai suddenly understood. "So that's why you're wearing such an mismatched swimsuit—you only planned to show him. What a shame."

Ishikura Kayoko teased, "You're just blinded by love! Your eyes are only on Hirata, not on us friends."

"That's not true."

Kei Karuizawa subconsciously touched her waist, then relaxed. At least she wouldn't have to think up excuses to skip class or cover for this anymore.

Hasebe Haruka was also in a good mood. Her body had developed a little faster than other girls her age, and honestly, she didn't like people gossiping about it.

Usually, she chose loose-fitting clothes to hide it.

"Finally, I can play without worry, without those annoying boys around."

Kei Karuizawa voiced what every girl was thinking.

The teacher spoke up. "Alright, first come over and let me see each of your individual skill levels. Then I'll give you corresponding training plans. It'll be quick."

Matsushita Chiaki stood in line, quietly observing everyone's reactions and filing them away in her mind.

This sudden separation of boys and girls for swimming class seemed a bit suspicious.

From what she knew, other classes hadn't done this during their swimming lessons before. So the problem must have come from within the class.

Who had arranged it? Probably not a girl. Aside from herself, there were only a few among the girls with that kind of initiative.

Kushida Kikyo was good at building relationships. Even when looked at with those kinds of eyes or insulted with those kinds of words, she didn't seem disgusted—instead, she could still smile back. That was either impressive or a little frightening.

Horikita Suzune clearly had no idea about this.

That left the boys.

Matsushita Chiaki guessed. Hirata? Or... Ayanokoji?

She didn't think Ayanokoji would be that considerate. Probably it was that classmate named You En Tiandai. No, maybe he had tipped off Hirata to do it.

She glanced at Horikita Suzune again.

Matsushita Chiaki's eyes lit up. She felt she'd found the right answer, because she'd mostly figured out You En's goal.

Over the past few days, she'd noticed he was on good terms with Horikita Suzune. So most likely, he'd come up with this idea to keep Horikita from being filmed by those idiots.

Well done.

Matsushita Chiaki gave You En a mental thumbs-up. Regardless, it was a gentlemanly move, and she was a beneficiary too.

"Ah—choo!"

In another pool not far away, You En sneezed.

"What's wrong? That weak?"

Yamauchi Haruki shook his head. "You can't be like that."

You En ignored him. Yamauchi, getting no reaction, went off to talk to others, and You En could still hear him complaining about him.

"Really asking for a beating."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka finally found a chance to sidle over. "You En, what's up?"

"Nothing. I just want to punch you. Let me take a swing."

You En's words left Ayanokoji Kiyotaka baffled. What did that mean? No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.

He could only fall back on his disguised persona. "No way, I'm really weak."

You En looked at the muscles all over his body, with an expression that said, Do you take me for a fool?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka found he really couldn't handle this person. One sentence, one look, and he was already stuck.

"Then I won't hit you. Teach me to swim instead."

You En said it casually.

"Teach me seriously, and I'll forgive you."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt bewildered. Was there some hidden connection between these things?

Not hitting him, teaching him to swim, and forgiving him—what did any of this have to do with anything else?

He declined politely, "Didn't the teacher just teach us earlier?"

"I've already learned it. I just need practice. Help me watch and point out anything wrong."

You En had a fair amount of confidence in Ayanokoji's professional level.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka understood now. So he wanted a practice partner. Why did he have to talk in such a roundabout way?

For the first time, he felt a bit mentally drained, but he still replied, "Alright."

Though he didn't forget to add, "My skill level isn't great either. I might not be able to spot anything."

Fine, fine, fine. Can't go three sentences without playing the fool.

You En couldn't be bothered to call him out on it.

After a simple warm-up and a shower, You En entered the pool and walked around, feeling the buoyancy of the water.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched from the side, planning to help correct him—of course, at the level an ordinary classmate would have.

But he quickly discovered that the other person wasn't making a single mistake.

Whether it was breathing exercises in the water or floating drills, he mastered them extremely fast. He was basically within a correct range from the very start.

Moreover, he seemed to grasp the core of floating quickly—the transfer and control of center of gravity—without even needing Ayanokoji's guidance or assistance.

And he relaxed very fast. Actually, it was more like this person had been in a relaxed state all along.

Ayanokoji remembered that when he learned to swim, the hardest part was relaxing, because he never knew what relaxation was. He had to train in other things later to make up for that gap.

Watching the other person complete several full floating sequences and then directly start practicing breaststroke, Ayanokoji thought to himself, Could he really be a genius?

Actually, that wasn't the case.

You En's absorption rate of experience and knowledge was influenced by his other self—his past life—so naturally, he picked things up quite quickly.

Plus, he exercised regularly. He wasn't as ridiculously built as Ayanokoji, Sudo, or Koenji, but he had no excess fat and decent control over his body.

"Swimming Lv0 (Beginner)"

The Student Terminal updated quietly, but there was no notification.

You En continued training, planning to finish today's lesson targets first.

At that moment, Yamauchi Haruki complained to the teacher instructing him nearby, "We're not going out to sea anyway. What's the point of learning to swim so seriously? Just mess around, isn't that enough?"

The PE teacher gave him a deep look, said nothing, and turned to instruct other students.

After the PE teacher left, Yamauchi Haruki felt quite proud of himself, thinking he'd shown courage by talking back to the teacher. He pulled a few classmates aside and started bragging about his recent experience.

You En felt he'd practiced enough and turned to look at Ayanokoji beside him.

"How is it? Any problems?"

"Looks impressive. Well, at least I can't see any mistakes."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could actually spot a few issues—mainly with the swimming posture—

But the teacher had only gone over it briefly, and today's progress didn't require reaching that point, so an ordinary classmate wouldn't have mastered it that quickly. He decided not to mention it.

You En looked at him suspiciously, feeling a bit unreliable.

"Fine, I'll go ask the teacher."

You En found the PE teacher and greeted him politely.

"I've finished the lesson training, but I'm not sure if my form is standard. Could you take a look?"

The PE teacher thought of that Yamauchi kid just now, compared him to this student... Let's just say comparing Yamauchi to You En was already an insult to You En.

"Follow me. Let me see you in action."

The PE teacher got into the water, ready to guide from the front, but found it wasn't really necessary, so he just watched carefully.

After You En finished one lap, the teacher had him float in the water and pointed out his issues in detail, correcting him as he went.

"Not bad. From here on, it's just a matter of practice."

The PE teacher praised him with some delight. When a teacher encounters a student who is obedient, quick-witted, and emotionally intelligent, it's actually a mutually enjoyable experience.

Moreover, he knew You En had never learned before—this made the sense of achievement even greater for the teacher.

The PE teacher originally planned to check with his access privileges, but found that You En had already entered the club system, and some information was protected.

However, the information he wanted to see wasn't restricted yet—that was mental strength, also known as soul strength.

The difference in soul strength between ordinary people is very small, fluctuating within a range of 0.5%. Even if one person is entirely positive and another entirely negative, the maximum gap is only 1.005 minus 0.995, or 1%.

Yet, on You En's information, his soul strength was actually—

"2.01"

The next moment, that number blurred.

At the same time, he received a warning from the Kyudo Club, signed—"Red Bow."