A Slight Edge

Watanabe Hayabara remained unmoved; he could easily control such minor impulses. He scanned the classroom, his gaze lingering specifically on Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo.

[Little Kikyo is indeed the most imposing one.]

"Alright—everyone, gather 'round!" Accompanied by a booming shout, a burly, muscular man appeared in the students' field of vision. His muscle definition was sharp, and every fiber looked so well-proportioned that one couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

Upon hearing the call, the students gathered around, eyeing the new teacher with curiosity.

"Alright, from today on, I am your swimming instructor," the muscular teacher said with a smile. "The plan for this lesson is as follows: we will start with some simple warm-ups, and then we'll head into the pool to show off our skills. I want to see exactly what your swimming levels are."

Just as everyone was excitedly preparing to warm up, a somewhat timid boy raised his hand and stammered, "Um... Teacher, I'm not very good at swimming..."

The teacher looked at him and comforted, "It doesn't matter. Since I am the one teaching you, I will make sure you learn to swim before the summer is over. Don't worry!"

However, the boy didn't seem to appreciate it. He shook his head and said, "There's no need to force me to learn. I'm not going to the beach or anything anyway."

The teacher's expression turned stern. "That won't do. It doesn't matter how bad you are at swimming right now; I will help you overcome your difficulties. Learning to swim will definitely come in handy later on. I can guarantee you that."

[Oh? A little tip.]

Everyone followed the swimming teacher to perform warm-up exercises. Once finished, the teacher instructed all students to swim one lap of the pool, while those who couldn't swim were told to walk one lap with their feet touching the bottom.

Watanabe Hayabara swam a lap with lightning speed, then stood by the poolside, observing as the other students finished their laps one by one and climbed ashore.

"Hehehe, this is a piece of cake for me! Did you see my super-amazing swimming technique?" Ike Kanji finished his last lap with nimble movements and climbed onto the deck with a smug expression. He stood by the edge, showing off his speed and technique to the surrounding students as if he had just accomplished a magnificent feat.

It seemed that almost every student was able to complete the lap smoothly, which surprised Watanabe Hayabara. After all, he had expected some students to encounter difficulties.

"Teacher, this is too easy! Back in middle school, everyone called me the Agile Flying Fish!" Ike Kanji said excitedly to the teacher, his face beaming with confidence.

The teacher smiled and replied, "Oh, really? That's impressive. But since everyone has performed so well, let's skip the small talk and move on to the competition."

"C... competition! Really?" Upon hearing this news, some students cheered with excitement, while others showed expressions of concern.

"That's right, a competition! Fifty-meter freestyle for both boys and girls," the teacher announced. "And I will give the first-place student a special reward of five thousand points. Conversely, whoever is the slowest will have to accept remedial lessons, so everyone had better be prepared."

For those confident in their swimming skills, this news was undoubtedly thrilling, and they erupted in cheers. However, for those unsure of their abilities, the news hit like a bolt from the blue, leaving them groaning in misery.

"Since there are fewer girls, we will divide them into two groups of five. The student with the shortest time will be the winner. As for the boys, the five fastest will compete for the top spot," the teacher explained the rules in detail.

Excluding the interns and one student who couldn't swim, there were sixteen boys and ten girls. Since they decided to start with the girls, the boys sat happily by the poolside, cheering them on—or rather, taking the opportunity to enjoy the view.

[Tsk.]

Watanabe Hayabara had no interest in watching; he found a small chair by the pool, closed his eyes, and rested.

"Little Kikyo, Little Kikyo, Little Kikyo, huff, huff, huff." Ike Kanji looked completely deranged.

"Little Kikyo is just too cute! And her chest is really huge, as expected!"

Watanabe Hayabara chose to filter out this useless information.

"Now, the first group of boys, get on the lanes!" the swimming teacher shouted.

Watanabe Hayabara opened his eyes slowly this time, stood up, and looked at the pool. Even though he wasn't in the first group, he wanted to see the strength of the boys in his class.

Sudo finished the fifty meters with astonishing momentum and lifted his face from the water. Both boys and girls let out cheers of admiration.

"Nice work, Sudo, only twenty-five seconds," Ike Kanji sighed. "Though you're still a bit inferior compared to me."

[A guy with nothing but athletic nerves still performs quite well.]

"Ayanokoji-kun, why did you hold back?" Watanabe Hayabara adjusted his glasses.

"Uh, Watanabe-kun, I didn't hold back. That was my full strength," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied before walking away in silence.

Why is he so deliberately focused on me? Is he an assassin, Watanabe Hayabara? Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself.

Watanabe Hayabara shook his head.

A scream erupted from the surroundings. Watanabe Hayabara glanced over; it was Yosuke Hirata in the second group. His fibrous muscles were indeed quite influential and attractive to the girls.

"If you dare to beat me, I will do everything in my power to crush you. And I mean my full power," Sudo boasted.

The teacher blew the whistle, and Hirata dove into the pool with a graceful posture. Every time Hirata's arms pulled through the water, the line of girls by the poolside erupted in cheers.

"Surprisingly fast."

Sudo uttered a calm sentence. Hirata was indeed swimming very fast; there was no denying he was a cut above the other four boys swimming with him. This only induced the girls to scream even louder.

Hirata lived up to expectations, reaching the finish line in first place. The high-pitched cheers of the girls echoed throughout the indoor pool.

"Teacher, what's the time?" Ike Kanji asked.

"Hirata's time is... twenty-six point one three seconds."

Watanabe Hayabara remained expressionless, wondering what he was thinking.

As soon as Yosuke Hirata climbed ashore, a girl handed him a long white towel. She was a blonde girl with a ponytail, a gyaru. Watanabe Hayabara recalled slightly and remembered the girl's name—Karuizawa Kei.

More girls crowded around.

"Hirata-kun, you were so cool just now! Not just at soccer, you're also great at swimming."

"Is that so? Thank you."

"Hey, why are you flirting with Hirata-kun!"

"What? You're the one flirting with him!"

"Please, do not quarrel over me, for I belong to everyone. Just watch closely and see how a person of true ability swims." Kouenji Rokusuke suddenly spoke up, seemingly convinced that everyone was arguing over him.

"Hey... why is that guy Kouenji wearing a speedo..."

"Who, who knows?"

That familiar confidence.

"Third group of boys, get ready!"

Watanabe Hayabara cracked his neck and walked toward the pool.

"Hayabara-boy, you are the only threat, though you still cannot rival my beauty," Kouenji laughed.

"Is that so? Kouenji, you're a bit too overconfident."

The students listened to the exchange between Watanabe Hayabara and Kouenji Rokusuke, and anticipation began to build.

Perhaps because Watanabe Hayabara had been away from the pool, many girls were only now noticing his perfect physique.

"Wow, Watanabe-kun's body is so good~! I think I'm falling in love~~"

"I want to touch it~~!"

The girls shrieked, some of them already blushing.

"Kushida-san!" Watanabe Hayabara called out.

"Hm? What is it, Watanabe-kun?" Kushida Kikyo's face flushed slightly.

"Could you please hold my glasses for me?"

"Um... yes, okay!"

Watanabe Hayabara took off his glasses, smoothed back his hair, and handed them to Kushida Kikyo. This triggered another round of gasps.

"Watanabe-kun looks even more handsome without his glasses! Even though he was already handsome! If he takes them off, he could probably hit number one on the list of most handsome boys, jumping straight from fourth to first!"

"Hayabara-boy, this is the look I'm more familiar with," Kouenji Rokusuke remarked.

"Is everyone ready? Listen for my whistle, and then begin!" The swimming instructor was also looking forward to this race; after all, the muscle definition and aura of both Watanabe Hayabara and Kouenji suggested they wouldn't be slow.

At the sound of the whistle, Kouenji dove into the water with textbook form. Watanabe Hayabara, meanwhile, leaned forward the moment the whistle blew and plunged into the pool.

Kouenji Rokusuke's swimming style was incredibly aggressive, much like a hunting tiger shark.

Watanabe Hayabara's swimming style, however, was bizarre—lacking any discernible rhythm or technique, yet absurdly fast.

I can confirm he isn't an assassin; this swimming style is something I couldn't replicate. Watanabe Hayabara, why were you relegated to Class D? Ayanokoji felt a flicker of interest.

"Whoa! So fast!" Sudo exclaimed. Even Sudo, who could clock in at 25 seconds, couldn't match the speed of these two.

Yosuke Hirata also stared at the two of them in stunned silence.

The waves kicked up by the two swimmers splashed everywhere.

The teacher watched the two closely, pressed the stopwatch, and wore an expression of disbelief.

"Twenty... twenty-two point nine one seconds!!!"

"Twenty... twenty-three point two two seconds!!!"

"It seems my abs, back muscles, and core are in their usual excellent condition. Not bad at all. Though Hayabara-boy really didn't hold back."

Kouenji climbed onto the deck in one fluid motion, flashing a relaxed smile as he slicked his hair back and looked at Watanabe Hayabara.

"I can only say it's the same as always—just a slight edge," Watanabe Hayabara said with a cold expression.

"Hayabara-boy, let's have some fun together again next time. There's a pretty girl looking for you." Kouenji Rokusuke turned and walked away from the crowd.