Natsukawa said with a smile:
"Hiyori, seeing you in that pretty outfit, I thought you knew how to swim."
Hiyori asked with a smile:
"Hehe, do you think it's pretty, Tatsuya?"
Natsukawa nodded in affirmation:
"Very pretty!"
Hiyori replied with a serene smile:
"Hehe, I thought this outfit looked quite nice, so I wore it. I was really looking forward to swimming class!"
"Then why are you sitting here reading?"
"Because I can't swim."
"Well, I thought this would be a nice outfit if I ever got the chance to go to the beach. I saw this swimsuit while shopping at the school store the other day, and I liked it, so I bought it."
Hiyori seemed more interested in chatting with Natsukawa, her reading buddy, than in reading, and happily shared her experience.
And although she usually seemed calm and a little airheaded, she actually had a sly side when it came to things that interested her, and she felt no embarrassment at all.
"Hehe, I have an even sexier swimsuit, too! I just couldn't bring myself to wear it."
Natsukawa immediately became interested.
"Oh? Then I'll have to see it sometime!"
Hiyori said with a smile:
"Do you want to see it, Tatsuya? But that's not allowed."
Natsukawa nodded regretfully:
"Then why are you tempting me, Hiyori?"
With an innocent look in her eyes, Hiyori replied with a smile:
"Hehe, I'm just sharing with a friend."
Natsukawa had to hand it to Hiyori. Was she sure she wasn't tempting him?
Hiyori continued:
"Tatsuya, can you swim? This is the first time I've seen you looking so fit. Can I touch you to see how this is put together?"
"Oh! So this is what abs feel like!"
Hiyori happily touched him, then immediately pulled her hand back.
It felt as though Hiyori's personality had changed so much after her affection rating increased that she was hard to handle.
Natsukawa awkwardly rubbed his nose and said:
"Hiyori, doesn't this embarrass you?"
Hiyori said with a smile:
"No. Do you think there's a problem, Tatsuya?"
It seemed Hiyori didn't care at all that other classmates might see this, or perhaps it hadn't even occurred to her. A quiet, sly literary girl really did have her own distinctive traits.
Natsukawa answered:
"Uh, no problem."
"Hiyori, how about I teach you to swim after the test? Then you'll be able to swim if you ever get the chance to go to the beach!"
"Sure, that would be wonderful!"
Hiyori replied with a happy smile.
The two chatted about other topics after that, and Hiyori shared a little about the book she had just been reading.
After a while, Hiyori asked with a smile:
"Tatsuya, aren't you going to take the swimming test?"
Natsukawa replied:
"I'm not interested. Talking with you is more fun, Hiyori."
Unwilling to give up, Hiyori suggested:
"But there's a reward of 5,000 points for first place."
"Hmm? You think I'd win, Hiyori?"
"If it's you, Tatsuya, it should be no problem."
Hiyori continued with a shrewd smile:
"Tatsuya, could it be that you've found another way to earn points? You're not even trying for first place."
He hadn't expected Hiyori to be so clever that she would guess the reason immediately, though it might also have been a coincidence.
Natsukawa answered:
"I wouldn't necessarily come first. I keep feeling like you have some ulterior motive, Hiyori."
"Hehe, mostly I just want to watch you swim, Tatsuya. It wouldn't hurt to watch beforehand. Aren't you going to teach me to swim?"
"Besides, judging by your build, Tatsuya, none of the other students have anything like it. Your chances of coming first should be pretty high!"
Natsukawa nodded with a smile:
"All right. But how about I take the test if you give me a massage to loosen me up, Hiyori? And with your encouragement, I'll come first!"
Hiyori thought for a moment, then said with a smile:
"Sure! But you have to give me half the points!"
"Hiyori, are you short on points?"
"Not really. Anyway, between my intuition and my judgment, you're going to win, Tatsuya. I can't pass up free points. Hehe!"
"All right, then I'll give it a try."
"No! You have to come first!"
The long bench was meant for students to stretch on in the first place, so Natsukawa lay down on his stomach.
Since Hiyori didn't care what other people thought, and Natsukawa was the same type, he then enjoyed a back massage from her.
Her little hands were cool and soft.
Ding! Affection rating +5 Current affection rating: 80
Afterward, Natsukawa went to the edge of the pool.
Hiyori also decided to follow him and cheer him on.
Natsukawa smiled at Hiyori:
"With your reward, Hiyori, I'm guaranteed to win!"
"Hehe, then you absolutely can't lose, Tatsuya!"
By now, only the skilled swimmers confident in their abilities remained by the pool for the final rounds, including Ryuuen, Ishizaki, and the others.
Hearing Natsukawa's confident words, Ryuuen sneered and said:
"Yo! Natsukawa, finally woken up from your little love nest? Been making big promises to the girl you like? Then let's have a race!"
Any other girl would surely have blushed with embarrassment at teasing like that. Even the icy Ibuki Mio had gotten angry the last time Ryuuen teased her about being too close to Natsukawa.
Unfortunately, Hiyori wasn't one of them. She continued calmly watching the group of students currently racing in the pool.
Seeing that Hiyori barely reacted, Ryuuen curled his lip and said:
"Tch, boring!"
Then Ryuuen gave Natsukawa a low chuckle and said:
"Tsk, tsk, you always manage to hook up with boring women. Looks like that plan to gather information on Classes A and B has to fall to you, Natsukawa! I'm sure you'll surprise me!"
Natsukawa helplessly spread his hands at him.
Why did Ryuuen always think he was smarter than Ishizaki and the others, and that he could dig up information they couldn't? Could this be his personal charm?
Forget it. I'll give him a little tip in a few days. That was what I had in mind anyway.
Because of Ryuuen and the others' violent activities during breaks over the past two weeks, Class C had actually already lost quite a few of the points it was due to lose. If he told Ryuuen that conduct would most likely be assessed, and Ryuuen reined in Class C, they should still be able to get slightly more class points than in the original story.
Ishizaki Daichi roared with laughter:
"Whoa! Ryuuen, Natsukawa, let's settle this!"
Although Ishizaki admitted he was no match for Ryuuen when it came to violence, he would never concede defeat in swimming!
Next, after the swimming teacher recorded the previous group's times, it was Natsukawa and the others' turn. With Ryuuen there, the other girls' groups didn't dare cut in line.
Soon, five boys stood ready at the edge of the pool. Besides Ryuuen and Ishizaki, there were two students Natsukawa didn't know well.
At the swimming teacher's whistle, Natsukawa shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Although Ryuuen was fairly good at fighting, he wasn't so good at sports, especially when his opponent was a system user like Natsukawa with ultimate control over his body.
He entered the water fast, and even with the water's resistance, Natsukawa had jumped far enough. He immediately established a lead.
In second place, Ishizaki exclaimed:
"You've got to be kidding! He jumped that far!"
Ryuuen was in third place. Although he couldn't swim fast enough to catch Natsukawa or Ishizaki, he wasn't surprised at all. After all, Ryuuen didn't care about sports. This was just a recreational race between classmates; violence was all he revered.
Moreover, because he had learned in advance about the school's benefits for Class A graduates, he was focused solely on unifying Class C as soon as possible, then finding a chance to bring Classes A and B down.
Advanced Nurturing's swimming pool was very long. Natsukawa continued swimming quickly, using his precise swimming form and arm entry points to widen the gap between himself and the others...
By the time Ishizaki and the others were halfway through, Natsukawa was almost at the finish.
The girls' cries of amazement and encouragement rang out around them!
Without question, Natsukawa reached the finish first and ultimately took first place among the boys based on his time.