“Shiraishi-kun, can you swim?” Just as he stepped out of the boys’ changing room, Shibata Sou, with his short dark blue hair, hurried to catch up and asked.
“A little.” Shiraishi turned to respond.
“Shibata-kun seems like the athletic type—if I remember correctly, you joined the soccer club?” “Shiraishi-kun sure has a good memory!” Shibata’s eyes lit up as he smiled and scratched his head.
“But I’m only good at sports.
Since coming to this school, I’ve realized there are so many talented people my age.
People like Shiraishi-kun, Ichinose-san, Hamaguchi-kun, Kanzaki-kun—you’re all so smart.
Whenever everyone’s discussing things, I can never get a word in.” “Don’t say that—this is only the first exam.” Shiraishi gave a light smile, keeping his pace steady as they walked toward the pool.
“Everyone has their own strengths.
Your moment will come.” April’s weather still carried a hint of chill, but fortunately the school’s indoor pool facilities were state-of-the-art—the temperature control system ran continuously, keeping the water crystal clear and pleasantly warm.
Speaking of swimming, talk of swimsuits was inevitable.
Though the boys of Class B weren’t like the original Class D, who would loudly conspire about the girls’ figures and make some kind of chest ranking, teenage boys would always look forward to seeing their female classmates in swimsuits.
Come to think of it, the logic of this two-dimensional world was truly absurd.
Someone with Shiraishi’s looks would have been handsome enough to debut as an idol in his original world—yet in Class B, he barely cracked the top five.
The girls in the class were even more striking.
If anyone asked Shiraishi to pick one who wasn’t good-looking, he’d think they were deliberately picking a fight.
Boys always changed faster than girls.
By the time all the boys had changed into their swim trunks and gathered by the pool to warm up, the girls were just beginning to emerge from the changing room in groups.
Not a single boy said a word, leaving the atmosphere unusually quiet—but there was no doubt their gazes had unconsciously drifted in that direction.
Just then, a burly man with well-defined muscles walked over and raised his voice: “Already starting to warm up?
Hold on a moment—let the teacher take attendance.” “All forty present, good, good.” The swimming instructor finished the roll call and nodded approvingly.
“Let’s get straight to it.
I’ll lead everyone through a warm-up routine first, then we’ll split into groups and get in the water so I can see your swimming levels.” “Teacher, I’m not very good at swimming…” A boy raised his hand, looking a bit embarrassed.
“No problem.
Those who can’t swim can just watch from the side for now.
I promise I’ll have every single one of you swimming before summer comes—don’t worry.” The teacher patted his chest reassuringly.
The more perceptive students immediately caught the hidden meaning.
As others started getting into the water, a few had already gathered around Shiraishi.
“So does that mean there might be a swimming-related exam in summer?” Shibata whispered, speculating.
“Probably.
But it’s more likely to be water-related activities rather than just swimming alone.” Shiraishi shook his head lightly.
Swimming didn’t account for much in the overall comprehensive evaluation.
Even without knowing about the summer uninhabited island exam, a little thought would rule out that possibility.
After everyone had swum one lap as requested, the teacher finally spoke: “Now, let’s have a race.
Boys and girls separately, 50 meters each.
First place wins 5,000 Private Points, and last place gets a special ‘training session’ with me.” The mention of point rewards made many athletic students’ eyes light up.
Those who could swim weren’t worried about finishing last, since there were complete non-swimmers among both boys and girls.
“T-Teacher, what about those of us who can’t swim?” It was the same boy asking again.
“Just walk across the bottom—the pool isn’t that deep.
Whoever’s slowest stays for extra lessons.” The teacher laughed heartily.
Though the class had already reminded each other about the importance of swimming, the word “training” sounded ominous.
To avoid falling into the teacher’s clutches, the few who couldn’t swim at all started moving their legs as fast as they could through the water—essentially “running in the pool.” For the other students who could swim, the scene was far more normal.
“Go!
Go!
Shiraishi-kun, go!” “Kanzaki-kun, go!
Kanzaki-kun, amazing!” The girls gathered by the pool, cheering for their classmates.
Shiraishi touched the edge of the pool and looked up to see Shibata, Kanzaki, and others from his group already out—they were indeed faster than him.
Still, he wasn’t last; he was about average.
“You guys are impressive.” Shiraishi took a few deep breaths.
He’d given it his all just now—he clearly needed more physical training.
“Everyone has their strengths—isn’t that what you just told me?” Shibata extended a hand and pulled Shiraishi out of the pool.
“Good work, Shiraishi-kun.
Want a towel?” Ichinose Honami stood by the poolside, holding out a towel.
It wasn’t any special treatment—Ichinose had organized the students who weren’t currently racing to provide support for everyone.
“Thank you, Ichinose-san.” Shiraishi took the towel and dried his hair and the water off his skin.
“The girls’ race is next, isn’t it?
Do your best.” “My swimming’s pretty average too.
I noticed during the test earlier—our class has a lot of talented people.” Ichinose waved her hand with a smile.
Soon, the girls’ results came in.
Ichinose hadn’t been lying—she placed fifth out of ten in her group, truly average.
The girls’ first place went to Minamigata Kozue, who had apparently joined a sports club and had real athletic ability.
The boys’ winner was Shibata Sou.
Both received the 5,000-point reward.
But in hindsight, who won first place didn’t really matter.
“Shiraishi-kun, Shibata and Minamigata-san want to use their reward points to treat everyone to karaoke.
Since tomorrow’s a holiday, the plan is to start after dinner and go until around 9 PM.” The messenger was Ichinose—as class leader, she was always the one to relay plans.
“I’m fine with that.” Shiraishi nodded in agreement.
Class B seemed to enjoy group activities like this—it was already the first week of school, and this would be the third one.
He’d declined the previous two, and everyone understood, assuming he was gathering intelligence for the class behind the scenes.
A little relaxation now and then would be nice.