In early April, the average temperature in Tokyo is around the mid-teens.
While it feels a bit chilly to the touch, Advanced Nurturing High School has already commenced its swimming curriculum.
Mikage Touji sat by the edge of the pool, leaning back with his hands propped on the ground.
His eyes wandered, following the girls of the class as they moved.
Their youth-infused bodies glided through the water like fish, and the occasional sound of bell-like laughter caused Mikage Touji to let out a sigh of contentment.
“The incident with Ryuen—you were the one behind it, weren’t you, Mikage-kun?”
While Mikage Touji was wantonly enjoying his youth, Katsuragi Kohei had silently approached his side.
With arms crossed and eyes fixed forward, he interrupted Mikage’s beautiful moment.
“You caught me…”
Mikage Touji replied casually to Katsuragi, though his gaze remained locked on a small group of girls playing and splashing water at each other in the pool.
“It wasn’t hard to guess.
The time and location you leaked to me over the phone overlap perfectly with that video.
Moreover, Class A is the biggest beneficiary of Class C’s failed unification,” Katsuragi Kohei paused, his voice dropping lower.
“If you had explained the situation to me back then, I definitely would have rushed over.”
“So, what do you think?” Mikage Touji gave Katsuragi a thumbs-up, showing off his porcelain-white teeth with pride.
“My masterpiece…”
“It was a bit…
well…
but, I have to say it was extremely effective.” Even the habitually steady Katsuragi Kohei found it hard to keep a straight face.
“That’s all that matters.
Speaking of which…”
Mikage Touji brushed off the restroom incident easily.
He pinched his chin, looking Katsuragi Kohei—who was wearing only swim trunks—up and down seriously.
“I originally thought you just liked shaving your head, but I didn’t expect you to be truly smooth all over without a single hair?”
Katsuragi Kohei looked down at his own body.
Showing no insecurity, he said frankly, “Are you talking about this?
It’s alopecia.
My body doesn’t grow hair.”
“I see…” Mikage Touji fell into deep thought.
The students of Class A, having finished changing, entered the water one after another.
The pool water spilled over the edge like waves, lapping against Mikage Touji’s feet.
“Katsuragi, let me ask you a question.”
“Mhm…
go ahead.”
“Do you usually dry off really quickly after a shower?”
“…”
“I…
I suppose I do…” Katsuragi Kohei struggled to keep up with Mikage Touji’s train of thought.
“You’re bald, so do you usually wash your head?”
“That is necessary.”
Katsuragi Kohei nodded solemnly and proceeded to explain seriously to Mikage Touji that a bald head not only needs washing but also requires care with facial cleanser and body wash, as well as attention to sunscreen during daily activities.
Mikage Touji nodded repeatedly, indicating he had learned something.
After finishing his explanation with lingering enthusiasm, a classmate waved from a distance.
Katsuragi Kohei bid farewell to Mikage Touji and walked toward them.
“Next time something like this happens, remember to call me.
I’ll help,” Katsuragi emphasized once more.
“Got it.”
Once Katsuragi was far off, Mikage Touji silently poked his head out from the pool’s edge and patted the water.
“I won, Morishita!
Remember to treat me later!”
With a splash, a figure suddenly erupted from the calm surface, hitting Mikage Touji squarely in the face with spray.
“Huff…
huff…
huff…”
Morishita Ai gasped for air, her small face flushed red from holding her breath.
“How many minutes?”
“Two minutes and twenty-three seconds.”
“Morishita Ai breaks the record!” Morishita Ai raised her hand and cheered loudly.
“Remember to treat me,” Mikage Touji emphasized again.
Five minutes ago, Morishita Ai and Mikage Touji had entered a debate regarding whether Katsuragi actually washes his head. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Morishita Ai believed that since Katsuragi’s bald head looked so smooth and didn’t get dirty easily, he probably just washed it whenever he felt like it.
Mikage Touji, on the other hand, argued that the shorter the hair, the more frequently one must wash it—let alone a bald head—so he believed Katsuragi definitely washed it every day.
The final result was obvious…
“Morishita Ai accepts her defeat!”
Having completed this challenge, she swam off toward the other side of the pool on her own.
‘Getting excited just by touching water—is that truly an inherent trait of children?’ Mikage Touji mused as he watched Morishita Ai’s receding figure.
After sitting by the pool for a while longer, a long whistle blew.
Mikage Touji retracted his gaze.
The PE teacher shouted from a distance, “Everyone, please gather here.”
The second teacher to break Mikage Touji’s preconceived notions—after Mashima Tomonari—had appeared!
In the assembly line, Mikage Touji looked at the teacher’s exaggerated, bursting arm muscles.
He thought with a slight ache in his teeth about the PE teachers in his past life who were always “falling ill,” and the math teachers who were never sick regardless of wind or rain, often “elbowing” the PE teachers into the hospital to take over their slots.
“Three people in the remedial group, huh…” The PE teacher’s tone seemed to carry a hint of satisfaction.
“Then I’ll be blunt and get straight to the point.
I’m going to give you a baseline test in a moment.
The fastest student will receive a reward of 5,000 points, while the slowest will stay behind for remedial lessons…”
The PE teacher, conducting his routine lecture, entered a rambling state.
The summary was essentially: I will subject you to rigorous training to ensure you absolutely learn to swim; accordingly, please be prepared to die trying.
Mikage Touji broke into a cold sweat.
He knew how to swim…
Just a tiny bit…
Therefore, after entering the water in the first group, Mikage Touji decisively sought help from the person in the neighboring lane.
“Kito, is there some ‘Evil Cult’ fast-track method to increase speed by 30% within one minute?”
Kito Hayato in the second lane seemed choked by Mikage Touji’s question.
It took a long moment before he spat out, “No.”
“That’s a problem.”
Mikage Touji submerged half of his face beneath the water.
Looking at the surface shimmering like fish scales, bubbles gurgled up before his eyes.
Was his first remedial lesson destined to happen here?
“Mikage-kun, don’t you still have me at the bottom?” A gentle male voice came from the lane on the other side.
The speaker was a rather thin boy named Sanada Kosei.
He was unfailingly polite and one of the top academic performers in the class.
“Sanada, do you know how to swim?” Mikage Touji’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Sanada Kosei: “…”
‘Your silence is deafening!’
The final result was as expected.
Mikage Touji took last place in the boys’ group with a “stellar” time of 48 seconds.
In contrast, Kito Hayato next to him showed no mercy.
The moment the whistle blew, he immediately pulled far ahead of Mikage Touji, successfully claiming first place in the boys’ group.
As a side note, the first place in the girls’ group went to a purple-haired girl.
Her long, athletic legs kicked the water rhythmically, her pink-and-white soles rising and falling against the splashing surface—a sight that left Mikage Touji feeling quite refreshed.
After dismissal, Mikage Touji swam toward the PE teacher by the poolside with a dark face and a frantic paddle.
On the way, Morishita Ai glided past his right side smoothly, switching between freestyle, breaststroke, and backstroke.
Feeling silently mocked, Mikage Touji decided he would “rise with the rooster” and train hard for PE from now on, vowing to rise up and cut down the arrogant Morishita Ai!
Upon reaching the side, Mikage Touji realized that the girl staying behind for remedial lessons with him was actually his seatmate.
“Shiraishi, are you not good at swimming either?” Mikage Touji felt a bit more grounded; this was the camaraderie of being in the same trench.
“Because I haven’t swum in a long time, it’s a bit unusual to suddenly get in the water.
However,” Shiraishi Asuka suddenly exerted herself, drifting over to Mikage Touji’s side with the waves, “I didn’t expect to be here with you, Mikage-kun.
Hehe~ This isn’t bad at all.”
Her pale blonde hair brushed past the tip of Mikage Touji’s nose.
A faint scent of hair mixed with the distinct moisture of the pool permeated his lungs.
“Even though your physical ability can’t be called good, it’s definitely not bad, and yet you came in last place…”
As she spoke, Shiraishi Asuka reached out a slender finger and curiously poked the muscles on his body, a strange light flashing in her eyes.
“Ahem,” Mikage Touji felt a bit embarrassed and shrank back.
“Technical issues, nothing I could do.”
“It’s okay, I’ll stay with you,” Shiraishi Asuka comforted him softly.
“But 48 seconds is still a bit too slow; you really have to work hard,” Shiraishi Asuka delivered a fatal blow with a smile.
The touched Mikage Touji was instantly drenched in cold water.
“Is it just you two?” The muscular “gorilla” PE teacher arrived behind them and glanced at the clipboard.
“Mikage Touji and Shiraishi Asuka.
One at 48 seconds and one at 58 seconds.
Though the speed is a bit slow, it’s a normal level.
With a little effort, you’ll catch up quickly.”
After saying that, the PE teacher had them swim another lap, began pointing out the errors in their movements, and explained small techniques for the swimming process to each of them.
It must be said that the “Gorilla” teacher’s teaching level was top-notch.
Coupled with the enhanced senses granted by his mental abilities, it didn’t take long for Mikage Touji to swim with proper form.
He could even find time to chat with Shiraishi Asuka in the next lane during the process.
“Even though Shiraishi did 58 seconds, she still laughed at my 48 seconds.”
“Is that so?” Shiraishi Asuka said.
“Boys and girls are different.
Girls can be delicate, but if a boy is too weak, he’ll be laughed at.”
“Now that you mention it—”
Mikage Touji stopped suddenly, re-observing Shiraishi Asuka as she swam and chatted with him simultaneously.
Her pale blonde hair drifted with the waves, her arms pulled the water with strength, her legs kicked lightly to create ripples, and her supple waist propelled her forward.
The soaked swimsuit outlined a graceful figure, yet it didn’t hinder her from moving with effortless ease.
“Shiraishi-san, were you actually very good at swimming to begin with?”
“Oh, you caught me.” Shiraishi Asuka stopped, raising a hand to cover her lips in mock surprise.
“I received specialized training in swimming when I was a child.”
“Then for you to take last place…
that shouldn’t have happened.”
“Maybe…
I came here specifically to keep you company?” Shiraishi Asuka said in a joking tone.
“Love at first sight again?”
Mikage Touji watched Shiraishi Asuka as she looked at him with a soft expression, asking in disbelief.
“Mhm-hmn,” Shiraishi Asuka made a cute humming sound through her nose.
“Just what kind of scumbag is that guy you knew, that you’ve remembered him until now?”
“A heartless person.”
“Good, good…” Mikage Touji patted his chest.
“People call me the ‘Loyal and Righteous’ Mikage Touji.” As he spoke, he felt something was slightly off again and looked back at Shiraishi Asuka.
“So, in what way am I actually like him?”
“I can’t really say, I just feel it…”
“A woman’s sixth sense again?”
Mikage Touji was already powerless to complain about this.
If he didn’t actually possess something similar himself, he would have definitely kicked that concept into a cesspool.
“I’ll tell you about that…
some other time.”
At that moment, Morishita Ai happened to float leisurely past the two of them on her back.
She glanced at Mikage Touji and spat out:
“48 seconds…”
How could he take this?
This was the final straw!
“Morishita Ai, draw your sword!
Tonight’s dinner is on the line!”
When eyes meet, the duel begins!
“Bring it on!
Let me show you the power of the Morishita family’s Pirate King bloodline!” Morishita Ai flipped over, filled with fighting spirit.
“The Pirate King is a hammer (non-swimmer), okay?!”
“Not that Pirate King, the 10th generation Pirate King!
Named Morishita D.
Higuma!”
“…You really are something when it comes to making up stories.”
“Is that so…
thank you for the compliment.”
“I wasn’t complimenting you!”