The next day.
Inside Shuchiin Academy’s luxuriously equipped indoor swimming pool, noisy echoes filled the air.
Young male and female students wearing school swimsuits stood by the poolside.
This was the swimming class period.
Because two classes happened to overlap and today’s formal swimming test would count toward their grades, the physical education teacher had combined both classes.
As a result, the poolside was much more crowded than during Ayanokoji’s class a few days before.
Before the official test began, the teacher gave twenty minutes of free warm-up time.
While other students earnestly reviewed swimming techniques or did warm-up exercises by the poolside, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to have no intention of cherishing the time.
As usual, he avoided the crowd, soaking alone in the shallow corner with only his head above the water surface.
“Ayanokoji-kun, you really have as little motivation as ever.”
A sweet, playful voice sounded from behind him.
As soon as he turned his head following the voice, before his vision had fully focused—splash—a snow-white thigh brushed the edge of his cheek and kicked unceremoniously into the water.
“The splashes got into my eyes. Next time you greet me, please don’t be so intense, Fujiwara.”
Ayanokoji rubbed his eyes helplessly and looked at the girl who had sat down right beside him with a cheeky, unrepentant giggle.
Fujiwara Chika’s signature long pink hair was casually coiled at the back of her head, and her azure-blue pupils flickered with a seemingly tireless light.
Her overly energetic demeanor made anyone who took a single glance automatically experience a sense of “noise.”
At this moment, that relatively conservative standard school swimsuit seemed to be experiencing a sizing crisis on her body.
Her overly well-developed and proud curves were wrapped tightly, creating a strong visual impact no matter the angle.
After greeting him, she naturally and proactively moved close to sit beside Ayanokoji.
Whether she completely didn’t realize it or simply didn’t care, the distance between them underwater was a bit too close.
Under the swaying of the water, their thighs faintly touched.
The two were not classmates, and their relationship shouldn’t have been as close as it appeared on the surface.
At least, that was Ayanokoji’s unilateral understanding.
At this moment, the reason the girl had leaned over without any reservations was entirely thanks to an “accident” Ayanokoji encountered shortly after entering school.
One day during lunch break, Ayanokoji was quietly eating his bento hidden in a remote corner of the stairs, when Fujiwara Chika suddenly popped out from the bushes somewhere. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
She was holding a magnifying glass in one hand, with an unlit pipe realistically clenched in her mouth, cosplaying Sherlock Holmes.
Upon seeing Ayanokoji, she walked up on her own accord and vividly described a spotted white cat, claiming it was the “prime suspect” that destroyed a rare plant in the gardening club.
Even though Ayanokoji stated that he hadn’t seen it at all, after staring at him up and down for a few glances, the other party forcefully announced:
“Since Ayanokoji-kun is here alone with nothing to do, come be my assistant!”
“I’m eating, you know.”
Ayanokoji at that time looked at his bento box with one-third remaining, trying to communicate with her like a normal girl.
However, the protest was invalid.
Ayanokoji was forcibly dragged by the wrist by Fujiwara Chika into an inexplicable detective game.
In the end, relying on Ayanokoji’s observation and logical deduction, the two actually found that cat.
But when they went to the gardening club to cross-check, they learned that the real culprit was actually another pet lop-eared rabbit raised by the club president.
Although catching the wrong “suspect” led to a very awkward result, throughout the whole process, it was basically Ayanokoji who used his brain and put in the effort, while the great detective Chika was only responsible for blindly giving directions from the side, or providing so-called emotional value.
Back and forth, this overly airheaded girl unilaterally declared Ayanokoji to be her “reliable good friend,” and occasionally would proactively run over to ask him to play together.
Without exception, these invitations were rejected by Ayanokoji without changing his expression.
Although through several interactions he learned that her great-grandfather was a former Prime Minister, her uncle served as the current Minister of State, her father was a grand justice, and her mother was a diplomat…
In short, she was a thorough political young lady with an enviable and excellent background.
However, the surname “Fujiwara” did not appear on the list of people that man gave who must be contacted.
Therefore, in order to strive for the complete freedom that might come in the future, Ayanokoji—who had no choice but to make a bunch of important tasks for himself—chose to put the priority of getting along with her slightly further down.
For now, he treated her simply as a classmate relationship no different from anyone else.
Seeing that after saying hello, Ayanokoji soaked in the water like a block of wood and didn’t speak anymore, Fujiwara Chika was not discouraged.
Her gaze swept across Ayanokoji’s upper body exposed above the water, and she suddenly stretched out her hand and poked his lower abdomen.
“Hmm?”
Soft fingertips gently brushed across Ayanokoji’s firm abdomen and circled a few times, making Ayanokoji feel a slight tingling itch. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“How unexpected.”
Fujiwara Chika blinked, as if she had discovered a new continent.
“Normally you always look listless and like you’d fall over with a gust of wind, but your muscle lines are unexpectedly firm?”
“Ayanokoji-kun, could you be secretly working out in private?”
“Sort of.”
Ayanokoji didn’t deliberately hide it either, and replied flatly, “I’ve always had the habit of exercising, starting from when I was a child.”
“Eh…” Fujiwara hummed meaningfully, and then her eyes mixed a hint of teasing with a little worry for Ayanokoji, turning the topic back to the present.
“Having a good figure doesn’t necessarily mean you can get a good grade in the test later. If you fail, you’ll need to take a make-up test.”
“At that time, if you’re willing to humbly ask me, kind Chika wouldn’t mind showing mercy and teaching you.”
Just as the two of them were chatting, a crisp sound of entering the water—splash—suddenly came from a nearby independent swimming lane.
“Wow, it’s Kaguya!”
Fujiwara Chika was instantly attracted, and after seeing the identity of the person who entered the water, she let out an exclamation.
The gaze of the entire swimming pool was attracted by her voice.
As the all-around genius of Shuchiin Academy, Shinomiya Kaguya displayed a perfect swimming posture in the pool even while just doing warm-up exercises.
The boys cast stunning and admiring glances one after another, while the girls whispered aside.
Even the physical education teacher standing on the bank couldn’t help nodding in satisfaction.
After swimming a few simple laps to adapt to the water temperature, Shinomiya Kaguya stopped her movements and broke through the water surface.
Like a lotus emerging from the water, her signature long, straight black hair clung wetly to her fair back.
A few wisps of loose hair clung to her delicate, cold cheeks, but without the disheveled look of someone just soaked.
Instead, matching her ruby-like, clear, blood-red eyes, it further spread an aura that kept strangers away.
Just when everyone’s attention, including Ayanokoji’s, was focused on her, Fujiwara Chika beside him suddenly waved her hand toward Kaguya with a mindless, brilliant smile.
“Kaguya——! Over here, over here!”