"President Hikigaya—no, calling you Manager Hachiman sounds more fitting now. For the time being, I'll be entrusting my ace members to you. As long as it doesn't go against their wishes, any method that can help relieve their stress can be used."
"Uh… President Tsukahara, are you sure? Any method?", Hachiman looked at Tsukahara Hibiki, who was almost blatantly suggesting what he should do, and was still somewhat hesitant.
Was Tsukahara Hibiki really this kind of character in the original work? Although he knew some of the heroines in the girls' competitive swimming club needed his help to relieve stress, he had forgotten exactly how it started.
To be honest, with the way Tsukahara Hibiki just sternly lectured the group with full authority, he couldn't tell she was this unorthodox.
"Of course. You managed to lure Hayase into the Service Club, and have such a good relationship with the Elf Princess and Mermaid Idols, I have high expectations for you~", Tsukahara Hibiki leaned closer to Hachiman, patted his shoulder, and whispered with a small laugh into his ear, then began to explain in detail the personalities of the ace members and how to deal with them.
She naturally understood what Hachiman meant. This was exactly why she had brought him in as the manager of the girls' competitive swimming club.
The training in the girls' competitive swimming club was extremely intense and stressful. Of course, the best method to relieve that stress had to be used.
However, finding someone to do that was difficult.
She wanted someone who could help her ace members relieve stress and improve their performance. But she couldn't let a bunch of people into the girls' competitive swimming club to disrupt its order.
She just needed one boy who could help all the ace members relieve their stress.
At first, she thought it'd be impossible to find one, but after discovering Hachiman's situation, she immediately decided. He was the one.
Surrounded by so many beautiful girls in the Service Club, even luring away Hayase Saki, who left her previous club in obsession. His mental and physical state were both excellent...
After letting him relieve stress in the girls' swimming club, Hachiman wouldn't hang around just to ogle the girls, there were no lingering concerns.
"President, you really let a guy into the swimming club? What was his name again? Hikigaya, right? Come down and play with me~", As Hachiman was whispering with Tsukahara Hibiki, a beautiful girl with chestnut gold long hair tied in a single ponytail swam over. She leaned against the edge of the pool, removed her goggles and hung them around her slender white neck, smiling mischievously as she looked up at Hikigaya and Tsukahara Hibiki.
"Mikari, Manager Hikigaya is here to help, not to play with you. Don't think of any pranks," Tsukahara Hibiki naturally stepped away from Hachiman's side, glanced at the chestnut-haired girl, and warned her.
The girl below was named Tachibana Mikari, a second-year student like Hayase Saki, and her strength was arguably superior to Hayase Saki's.
But unlike the timid and introverted Hayase Saki, Tachibana Mikari had an unpredictable temperament, a strong desire to win, loved stirring things up. Her performance in training was good, but not as stable as Hayase Saki's and easily affected by small things.
"Hehe~ Hikigaya-kun, right? I actually know you, Minami and the others told me~", Tachibana Mikari completely ignored Tsukahara Hibiki's warning, looking at Hachiman with a grin, cheekily sticking out her pink tongue and revealing her little canine tooth.
"Minami? You mean Yuina, Minami, and Rin? Are you close with them?", Hachiman blinked, squatted down to look at the approaching Tachibana Mikari, and asked curiously.
Tachibana Mikari was a second-year, right? Were the gyaru girls that tight-knit? They even passed his reputation along to the second-years.
"So close? Looks like you really are good friends with them," Hearing Hachiman casually and fluently calling out the names of Yuina and the others, Tachibana Mikari's eyes sparkled as her gaze settled on the squatting Hikigaya. Her mind began imagining more about the things Yuina and the others had bragged about.
Previously, Minami had boasted about how amazing the hot guy they trained was, mocking her for not having any dating experience...
Now that this hot guy was right in front of her, if she could steal him away, would Minami and the others cry? Just thinking about it made her a little excited.
"Mikari, what are you chatting about here? Your results haven't been stable lately. Hurry up and get back to training," President Tsukahara Hibiki noticed Tachibana Mikari's strange expression, as if she was plotting something again, and immediately scolded her without mercy.
Though she wanted Hachiman to relieve the training stress of the main team members, she wouldn't support him doing those things publicly with Mikari and the others.
This kind of thing couldn't be rushed. She didn't think Hachiman could immediately handle all these uniquely tempered main members. He'd probably need to get more familiar with them first to gradually find opportunities.
Right now, it was already great that Hayase Saki was brought back to training in the girls' swimming club, not to mention the mermaid girls had also come to hang out. While letting them join the team wasn't very realistic, it was worth striving for.
"Hehe~ I'm just building rapport with the new manager. Didn't you just say we can talk to him about anything~?", Tachibana Mikari ignored Hibiki's stern gaze and continued grinning and chatting with Hachiman at the poolside.
How could she leave now? She was still plotting how to steal away Yuina, Minami, and Rin's guy.
However, if Hachiman was their boyfriend, it might be easier to steal him. But according to them, they were just close friends, not in a relationship.
That made things tricky. Even if she stole him away, they couldn't complain. But convincing him to abandon all three for her alone? That was hard.
Besides, the fact that all three girls praised him so highly with drool-worthy eyes...
If she rushed in alone, her performance in training might completely fall apart.
Headache... Even with her vast experience from manga, novels, and TV dramas, she couldn't think of a good plan on the spot.
"Mikari? What are you talking about with the new manager? You look so happy."
"Training just started and you're slacking again?"
At that moment, two other girls swam over in competition swimsuits, with figures comparable to Tachibana Mikari and Aegis.
One had long brown hair draped over her shoulders, delicate features, and snow-white skin.
The other had short dark blue hair, a serious expression, and a tall build.
Having been briefed by Hayase Saki and Tsukahara Hibiki, Hachiman instantly recognized who they were.
The long brown-haired, red-eyed girl was Uenohara Ayano, a first-year student and pessimist who always assumed the worst.
Though her skills were strong and she had the ability to be on the main team even as a first-year, the presence of other excellent first-years like Sakurai and Nanasaki Ai, plus second-years like Tachibana Mikari, Hayase Saki, and Orizuka Momoka, meant having the skill didn't guarantee a spot in competitions.
Perhaps that was why Ayano was under so much pressure, her recent training had been lackluster and her performance dropped significantly.
Bringing in Hachiman was mainly to help relieve her stress.
The girl with the short dark blue hair was Orizuka Momoka, a second-year with strong and stable performance. Like Hayase Saki, she served as vice-captain of the girls' swimming club.
But unlike the almost invisible mascot-like Hayase, Momoka was a strict senior in the eyes of the first-years, always serious, seemingly male-averse, but according to Hibiki, actually had a maiden's heart.
Well… that's what Hibiki said. Who knows if she was trying to trick him.
"Ayano, Momoka?"
Seeing the glass-hearted Ayano and boy-hating Momoka approach, Mikari's eyes lit up with a brilliant idea.
Momoka and the others had used their numbers to rope in Hachiman, but numbers? They couldn't compare to the girls' swimming club.
Even if you added up the track and tennis clubs, they didn't have as many girls as the swimming club.
"Hikigaya, the vice-captain is urging me to get back to training. Could you time us~?"
With her plan set, Mikari pulled Ayano and Momoka ashore and grinned at Hachiman.
"Of course, no problem. I'll grab a stopwatch."
Hachiman glanced at the three dripping-wet girls who had just climbed out of the pool, inwardly marveling at the swimming club's powerful lineup, then turned to find Little Saki for a stopwatch.
"I'll give you this whistle too. I just washed it today and haven't used it. You won't mind, right?"
Before he could leave, Tsukahara Hibiki pulled him back, grabbed the whistle tucked between her chest, and personally hung the strap around his neck.
"Of course not. Thank you, President Tsukahara."
Hachiman blinked, then blew the whistle. Its tone wasn't bad.
"I haven't properly thanked you for helping out. Consider that whistle a gift," Tsukahara Hibiki chuckled, patted his shoulder again, and after a few more instructions, finally left to take care of other matters.
The ace members were important, but so were the potential members who aimed for the tournament. She needed to cultivate more new seedlings.
After all, she'd already brought in Hachiman to relieve pressure. Some extra stress shouldn't be a problem... right?
"...", Orizuka Momoka stared deeply at the departing Hibiki and Hachiman, falling into deep thought.
That was the whistle President Tsukahara had used for years, how could she just give it to the new guy?
Could it be that Hibiki had something special with Hachiman? Otherwise, why would she specially bring a boy into the girls' swimming club as manager, talk to him so closely, and even gift him her personal whistle...
"Huh? Training again? I was just thinking of taking a break and chatting with the new manager...", Uenohara Ayano looked helplessly as Hachiman left to get the stopwatch and was dragged away by Mikari for training.
Her performance had dropped lately, and she was considering quitting the club like Hayase. But Hayase had been persuaded to return, and apparently she'd gone to the Service Club before.
The new manager was the Service Club's president, maybe he'd understand her anxiety and help relieve her pressure.
She hadn't expected Hibiki and Mikari to give her no chance to speak.
"There's plenty of time later. Let's train first and see how much your scores have dropped," Mikari pulled Ayano aside and started stretching, ready to show off her strength and surprise Hachiman.
"...Your scores aren't stable either."
Ayano grit her teeth at Mikari's blatant teasing.
'This Mikari girl... Has no seniority at all...'
Orizuka Momoka glanced at the bickering pair, ignored them, and began quietly warming up.
Ayano had decent skill, but her mentality was fragile and couldn't handle pressure. Meanwhile, the second-year Mikari had better talent and strength, but her performance was unstable, she lost motivation when bored.
Soon, Hachiman returned with a brand-new stopwatch, followed by the original manager, Little Saki.
"Are you ready? Can we start?"
"All set! Blow the whistle to start the timer!"
"Mm."
Hachiman nodded, watching as Mikari, Ayano, and Momoka donned swim caps and goggles. They stood on the starting platform, bent forward, legs staggered, knees bent, fingers gripping the platform edge.
Once they assumed diving posture and lowered their heads, waiting for his signal, Hachiman finally blew the whistle that Hibiki had given him.
"Pheeew—"
The whistle sounded, and the three of them dove into the water simultaneously. Water splashed everywhere as their athletic figures cut rapidly through the pool.
Hachiman glanced at the stopwatch while admiring their mermaid-like dives, thinking how impressive the girls' swimming club members were. Each carried such a heavy load yet still swam so fast, no wonder Hibiki had high hopes for them.
Uenohara Ayano, Tsukahara Hibiki, Tachibana Mikari, Orizuka Momoka...
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, these four seemed to be the original heroines of the girls' swimming club. But now, Hibiki's mission had expanded to the whole team, he needed to help relieve not just their stress, but that of the other outstanding members too.
Besides them, there were Hayase Saki, Nanasaki Ai, and Rihoko Sakurai.
He recognized Nanasaki Ai, from Amagami, one of the main heroines. Not much was said about her strength in the original work, but she did become the swimming club president, so she must be strong.
Rihoko Sakurai, that name wasn't too familiar. He couldn't recall anything specific about her.
But if she was in the girls' swimming club, she likely had some swimming-related storyline. He'd just help relieve her stress along the way.
Hikigaya added their names to his romance list, watching the girls fiercely swim laps while also glancing at the other members training in adjacent lanes.
With so many strong competitors aiming for the limited tournament slots, even slight instability in performance could get someone cut. No wonder they were all so stressed.
"President…"
"Hmm? Saki?"
Suddenly, Hachiman heard someone calling him. Turning, he found Hayase Saki had appeared out of nowhere, staring up at him with big, expectant eyes.
"Saki, it's fine if you just call me by name here."
Hachiman glanced into the pool, saw that Mikari Tachibana had just reached the opposite wall of the pool ahead of everyone, then withdrew his gaze and gave Hayase Saki a helpless smile.
Saki, this idiot, calling him "club president" in someone else's club, isn't that just asking for trouble?
Although right now Saki wasn't considered as having rejoined the girls' competitive swimming club, she was simply fulfilling the dispatch request of being lent by him to the girls' competitive swimming club to participate in training and competitions.
"Then... Hachiman?"
[T/N: This fanfic is a headache for me. The characters used by author are so hard to find, argh. Anyways, I am sure about this Tachibana Mikari, Uenohara Ayano(you can search the name and they will pop up) but I am not sure about this Orizuka Momoka and Rihoko Sakurai. The original translation didn't relate to any known character in the internet so I just used the most suitable character I found, with 90% similar characteristics to them. So sorry for this trouble, but that's all I can do.]
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