"Hold it in. I can't laugh."
The expression on Classmate Natsukawa's face right now was like Faker's after the S13 match against LNG. His smile was harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.
This wave was truly a massive profit, a real windfall.
One million... one million! The first pot of gold is secured!
He clenched his fist, feeling the strong beat of his heart from the excitement. Although he didn't show it, carrying a twenty million debt was always stressful. Now, a gap had finally been torn in that dark cloud.
"Stay steady, this is just the beginning." He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, but the light flickering in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil. This money wasn't just points; it was the first lever he had to pry open his future in this school of ability-supremacy.
Collecting himself, Classmate Natsukawa left the conference room and headed toward the classroom. He hadn't gone far when he ran into his back-row deskmate, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, around a corner.
"Yo, Ayanokoji." Classmate Natsukawa greeted him in high spirits.
Ayanokoji nodded and followed his pace expressionlessly, but internally, he began to comment: 'Classmate Natsukawa's expression... did something good happen? Did he find money? No, the probability of finding money in this school is lower than being hit by a meteor.'
The two walked side-by-side, chatting intermittently.
"We have swimming class this afternoon, right?" Classmate Natsukawa mentioned casually.
"Mhm."
"Can you swim?"
"A little." Ayanokoji replied, thinking: 'The White Room curriculum included all survival skills, and swimming is basic. However, I need to keep my performance at an average level for the afternoon class.'
When the two returned to the classroom, there was still some time before class started. Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and Sudo Ken were gathered together, loudly discussing the afternoon swimming class, their faces radiating excitement.
"Hey, hey, it's swimming class this afternoon!"
"Awesome! I can finally show off my skills!"
"The main point is the girls' swimsuits, the swimsuits! Hehehe..."
"Doctor, you'll record everything properly, right?"
"..."
Just as they let out their somewhat lewd laughter, the light at the classroom door dimmed, and Horikita Suzune walked in. She maintained her usual frosty demeanor, her black hair hanging neatly behind her, as if she carried an aura that warned people to keep away. She walked straight toward her seat, but as she passed Ike and his group, she subtly furrowed her delicate brows.
She happened to stop near Classmate Natsukawa and Ayanokoji, and her cool voice carried a hint of barely concealed sarcasm: "How noisy. Seeing them so... energetic, makes me increasingly doubt whether this school is truly as 'benevolent' as it appears on the surface."
Classmate Natsukawa smiled, hinting at something deeper: "Perhaps it's a selection process, Horikita-san. A selection to filter out those without 'ability'."
Horikita glanced at Classmate Natsukawa, a flicker of thought passing through her reddish-purple eyes. "Really, Classmate Natsukawa? How much more do you know about this school?"
"Nothing more, Horikita-san. We're all in the same class; I don't know any more than you do..."
At that moment, the boys' discussion grew louder, the topic having unreservedly shifted to the classic adolescent subject of "which girl in the class has the largest chest," even starting a betting pool over it.
A hint of boredom flashed across Horikita's face. She glanced at the group of boys, her contempt unconcealed. "Utterly boring." She dropped that line, walked straight back to her seat, picked up a book, and completely shut out the surrounding noise.
Before long, Ike Kanji and the others left the classroom early, heading straight for the changing room, their eagerness obvious.
"Let's go too." Classmate Natsukawa said to Ayanokoji.
The two walked unhurriedly toward the changing room and put on their swim trunks. Classmate Natsukawa looked at Ayanokoji's figure, which seemed slender but actually had smooth, flowing muscle lines, and thought: 'Is this the result of the White Room? You really can't judge a book by its cover.'
Arriving at the poolside, they saw a massive indoor swimming pool with crystal-clear water. Ike Kanji was already splashing around, shouting loudly, "Holy crap! This pool is better than a commercial swimming center!"
After getting into the water, many boys involuntarily glanced toward the girls' changing room, anticipating the upcoming "scenic view." However, as the girls gradually emerged, many of them looked disappointed.
This was because many girls, especially those with the most impressive figures, such as Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi, were sitting neatly dressed in their school uniforms on the stands beside the pool—they were all observers.
"Ah... why are they all observers..." Yamauchi Haruki lamented.
Classmate Natsukawa's gaze swept over the stands and quickly found the familiar figure. Sakura Airi was indeed sitting there, still wearing her thick glasses, and even her school uniform couldn't completely conceal her figure. She seemed slightly uneasy, her hands resting on her knees, her gaze lowered.
As if by telepathy, just as Classmate Natsukawa looked at her, Sakura happened to look up. Their eyes met in the air. Sakura flinched slightly like a startled fawn. Classmate Natsukawa gave her a gentle smile and lightly waved his hand.
Sakura's cheeks visibly flushed. She subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to respond, but her arm froze the instant she realized she was in public. In the end, she only gave a very slight, quick nod before shyly lowering her head, her fingers nervously twisting together, though the slightly reddened tips of her ears betrayed her inner turmoil.
Just then, the P.E. teacher blew the assembly whistle. Apparently seeing that there were too many female observers, he announced, in order to motivate the students: "For today's swimming test, the fastest male and female swimmers will receive an extra reward of 5,000 personal points! However, students who fail will stay after school for extra practice!"
"5,000 points!" The crowd stirred.
Classmate Natsukawa calculated internally: 'Forget about the reward; with my mediocre skill level, I just hope I don't have to do extra practice.'
After the warm-up, the training began. Classmate Natsukawa, being a Southerner in his previous life, knew how to swim a bit, but only at the "not drowning" level—his posture was ugly, and his speed was slow. He glanced at Sudo next to him, who looked like he had an engine installed, and then looked at Ayanokoji, who was even doggy-paddling with dead fish eyes, and decisively chose to ask for help.
"Ayanokoji, lend me a hand. Check my form; it feels off."
Ayanokoji looked at him silently for two seconds, then nodded: "Raise your hand a little higher. Make the leg movement smaller."
Under Ayanokoji's concise yet precise guidance, Classmate Natsukawa managed to improve his movements slightly. When the test came, he swam with all his might and just barely scraped past the passing line, avoiding the misfortune of extra practice. Ayanokoji also swam to 10th place—how thrilling (flat tone)—he almost got called in for extra practice.
"Thanks, Ayanokoji. I owe you one." Classmate Natsukawa said, panting.
"Don't mention it. Friends should help each other, didn't you say that?" Ayanokoji responded calmly.
After the test concluded, Classmate Natsukawa and Ayanokoji got out of the water and sat resting on an open area beside the pool. Just then, an energetic figure walked toward them while greeting them.