Classroom of the Elite: The Eroge

The second girls' race was the next one that took place. Kayano won the race by a landslide, finishing with a record time of 26.34 seconds. Interestingly, Airi was part of this race but barely lost to Satsuki, finishing with 36.32 seconds and 36.25 seconds respectively. As a result, Airi ended up getting last place, much to the redhead's complete disappointment.

Kiyotaka observed her closely. "So she's not good at swimming... I suppose that can also apply to any other physical activity that you give her. She looked like she was struggling the entire time, even."

The brown-haired teen wondered if he should do something about her. She's one of his heroines, right? What's the harm in helping her out? It would be a waste if Airi is this horrible in physical activities, especially in the possible case of their class fighting against other classes in some kind of competition.

While Kiyotaka thought of a way to help the girl (after he talks to her regarding the incident earlier), Miyajima-sensei smiled at the whole class and pointed to the overall winners.

"And there you have it for the girls' races! Our top three swimmers are none other than Onodera, Horikita, and Kushida. Great job, you three! Keep up the good work, and I hope you can help your classmates become better swimmers."

Onodera and Kushida smiled and showed their eagerness by shouting their response, while Horikita was the opposite, only nodding her head in acknowledgement.

The boys' race was what followed. Ayanokouji and Koenji were part of the first one, as they both joined their fellow competitors at the starting line. Kiyotaka could see Kikyo and Chiaki cheering for him quietly. Hell, even Suzune was sending him a nod as if she was telling him to do his best.

For a moment, he thought about winning this race for the sake of making them happy, but he quickly threw that idea out of the window.

Kiyotaka shook his head. "I'm already dealing with four girls right now, I'm not about to draw even more attention to myself by going all out and causing my classmates to acknowledge my existence. That would also ignite questions in the girls' minds, and that's the last thing that I want to happen."

On the other hand, Koenji was brimming with confidence and the desire to prove he was perfect. Nothing else was on his mind right now except victory... and maybe girls who are charmed by his presence.

Wearing a red speedo compared to the rest of the boys who were wearing trunks, a lot of the girls felt uncomfortable looking at him. It was mainly due to the bulge he had down there which barely left enough to be imagined because of the speedo he was wearing. Regardless, the young man himself had a better build than anyone else in the class, even more than Sudo.

Crossing his arms, he smirked and closed his eyes. "Hmph! This competition is pointless, because it is already written that I will be the victor in the end. But if you insist, then I will show everyone that I am nothing but the perfect existence!"

The first race of the boys then began with the next whistle. Koenji finished in first place with a record time of 23.54 seconds, the fastest time today. Ayanokouji took the second place spot, ending up with 28.15 seconds which was a time that he was satisfied with. He would advance to the next round at least, and that's what mattered.

"Not even enough to make me exert more effort," Koenji laughed while getting out of the pool. Many of his classmates stared at him in wonder and amazement, because even they had to admit that his speed was remarkable and can be compared to an Olympic athlete.

As he climbed out of the pool and walked to the side in order to dry himself, Kiyotaka was then approached by two of his heroines, which were the two girls he had yet to apologize to.

"You still did great, Ayanokouji-kun! Don't be discouraged by this!"

"Yeah, at least you made it to the second round, right? You can still turn this around."

Hm. If only they knew that he was holding back willingly.

He then cleared his throat. "By the way... uh, I'm sorry for... that comment I made earlier about you two and Horikita. I wasn't trying to be a pervert or anything, but I understand if you think that way."

Both girls looked surprised by his sudden apology and didn't respond for a few seconds before Kikyo began to giggle in amusement.

"You don't need to worry, Ayanokouji-kun. We know you didn't mean it like that!"

Knowing that there was a chance these girls weren't really angry with him like what Suzune told him, it didn't surprise him much. That being said, he was curious why they weren't.

"Really?"

"Well, it's not like you're friends with our two resident perverts, are you?" Chiaki asked rhetorically while shaking her head in amusement. "It was a simple compliment, there's no need to get mad at you for that."

Huh. It looks like Horikita was right. There really was no need for him to worry. Maybe it's because they like him enough to accept a compliment, or just the fact that they're his heroines makes it fine.

"I see."

Kikyo smiled at him again. "Good luck in the final race, Ayanokouji-kun."

With that, the two girls left him alone to his thoughts. They were clearly rooting for him to win, which was honestly flattering even though he could just tell them that he was only average when it came to physical activities like this.

"Should I go faster so I don't disappoint them?" he asked himself, before shaking his head. "No, no. Doing that will only make things worse. They don't have to know. I'd prefer it if things remain this way for as long as I can help it."

The second race was a one-sided affair in every aspect, simply because Hirata was competing in it. His fangirls were loudly cheering for him and the young man himself was well-built too, being a soccer player and one who's into sports. With that, he easily beat every other competitor and got a time of 26.87 seconds.

The third race between the boys was dominated by Sudo, who finished with 24.19 seconds, the second-fastest time for everyone involved. Yamauchi and Ike, who were part of the race as well, wanted to humiliate him by beating his time as payback for earlier, but couldn't do anything against Sudo's record.

Therefore, all they could do was sulk in a corner while Ken was quickly approached by an excited Kayano.

"Ne, ne, you should join me in the Swimming Club, Sudo-kun! Everyone will welcome you with open arms!" the girl told him with an eager grin on her face.

Sudo stared at her for a moment, before he shook his head sadly. "I can't. I'm already with the Basketball Club. Sorry."

The girl blinked owlishly. "Wait, didn't you know? You can join up to three clubs if you want!"

"Wait, really?" he asked, caught off guard by that revelation. In truth, he was so focused on joining the Basketball Club that he didn't even know the option for students to join up to three clubs.

Kayano nodded. "Yep! That means you can be in the Swimming Club and the Basketball Club! Come on, what do you say?!"

The surprise on his face morphed into doubt. In the hypothetical scenario that he does join both clubs, what would it mean for him? "I don't know... even if I join, can I handle doing both at once?"

"I'll talk to our captain about it! You won't have to show up everyday, only when we absolutely need you to. I know how much you love basketball, so I'm not going to stop you from doing what you want!"

Ken blushed at her declaration and looked like he was seriously considering it for a moment, only to be hit by another wave of doubt. Fortunately for the red-haired teen, he had the best wingman by his side supporting him.

"You should take the opportunity, Sudo. In the chance that your basketball career might not go as well as you hoped, you at least have swimming as an alternative choice."

Both Ken and Kayano turned their heads to the one who spoke, only to see Kiyotaka walking towards his friend, giving him a pat on the back before walking away like a pedestrian passing by.

Ken was immediately tempted to fire back against Kiyotaka for that jab about him failing as a basketball player, but thought about what he said instead.

Finally, he let out a deep sigh and scratched the back of his head, unable to look at the girl in front of him directly out of embarrassment.

"I'll think about it, I guess..."

"Really?!" The smile on Onodera's face widened even more, making Sudo blush even harder in response. "Yatta!"

"He's completely whipped for her. The system actually made the right decision in making her Sudo's neighbor. I can't imagine what he'd be like if Onodera's not around to keep him calm," Kiyotaka commented, watching their interaction from afar. "It also feels nice to see someone else struggling with this, and not just me."

Kiyotaka couldn't help but think about how things would be like if he was in the same situation. If only the system limited him to having only one 'heroine' among many, then it would have been infinitely better. Choosing one can't be as bad as dealing with many, right?

But no, he was cursed to have multiple lovers whom he would have to satisfy whenever they needed it. It was quite ironic, the masterpiece who can turn any situation around to his favor can't do anything against divine intervention itself.

After letting his students take a break for a few minutes, Miyajima-sensei blew his whistle, calling the final six competitors from the boys to gather at the starting line. They were Koenji, Sudo, Hirata, Ayanokouji, Miyake, and Minami.

Koenji never lost his smirk, still oozing with confidence until now. "Hmph! As I said, this competition is pointless. It has been written that I will be the one to win it all, because I am a perfect existence."

Sudo glared at him, annoyed at the blonde's arrogance. "Say that again for when I beat you, Koenji."

Kiyotaka took another glance at the girls who were standing at the side of the pool. Kikyo and Chiaki were cheering for him again, while Suzune was just staring at him with a serious look. Maybe she also wants him to win this or something? Who knows.

For a moment, only a moment though, he also saw Airi turn to him a few seconds before looking away. Well, at least he can be assured that she didn't outright hate him or worse.

With the final whistle of the day, the fourth race between the boys started. It was over almost as quick as it began, with Koenji surpassing his previous record and getting 22.92 seconds this time. Sudo also beat his previous time, achieving 23.75 seconds. Hirata ended up at 3rd place, Ayanokouji at 4th, Miyake at 5th, and Minami at 6th.

"And we have our winners! Koenji is your first place from the boys, followed by Sudo, and then Hirata! These three along with the three winners from the girls will be receiving some points from me as a prize for winning, but that doesn't detract one bit from everyone's efforts today! Again, all of the top placers are safe from the supplementary lessons, but they will help in teaching everyone else instead," Miyajima-sensei announced, pointing to the final 6 competitors as they stood at the edge of the pool after everyone was done.

With that, the races were over. Koenji went back to admiring himself with his beloved mirror, Hirata was flooded by praises from his fangirls, Sudo was hounded by an eager Onodera who kept him from going anywhere, and the two other boys headed for the locker room to dry themselves.

Meanwhile, Ayanokouji was simply taking a rest at the bleachers. He was then approached by two particular girls, one of whom looked worried while the other had an impassive expression on her face.

"Are you okay, Ayanokouji-kun? Even though you lost, it's okay. You can just do better next time!" Kikyo tried to cheer him up, thinking that Kiyotaka felt sad from failing to win the competition.

"I'm fine, Kushida. It doesn't really bother me," he waved off her concern nonchalantly. "Actually, I could have won it if I wanted to, but I just didn't want the extra attention that it would have gotten me. That being said, the extra points from Miyajima-sensei would have been a nice prize..."

"Well, it should bother you. The time it took you to complete both races was 28 seconds, the same as mine. You barely beat my record by a few milliseconds," Suzune smirked, folding her arms across her chest. "If you don't improve yourself, then I might just rob you of your victory in the future."

"I'll keep that in mind," he muttered, remembering just now that this girl wanted to compete with him at any chance they got. This was more of his fault though, a clear sign of how much he screwed up his first interaction with her. Thanks to that, Suzune now thinks of him as a worthy adversary., which means he would have to take her seriously... a little bit, at least. Just to give her what she wants.

"What are you talking about, Horikita-san?" asked Kikyo, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Nothing that concerns you," replied Suzune, not even batting an eye towards the beige-haired girl.

"She just keeps on provoking Kushida without noticing it, huh?" he sighed to himself. "I really hope there's some way that I can deal with her mental issues, because this girl can't be right in the head. I still wonder what caused her to be like this, though. And I also wonder why her parents have no idea that their daughter's like this."

More importantly, Kiyotaka also wondered if the system would do something about the problem with these two girls. They didn't like each other for completely different reasons, which was honestly more complicated than hating the other for the same reason.

He could already see that they aren't going to get along anytime soon, but surely the system won't allow that, right?