Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: 7.4 Swimming Lesson
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The academy pool, which had been temporarily closed due to the previous unpleasant incident.
It's reopening starting today.
Swimming lessons seem to be back to normal now.
It was nice having a legal excuse to skip until now.
What a shame.
Ah! If I take out one more person, maybe it'll close again?
Hmm, let's see...
I scan the area, looking for suitable prey.
But everywhere I look, it's just girls in swimsuits, girls, girls.
No likely dangerous characters in sight.
...No. If there's a dangerous character, it's me.
"Haa."
I'm the only guy in this pool right now.
Swimming classes are naturally separated by gender.
But since there's only one boy in the class, they must've decided there's no need to split us up. Today, I'm taking the lesson with the girls.
Well... should I count this as good luck?
Getting to legally check out the girls in their swimsuits is a plus, sure.
How was it in the original story?
I think there was an extra who got caught peeking into the girls' pool and got chewed out.
But in this world, all the bold types like that are dead now.
"Hik!"
I was glancing around for any suspicious guys.
That's when I locked eyes with Satomi, who happened to be passing by.
"Mi, sorry!!"
Satomi freaked out like crazy and bolted like a rabbit.
What the heck. Did she get PTSD from that shoulder ride last time?
I was just scouting for prey, that's all. Not gonna eat you or anything.
"Naibusu! Don't bully Satomi!"
"Eh?"
And just like that, I got scolded by Reika, who was also passing by.
We just made eye contact, that's it. This is so unfair.
"Who said I was bullying her? Bullying's your specialty, Reika."
"Ugh... Wh-why are you dragging up old stuff! I already made up with Yuu!"
"Old stuff..."
In my memory, it hasn't even been a full month yet.
Yuuki let it go because she's Yuuki. If it were anyone else, the classroom vibe would still be super tense.
I grinned mischievously, poking at Reika to rile her up.
"You think Yuuki really wanted to reconcile from the heart? Or did she force it because she's scared you'll bully her again?"
"What!"
Reika, all fired up, grabbed Yuuki—who'd been lurking in the shadows—and dragged her arm right up to me.
Hmm... Yuuki's in a girls' swimsuit too. Of course she is.
"See! Look how close me and Yuu are!"
Reika hooked arms with Yuuki like she was showing off their friendship and squeezed her tight.
Their breasts mashed together and flattened out.
Hmm...
This is pretty nice in its own way.
"Haha..."
Yuuki, dragged over without a clue what was happening, gave an awkward smile.
"Doesn't look like it? Isn't it just Reika who's close?"
"What! Yuu, say something."
"Hey, Yuuki, hurry up and say we're close. Or you'll get bullied again."
"Haha..."
"Naibusu! Really!"
Hmm. Anyway.
Yuuki... really doesn't have one...
Ashamed? Relieved? It was a weird, mixed feeling.
-Thump.
While I was staring blankly at Yuuki in her swimsuit, something lightly tapped the back of my head.
I turned around to see Nanami holding a kickboard.
"Naibusu. You're staring too much."
Then she used the kickboard to cover Yuuki's lower half.
As if I'd been leering right there.
"Pervert! Where do you think you're looking!"
Reika pounced on the prey in an instant.
The tables had turned.
This is so unfair.
I did look, sure. But it wasn't for dirty reasons. Pure curiosity, that's all.
"I was just curious if it's really gone."
"Haha..."
Yuuki let out a stiff laugh at my excuse.
Nanami's eyes sharpened as she spoke.
"You said you checked before."
"Oh right. Yeah."
Back when I ended the bullying by going on about "Yuuki's my girl."
I definitely said something like "I've confirmed Yuuki's a girl."
But now my line had exposed that as a lie.
"Well, doesn't matter."
The bullying's been rooted out anyway. And it wasn't a bad lie.
Plus, no matter what I say, these girls will twist it into something that favors me.
"It really was a lie. So he told that lie to help Yuuki? Naibusu, you man..."
"Hmph, he was totally checking her out with those lewd eyes. If you're gonna do that, tell me instead. I won't show you easily, but if it's you, Naibusu... or even if you force it off, that might not be bad... Ah! Got wet again!"
...See? Told you.
But Reika, you should get that incontinence properly treated at the hospital.
Leaking everywhere at your age isn't good.
"Okay, quiet down. Class is starting."
Teacher Akatsuki announced the start of swimming lessons.
She's in the same school swimsuit as the students. But even in the same suit, the fit is totally different. Teacher Akatsuki was proudly showing off her adult, superior curves.
"Hurry up and line up in the water."
I shuffled over and got in line with the other girls.
Hmm. Looking at it like this, it's pretty impressive.
Girls in swimsuits as far as the eye could see—front, back, left, right.
I didn't kill all the boys specifically for this.
But hey, my efforts paid off.
"Anyone spectating today?"
"Me!"
I shot my hand up first at Teacher Akatsuki's question.
I knew from last PE class that "spectating" means girls on their period. Can't have the pool turning into a bloodbath.
Teacher Akatsuki furrowed her brow.
"Naibusu Winzer. Skipping again?"
"Teacher, don't you think this situation is super abnormal?"
"What about it?"
"It's all girls except me. I don't wanna be treated like a monkey at the zoo."
Just like boys don't get to see girls in swimsuits, girls rarely see boys either.
So everyone was staring curiously at the lone boy amid all the girls.
Nanami and Reika were fine—we've seen everything already.
But having girls I'm not close with eyeing my crotch made me uneasy. A sensitive anaconda lives down there, after all.
Especially you, Yuuki. You used to be a guy—why keep staring?
"No can do. This isn't elementary school. You think it's okay to skip class just because swimsuits are embarrassing?"
"Tch."
Figured as much.
Fine then. I'll feast my eyes.
I'll burn every one of your swimsuit figures into my retinas!
"Eek!"
"Kyaa!"
"Pervert!"
The girls shyly covered themselves at my intense glare.
Heh heh heh. Blame the teacher for not letting me spectate.
Then Reika raised her hand and spoke up.
"Teacher! I know you're not allowed to wear anything but the academy-designated swimsuit for swimming class."
"Yes. And?"
"Naibusu's isn't the academy swimsuit! He should take it off!"
"What?"
My swimsuit is the academy designated one.
A minimal V-shaped triangle that barely covers the essentials.
But what Reika was pointing out was the rash guard layered on top.
I was definitely wearing something extra over the "designated swimsuit."
Teacher Akatsuki nodded, affirming Reika.
"You're right. Naibusu Winzer, take off the top."
"Ek."
I wore the rash guard on top to hide the scars on my body.
Too gruesome to show innocent girls.
"Teacher, other teachers let me before. And my body might shock the kids."
"Teacher! It's fine! We won't be shocked! Right, everyone?"
The other girls chimed in at Reika's urging.
-Yeah, it's fine, strip, strip.
Such voices rose around me.
What the— these girls are no different from guys.
If the genders were reversed, it'd be straight-up sexual harassment!
"Teacher. Naibusu has scars, so he probably doesn't want to show them."
The only one taking my side: Yuuki.
Sob sob. You're the only one, huh.
Even Nanami and Satomi, who I trusted, were quietly chanting "strip."
Nanami! You know better!
"Hoho, Naibusu's such a shy boy. What if his nipples are fist-sized?"
Reika teased me, pressing her fists against her own breasts.
"Who said that!"
I couldn't take that one.
These are scars of glory. And my nipples are normal-sized.
"Want to see that bad? Fine, here."
She was probably baiting me to strip in anger.
But I knowingly took the bait.
I whipped off the rash guard without hesitation.
My scarred upper body was laid bare.
"Kyaa-!"
A shrill cry rose among the girls watching me strip.
But it didn't last long.
The kids who saw my scars froze, mouths agape.
"Ah."
A fist-sized welding mark near my heart.
Dozens of bite marks from a carnivore.
Too many stitched gashes and stabs to count.
The girls, witnessing my grotesque body, were at a loss for words.
"Hmph. Satisfied?"
Yeah, it's gross—I get it. But not embarrassing.
These scars are all from protecting you lot. You should be grateful, not pointing fingers.
Well, most were from me charging in recklessly. But as long as Yuuki keeps quiet, no one will know.
...But there was an unexpected issue.
The mood sank way heavier than I thought.
The pool felt like everyone had just heard about a family death.
"N-Naibusu, sorry... I had no idea..."
Reika apologized with ten times the guilt she showed Yuuki—like she'd committed a grave sin. She looked ready to burst into tears at a touch.
Sheesh. Anyone hearing would think I was the bully.
"...Nah, it's fine. Don't sweat it."
With Reika being so submissive, I didn't know what to say.
I mumbled a short reply, feeling awkwardly embarrassed myself.
No need to feel that sorry.
It's not a big deal.
"Naibusu Winzer, if it's uncomfortable, you can put it back on."
Teacher Akatsuki spoke casually on the surface, though she was shocked inside. Proper adult.
"I'm fine, but... since it's ugly, I'll wear it."
"It's fine! Not ugly at all. I wanna see it!"
Wanna see it? Isn't that kinda weird in reverse?
"Right, girls?"
-Yeah, totally, we're fine, keep it off.
The girls nodded along with Reika's lead.
Even reading their minds, it didn't seem like lies.
And some seemed to have weird fetishes.
Hmm...
"Then let's start class like this. Teacher thinks Naibusu Winzer's body looks cool too."
Teacher Akatsuki covering maturely.
But peeking into her mind,
"Haa haa, those muscles, those scars! What a manly body!"
...Teacher Akatsuki. You're not supposed to be that kind of character.
I was left speechless.