With Yukinoshita Haruno's inspiring speech in the morning, Class D seemed to have received an enormous buff. For four consecutive classes, everyone paid close attention, their focus unwavering.
While it wasn't to the extent of sitting upright without blinking, there was a noticeable absence of students playing on their phones, chatting, or dozing off like the day before.
This drastic shift left every teacher who entered the classroom slightly bewildered.
After all, most classes start off strong during the first week of school, only to gradually slack off. But Class D was an anomaly—half the class had already given up on the first day, yet overnight, they had seemingly turned into honor students.
A complete 180-degree transformation.
It was the kind of phenomenon that could only be seen in this peculiar Class D.
While slacking off had its joys, enduring serious lectures was no small feat.
—
Lunchtime arrived before they knew it.
The bell rang, signaling the break, and the teacher on the podium wrapped up the last question in a concise and easy-to-understand manner before setting down the chalk. With a satisfied smile, they dismissed the class.
"Ahhh~ It's rare for me to listen attentively all morning. I'm exhausted~"
Stretching his arms high, Ike Kanji groaned as he tried to shake off the stiffness from sitting too long. He turned to his deskmate, Sudou Ken, who looked half-dead from trying to stay awake.
"Still, it feels nice to actually pay attention to class for once, don't you think, Sudou?"
"Ah… yeah… I guess…"
Sudou's sluggish response barely made it past his lips before he wobbled to his feet, eyes unfocused as if he could collapse at any moment.
At that moment, Kushida Kikyo walked over, shaking her head with a light chuckle. Raising a single finger, she reminded them,
"Not just for today. We have to keep it up for the sake of our class points!"
"Of course! I'll listen carefully for Kushida-chan!"
…That was completely the wrong takeaway.
—
"Ugh, I'm starving. Let's eat!"
Kure Ragna stretched his limbs before standing up. Next to him, Yukinoshita Haruno was calmly organizing her books and stationery, while Hirata Yousuke and the others were already heading toward them, chatting and laughing.
"Which class do we have this afternoon?" Haruno asked idly, looking up.
"Let me check…"
Kure Ragna pulled out his phone and glanced at the schedule.
Unlike normal schools where schedules were printed and posted in the classroom, Advanced Nurturing High School had a complex curriculum structure that changed with the seasons. The variability was so high that there was no fixed timetable. Instead, their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, updated the class group chat with the latest schedule. She even added a casual "Just follow this for now."
Who knew when it would change again?
"This afternoon… looks like we have PE."
"A gym class?"
"Yeah, but it's not on the field—it's at the swimming pool."
"Huh? Swimming lessons this early in the season?"
"Apparently, the school pool has a temperature control system."
"Yes! Swimming class!"
"Long live swimming class!"
Kure Ragna's voice must have been loud enough to reach the other side of the classroom because, in an instant, Ike and Yamauchi erupted into cheers.
On the other hand, Karuizawa Kei, who had been chatting with Shinohara Satsuki, suddenly froze mid-sentence.
"Kei?"
Shinohara tilted her head in confusion at her friend's sudden strange reaction.
"A-Ah, no… I'm fine, let's continue…"
—
Perhaps due to humanity's natural love for water, the lunch break felt particularly long as everyone eagerly awaited their PE class.
At last, the first-year Class D arrived at the swimming pool.
—
After retrieving his swim trunks from the dorm, Kure Ragna realized he had left them in the corner of his room without washing them. The moment he returned to grab them, he hurriedly washed and dried them using a hairdryer before heading to the pool.
By the time he entered the locker room, most students had already changed.
Walking over to his assigned locker, he quickly swapped into his beach shorts-style swim trunks and exited.
Just as he stepped out, he noticed someone standing nearby—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, also in the process of changing.
Unlike the loud and excited students who had rushed out moments ago, Ayanokoji moved with an unsettling calmness. His actions were precise, efficient—almost too natural. No unnecessary movements, no hesitation. To the average person, he might seem completely unremarkable, just another student getting ready for class. Yet, to someone like Kure Ragna—who had undergone the special training of the Kure Clan since childhood—there was something off.
It was subtle. Almost imperceptible.
But a trained body, no matter how well-hidden, could never completely deceive his eyes.
Intrigued, Kure Ragna shut his locker and walked over.
"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka," he called out casually.
"Do you practice anything? Or have you undergone rigorous training?"
Ayanokoji didn't react. He finished buttoning up his uniform, his expression unreadable. Then, in a calm tone, he answered:
"Piano and calligraphy."
Kure Ragna blinked. He was expecting… literally anything else.
"You… want to be an artist?" he asked subconsciously, his voice hesitant.
Ayanokoji finally looked at him, his voice as flat as ever.
"I want to be a soldier."
Silence.
Kure Ragna stared at him. Ayanokoji stared back.
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then Kure Ragna let out a small, dry laugh.
"Yeah. Of course you do."
He turned away, shaking his head. He didn't even want to know anymore.
Some things were better left unquestioned.
As he walked out, Ayanokoji remained behind, making final adjustments to his uniform. His face was expressionless, yet his mind was already evaluating the situation.
He had kept his presence unremarkable, blending into the background of Class D, yet this man—Kure Ragna—had noticed something.
He had deliberately avoided developing his body recently but Kure Ragna still noticed the underlying structure of his body, the subtle signs of training that couldn't be erased. Interesting.
As Kure Ragna walked away, Ayanokoji's gaze lingered on him for a moment. His expression remained unreadable, but a thought surfaced in his mind.
'Did he get the joke?'
It was his first attempt at making a joke—an unusual move for him. But Kure Ragna's lack of reaction left him uncertain. Whether the remark had landed or simply passed by unnoticed, he couldn't tell.
—
On the other side of the pool, the girls had already arrived.
Unlike the boys, who had a variety of swim trunks to choose from, the girls all wore the school's standard-issued dark blue one-piece swimsuits. While conservative, they still highlighted their curves in all the right ways.
And naturally, the boys were taking every opportunity to subtly glance in their direction.
"Look! Kouenji-san has an amazing body!"
"Yeah… Though his personality is obnoxious, I have to admit his physique is impressive."
The girls' whispers carried easily across the air.
Kouenji Rokusuke, upon hearing this, did not shy away. Instead, he struck a few dramatic poses, flexing his broad chest and well-defined abs.
His confidence was unmatched.
But soon, all attention shifted elsewhere.
"Quick, look over there! It's Kure Ragna!"
"That body… those muscles… ahh—I'm dying!"
—Pop!—
The unmistakable sound of a nosebleed spattering onto the pool deck.
"Ahaha… What a reaction," Kure Ragna muttered to himself, chuckling as he waved toward the girls like a model greeting fans at the beach.
But before he could enjoy the moment—
"Quick! Let me touch it!"
"I wanna feel it too!"
"Me too!"
"...Huh???"
A swarm of male classmates suddenly surrounded him, eyes shining with an unsettling intensity.
For the first time in his life, Kure Ragna truly wanted to leave this world.