Kushida: "Horikita-san, are you good at swimming?"
Horikita: "Not particularly, neither good nor bad."
Kushida: "In junior high, I was really bad at swimming. I practiced really hard, and now I'm much better!"
Horikita: "I see."
Kushida's way of showing her hatred is very strange, and it also clearly reveals that there is a hidden connection between her and Horikita... It seems that Kushida remembers her from somewhere. School? Club? It has to be a place where there's a possibility that Horikita knows the other side of Kushida. I've got a line here:
1. Kushida makes a mistake that exposes her true personality (possibly during junior high school).
2. Horikita probably went to school with Kushida, so there's a possibility she has information.
3. Kushida, fearing the leak of information, tries to maintain her good side until she knows how much Horikita knows.
For now, it's no use speculating further.
— "Alright, everyone, gather around."
A teacher gathered the students and started the class.
— "I see, 26 people. I was expecting more, but I guess this will do. It's a bit sudden, but I'll assess your abilities after you've finished warming up. You'll swim."
— "Um, sensei, I can't swim." *A boy raised his hand, apologizing.*
— "As a teacher, I'll make sure you learn to swim by the summer. Don't worry."
— "There's no need to learn to swim. We can't go to the beach anyway."
— "That's too bad. Regardless of whether you're bad at swimming now, I'll make sure everyone learns. Learning to swim will undoubtedly be useful. I guarantee it."
Ranpo: "Sensei, what do you mean by 'it will be useful'? Is there going to be a situation where we need to know how to swim? Like going to the beach? Or a cruise?"
Imperceptibly to the students, the teacher shuddered slightly when Ranpo mentioned "cruise."
— "Start warming up!"
Everyone began their warm-up exercises. Ike kept looking repeatedly at the girls. Then, they were given instructions to start the 50m swim. Students who couldn't swim were allowed to touch the bottom of the pool with their feet.
As for me, I swam slowly and calmly, with no hurry, and ended up being one of the last.
Ike: "Hehehe, a complete victory. Did you see? My super swimming!"
Ranpo: "Eh? *He looks at Ike again* Ike, don't you care that you came in last?"
Ike: "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."
— "Anyway, it seems like almost everyone can swim."
Ike: "I'm sorry, Sensei. After all, in junior high, they called me the Flying Fish."
— "I see. Then you can immediately start competing against each other. 50m freestyle, separate by gender."
Ike: "C-Compete!? Really?"
— "I'll give a prize to the first place: 5,000 points. On the other hand, the last place will receive 'supplementary lessons,' so be prepared."
Supplementary lessons... Supplementary lessons... Supplementary lessons... Supplementary lessons... Supplementary lessons... Supplementary lessons...
It seems that Horikita, sitting next to me, noticed my expression of horror.
Horikita: "What's wrong, Edogawa-Kun?"
Ranpo: *Wearing a concerned and incredulous expression* "Supplementary lessons? It can't be... it's too bad to be true. But it is true..." *He sits there, thinking.*
Horikita: "Only the last place will have supplementary lessons. Just make sure it's not you."
Ranpo: "Thanks for stating the obvious..."
— "Now that there aren't too many girls, I'll divide them into two groups of 5 and give the victory to the best time. For the boys, I'll take the top five times, and then we'll have a final round."
There were 16 boys and 10 girls, excluding those who couldn't swim. When the girls started their race, the boys sat on the sidelines and began cheering... no, evaluating the girls.
— "Kushida-chan Kushida-chan Kushida-chan Kushida-chan Kushida-chan. Hahaha."
After hearing that for 4 seconds, I went to the other end of the pool to watch the race.
Ike: "Everyone, make sure to remember this sight! Today's erotic material has been secured!"
— "Yes!"
Even from the other end, I could hear that... It's terrifying.
The whistle sounded, and the 5 girls started. Horikita was in lane 2. Taking the lead at the beginning, she maintained her advantage. She confidently finished in first place.
Her time was 28 seconds. That's quite fast. Without even breathing heavily, Horikita slowly got out of the pool.
Then came the second race. Kushida was in lane 4. The boys were excited and cheered with smiles on their faces.
— "Wooooooo!"
At this point, Hirata distanced himself from all the boys, sitting next to me.
The second race began. It was quite one-sided. A girl from the swimming club won the race handily. Her time of 26 seconds was clearly the best. Kushida had a time of 31 seconds, which was pretty good, but it only earned her 4th place.
After that, it was Ayanokoji's turn, who was placed in lane 2, while Sudou was in lane 1. I think even a small child would realize that Ayanokoji isn't even trying.
Finishing the 50m stretch at great speed, Sudou looked up from the water. The boys and girls let out an exclamation of admiration.
— "Is that even possible, Sudou? You finished in 25 seconds."
As someone who has lived with people like Fukuzawa, who could defeat 10 armed individuals with just his fists in under 5 seconds, this seems like child's play (which it is).
But leaving that aside, it's my turn.
With a gloomy aura around me, I walked to lane 2 with Hirata by my side... When the teacher blew the whistle, Hirata jumped in with great form, while I almost stumbled and started swimming with all my strength.
As I got out, I heard.
— "Wow."
— "Oh? You're the one who's eating him up with your eyes!"
Boosting my ego for about 3 seconds.
— "Ranpo Edogawa, 37.2 seconds, just barely avoided last place."
After that, I walked away, puffing up my chest with pride, and went to get my well-deserved rest (I went to sleep in a corner because i was tired)
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The next day, I finally received the call from the student council regarding the creation of the Detective Club. Right now, I'm walking towards the student council office.
I knocked on the door to be received by Tachib
ana and let inside.
Tachibana: "You can sit there." *She points to a nearby chair* "The president is dealing with some matters, and he'll be with you shortly."
Ranpo nods and sits down. While waiting, Ranpo takes the opportunity to read some books that Hiyori lent him, until the door opens, and President Horikita Manabu enters.
Horikita: "Ah, Ranpo. It's good that you've come. Let's get to work right away, shall we?" *He crosses the room to the couch and sits down.* "I've been reviewing your file, and it's quite interesting... What's an Armed Detective Agency detective doing in this school?"
Ranpo: *He shrugs* "To be honest, I don't even know."
Horikita: *Sighs* "Well, the important thing is that the board is more than happy to have one of the best detectives helping maintain order in the school... It has been decided that your role will be to assist in all investigations involving the student council."
Ranpo: *Ranpo seems surprised, but his face lights up a bit, and he smiles* "Ah, thank you very much, President! I'll be delighted to assist in the investigations!"
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
A few hours later, in Ranpo's room.
Everyone: "For the best club in the world!"
Everyone had a fun night filled with sweets.
When it was time for curfew, the others bid farewell.
Hiyori: "See you tomorrow, Ranpo. Get some rest."
Ranpo: "Goodbye, Hiyori!"
Ichinose, who had already said her goodbyes to Ranpo and the others, suddenly thought of something.
Ichinose: "Ranpo-Kun, can I ask you something?"
Ranpo: "Of course! Go ahead, what do you need?"
Ichinose: "Ranpo-Kun, why did you choose a criminal like me as your vice-president?"
Ranpo: *He sits there, somewhat pensive and confused.* "Is that how you see it? Hmmm..." *He laughs a little nervously, choosing his words carefully.* "The truth is, you're a good person, Honami, one of the few people I can look in the eyes and not see a monster."
Ichinose: *Honami shudders a bit at Ranpo's brutal honesty and takes a deep breath with a few tears in her eyes.*
"Ranpo-Kun, thank you."