Chapter 81: What Ranking?
Right now, the girls were looking at that group of boys with eyes full of contempt and disdain, as if they were staring at something filthy.
"Yuto, you absolutely can't go over there and bet with them," Karuizawa Kei said faintly to Yuto.
"Isn't that obvious? I like betting points with people, but there's no way I'd use girls' privacy as the subject of a bet. That's way too vulgar toward girls," Yuto said in annoyance.
After hearing Yuto's answer, both Kikyo and Kei showed satisfied looks. As expected of the boy they had their eyes on, he was not as low and disgusting as that group of boys.
Satisfied with her own judgment, Kei moved a little closer to Yuto. She parted her glossy lips and asked with some embarrassment, "Yuto, between me and Kushida Kikyo, who do you think... who do you think is bigger... there?"
"Kei, what exactly do you mean by 'there'?" Yuto looked subtly at Kei, whose cheeks were flushed with shyness.
Kei vaguely gestured toward her chest, and Yuto's mouth twitched.
Comparing herself with Kikyo in that area...
Did she have no awareness of the difference at all?
Karuizawa Kei's, at most, could be cupped in a single hand. But Kushida Kikyo's... no matter how you look at it, she's too big for just one hand!
If it's a size competition, Kei has already lost. She might have a chance if the bet was on firmness or something else...
While Yuto was thinking about how to answer without hurting Kei, Ike Kanji, who felt as though he had become the center of attention, walked over to him.
Kikyo and Kei immediately looked at Ike with disgust. Kikyo was still relatively restrained because she had to maintain her little angel image, but Kei was different; the distaste was already written all over her face.
Ignoring their gazes, Ike spoke carelessly to Yuto. "Hey, Shimizu, I heard you made a lot of points outside. You should come place a bet too!"
"I'll pass. I'm not the kind of vulgar guy who bets on girls' privacy."
Yuto's answer made all the girls extremely satisfied.
"Wh-what do you mean vulgar?! What are you talking about?!" Ike shouted back in dissatisfaction.
"Isn't your bet vulgar?" Yuto stood up and looked toward the noisy group of boys, then slowly said, "Didn't your families ever teach you not to do things that trouble other people?"
"Have you not noticed the way the girls are looking at you right now?"
Yuto's words made the boys notice the girls' disgusted and contemptuous gazes. At the same time, it gave the girls the courage to express their dissatisfaction.
"Exactly! Aside from Shimizu-kun and Hirata-kun, you boys are really awful!"
"That's right. You're disgusting!"
Because of Yuto's words, the girls began denouncing the boys led by Ike. This was what a leader was: with a single sentence, others would charge into battle for him.
Under the girls' scolding and reproach, the boys looked at one another. In the end, they dispersed and stopped discussing which girl's figure was better.
Yuto's words just now earned him the goodwill and praise of all the girls in class. The boys seemed to realize that their topic had gone too far, so they were only ashamed and uneasy, not resentful toward Yuto.
Except for Ike and Yamauchi.
Those two felt that Yuto had ruined their bet and stopped them from enjoying the spotlight.
Yuto glanced at Ike and Yamauchi, who were looking at him with resentment. These two were the worst poor students in Class D; they were always late, left early, skipped class, and were hard to manage.
If there was a chance in the future, Yuto would have these two drop out.
Kikyo leaned in close to Yuto, her full breasts pressing against his arm as she radiated a sweet, alluring scent. She spoke with eager excitement.
"Yuto, speaking of comparisons, we girls have all kinds of rankings too."
"What rankings?"
"Things like the Handsome Guys Ranking, Most Points Ranking, and Most Disgusting Ranking. I voted for you on the Handsome Guys Ranking!"
"Me too," Kei quickly added.
"And it wasn't just us. The other girls all voted for you too. You've always been first place!" Kikyo took out her school phone and opened the Handsome Guys Ranking.
Yuto's name and profile picture were indeed listed in first place.
Class D's Shimizu Yuto was first, Class A's Satonaka Satoru was second, and Class D's Hirata Yosuke was third. Fourth and fifth place were also Class A students.
The gap between Yuto and second place was as high as seventy-three votes.
That difference was far too large.
Looking at the Handsome Guys Ranking on Kikyo's phone, Yuto wore a subtle expression. He was now the publicly recognized number one handsome guy among the girls, so should he be happy?
Not really.
Yuto was not the kind of shallow person who would become light-headed just because others praised him.
The class bell rang, signaling that Class D's swimming lesson was about to begin. A muscular middle-aged male teacher entered the Class D classroom and led the students to the indoor pool.
Inside the changing room, most of the boys removed their uniforms at an incredible speed and changed into their swim trunks. Then they rushed out impatiently toward the indoor pool, as if a few seconds of delay would make them miss the girls in swimsuits.
Yuto and a small portion of the boys were not in a hurry. They changed at an unhurried pace, and after Yuto put on his swim trunks and a jacket, he suddenly heard a calm voice.
"Shimizu, can I bother you for a moment?"
Yuto turned his head and looked at the boy speaking to him. It was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the one Yuto found somewhat strange.
"Of course. What is it, Ayanokoji?"
"I just wanted to ask. You've been challenging clubs constantly recently, and you're different from the others. I'm a little curious why you do that," Ayanokoji said.
[Shimizu Yuto is different from Ike and the others. He's a different kind of high school student. I want to know why he's so enthusiastic about challenging clubs. Hm? His eyes...]
He noticed it.
Yuto blinked, and the strange gleam that had appeared in his eyes immediately faded. Ayanokoji even wondered if he had simply seen things.
Mind-reading was convenient, but when he used it, his eyes would shine with a strange light. That could make people suspicious and draw attention.
That was the only flaw of the mind-reading ability.
However, Yuto only needed to wear colored contacts, and no matter how he used mind-reading afterward, his eyes would no longer reveal that strange gleam.
Besides, even if others noticed the strange light in Yuto's eyes, they would not think, "Shimizu Yuto is using mind-reading." After all, that kind of bizarre ability only existed in novels and movies, not in the real world.
"You're asking why I'm so enthusiastic about challenging clubs? Naturally, it's for points. At this school, points are basically the same as money," Yuto said with a smile, answering Ayanokoji's question.
"I see. But your undefeated record is far too exaggerated. You keep winning in areas other people specialize in."
Yuto felt awkward.
Ayanokoji was probably praising him, but his expression and tone were so flat that it sounded like a dry reading. There was no sense of praise at all.
Feeling strange about it, Yuto changed the topic. "Ayanokoji, your physical ability is pretty good too, right? Your muscle lines are quite defined."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's build was similar to Yuto's. Both looked slender at a glance, but their muscle lines were remarkably clear.
This type of build was called a streamlined physique.
"My physical ability is good?" Ayanokoji showed a puzzled expression. "But in middle school, I was in the Going-Home Club. I never joined any club training."
Yuto glanced at Ayanokoji.
This guy was probably lying. A body like his was not something simple club training could create. At the very least, it required professional and harsh targeted training.
Although Yuto was curious about Ayanokoji, curiosity was all it was. He had no intention of digging to the bottom of the matter, so he did not continue discussing the topic of physical ability.
"Let's go, Ayanokoji. We should head out and gather," Yuto said casually.
"You're right."
Yuto and Ayanokoji were probably the last two to leave the changing room. However, when they reached the indoor pool, many students were missing.
All the boys were there, but as for the girls...
Nearly half of them were absent.
"Looks like there are unexpectedly many observers in our class," Ayanokoji murmured.
"They might not all be observers because they can't swim. Some probably just don't want the boys seeing them in swimsuits," Yuto said.
An "observer" in swimming class referred to students who could not swim or students who did not want to swim.
There was also a third type: students who disliked letting others see their bodies.
For example, Yuto's childhood friend, Sakura Airi.
Airi was so shy around strangers, so how could she possibly wear a swimsuit in front of others? Even if Airi did wear one, she would only wear it in front of Yuto.
Those three types of students did not need to change into swimsuits, nor did they need to participate in swimming class. They could move around freely.
Almost half of the girls in Class D had become observers. This left the boys who had expected to admire the girls in swimsuits extremely disappointed.
Ike, Yamauchi, and Sotomura were especially devastated. Their expressions looked as if they had been abandoned by the gods.
"Damn it! I've been looking forward to swimming class since two days ago, and they actually became observers!"
"Aaah! This is way too cruel!"
Yuto glanced at Ike and Yamauchi as they howled at the heavens. If they had not been so obvious about wanting to stare at the girls, maybe so many girls would not have chosen to become observers.
At that moment, Ike and the others suddenly cheered as if they had seen some incredible scenery.
"It's Kushida-chan!"
"As expected of Kikyo-chan. She looks amazing!"
Amid the boys' cheers and amazed voices, Class D's little angel, Kushida Kikyo, entered the indoor pool.
She had already changed into the school swimsuit, and her petite frame combined with her mature, voluptuous chest created a stunningly alluring silhouette.
Facing the astonished gazes of the boys, Kikyo did not shrink back. Instead, she showed them a sweet, cheerful smile.
"Hey, hey, did you see that? Kikyo-chan smiled at me!"
"Stop dreaming. Kikyo-chan was clearly smiling at me!"
"..."
A chaotic noise rose among the boys.
At that moment, Kikyo walked openly to Yuto. Keeping a sweet smile on her cute face, she asked, "Yuto, do I look good?"
"Mm. You look very good," Yuto praised without hiding it.
Kikyo's smile became even sweeter.
She had a petite frame, but her chest was far more mature than her build suggested—a classic case of a "lolita with a massive rack." Her slender waist, which looked like it could be encircled by a single hand, added to her irresistible charm.
Looking at Kikyo, who only cared about talking to Yuto, the boys felt their hearts shatter. All right... now they knew who Kikyo had been smiling at earlier.
Kei, still wearing her school uniform, crossed her arms and silently watched Kikyo talking with Yuto.
'Guh. If not for that scar on my body...'
Because of the severe bullying she suffered in middle school, Kei had an obvious scar near her left side, below her ribs, caused by a blade.
That scar was Kei's secret, one she absolutely could not let anyone know about. That was why she had not changed into a swimsuit.
Although the one-piece school swimsuit could hide the scar, there was still a risk of the other girls discovering it while she changed. So unless absolutely necessary, Kei would never change clothes.
Matsushita Chiaki, Mori Nene, and her other friends were all confused about why Kei was still wearing her school uniform. Facing their questions, Kei's answer was simple.
She did not want those disgusting boys seeing her in a swimsuit.
That explanation was perfectly reasonable. After all, Ike and the other boys really were too disgusting. They had even openly tried to bet on the girls' breasts.
What people hate most is being compared by others.
And girls care deeply about their faces and figures. If someone uses those things to compare them, they should be prepared to be hated.
…
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