After a while, Uchiha Ryo was getting along well with the girls. Ishigami Yu and Iino Miko, either tired of arguing or just too lazy to continue, also chose a truce.
The members of the student council and the Classic Literature Club, plus Shirogane Kei and Iino Miko, quickly became familiar with each other. Girls make friends quickly, especially a group of smart women.
And the relatively shy Ishigami Yu, under the leadership of Uchiha Ryo, also joined in a series of activities such as water volleyball.
Shirogane Miyuki sat alone on the shore, seemingly taking his role as a lifeguard seriously.
Uchiha Ryo climbed ashore. "Even if you can't swim, walking in the shallow water is fine."
Shirogane Miyuki: "But what if I slip...."
He physiologically rejected any pool deeper than one meter. The deepest place he stayed was only the bathtub.
Uchiha Ryo: "Hmm.... how about I teach you how to swim?"
"No... no need."
Uchiha Ryo smiled kindly. "Don't worry. You're just afraid of losing face if word gets out that the president can't swim, right? I'll teach you a crash course in swimming today."
"You girls go ahead and play—Ishigami, come help me give Shirogane some special swimming training!"
Shirogane Miyuki: "Hey! Don't shout so loud....."
Fujiwara Chika perked up her ears. "Eh! The president can't even swim?"
Shirogane Miyuki lowered his head. This was exactly what he was afraid of.... With Fujiwara Chika's personality, if she blurted out that he couldn't swim one day, how could he maintain his persona as the president!
Uchiha Ryo pulled Ishigami Yu out of the pool while looking at the dejected Shirogane Miyuki beside him.
"Don't worry so much. I said I'd teach you to swim today, so one day is enough!"
Actually, even Shirogane Miyuki himself didn't know that his learning ability was really strong. Even though in the original story, Shirogane Miyuki was terrible at volleyball, singing, dancing, and balloon tying.
But in just a few days, he could go from negative to average.
This learning talent made even Uchiha Ryo marvel. If he didn't use his Sharingan to copy, his learning speed might not be able to compare to him.
Uchiha Ryo: "Listen up. If you want to learn to swim, the first thing is courage!"
Shirogane Miyuki listened carefully. Although he believed in Uchiha Ryo's ability as a genius, he thought it was impossible for a landlubber like him to learn to swim in a day.
"Courage? How do I train that?"
Uchiha Ryo grinned. "Simple. In my opinion, courage is like appetite. The limit will slowly increase."
"Ishigami, how long can you hold your breath underwater?"
Ishigami Yu was unsure. "I haven't tried much, but definitely thirty or forty seconds."
Uchiha Ryo patted Ishigami Yu on the shoulder. "Then you guys try it!"
Shirogane Miyuki: "Wait a minute, why hold our breath all of a sudden? I'm not ready yet."
With a splash, Shirogane Miyuki was kicked into the water by Uchiha Ryo.
"There's no time for you to prepare! Listen up, three, two, one, bury your heads in the water together. Come up when you can't hold it anymore."
"Three, two, one!"
The two submerged, and Uchiha Ryo sat on the shore and started counting.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds, forty seconds, forty-five seconds. A lot of bubbles appeared on Ishigami Yu's side.
Fifty seconds, Ishigami Yu emerged from the water.
"Hmm? I lost? It seems Shirogane-senpai is pretty capable."
Uchiha Ryo wasn't surprised by this. Ishigami Yu was an otaku who liked to stay at home, while Shirogane Miyuki exercised often due to his part-time jobs, so it was normal for his lung capacity to be larger.
One minute, a lot of bubbles appeared on Shirogane Miyuki's side!
One minute and five seconds, the water surface became calm. About five seconds later, Shirogane Miyuki floated up, lying "lifelike" on the water surface, motionless.
→
Ishigami Yu: "Shirogane-senpai!"
Dragging Shirogane Miyuki out of the water, after a round of CPR, Shirogane Miyuki spat out a large mouthful of water.
Ishigami Yu: "Uh, Uchiha-senpai, Shirogane-senpai seems to have fainted."
Uchiha Ryo narrowed his eyes. Whether the other party was faking it could be judged simply by breathing.
So this "unconscious" Shirogane Miyuki was just unwilling to wake up.
And Shirogane Miyuki, lying on the ground at this moment, couldn't help but feel scared. Are you kidding me! He was here to learn how to swim, not to risk his life! Did learning to swim require drowning a few times first?
Uchiha Ryo: "Ishigami, go get a basin of cold water. Let's help Shirogane wake up faster."
Ishigami Yu: "Senpai, splashing cold water is a bit...."
"Mhm, makes sense. Then get some boiling water."
Shirogane Miyuki suddenly opened his eyes. "Are you a demon!"
Looking at Shirogane Miyuki lying on the ground, Uchiha Ryo blinked. "Ah? I meant get a glass of water for you to go over there and sit down to drink and rest. What were you thinking?"
Shirogane Miyuki didn't speak and didn't want to move. Until a silver-haired girl ran over, saw her brother lying on the ground, and looked at Uchiha Ryo in confusion.
"Ryo-oniichan, how is my brother doing?"
Uchiha Ryo pointed at Shirogane Miyuki lying on the ground. "Look, he's down after just the first round. Sigh."
Shirogane Kei immediately put on a disdainful look. "Giving up after just one try? Aren't you good at working hard?"
Hearing his sister's slightly disdainful words, Shirogane Miyuki took a deep breath.
That's right! This was only once! How could he give up! If he couldn't even learn simple swimming, how could he, Shirogane Miyuki, secure his position as student council president!
He wanted to simply sit up, but Shirogane Miyuki thought, since his sister was watching, why not do a cool get-up pose!
Shirogane Miyuki raised his legs and did a kip-up... and didn't stand up.
"...."
Shirogane Miyuki didn't give up. He did another kip-up to stand, but the tiles by the pool were slippery, and Shirogane Miyuki used too much force, so he lost his balance and fell forward onto the ground.
Shirogane Kei: "....Then Ryo-oniichan, I'll go back first. Good luck."
I don't know this brother! This guy is not my real brother!
Ishigami Yu cleared his throat. "Um, Shirogane-senpai. The ground is too slippery. Mhm.... we understand."
Uchiha Ryo was speechless, but still extended his hand.
Looking at the helping hand extended by his good brother, Shirogane Miyuki was also embarrassed. Showing off carries risks; too big a step can tear the crotch.
Just as he grasped the other's hand, Uchiha Ryo showed an expression of "Good luck to you," and then pulled hard, throwing him into the pool.
Watching Shirogane Miyuki flailing in the water, Ishigami Yu quickly jumped in to save him.
"You! You! Is this how you teach me to swim?!"
Uchiha Ryo's expression was extremely calm. "Isn't this how boys learn to swim? You struggle and learn it yourself. Don't worry, with me and Ishigami as lifeguards, you won't die."
Shirogane Miyuki: "I refuse this learning method. It's better for me to try slowly by myself."
Uchiha Ryo sighed with disappointment. "Shirogane, have you heard of sit-ups?"
Hmm? Shirogane Miyuki had naturally heard of sit-ups. Wasn't that an exercise method? What did it have to do with learning to swim?
"Protagonists naturally possess the passive skill of sit-ups (getting back up after being knocked down). Only by breaking through limits can one become stronger."
"What I mean is.... if you learn to swim during the struggle of drowning, it's like learning sit-ups. Rounding up, you're the protagonist!"
As the ancients said: Human desire to learn is very small when faced with aversion, but the human desire to survive is often ridiculously large in dangerous situations. If the desire to learn and the desire to survive are tied together..... the ancients would enjoy the show very much.