Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

April 11th. Saturday.

It was 10:00 AM. Under a cloudless blue sky, the early summer sun shone brightly on the enormous outdoor swimming pool at the Advanced Nurturing High School.

Because I learned a few days ago that class performance was linked to points, and because of the unspoken pressure brought by Kaoru Hanayama's exceptional presence, there were zero latecomers.

But the reasons for attending seriously are not limited to this.

"Hey hey hey! You guys are finally here...! The long-awaited, precious swimsuit reveal of the girls in our class!"

In a corner by the pool, Ike Kanji, who was even being perfunctory in preparing for gymnastics, was leaning out, breathing heavily.

Beside him, occupying their positions, were Haruki Yamauchi and Hideo Sotomura, who had activated his tablet.

Moreover, for some reason, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was standing on the edge of that circle, as if he had been caught up in it.

"Hehehe. So, let's urgently hold an underground betting session! Kushida-chan and Hasebe, which one is bigger? Let's wager with points!"

Chi suggested, his face full of mischief.

"I'm rooting for Oshikushida-chan! Even through her uniform, you can tell she's got the right amount of meat!"

The mountain villager immediately took the bait. The villager from the outer village also joined in, tapping on his tablet.

"Based on my data, Mr. Hasebe's size is E or higher. In contrast, Mr. Kushida is estimated to be D. Mr. Hasebe's odds will be lower."

"Alright! Ayanokouji, you place your bet too!"

"No, I don't need it..."

Ayanokouji, who had been caught up in the situation, looked away with obvious disdain, and that was the moment.

"Hey, you guys. No matter what, this is still wrong, isn't it? Don't you think so, Hanayama?"

From a distance, Takeru Sudo frowned and spoke up.

He had been hanging out with delinquent groups until junior high school, but ever since his heart and self-esteem were completely shattered by the physical force of Hanayama a few days ago, he has become incredibly well-behaved.

His instincts were constantly warning him not to make any rash moves in front of Huashan.

As if in response to Sudo's call, the tiles by the pool creaked heavily.

Boom, boom.

Kaoru Hanayama, a man as tall as a towering rock reaching into the clouds, walked over.

Faced with that unusual sense of oppression, Chi and the others, who were chatting enthusiastically, suddenly stopped moving.

The scars on Hanayama's face contorted slightly as he delivered a series of thuds, one after another, to the heads of the three men—Ike, Yamanouchi, and Sotomura—who were making a bet.

"Whoa!?"

"it hurts!!"

"My skull is about to crack open!?"

Chi and Shan Nei rolled around on the wet tiles of the pool, clutching their heads.

The villagers from outside the village almost rolled their eyes back, like frogs turning belly up.

then.

"Thump!"

(...It hurts so much. Really, it hurts unbelievably.)

Ayanokouji pressed her hands to her head and couldn't help but squat down on the spot.

His usual listless facade had crumbled, revealing a genuine reaction of pain contorting his face.

Huashan quietly crouched down, watching the frightened boys.

"You lot. As students, are you planning to get involved in gambling?"

The deep, resonant sound, carrying an extreme sense of terror, caused the surface of the pool to tremble.

"Ah, no... I was just kidding... I bet on the girls in my class..."

Chi tried to explain with a twitching smile, but Huashan's cold gaze wouldn't allow him to do so.

"If it's about gambling for money, then it's not a game. ... You guys are prepared, right? If you lose and can't pay up, you'll have to cut off your fingers. That's the rule for gamblers."

There was not a trace of a joke in that sentence.

Looking into Huashan's unfathomable, dark eyes, they sensed that he might actually pull out a short knife to cut off fingers.

"Ee...! I'm sorry! The betting is over, it's over!"

"Yes, that's exactly right! Students should be more well-rounded!"

Sensing a life-threatening situation, the boys quickly withdrew their bet.

Seeing this, Sudo found the oppressive atmosphere unbearable and racked his brains trying to change the subject.

"Feed, feed Huashan. Speaking of which, why are you wearing that swimsuit?"

As Sudo said, Hanayama's swimsuit attire was noticeably different from that of the boys around her.

Those weren't the standard boxer briefs the school had specified.

Instead, it's a completely black, full-body racing swimsuit that covers everything from the neck to the wrists, and even the calves without any gaps.

The reason is very simple.

On the back of the mountain, there is a huge standing tattoo of a knight-errant, which is the symbol of the Yakuza Kayama Group.

Furthermore, his entire body is covered with countless knife and gunshot wounds sustained during the struggle.

If those things were exposed during a swimming class at a national high school, it would obviously cause a big problem immediately.

That's why Huashan went to all the shopping malls yesterday and placed a special order to buy this professional-grade swimsuit.

This is a touching effort made to maintain secrecy.

However, Huashan showed no sign of wavering and stood tall, asserting his position.

"...I'm very good at swimming. I just prepared the most suitable equipment so that I could swim my best."

That was a complete and utter lie.

"Is that so? That's amazing! I never knew you were this serious about swimming..."

Faced with that upright and honest attitude, Sudo was completely fooled and nodded.

Hanayama's gaze suddenly shifted to Ayanokouji, who was still squatting there with his head pressed down.

Hanayama slowly reached out and gently patted Ayanokouji's shoulder and back with his huge palm.

Ayanokouji's body swayed slightly.

"...Hmm? Ayanokouji. You're in pretty good shape, kid. Your bones are strong. You're quite robust."

Huashan nodded as if he genuinely agreed.

A high school student who takes his blow without crying out, but simply endures the pain and maintains the posture, is not someone you see every day.

The quality of the back muscles touched was also noticeably different from that of the other students who were completely relaxed.

As Ayanokouji stood up, enduring the pain, he resumed his usual listless expression and answered in a flat voice.

"...It's just a genetic issue. I haven't really trained much."

That's a common lie told to avoid attracting attention.

However, after hearing those words, Huashan seemed to deeply agree and nodded with a straight face.

"I see. Genes, huh... I've never done anything like training before, so I can understand."

(No, please don't confuse me with you.)

Ayanokouji internally made a sharp comment, but judging that continuing to get involved would be dangerous, he kept quiet.