Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

On the sea surface, only a faint smell of blood and a few bubbles remained.

Kaoru Hanayama slowly stood up from the giant shark carcass.

From the deck of the passenger ship, the crew members, whose jaws were still dropping in astonishment, hurriedly lowered the sturdy rope ladder.

Huashan grabbed the rope ladder and easily climbed the height of more than ten meters, landing on the deck.

Seawater was dripping all over him, and his shirt was stained with the blood of a great white shark.

However, he showed no signs of fatigue from the intense battle he had just fought.

"Feeding, feeding... You're kidding me..."

"He killed that great white shark with his bare hands... with his bare hands!"

The crew members, who had gathered together, suddenly shuddered and stepped back as they came up Huashan Mountain.

Although they were carrying blankets and first-aid kits, no one dared to step forward.

After all, just now, the man who had dismantled the ten-meter-long sea monster with his bare hands was standing right in front of them.

Their eyes were filled with cowardice; they were looking at something more terrifying than a shark than at a person.

The silence was broken by the sound of barefoot footsteps rushing towards them.

"You incredibly stupid idiot!!"

With all her might, Kamuro Masumi grabbed Hanayama's soaked shirt by the chest and slammed her head directly into Hanayama's chest with a "thud".

"Why did you have to go that far?! I just don't understand! The opponent was a shark!? If the timing had been even slightly off, you might already be dead!?"

When he was dragged into the sea, Kamuro was truly prepared for his life to end there.

From that abyss of despair, this extraordinary man literally pulled himself back to the present world with only his strength.

"Do you know what you've done?! You idiot! I thought you were going to die! I thought you were about to die!"

Although she was shouting angrily with a sob in her voice, Kamuro's clenched hands were tightly gripping Hanayama's clothes, refusing to let go.

Hanayama looked at Kamuro in this state, neither anxious nor confused, but simply looked down at her quietly.

He slowly raised his large hand and placed it on Kamuro's wet head.

"I can't just watch my classmate sink into the sea and pretend I didn't see it."

Hanayama ruffled Kamuro's hair a little with a somewhat rough gesture.

"It was just playing in the water. Don't worry about it."

"Where would someone go swimming and kill a great white shark with their bare hands? Waaah..."

Kamuro buried her face in Hanayama's chest, still crying.

But the panic in her voice had disappeared, replaced by a deep sense of relief.

Hanayama let out a soft breath, removed his hand from Kamuro's head, and turned his gaze to a spot a little distance away.

There sat slumped on the soaked deck, desperately pressing his chest and breathing heavily.

"Haa...haa..."

Normally, she would never show such a weak appearance.

Sweat mixed with splashes of seawater made his silver hair stick tightly to his cheeks.

He had exhausted all his energy just from breathing, and his lips were so pale they had lost all color.

However, when she met Hanayama's gaze, Sakayanagi managed a weak smile as she forced a smile up her lips.

"Heh, that truly surprises me. I've always assessed your power with the highest standards..."

With each sentence he spoke, Sakayanagi had to catch his breath.

"But I never expected that you could directly suppress even the enormous beast that rules the ocean. Your power has far exceeded my expectations."

Hanayama walked slowly to Sakayanagi and stopped.

"You're not bad, are you?"

Hanayama gave a brief compliment to Sakayanagi, who was struggling to breathe at his feet.

"Dragging your body like that, throwing the lifebuoy into the sea must have taken a lot of effort. You have a lot of guts."

Upon hearing this, Sakayanagi's eyes widened slightly.

"Then I'll accept it as a compliment. However, it seems I've reached my limit a bit..."

Her body swayed and tilted. For someone with congenital heart disease, dragging out a heavy lifebuoy and constantly shouting in extreme tension meant that today's exercise volume was close to lethal.

thump.

Just a second before he was about to fall, Hanayama's strong arms caught Sakayanagi cleanly and decisively.

He then slipped his arms behind Sakayanagi's back and into the back of her knees, and simply lifted her up in a horizontal carry, the so-called princess carry.

"Wait a minute... Hanayama-kun...?"

Surprised that her feet had suddenly left the ground, Sakayanagi tried to resist slightly by pushing away his chest.

"I'll take you to the infirmary. You can't walk there by yourself in your current condition."

Although Sakayanagi was still breathing heavily, he gave up what he was doing.

She knows best the limits of her own body.

"Hehe, then I'll gladly accept your offer. Kamuro-kun, you should hurry up and change your clothes, or you'll catch a cold."

While catching her breath in his arms, Sakayanagi turned her neck to look at Kamuro.

"I know without you telling me."

Shinmuro, sniffing and with his eyes swollen and red, stood up unsteadily.

Hanayama held Sakayanagi in his arms and turned to look at the crew members who were frozen in place.

"Pull that fish up, it's my prize!"

The crew members nodded frantically without saying a word.

Hanayama didn't say anything more. He picked up Sakayanagi and led Kamuro through the deck door.

In the air-conditioned luxury corridor, a liquid mixed with seawater and shark blood was dripping down.

Inside the quiet, empty cabin, the trio slowly made their way toward the infirmary.