COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 160: What's so good about her?

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Being responsible is a good quality. Rin liked responsible teachers the most.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for Rin to implement his ideas.

What ideas, you ask?

Of course, it was the solution to dealing with Nagumo.

The fact that Arata emphasized that swimming would definitely come in handy made Horikita a little surprised.

"The teacher keeps emphasizing swimming so much. Could it be related to class points? Can students increase class points by swimming?" Horikita wondered.

Since class points could be deducted, there had to be a way to increase them. Now that Arata was stressing the importance of swimming, Horikita couldn't help but guess that swimming might be one way to earn additional class points.

Arata began leading the class in warm-up exercises, and Rin and the other students followed along. The sight of the girls stretching their bodies during the warm-ups was particularly pleasing to the eye.

After the warm-up exercises, Arata pointed to the clear swimming pool and announced, "Now, all of you get into the pool and get used to the water temperature. In five minutes, I will arrange a 50-meter swimming competition for you!"

"Boys and girls will compete separately. Whoever completes the 50 meters in the shortest time will be the winner. These two winners will receive 5,000 individual points from me."

Five thousand points were already a substantial amount, considering the recommended set menu in the student restaurant only cost three to four hundred points.

"Teacher, I don't need to swim…" Yukimura l once again stated, reiterating the fact that he couldn't swim.

"Even if you can't swim, get into the pool. It's only one meter deep—you won't drown," Arata said, waving his hand dismissively.

"…Oh."

Since Arata had said this, even Yukimura and the others who truly couldn't swim had no choice but to head toward the swimming pool.

Karuizawa, barefoot with her soft, pale feet, walked over to Rin and took his hand.

"Rin~ Let's go. Make sure to watch me once we're in the pool."

"Alright."

From her seat in the high-level audience section, Sakura watched Rin and Karuizawa walk toward the pool together. She sighed softly to herself.

"Karuizawa-san is so proactive—completely different from timid little me…"

Rin sat down at the edge of the pool and stretched his legs into the water. The swimming pool seemed to have a built-in temperature regulation system, and the water temperature was just right—comfortable enough not to make the students feel cold, allowing their bodies to adjust easily.

After confirming the water temperature, Rin moved gracefully and stepped into the pool. He then stretched out his hand toward Karuizawa, who was still standing at the edge.

"Come on down; the water temperature is just right."

"I'm coming~"

An excited Karuizawa grabbed Rin's extended hand.

Rin thought Karuizawa would follow his lead and sit at the edge of the pool before sliding in. Instead, as soon as she held his hand, she jumped straight into the pool.

With a loud splash, Karuizawa landed in the water, sending countless clear droplets flying everywhere and soaking Rin's hair and face.

After jumping in, Karuizawa let out a delighted "Hehe!" before turning to look at Rin.

Seeing water dripping from Rin's hair, Karuizawa put on a surprised expression and asked, "Rin, why is your hair wet?"

Rin looked at Karuizawa with a faint smile. "What do you think?"

"…"

Karuizawa realized it was her diving that had soaked Rin's hair. Embarrassed, she stuck out her tongue and shook Rin's arm gently.

"Sorry, I got too excited. Please forgive me."

"I'll forgive you—for a bottle of honey drink."

"Okay~ I'll buy it for you from the vending machine after the swimming lesson," Karuizawa replied cheerfully.

Meanwhile, in an effort to gain attention and to look down at the girls from the edge of the swimming pool, Ike and Yamauchi struggled with all their might to complete the 50-meter swim.

After climbing out of the pool using the handrail, Ike gasped for air before flashing a smug grin. "Ha! Just 50 meters, piece of cake! Everyone saw my incredible swimming skills, right?"

"Huff, huff… I'm better than you, Ike! That was even easier for me!" Haruki declared stubbornly, despite panting heavily.

Ayanokoji, who had already reached the pool's edge earlier, glanced at the two boys.

- My slow swimming is still faster than yours, and judging by how you're out of breath, swimming 50 meters must have completely drained your energy.

Feeling overly proud, Ike and Yamauchi turned their attention to the pool, hoping to admire the girls swimming.

Unfortunately for them, the girls had already gotten out of the pool earlier, so there was nothing to see.

Well, except for one girl still in the pool—Karuizawa, who was pretending she couldn't swim.

When Ike and Yamauchi saw Rin walking hand in hand with Karuizawa, their smug smiles immediately vanished.

What's the use of swimming fast?

Being handsome is what really matters!

If you're handsome, you can hold a girl's hand!

They were filled with envy.

Luckily for them, the girl Rin was holding hands with was Karuizawa and not Kushida. If it had been Kushida, Ike and Yamauchi might have been jealous to the point of exploding.

Kushida suddenly shivered. Stroking the bare skin of her arms, she muttered, "Why did I suddenly feel a chill…"

Feeling uneasy, Kushida looked toward Horikita, who was standing not far away. She couldn't shake the feeling that her sudden chill was somehow related to Horikita.

Horikita's expression at that moment was as cold as ice.

About three minutes later, Rin and Karuizawa, who had been walking leisurely in the pool, finally got out.

Arata, who had been waiting patiently, immediately raised his voice. "Now that you're all familiar with the water, let's begin the competition!"

"Since there are fewer girls, we'll start with them first."

Under Arata's instructions, all the girls except Karuizawa—who was still pretending she couldn't swim—lined up on the diving platform.

The boys, seated happily on one side of the pool, began cheering loudly for the girls.

Well, to be precise, almost all the boys were cheering exclusively for Kushida. Enthusiastically waving back at them, Kushida smiled sweetly and thanked them for their encouragement.

Her popularity among the boys was overwhelming.

Rin watched Kushida's bright, angelic smile and couldn't help but click his tongue. "On the surface, Kushida really is like a angel."

But Rin knew that her angelic demeanor was just an act. It was completely different from the genuine personality of Ichinose.

Standing beside Rin, Karuizawa overheard his remark about Kushida. She pursed her lips slightly and tugged at Rin's hand.

"Rin, what's so great about Kushida? Look at me instead."