kscans

Chapter 150 - The Swimming Class and the Unruly Water Birds

I changed into the red Boomerang Briefs Avea had given me.

"What about you, Claire? If you're practicing, you'll be in the junior division, unfortunately."

"I'm an adult, for your information!"

she pouted, covering her chest.

"Shizuka is here too, so I'll just watch today."

She fluttered her wings. Ah, because of what happened this morning, she was bleeding and in a bit of pain. Why was it that I could understand the flutter language so well when it came to topics like this?

In any case, Shizuka and Claire seemed to be getting along well. They must have just met this morning, but they were already chatting casually. Maybe it was because they were close in age. I hoped she wouldn't be a bad influence.

Anyway, I took Famu and the others into the river. The water was cool and felt good.

Looking around, Mizuki's group had already started practicing. Just as she'd said, everyone seemed to have mastered the crawl. Among them, Fang and Avea were at a fairly high level. Maybe they had experience. And what was surprising was Beers. He was swimming with a clean form.

"First, the teacher should show us an example."

At Cecily's request, I swam out to the buoys marking the swimming area and back. Aside from when Famu and I nearly drowned in the river the other day, it had been since high school graduation that I had last swum, but my body remembered. Also, thanks to the strength I'd gained through my adventures so far, I had enough stamina to swim the distance without issue.

It looked to be about 25 meters one way. The competition was set to be a relay race along the course I had just swum. That was a long distance for beginners, and the water got deep enough that you couldn't touch the bottom, which felt dangerous.

"Your form was surprisingly clean and you were quite good,"

Cecily said, impressed. The others nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's start practicing then."

We moved to a spot where the water came up to our shoulders. Reeni, who couldn't touch the bottom, was floating with her floatie.

"What should we start with?"

Myra asked.

"First, learn to float on your back. Once you can do that, treading water. We'll start by learning to float in place."

I moved to a spot where my feet couldn't touch. Then, I first floated on my back to demonstrate, and next, with only my head above water, I showed them how to tread water by alternately moving my feet to keep from sinking while balancing with both hands.

"Huh? What's the point of learning that in this situation? We won't win unless we learn to swim fast, you know?"

Cecily said.

"This is a basic. You have to swim all the way there and back, you know? Most of it is in water where you can't touch the bottom. What are you going to do if you start to drown?"

"I think we should just swim with incredible speed and get back before we drown,"

Reeni said, and started a furious flutter kick, setting off at full speed. Water splashed everywhere, and everyone turned their faces away. I averted my face as well, grabbing her floatie to stop her.

"If it were that easy, nobody would have any trouble. It might look close, but the resistance in the water is strong, and you'll get tired quickly. Plus, this is a river. If you're not careful, you'll get carried away. Also, that flutter kick is inefficient. You should do it underwater as much as possible. You'll swim faster that way... probably."

Reeni gave a small nod. I wasn't sure about the superiority of an underwater flutter kick, but I had a feeling things would get out of hand if she kicked that furiously, so I wanted to stop her.

"Master, I'll be fine with the doggy paddle. I can go anywhere with it."

Famu started to head towards the buoys with her doggy paddle, so I hastily grabbed her tail to stop her.

"Eek! Please don't grip my tail so hard!"

"You're getting your tail grabbed because you swim like that. If I were an enemy, you'd be missing your precious tail. First, learn to tread water."

"Mmph, I don't think there are any enemies who would aim for my tail first."

I thought she would listen to anything I said, but she was unusually stubborn. Still, she seemed happier than usual. Was she enjoying being in the water? It felt like she was just frolicking.

"Alright. Try to escape from me with your swimming style. I'll chase and catch you. If you're caught, you'll do as I say. If you get away, you can do as you please."

Hearing my words, Famu tried to flee, but Myra grabbed her shoulder.

"Mash, we don't have time to play around."

"Hah, right."

Was I getting carried away by the sight of them in their swimsuits? To calm myself, I looked at Myra's two large flotation devices. It was no use. I wanted to take her out to the deep water where she couldn't escape and massage her from behind.

Suddenly, I noticed everyone was looking at me with grim expressions. Myra was trying to cover her chest with her arms.

I cleared my throat.

"A-alright, let's start with the back float. This is easy. You just lie on your back, relax your whole body, and float."

"You'll sink if you do that, won't you?"

"You won't sink. I just showed you, didn't I?"

To convince Cecily, I demonstrated floating on my back one more time.

"...Unbelievable. Then why did you and Famu drown that time?"

"There are various reasons, like wearing clothes and shoes, but for some reason, people sink when they panic."

"Explain it so I can understand!"

Cecily scolded me, but I can't teach what I don't understand myself. I wanted to connect my phone to the internet and search for it.

"We'll deal with the scary big sister later. Let's start practicing with Reeni."

"Is it okay if I do the flutter kick if I'm in trouble?"

It seemed the flutter kick was her favorite.

"Forget about the flutter kick. I'll support your back at first, so take a deep breath and relax your whole body."

Reeni nodded and inhaled. I took her floatie and supported her back. When her head and chest were floating on the surface, I let go of my supporting hand.

"Oh, ooh... Reeni is floating... It's so pleasant, just bobbing like this."

Her eyes widened as she looked at the sky, as if moved.

"Treading water is boring. Teach us a way to swim faster!"

Just as everyone had mastered the back float and we were about to move on to the next step, Cecily started complaining again.

"You don't complain to Mizuki. Why do you only complain to me?"

"Mizuki taught us how to do the crawl from the beginning. But you're so dull!"

We had only just learned to float on the water's surface. But I was already hit with intense fatigue. They really were the junior group.

"Guh... well, fine. Complain all you want. But we'll practice swimming fast after you've learned to tread water. Let's begin. We'll try one by one."

At my words, Reeni raised her hand.

"Alright, Reeni's first."

"Wait a minute. Why do you always start with Reeni? That's favoritism. I don't want to be last all the time. I want to be taught first too."

Even Myra started complaining. Why was she trying to compete with such a small child?

"You saw Reeni raise her hand first. Besides, it's decided that we go in order of smallest to largest for things like this."

"In that case, I should be before Cecily."

"No way!"

I groped both Myra's and Cecily's chests.

"Hyaaah!"

"Kya!"

The two of them shrieked. Cecily's scream was cuter than I expected. While they were flustered, I started Reeni's treading water practice.

As I supported Reeni's body, I removed her floatie. Her swimsuit was navy blue, similar to a school swimsuit. There was a hole near her tailbone, and her white, pom-pom-like tail was perched on top. When I touched it, it wasn't fluffy, likely because it was wet, but had the hard feel of bone.

"Ngh... nn..."

As I touched it from the tip to the base, Reeni let out a troubled moan.

"Mash..."

Famu, Myra, and Cecily were all looking at me with exasperated expressions.

"N-no, that's not it! I just thought Shizuka might have put an anal plug in Reeni, so I was just checking!"

At those words, everyone covered their own bottoms.

"There's no way she'd do something like that, even for her!"

Cecily said.

"You pervert! I'll take care of Reeni, so come over here!"

She reached out her hand, but Reeni shook her head.

"I heard that when they stop doing this to you, it's a sign you're about to be thrown out. Reeni can endure it, so it's fine."

"..."

At her words, everyone fell silent and looked at me. I had become a complete villain. At this rate, I vowed to touch all of their bodies, groping their chests and butts.

By the time everyone, including Reeni, had learned to tread water, an hour had passed. Mizuki and her group were now practicing in a distant spot, perhaps to avoid showing us their hand. Instead, children around Reeni's age and their parents had surrounded us, practicing treading water with us. When I let my guard down, a water fight started out of nowhere, and things got out of hand. Just when I thought I couldn't handle it alone and was about to give up, Shizuka came to help.

"It must be your good character, Mash. When Mizuki was teaching, no one came near,"

Myra said, while also helping a child tread water. Mizuki's teaching style was probably too intense.

"The teacher may be a pervert, though!"

Cecily seemed a bit sulky, probably because I had groped her chest and butt the most. If she'd learned her lesson, I wish she'd be quiet.

"Alright, let's practice the crawl then."

"Mizuki taught us that. We want you to teach us a way to swim faster."

"Unfortunately, I don't know a way to swim any faster than that. By the way, Myra and Cecily, you've learned to swim now, right?"

Myra and Cecily nodded.

"Master, do I need to learn it too?"

"Reeni has this."

She patted her floatie. I felt like I understood why Mizuki had pushed those two on me. They had no intention of listening to me from the start. My motivation to teach was fading.

"Alright. Let's have an exhibition match then. First, I'll watch everyone swim to check their skill level."

"Hold on. You're not going to swim, Mash? Isn't that cheating?"

Did Cecily think I was trying to slack off? Unless I explained the intention behind my actions, she wouldn't be satisfied and move on. I moved towards her as if to grope her chest again, and she quickly dodged back.

"I'll watch everyone swim and check for any bad habits. In my place, Shizuka will swim."

"Eh? Why me...?"

"Everyone is being too willful. Let's trust Mash a little and listen to what he says."

Myra said that, but I wanted them to listen to me completely, not just a little. And I was concerned about the precocious brat who had been clinging to her and hugging her for a while now. The little brat was trying to reach for Myra's boobs.

"You damn... little shit!"

As I was about to pounce on the little brat, the surrounding children all splashed water on me at once.

"Bwah! You little...! I'll never forgive you!"

"A monster! A monster has appeared!"

From there, a spectacular water fight began.

After the water fight settled down, I had everyone swim. As expected, Shizuka was the fastest. She swam with a smooth, rhythmic, and beautiful stroke. To an amateur's eye, I couldn't find any faults. Next was Cecily. Then Myra, who could swim but was a bit shaky. Famu and Reeni were out of the question.

"Cecily, concentrate on the movement of your hands when you pull the water. Also, your flutter kick weakens when you breathe, so be careful of that too."

She nodded.

"Myra, all your movements stop when you breathe. You're looking up too much. Raise your face as little as possible."

"B-but, I'm scared water will get in my mouth."

Myra's movements were like a different person's depending on whether she was holding her mace or not. In combat, she could move powerfully, but normally, she was somewhat laid-back. I wonder what would happen if I had her swim with her mace strapped to her back.

"I understand how you feel, but you won't be able to swim fast unless you overcome it."

When she breathed, she would lift her face as if flipping over. That caused her movements to stop, her swimming direction to go off course, and then she would try to correct it, resulting in a zigzag path.

"Hmm... instead of turning your face straight to the side, how about you try to fix it by looking diagonally behind you?"

"Y-yes!"

she replied.

"Also, both of you, the match is soon, so don't get too tired by practicing too much. Don't practice at full strength. In fact, think of it as resting, so swim slowly, and focus on confirming your form. Swim with a deliberate form. If you have any trouble, have Shizuka swim and check for you."

"Eh, why me...?"

"I need to whip these two into shape."

I placed my hands on Famu's and Reeni's heads.

"Master, the dog-eared people have a saying: 'One path leads to ten thousand arts.' Like your swordsmanship, I want to master the doggy paddle."

"That saying was left by a swordsman about a thousand times more amazing than me, so it's hard to deny, but there's also the path of further elevating your own art by learning other arts. Besides, I only do that because it's all I can do. I want you to learn many more things, Famu."

"...Understood. I'll try."

She wasn't powerful, but her motor skills were excellent. She should be able to do it. I shifted my gaze to Reeni.

"Reeni will do it too!"

"Alright, then let's start with putting your face in the water and the flutter kick."