Chapter 74 - Deciding Match! Public Pool (2/2)
Still , calm down, Sanada Seiji. They’re only children. A middle-aged man getting seriously mad at them isn’t mature at all.
“That old man is bad at teaching, so we’ll teach you.”
“Stay out of this kids. Quickly get home and have Mama bake you a pie or something.”
“You probably have some secret intentions for teaching this Onee-san, right?”
“If you can swim better than us, then I guess it’s fine?”
“A competition, a competition!”
——I’ll destroy you guys…!
“Just how I want it, come and get it!”
“Seiji-kun, do your best!”
“Yeah!”
“““…”””
The kids had an interesting expression.
“Hmmmm~? Did you guys think that maybe you guys would be the ones who would be encouraged?”
I tried my best to agitate them a bit.
The three people took their kickboards and started to attack me.
“Hey, using weapons is unfair—”
“““Shut up, you old man!”””
“Who’s an old man! Hey! Fine then… bring it on!”
“Then, how about a 3 x 100 meter relay.”
They were now selfishly deciding the rules.
That means, I’m going to swim 300 meters by myself…? Okay, fine. Justice overcoming unfair disadvantages is cool after all.
The first kid and I both take our positions.
“Don’t complain if I take your self-proclaimed girlfriend, old man.”
“Haah? You won’t take her though? Rather, it’s not self-proclaimed.”
“—— Ready, go!”
Pachin, Hiiragi-chan clapped her hands behind us.
At that moment, we jumped. I looked out of the corners of my eyes. His dive was smooth and the form was clean. However, it’s not good enough to matter! I don’t care if it’s not mature, I’ll crush it with all my strength. I instantly widen the gap, and did my turn at 100 meters.
“Seiji-kun, you’re so fast! Like a penguin!”
Kyah, kyah, I heard Hiiragi-chan cheering with a shrill voice from the poolside.
Isn’t there another metaphor you could have picked? Thinking that, I continued to advance through the water.
… Ah. This is bad. I tried too hard at the start. As lactic acid began to build up, my arms and legs became heavier.
When I did my turn at 200 meters, “Just a little bit more! We can catch him!” I heard someone say that.
When I looked back for a moment, I could see that my lead had been cut in half.
I’m going to bet my whole existence on crushing these kids…! Turning my negative emotions into energy, I raise my speed again.
After finishing my 300 meters, I raise my head and saw that the difference was about 10 meters until the goal.
“Seiji-kun, you’re really fast!”
“W-well… yeah…”
While breathing hard, I pull myself onto the poolside.
“Good work ♪”
Hiiragi-chan came over while holding a towel like a manager.
“Old man, you’re really fast.”
“Right? Rather, stop calling me an old man.”
“Can’t you hold back a bit, old man.”
“I’m telling you, stop calling me that.”
“Going hard on a few kids as your opponent.”
“You guys were fast too, though?”
Nishishi, laughing like that, the kids went, “See yeah, Onii-san,” and left the pool.
“Aaaah, I’m zo dired…”
Sitting down next to me, a smile came up on Hiiragi-chan’s face.
“Fufufu. That looked really fun, you know? Seiji-kun, you might be the type that children like.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Sometimes, I think about our future. If we had kids, Seiji-kun would probably make a good dad.”
“I wonder about that one.”
“Let’s go back too?”
Hiiragi-chan stood up and walked towards the exit.
“Where are you going? You’re training hasn’t ended, you know?”
“Giku.”
What are you doing, trying to make a good mood and then leaving.
“N-nooooooo! I hate a strict Seiji-kun!”
“Yes yes, I’ll be nice and gentle, okay?”
Pulling along the struggling Hiiragi-chan, we did another two hours of training after that. Thanks to my guidance, and Hiiragi-chan’s efforts, she learned how to doggy paddle.