I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

I’m not quite sure how those three minutes passed after that.
No matter what I did, the audience clapped with expressions full of awe, so I gave up and obediently cycled through a bunch of poses.

The result? A perfect score from the judges—the first ever in the history of the contest.
Backed by enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, I advanced to the finals as the top-ranked qualifier.
Honestly, I still don’t know how it all turned out like this.

But if there was one thing I could be sure of, it was that people had come to appreciate the beauty of muscles.
As someone following in the footsteps of countless pioneers, I felt genuinely proud of that one thing.
Ten people had made it to the finals, including myself, Ryuji, that trainer named Yoshida Kenichi we’d seen earlier, and the girl who’d made a legendary blunder onstage.

I thought for sure she wouldn’t make it, but it seemed her clumsy demeanor was considered cute and won her a spot.
Anyway, maybe because the prelims had taken up so much time, the finals were set to proceed in a group interview format with all the finalists onstage together.
During the ten-minute break before that, we received a brief explanation backstage.

"In the finals, it's mostly just simple talk, so there’s no need to worry. Unlike the prelims, we’re not going to push you into doing solo performances."
A lot of people had clearly felt pressured by the talent portion of the prelims, so everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
Rather than squeezing out a non-existent act, it was definitely easier to just follow whatever the MC told us to do.

Before long, the short ten-minute break came to an end, and the finalists all crowded onto the stage.
"And here we are! It’s finally time! The finals of the Onjuku Beach Swimsuit Contest! The elite contenders who powered through fierce competition are now here to battle it out!"
WAAAAAAAH!

The crowd definitely looked bigger now that the prelims were over.
It seemed even those who had wandered off out of boredom earlier had returned to catch the finals.
And now that more people were watching, I felt even more nervous.

I really wasn’t cut out for the stage, no matter what.
"Unlike the prelims, the finals will feature in-depth interviews with each contestant! Discover the charms you couldn’t see before! And we’re also taking live votes from the audience! Everyone, please cast a vote for your favorite!"
Where the prelims had leaned heavily on the judges’ scores, the finals seemed to rely entirely on the audience reaction.
The MC started moving down the line, interviewing each finalist in turn.

"Who’d you come here with?"
"My friends from college."
"Oh! Perfect! Got a boyfriend?"

"Yes!"
"Aww~ then you’re out!"
"What?!"

That was about the level of the banter—light, silly stuff.
Unlike the prelims, where the contestants had to show something off, this was all about the MC’s ability to lead the conversation, and the audience was clearly enjoying it.
As soon as one interview ended, the next began in a smooth transition, and nothing about it felt suffocating or overwhelming.
After three or four interviews, it was Yoshida Kenichi’s turn—the one we’d seen earlier.

Unlike me, with my bulky, rugged muscles, his physique was the lean, chiseled type ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) most people tended to favor.
Even so, getting a body like that wasn’t something you could achieve in just a year or two.
He’d probably trained consistently for at least five years.

His good looks, decent speaking skills, and well-defined muscles naturally drew cheers from the female crowd.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Yes, I do."

"Ah~ I can already hear the hearts breaking out there!"
The MC grinned and moved to the next question.
"Then, is there any contestant here that you’re particularly conscious of?"

Yoshida extended his hand and pointed straight at me.
"If I had to pick a rival here, it’d probably be the Korean guy over there."
"A shocking rival declaration!"

The crowd instantly heated up.
Not missing the opportunity, the MC rushed over to me with the mic.
"What do you think of this provocation?!"

Caught off guard, I still managed to answer in a calm voice.
"Honestly, I’m honored."
"Oooooooh! So humble!"

They made a big deal out of every little comment—it was honestly hard to keep up with the energy.
I forced a smile and thanked him.
Then the interviews continued down the line.

After Ryuji—who was right before me—wrapped up, it was finally my turn, and all eyes turned to me.
I’d probably drawn more attention because I’d received a perfect score from the judges in the prelims.
"Now it’s time for our dark horse, Kim Yu-seong! First question—do you have a girlfriend?"

It was a question I’d somewhat expected, so I answered without much trouble.
"Not yet."
"Not yet? Does that mean one’s on the way?!"

"It could happen—or not."
Faced with a difficult question, I used evasive language.
The MC gave up trying to press further and moved on.

"You scored the highest in the prelims! Is there any contestant here that you’re keeping an eye on?"
I realized that this question was meant to lock in the rivalry narrative they’d started earlier.
Most people would probably respond with Yoshida, the guy who pointed me out first—but after a moment of consideration, I answered differently.

"I think the most dangerous contestant here is Sakamoto Ryuji, right next to me."
The MC looked startled.
"What?! I was sure you’d say Yoshida! Why Ryuji all of a sudden?"

"Well, we’re classmates."
"Oho! The twist—he picked a fellow classmate! Poor Yoshida’s pride must be in shambles!"
Whether he actually felt that way or not, the MC sure was eager to stir the pot.

Well, I guess that’s part of the fun of these kinds of events.
With the audience watching intently, the MC brought the mic back to Yoshida and asked:
"Kim Yu-seong, whom you personally pointed out as your rival, just gave his vote to someone else. Any thoughts on that?"

"Sounds like I wasn’t even on his radar… kinda hurts, to be honest."
"There you have it! Mr. Yoshida’s heartbreak! How are we supposed to console him now?!"
I honestly had no idea what this MC was even trying to say anymore.

Anyway, with my interview wrapped up, all of the finalist interviews were now complete, and the real-time audience voting seemed to be wrapping up as well.
Just before the final results announcement, one of the stagehands whispered something into the MC’s ear.
The MC nodded, then glanced at me with a mischievous grin and spoke into the mic.

"While we wait for the vote tally, let’s have a quick mini-game between the finalists!"
A mini-game?
The sudden, unplanned announcement caused a stir among the contestants.

But the MC casually went on to announce the mini-game.
"The game is… an arm wrestling tournament! The winner will receive a regional gift certificate worth ten thousand yen, courtesy of yours truly!"
Arm wrestling, at this timing? This was just asking for a fight.

As my brain momentarily exited the premises, some of the contestants had already resigned themselves to this blatantly unfair game.
"Since it’s arm wrestling, we’ll divide the bracket into male and female divisions! The numbers happen to match up perfectly!"
As the MC said, among the finalists there were six women and four men.

So the men would start directly from the semifinals, while the women would have to fight it out more.
Still, with three of the four male contestants being muscleheads, I guess you could call it fair.
A makeshift table was hauled up on stage, and as everyone cheered for their favorite contestant, I casually rolled my wrist to loosen it up.

Luckily, my first opponent looked like a regular person—not someone I’d even need to use real strength against.
"Nice to meet you."
"Let’s have a good match."

She wasn’t short, but next to me she looked smaller by comparison.
"You look older than me. Feel free to speak casually."
"Oh, okay."

…Guess there was no avoiding it.
I just decided to keep it casual.
"Ready, go!"

BANG!
Round one ended the moment it started.
Honestly, everyone had expected the result even before the match began, so no one was particularly surprised.

But what did surprise everyone was the arm wrestling match between Ryuji and Yoshida.
Most people had bet on Yoshida, the muscleman, to win. But Ryuji beat him fair and square with his own strength.
Yoshida definitely had the size advantage, but seeing him lose so easily made it hard not to conclude that his muscles were all for show.

Just like me, Ryuji advanced with an easy win. He met my eyes and threw up a proud V-sign with his fingers.
Well, looks like the final match of the arm wrestling tournament is going to be an Ichijo Academy showdown.