Good Thoughts

I opened the door to the assigned Passenger Cabin. One might question the term “Passenger Cabin,” but it truly is a Passenger Cabin. A faint noise drifted from the Passenger Cabin across from ours, indicating it was already occupied.

Of course, there’s also the space that comes to mind when one thinks of a Train. I’m talking about the carriage near where the precious cargo is loaded in the back. If we were finishing the journey in a day, it would have been fine, but since we had to travel a bit further… I chose a Passenger Cabin where we could sleep, even if it was a bit expensive.

…Perhaps the thought of having to share a table was a bit awkward.

Anyway.

Even so, there’s nothing special about it. It just has a table where you can eat simple food, chairs, and a bed. Of course, a Passenger Cabin that takes up an entire car would be more luxurious and have various amenities, but no matter how I think about it, that’s a waste.

Cecil, after putting down her luggage, scurried over and pressed herself against the window. She started looking out the window, leaving marks on the glass with her soft cheeks, giggling kyaa-rreu. She stomped her feet, wondering what was so fascinating.

It seemed we had arrived just in time, as the stopped Train soon began to move. At that, Cecil let out an excited gasp.

“Shaa-nim! It’s moving! And it’s super fast!”

“Uh-huh… yeah.”

As for me… I wasn’t particularly moved, so I just gave a casual reply and sat on the bed. Veronica was already lying on the bed across from me.

Before long, my body swayed. It was because Claudia had sat right next to me. Her body heat, warmed and flushed by the sun, felt like it was heating up my own body.

“There’s a bed right next to you, so why here…?”

“It’s not time to sleep yet, is it?”

“….”

Claudia, sitting next to me, stretched her arms upwards as if her body was stiff. Her tail, stretching out along with her rising arms, was impressive. After loosening up, Claudia looked around the Passenger Cabin and spoke.

“By the way, it looks like there’s one bed missing?”

Well… that’s because you showed up saying you’d leave a day earlier? When I looked at her with that expression, she gave an awkward laugh and fanned her neck collar, as if she was hot.

Beyond the fluttering fabric, I could see a mass of pure white breast. It seemed she had been somewhere with a lot of sunlight, as the rest of her skin was tanned, but her breast remained fair and white….

It was a little… lewd. Like a swimsuit tan line.

I found myself glancing, and then our eyes met. Claudia let out a chuckle and pressed her body against mine. Her swaying tail tickled my waist.

“Is this your type, perhaps?”

“…N-no, it’s not like that.”

“It’s fine. Look all you want.”

Then, gratefully.

I would have liked to, but as Claudia pressed her body against mine, the sweet, sweaty scent of her body wafted into my nose. Startled, I got up from the bed and went to Cecil, who was diligently looking out the window.

Claudia’s laughter could be heard from behind me. I fanned my unnecessarily flushed face with my hand and looked out the window with Cecil.

“Shaa-nim, what is that?”

“Hmm… that’s a Temple.”

While explaining what a Temple was to Cecil, I saw Veronica breathing evenly on the bed. Perhaps because she had fallen asleep with her arms raised, Veronica’s clean armpit was clearly exposed. With beads of sweat forming on it, it was very-

Ah, damn it, why am I like this?

“Shaa-nim?”

“Uh, yeah, where was I?”

“You were talking about knowing someone!”

…Hmm, when did I say that?

“You knew someone at the Temple?”

Claudia, who was sitting on the bed cleaning her dagger, also seemed interested in the conversation and spoke with a surprised tone.

…Let’s get a grip.

“…Rather than knowing them, it was more like… we just crossed paths? They probably wouldn’t recognize me if we met now.”

“Really?”

It wasn’t a lie.

Because if they saw me now, they wouldn’t recognize me.

As soon as I vaguely glossed over it and felt a sense of relief, I suddenly became aware of the heat. If even Veronica, dressed lightly, was sweating, then it was only natural… I suppose.

It seemed I had been quite tense without realizing it, perhaps because I was going to a different region after a long time, and in a changed body. Now that the tension had finally eased, the heat suddenly overwhelmed me.

Since there was no one else to see anyway. I decided to take off a little clothing.

As I unbuttoned the tightly fastened Cape, a rush of hot air whoosh! rose up.

Was this why she asked me if I was hot?

I neatly folded it and tossed it onto an empty chair, then unbuttoned a few buttons on my shirt. That made me feel a bit more alive.

“It is hot, isn’t it?”

Claudia handed me a handkerchief and smiled.

“…Indeed.”

As I wiped my sweat with the handkerchief she gave me, I felt Claudia’s gaze. Then she suddenly tilted her head, muttered ‘Hmm…’ to herself, and then said to me with an uncertain expression.

“Shaa, by any chance… are you not wearing any underwear?”

…How did she know?

“…Because it felt stuffy. And if I wear the Cape, it’s not visible anyway, right? But how did you know?”

“Because the sweat is making everything inside visible?”

“Ah.”

I replied nonchalantly and continued wiping my sweat. When I returned the handkerchief to Claudia, who was sighing, my hair bothered me this time. The hair that hadn’t touched my body because of the Cape was now sticking to me, which was a bit unpleasant.

“Shall I tie it for you?”

Claudia, who had noticed like a ghost, asked me that. After a moment of thought, I told her yes. Once I became aware of the discomfort I hadn’t noticed before, it bothered me a lot.

Claudia sat me down on a chair and gathered my hair, lifting it up. As my nape was exposed, I felt a sense of liberation. At some point, Cecil, who had been looking out the window, came closer and was watching me get my hair tied.

Claudia, rummaging in her pocket for something, opened her mouth.

“Shaa.”

“Yes.”

“Even if it’s not visible… let’s make sure to wear underwear. It’s not just for covering things up. I think I told you this before…”

Seeing signs that the nagging would get longer, I quickly mumbled an excuse.

“…I’ll try.”

“Good. It would be sad if such a pretty shape got ruined, wouldn’t it?”

…It wouldn’t matter anyway once I return. Come to think of it… should I make Cecil wear it? With that thought, I looked at Cecil’s chest, and a strap was slightly visible near her shoulder. It seemed Veronica had prepared it for her.

“There, it’s all tied.”

“Ah, thank you.”

In the meantime, I felt a heaviness on both sides, indicating Claudia had tied my hair.

…Both sides?

“Shaa-nim, you’re cute!”

“It suits you well, just like I saw before?”

I bit my lip, looking at Claudia with trembling eyes.

“Surely it’s not what I’m thinking, is it?”

“It probably is?”

“…Untie it right─”

The moment I was about to say “untie it,” Cecil said in a regretful voice.

“Shaa-nim. Are you going to untie it? That’s a shame…”

Seeing her wiggling her fingers and looking disappointed… I decided to just leave it. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do anyway. And it was cool, at least. If it had been tied in a single ponytail, Veronica might have gotten angry, so it was actually a good thing… well, not quite.

As I stroked the head of Cecil, who hugged me, saying she loved it so much, Cecil also started looking at me with envious eyes, as if she wanted her hair tied like mine.

“Claudia, do you have more ties?”

“I do. Are you going to tie it yourself?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m jealous, you know?”

“…If you’re jealous, then Claudia should grow out her hair too.”

She made a disgusted gesture at my words and handed over the ties.

“It wouldn’t suit me, and it’s difficult because of work.”

“That’s true.”

I sat Cecil on the chair and stood holding the ties. A fragrant scent rose from the top of her head.

“I’m going out for a bit to buy some drinks.”

“Ah, then there’s Money in my backpack, so please take it.”

“It’s fine, I got a free ride on the Train, so I should at least buy this much.”

“I won’t refuse.”

Claudia, who laughed as if she expected that, quickly opened the door and disappeared. I reached out my hand to Cecil, who was sitting on the chair, swinging her legs and waiting.

As I lifted the mass of silver hair, Cecil’s pure white nape appeared. Beads of sweat had formed on it.

“Cecil, were you perhaps hot?”

Cecil put a finger to her mouth, hummed ‘Eum~’, then smiled brightly and replied.

“I think I was! It feels cool now that Shaa-nim has lifted my hair!”

“…You should have told me earlier.”

“Hehe… but Shaa-nim looked hotter. Since Shaa-nim endured it, Cecil endured it too!”

…Hmm. I feel a bit sorry now.

“There’s no need to endure it… From now on, if anything makes you uncomfortable, just tell me right away.”

“Understood!”

“Good.”

With clumsy hands, I barely managed to balance and tie Cecil’s hair just like mine… in two pigtails… that is, in Twin Tails. It was quite cute. Cecil’s perfect face carried even the seemingly burdensome Twin Tails well.

Cecil spun around, seemingly pleased with her tied hair. Her Dress fluttered and swayed along with her tied hair.

…Her black panties were visible.

The thought that such a large thing was stored in that small piece of fabric entered my mind─

As soon as it entered, I shook my head. Cecil giggled kyaa-rreu and shook her head along with me. I hadn’t intended to, but the strange feeling vanished at her cute appearance, so I felt good about it.

“Keup, puhaha, what’s with your hair?!”

That is, until Veronica, who had been asleep, woke up and burst into laughter.

After punishing Veronica, Claudia returned with drinks and snacks. They probably weren’t cheap, but she bought a lot.

She didn’t seem to mind at all.

While filling our stomachs with cool drinks and chatting away, oblivious to the passage of time, the Train suddenly came to a halt. Looking out the window, I saw an open field stretching in all directions. Judging by that, we hadn’t arrived at a station.

It seemed there was some kind of problem.