Ch.116Chapter 116

# June’s End

At the end of June, the semester was finally over. After a week of exams, summer vacation had arrived. The feeling that July was just around the corner was settling in.

The most fortunate thing for me was that I didn’t feel the heat as much as others. Other students had already shed their spring coats and were wearing light clothes underneath. Even with all their pride and dignity in their attire, it seemed inappropriate to dress too heavily in this weather.

I stared blankly at the scene, feeling a slight excitement about what might happen this summer.

The Professor had mentioned that Academy students should come to the Academy frequently even during vacation, so it didn’t seem like it would be as enjoyable as I’d hoped. I was disappointed since I had expected to lounge around in an air-conditioned home the whole time.

But there was nothing I could do about it.

“Woah. The entire building has air conditioning.”

“Sera!”

I jumped up when Sera opened the door and entered the Research Lab. I spread my arms to welcome her, and Sera smiled, placing her hands under my armpits.

“Ourr, did you have fun? Sorry~ I couldn’t play with you during exam period.”

I floated up with a whoosh. Unlike before, my skirt was the right size, so it didn’t fall. The problem was that I was wearing a sleeveless top, so her skin touched mine directly under my arms.

It tickled so much that my body twisted involuntarily and I laughed.

“Heehee, ah, it tickles…”

“Oh my, Ourr is quite ticklish?”

Sera said that and put me down.

I usually wore a jacket too, but since I didn’t feel the heat much, I didn’t see the need to wear something that looked hot, so I had left it off and was in a sleeveless top.

When I put my own hands there, it wasn’t that ticklish, but when someone else did it, the sensation made me tilt my head in confusion. I made a small sound like “Mmm?” and put both hands under my armpits.

My arms crossed in front of my chest, forming an X.

“What’s that?”

Sera burst into laughter seeing me.

“By the way, where did the Professor go?”

“The Professor went to the research lab where the Academy students are.”

“I see. Oh right, Aria will be here soon too. She said she was stopping by the bathroom because sweat had collected on her chest.”

“Gasp.”

I covered my mouth in surprise. Sweat collecting on her chest and needing to go to the bathroom for it seemed quite strange to me.

Unconsciously, I directed my gaze downward. Unfortunately, my clothes fit perfectly, revealing only a smooth, flat plain. I slightly raised my hand and then glanced at Sera with narrowed brows.

“…Still growing.”

At those words, Sera burst out laughing, holding her stomach.

Just as she bumped into the wall with a thud and let out an “Ouch,” the door opened with a small knock. I thought the Professor had returned, but it was Karen.

“Oh, Karen.”

“Karen, hello!”

I was glad to see her. It seemed everyone was stopping by after finishing their exams.

“Ah, senior. Hello. Hi, Ourr.”

Karen waved with a bitter smile. The dark circles under her eyes suggested she hadn’t been sleeping well lately.

Slightly concerned, I stared at her, and sure enough, she covered her mouth and yawned.

“Are you very tired?”

“Yeah, I was studying hard to get a scholarship for the second semester.”

“Sit here.”

I went back to the table and pulled out a chair. Karen thanked me and sat in the seat I offered.

“Sera, do you want to sit too?”

“Yeah, I want to rest too. I also stayed up late tonight.”

“But Sera doesn’t have dark circles?”

“…I covered them with makeup.”

Sera said that and lightly touched her cheek. Then she showed me her finger.

“…What is it?”

“Huh?”

I stared at her with narrowed brows. Her skin tone and makeup color were so similar that I wondered why she even applied it. Realizing that makeup is used to hide dark circles, I opened my eyes wide and gently grabbed Sera’s finger.

I rubbed her finger slightly with mine. Sera chuckled and quietly observed me.

“Why? Are you interested in makeup?”

“…Hmm, not that much. It seems too difficult.”

“It’s not difficult. But Ourr doesn’t really have anywhere to apply it.”

Sera tilted her head and looked at my face.

Being so close and making eye contact made me feel embarrassed, and I unconsciously avoided her gaze.

Karen sat down and, apparently truly exhausted, rested her head on her arms on the table. I looked at Sera once more and then turned my attention back to Karen.

“What will everyone do after the semester ends and you go home?”

I expressed my slight disbelief that the semester was already over. While I felt regretful, I thought the others must be tired from studying so hard, so I kept quiet.

After working so hard, they deserved to rest, and it seemed selfish to say I wished they would stay longer just because I would be bored. So I hesitated.

“I’m… since I’m graduating soon, I’m thinking of doing an internship.”

“Internship?”

“Yeah, I’ll go as an intern to Professor Yuria’s lab to check out the atmosphere. I’m graduating soon, so I need to decide whether to go there or not.”

“Oh, ohhh.”

I thought that meant I could meet Sera during the vacation.

“Well, since I’m planning to join anyway, my goal is to meet the seniors and get friendly with them in advance.”

“I see… Then I’ll introduce you to a friend there. Her name is Lenya. She said she was researching the original.”

“Oh, please do. I have the same goal as that senior.”

Sera’s eyes sparkled as she extended her hand to me. It looked like an arm-wrestling position, but her elbow was floating, so it probably wasn’t that.

Since it seemed like she wanted me to grab it, I did so firmly. Sera gripped it tightly and shook it once, as if making a pledge.

The feeling of entrusting something to me was so strong that I found myself nodding.

“Who else is there?”

“Actually, I haven’t been to the lab much… Oh, there’s someone who wants to become the Professor’s junior.”

“That’s really impressive.”

A measured compliment flew out, suggesting she wasn’t particularly interested.

I liked how clear it was to see what she was interested in and what she wasn’t. Maybe it was because I had become younger, but I preferred things that were clear at first glance. I wasn’t sure if others felt the same way, but anyway.

“—Excuse me.”

“The Professor isn’t here.”

“Oh, really?”

Aria greeted us as she opened the door.

Sera shrugged in response to the greeting meant for the Professor. Aria looked at the Professor’s desk once and nodded.

She put her bag on the table, took a seat next to me, crossed her legs, and opened her shirt a bit more where a button had come undone.

“It’s hot just coming here. Good thing the semester is over; otherwise, I might have been steamed to death.”

“Don’t elves live in the great forest? Isn’t it hotter there?”

“That’s a city too. …Besides, there’s a lot of shade there, so it’s not as hot as this.”

“Really?”

As Sera snickered, Aria stared at her quietly. She seemed to be glaring, making me feel awkward.

“Sera said you had sweat on your chest, Aria.”

“Well… that happens often. I just wiped it off earlier, but it felt refreshing to wash and dry off a bit. It’s not good when skin sticks together in this weather.”

Aria crossed her legs. Then she lightly touched her chest. The cleavage was clearly visible through the unbuttoned part of her shirt.

It was interesting to hear that sweat collected there. I had never experienced such a thing, so it felt a bit unfamiliar. I had looked once when Sera mentioned it, but faced with Aria’s dignity, I lowered my head again.

As I stared blankly at my own chest, Aria saw me and chuckled.

“Ourr, someday when you grow up, your chest will grow too. Didn’t we talk about this before?”

“…Aria, do you know what Ourr said earlier?”

“What did she say?”

I looked toward Sera in surprise. Sera straightened up and mimicked the pose I had made earlier. She lowered her head, placed her hands on her chest.

“…Still growing.”

Finally, she made a solemn expression while looking at Aria.

Both Aria and Sera burst into laughter. The commotion woke Karen, who had dozed off, and she raised her body with drowsy eyes.

Looking back and forth between Sera and Aria, she asked in a bewildered voice:

“Eh? What happened? Oh, Senior Aria is here too?”

“Ah, yes, I came earlier. I heard what Ourr said earlier, and it was super cute. Did you hear it too, Karen?”

“No, I was a bit tired…”

Karen wore an expression drenched in fatigue.

I stared blankly at her and then glanced at Sera.

Sera winked at me. As I blinked and looked at her, I winked back.

Hmph, I was really still growing, so I hadn’t said anything wrong and had nothing to be embarrassed about. So I winked back proudly as a sign of confidence.