Ch.126126. Happily Ever After (1)

“Um… Arin?”

“Gasp…! Here, here’s the panda! Huff…! It’s super cute! Right, unnie!”

“Ahaha… Is that so…?”

This is Korea’s premier amusement park.

A theme park, a zoo.

A sacred place for children.

A place with cute animals and exciting rides.

“Vine… are you okay?”

“Ellie. Yeah, I’m… not bad.”

“Ah… well, you look tired.”

“I am a bit drained.”

“…Well. That happens.”

I definitely thought I’d never come back to this place.

“Vine unnie! Hurry up! Ellie too, quickly! The pandas here are so… Gasp! Look, look look at that! The panda is eating bamboo right now! Gasp…! There’s a baby panda too!”

“Yeees…”

Why am I here with Arin anyway?

“Unniee! Gasp! Hurry! Quick!”

* * *

“Vine. How was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Today, was it good?”

“Well… it was fine for me. I’m just worried I won’t be able to sleep tonight since I napped during the day.”

“True. Fixing your sleep schedule after it’s been reversed is the hardest part.”

“You seem to know well?”

“Sigh… it’s because of you.”

I got a smack on the head.

Ugh…

It’s not entirely my fault.

I’m not the only villain around.

“There are other villains besides me… this is unfair.”

“Other villains are just small fry, so I can deal with them quickly and go to bed. You’re the problem… fighting you means I end up seeing the sunrise, you know?”

“Well… dawn is when people are most off-guard, isn’t it?”

“That has nothing to do with it.”

But it does.

It really does have everything to do with it.

When I deliberately planned operations for dawn, my success rate…

“Anyway, it did matter. Blanc, if you don’t know, just stay quiet.”

“Hmm… okay. Well, if you say so. You must be right…”

“…Come to think of it, wasn’t Ragnarok also carried out at dawn?”

“Was it…?”

“You don’t remember well, do you?”

“Well… that’s just…”

“Ah. So I’m something you can just ignore? As a villain, I don’t exist in your heart at all, just remembered as an object to be taken away?”

“That’s not what I meant. Geez, let’s go wash up.”

“…I’ll let it slide this time. Next time, I won’t forgive you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Warm water envelops my body.

After spending a day with a magical girl, is bathing together becoming routine now?

Every magical girl I spend the day with wants to bathe together.

Especially Blanc—I thought she shouldn’t be doing this, but she already picked me up and stripped me.

Saying it’s right to wash up after going out.

Being held in her arms isn’t exactly pleasant, you know.

Especially being in such a defenseless state.

“So, is this the conclusion? Bathing together?”

“Isn’t it nice? Soaking in warm water. It calms the mind. It feels like wrapping up the day. Don’t you think?”

“Well… I could enjoy the feeling of ending the day without necessarily doing this.”

“It’s just a feeling, just a feeling…”

She sank a little deeper into the tub.

And as I was sitting on top of her, I also sank into the water—

“…Is this really necessary? The tub is plenty wide.”

“Warmth is better when shared, isn’t it?”

“Actually, when we’re this close, your body blocks the warmth of the water.”

“Well. That’s just how it is.”

So I ended up soaking in the water.

The sound of running footsteps approaching.

And then, the door slides open—

“Unnie!”

“Arin, you should knock before coming in…?”

“Ah…!”

She closes the door again, then knock knock.

The door slides open—

“Unnie!”

“…Arin, just knocking doesn’t mean you can open the door…”

“No, Vine unnie…! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You should have told me you were bathing with Yunseul unnie.”

“Arin…? As far as I know, today isn’t over yet… so I’m still bound to Blanc, I mean, Yunseul…”

“Tsk… anyway, I have something to tell you! And something to ask too!”

“Arin… isn’t it a bit inappropriate to have this conversation in the bathroom like this?”

“Huh…? What is?”

“You know… socially…?”

“Is there a problem…?”

Arin looks at me with innocent eyes.

…Ah.

Right.

Arin probably doesn’t know my true identity…?

No, even if she knows, isn’t it a bit strange to do this in a bathroom…?

Do women normally barge into bathrooms to have important conversations?

I wouldn’t know.

Well… Arin is still a child, so it’s probably fine. We’ve bathed together before, so it should be okay.

But thinking back to my memories with Arin.

Arin also seems to… know quite a bit.

“Can’t this conversation wait until after the bath… Arin? You should also consider Yunseul…”

“Hmm…? Well. Does Arin want to join us?”

“Can I?”

“Sure. It’s spacious enough for you to come in. But I’m keeping Vine to myself.”

“Yes! Great! Just a moment!”

Arin opens the door again and runs off.

“…Blanc, what did you just do?”

“Well. You bathe with close sisters sometimes, right?”

“No… that’s…?”

“Isn’t that normal…? I don’t mind, so I told her to come in. Wait… Vine, do you have some ulterior motive toward Arin?”

…?!

Blanc, what is this person saying?

Making such a dangerous statement so casually…!

“Blanc, are you crazy?! I, I would never do anything to Arin…!”

“Right? Vine wouldn’t do that. So it’s fine to bathe together, isn’t it?”

“…Hmph.”

Really.

Did she say all that just to get this one reaction out of me…?

My face is so hot that the bathwater feels cool in comparison…

“What? Vine… perhaps?”

“No!!”

Seriously…!

What is this person saying…!

“Really…? Pfft…”

Behind Blanc’s laughter, the pitter-patter of footsteps again.

“Unnie! Can I come in?”

“Yes. Wash your body first before getting in.”

“Hehe…”

Blanc stops Arin who was about to jump straight into the tub.

“Can I get in now?”

“Soap.”

“Ehehe…”

Blanc stops Arin who was trying to get in without rinsing off the soap properly.

“Now can I get in?”

“Yes. Come in.”

Carefully approaching, she steps into the tub one foot at a time.

Sitting across from me, she sinks in like I did.

“Phewww… this tub is really such a good thing… it feels like all my fatigue is melting awayyy…”

“Arin is so cute. Pfft… you sound like an old man.”

“Whaat?! Me?”

“I’m just kidding. I like it too.”

It seems Blanc doesn’t just tease me.

She teases Arin so naturally too…

“Yunseul. Is there any standard to your teasing…?”

“Hmm? No?”

“…Ah.”

I guess she doesn’t set any standards and just teases anyone she considers close…

Well…

That’s fair enough.

Soaking in this tub makes me feel so relaxed and generous that I can easily overlook things like that.

“Oh, right. Vine unnie.”

“Yes, Arin…?”

“You know… tomorrow is my day, right? The day when Vine unnie is with me, right?”

“That’s right…?”

“Then… let’s go to the amusement park together!”

“…What?”

“Sounds good. Should I come along? You need a guardian, after all.”

“Yunseul unnie too…?”

“Well, Vine needs a guardian to go around crowded places. Right?”

“…Well, I’d be fine without one.”

“I’m perfect for that role. And in this dormitory, the only adults are me, Yuri unnie, or Hyewon, right?”

“Is that… so?”

“Were you thinking of Ellie? She’s officially registered as a student.”

“…Ah. Right.”

“So, Hyewon is out because she’s working tomorrow. And do you think Yuri unnie will wake up in the morning…?”

“Aha.”

“That’s why I’m offering to come along. Arin, what do you think?”

Arin seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, but realizing she had no other options, she obediently agreed to Blanc’s suggestion.

“But… Arin. You mentioned an amusement park? Which one exactly…?”

“You know, the huge one! Just a short drive away! Neverland!”

“…Ah.”

The amusement park Arin is talking about…

It’s the one I used to frequently destroy back in the day.

If I remember correctly, most of the rides there were broken by me… they must have spent a fortune on maintenance…?

Reading my concerned expression, Blanc tried to reassure me.

“It’s ancient history. The people there probably don’t… keep it fresh in their memories.”

“Isn’t that too optimistic…?”

Sensing our atmosphere, Arin asked:

“Huh…? What are you two talking about…?”

“Well… Vine and I fought there a lot…”

“From my perspective, that amusement park was a good place where emotions shifted dramatically from joy to negativity, so I frequented it…”

“But in the process, we broke a lot of things. Don’t worry. The Association probably compensated for the damage I caused while fighting you…”

“More importantly, how shocking would it be for visitors if a villain who used to frequent that place suddenly showed up again…”

“…Wouldn’t it be okay if I’m by your side…?”

“…I’ll bring a hood. This time I really need to. And I’ll bring Ellie along too.”

“…Okay. But shouldn’t you be asking her permission, not mine?”

“…Arin. Will you help me?”

“Huh…? Yes! Well… how you dress isn’t something I can control…? Um…? Unnie? Why are you looking at me with such relieved eyes…?”

“No… it’s nothing… you’re just so precious… Arin…”

“Huh…?”

Just the fact that she doesn’t try to do strange things with my clothes already makes her… top-tier among magical girls.

“Vine…? You’ve never reacted to me like that…?”

“That’s your own fault…!”

“Ehhh?! What did I do wrong…?”

“That’s for you to figure out. Hmph.”

I really can’t stand people who treat others like mannequins or dress-up dolls.

“But. Unnie. What do you mean by bringing Ellie too?”

“Ah. Well… actually it wouldn’t matter if we didn’t bring her, but isn’t it better to have four people? So I thought I’d pair Ellie with Blanc.”

“Ah… then let’s do that. Hehe…”

Arin already seems excited, as if she’s already at the amusement park in her mind.

Wait… Arin…

Don’t you have school…?