Ch.177177. After-Party (3)

I tried swinging my legs back and forth and even attempted to use magic to create threads to distract myself, but I couldn’t help the tingling at the corners of my mouth.

And now it was time to ask. Junon had finished eating.

“I saw you, senior. When you were getting up from under the parasol.”

Of all things, she had to see that. My luck was a bit bad.

This bright-eyed girl would probably ask me if something was wrong.

As usual, Junon tried to avoid answering, but…

“…”

“Senior?”

Looking into Renias’s sparkling eyes reminded me of my promise not to lie in front of her.

Besides, for whatever reason, Renias could quickly detect my lies.

No matter how naturally I spoke, no matter how plausible my words were, not even the smallest shadow of a lie would reach this girl.

Rather than repeating what happened before, it was better to open up somewhat.

“I was just remembering the past.”

“The past?”

“I guess because being pointed at and jeered at was my daily life, it was strange to see someone offer me a handshake today, saying they learned well for the first time. I could feel how different people’s perception is now compared to back then.”

Half truth, half lie.

But I thought if I answered like this, she might understand well enough. Fortunately, it worked.

“Oh come on~ What’s so strange about that? People will continue to accept you like this from now on.”

“Well… I suppose that’s possible.”

Junon played along in front of Renias.

Honestly, he absolutely declined that notion.

And from Renias’s visit, he realized something.

‘I guess I can’t just get what I want.’

From daytime until now, Junon’s mind was in complete disarray.

Memories of the past and the path of the present. He needed to choose the best method to produce completely different results from before.

This process, as he had felt during the Great Sheeth Subjugation, was by no means easy.

‘Right. I understand this. Changing the past creates variables.’

He never dreamed the Sirens would be so deeply entangled with the Devourers.

Having made contact with those Sirens first and resolving matters through direct negotiation, everything was already misaligned from the past.

The biggest difference:

The Devourers remained the same, but Shanbereshu did not.

‘Shanbereshu, who had already inherited the position, attacked the Sirens, and they had no power to resist.’

Swish.

Junon stood up silently, overlapping the two situations in his mind.

“Huh? Senior? Where are you suddenly going?”

“I just want to walk a bit. Go back first.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll come with you!”

“I’ll be back soon, so there’s no need to follow.”

“Even so! It’s fine if I come along to help digest my food, right?”

As if it was already decided she would go, Renias dusted off the dirt on her clothes.

Junon didn’t reject her.

“Well, I don’t mind if that’s the case. But I’m going to walk along the beach, is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Let’s go, senior.”

At times like this, asking someone else wouldn’t be a bad idea.

***

What was a white sandy beach during the day completely hid its color in the evening.

The only light that entered this place was moonlight.

But the night sea wasn’t a bad sight either.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful!”

The corals that were hidden during the day revealed their true nature only when night fell.

Between the waves that gently shimmered in the moonlight, luminescent corals came into view. To think such things were hidden here.

“How can they shine so beautifully? Senior, let’s go closer.”

“Go closer… What will you do if your clothes get wet?”

“Oh, I’ll just roll them up to my knees, it’ll be fine.”

From her mention of rolling up, one could guess that Renias was wearing a dress, which would be quite cumbersome for walking in water.

‘Well… I guess it should be okay.’

The surface where the luminescent corals were located wasn’t deep, so they only needed to dip in a little.

I threw my outer clothes onto the higher part of the sand and extended my hand to Renias.

“Here.”

“Huh? Why?”

“If you fall while wearing a skirt, you’ll get all wet.”

If I hold her from the side, there shouldn’t be much of a problem. As long as she doesn’t fall. As long as she doesn’t.

Renias hesitated for a moment, then firmly grasped my hand, asking me to hold her so she wouldn’t fall.

Then she carefully approached the coral one step at a time.

“Wow, it’s beautiful. It definitely wasn’t like this during the day.”

“It’s certainly different. Coral infused with mana.”

“Huh? Mana?”

At the mention of mana, Renias immediately placed her hand on the coral to sense the magical energy.

“It’s true! How did you know?”

“Magical energy isn’t just in the air. It dissolves somewhat in the sea, and under certain conditions, it can dissolve in water too. The coral probably absorbs it into its body and circulates it internally.”

“Ah, I see. So you thought what it emits is magical energy.”

Renias was fascinated, poking the coral with her finger.

“If you’ve seen enough, let’s go.”

“What? Let’s look a little longer. Or maybe we could take some? We could break off a small piece and use it as an accessory!”

“…It’s better not to take any. The moment you break it off, it will lose its light and die.”

“Oh no, really?! Aww, but it’s so pretty.”

She looked quite disappointed.

She must have liked the light emitted by the coral so much that she thought of breaking it off to take with her.

“You don’t need accessories like that anyway.”

She shines brighter than this coral on her own.

Not just in appearance and character, but also in the endless praise and admiration that follows her.

On the other hand, how many people are hostile to her?

Hardly any. Unless someone is a twisted psychopath or has mental issues, no one would dislike Renias.

She is a person who shines so brightly, incomparably more than mere coral.

‘…But why are her ears suddenly turning red?’

Since there was no word or action from her, I called her name just in case.

“Renias?”

“…”

There was no answer.

Instead, I could feel moisture on her once-smooth hand, suggesting she might be sweating.

I can say with certainty that it wasn’t seawater splashing from the waves.

“This won’t do. Your temperature is rising, let’s get out quickly. You’ll catch a cold if you stay in those clothes.”

I grabbed Renias’s increasingly warm hand and led her out of the water.

Before wetting her feet in the seawater, Renias had clearly asked me to hold her tight.

But now, contrary to that, she remained motionless before letting go of my hand.

“Um… Senior, could you wait outside for a moment? I’ll just look a little longer…”

“And risk catching a cold? Don’t be stubborn, come out quickly.”

“S-Senior! Waaah?”

Perhaps I was too hasty. Thinking she might catch a cold, I pulled her hand abruptly, forgetting she was wearing a dress.

This was my carelessness.

Splash!

“Ugh… Renias, are you okay?”

“…”

Having instinctively embraced her, there were no injuries.

The water was shallow, so there was no danger.

But it was dangerous in another way. This…

“…”

“…”

Too close.

Close enough for our breaths to touch.

Our bodies were already touching.

My hands, thrown out in fear she might get hurt, touched her neck and waist, while her hands, grasping for something in panic, held my shoulders.

It was truly a dangerous position.

Just a little closer and something else would touch.

We both turned our heads away sharply and stood up.

Quite naturally, an awkward atmosphere spread!

“S-Sorry! I… I pulled you without thinking about your skirt!”

“N-No! It’s my fault… If I had come out when you told me to…!”

“Shall we, get out now anyway?”

“Y-Yes, senior.”

Why is my body temperature rising like this? Today I learned how one’s body can get hot without catching a cold.

No, I’m not sure if that’s even important right now.

I should apologize first…

“Kyaa!”

“Whoa!”

As we were leaving the water, I felt weight from behind and fell forward again.

Renias fell again, but this time she was on my back, which was better than before…!

‘But… what is this? Something soft is touching my back…’

I suddenly felt uneasy.

The sensation of what was touching my back was strangely soft. Plus, the body temperature was unusually high!

I couldn’t mistake what it was. Especially since Renias had a lot of nutrients concentrated in that area!

“I-I’m sorry, senior! I was walking without thinking and again… Kyaa?!”

“Just stay still!”

Normally, I would have said it was okay and told her to hold my hand firmly like before to prevent falling again.

But a dangerous situation had just occurred, and another one was happening now…!

In times like this, I can only think of returning to land immediately to prevent any further accidents. I can’t even remember what I wanted to ask her!

***

She was just as confused.

‘Ugh… am I an idiot?! How could I become self-conscious there?!’

But she couldn’t help it.

-‘You don’t need accessories like that anyway.’

This was her first experience of this kind!

For this pure-hearted girl, that single sentence was enough to make her face flush!

But what could she do when her body froze up?

With her heart starting to race all over the place, she simply couldn’t face Junon.

Eventually, she unknowingly let go of his hand, and after barely calming her brain and heart, she managed to say:

“Um… Senior, could you wait outside for a moment? I’ll just look a little longer…”

Renias didn’t understand why she was acting this way.

She only knew that if given a little time, she would be fine.

That’s why she asked him to wait.

However, this was a self-defeating move.

To her caring senior, such behavior only caused worry.

“And risk catching a cold? Don’t be stubborn, come out quickly.”

“S-Senior! Waaah?”

Renias made another self-defeating move.

Of all things, she was wearing a long dress. Since the swimsuit she was wearing underneath was essentially underwear, choosing a dress was another self-defeating move.

Her body tilted to one side.

Splash!

“Ugh… Renias, are you okay?”

“…”

Renias’s face, already flushed, now seemed to be steaming.

It had become dangerous, on the verge of explosion.

The distance was too close.

With just a slight movement, their membranes would touch.

If someone had been watching, they might have said:

Renias is pinning Junon down.

Seeing Junon’s eyes slowly widening, she quickly stood up.

“S-Sorry! I… I pulled you without thinking about your skirt!”

“N-No! It’s my fault… If I had come out when you told me to…!”

“Shall we, get out now anyway?”

“Y-Yes, senior.”

Let’s get out quickly. Once we’re out, this awkward atmosphere will soon disappear.

She had intended to bring her senior to the coral to make him fall into the water, but she never expected things to turn out like this.

‘Renias, you idiot!’

While reproaching herself from just minutes ago out of shame, Renias made one more mistake.

“Kyaa!”

“Whoa!”

Where did the current Renias leave her eyes! She might have been scolded by herself from just 5 seconds ago.

“I-I’m sorry, senior! I was walking without thinking and again…”

This time, getting up wasn’t voluntary. It was forced.

“Kyaa?!”

“Just stay still!”

She absolutely had to cover her reddening face with both hands.