Ch.178178. After-Party (4)

Renias was carried to the shore in Junon’s arms.

And Junon quickly ran to land before Renias could cause any more trouble.

The two hadn’t spoken a word during this time. Or more precisely, they couldn’t speak a word.

‘W-what should I do? Should I apologize to Renias first? I absolutely can’t mention that we… touched…!’

‘Aaaah…! D-did senior notice?! And I must have looked so clumsy… I can’t let him think I’m strange…!’

How could they speak when their inner thoughts were in such turmoil?

The awkward situation combined with misunderstandings piling up in strange directions made it impossible for them to even meet each other’s eyes.

While these troubled thoughts continued, they finally reached the shore, and Junon gently set down Renias whom he had been carrying in his arms.

He knew they needed to say something to break this atmosphere.

So he picked up the coat he had taken off earlier and handed it to Renias.

“You’ll be cold in wet clothes. So take this…”

But there was another trial awaiting him.

Renias’s wet dress clung to her body, accentuating her figure.

To make matters worse, the dress was a light color. Though it was lavender, it was close enough to white that her wet skin showed through.

And what was visible under the dress was… the softest undergarment meant only for primary protection of the skin, never to be worn as outerwear.

“I’m not really that cold though…”

“J-just put this on for now!”

“Huh? Senior…?”

Junon immediately turned his head away.

Though it was an embarrassing situation, he was an incredibly kind person who would normally have helped her put it on himself. But now he was just holding out the coat with one hand while deliberately avoiding looking at her.

Renias wondered why he was suddenly acting this way.

‘He definitely saw me earlier… Is there something wrong with me?’

Renias checked herself without much thought.

She immediately gasped.

Her wet dress clung to her body. Being a light-colored dress, it had become see-through, revealing her skin underneath.

This swimsuit that Maria and the clothing shop owner had made her wear was embarrassing enough.

But then.

‘Senior… is avoiding looking because he’s embarrassed, right?’

He had no reason to be embarrassed. After all, what she was wearing was a swimsuit, albeit a revealing one, not underwear.

‘Ah, I see!’

The thought suddenly struck her. From his perspective, it would be easy to misunderstand.

A swimsuit. And underwear.

He was kindly offering his coat, but since she had said she wasn’t cold, it was obvious what he must be thinking about her outfit.

Mischief toward Junon began to bubble up inside Renias.

“I’m fine, really! If anything, you look colder than me. You should wear it, Senior~”

“Renias… stop joking around and put it on quickly.”

That confirmed it.

The reason he wasn’t putting the coat on her himself and was awkwardly holding it out with one hand must be because of this misunderstanding.

‘Hehehe, so that’s it?’

This was a rare opportunity for Renias to tease Junon. She primly refused.

“I don’t want to wear it.”

“What? Are you planning to go back in that outfit?”

“I didn’t say we had to go back right away. It should dry a bit if we wait. Can’t we just wait here for a while?”

Junon sighed in exasperation.

“How long do you think it will take to dry? Water doesn’t evaporate that quickly.”

“Hmm. Is that so? Couldn’t we try something with fire magic?”

As if that would work. She knew better.

Though her voice sounded like she was deep in thought, she was actually smiling.

In contrast to Renias’s smiling face, Junon scratched his hair vigorously as if he couldn’t handle the awkwardness.

He reluctantly decided to give up on their walk.

“Our walk is over anyway. We’re going back now, so hurry up and put this on.”

“Ehhh? We’ve barely walked for a few minutes. I don’t want to.”

She grabbed Junon’s wrist that was holding the coat. When Renias’s hand touched him, she noticed that he flinched momentarily.

“I want to walk more. The scenery here is so pretty.”

What an Oscar-worthy performance.

Renias’s cheeks kept twitching as she desperately wanted to see Junon’s face behind her.

She was barely holding back her laughter, pressing it down, but she wouldn’t be able to hold it much longer.

It was time to wrap up the prank. So she cast this bait:

“Fine. Let go of my arm and put this on. Then we can walk a bit more.”

“Really? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“I’m not lying. I promise.”

And the unsuspecting senior took his junior’s bait.

“You promise? Then… just a moment.”

“…Alright.”

Rustle. Rustle.

Slowly. Very slowly.

Renias began to remove her dress very deliberately, making sure the sound was clearly audible.

For Junon, this moment felt so long that he could have recited the national anthem in his head up to the second verse.

But after enduring this long moment, an even greater trial awaited him.

“Done~”

“Phew. Now that you’re finished, Renias. Why are you today so—GAAAH!”

“Oh?”

One second? No, it was much faster than that.

He had to turn his head back immediately after turning it.

“R-Renias! What are you doing without clothes?!”

“I just took off my dress. I never said I put on the coat.”

“But… that…”

The sight was dizzying, but Junon couldn’t find words.

Renias had indeed only removed her dress.

It was entirely his fault for turning around when he heard her say she was done.

‘Sigh… damn. Why am I like this…’

At least he knew what he needed to say.

“Um… sorry, Renias. I misunderstood and thought you were fully dressed…”

He rambled incoherently, not even knowing what he was saying.

This was such a rare occurrence for Junon that Renias was barely containing her laughter.

He probably had no idea. At least not until he learned the truth soon.

“Senior.”

“Huh? Y-yes. S-speak.”

“Turn around now.”

“O-okay… I understand… GAAAH!!”

His reaction was no different from before.

Nothing had changed. Renias still hadn’t put on the coat Junon had given her.

The man who had seen a woman’s underwear instead of a ghost turned his head away again like lightning.

Seeing Junon like this, Renias finally burst into laughter.

“Ahahahaha…! S-Senior. Pfft!”

“Renias, I don’t know if I should say this…! But this kind of prank isn’t good!”

Junon tried to maintain his composure as he spoke.

He knew she had a playful personality, but there were limits.

“If you pull that prank one more time, I’m canceling the promise I made earlier…?!”

“Ah, this is so funny. Senior, this isn’t underwear.”

“…What?”

“It looks like underwear, but it’s a swimsuit.”

Could this be another prank? He thought Renias was certainly capable of that, but she walked right up to Junon.

“It looks like underwear, but it’s really a swimsuit.”

“…Really?”

“I’m telling the truth.”

It was hard to call it a lie or a prank.

The Renias who had been laughing to tears was now asserting this so calmly right in front of him.

Still, with so much skin visible, it was hard to accept, and he continued to avert his gaze.

“…Sigh. What a mischievous prank.”

The image of Junon stuttering and trying to avoid looking just moments ago still seemed to play before her eyes.

But she had teased him enough. Renias sat down next to Junon, who was covering his eyes with his palms.

“Hehe. But it was fun seeing your surprised face.”

“Don’t do that again. Do you know how flustered I was?”

“Ehhh~? Flustered? What were you thinking~?”

“You’re getting cheeky again.”

“Eep.”

Bonk.

“Sigh. There’s no strength in it. What is this, really.”

It wasn’t enough to repay the humiliation from earlier, but he was too drained to even properly flick her forehead.

Renias cheerfully raised her arms in victory. It was a successful counterattack after always being on the receiving end.

“But Renias. Were you planning to play in the water during the day?”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’re wearing a swimsuit. I think you wouldn’t have worn it if you weren’t planning to go in the water.”

“…Ah.”

A swimsuit, after all, is clothing designed to function properly when in water.

So wearing one meant that going into the sea was a natural step.

“That’s…”

Renias scratched her cheek, pondering.

The swimsuit itself had a rather embarrassing design. Plus, she didn’t particularly enjoy having her skin exposed to others.

In that sense, this swimsuit was something she shouldn’t have worn in the first place.

But she had worn it anyway.

“Like with dresses, I didn’t really like clothes that were too revealing, as you said.”

“Really? I was just making an excuse…”

“But now it’s different. I can play pranks on you like this… and… I can show you this.”

Unlike her usual energetic and cheerful self, she now looked like a shy girl.

Slightly uncurling her hunched body, she carefully asked:

“This is the first time… I’m showing my swimsuit to you, Senior. Is it… okay?”

“Renias…”

He couldn’t help but be taken aback.

A girl who avoids exposure is asking him to evaluate her swimsuit, which she’s showing to only one person.

The playful atmosphere had completely disappeared, and now she was glancing at him with an anxious look, her cheeks slightly flushed.

He should answer honestly. After all, it took quite some courage on her part.

“I think it suits you very well. Extremely.”

“…Really?”

“It matches your hair color and eye color well. And… even though it’s a bit revealing, I think it’s pretty.”

He considered other expressions but decided that Junon was best at being straightforward.

Simple and concise.

He answered with words that would be easy and comfortable for her to accept, considering the gazes and voices she must have received until now.

“That’s a relief.”

And the girl smiles.

Her belly-laughing smile and the mischievous smile she showed when teasing people were both pretty.

But this smile was fundamentally different from those two.

And that made it more beautiful.

“Senior. You were wearing a swimsuit too, right?”

“Hm? Oh, yes. I was already in a swimsuit except for the coat.”

“Then let’s walk a bit more and talk about you. That’s what I came here for.”

Renias said this as she dusted off the sand from her knees after sitting with them drawn up.

***

It was a strange feeling.

How to put it? When Renias was beside him, the tangled threads in his mind seemed to disappear for the moment.

‘I’ve felt this before.’

When he was training alone in the fitness room.

Back then, he had set goals. Meal times were fixed, and everything ran like clockwork with little deviation.

But what about when Renias was beside him?

The first time, he had chuckled at Renias groaning next to him and exceeded his training time.

There were times when he had to clean up after Renias when she accidentally mishandled equipment asking “What’s this?”, and times when he couldn’t complete his daily quota because he was helping her loosen tight muscles.

Meal times became irregular, and his plans fell apart spectacularly.

But strangely, he didn’t mind that his plans were ruined.

Because his mind was cleared. That was the reason.

“Senior, Senior. So why did you come here?”

Renias asked in a lively voice, holding her shoes behind her back.

‘How should I explain this?’

It would be too much to open up about the past, whether to Renias or anyone else.

Lying… wasn’t an option.

It would be best to do as before—half truth, half fiction.

“Well, this is hypothetical, and you can approach it from any perspective. May I ask for your opinion?”

With a faint smile, she nodded, and Junon twisted and turned the story as much as possible to create a single narrative.

“Hmmmm…”

Renias fell into deep thought. Each time the waves erased their footprints on the beach, her contemplative voice grew deeper.

“Senior. Would you follow me for a moment?”

In the midst of her contemplation, she grabbed Junon’s arm and led him to where she had fallen earlier.

And then.

“Huh?”

“Yah!”

Splash!

She grabbed Junon with both arms and forced him into the water.

Both of them, now soaking wet, emerged from the water simultaneously.

“Puha! W-why did you suddenly do that?”

From Junon’s perspective, it seemed like Renias was suddenly playing a prank.

But it wasn’t a prank.

This was Renias’s answer.

“Senior, you seem to be full of complicated thoughts. Can’t you forget them for a moment when we’re having fun like this?”

Forget? That was impossible. It was an issue involving the future of the empire and human casualties, and his own life was at stake.

But why?

“I’ll splash some water on you to cool your head. Yap, yap!”

Splash. Splash.

Those complicated thoughts turned to dust and disappeared, as the salty seawater hit his face bit by bit.

It had always been like this, and it was the same this time.

Junon, who might have dismissed it as just seawater hitting his face and gone home, was now…

“Oh ho, you’ve done it now? Come at me.”

“Kyaaaa-! Aren’t you splashing too hard?!”

“You’re the one sneakily using magic while splashing me!”

“Considering the difference in our strength, I have to use this much, you know?!”

Caught up in the water play, he couldn’t think of anything else at the moment.

Only his competitive spirit had awakened.

“Puah-! Renias, are you going to stay there? It’s unfair to use magic to knock me down!”

“Kyaa. I absolutely won’t come over there!”

Though it was a late-hour water play, it was probably a thoroughly enjoyable time for both of them.