Ch.179179. After-Party (5)

“Ugh-!”

Renias stretches with a pleased voice. After the long-awaited swim, her body felt relaxed, and she wore a refreshed expression.

“Hehe. I don’t remember the last time I had this much fun.”

It was obvious even at a glance. She had been splashing water so excitedly that if her swimsuit hadn’t been embarrassing, she probably would have played to her heart’s content during the day too.

“If that’s the case, you could have just changed into a different swimsuit.”

“Oh, I wanted to, but…”

Apparently, the maid Maria, who had subtly hinted for her to go to the terrace, had firmly opposed the idea. Plus, she had barely managed to sneak this dress into her bag.

Junon chuckles at the humorous behind-the-scenes story.

“Hey, don’t laugh. You have no idea how hard it was for me to hold back.”

She complains with a cute pout about her inner struggle.

The senior listens to his junior’s adorable complaints with a “Yes, yes,” while pretending to be completely indifferent, his gaze fixed on the sea.

“There you go again, acting like you’re barely listening. Did you also give that half-hearted compliment about my swimsuit earlier?”

“No, I meant it when I said it was pretty.”

“Hmm. For someone who says that, you’re not even looking at my swimsuit.”

Junon’s smile, which had been playing at the corners of his mouth until just now, immediately stiffens at her words.

When Renias puts her hands on her hips and glares at him, he flinches and averts his eyes.

After hesitating awkwardly, he explains with a genuinely troubled expression.

“Well… Renias, I can’t help it.”

Unable to point out the reason to Renias directly, he indicates his own chest instead.

“Of course I wouldn’t and shouldn’t stare?! …If I looked directly, I’d be called a pervert. I don’t want that.”

It was because of Renias’s chest.

Even if she had worn just a rashguard, her considerable bust would have naturally stood out, but in a bikini, it looked dangerously alluring.

Turning his head away from a woman’s voluptuous chest and the cleavage between was a perfectly natural reaction according to his ethical standards.

“I-if that’s the reason…”

Renias seemed to understand. When wearing this swimsuit, she had thought the most exposed part was indeed her deeply cut chest area.

Swish.

A coat is draped over her shoulders.

It’s the only piece of clothing between them that hasn’t gotten wet at all.

“So make sure you wear this when we go back. Got it?”

The kind senior kept tugging at his junior’s heartstrings, making her smile bloom once again.

The junior, wearing that smile, unlike before, leans into this kindness for a moment, even though she isn’t drunk.

“I’m a little tired. Is it okay if I lean on you?”

Renias asks this as she rests her head on his shoulder, which is still slightly damp.

Junon immediately pushed Renias’s head away, but,

“Put on the coat first.”

His words of refusal didn’t reach her ears.

She puts on the coat, brushes her wet hair back.

Carefully, she rests her head against him.

Junon’s shoulder, which she touches while completely sober, feels so warm.

The beach that had been crowded when the sun was blazing now has only the two of them.

They spend time silently gazing at the sea.

***

Meanwhile, at the base camp, the barbecue party and campfire are in full swing.

The atmosphere is heating up and about to get fun, but even in the midst of this, someone is anxiously looking around.

Not there.

No matter how much they look.

‘…They still haven’t come back?’

Senia had said it would be better to let it be, but the guilty party couldn’t just ignore it.

Although everyone’s attention was on the barbecue party and campfire, a certain pink-haired girl couldn’t help but periodically glance in that direction, as everyone’s field of vision was different.

That’s why Aris remembered that Junon had walked alone toward the sea.

How much time had passed since then?

Conversations had started, accompanied by alcohol and delicious snacks that couldn’t be missed, and the group that had already gotten tipsy had returned to their lodgings.

In other words, quite some time had passed.

‘Could something have happened…’

There was no time to think. Aris being Aris, she couldn’t rest until she checked with her own eyes.

After pretending to get up from her seat and discreetly slipping away, Aris took a different path.

On the way to the sea,

“Ouch…”

“I’m sorry. Are you alri— Huh?”

“Aris unnie…?”

Once again, just like before, she ran into Charlotte.

“…”

“…”

The two fell silent as they looked at each other. Somehow, they both felt a sense of déjà vu from the Sheat Extermination.

Neither seemed to care why they had met here; both just sighed deeply. Since they were probably thinking the same thing, there was no need for further explanation.

“But why are you carrying that, Charlotte?”

“Ah… this? Since he left without eating dinner…”

Though there was no subject, it was obvious who she meant. Of course, it was Junon.

“…I should have brought something too, to look less awkward.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Let’s hurry and find him.”

Charlotte and Aris headed toward the sea, looking around for Junon. Finding him wasn’t particularly difficult.

Because Renias was right beside him.

Thanks to her distinct presence, they quickly found Junon, but once again, the two couldn’t approach.

The sauce on the plate would indicate that he had already eaten.

If something had happened, Renias, who was right beside him, would be of much greater help.

Therefore, whether as an excuse or from genuine feeling, they couldn’t reach out to him.

—So make sure you wear this when we go back. Got it?

—I’m a little tired. Is it okay if I lean on you?

—Put on the coat first.

Junon spreading his coat to cover her, and Renias leaning on Junon’s shoulder.

The person he needed right now, as they looked at the same sea from the same spot, wasn’t them.

It made more sense, and seemed more fitting, for the universally beloved girl to be by his side.

“…Shall we go back, Charlotte?”

“Yes…”

Aris spoke up, and Charlotte immediately agreed without hesitation.

The two, left only with guilt and barely hanging on by the thread of past connections, put aside their lingering feelings and turned away.

However, they paid the price for acting impulsively.

“”Eek…!””

“What are you two doing here~?”

Her eyes were gently closed, but she wasn’t smiling. She looked ready to bring out a switch at any moment.

“Se-Senia…”

“Unnie…”

It was Senia. Once again, she blocked their way back, clearly annoyed.

***

“Honestly. I told you not to act on your own like this.”

With one hand on her hip, Senia sighed after finishing her scolding and sending the two back.

“You’re not the only ones suffering, you know.”

And then she uttered words that seemed to show understanding.

The first was Aris.

Senia had immediately noticed her strange behavior, quietly pressed her, and got her to confess.

The second was Charlotte.

Aris had said that when she first felt something was wrong with her living situation, it was thanks to Charlotte that she was able to briefly return to normal.

So one day, Senia called Charlotte separately to talk, and the result was:

-‘…You’re right, unnie. It’s just as you said.’

The youngest didn’t deny it either.

Though the depth of their feelings might differ, being overwhelmed by guilt was a common factor, and it was still ongoing.

Therefore, Senia tried to minimize contact with Junon unless absolutely necessary.

Because intervening unnecessarily might only get in the way.

Because currently, Tembris was nothing but a burden to him.

Because they would be the spark that reminded him of an unpleasant past.

From any perspective, the results would only be negative for Junon, so they had to reduce contact.

‘I’ll have to talk to those two again separately.’

Thinking this, she was about to leave when she sensed someone’s presence still in the area.

‘Aris and Charlotte wouldn’t have lingered with regrets. That means…’

Someone else was there.

Looking around, there was only one place nearby where someone could hide.

Senia immediately peeked into the spot where she sensed the presence. There, she found an unexpected girl.

“Um… sorry. Somehow I ended up hiding here… But I won’t tell anyone! Really!”

Her eyes were spinning. The white-haired girl looked extremely flustered.

It was Adel, whose name Senia already knew, but who had recently drawn more attention due to a certain incident.

“How much did you hear?”

“…From when you were scolding Aris and Charlotte.”

To think she had heard almost the entire conversation between the three.

Senia blew her bangs up with a sigh, then pushed them back up.

Still, there was no need to press further. She had heard from Aris that Adel was favorably disposed toward Junon.

“But you being here means you were watching Junon too, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

At that question, Adel turned her gaze toward the two people chatting quietly while looking at the sea, and struggled to answer.

“…Probably for the same reason as all of you.”

“…”

Having finished speaking with difficulty, Adel was biting her lip.

It wasn’t romantic feelings.

It certainly wasn’t jealousy.

The emotion Adel harbored was probably the same one that Aris, Charlotte, and even Senia herself carried.

Guilt over a debt that could never be repaid and past actions.

Even Adel turned back toward the base camp, leaving Senia alone.

After watching Junon one last time, she murmured quietly.

“Your influence is too great, ——.”

The last word was closer to Senia’s guess.

The name of someone who would never have been used on the Kempton continent.

As the wind blew toward the beach, the spot was left completely empty.