Ch.253Side Story: Return

“Do you happen to know what Eustera is doing, young master?”

“I don’t know what she’s up to either. I don’t want to interfere with succubus business. That’s not my job, is it?”

Nika hadn’t returned to the academy even when it was time to go back after the seven-day field trip.

I thought about contacting her, but I felt it wasn’t my place to interfere with succubus affairs, and figured she’d handle things on her own. If trouble arose, she’d come find me.

Besides, I doubted anything could happen that even a Succubus Queen wielding a demon sword couldn’t handle. It’s fair to say that virtually nothing could threaten the current Nika.

Unless, of course, a being as powerful as Elishiere with a demon sword emerged from one of those gates that are supposedly continuously forming in the demon realm.

“As your maid, she’s neglecting her primary duties to wander about outside. I should punish her later.”

Even as Beatrice said this, she seemed to have trouble containing her joy, repeatedly pulling down the corners of her mouth that kept trying to curl upward. She appeared pleased that in Nika’s absence, serving me had become solely her responsibility.

“For someone talking about punishment, your mouth is curling up quite a bit.”

I poked at the corner of her mouth. Beatrice stepped back in surprise.

After pointing it out several more times whenever her lips twitched upward, Beatrice seemed so happy with even this attention that I ended up poking her cheek every few seconds.

“…You’ve become quite mischievous, young master.”

Soon, she gave me a sulky look, her palm covering her mouth. If I moved it aside, I’d surely see her still grinning.

“I do it because your reactions are amusing. You know you’ve changed a lot too, right? You used to be so rigid that not even a needle prick would draw blood.”

“Weren’t you extremely fragile before, young master? I couldn’t freely express my emotions in front of someone like that.”

“So this is your true personality then? Being shy, giggling to yourself, getting embarrassed when I point things out. Is that right?”

Beatrice’s eyebrows trembled as if struck by this forced binary choice.

If she said yes, it would mean her cold, haughty demeanor had all been an act, revealing her as naturally cheerful and emotional. If she said no, she’d be contradicting what she just said.

For Beatrice, who was embarrassed even about admitting she gets embarrassed, there could be no worse dilemma.

“Th-that’s… Ah, I still have things to do, so I’ll be going ahead, young master! I’m sorry!”

The trembling Beatrice ultimately chose to flee. She claimed she had things to organize at the mansion and simply ran away. Latina, who had been quietly observing us, spoke up.

“Teasing a woman and enjoying her embarrassment. You have terrible taste, Mira.”

“Like you’re any better? Think about what you were suggesting all last week.”

“I wasn’t the only one—Leona was in on it too. No, Leona enjoyed it much more. Later she even started suggesting different plays in return.”

Leona flinched. The way she avoided eye contact suggested Latina’s words weren’t entirely wrong. No, they were completely accurate.

Since the first time the three of us had been intimate, we’d taken every opportunity to be together, as long as we weren’t caught by others. Priscilla and Laura complained that they only got one time while we had enjoyed ourselves much longer.

They even employed miraculous calculations, claiming that since there were two of them, the time should be counted as 1/2. Eerily, when considering only the time spent, it was roughly accurate—we couldn’t enjoy ourselves for long with others watching.

“So you’re both perverts. Right or wrong?”

I didn’t particularly try to resist, but their demands grew bolder by the day. Like sneakily playing with hands while sitting right next to each other during breakfast with everyone.

The most outrageous suggestion came when we used underwater breathing magic at the sea—they proposed hiding behind rocks to do it.

My desperate refusal saved us from going all the way, but I had to “pay” four times with my mouth instead. Two times each, for fairness.

“Not me. It was all Leona’s suggestions.”

“M-me?! You’re the one who brought it up first, Latina!”

“I merely suggested that we might try certain things. It was Leona who developed specific plans and begged Mira to do them. For the Hero of Light, your lewdness is also hero-class. I’m impressed.”

“That’s playing dirty!”

If there was anything good about it, it was that the two had grown remarkably closer. Whether with their upper lips or lower ones, they’d exchanged white fluid several times without needing alcohol’s help.

The fact that Latina now called her “Leona” instead of “Miss Leona” showed just how close they had become.

“Mira! We’re all ready!”

In the distance, Rosaria waved her hand energetically. All she carried was a small handbag. It seemed rather sparse luggage for a student returning from a field trip. But that was because the maids had taken care of everything else.

As I was about to join them, Latina calmly whispered:

“But you enjoyed it too, didn’t you, Mira?”

“…Shut up.”

Firmly covering the mouth of the lewd nun, I returned to the yacht we had arrived on. There were only three of us inside.

“It feels less crowded than when we came.”

“That’s because it actually is less crowded.”

Nika hadn’t returned from the demon realm yet, Karna and Erestica had left early for their own business, and Beatrice was gone too.

The two goddesses who had contributed most to the lively atmosphere were asleep in the spirit vessel. It wasn’t because of any problem—they were just tired after having so much fun.

I thought they probably enjoyed themselves the most among our group. Eating, playing, sightseeing, and getting most of their wishes granted.

In exchange, their cheeks got pinched a lot, but judging by their lack of complaints later, it wasn’t too high a price to pay.

“I have loaded everything.”

Elishiere, who had been the only one outside the yacht, set down what looked like a rather heavy suitcase. I thought the maids would have handled all the luggage.

“What’s that?”

“The most important thing for us.”

“Most important? What is it?”

“What else? Swimsuits. It would be a waste to wear them just once after spending so much money.”

“…”

So, that case contained all the bikinis they had worn until now.

As if the relatively modest appearance on the first day had been a trap, they had emerged in increasingly daring designs that challenged the limits of human imagination.

“How are those different from underwear… No, underwear is probably more modest, right?”

“The purpose is different, so the comparison is meaningless. Underwear is worn to conceal, bikinis are worn to reveal.”

“Aren’t bikinis also worn to cover certain specific areas?”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind showing them to you, Mira. In fact, I’d prefer if you looked more actively.”

Elishiere and Laura each added their opinions to Priscilla’s statement. Elishiere’s view was somewhat normal, but Laura was out of her mind.

In the end, the seven-day field trip concluded with a completely useless and pointless debate about the definition of a bikini. I wondered if this was really appropriate.

The conclusion reached after lengthy discussion was “whatever Mira finds sexy is best”—a conclusion so absurd it made me want to ascend to heaven. And my opinion wasn’t even considered in the process.

“Well, now that we’re back in the club room…”

Rosaria stretched languidly and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Would you mind stepping out for a bit?”

“Step out? Why?”

“Come on, are you trying to learn a woman’s secrets? How naughty. Well… if you really want to know, I suppose I could tell you?”

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving.”

Seeing her wink while clearly having no intention of telling me anything, I cleanly gave up and let myself be pushed out of the club room. The door closed with Rosaria’s bright smile being the last thing I saw.

‘You should have shown some restraint.’

I silently prayed for Leona and Latina’s souls. Before being pushed out, I had seen the gazes of the three possessed individuals turn toward Leona and Latina.

They had clearly been caught doing something.

“Now that the intruder is gone…”

Rosaria, who had firmly locked the door, turned around. Priscilla and Elishiere surrounded Latina and Leona, while Laura moved to the opposite side.

The two, now like mice trapped in a box, anxiously looked around.

“W-what is it?”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“Why, you’re not pretending you don’t know, are you?”

Rosaria leaned against the door with her arms folded under her chest, smirking. The two seemed to sense something then. Their faces paled slightly.

Latina bit her lip and carefully asked:

“…Would you believe me if I said we don’t know?”

“No.”

“Sit down, quickly.”

Priscilla pushed Leona and Latina firmly. She seemed unusually strong today. The two sat on the sofa, half-pushed. Elishiere leaned her hips against the sofa and folded her arms.

Laura, sitting on the opposite sofa, crossed her legs. She leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. The crown princess’s cold, imperious smile was directed at Leona and Latina.

“Did you enjoy your vacation?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. It was really fun. All of us—”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking. Trying to evade will only prolong this situation.”

“…”

Leona, who had tried to make excuses, fell silent. Priscilla moved behind Latina.

“Sister, you’re quite bold. Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

“…What would you say if I told you that’s what I thought?”

“I’d say you severely underestimated us.”

A rather large hand for a woman’s rested firmly on Latina’s shoulder. Even the normally unflappable Latina couldn’t help but flinch this time.

“Even if the three of you enjoyed yourselves, aren’t you ashamed to do such things between women?”

“…”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of scolding you. There’s only one thing we need to do.”

Laura smiled slyly.

“Tell us everything—when, where, and how much you did it.”