Ch.69School Trip (3)

“It seems like you might need more help than you can handle alone. How about I lend you a hand?”

“…?”

“What do you say?”

The snake asks with a subtle question.

The girl, momentarily frozen, finally processes the meaning of his words and reacts belatedly.

Her face flushes with heat.

“W-w-what are you saying…?”

Her quivering lips stutter over the words.

Her pupils shake violently.

“H-how can you say such an indecent thing so casually…!”

“Hmm?”

The villainess exclaims in shock.

Yet despite her protest, the blonde boy merely tilts his head with a question mark.

As if asking what the problem was.

“But you’re struggling right now, aren’t you? I simply wanted to offer my assistance.”

“E-even so…!”

“If you say no, I’ll back off.”

“Ugh.”

The defiant girl closes her mouth.

It was because of the gaze they shared.

Looking at his narrowed eyes, she recalls a promise once whispered in her ear.

The memory remains vivid.

-I want you to live for me.

In truth, the villainess had no right to refuse.

She had made a contract to dedicate her everything in exchange for owing her life.

But still.

“That’s a shame.”

Could things move this suddenly?

Even if one party harbored feelings, she’d heard there were supposed to be stages to this kind of progression.

She was a girl who had no experience with men and felt lost.

‘S-sure, we kissed last time, but I-I wasn’t in my right mind then…!’

Emilia could only stamp her feet internally.

Of course, nothing changed.

At least for the snake, vanity was an utterly powerless emotion.

The girl, lost in her agony, finally reaches out her hand.

“Wait… h-hold on.”

She timidly grabs his sleeve.

An intense feeling of shame washes over her.

She tries to speak confidently, but even to her own ears, her voice trembles pathetically.

Emilia holds out the bottle she was holding and makes her request.

“…Please.”

“My lady?”

“Help me apply it. So my skin doesn’t get sunburned.”

Her face burned as if it might explode.

***

A little while later.

Emilia was lying on a mat.

She had even removed the light cardigan she was wearing. As a result, her hidden white skin was completely exposed.

Only a sky-blue swimsuit covered her body.

Her distinctly feminine curves flowed downward.

Her blue hair was disheveled.

Amid those waves, an undeniable fullness was present.

Her meticulously maintained figure was like a painting, capturing the gaze of both men and women alike.

That is the nature of beauty.

“…”

Perhaps it was because this situation was embarrassing.

The girl couldn’t raise her head.

She felt that if she showed her face even for a moment, her flushed complexion would be revealed.

She simply lay face down with her arms bent.

“You don’t need to be nervous. It won’t hurt.”

“…Shut up.”

The snake whispers as if soothing the villainess.

The boy holds a faint smile, then scoops sunscreen into his palm.

Immediately after.

“Then, I’ll begin.”

Touch-

His hand makes contact with the villainess’s back.

Was it because of his cool body temperature? Emilia, who had been holding her breath, involuntarily made a sound.

The palm covered in lotion was slippery like scales.

“Ah…”

Her back, which she was allowing someone to touch for the first time.

Before her startled feelings could settle, the attached hand moves, broadly stroking the girl’s skin.

Swish-

The calm touch continues.

Snow-white traces remain on her soft skin, repeatedly absorbed after being rubbed a few times.

The boy applies the sunscreen with great care.

“Ugh… hnn.”

Moans keep escaping at the unfamiliar sensation.

Emilia bites her lips firmly.

A strange feeling lingered.

The villainess trembled at the shoulders but tried not to show it.

She wanted to maintain her dignity.

Swish swish-

Meanwhile, the boy continued moving his arm.

Perhaps because of his extensive experience with women(?), it was indeed a relentless attack.

She felt strangely heated.

‘How annoying.’

Those narrowed eyes forming a gentle curve.

She didn’t like his expression that seemed to smile purely, as if without any ulterior motives.

It made her feel like she was the only one being strange.

“Hmm hmm.”

Of course, it was a misunderstanding.

In reality, the boy had no ulterior motives at all.

He simply wanted to help, but there was some distortion in how his intentions were conveyed.

Emilia didn’t know this either.

The deeply rooted misunderstanding only grew deeper.

“How much longer… hnn… are you going to apply it?”

“I’m almost done.”

Her breath faintly colored.

The villainess had to endure while lying face down.

Until the cool palm left her back, the pitiful trembling didn’t stop.

***

After finishing applying the sunscreen.

Emilia rose from her spot, staggering.

The villainess, whose pupils seemed strangely relaxed, soon regained her composure and glared at him.

It was a look as if she were looking at garbage.

“…Pervert.”

The girl reacts like a fierce cat.

She backs away to create distance, even hiding herself behind Lezia who was standing nearby.

When asked why, all that came back was snarling.

I suddenly became a strange person who gets cursed at despite offering help.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t come near me.”

“Can’t you at least tell me why?”

“Pervert.”

Communication was impossible.

I eventually gave up trying to get an answer and instead asked Irene, who had been standing in the shade.

She had watched the entire situation from right beside us.

“Miss Irene, do you know why the lady is acting like this?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“Trash.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not wrong though.”

“…”

Pervert, trash, scum.

Having been hit with a triple combo in an instant, I quietly closed my mouth.

It truly was a bitter world.

Anyway.

With the UV problem solved, the children finally dipped their feet into the sea.

The wind blows along with the incoming waves.

It was a cool sea breeze enough to blow away the hot summer.

“I-it’s cold!”

“Of course it is, it’s seawater.”

“But I think this is the first time I’ve seen such a clean sea! E-even when I traveled across the continent, places like this were rare…”

“Alright, just walk properly. Don’t stumble and fall while splashing around.”

“Y-yes…!”

The protagonist and the villainess.

The two girls cross the shoreline side by side.

Their steps tread on the waves as they move forward.

I sat in the shade a little distance away, watching their backs.

I planned to just watch without getting into the water.

“How peaceful.”

I mutter quietly.

As I breathe in the refreshing air for a moment, I turn to the side at the sudden presence of someone.

In the direction of my gaze sat the fox.

Likewise, she too didn’t seem to have any intention of getting into the water.

“…”

The girl was silent as death.

I casually throw out a question.

“Why not at least dip your feet in? Since we came all the way to the sea.”

“I don’t even have a swimsuit anyway.”

“You can get wet and change later. We have plenty of spare clothes.”

“No thanks.”

Irene firmly refuses.

Her voice was strangely weak.

As I raise a question mark at this strange response, the fox adds another word.

It was a faint murmur.

“…I just. Hate the sea.”

Her eyes were oddly misaligned.

She seemed to be reflecting on something.

The fox ears on her head were drooping.

As I wait for the momentarily silent girl, this time a question flies from her side.

“What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re not going in the water either. Why are you sitting here like this?”

“Well…”

I answer nonchalantly.

“It’s not that I dislike the sea, but rather that I dislike wearing a swimsuit.”

“A swimsuit?”

“I’m embarrassed by clothing with a lot of exposure.”

“There you go speaking indirectly again.”

“It’s true. My body isn’t something to be proud of to anyone.”

“Aren’t you in good shape though…?”

“Hehe.”

I smile silently.

Evading the answer.

Everyone has a few traces they’d like to hide, after all.

“People have different thoughts.”

“…Right. If that’s what you say, then that’s how it is.”

Irene didn’t ask any further.

She simply closed her lips.

A calm silence settles.

Until the sunset and our time at the sea ended, we simply respected each other’s silence.

Only the sea breeze brushed past our ears.

***

After finishing the enjoyable schedule, the four people returned to their lodging.

Children who spent all day at the sea.

Perhaps because they had consumed energy.

They seemed to be getting hungry.

They gathered in the room to have dinner together.

As discussed in the morning, dinner would be dishes cooked directly by the snake.

The children sat at the table with a mix of worry and anticipation.

“Now, please enjoy.”

Fortunately, the boy’s cooking was edible.

No, beyond being merely edible, it was excellent enough to rival a high-end restaurant.

For Lezia and Emilia, who were tasting it for the first time, they couldn’t help but be surprised.

“It’s d-delicious…!”

“Impossible.”

The children exclaim in admiration, pausing their hands.

The boy, wearing a pink apron, gave them a gentle eye-smile.

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

“It’s even more delicious than the restaurant we went to this morning! I didn’t know you were such a good cook, Young Master! I-I’d like to learn…!”

“Hehe, I should treat you like this occasionally.”

Lezia’s eyes sparkle brightly.

“…How can a person be good at everything?”

“I just have a little bit of knowledge here and there.”

“It’s really annoying… I was ready to laugh at you if it tasted bad.”

“I’m somewhat of a domestic man.”

“That kind of appeal doesn’t work on me…”

“Oh, what a shame.”

Emilia grumbles but acknowledges his skill.

The snake holds a satisfied smile.

“It’s rewarding.”

Dinner continues in a warm atmosphere.

A loose knot tying up the end of the day.

However, there was one person who couldn’t blend into this atmosphere.

None other than Irene.

“…”

The girl continued to be absent-minded.

She would only answer when her name was called occasionally, but her consciousness seemed to be elsewhere.

She had been like this since returning from the sea.

“Miss Irene.”

“…”

“Miss Irene?”

“…Ah. Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

The fox responds belatedly.

The snake gently addresses the girl with hazy eyes, as if worried.

“Are you alright?”

“What?”

“You seem unable to concentrate since earlier. Is something wrong?”

“Something wrong? There’s nothing like that.”

“Then?”

“Just… maybe I’m tired. Don’t worry about it.”

Irene brushes it off.

She continues her dinner, moving her utensils that had been paused, with a nonchalant face.

Her expression was emotionless as always.

“Hmm.”

Black pupils like extinguished flames.

The snake quietly observed the girl’s sinking mood, even as she pretended otherwise.

And so the evening passed.

***

That night.

Irene couldn’t fall asleep.

“…”

Her black eyes were blankly open.

The time had already moved into dawn, but for some reason, her chest felt tight, making it difficult to lie down.

After tossing and turning for a while, the fox finally rises from the bed.

She thought she’d just get some fresh air and come back.

Creeak-

When she left the bedroom, the first thing she saw was the blonde boy.

He was leaning against the sofa with his eyes closed.

He seemed to have fallen asleep early.

She leaves the room carefully so as not to wake him.

Since it was just a brief walk, she didn’t leave a note or anything.

The fox simply moved her steps.

“…”

Irene headed to the beach near the lodging.

Swoosh-

As she crosses the wide sandy beach, the sound of waves surges in her ears.

The sea breeze makes her think of various things.

The fox takes in the terrible scenery.

A sky where stars pour down.

The transparent sea reflects the night’s colors on its surface.

It was clearly a beautifully reflected scene, but.

What escapes between her lips is a completely contrasting sentence.

The girl mutters as if grinding her teeth.

“…I still hate the sea.”

Perhaps it was because of nightmares.

Looking at the rippling surface, she keeps seeing herself trapped in iron bars.

It felt like those waves might swallow her at any moment.

On the other hand, she also thought she shouldn’t have come out.

It only made her feel worse.

The distinctive fishy saltiness of the sea.

Irene simply continued to leave footprints, slowly ruminating on that scent.

The air was quiet without even a hint of noise.

Whooosh-

She brushes back her bangs fluttering in the wind.

After walking for a while in a daze, she had reached a secluded corner.

“Should I go back.”

She was thinking of returning soon.

Just as she was about to turn her steps back.

-…!

An alien noise comes from somewhere.

The fox’s ears perk up automatically.

After focusing on her hearing for a moment, the girl soon realizes that the sound is someone’s scream.

It wasn’t far away.

“A scream…?”

Irene frowns.

Her shoes kick off the ground, running toward the source of the sound.

It was an alley near the beach.

Clatter clatter-

Several large carriages are lined up.

Around them, soldiers wearing robes are stationed here and there, seemingly standing guard.

They gave off a strangely familiar feeling.

The fox’s eyes waver as she watches from hiding.

She immediately recognized who they were.

How could she not know?

They were the ones who had turned her life into hell.

‘Slave traders.’

Clench-

Her fists tighten involuntarily.

She hadn’t encountered them since escaping, and she never expected to see their transport carriages at a resort like this.

Their method of moving through dark alleys seemed unchanged.

-How dare you try to escape!

-P-please help me…!

-Shut up! Get in quietly if you don’t want to die!

-Eek…!

Had she been caught trying to escape?

A woman was being loaded back into the transport compartment, her collar grabbed by a soldier’s hand.

Apparently, the previous scream was from this.

‘What should I do?’

She needed to save them.

She wanted to jump in right away, but the problem was that she couldn’t gauge how many opponents there were.

Also, the number of people to be rescued was unclear as well.

If the target was a transport carriage, there would be more people trapped inside.

She might only make the situation worse.

‘Regular guards aren’t a problem.’

It was a level she could handle sufficiently.

But if there were “hounds” mixed among them, that would be different.

She might get caught instead.

‘But if I don’t do something…’

While she was deliberating with her hand on her sword.

The carriages with closed doors began to depart one by one.

“Damn it…!”

She couldn’t let them go like this.

Irene chewed on a curse, then moved, avoiding the guards’ eyes.

She lightly boards the carriage that was standing at the back.

It was a cargo compartment filled only with supplies.

The fox hides herself among the rattling boxes, holding her breath.

Neigh-!

With the horse’s powerful cry, the carriage begins to run.

In the end, the girl ended up following them without a plan.

Meanwhile.

There was someone smiling meaningfully as they watched the carriages move away.

Narrowed eyes that were particularly ominous.

“The protagonist’s arc is over… now it seems the supporting character’s growth event is beginning.”

An incomprehensible murmur.

Then the sound of applause rings out.

Clap-!

The shadow standing in the darkness had disappeared without a trace.

Only the night breeze flowing in was filling the void.

[EP.10 The Slave Traders]

-Crashing waves, iron cages submerged in water-

The beginning of a new episode.