Ch.88Daily Life in the Holy Kingdom (6)

After the commotion died down, I completed the discharge procedures and left the hospital. I got out faster than I expected. But now what should I do?

The trial is over, and I somehow managed to resolve the emblem incident. But now I don’t have anything particular to do.

Today I’ll just go back to the lodging and rest. After two days of real struggle, I need some rest…

“Lite! Let’s go buy swimsuits!”

Agath called out to me from behind with a bright smile. Seems like resting today isn’t going to happen.

“Why swimsuits all of a sudden?”

“You know it’s midsummer in the Holy Kingdom, right?”

“So?”

“So let’s go to the beach! I’ve already made plans with everyone!”

I haven’t really felt it since I’m always in air-conditioned buildings, but it is hot in the Holy Kingdom right now. And I don’t have anything particular to do anyway.

At least going to the beach would be more fun than being cooped up in my room browsing the internet.

“I’ll go to the beach, but I don’t want a swimsuit.”

“Why?”

“Because I absolutely don’t want to wear clothes that reveal so much skin.”

I somehow managed to endure wearing short skirts. But swimsuits? Absolutely not.

Just covering the essential parts while exposing bare skin everywhere else—what a terrifying and horrible idea!

“If you’re not going in the water, there’s no point in going to the beach.”

“Then I’d rather not go at all. I really, absolutely hate swimsuits.”

Even if I were to forget all my memories of being a man, I absolutely refuse to wear a swimsuit.

I made that deep resolution. Then Agath thought for a moment before snapping her fingers as if she’d just remembered something.

“Oh right, did you know the new Hero is coming too?”

“Ju-an is going? I thought he’d say he doesn’t have time to train.”

“He needs to rest for about three days after receiving the Hero’s mark. So he can’t train for three days.”

Thinking that I can hang out with Ju-an for the next three days brings an automatic smile to my face. What should we do for fun during those three days?

While I was happily pondering this, Agath suddenly brought up something completely unnecessary.

“You know, I think you’d look really pretty in a swimsuit. You could probably captivate most guys.”

Unless I’ve gone crazy, I have no intention of captivating men. So I’ll just ignore that comment.

“Especially guys who already like you—like the new Hero, for example—would definitely fall for you.”

…But just going to the beach and only watching does seem a bit pointless. If that’s the case, I might as well just lounge around at home.

However, going into the water fully clothed would be uncomfortable in many ways. So maybe buying one swimsuit wouldn’t be so bad.

When I was a man, I only wore bottoms as a swimsuit. So I’ll just think of it as a similar experience.

This is really just because I want to go in the water at the beach. There’s absolutely no other meaning to it.

“S-so do you know where we can buy swimsuits?”

“…Why wasn’t I born a man? If I were a man, I would have jumped you long ago.”

“You’re still disgusting as ever. So do you know where we can buy swimsuits?”

“I know a place. Follow me.”

So I followed Agath to buy a swimsuit. I’ll make sure to get one that exposes as little as possible.

***

After arriving at the clothing store, while I was looking for something with minimal exposure, Agath brought over something strange and said:

“Lite, how about this? This will definitely make that guy fall for you!”

It was just a scrap of fabric that barely covered the essential parts with absolutely no practicality. I would never wear something like that even if it killed me.

So I didn’t respond at all and went back to looking for something with less exposure.

And I found the perfect swimsuit. It was a rash guard that had zero exposure. I’ll get this.

“Are you really going with that?”

Agath asked me with a dissatisfied look. What, did she think I would wear that absurd scrap of fabric from earlier?

“Yes. I’m getting this.”

“It might be hard to captivate guys with that.”

“Why would I want to captivate men? Stop talking nonsense and let’s just buy this…”

“I wonder how the new Hero would react seeing this? He’d probably like it, but might feel something’s missing.”

Bringing up Ju-an won’t work. I’m absolutely getting this one.

“But are you sure that’s okay? If you choose wrong, it might be tight and uncomfortable to move in.”

“…Maybe I should look around a bit more.”

I should be careful about my choice, so let’s look around a bit more. Maybe there’s something with even less exposure than this.

While I was looking at swimsuits again, Agath brought over another one.

“How about this?”

It was just an ordinary bikini. But it had way too much exposure, so I disliked it just as much as the previous one.

“This would definitely make that guy go crazy for you.”

“But it shows too much skin.”

“If you wear a semi-transparent cover-up on top and a skirt-style swimsuit on the bottom, it won’t show that much.”

“No, I really don’t want this…”

“Just try it on!”

Agath forcibly pushed me into the changing room with the swimsuit. But I absolutely won’t wear it.

…But since no one can see me here, maybe trying it on once wouldn’t be so bad?

Let’s just try it on once. It’s not like I’m embarrassed to see my own body anymore, so it shouldn’t matter.

When I put on the swimsuit, I felt incredibly embarrassed. Being in my underwear would be less embarrassing.

But it did suit me really well. Based on my memories as a man, I’m certain this would make most guys fall for me.

…But if we’re going to the beach to cool off, shouldn’t I wear something with less fabric? That way the cool seawater can touch my bare skin.

If I wear a cover-up or something, the exposure would be minimal. So maybe I should go with this?

…I feel like I’ve been acting strange lately. Why am I even wearing this? Do I have someone I want to impress?

Anyway, I absolutely won’t wear this. I’m definitely going with the rash guard that has zero exposure.

***

I was definitely planning to buy the rash guard. But Agath forced this bikini on me. Thanks to her, I had no choice but to wear it…

“I thought you’d resist at least a few more times. But you tried it on once and bought it right away?”

“…Please be quiet.”

Anyway, I was forced by Agath. That’s what I decided to believe.

Seeing how persistently she recommended it, this was probably inevitable no matter what I did. My situation is truly pitiful.

As we entered the lodging building and were heading to our room, we ran into Leo.

“You were discharged later than I expected.”

“I was late because I was buying a swimsuit.”

“…What?”

“We’re going to the beach tomorrow, right? So I bought a swimsuit to wear there.”

Leo covered his mouth in shock, thought for a moment, and then asked me again in a somewhat troubled voice.

“Right, that makes sense. So what kind did you buy?”

“A bikini.”

“…”

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Leo looked at me with a terrified expression. Did I do something strange? If we’re talking about strange, Leo is much stranger.

“No, I just… I’m thinking about how much environment influences people.”

“Come to think of it, I had that same thought yesterday.”

“…Holy shit, this is fucking scary.”

Leo’s voice came out filled with shock. Is the possibility that Leo and I might be the same person really that disturbing?

“What’s going on? Did something happen between you two?”

“Nothing happened. No, nothing should happen. I’m going back to my magic research. And please don’t say anything to Agath.”

With that, Leo quickly left. But isn’t that reaction a bit excessive? What’s so strange about me?

“So what happened with Leo?”

“Nothing special.”

“Leo’s not here now, so just tell me the truth.”

“Really, nothing happened, so don’t worry.”

I’m definitely not telling Agath about this. If I do, she’ll just tease me about it.

“Don’t you think Leo would be hot if he got TS’d?”

Even though I hadn’t said anything, Agath brought up a disgusting topic on her own. I’m glad I didn’t say anything. But Leo getting TS’d…

“I don’t think it would be anything special.”

“Why?”

“I think even if Leo got TS’d, he’d just keep researching magic.”

“That’s what makes it hot.”

“…”

I didn’t hide my genuine disgust and showed it plainly on my face. But Agath continued to make me even more disgusted.

“There’s something in this world called the ‘cute girl bonus.’ When a guy does something stupid, he gets called an idiot, but when a cute girl does something stupid, people call it cute. You know what I mean, right?”

“Please, for the love of god, stop talking.”

“So think about it with the cute girl bonus. A cute girl who loves magic so much that she researches it every day!”

“Please, seriously, stop…”

“Imagine such a cute girl falling in love and telling the guy she likes, ‘I love you as much as magic.’ Isn’t that hot?”

“…”

I’m glad Leo isn’t here. If he were, Agath would definitely be heading to a funeral instead of the beach.

Just when I hoped this disgusting and horrible conversation would end, what followed was even more revolting.

“And after they start dating, imagine her saying she’ll research you instead of magic today, or trying to make breakfast but getting depressed because the result is terrible.”

“…This is so disgusting I don’t even know how to explain it. Anyway, that’s not Leo.”

That’s just a cute girl who likes magic, definitely not Leo. Even if Leo turned into a cute girl, his madness would remain.

And if that madness remains, there’s no cute girl bonus or anything. You can tell by looking at Agath right now.

Everyone would think of Agath as a psychopath rather than a cute girl making sexual jokes.

Anyway, the psychopath continued with her impossible talk.

“They say the mind follows the body. So maybe Leo would become gentle if he became a cute girl? Just like you.”

“This is so fucking disgusting I feel like throwing up. Besides, Leo already has someone he likes.”

“Then we’d add the NTR tag too.”

“…What the hell is going on in your head to come up with such ideas?”

“Right now, in my head, there’s Lite getting fucked while wearing a swimsuit.”

At this point, it’s astonishing. That’s a talent if you can call it that.

“Anyway, it’s confirmed that Leo would become a fallen female.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Since there’s already a precedent of his parallel world self becoming a fallen female, of course Leo would become one too if he got TS’d.”

So you knew everything all along and just pretended not to know. You probably eavesdropped or something. That’s entirely possible for Agath.

“If you knew from the beginning, why did you pretend not to know?”

“Because I’d obviously die if I said this in front of Leo.”

I’m glad Agath at least has some sense of judgment. So she does have minimal awareness after all.

“Then I’m going to tell Leo exactly what I just thought.”

“…Why would you do that?”

“Because there’s something more important than death.”

Agath is a fool without any ability to judge situations. She really has no awareness at all.

I should get as far away from here as possible. Otherwise, I might get caught up in Leo’s rampage and die.

“I’m going to buy some things we need for the beach tomorrow.”

“Going to buy condoms?”

“…I’m going to buy food.”

“Condoms it is. So you’re planning to eat that guy tomorrow, right?”

“…If you want to eat properly tomorrow, please stay quiet.”

“Alright. I’ll go ahead then!”

Agath set off to commit suicide. And I ran out of the lodging as quickly as possible to survive.