Chapter 11. Summer and the Sea (2)

The sea.

Yes, the sea is good.

When I was young, I loved the summer sea so much.

Because it was fun.

Because playing in the water was fun. When I was young, I had so much energy. I would jump in without even wearing a swimsuit and play until I was exhausted, then come out, eat the lunch boxes and snacks my parents had prepared, and go back into the sea once more to play.

Even with sand getting into my clothes everywhere and drinking salty seawater multiple times, I never got tired.

After playing, my clothes were wet and heavy, sand filled my pockets, the water wouldn’t dry, and I was tired and annoyed, but knowing all that, I still went into the sea to play.

After becoming an adult, well.

Should I say the aftermath was more frightening and bothersome?

I thought it was better to just watch from afar, relax leisurely, and then find refuge in a cool building.

Even knowing that playing is fun, I put more weight on the fact that I would have to deal with the aftermath.

“…”

And, now.

Right. Logically, I know.

Things like sand getting into clothes or clothes getting heavy from being wet are actually things that are all solved if I wear a swimsuit.

Moreover, women’s swimsuits don’t even have pockets. The area of the fabric is small, and it fits snugly to the body. This means that even if sand sticks to it, it’s fine after showering.

Ah, no, since my hair is long, there might actually be more problems. Well, this isn’t just a problem for women, but a common issue for anyone with long hair.

“Aren’t you going to change?”

“…I will change.”

I replied like that and turned around, then gasped.

Ria was there.

Wearing the red bikini swimsuit that I had personally chosen for her.

The swimsuit, which seemed to match Ria’s hair color, looked great on Ria. Considering my current gender and position, I’m a little unsure if I should be saying this, but honestly, I preferred the smaller surface area.

It suited Ria’s bold image very well.

Furthermore-although it’s decoration, there are strings on the sides of the bottoms. Strings that look like they could come undone at any moment if pulled. Of course, the strings connecting the top behind my back also had such decorations.

Although they are decorations, they are attached so cleverly that they look real.

…….

They aren’t real, are they? No, surely not.

Her face, looking at me with a slightly blushing face as if embarrassed. And above her head-

Snap.

It was the sound of my forehead being hit by my own hand.

“What is that on your head?”

“Huh? Well, it’s a veil, of course.”

Who doesn’t know it’s a veil?

“No, why are you wearing a veil on your head with that kind of outfit!”

I shouted loudly without realizing it. My voice echoed loudly in the changing room.

“Because I’m a nun?”

“Nuns don’t do that! It’s not clothes worn for sacred practice, it’s become a costume for sex appeal!?”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

“Ah.”

“What? Did you see it somewhere? You don’t have a phone, and you don’t have a personal computer, so where on earth did you see it? Are they circulating erotic magazines inside the convent?”

“No! They don’t circulate that stuff!”

Actually, they might be circulating. It’s just that since I don’t hang out with the other girls diligently, it might not have reached me.

No, but still, can there be something like a nun-swimsuit cosplay circulating? Perhaps even among adult-oriented genres, something like particularly hardcore erotic novels-

“No, no, that’s not it!”

“Come on, come on, hurry up and change too. I was embarrassed, but I changed.”

“…”

“You don’t want to go into the sea?”

“Ah, okay, okay. I’ll change. So don’t make that face.”

When Ria started to make that puppy-like expression again, I quickly stopped her.

If she did that with that outfit, I might not be able to bear it. I don’t really know what I wouldn’t be able to bear, but anyway.

I sighed deeply and was about to change my clothes-

“…”

“…”

I turned around again.

Ria was standing still, her gaze fixed on me.

“Excuse me, could you turn around, or perhaps go outside?”

“Why?”

“Why? I have to change.”

“You can just change.”

What is it? Has my brain malfunctioned due to the heat? No, that’s not it. Even so, it’s not like there are no cooling measures in a place where people are present in midsummer. The air conditioner in the changing room was running at full blast.

“…Even if we’re the same gender, people don’t stare intently at others changing. I didn’t stare intently when you were changing either.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Excuse me, are you really suffering from heatstroke? The air conditioner is over there, why don’t you go get some cool air?”

As I said that, I approached Ria and then stopped.

…….

Even if I approach, I don’t think I should put my hand on her shoulder. It would be fine if I were wearing clothes, but in many ways, it’s a more ambiguous outfit than just wearing underwear.

Seeing me having such thoughts, Ria smiled with satisfaction.

A smile that seemed to say, “I won.”

“…Ah, I don’t know, I’ll just go into the sea like this. I’m not changing.”

As I said that, feeling extremely offended, Ria chuckled.

“Ah, okay, okay. You just don’t want me to stare, right?”

Ria said with a smirk and turned around.

“…”

Hmm.

Turning around, well, she is wearing the bottom part properly- except for a thin ribbon on her back, it was practically ’empty.’ Even while fighting so hard, her back skin looked incredibly soft if I reached out-

I cut off my thoughts midway and turned around with stiff movements.

And quickly changed into my swimsuit.

My yellow bikini was still modest compared to Ria’s.

The straps were a little thicker than Ria’s, and the area covering my chest was larger. At least my chest wasn’t visible below.

But, still, I’m embarrassed.

My body isn’t as curvy as Ria’s, but that’s only because Ria is the comparison, and compared to the average, I am definitely more curvy.

Naturally, how should I say it.

The visible parts look soft and squishy. Because there are parts that are stretched taut like this, I’m more conscious of it than when I’m completely naked and washing.

……Well.

It’s not that I haven’t worn it in front of Ria. We even practiced swimming together.

Rather, at that time, it was shortly after we had seen each other wearing them while choosing swimsuits, so I didn’t pay much attention.

Perhaps because it’s been so long since I’ve worn it like this, I’m paying a little more attention now.

“Hoo.”

I let out a long breath and turned around.

And-

“Eek.”

I was met with Ria’s smiling face.

Putting aside the fact that she was looking at me, Ria was almost right next to me.

Ah, right.

Although Ria is the same age as me, she is still the daughter of a hero. Possessing natural talent, she was a skilled individual who could be considered top-tier among hunters.

It would be easy for her to move silently behind her prey.

Ria extended her hands to me.

I gritted my teeth without realizing it, stiffened my body, and closed my eyes.

Before I could even understand the situation-

Click, I heard a sound.

“…?”

When I cautiously opened my eyes, I saw Ria holding her phone out towards me.

“…Huh?”

And, a veil that I usually wore was now on my head.

In a yellow bikini, with a veil on my head, she took a picture.

“…Wow.”

“Wow?”

“Waaah!?”

I quickly lunged at Ria. But Ria smiled and raised her hand high above her head. Unfortunately, Ria was taller than me and even more flexible, so my hand couldn’t quite reach her hand.

“…”

“…”

Then, suddenly, both of us belatedly grasped the situation.

That is, that’s right.

Both of us were in swimsuits, and in many ways, our skin was exposed. Even though we had hugged or unintentionally held each other before, we had never stood with our skin touching like this.

A little belatedly, I felt the sensation in the areas not covered by the swimsuits. Warm, soft. And a little squishy.

Chest, stomach, thighs…

I erased the expression from my face and stepped back.

“Whose phone is that?”

“…Don’t worry. It’s mine. I brought it when I stopped by home on the way here.”

That’s right. There was something I needed to check while borrowing this place. Although I didn’t run into Ria’s father.

“No, what kind of logic is that!? My picture is on it!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll only look at it myself. Or rather, aren’t you going to show me that appearance soon anyway?”

“Aaaah!”

Belatedly, I remembered that we weren’t the only ones here.

“Come on, come on. Don’t be so upset.”

Seeing me crouched down covering my face, Ria sat down next to me and gently stroked my head.

“It’s summer, right? You have to enjoy your youth.”

“…I’m already exhausted.”

But, it’s a promise with Ria.

I can’t just stay cooped up in the changing room all day.

Finally, I calmed my mind, got up, and went outside.

And only then did I realize that I was still wearing the veil on my head and collapsed on the sandy beach.

For the record, Ria had already taken off the veil from her head.

How sneaky!