Graduation Trip (2)

I don’t recall the Hero becoming a barbarian in Lilia’s route in the original story.

Karaham’s personality is completely different from the Hero’s, and his appearance suits a barbarian more than anyone else. His cheerful personality and loud voice perfectly match the ideal man that Lilia’s tribe would favor.

It’s fascinating how things are happening due to my actions in ways I’m unaware of. Well, Karaham was originally supposed to exit the story around this time, so even if he’s become an honorary barbarian, it shouldn’t drastically alter the original plot…

“And my sister-in-law has also been taking great care of our tribe in many ways!”

“Huh?”

“I heard she and my husband are working on things like… literacy programs? for our village. Since my husband approves, our tribe is gradually accepting it too! When I visited my hometown last summer, I saw so many unfamiliar houses that I almost thought I’d come to the wrong place! It was the first time I’d ever seen running water inside homes, just like at the academy!”

“……”

I roughly understand what’s going on. Karaham becoming an honorary Barbaracus seems like just bait-behind the scenes, Lizzie is “civilizing” the northeastern grasslands.

After all, Lilia is the daughter of the Barbaracus chieftain. Since Karaham is essentially her husband, he naturally gained influence.

And since Karaham can’t defy his sister Lizzie, he must have agreed to all her proposals. Of course, I’d need to see the actual situation on the ground to be sure.

‘If she succeeded, she’s accomplished something even the original Hero couldn’t.’

In the original story, the conflict with the nobles in the northeastern grasslands towards the end of Part 2 was largely due to the failure to civilize the barbarians.

Gyeotmwa Josyegigot likely negotiated to preserve their culture rather than forcing civilization, as in the original plot.

But if Lizzie really used Karaham to civilize the northeastern grasslands, I wonder how that snowball will roll…

‘I can’t grasp it. It feels like we’re straying further and further from the original events.’

I hope things turn out well, but it’s already out of my hands. All I can do is hope for the best.

And there’s nothing wrong with civilization, right? Originally, I imagined sleeping in a sleeping bag next to a campfire, cuddling with Ethan and Eris.

Maybe this trip will be much smoother than I thought.

“Ah, by the way, Senior Lilith.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re still curious about the intimate details of my relationship with my husband, I can show you a little something during this trip! I-I couldn’t possibly show it to anyone else, but for you, Senior Lilith, who brought us together, I’ll push through my embarrassment…!”

“Please don’t show me. I don’t need to see it.”

The naked body of a man who isn’t Ethan? I’m neither curious nor interested in seeing it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

With the graduation trip itinerary set, all that remained was preparing for the graduation party.

As is customary for academy graduations, the final event is usually a graduation party. Though originally a tradition among the mostly noble student body, it persists even now with commoners making up half the students.

Last year, I was too busy to attend the party, only making it to the ceremony. Back then, I was completely absorbed in raising Eris, who was still breastfeeding.

“Have you decided what to wear to the graduation party, Ethan?”

“I’ll just wear the navy suit from the mansion. No need to dress too extravagantly for a graduation ceremony.”

“But it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. Isn’t that too plain? I remember you always wearing that suit to external events.”

“It’s fine. Lilith will buy me new clothes. I won’t send you off without something new for such a special occasion.”

“…I didn’t mean to ask you to buy me clothes, though?”

Honestly, buying a dress or two for graduation wouldn’t be a financial burden anymore.

The 300 gold coins I saved as independence funds are still untouched, even increased slightly from my time in Ermia.

But refusing Ethan’s offer would be odd, so I’ll save my money for something more meaningful.

“Then let’s buy for each other.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll buy Ethan’s graduation outfit, and you’ll buy mine. That works, right?”

“You don’t have to buy me anything. I can give you the money, Lilith.”

“I want to give you a gift. If you just give me money, it’s not a gift-it’s just an errand.”

“…Is that how it works?”

“Anyway, let’s buy each other’s graduation outfits. And no complaints about whatever the other chooses to wear at the ceremony.”

“…Whatever outfit?”

“Yes. Whatever outfit.”

Well, Ethan probably wouldn’t pick anything too strange. These are outfits for the graduation, not just to show off to each other.

I imagine we’ll choose something that subtly shows off our partner to others. I’ll do the same for Ethan.

‘Come to think of it, I’ll need to measure Ethan’s exact body size to buy him clothes.’

I have a rough idea, but buying the wrong size would be a waste. He’s grown a bit taller and gained more muscle, so I should measure his chest and waist properly.

And his hip size, thigh thickness…

“…Ahem. Ethan, could you stand there for a moment?”

“Huh?”

“Spread your arms… Yes, stay just like that.”

“What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d measure your body size while I remember. I need to know your measurements to buy clothes that fit you.”

As I said this, I stretched my arms as wide as possible and hugged Ethan tightly.

When I hugged him fully, my fingertips barely touched. I’ll use this as a reference when shopping…

“…Uh, Lilith.”

“Yes?”

“You’re not planning to hug mannequins like that when shopping, are you?”

“Oh, no. This is just for a rough estimate. When actually shopping, I’ll unfold the clothes and see if they match my arm span…”

“…It’s impossible to measure accurately like that, especially with your body type.”

“Huh?”

“…Your chest. Unless it’s someone else, trying to measure like this with your body… isn’t really feasible.”

“Ah…”

…Now that I think about it, he’s right. I’ve been so oblivious lately.

In the end, I just ended up hugging Ethan under the pretense of measuring him.

*Thud, thud.*

“Mommy… I’m sleepy…”

“Oh, Eris! Want to sleep? Shall we nap with Mommy and Daddy~?”

“Mmm… Eris wants to sleep…”

The awkward moment was naturally diffused by Eris’s timely appearance.

…I should buy a measuring tape when I go to the shopping district tomorrow.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The next day.

“Today, we’ll measure properly, Ethan. No half-hearted attempts like yesterday-surrender your body to me.”

“…I wasn’t planning to half-ass it. You were the one who got embarrassed and stopped.”

“Anyway, I don’t want to waste money on ill-fitting clothes, so I’ll record everything meticulously today.”

I even went to the shopping district outside the academy to buy a measuring tape.

As I thought this, I measured Ethan’s arms first and noted the length.

*Squeak.*

“Arm length… centimeters.”

*Scratch, scratch.*

“……”

*Squeak.*

“Chest circumference… centimeters.”

*Scratch, scratch.*

“……”

*Squeak.*

“Waist…”

Honestly, this might be overkill. But there’s no harm in gathering extra information.

The saying “too much information causes side effects” only applies to useless information-not Ethan’s body measurements.

Ethan’s body measurements are lifelong knowledge.

“Do you really need to be this thorough? As long as it’s not completely off, it should be fine.”

“There’s no harm in knowing. Stay still, Ethan.”

“Also, measuring over clothes will give inaccurate results. The winter uniform fabric is thick.”

“…Ah.”

He’s right. Measuring over clothes will always have errors.

I realized this only after measuring his ankle circumference. If I want precise measurements, I shouldn’t measure over clothes.

“Since measuring over clothes will always have errors, maybe we should just do a rough estimate…”

“You’re absolutely right, Ethan. Take off your clothes.”

“……Huh?”

“As you said, we need to measure properly from the start. Hurry up and strip.”

“……”