The Madam's Bold Swimsuit
It seemed the Madam was somewhat pent-up, perhaps because she usually wore a nun’s habit that covered her entire body. “Enough chatter. Tell me what you think.”
“Mmm……”
“It looks lewd, nya.”
“Even to me, who has no aversion to exposure, this swimsuit seems a bit much.”
Paying no mind to the concubines’ reactions, the Madam tried on another slingshot bikini that didn’t look much different from the first and said, “It is the duty of the women who serve my lord to make him stand out more than other men. Wearing something like this is the only way to overwhelm the other women.”
“Well…… I’m not sure, but it will definitely overwhelm them……”
“Still, it suits you, nya.”
“As expected of the Madam. You have an incredible figure.”
Though the outfit was extremely provocative, the Madam’s already voluptuous body gave it devastating impact. Oppa, who had been standing behind us staring blankly at her in the swimsuit, spoke in a trembling voice. “E-Ekaterina. Isn’t that a little too much?”
“Do not worry, my lord. I am perfectly fine.”
“No, I’m the one who isn’t fine……”
“Everything is for the sake of making you stand out, my lord.”
Oppa’s timid resistance crumbled instantly before the Madam’s firm will. In the end, she purchased the slingshot bikini she liked. When it came time to buy Oppa’s swimsuit, everyone unanimously chose a speedo. “A man with a body like Gwangnam’s should wear a speedo!”
“Of course, nya.”
“Hohoho, I quite like the sound of that.”
“Hmm…… If everyone else is fine with it, then so am I.”
“A speedo is a bit embarrassing……”
Though Oppa hesitated and muttered, he could not stop the excited women’s advance. Thinking about it, his member was so large that a speedo would leave him in a rather embarrassing state, yet no one seemed to care. The three thoroughly excited women began buying sunglasses and everything else one might need at the beach. They had drastically cut back on spending while saving for business funds, but it seemed they now had some leeway. After rampaging through every corner of the mart, our frenzied shopping spree ended and we returned home laden with spoils.
After finishing all preparations over the next few days, the long-awaited day of departure arrived. We packed our things into the dimensional pocket, boarded the camper, and set off toward the East Sea. “Alright, let’s go!”
“Yahoo! Beach, here we come!”
The excited Ruya and the rest of the family, who had been so lively, all fell asleep exactly thirty minutes after departure. Since I wasn’t particularly sleepy, I simply sat there blankly admiring the scenery passing by the window. Oppa, who was driving, turned on the radio. News was playing—something about how recovery from the war’s damage was progressing rapidly and most regions had returned to normal. Just what kind of magic had they used to finish most of the restoration already? The technological and magical prowess of this dimension was truly impressive.
—Next, we bring you news regarding the random dimensional gates appearing worldwide due to recent dimensional instability. There have been no reports of anything crossing over yet, but gates occasionally open inside buildings, so please exercise extra caution.
“Dimensional instability really is a problem.”
“At least it seems no monsters are coming through.”
“That’s the problem—we can’t guarantee nothing will pop out.”
“You’re right.”
Since we had no way of knowing where a gate might open, it would be difficult to prepare, and if a monster suddenly appeared, the damage would be severe.
—Additionally, sudden appearances of dimensional gates have led to a surge in missing persons. The Dimensional Management Agency is conducting search and rescue operations……
“Search and rescue for the stranded. The agency and the hunters must be very busy.”
“They can track the flow of a dimensional gate to calculate coordinates, but the longer it stays closed, the harder it becomes to trace. If you’re unlucky, you end up a lost soul between dimensions.”
“We’ll have to be careful.”
“Well, we hunters carry dimensional signal generators, so even if we get stranded, we’ll be easier to find.”
Ordinary people who got stranded rarely survived long enough to be rescued unless they had extraordinary luck—like immediately running into a hunter or avoiding dangerous creatures in an environment similar to Earth’s. As always, crossing dimensions was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
“By the way, isn’t it hot?”
“With the air conditioning blasting like this, how could it be hot? Charlotte is actually curled up saying she’s cold.”
Charlotte, who had been whining about the cold, was fast asleep hugging Ruya tightly beside her. “There’s a blanket in the drawer under the bed in the back. Take it out and cover them.”
“Yes.”
I pulled out the blanket and covered Ruya and Charlotte, who were openly sleeping on the bed. Not long after departure, Oppa stopped at a rest area. After parking the camper next to some large trucks, he woke the Madam, who had been dozing in the passenger seat. “Ekaterina, wake up. It’s a rest area. Let’s eat something before we go.”
“Mmm……”
“Elisha, wake the others too.”
“Yes, Oppa. Ruya, Charlotte. Wake up.”
When I shook them by the shoulders, they staggered to their feet and yawned. “Hwaaam~ What’s going on?”
“We’re at a rest area. Let’s eat before we go.”
“Rest area food is great~ I want a baked potato.”
“I want churros, nya.”
Everyone got up and headed to the rest area. It was crowded with people on summer vacation. Though less than a year had passed since the war, their faces were filled with joy and happiness. Perhaps they were consciously seeking happiness to forget the pain of war? Seeing them like this, humans truly seemed resilient.
“Baked potato!”
“Churros, nya!”
“Let’s eat a proper meal first. Snacks after.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“Understood, nya.”
The two who had been ready to buy snacks first changed their attitude at Oppa’s words and agreed to eat a meal first. Unlike the excited Ruya and Charlotte, who were looking forward to delicious food, the Madam still seemed listless. Wondering why, I supported her and asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
“Mmm…… I’m quite carsick. Even though I took motion sickness medicine beforehand, it didn’t help.”
“Oh dear……”
Her complexion was pale, and the symptoms seemed more severe than I had thought. Supporting the Madam, I headed toward the rest area building while searching online about carsickness. Apparently, the discrepancy between what the body feels and what the eyes see causes dizziness. In the end, the brain senses confusion and dizziness results. An idea came to me. I sat the Madam down on a restaurant chair inside the rest area and said, “I’ll try using vital energy to see if it relieves the symptoms.”
“Go ahead.”
With her permission, I carefully lifted her veil, placed my hand on her forehead where the holy scar was, and infused her with vital energy. As the energy spread like a wave and filled the Madam’s brain, her complexion gradually improved. “Haa…… Vital energy really is useful in so many ways.”
“I’ll fill you up completely so it lasts a long time.”
“Thank you.”
To prevent motion sickness for as long as possible, I poured in the maximum amount of vital energy her brain could hold. Even though her brain was full of vital energy, the Madam’s resistance to its side effects was high thanks to the abundant holy power, so she spoke with a relatively normal expression. “It feels a bit hazy, but it’s better than being carsick. I’ll ask you again from time to time.”
“Yes, Madam.”
A faint pink glow from the infused vital energy lingered in the Madam’s eyes as she smiled slightly. Having shaken off the nausea, she approached Oppa, who was choosing a menu at the counter. Seeing her face, he asked worriedly, “Ekaterina, are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, my lord. Thanks to Elisha, I’m much better. Have you decided on the menu?”
“We three have already chosen. You and Elisha just need to pick.”
“Hmm……”
The Madam crossed her arms under her chest and pondered the menu. Meanwhile, the gazes of the men around us were intense—probably because several outstanding beauties were clustered around Oppa. One peculiar thing was that their looks weren’t envious, but rather pitying. Normally, wouldn’t a man with four women be envied? Why the sympathetic stares? While I was pondering this rare dilemma, the Madam said, “I’ll have the tempura udon.”
“Ekaterina wants tempura udon. What about you, Elisha?”
“I don’t have any strong preferences…… I’ll have the cheese pork cutlet.”
“Okay~”
Oppa operated the unmanned kiosk and placed the order. The moment he took out his card from his wallet and inserted it, the pitying looks from the surrounding men intensified. Ah, perhaps they saw him not as a man with four women, but as a man being kept by four women? In Korea’s typical perception, it was unimaginable for one man to have four women, so naturally they saw him as a pitiful man caught between four women. Since our family form wouldn’t be accepted in a country where monogamy was the norm, I supposed such gazes were inevitable. The only legally married couple in our family was Oppa and the Madam; we three concubines were in common-law relationships. Even though they were common-law, the state did not recognize common-law marriage with a man who already had a spouse, so in reality we were merely cohabiting. Of course, neither Ruya nor Charlotte cared in the slightest and had devoted both body and soul to Oppa and the Madam.
We took seats in a corner of the restaurant and chatted while waiting for our food. “There are so many people because it’s vacation season.”
“You’re right, there really are a lot. Are all these people heading to the East Sea? It’ll be no fun if the beach is too crowded.”
“We have the camper, nya. We can just find a place with fewer people, nya.”
“Hohoho, let’s earn a lot of money from now on and buy a private island.”
“Oh! A private island! That sounds great. I’ll have to work hard.”
“Favorite Secret Beach, nya.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“I heard it in a drama, nya.”
“You’ve been watching a lot of TV lately. Was it dramas?”
“There are so many interesting things, nya.”
“I subscribed to a service that offers paid channels recently.”
“Aha~”
While we were chatting, the notification bell rang. The first dish to arrive was the Madam’s tempura udon. Ruya stood up with the receipt to go get it, but Oppa stopped her. “I’ll bring it. Sit down. On trips like this, the man is supposed to handle these things.”
“Huh?”
“My, how thoughtful.”
“It’s nothing. Just wait.”
Ruya, who had been standing awkwardly and glancing between Oppa and the Madam, sat back down. Oppa went to fetch the udon in her place and soon returned with the tray, placing it in front of the Madam. He then brought the rest of the orders one by one and set them before each of us: Oppa’s seolleongtang, Ruya’s kimchi fried rice on a hot plate, Charlotte’s beef and vegetable bibimbap, the Madam’s tempura udon, and my cheese pork cutlet. Five different dishes gathered in one place made for quite a sight.
“Kuh~ Nothing beats a hot bowl of soup on a trip.”
“Bibimbap is the best, nya.”
“Elisha, let’s share. I want to try the pork cutlet too.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll share as well.”
Except for Oppa and Charlotte, who were aggressively devouring their food, the remaining three of us shared amicably. After finishing our meal and buying the snacks everyone wanted, we boarded the camper again. To prevent the Madam from getting carsick, I took the passenger seat so she could lie down on the bed. The women in the back, who had been chatting noisily while eating snacks, all fell asleep again within an hour. In the quiet camper, filled only with the sound of the engine and the highway, I placed a piece of roasted squid into Oppa’s mouth. “At least the traffic isn’t bad. Getting stuck on the highway is real suffering.”
“Aren’t you bored driving?”
“It’s boring, but what can I do? I’m the only one with a driver’s license.”
“Hmm~ I saw a similar scene in an adult movie Ruya was watching the other night. A woman in the passenger seat services a man who’s bored from driving for a long time. Of course, that was just a movie, so doing something like that while driving would probably cause an accident.”
“Hmm, I heard automatic driving functions are commonly used these days. Doesn’t this car have one?”
“It does, but I don’t trust AI driving. I feel safer driving myself.”
“How about turning it on for a little while? I was thinking of relieving your boredom for a bit……”
I gently stroked Oppa’s firm thigh with my hand and licked my lips. Noticing my signal, he swallowed hard, checked the sleeping Madam in the rearview mirror, and quietly activated the automatic driving function.