The After-Party (Part 3)
She had tried swinging her legs back and forth, and even tried distracting herself by weaving threads of mana, but holding it in was simply impossible. Her lips practically itched to speak.
And now, the time had finally come. Junon had finished eating.
"I saw, you know. Back when you stood up from under the parasol, Senior."
Of all things, she had to see that. Just his luck.
This girl with sparkling eyes would undoubtedly press him to ask if something was wrong. As usual, Junon tried to deflect.
"..."
"Senior?"
Looking into Renias's clear, bright eyes, he was reminded of the promise he had made never to lie in front of her. Besides, for reasons he could not fathom, Renias always saw right through his falsehoods. No matter how casually he spoke or how plausible an excuse he conjured, not even the faintest shadow of a lie could slip past her.
Rather than letting things escalate like before, it was better to simply come clean to a reasonable degree.
"I just... remembered some things from the past."
"The past?"
"I suppose I'm just so used to people pointing fingers and jeering at me that seeing someone offer a handshake today, telling me they learned a lot, felt a bit strange. It made me realize that how people see me now is rather different from back then."
Half of it was true, and half was a lie. Still, he figured an answer like this would be enough to satisfy her. Fortunately, it worked.
"Oh, come on! What's so strange about that? People are going to treat you like that from now on, too."
"Well... I suppose you might be right."
Since it was Renias, Junon played along to humor her. In truth, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with that kind of attention.
Yet her sudden arrival brought him another realization.
I suppose I really can't just take only what I want.
Ever since noon, Junon's mind had been a tangled mess. Memories of the past and the path of the present. He had to choose the best possible course to produce a outcome entirely different from before. As he had learned during the Schytz Great Subjugation Campaign, that was never an easy task.
Right. I understand now. Changing the past inevitably breeds new variables.
He had never dreamed the Sirens would be so deeply intertwined with the Devourers. Because he had made contact with the Siren first and settled the matter through direct negotiation, everything had already diverged completely from how things once were.
The greatest difference was simple: while the Devourers remained as they had been, Shanberesh did not.
Shanberesh, having already inherited its lineage, must have attacked the Sirens, and they wouldn't have possessed the strength to resist.
Junon silently stood up, overlaying the two realities in his mind.
"Huh? Senior? Where are you going all of a sudden?"
"Just wanted to take a walk. You head inside first."
"Mmh. Then I'm coming with you!"
"I'll be back in a minute anyway, so there's no need to tag along."
"Still! It'll help digest my dinner if I come along, right?"
As if the matter were already settled, Renias lightly brushed the sand from her clothes. Junon did not push her away.
"Well, if that's the case, I don't mind. I'm going to walk along the shoreline, though. Is that fine?"
"Why wouldn't it be? Let's go, Senior."
At times like this, talking things through with someone might not be so bad after all.
What had been a dazzling white beach under the midday sun thoroughly hid its brilliance as evening fell. The only illumination reaching the shore now was the pale moonlight. Even so, the night sea made for a scenery that was far from unpleasant.
"Whoa, it's so pretty!"
Corals that had remained concealed throughout the day only revealed their well-kept secrets under the cover of night. Amidst the gentle ripples faintly shimmering under the moon, bioluminescent corals caught their eyes. To think such wonders had been hidden here all along.
"How can they glow so beautifully? Senior, let's take a closer look."
"A closer look? What are you going to do if your clothes get soaked?"
"Oh, come on, it'll be fine if I just hitch it up to my knees."
Though she spoke of hitching it up, Renias was currently wearing a one-piece dress that would be quite cumbersome for wading through water.
Well... I suppose it'll be fine.
The water where the luminous coral grew wasn't deep at all; they would only need to wade in a little. Tossing his outer coat onto the dry sand, Junon held out his hand to Renias.
"Here."
"Hm? What for?"
"If you trip in that dress, you'll be completely drenched."
As long as he held onto her from the side, nothing could go terribly wrong. All she had to do was not trip. Just not trip.
Renias hesitated for a brief second before firmly taking his hand, asking him to make sure she didn't fall. Step by cautious step, she made her way closer to the coral.
"Wow, it really is stunning. It definitely wasn't like this during the day."
"It certainly is unusual. Coral steeped in mana..."
"Huh? Mana?"
At the mention of mana, Renias immediately touched the coral to sense the magical energy within it.
"It really is! How did you know?"
"Demonic energy and mana aren't only present in the atmosphere. They dissolve into the sea to some degree, and under certain conditions, they can saturate water entirely. The coral must be absorbing it and circulating it through its body."
"Aha. So you figured what it's emitting is mana."
Full of wonder, Renias gently poked at the coral with her fingertips.
"If you've seen enough, let's head back."
"What? Just a little longer! Or maybe we could take some? If we just snap off a little piece, we could make an accessory out of it!"
"...You'd better not. The moment you break it off, it'll lose its light and die."
"Ah, really?! Aw, but it's so pretty..."
Regret was written all over her face. She must have liked the glow quite a bit to consider snapping a piece off to take home.
"Not like you need accessories anyway."
She shone far brighter than any coral on her own. Be it her appearance, her character, or the titles that trailed after her, she was a person showered in endless praise. On the flip side, how many people actually harbored ill will toward her? Practically none. Unless someone was thoroughly twisted, psychotic, or mentally unhinged, it was impossible to dislike Renias. She was someone who shone far too brightly to ever be compared to mere coral.
...Wait, why are her ears suddenly turning red?
When she abruptly fell still, neither speaking nor moving, Junon called her name out of concern.
"Renias?"
"..."
No answer came. Instead, he could feel a damp warmth spreading across her smooth palm—she seemed to be sweating. He was certain it wasn't ocean spray splashing against them.
"This won't do. Your temperature is rising, so let's get out of here right now. If you stay out here in that outfit, you'll catch a cold."
Junon gripped Renias's increasingly warm hand and began leading her toward the dry shore. Before dipping her feet into the sea, she had specifically asked him to hold onto her tightly. Yet now, contrary to her earlier request, she stood rooted in place, before suddenly letting go of his hand.
"Uh... Senior, could you wait outside for just a moment? I'll look for just a bit longer and then come right out..."
"I told you, you're going to catch a cold. Stop being stubborn and come on."
"S-Senior! Ahh?!"
Had he been too hasty? Worried she might get sick, he had pulled her hand without thinking, completely forgetting that she was wearing a long dress. It was entirely his own careless fault.
Splash!
"Ugh... Renias, are you alright?"
"..."
Because he had instinctively pulled her into an embrace, neither of them had been hurt. The water was shallow, so there had been no real danger.
Yet in another sense, the situation was dangerous in an entirely different way.
"..."
"..."
They were too close. Close enough that their breaths mingled.
Their bodies were already pressed flush against each other. The hands he had thrown out to protect her rested against her neck and waist, while her hands, frantically seeking something to hold onto in her panic, gripped his shoulders.
It was, truly, a precarious posture. Just a fraction of an inch closer, and something else would have touched.
Without a word, both of them whipped their heads away and scrambled to their feet. Naturally, an agonizingly awkward atmosphere settled between them.
"S-Sorry! I was... I pulled without realizing you were wearing a dress!"
"N-No, it's fine! If I had just... come out when you told me to, this wouldn't have happened...!"
"Should we, uh, head out now?"
"Y-Yes, Senior."
Why was his body temperature spiking like this? Today, he learned firsthand that one's body could burn up without ever catching a cold. Or rather, he wasn't even sure if that was what mattered right now. First and foremost, he needed to apologize—
"Eek!"
"Whoa!"
As they were wading out of the water, a sudden weight crashed into his back, sending him pitching forward once again. Renias had fallen a second time, but since she ended up piggybacked against his back, it was far better than before—!
Wait... what is that? Something is pressing against my back...
A sudden wave of dread washed over him. The texture pressing against his back was remarkably soft. What was more, its temperature was extraordinarily high! There was no way he could fail to recognize what it was. Especially with Renias, who seemed to have an abundance of nutrition gathered right there!
"I-I'm so sorry, Senior! I was walking without paying attention and... kyaa?!"
"Just stay still!"
Normally, he would have told her it was alright and urged her to hold his hand tightly so she wouldn't slip again. But a perilous moment had occurred just moments ago, and an equally perilous crisis was unfolding right now—!
Left with no choice, his mind went completely blank of everything except getting back to dry land before another disaster struck. Whatever he had meant to ask her earlier had vanished from his thoughts entirely!
The confusion was just as overwhelming on her end.
Ugh... Am I an idiot?! Why did I have to become so self-conscious right then!
Yet she couldn't help it.
'Not like you need accessories anyway.'
She had never experienced anything like this before in her life! To an innocent girl, those simple words were more than enough to set her entire face ablaze! But what could she do when her body had completely locked up? With her heart pounding wildly in all directions, she couldn't bring herself to meet Junon's eyes.
Eventually, she had let go of his hand without realizing it, barely managing to calm her racing heart and scrambled thoughts enough to squeeze out a few words.
"Uh... Senior, could you wait outside for just a moment? I'll look for just a bit longer and then come right out..."
Renias didn't even understand why she was acting like this. All she knew for certain was that if she just had a little time, she would be fine. That was why she had asked him to wait.
Yet it was a terrible blunder. To her kind-hearted senior, such behavior only stirred up concern.
"I told you, you're going to catch a cold. Stop being stubborn and come on."
"S-Senior! Ahh?!"
And to make matters worse, another blunder awaited her. Of all things, she was wearing a long dress. Because her swimsuit was practically no different from underwear, choosing to throw this one-piece over it had been another self-inflicted disaster.
Her balance tipped to one side.
Splash!
"Ugh... Renias, are you alright?"
"..."
Her burning face felt as though steam were about to pour from it. She had reached a critical threshold, on the verge of exploding. The distance between them was far too close. If either of them made the slightest wrong move, their lips would have collided instantly.
Had anyone been watching, they would have described it in plain terms: Renias was pinning Junon down.
Seeing Junon's eyes widen, she scrambled to her feet as fast as she could.
"S-Sorry! I was... I pulled without realizing you were wearing a dress!"
"N-No, it's fine! If I had just... come out when you told me to, this wouldn't have happened...!"
"Should we, uh, head out now?"
"Y-Yes, Senior."
She just needed to get out. Once they were out of the water, this suffocating awkwardness would quickly vanish. She had only led him over to the coral with the playful intention of pulling him into the water, but she never imagined things would turn out like this.
Renias, you complete idiot!
As she cursed her past self from mere moments ago in sheer mortification, she ended up making yet another blunder.
"Eek!"
"Whoa!"
The Renias of five seconds ago would have snapped at her current self, asking where on earth she was looking when she walked.
"I-I'm so sorry, Senior! I was walking without paying attention and..."
This time, standing back up was not by her own volition. It was forced upon her.
"Kyaa?!"
"Just stay still!"
With her face burning crimson, Renias had no choice but to cover it with both hands.