The After-Party (5)
"Nnngh—!"
Renias let out a satisfied groan as she threw her arms wide in a luxurious stretch. Having finally had the chance to splash around in the water, she looked utterly refreshed, the tension completely melted from her limbs.
"Hehe. I honestly can't remember the last time I had so much fun."
It was obvious just from looking at her. She had been scooping up water and splashing him with such unbridled joy that, had it not been for the embarrassing swimsuit, she probably would have spent the entire afternoon playing in the waves.
"If you wanted to swim that badly, you should've just changed into a different swimsuit," Junon said.
"Ugh, believe me, I wanted to!"
Apparently, Maria—the maid who had dropped subtle hints while nudging her out onto the terrace earlier—had dug her heels in and refused to budge. On top of that, Renias had barely managed to sneak this dress out in her bag behind Maria's back.
Hearing the humorous tale behind her predicament, Junon couldn't help but chuckle.
"Ugh, please don't laugh! Do you have any idea how hard I had to fight with myself to hold back?"
She launched into an earnest complaint, passionately detailing the fierce battle of conscience she had waged all afternoon.
Her senior merely nodded along to her adorable grumbling with a relaxed, "Right, right."
All while keeping his gaze stubbornly fixed on the distant sea, pretending to be utterly nonchalant.
"There you go again, letting my words go in one ear and out the other! Come to think of it, you were totally brushing me off earlier when you gave your review of my swimsuit, weren't you?"
"I wasn't. I told you, it really did look pretty."
"Hmph. For someone who claims it was pretty, you haven't laid eyes on it once, have youuu?"
The subtle smirk playing on Junon's lips instantly froze stiff.
When Renias planted both hands on her hips and glared at him, his shoulders twitched, and his eyes darted away.
He hesitated, fumbling for words, before offering an excuse with genuine distress written across his face.
"No, look... Renias, I really can't help it."
Since pointing at her was out of the question, he pointed at his own chest instead.
"Not that I ever would, and obviously I shouldn't, but... if I look right at you, you're going to call me a pervert. And I'd really rather avoid that."
The issue was her chest.
Even if she had been wearing a modest rash guard, her considerable curves would have naturally drawn attention. In a bikini, the sight was nothing short of dizzying. To catch sight of a woman's generous bust and deep cleavage and immediately whip his head away was, by any reasonable standard of decency, an entirely natural reaction.
"W-Well, if that's the reason..."
Renias backed down, somewhat convinced. Even to her, the most exposed part of the swimsuit had clearly been the plunging neckline.
Rustle.
A coat was draped gently over her shoulders.
It was the single piece of clothing between the two of them that hadn't caught a drop of seawater.
"So make sure you keep this on when you head back. Got it?"
Once again, her thoughtful senior tugged at her heartstrings, coaxing a warm smile back onto her lips.
Unlike that night at the tavern, she hadn't touched a drop of liquor, yet the smiling girl found herself leaning into his warmth all the same.
"I'm a little tired. Mind if I lean on you?"
Renias rested her head against his damp shoulder as she asked.
Junon immediately pushed her head away, protesting, "Put the coat on properly first—"
His mild resistance fell on completely deaf ears.
Slipping her arms into the coat, she swept her damp hair behind her back.
Then, carefully, she rested her head against his shoulder once more.
Leaning on him with a clear mind, Junon's shoulder felt wonderfully, undeniably warm.
During the day, the white sands had been bustling with crowds, but now, there was no one left but the two of them.
Side by side, they quietly watched the ocean roll in, letting the peaceful silence carry the night away.
Meanwhile, back at the base camp, the barbecue and campfire were in full swing.
The atmosphere was growing louder and more festive with every passing minute, yet amid the revelry, someone's eyes restlessly darted about the clearing.
He wasn't there.
No matter where she looked.
'...Has he really not come back yet?'
Senia had told her it was best to let things be, but the person actually drowning in guilt couldn't simply shrug it off and look away.
Everyone's attention was supposedly focused on the feast and the crackling fire, but people's eyes naturally drifted toward what they cared about most. For a certain pink-haired girl, her gaze couldn't help but stray toward a specific path at regular intervals.
Because of that, Aris distinctly remembered seeing Junon walk off toward the beach all by himself.
How much time had passed since then?
Lively conversations had broken out, fueled by alcohol and delicious food, and a few groups who had already had too much to drink had retired to their quarters.
In other words, quite a long time had passed.
'What if something happened to him...?'
There was no time to second-guess herself. Aris wasn't the type who could sit still without confirming it with her own eyes.
Pretending to stand up casually, she slipped toward the back of the camp and took a detour.
As she made her way along the path leading down to the shore—
"Ouch..."
"I'm so sorry! Are you all ri—huh?"
"Aris...?"
Just like back then, she ended up running right into Charlotte.
"..."
"..."
A heavy silence fell over the two of them. For some reason, it felt like an eerie bout of déjà vu from the Schytz Great Subjugation Campaign.
Neither seemed to care why the other was out here; both simply let out a deep, defeated sigh. Knowing they were likely thinking the exact same thing, there was no need for awkward explanations.
"Why are you holding that, Charlotte?"
"Ah... this? Well, he left without eating any dinner, so..."
She hadn't named him, but there was no mystery about who 'he' was. It was obviously Junon.
"...I should've brought something too, so I wouldn't look out of place."
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing. Come on, let's go find him."
Stepping out onto the beach path, Charlotte and Aris turned their heads, scanning the shoreline. Finding Junon didn't take long at all.
Because right beside him was Renias.
Thanks to Renias's striking presence, they spotted him almost immediately, but once again, neither of them could take another step forward.
The sauce clinging to the plate meant he had already eaten.
And if something had gone wrong, Renias, standing right by his side, was in a far better position to help him than they ever could be.
They had no excuse to approach him, nor the right to force their true feelings upon him.
—So make sure you keep this on when you head back. Got it?
—I'm a little tired. Mind if I lean on you?
—Put the coat on properly first.
Junon, gently draping his coat over her shoulders. Renias, leaning her head against his shoulder for support.
Sitting in the same spot, gazing out over the same sea, the person he needed right now wasn't either of them.
Having that beloved, radiant girl by his side was far more fitting. It looked so much better on him.
"...Should we head back, Charlotte?"
"Yes..."
Aris spoke first, and Charlotte agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Bound only by lingering guilt and barely clinging to the frayed thread of a past connection, the two girls swallowed their regrets and turned around.
However, their impulsive outing didn't go unnoticed.
"Eep...!"
"And just what are you two doing all the way out here~?"
Her eyes were curled into gentle crescents, but there was zero humor in her expression. She looked ready to produce a switch and deliver a scolding on the spot.
"S-Senia..."
"Big sis..."
It was Senia. Once again, she stood blocking their way back, thoroughly exasperated.
"Good grief. I explicitly told you both not to go running off on your own."
With a hand on her hip, Senia let out a weary sigh after finishing her lecture and sending the pair back to camp.
"You aren't the only ones hurting, you know."
A quiet note of sympathy laced her voice.
Aris had been the first.
Noticing Aris's strange demeanor, Senia had caught on immediately, gently pressing her until the truth spilled out.
Charlotte had been the second.
When Aris was drowning in hardship and first realized that things had gone horribly wrong, it was Charlotte who had helped anchor her, if only briefly.
So, one day, Senia had called Charlotte aside for a private conversation.
'...You're right. It's just like you said, Big Sis.'
The youngest hadn't denied it either.
Though the depth of their burdens varied, being consumed by guilt was something they all shared, and that guilt remained an ongoing torment.
That was why Senia tried to minimize their contact with Junon unless it was strictly necessary.
Stepping in carelessly would only get in his way.
To him, the present Team Tembris was nothing more than a burden.
A painful spark that would only rekindle memories of an agonizing past.
No matter which angle she looked at it from, approaching him yielded nothing but harmful outcomes for Junon. That was why they had to keep their distance.
'I'll have to sit down and talk to those two separately later.'
Just as she turned to head back to camp with that thought—
She sensed another presence nearby.
'There's no way Aris or Charlotte lingered behind. Which means...'
Someone else was here.
A quick glance around confirmed there was only one plausible hiding spot in the area.
Senia stepped straight toward the source of the presence and poked her head around the corner. Standing there was an unexpected girl.
"U-Um... I'm sorry. I know this looks like I was hiding, but... I-I don't plan on telling anyone! Really!"
Her eyes were spinning in panic. The ash-gray haired girl looked flustered to the point of tears.
Senia had known her name even before, but lately, a certain incident had drawn far more attention to her: Adele.
"How much did you hear?"
"...From the moment you started scolding Aris and Charlotte."
To think she had overheard almost the entire exchange from the very beginning.
Senia blew a frustrated breath upward, fluttering the bangs over her forehead.
Still, there was no need to interrogate her. Aris had already told her that Adele held nothing but goodwill toward Junon.
"Well, since you're here too, I'm guessing you were watching Junon as well?"
"...Yes."
"Why?"
At that question, Adele turned her gaze toward the distant pair chatting quietly by the sea, her voice trembling as she forced the words out.
"...Probably for the exact same reason as all of you."
"..."
Finishing her strained reply, Adele bit her lower lip.
It wasn't romantic longing.
It was certainly not jealousy.
The emotion Adele carried was likely the exact same thing weighing on Aris, Charlotte, and even Senia herself.
A debt that could never be repaid, and the crushing guilt of what she had done in the past.
Once Adele turned and trudged back toward the base camp, Senia was left entirely alone.
Casting one last glance toward Junon's silhouette, she muttered in a barely audible whisper,
"Your influence really is terrifying, isn't it? ──."
That final word was merely Senia's best guess.
A name that could never have existed on the Kempf-Litton Continent.
A sea breeze swept across the shore, erasing every trace of where they had stood.