Vacation (5)
We passed through the revolving door as it spun round and round. Stepping inside, bright lights washed over the building's interior. The marble floor was polished to a mirror shine, and lining it were shop after shop, their displays glittering under the glow.
A department store.
We had set foot in a massive shopping complex at the heart of the Zerta Kingdom's busiest district.
"So this is where you were taking us? A department store?"
"Hehe, I'd rather you didn't mistake it for a mere department store. This shop bears the Amethyst family's name directly, after all."
Business expansion — in the industry these days, you could call it one of the standard means of holding onto power. Politics alone only got you so far, so if you had the ability, leveraging that power to broaden your footing was simply the wise move. The Amethyst family had built up its capital by setting up shop in every corner of the world.
I'd read about it in both the setting notes and the novel itself, so nothing about it struck me as odd — but that left one question.
"Mind if I ask what we're here to buy?"
For most things, you could just tell an attendant what you wanted and they'd fetch the exact item, swift and precise. Which made me wonder why she'd bothered to bring us all the way out here in person.
"We're here to buy something that can only be fitted in this store."
"Only here?"
I racked my brain, and her words gave me just enough to figure out what she was getting at.
"...Clothes, right?"
"Correct! Quick on the uptake, aren't you?"
"There'd be no other reason to come all this way."
Precious metals, dining, and a dozen other possibilities a department store could offer crossed my mind, but the only thing that truly fit her words was clothing.
"You'll be staying at the villa for a week, after all. We'll take your measurements on the spot, and whatever garments you desire will be tailored and delivered to you immediately."
"Well, that works out. I've actually been wanting to buy Marin some clothes."
Back when we were staying in the Max Republic, I'd planned to take everyone shopping after the midterms were done. I'd only ever read descriptions of the city in the books and setting notes — never seen it with my own eyes.
Traveling to take in new scenery with these two eyes had been a hobby of mine since childhood, and with the opportunity in front of me, I intended to wander wherever my feet carried me. Of course, Vitality had to barge in and raise holy hell, and the plan collapsed before it even began.
"I have lots of clothes."
"Marin, dear Marin. School uniforms are not the entirety of clothing, you know."
Her mansion's closet was packed with enough garments to last a month without a single wash — but it was all uniforms and undergarments, nothing more. No casual wear for going out, nothing for dressing up.
Opportunity knocking, so why not have everything fitted while we were at it?
"I'll respectfully decline. I have plenty of clothes at home."
By contrast, Chloe — a daughter of an equally prestigious house — politely declined the offer. Young as she was, she was still the daughter of the head of House Opal, hardly someone to be treated lightly. And since Kaya was speaking to her formally in a rather different sense, it meant there was distance between the two of them.
The exact opposite of how it was with her best friend Eva — closer to a business relationship than anything. As if to confirm that fact all over again, Kaya kept up the honorifics.
"Understood. If the young lady of House Opal insists, then I'll have swimsuits fitted for the rest of you only."
"Swim... what?!"
"Swimsuits?"
Chloe and I both echoed in surprise at Kaya's words, and she nodded, confirming we'd heard right.
"Yes, we do intend to fit you for other clothes as well, but that's the main purpose."
"A pool? Or swimming in the ocean?"
"We're going there to have fun, so naturally it's a water park. Neither I nor my sister can swim to save our lives, anyway."
As for Eva, I knew her situation well — in the novel, she could be seen flailing helplessly during the underwater dungeon expedition on the journey to find a Divine Artifact. She was a mage, and it was even mentioned that during the final battle of third year she was still hopeless on the stamina front, so it made sense.
But Kaya not being able to swim either? That one caught me off guard.
She was the one who, every single time Eva appeared in the book, nagged at her — your arms and legs are thinner than chopsticks, get some exercise, swimming or a light jog, anything. For Kaya, a swordswoman in the same class as Chloe who trained as a knight every day, to be unable to manage even basic survival swimming felt a little off.
"Do you enjoy swimming, Solis?"
"Learned hard from the time I was little, so I can handle the basics. Probably at the level where I'd survive getting swept away by a wave on my own?"
"How impressive. No unfortunate incidents of sinking and being unable to breathe for you, then."
Would something like that even happen at a water park? At worst you'd have the wave pool or the lazy river, and your feet would touch bottom the whole way — hardly dangerous.
Anyway, with Kaya leading the way, we headed for the store that sold swimwear. We rode the escalators up floor after floor, then another floor after that.
It was an enormous complex, clearly built with the citizens of the Zerta Kingdom's cities in mind as its customer base — yet not a single shopper was in sight. Presumably they'd opened the doors purely for our sake and were turning everyone else away. A total buyout, so to speak. When the second daughter of the family wants something, the staff bow their heads and comply, business hours be damned.
"Welcome, honored guests. This is our swimwear department, carrying designs gathered from every corner of the nation."
The clerk greeted us warmly, handling us with the same crisp professionalism she'd show any ordinary customer. But beneath that poise was an unmistakable tremor in her hands, and her smile — so wide it bordered on unnatural — carried a deference reserved for people of a height ordinary folk couldn't even dream of looking up at.
Ah, you poor souls. My sympathies.
Passing the bowing clerks, I browsed the swimwear floor alongside the others.
"Solis, look at this. Weird underwear."
"Marin, that's called a swimsuit."
"Swimsuit?"
"Clothes you wear when you go in the water. It might look like that, but it protects your skin and helps you move well underwater."
"Should I try it on?"
Marin picked up one of the displayed swimsuits and held it out to me. A pretty bikini trimmed with frills — it had that airy, fluttering quality that reminded me of her hair color.
"It's cute. I think it'd suit you."
"Yeah?"
Marin seemed quite taken with it too, pressing the hanger against her body as if curious how she'd look wearing it.
"Chloe, you're not going to try any on?"
"...Am I wearing one too?"
"Of course, we're swimming together. From what I hear, Kaya and Eva are going too — it'd be a shame if you were the only one left out."
"If you put it that way, fine."
Chloe pretended to be worn down by my words and accepted my invitation to swim together.
You sly little — I know perfectly well you just want to see Eva in a swimsuit. Don't even try to hide it.
"If Lady Chloe will be swimming as well, as it happens we have an excellent piece in stock. Would you care to see it?"
"An excellent piece?"
"Here it is!"
Before the question had even finished leaving her mouth, Kaya whipped out the item — and at the sight of it, the expressions of everyone present except Marin began shifting by the second.
"Th-th-this is what, exactly?!"
"What do you mean, what? It's obviously a swimsuit. One look is enough."
"Don't make me laugh! That's just a bunch of strings!"
What Kaya held up was so embarrassingly short on fabric that calling it clothing felt generous. It was closer to strings strapped across the body at an absolutely perilous level of coverage — just barely managing to conceal the essential regions.
"A slingshot. It'd look great on Chloe, honestly."
"Great on me?! How the hell am I supposed to walk around outside wearing something like this?!"
"I don't see why you couldn't. Models wear them for photo shoots, you know."
"That's because it's their job! You think anyone wears something that mortifying because they actually want to?!"
Chloe growled like she was one breath away from detonating. Her fierce hostility split its aim between Kaya, who'd recommended the thing, and me, who'd backed her up.
"Can any of you wear this?! No! So don't recommend this crap to me!"
"So what you're saying is, if I show you me wearing it, that means you'll wear one too. Got it."
"Wha...?"
Chloe, who'd been howling at the ceiling and jabbing a finger at the string swimsuit, went quiet as a lamb who'd just been fed a lemon.
Ah, so that's it — she's just embarrassed to wear something like this by herself.
You could've just said so from the start.
"Kaya, hand it over."
"Huh?"
I snatched the slingshot out of Kaya's hand and began peeling off my clothes, piece by piece.
"Y-you're... changing here?"
"No one's watching anyway."
"Th-that's..."
Eva, covering her eyes with both hands and stammering, couldn't manage another word — because by then I'd already finished undressing with impressive speed and, as a finishing touch, strapped that precarious scrap of fabric onto my body.
"Not bad, the fit."
"Fwaaaah...!"
"Kyaaaaah! My eyes!"
"It's — it's huge!"
As if my dazzling figure had left them with nowhere to look, cries of absolute devastation erupted from every corner of the room. Funny — they act all shocked like they've seen something not meant for human eyes, but if they stumbled across a cursed image while browsing the forums, they'd faint dead away, every last one of them.
"Solis, are you okay? You look like you're in pain."
"It is a little tight. These strings don't even cover half of it."
Only Marin, utterly unfazed, showed any concern for my wellbeing — and honestly, it was murder. It reminded me of the games we used to play as kids, grabbing someone's waistband and yanking it skyward. Exactly that same tingling, strangled feeling from back then.
Less embarrassment, more physical agony — that's what had my head hanging, let's say. Ugh, my poor crushed everything.
Still, I'd secured my pretext, so I was satisfied.
"Now then, Chloe. Your turn."
"No, that... I mean, I never said I'd wear...!"
"Wear it."
No means no. Service scenes are a thing of the past these days, didn't you hear?
Now let me see that slingshot bikini shot of yours.