Chapter 98
Chapter 98
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Playing at a Hotel During the Holidays is the Best (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After getting ready, I stepped out of the changing room to find Raven and David near the entrance.
Judging by the way they were blankly staring off into the distance, they must have been waiting for us.
Neither seemed to care much for swimwear, both dressed in the kind of trunks you could see anywhere.
The kind of common style you were bound to see at least once walking along a beach or by a pool.
Still, perhaps because they were both tall and clearly well-trained,
they gave off an aura that was a bit too striking for ordinary people. It was kind of cool.
“Raven! We're here.”
“Ah, you're finally out. What took you so long? We've been waiting forever.”
“Ahaha… sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Tch, as long as you know. Let's just hurry up and go. It's so noisy here my ears are getting tired.”
Raising a hand, Alice approached, awkwardly rubbing her neck as if to apologize for Raven's chiding.
In truth, we were late because we'd been admiring each other's swimsuits and chatting. There was no excuse.
But honestly, it was hard to resist. Everyone's swimsuit had its own unique charm.
And once you start throwing out a line of commentary for each one, time just flies.
Still, perhaps because Alice didn't act brazen and seemed genuinely sorry,
Raven scratched his head as if to say, 'as long as you know,' and readily accepted her apology.
Alice, who had been nodding in understanding, suddenly seemed to have a question.
She zipped down the parka she was wearing and said with an innocent face,
“Oh, Raven. What do you think of my swimsuit? It's cute, right! I bought it when I went out with Yuria the other day!”
“…Uh, yeah. It's cute. It looks good on you.”
“What's with that reaction? Does it not look good to a guy? Hey, why are you avoiding my gaze?”
*Jiggle.* The momentum from unzipping the parka caused Alice's Tsar Bombas to bounce up and down for a moment.
Was the visual devastation too dizzying? Raven averted his eyes from Alice, feigning indifference.
After all, they were usually hidden under a rather thick and stiff kimono.
For him, who didn't see Alice as a woman at all, it seemed to be quite a burden.
It was like an older brother's reaction to seeing his close younger sister in a sexy outfit.
Raven's ability to maintain his composure in front of such a "male friend slayer" was astounding.
‘Well... nothing would probably happen if I left them alone, but I feel bad for Raven.’
After exchanging a brief glance with Sabrina, I went over to Alice and took her hand.
I took her right hand, and Sabrina took her left. Perhaps because both her hands were suddenly sealed,
Alice had no choice but to be led by us toward the pool.
Personally, I was all for Alice and Raven becoming close someday.
Honestly, there wasn't a more fitting couple in the original story.
But the time wasn't right. That kind of thing should happen after more romance flags have been raised.
Alice tilted her head, puzzled by us suddenly grabbing her hands and leading her away.
But did she interpret it as us being eager to swim?
She gave a small smile as if finding us adorable and matched our pace.
“You want to swim that badly? Fufufu, alright. Let's hurry!”
“…Y-Yeah. Let's go.”
“…”
Giving a small nod, I glanced back.
There was Raven, sighing as if he'd just seen something he shouldn't have.
Hmm, I guess they really don't see each other as potential romantic partners right now.
The thought that I might have been worrying for nothing crossed my mind.
But as I looked around, a question suddenly popped into my head.
Reine was definitely behind us a moment ago, so where did she go?
“…Don't look.”
“Agh! My eyes!”
A very familiar man's scream came from somewhere.
Ah, a woman's jealousy. That's understandable for them. It's pure love, after all.
Leaving behind the voice of the truly wronged David,
we headed for the pool filled with water.
The water fun we'd been waiting for was finally about to begin.
*
The Hotel Saint-Maria, so popular it was hard to even get a reservation.
Naturally, its directly-managed massive swimming facility, Aqua Marina, was also disgustingly crowded.
More people meant more eyes looking our way.
Was that why? As someone who usually kept her skin covered, I felt self-conscious in a swimsuit.
‘Well... with her next to me, no one's going to pay attention to me in my mask anyway.’
But perhaps thanks to Alice, who distorted space like a black hole and drew all the attention,
my embarrassment subsided over time, and I was able to return to my usual mood.
“Whoa, Yuria, why is your skin so pale? In the bright light, it looks like mochi. It's total baby skin.”
“...!”
“Ah, Sabrina thinks so too! Sometimes when I'm holding Yuria, I get the urge to put her ear in my mouth, you know?”
“…!!”
What are you talking about, Alice? Are you saying you want to eat me?
Deeply shocked by her terrifying words, I subtly moved away from Alice.
She then hurriedly protested that she didn't want to *eat* it, she just wanted to put it in her mouth.
But that's the same thing! This isn't some word game!
But with my frail body, no amount of struggling could help me escape from Alice.
I was quickly caught and pulled into her embrace, feeling the dizzying sensation of skin against skin, and had no choice but to promise I wouldn't run away.
“A-Ahem. Then let's start with some warm-up exercises. If someone who doesn't normally exercise suddenly gets in the water, an accident could happen.”
“Okay.”
“…”
Someone who doesn't normally exercise... she's definitely talking about me.
Alice is a superhuman whose physical specs could easily fold a normal person in half.
And Sabrina has the physical abilities of an adult despite her young age. How is a normal person supposed to live with this injustice?
Surprisingly, however, my body was very flexible despite my lack of exercise, so I had no problem getting into the warm-up poses.
No wonder my joints moved like they were brand new. With this much flexibility, I could probably do ballet.
As we were lightly stretching our muscles from head to toe, Alice looked at me as if she'd just noticed something and asked a question.
“Oh, now that I think about it, Yuria. Isn't it a little hard to swim with a mask on? I'd think it would really interfere with your breathing and everything...”
“Ah, right. I wanted to ask about that too. Yuria, your face... is it okay to show it?”
“…?”
Mmm, I had a good idea of what they were worried about.
Wearing a mask on your face while swimming, no matter how you look at it, seems like nothing but an inconvenience.
But to just take off the mask here... unfortunately, they both know what my face looks like.
They must be thinking it would be a bit troublesome to reveal it in such a crowded place.
Honestly, this might draw even more attention than Alice's chest.
‘But there's no need for that. I'm just going to swim with my mask on.’
But the two of them were gravely mistaken about something.
That is, the idea that swimming with a mask on would be uncomfortable.
In the first place, this wasn't a mask, but a mask-shaped artifact.
Even without a strap, it stays fixed to my face unless it gets kicked off.
I could wear it all day without sweating, it didn't hinder my breathing, and it didn't obstruct my vision.
It was so comfortable that I sometimes forgot I was even wearing it.
It even had a feature that didn't impede breathing underwater. I'd tested it, so I was sure.
“…!”
“Ah, Yuria!”
But how could I explain this with actions?
Therefore, to give them a good answer, I simply threw myself into the pool.
The cool water enveloped my entire body as I slowly floated back to the surface.
I soon poked my head out of the water, proudly proving that there was no problem at all.
“You surprised me... Ah, now that I think about it, didn't Greg say that mask was an artifact he gave you as a gift? Then it should be fine.”
“I'm coming in too!”
*Splash!*
Sabrina boldly jumped into the pool after me.
Perhaps because the pool wasn't deep enough for even someone of my short stature to have trouble standing,
she easily surfaced and came over to me with a bright smile. How cute.
Alice, however, didn't jump in like us. She gently lowered herself into the water and said chidingly,
“Girls, be careful jumping in like that. What if you get hurt?”
“Okay, we'll be careful.”
“…”
“Especially you, Yuria, since you're so frail. No doing anything dangerous, okay?”
It was a sad but irrefutable statement.
I might be fairly sturdy for my age, but compared to these two, I was a firefly under the sun.
It was best to just nod meekly and agree.
After that, we enjoyed playing in the water with the rest of the group, who joined us a little later.
It was particularly impressive how actively Raven, the oldest among us, moved around.
Why on earth did he keep quietly diving down, grabbing my ankle, and pulling me under?
After the third time in a row, I was so angry that I forgot my embarrassment and asked Alice to get revenge for me.
We played happily like that for about three hours.
When the high sun began to set, painting the sky in sunset hues, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel.
After a quick rinse in the showers, we changed out of our swimsuits and walked side-by-side down the corridor leading to the hotel.
“Ah, that was fun. It's been a while since I went swimming, so it was a blast.”
“You're so childish. Why do you keep picking on Yuria? Poor thing.”
“…!”
“Because her reaction is fun. It's boring to mess with the others, but she gets so flustered with indignation. I can't help but keep doing it.”
“You're so mean. What kind of adult acts like that?”
My thoughts exactly!
I trotted right behind Raven, pounding on his side with my fists.
But as expected, my small fists only seemed to tickle him, and he paid me no mind.
“Alright, let's head up and rest for a bit, then after dinner... hmm, maybe we should go see Victor for a minute.”
“Oh, right, you mentioned you met Victor earlier? He's here to guard the rare items auction... Nice. It'll be fun to watch.”
Chatting like this, Alice and Raven leisurely walked out of the connecting passage and stood in front of the elevator.
A few steps behind, Sabrina and the others were talking amongst themselves.
Seeing David and Reine talking with their arms linked, it seemed their relationship had progressed quite a bit.
As I casually glanced around, an unfamiliar woman caught my eye.
At a glance, she was just an ordinary beautiful woman. It was a bit odd that she was alone, but this place was huge. It was plausible enough.
But the moment I saw the tattoo on her palm, I was startled and my eyes widened in shock.
The reason was simple. It was... the coded symbol of the Metahuman Liberation Army, which I had seen several times in the original story.
‘…No way, it can't be... right?’
A rare items auction and a competent Fixer guarding it.
And a trace of the Metahuman Liberation Army loitering near the main character's party.
Unless you were an idiot, you couldn't fail to notice the connection.
This was the unmistakable scent... of trouble.