Lily in a Bikini?

Lily in a bikini?

"Spla-pu-pu-pu-wooo!"

"Hyah! Tenfold Fierce Slash!"

"Stop using skills!"

"Ugh, why shouldn't I? I'm using mine too! Barrage, Water Splash!"

SPLOOOOOSH!!

Leaving the four of them to romp around in the sea behind her, Lily stepped out onto the beach for a moment and walked over to Apple Flavor, who sat blankly beneath a parasol.

Apple Flavor flinched at the sight of her.

"Why aren't you playing?"

"I-I'm not really fond of the water..."

"Really? I didn't know that."

Thump. The moment Lily sat down beside Apple Flavor, the girl let out a squeak and scrambled to her feet.

"Sit down. Or should I go over there instead?"

"...That's not what I meant."

"Then sit."

Swoosh~ Swoosh~

No! Not that! Hyuji, don't throw your water flask! First a splash, then gurgle-gurgle-gurgle...

The sound of the waves mingled with the laughter of staff enjoying their vacation.

This kind of peaceful life still felt rather unfamiliar. It wasn't as if there had never been calm moments in her past—but she had always been in a state of constant tension.

Not anymore. None of it was necessary now.

Rescuing people under attack somewhere across the world. Angels and demons tearing the earth and rending space with their strikes. The people who lusted after her, every last one of them.

None of it existed here.

All she had to do was enjoy herself.

"S-so... why aren't you playing, Lily...?"

"You looked bored, so I came over for a bit. Now I should head back."

"...May I ask you something I've been curious about?"

"Anything you like."

Swooooosh...

Apple Flavor hid her androgynous face behind a straw hat and turned her head away, as if it were somehow necessary.

"W-well... you saw it earlier, right?"

"Earlier?"

"When we first entered the resort."

Back when they had entered the resort—

Lily and her party had left the guide behind and been ushered in by the staff at the reception desk. The staff member was about the same height and build as the islanders here—a little taller than Leo, with features leaning Western—but the peculiar thing was the fruit-shaped badge pinned to their chest.

"The receptionist had three strawberries, right?"

"Yes. The guide had five cherries, and the islanders had three cherries each."

Every other traveler on the island wore them too, so when they asked what the badges meant, they were told it was simply a special local custom.

Come to think of it, their own group had received fruit badges as well—two cherries apiece. Lily, however, had been given one with two peaches. When she asked why, the answer was that a special badge was reserved for the leader of each group.

"But what about it?"

"They say the island holds many secrets. Maybe the badges are one of them?"

If it were truly just a custom, it would make far more sense to hand out a single uniform badge, or to distribute ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them completely at random—not to sort them according to some special standard.

And yet Kiki Island divided its badges by an unmistakable rule.

Lily stared blankly at Apple Flavor for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"That's an interesting theory. But you're not getting any funny ideas, are you?"

"Huh?"

"We're here on vacation."

It was a perfectly plausible theory—but it didn't matter. Even if Apple Flavor was right, even if the badges hid some enormous secret that yielded some staggering reward, it changed nothing.

"We came here to relax. Is there really any reason to rack our brains and push ourselves?"

"Ah..."

"Besides, those secrets are part of what keeps Kiki Island running. We can't just go poking them loose."

They hadn't come to conquer the touristified dungeon that was Kiki Island. They had come to enjoy it, pure and simple.

Even if a world boss dropped Mythic-grade loot right in front of her, Lily planned to walk right past ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Resting mattered more than any of that.

"So just take it easy and rest."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. It was pretty sharp of you to notice, honestly. Nobody else was paying the badges any mind."

Most people had simply pinned them somewhere out of the way, or left them off entirely. Lily herself had done only a basic investigation into the badges before wearing hers and forgetting about it. Unless something special happened, she had no intention of digging into them either.

"You're not going in the water, right?"

"No, m'am."

"Then rest. I'll turn the stream on for a little while later to eat something, so I'll see you then."

Lily headed back toward the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other four.

Left alone, Apple Flavor absently sipped a drink from the cooler and looked down at her own wrist.

A tiny badge, strung on her bracelet.

"There's definitely something to it..."

Kiki.

The water play was over.

She had considered streaming while they played, but the fallout would have been more than even she could handle, so they'd decided to keep it just among themselves. Not streaming was kinder to everyone anyway.

They'd batted a beach ball around and splashed each other, but partway through the others kept sneaking in skills, so Lily had finally shaped Spear's Roar into water and fired off dozens of vortex shockwaves at them. Only then did the skill abuse stop.

"Come on, I took one head-on..."

"Whoa, wait, one hit and I went flying??"

"That was a storm..."

"I didn't even hit you that hard."

She hadn't put any actual force into it at all—it was nothing more than being smacked by very enthusiastic water. Naturally, it dealt no damage and left no injuries.

"I thought I was going to die...?"

"Ah, right, Hyuji's a ranker. I hit you extra hard on purpose."

Everyone deserved an equally fair experience when getting dunked, didn't they? That was why she'd varied the output according to each person's level and physical capabilities. Granted, the difference was something like one in a million versus ten.

"......"

"By the way, White Autumn, why the long face?"

"Nooooo..."

She'd been sulking ever since Lily first waded into the water. It wasn't quite a complaint—more a look of profound disappointment.

"Whyyy... whaaAAA..."

"?"

"Why are you still wearing the same clothes even in the water?!"

"...I'm sorry?"

"Of course I am," Lily thought. As if she would ever put on a bikini.

"You expect me to wear a bikini or something?"

"...No. Well. I mean, maybe not that much, but a rash guard at least..."

"Um, unni! That's rude!"

"Hnnng... I'm sorry."

White Autumn hung her head, face fallen. Still, she wasn't nearly as pushy as she'd been when they'd first met. Lily couldn't help but smile at the sight.

She understood the sentiment, but she had no intention of wearing a bikini. It wasn't simply a matter of having changed gender in the past—honestly, that sensibility had long since dulled.

If she had to pin it on something... it just didn't suit her personality. Simple as that.

'Lily in a bikini?'

Some people might go wild for it, but no matter how she looked at it, there was no way she could parade around like that. She wore this outfit the same as always, too—even soaked through, it didn't cling or ride up.

Unless she completely lost her mind, this personality would probably stick with her for life.

'Though I may have already lost it.'

"Then let's go get something to eat."

"Yesss~"

"Come on, food time!"

"Are you turning on the stream?"

"For a bit? Not for long."

There was something she'd been putting off, after all. A secret weapon of a dish, saved for this very day.

"?"

The chat erupted noisily the instant the stream went live. Lily spent about five minutes panning the camera across the surroundings before turning it to show herself—then the staff standing in a row behind her.

"Ta-da."

"I didn't throw it away. It's just the vacation dress code—we're all dressed alike."

At her words, the editors and managers sitting beside her waved at the camera in unison. In front of them stretched an outdoor beach table prepared by the resort, laden with food and cooking equipment.

An overabundance of dishes, far too large and varied for a mere six people. Lily had only asked them to set out the tools, but they'd refused, generously piling on local specialties and expensive delicacies besides.

Though the main course was still to come.

Everyone glanced over the chat and reacted with odd, self-conscious little expressions. They'd only ever moderated and edited—none of them had actually been on a stream before.

Meanwhile, White Autumn waved her arms frantically, doing her absolute best to court attention.

Lily clapped her hands once—crack!—and drew every eye to her.

Eight in the evening. The sky was finally dimming, and the planned dinnertime had arrived. It was time for the real content to begin.

She reached into her subspace and pulled out two cooking ingredients.

"Anyway, today is, quite literally, a vacation day, so this is just a short stream. Tonight's broadcast is..."

Clack.

"...a cooking stream."

Two massive crimson pincer claws, each twenty times larger than her forearm.

Their proper designation: the twin pincer claws of Crabcrous, Second Prince of the Crab Empire.

"Crab?"

"Crab cuisine!"

"I'm sorry, what?"