Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Hot and Bothered
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As time passed, the weather grew hotter and hotter, making it increasingly tough to spend time at the Academy.
Not because I was doing a lot, but because of the heat.
I'd always been sensitive to heat, so there was nothing I could do about it.
"Ughhh...."
"It's that hot?"
"It's insanely hot...."
That's why I was lying sprawled on the bed in the club room right now, groaning away.
Even without the blanket on, it was just too damn hot.
"Huuuuh...."
"If it's that hot, just stay still at least."
"How am I supposed to stay still in this heat...?"
"You're the one squirming around by yourself nonstop, so of course it feels hotter."
"Hmm... I don't think that's it."
The people in the club room today were Ivana and Grace—admittedly a bit unusual, but we'd gotten used to it over the past few months.
We were just taking it easy as usual.
"For starters, isn't it dumb for the person complaining about the heat to stay in bed? You're touching more surfaces that way."
"Oh.... I never expected Grace to say something that smart."
"Hah!?"
Grace, making such an intelligent point.
I was honestly pretty shocked.
She'd been spouting old-folks advice like "just stay still," but now this normal, sensible suggestion....
I seriously widened my eyes and stared at her for a second.
"It's not even that hot to begin with. Why are you making such a fuss when we've unbuttoned and opened all the windows?"
"I told you, it really is hot."
"It's not."
Watching Grace keep insisting that to me made me think once again that I must be especially weak to heat.
It also reminded me that Karen wasn't all that sensitive to it either.
Even in early summer, she'd been wandering around in sweaters.
Maybe the Rosaki sisters just weren't prone to heat in general.
"And look, Ivana's been fanning herself the whole time too."
That's why I pointed at Ivana, who was fanning herself alone, to show Grace I wasn't the only one.
I'd been complaining about the heat a lot, but Ivana had been doing it too.
"Why are you picking on me only?"
"...The Nordal Lady's staying quiet. Unlike you, she's not squirming around or groaning nonstop."
"Hing."
"What 'hing'...."
Well, she wasn't wrong.
Unlike the quiet Ivana, I'd been whining about the heat nonstop since earlier.
But hey, hot is hot.
It was even worse without Ashley's air conditioning magic like back at the mansion.
"Haa...."
If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've properly learned that air conditioning spell from Ashley.
Last summer when I first learned about it, my skills weren't up to par, but now I felt confident I could pull it off.
"If it's that hot.... Well. Take off your clothes or something."
"Pardon?"
"The windows are open, we've had cold drinks. What else is there?"
"Uh.... Um........ Yeah, I guess?"
It came out of nowhere.
I hadn't expected Grace of all people to say something like that, so I hesitated without thinking.
She did say weird stuff occasionally....
But something this radical? No way I'd seen that coming.
"But isn't stripping here a bit much? It's not just us—Ivana and Grace are here too."
"We're all girls anyway, so who cares? Plus, you've got something on under your shirt."
"Uh...."
Hmm....
How was I supposed to explain this?
What reaction should I even have in this situation?
I ended up just sitting on the bed, staring at Grace in disbelief.
Was I supposed to see this as innocent?
"Um.... Even so, that's a bit much."
Yeah, stripping was still a stretch, no matter what.
I'd already undone quite a few shirt buttons, but that was different.
"Even so, taking off clothes is a bit much."
"Hmm...."
"For starters, we're not close enough to be flashing skin like that."
It had nothing to do with how friendly we'd gotten.
Sure, I could strip easily in front of Lize, but this was the Academy.
And aside from Lize and Rozalin, I'd never shown anyone my bare body.
"Besides, Grace probably doesn't want to see my body that badly, right?"
"What?"
"There's no need to show off our bodies to each other as girls, you know? We're not at that level anyway."
I'd always had more hang-ups about this stuff than other girls, so it was a hard no.
If I were a normal girl, maybe I'd laugh it off as a joke or even actually do it...?
"No, but you've got something under your shirt. So it should be fine."
"I don't."
"...What?"
"...Oh. You didn't know?"
Oh.
Yeah... she didn't know, huh?
I'd never mentioned it, and most people wear something under their shirts anyway.
So it made sense she wouldn't have guessed.
"There's nothing under my shirt. Well, technically I have underwear on."
"Ah, no... uh...."
"It's just so hot. Wearing anything extra under the shirt like usual is... too much."
"I... didn't know...."
Fair enough.
I hadn't said anything, and yeah, people usually wear something underneath.
Plus, I'd chosen white underwear today, which blended right in.
"S-Sorry. You kept whining about the heat, so I figured you were being annoying...."
"No, it's fine. That could've happened to anyone."
.......
After I told her I wasn't wearing anything under my shirt, Grace's reactions got super cute.
Way more subdued than her usual prickly attitude.
She really seemed clueless, so I didn't mind—and honestly, I hadn't minded before either.
"Pfft...."
Her fidgeting and glancing my way ever since was so unlike her usual self... it was honestly hilarious.
I even felt like teasing her without realizing it.
"...Why?"
As soon as that thought hit, I slowly slid off the bed.
I'd planned to keep rolling around complaining about the heat, but Grace's reactions were too fun.
The second I saw them, I just wanted to mess with her.
"So if it's that hot, I should just take off my clothes?"
"No... I mean.... I didn't know...?"
"Grace has a dirtier mind than I thought."
"Dirty!?"
Yep, reactions already gold.
I'd just gotten close and teased her a bit, and her face was already flushing.
Totally different from her usual demeanor.
"I never thought you'd tell someone sweating from the heat to strip."
I said it while closing in even more.
The bed and table weren't that far apart, so getting right up to Grace was easy.
She was probably thinking I was pissed, that I was super annoyed right now...?
"Are you mad...? Why are you coming closer...."
"Like this...."
Click.
I undid one more button.
I'd already opened the ones at the collar, but now I went a bit lower, one by one.
"Huh...?"
"If it's hot, don't wear clothes."
"Hey, why are you suddenly undoing buttons...?"
"Because Grace told me to? I'm just doing what Grace said."
As I slowly undid them, Grace started staring at me in total panic.
I figured she was overreacting for same-sex friends.
Probably more flustered than embarrassed....
Anyway, I undid the ones down to my chest.
All the way to the ones over my stomach below it.
"N-Ngh...."
"Why are you embarrassed? Grace is the one who told me to."
"Because your skin's all showing...!"
"We're all girls. Why? Is there something wrong with my body?"
I parroted her earlier words right back.
Her cheeks weren't just red—her ears were too, and it was cuter than expected, so I wanted to tease more.
Ivana was sitting on the other side of her, but teasing Grace was way more fun.
"How is it? My body."
"Even if you say that...."
"Is it weird? Ugly?"
"No, that's not it...."
I knew my body was pretty, but I asked anyway.
Got to watch her cute reaction again—totally worth it.
"Should I just drape the shirt over myself like this in the club room from now on? Grace was right, it really is cooler."
"Even so, that's a bit...."
"But Grace is the one who suggested it. Why?"
"Sorry...."
"It's fine. Why's Grace apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong."
"Ngh...."
Every step closer got an instant reaction.
The way she'd been avoiding looking at my body, covering her eyes with her hand since earlier.
It was all too amusing.
I'd only undone the buttons while still in my underwear—nothing crazy—but she was acting so shy.
Sure, my cleavage had grown a bit since last year, and my pale stomach was showing.
"Hehe.... Should I stop?"
"...Yeah, my bad."
Grace's reactions were nothing like her usual self.
No more prickly cat vibes—just quiet nods, which was actually nice to see.
I'd ended up exposing a bit in front of her, showing some bare skin.
But it was just a glimpse of stomach and cleavage, so no big deal.
I'd worn swimsuits around other girls before, after all.
"Pfft...."
It hit me how much I'd changed from my younger self in various ways.
For one, showing my body to other girls didn't faze me anymore.
And unlike my childhood days blushing at Rozalin's every touch, I barely felt shy about skinship now...?
.......
Anyway, after climbing back into bed, we just killed time normally in the club room.
Everyone reading books or studying or whatever.
Of course, there were moments like quietly glossing over Grace sneaking peeks at me, or noticing Ivana's face a tad redder than usual.