Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Back at the Academy
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Time spent at the mansion flew by much faster, and naturally, I ended up returning to the academy.
The academy I returned to after the vacation that had given me all sorts of realizations and so much to mull over.
"Yawn..."
"Already sleeping on the first day?"
"I stayed up late last night playing around with Lize."
Well, nothing special.
Ella, whom I hadn't seen in just over a month, still had that cute look about her.
And the rest of my other friends were still the beautiful girls right up my alley.
There really wasn't much difference.
"You must've just lounged around at the mansion the whole vacation again, huh?"
"Hmm... I did spend a lot of time at the mansion. But it doesn't feel like I was just playing around."
At my response, Ella shot back as if telling me not to spout nonsense.
She seemed to think I'd spent this vacation just like all the previous ones.
Which wasn't entirely untrue.
But... separate from just passing the time playing, it had been a vacation full of worries.
In fact, even Ella, sitting right next to me, didn't quite look like the Ella from long ago.
"Hmm."
"What's up? Something on my face?"
"Just... seeing you after so long. You don't seem any different from before vacation started. I feel like I've grown a bit taller, but you don't seem to have at all."
"What!?"
Of course, Ella's reaction was still cute.
But even watching that, whereas before it was just an impression of cuteness...
Now it was something else...
"Pfft..."
...Vacation had definitely changed me in various ways.
Before vacation, I hadn't given much thought to hanging out glued to my academy friends.
It had been on the level of no different from lying in bed with Lize and hugging her like a pillow.
But now, they were all clearly perceived as the opposite sex, not just simple friends.
"How was your vacation...?"
"Ah, Grace. It's been forever. Hope you've been well?"
"Of course I have! You think I wouldn't?"
Grace, showing up first thing in the morning to poke at me, was a sight for sore eyes.
Ella was someone I hadn't seen in a while too, but Grace gave off a vibe of having matured just a tiny bit.
Probably because, like her older sister Karen, Grace definitely had room to grow.
That might be why.
Of course, Karen had been impressive in that department from the first time we met.
"What? You're giving me some weird look."
"Pfft... Am I?"
"So. Did you have a good vacation?"
"I did. Personally, I wanted to go to Melnik and hang out with you and Older Sister Karen. But the family time after so long was just too fun."
It wasn't a lie, right?
I hadn't seen William at all during vacation, but I'd spent tons of time with Rozalin.
There were the drinking sessions with Rozalin, but before and after those, we'd spent a real lot of time together.
"Well... if that's the case, then good."
"Hehe, by the way, did Older Sister Karen do well in her classes this time? You said she was taking lessons at the family estate during vacation. You seem to know, Grace."
"She did fine. My sister's no idiot to begin with, and she's way better at studying than me."
"That's true."
In reality, Karen was pretty smart.
Her personality was just so introverted and quiet that she'd had little interaction with others since childhood.
Because of that, Grace had become the Rosaki family's public face from a young age, and ended up in a position like the next family head.
But Karen still had a chance at becoming family head, and even aside from that, she could naturally hold a key position in the family.
Anyway, chatting like that, we waited for the academy's first class.
I needed to catch up with Ivana and Karen too, but both of them were the type to sit quietly at their seats in the morning preparing for class.
I thought about saying something to Ivana since she was in the same class... but seeing her diligently prepping up front, I left her be.
"Hmm..."
Well, meeting my friends after so long felt good, good.
They were all pretty and cute without exception, so how could it not?
They were still underage beauties... but that didn't mean they had zero appeal, right?
"Pfft..."
My way of thinking really had changed from before vacation—it was ridiculous.
*
The academy semester started up again, but nothing had really changed.
The class content was still stuff I already knew, sleeping through lessons, hanging out with friends in the club room.
Just the usual routine.
"Um... Camellia?"
"Yes, Sister? What's up?"
Today too, I was just comfortably lying on the bed in the club room with Karen, passing the time.
No need to sit up reading a book, and I was bored anyway.
So, lying with Karen, reading a book together with her beside me.
Just like that.
"N-No, it's nothing..."
"By the way, this book's pretty fun. I heard it's been popular lately. Definitely bestseller material."
"Yeah... it seems so..."
Chatting about the book, I glanced at Karen lying next to me.
She still had that signature long hair hanging forward, but damn, she was pretty.
Even though she was three years older than me, was it because her figure was just that good?
"Hmm..."
"Why...?"
"Sister, you seem taller after vacation."
"Do I...? I don't think I've grown..."
"No, you have. A bit taller for sure."
It just felt that way.
Not a huge change, but definitely taller than before vacation.
"I grew a little too, but compared to before vacation, it doesn't feel like much difference."
From my perspective, where I'd been steadily growing since the first semester, it didn't seem different.
Naturally, Karen had grown more too.
To begin with, Karen was tall compared to the other friends.
Unlike Grace, Ella, and me, Karen was around 170cm, above average height for a woman.
Of course, about the same height as Lize, but she didn't give off the same vibe as Lize at all.
"Hmm..."
"Wh-Why...?"
"Hmm..."
Yeah, definitely a different Karen from Lize.
You could tell just from lying together on the bed.
Lize's body overall gave a slender, elongated impression along with her height.
Her proportions actually felt that way, like a gymnast's physique—that kind of thought.
But unlike Lize, Karen's body was violent in various ways.
Her chest was big like Ashley's, and the term "violent figure" suited Karen perfectly.
"Will Grace grow up like Sister someday?"
"No idea."
"Hehe, yeah. Even when Grace becomes an adult, I doubt she'll be as tall as you, Older Sister Karen."
Karen had had a great figure since childhood.
No matter how much Grace grew, she wouldn't reach Karen's level.
"But Camellia...? You've seemed closer to Grace even before vacation..."
"Huh?"
"I-I'm not saying anything bad...! I was just wondering when you two got so close..."
"Ah."
True, right before vacation started... around finals season, we'd gotten much closer.
No particular reason, just how it happened.
It was just that menstruation and something else overlapped, leading to it.
"We just kept hanging out in the same club room and classroom, so we naturally got friendly?"
"Ah..."
"To begin with, she's your little sister. No reason not to get along with her. If anything, being on bad terms with your sister would be weird, right?"
"That's true..."
Actually, at first it was Grace wary of me more than anything, but now it was no issue.
From Grace's side, no need to be on bad terms with someone close to her sister.
I'd never thought badly of Grace from the start anyway.
Just gave off vibes of a pretty little sister who adored her big sis but didn't listen well?
A bit more sharp-tongued than Ella back when we first met, but now it was just amusing.
"...Yeah."
"But aren't I closer to you than Grace, Older Sister Karen?"
"You think so...?"
"Of course. I've known you longer to begin with, and I haven't really traveled with Grace, have I?"
"Ah..."
In fact, I'd never lain on the same bed reading with Grace like this.
In various ways, still less close to her than Karen.
If anything, about as close as with Ivana?
"Now that I think about it, this is your last year at the academy, right, Sister?"
"Yeah?"
"It'd be nice to all go somewhere fun together during winter break this time. Once you graduate, we won't get to meet as often until we graduate."
Anyway, we spent time like that chatting with Karen.
It felt different in various ways from hugging Lize like a pillow to sleep, but more than that, Karen's reactions during our talks were fun.
About midway, we ended up chatting about stuff not even related to the book?
"Then this semester, you'll be talking a lot with Lady Ivana, huh..."
"Well, probably? Better to start the business sooner than later, right?"
"It's unavoidable... Plus, as family head... Camellia is amazing at that stuff. It'll definitely help..."
"Hehe, right? Since Lady Ivana asked me personally. Guess I should properly help her out this semester?"
"...Yeah."
During our chat, there were moments when Karen seemed in a bit of a sour mood.
I didn't say anything to her... but from the feel alone, I could tell why she reacted that way.
Mostly when talk turned to the other girls.
Whenever I brought them up, she'd look a little down...
"Hmm...?"