Chapter 9. Boundaries and Walls (3)
Chapter 9. Boundaries and Walls (3)
Come to think of it, I'm the one who got dragged into this, so I don't know why I'm picking out a swimsuit so seriously.
Wondering if I was being swept along by Ria, I looked over at her, and Ria really was picking out a swimsuit with incredible intensity.
No, thinking about it again, Ria was the one who attacked first, wasn't she? Of course, I did refuse her offer to call it a draw in the middle and insist on continuing to look at swimsuits.
"......."
Speaking from my past-life experience, even if someone is wearing clothes that are my type, whether it feels more revealing or not depends on how I treat the other person.
For example.
Even if you go to the beach and see someone in a bikini, it rarely feels like a big deal. Unless it's one of those truly rare outfits you can't take your eyes off, it rarely leaves much of an impression.
Even with outfits other than swimsuits.
But it's different if it's clothes worn by someone I know.
Especially if that girl is pretty, and even more so if the clothes she usually wears barely show any skin.
Theoretically, I already know that Ria is pretty. She was the heroine, and I've seen her myself, so of course.
I also know, for now, that she has a good figure. Even through her somewhat baggy nun's habit, that body of hers had shown clearly from time to time.
But what I felt when I saw the black bikini Ria had worn was a little—no, a lot different from what I usually felt looking at Ria.
Thinking about it again, isn't a bikini actually more revealing than most underwear? Underwear clings to the body and has a lot of fabric here and there to provide proper support, but a bikini is...... well, it was literally a "bikini."
In Ria's case, the space between her breasts was quite openly visible. The bikini itself was just an ordinary bikini, but precisely because it was a "bikini," a disaster occurred.
.......
Hold on.
I stopped my hand, which had been idly rifling through swimsuits, and sank into thought for a moment.
Apart from Ria being flustered after showing that appearance, before putting it on, Ria had definitely said that it was common sense to wear different swimsuits depending on the place.
In this life, I had never been to a pool or the beach, but Ria is a little different. She lived freely before entering the convent.
A novel doesn't depict every single day of its characters' pasts. Other than the truly important story of Ria's mother, or the fact that everything she did in her romance with the protagonist was a first for her, it isn't described in detail, and there's no reason for it to be.
But things like "romance," "kisses," and "experience"—fine, let's set those aside.
Doesn't that mean she might have worn a bikini in front of others at least once? Even if you feel a little shy about it in elementary and middle school, by high school your thinking changes.
"Hey, Ria."
I called out to Ria as I started moving my hands again.
"Hmm?"
Ria answered somewhat distractedly, her eyes blazing as she picked out swimsuits.
I tried my best to keep my voice indifferent as I asked Ria.
"So, does that mean you've been somewhere like the beach?"
"......Huh?"
Ria, who had been picking out swimsuits, lifted her head and looked at me.
"Uh, well, I've been?"
Ria answered slowly, with an expression like she was trying to interpret the meaning of my words.
"Ah, really?"
I lowered my gaze again and said while picking out swimsuits.
"Then, have you worn something like a bikini too? Like you told me."
"......."
Ria was silent for a moment, then,
"I—I've worn one, obviously."
She answered like that.
I wasn't even looking directly at Ria, but my eyes narrowed slightly. I don't really know why.
Something, something about it doesn't sit right with me.
I know I'm not in a position to be jealous. In the first place, it's weird for friends to be jealous over something like that.
Ria would probably hate it if she noticed. She'd find it a bit uncomfortable.
"......Why?"
"It's nothing. I was just thinking that there's a world like that too."
Even if my mood was strange, it was something I couldn't let Ria see.
In the first place, Ria hadn't done anything wrong to me, had she? If anything, she's the one dragging me around, stuck in the convent as I am, trying to show me things.
But even so, somehow, something didn't sit right. Because I thought that other people had seen Ria in a swimsuit before me.
No, even if this is jealousy—isn't it a little strange? It's just a swimsuit. It's not like she dated anyone, it's not a first-love story or anything, it's just a story about wearing a swimsuit and having fun.
In the end, even by the time I grabbed one swimsuit, I hadn't properly sorted out that feeling.
*
Chae-eun had actually never worn a bikini at the beach.
No matter how much work she did outside, Chae-eun was a little wary of getting sunburned, so when picking out swimsuits she usually chose a rash guard. The bottoms weren't much different from a bikini, but the top was like a slightly clingy long-sleeved shirt.
Even that, she only wore at the pool. At the beach—as Anna had said, she would just not bother changing into a swimsuit and would jump in and play with her friends.
Elementary school aside, Chae-eun had attended fairly prestigious girls' schools through middle and high school, so she had no male friends to begin with. So there was never any reason to wear a swimsuit just to show off her figure in front of friends.
In the first place, the friends around her were all either aiming to be Hunters or daughters of Heroes, one or the other, so there were hardly any kids who showed off like that.
Even so, the reason she had insisted on wearing a swimsuit in front of Anna was—
Somehow, just because she wanted to.
That's right. There's no reason.
If she had to pin it down, maybe it was because the longer they spent together, the more she realized that Anna's guard was surprisingly firm.
Anna, "for a nun," lives a fairly dressed-up life. She dyes her hair, and she shortened her nun's habit to show off her figure. The belt below her chest is extremely blatant. Even people who wear somewhat bold clothes outside don't go around wearing a belt like that.
But Anna's "dressing up" ended there.
That is, it meant she never crossed the final boundary of suggestiveness that a nun could display.
Anna minimized even physical contact unless it was necessary, and even while living in the same place, she had done her utmost to hide even things like changing clothes from Ria.
When Ria changed clothes, Anna would look elsewhere.
No matter what anyone said, Anna was a nun.
And, though she couldn't quite understand why, Ria didn't like that.
She had made a tremendous contribution to Anna becoming a Saintess Candidate, and she called herself that knight, but now Chae-eun didn't like it.
She glanced over at Anna, who was picking out a swimsuit without saying much.
Anna was slowly looking around the swimsuits in the shop with a somewhat subdued expression. After asking Chae-eun whether she had ever been to the beach, and after asking whether she had ever worn something like a bikini, Anna had been in that down state the whole time.
Had she made some kind of slip of the tongue?
Still, since Anna was a "nun," was she thinking that Chae-eun had crossed some kind of line?
She felt wronged, but also a little sorry. It was as if that kind of thinking had been completely suppressed inside Anna's head.
"......."
It had been an unavoidable situation, but Chae-eun had stolen Anna's lips. The memory of that moment was still vivid even now. Because it had been Chae-eun's first time too.
In the first place, calling that moment, which was practically CPR, a first kiss was a little ridiculous—but wouldn't the current Anna consider even that a sin?
If she ever found out about it, wouldn't Anna come to resent Chae-eun?
That was a little frightening—
"Ria."
While Chae-eun was picking out a swimsuit in a slightly dazed mood, Anna spoke to her.
"Yeah?"
"Let's go with this one. Your swimsuit, Ria."
"......."
Chae-eun blinked as she looked at Anna.
"Uh, so, this one?"
"Yes. It's red, so I think it'll suit you well."
"......Are you serious?"
Chae-eun asked, looking at Anna with a somewhat serious expression. Anna answered with a grin. The subdued expression from a moment ago had completely vanished, replaced by a competitive face, as if she were issuing some kind of challenge.
Chae-eun looked up at the ceiling for a moment.
......What was I even worrying about? Chae-eun muttered inwardly, then squeezed her eyes shut.
After steadying herself for a few seconds, Chae-eun spoke.
"Fine."
Chae-eun said, looking at Anna with a competitive smile at the corner of her lips, just like Anna's.
"In exchange, you're wearing the swimsuit I pick too, right?"
"Of course."
Anna said, almost glaring at Chae-eun.
"Let's agree to wear what we pick for each other. Definitely."
"Don't regret those words."
The two's gazes collided in midair. The shop owner, who had been watching the two from a little distance, thought she could somehow see sparks flying in that empty air.
And following that thought—
......Is that really a swimsuit that people called nuns are allowed to wear?
Even knowing that this wasn't a thought she should be having as the person selling those swimsuits, the shop owner considered it a little seriously.