Summer Break Means the Beach! (1)
“Aren! I’m back!”
The next morning, Tiabel—who’d rushed back on an early dawn carriage—greeted Aren with booming energy. She was pretty worn out from the breakneck schedule, but the instant she laid eyes on him, her fatigue seemed to melt away like snow under the sun.
“Long time no see, miss. Did you have a good visit with Lady Camilla?”
“Uh, yeah. I did.”
Tiabel tried to play it cool, but she faltered for a second. The conversation she’d had with her mother Camilla back home suddenly flashed in her mind.
—Tia, any troubles at the academy?
—Yeah… Lately, Aren’s been surrounded by a bunch of girls getting close to him…
—Close girls, huh. That’s bound to make you uneasy.
Her mother, who had a rough idea of Tiabel’s feelings, prompted her to spill her heart out honestly.
—Have you been through something like that too, Mom?
—Of course. Your dad was pretty popular back in the day.
—So what did you do? Any secrets to winning his heart…!
—Simple. I knocked him down.
—…Huh?
And Camilla’s solution to her daughter’s dilemma was so her. Tiabel had to double-check if she’d heard right.
—Not like I raped him, of course. The key is to make him aware of you—even if you have to be a bit bold.
—Aware…
—You’ve got to show him you’re different from the ordinary girls around him. You’re already special to Aren, sure—but you know it’s not as a woman, right?
—…Yeah.
—So sometimes, you need to make him aware. Women need that boldness. Especially when love’s the goal.
Tiabel nodded firmly, recalling her mother’s advice. Remembering it now made it even harder to face Aren directly, but she was convinced this was a trial she had to overcome herself.
“You went home, so now you’re diving into research, right?”
“Ah, about that…”
She hit her first roadblock and awkwardly averted her gaze. The original plan was to hole up in her workshop after the visit and push forward with her studies. She had a paper in the works, and summer break was piled high with tasks.
But there was something even more important—a once-in-a-lifetime matter—still hanging over Tiabel.
Come on, say it, Tiabel Roze Tail. It’s summer break—your big chance!
Psyching herself up inwardly, she steeled her resolve.
Summer break. The perfect time for youthful sparkle and the budding of fresh romance. This time, she’d take the lead—a woman making a bold date invitation.
“Y’know, it feels kinda wasteful to just research the whole time! Why, it’s summer break, after all?”
“True enough.”
“So how about we hit up a resort or the beach for this chance? Y’know, I’ve hardly ever seen the sea…”
The more she spoke, the more it sounded like a string of excuses, but Tiabel pushed on, convinced it was all groundwork for the greater good.
“S-so, Aren… how about you and me this time…”
“Oh, perfect timing then.”
“…Huh?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing to propose a cozy beach date, when he cut in with a bright expression. Tiabel’s eyes flew wide.
Perfect timing—what did that mean?
“Siel sunbae actually said I could use her family’s beach villa. I was gonna ask if you wanted to go, miss, but figured you’d be swamped with research.”
“B-beach? Villa?”
What was this out-of-the-blue bombshell? Did that mean Aren had been thinking the exact same thing she was about to suggest? A miracle from the heavens! This was fate crossing paths, no doubt about it. He must want to spend his free time with her too.
One tiny snag, though.
“So Siel sunbae’s coming along too?”
It was Siel’s offer, after all. If they were going at her invitation, wouldn’t the villa’s owner tag along? Tiabel, craving some intimate alone time, felt a slight pang of regret.
“Nah, she said she’s too busy.”
“Really?!”
The gods must be rooting for her hard. Who’d have thought Siel wouldn’t join—the ideal setup!
Thanks, Balshutain sunbae!
Tiabel had figured Siel had a bit of a thing for Aren, but apparently she was playing wingwoman here. Tiabel mentally apologized for her poor judgment and sent silent thanks to the absent Siel.
“If that’s the case, count me in! I wanna go so bad!”
“Glad to hear it. You must be tired today, miss, so let’s head out tomorrow.”
“Yeah!”
Tonight, sleep would be a lost cause with all the excitement.
＊
“W-wow, what a beautiful sea…!”
“We’re really okay to come along? This villa’s way too fancy.”
The next day, we arrived at Siel sunbae’s loaned villa, greeted by emerald waves crashing on the shore. Yubelia and Lena stood waiting there.
“Siel sunbae said to bring as many friends as I want, so it’s fine. I was looking to pay back that practical exam debt anyway—perfect timing.”
“No need to worry about it.”
“I’m worrying, dude.”
Just accept the kindness gracefully. Man, Lena’s got this subtle scholar vibe sometimes.
“A beach for just the two of us… intimate time…”
Speaking of which, what was the miss doing way back there? She’d barely seen the sea in her life, so maybe she was overcome. Good call bringing her, then.
“Miss, what’re you doing over there? Come on, check out the sea already.”
“Yeah… I kinda figured… It was going too perfectly. I’m the idiot here. Yeah…”
“……?”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her along, but she trailed behind like a sun-dried potato on a clothesline, mumbling nonstop. Maybe lingering carriage sickness? Weird she’d get it now, when she never had before.
“Thanks so much for the great suggestion, Aren.”
“No biggie. Just mentioned it since we bumped into each other.”
I’d originally planned to ask Silvena, but she’d gone home to discuss recent events with her mom. With no one else to invite, Lena from graduation day popped into mind. Tracked her down, and get this—Yubelia was wandering the academy with her. Casual invite, and they both bit. Well, Lena tried to bail, but Yubelia basically dragged her.
Perfect, since I needed Yubelia’s help anyway.
After learning from Siel sunbae that the Silence Followers were the Holy Kingdom’s top enemies, I’d been looking for Yubelia. Talk about lucky timing.
“Alright, change into swimsuits and meet back here.”
“Yes! I was so excited yesterday, I went out and bought new ones with Lena.”
“Soon as you said it, the saintess grabbed my hand and hauled me to the shops. She was hyped.”
“Lena, I told you—call me Yubelia, not saintess.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
Looks like those two got pretty tight. Shopping solo together? After surviving that practical exam hell as a trio, of course they did. Lena still seemed a bit standoffish calling her saintess, but Yubelia clearly wanted to get closer. She always griped about having no real friends whenever we met.
Nice—she’s got a solid buddy now. Anyway, I was itching to hit the water. Never been to the sea since coming to this world. Summer’s all about the beach, right?
＊
Heading back out after changing into swimsuits. There was Lena, blankly staring at the sea from the threshold linking the villa to the beach. The other two were already down there frolicking on the sand, so what was she doing solo?
“What, waiting for me? You could’ve gone ahead.”
I tossed a casual line, and she turned. Her navy hair and eyes caught the sunlight, gleaming brighter than usual.
“Nah, just cooling off with a quick dip.”
“Explains why you’re wet. Swimsuit looks good on you, by the way.”
“Thanks. But you’re bundled up tight—didn’t expect that from you. Thought you’d go more casual.”
She eyed my T-shirt over the top and thin jacket, murmuring curiously. Like anyone wants to dress like this in this heat. Yesterday the miss came back from somewhere and shoved this whole outfit at me, saying, “If you don’t wear this tomorrow, you’re not stepping foot on that beach!” Hence the getup. Back in my old life, girls didn’t even cover up this much at the beach.
“Miss’s overprotectiveness, that’s what. I was just gonna do trunks.”
“That’d be ethically dicey. Plus, Yubelia’d faint on the spot.”
“Why would Yubelia faint?”
“…Never mind.”
Speak up or don’t—don’t leave a guy hanging. Anyway, she’s got killer visuals up close. Sleek and athletic, healthy vibe. Total opposite of our saintess over there bouncing around with her twin watermelons. Like a fashion mag model—slender beauty type.
“That the swimsuit you and Yubelia bought?”
“Yeah. I was gonna use the academy’s standard issue, but she said it’d suit me and bought it herself.”
“Looks great. Well, with your base looks, anything’d work.”
“……”
No girl hates a compliment—figured it held even in this gender-flipped world. But Lena just stared at me.
“Serious advice: don’t toss lines like that at girls. Women aren’t simple creatures like men.”
“…Outta nowhere?”
She launched into a sudden lecture on innate differences between men and women. Women aren’t simple? That line hit me with major disconnect.