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Chapter 63 – Part 1

「Wow!!!」An exclamation of sheer wonder rang out from where we were on the white, sandy beach.

Once we were done browsing the various shops meant for nobles, Fatima and the other servants led the way to the sea. Selina, who had never seen the sea, let out a shout that encompassed her overwhelming surprise and joy.

As for Christina and Nell, they had both been to the seaside countless times. With such experiences, they were certainly less excited than Selina.

「Heh, it was worth it to invite you guys over if that’s how happy she is. Hm… But Ms. Vaje doesn’t seem to be having fun…」This matter seemed to be the only regret hanging on Fatima’s mind as she looked toward Vaje, who was standing a distance from us.

「Fumu… Vaje has a fire affinity. It’s natural that she feels a little out of place near the sea. That’s probably why she seems so upset to us. Though, she didn’t say anything about her fire affinity and came along with us. That means she isn’t that ticked off. She’ll likely be willing to play in the sand or board a boat with us.」

「Really?」

「Yeah. I guarantee it.」

No matter how reluctant Vaje was, she would probably give in if I asked her. At least that was what I thought. If we continued pressing on, there was a chance that she would slowly lower her guard around us in no time.

「Vaje, stop glaring at the sea like it’s your mortal enemy. Come one, relax your jaw a little. Make it a little softer and slacker.」

Vaje shifted her death glare from the sea to me and then snorted bluntly. This single huff or scoff from Vaje was akin to my contemplative “fumu”. It was nothing more than a habit.

Even though Vaje tended to let out a loud snort from her nose, it hardly meant that she was in a bad mood. However, Vaje also had a terrible temper. So, it was also common for her to be feeling upset. Rather, it was rare for her to be in a good mood.

「Your face is so slack because you have no restraint. Have some self-awareness about how horrendous you look.」

「Fumu, that’s quite a prickly answer. Hey, Vaje, I’ve probably never seen you smiling in person. I’m sure you look gorgeous when you’re smiling. How about ditching that stern look sometimes and laughing for me?」

Upon hearing my request, Vaje whipped her head around and returned to staring at the sea. Her tail, which had been swishing from side to side, changed its direction. Right now, it swayed up and down instead. Under her fluttering red hair, her ears peeked out. For some reason, they were tinted red.

This girl… She’s just shy, isn’t she? What a cute young lady…

I wanted to see how Vaje was like if she was a little more honest, but she was still charming as she was right now.

「Sh-Shut up. Obviously, I’m not going to take whatever you say seriously.」

「What? Why are you saying such mean things? If you say that, I won’t come to play with you anymore.」

「H-Humph. F-Feels great that I don’t have to see your face anymore.」

「I’ll feel terribly lonely if I don’t get to see you, Vaje.」

「W-What… I-Is that so?」

Oh…

I realized that Vaje’s tail curled up at its end when she felt uncertain. Perhaps one day, Vaje would finally realize that her body reflected her feelings honestly.

As I was teasing Vaje, Fatima, Selina, and the others were making quite the ruckus as they played with the waves and sand barefooted.

「Hahaha! It’s so cold! It feels amazing! I wish Dran could quickly come over!」

I took off my shoes and walked over toward the crashing waves. With each step, my feet dug into the burning sand that had been baking under the sun. The sand was truly quite hot.

As we responded to the sea in each of our own ways, a head peeked out of the house built along the seaside. It was Fatima who had retreated into the house. She looked over at us and hollered.

Fumu… Isn’t it too brazen for educators or servants to be berating others? Or is this just a family that isn’t strict when it comes to propriety?

「Everyone, come over here! We have swimsuits prepared for you!」

In this era and this region, playing by the sea often meant playing with sand, rowing boats, and picking shells. Besides these activities, one could also put on a water-resistant piece of small leather or cloth and swim in the sea.

There were attires that covered one from the neck down to one’s thighs. On the other hand, there were also skimpier ones that only covered the chest and crotch areas. One’s stomach would be left exposed. There were also a variety of other types, like those that would cover one’s chest, abdomen, and crotch, as well as ones that would only be a piece of cloth being draped over one’s body.

「Vaje, aren’t you coming?」

「Clothes don’t make sense to me. Besides, I don’t plan on entering the sea. You guys can just scurry off quickly.」

Vaje’s explanation made sense. Her clothes were made of her skin and scales. She could make whatever clothes she wanted. A piece of swimsuit was meaningless to her.

We had to leave Vaje behind, though that was probably fine. She was a proper adult anyway. There was no risk of her getting lost no matter where she went. Rather, I started wondering if I had been mistakenly treating her like a child instead.

Men’s swimsuits were mostly just a cover over the crotch area. One could either wear a shirt or leave one’s upper body exposed. Compared to the swimsuits for women, they were relatively cheaper as well due to the lesser use of fabric.

The swimsuit in the shape of an inverted triangle was a little racy and embarrassing. I could not find it in myself to push my limits for it. In the end, I went with a dark blue, knee-length swimsuit.

As for the girls, their changing time was obviously much longer. I was prepared to wait and planned to chat with Vaje to pass the time. After I told the spectacled butler I was leaving, I headed down to where Vaje was.

As I wondered if Vaje was still glaring at the sea, I opened the front door and peeked out. The first thing that came into sight was Vaje’s fleshy and well-rounded buttocks, as well as her crimson-scaled tail that extended out. It was a familiar sight that had not changed.

Vaje’s buttocks and tail were the same as usual, though something else had changed.

It was a little hard to tell from the back, but it seemed like Vaje had changed her clothes.

Vaje’s clothes used to have her navel exposed with a deep cleavage revealing a large portion of her breasts. Her skirt used to be so short that her thighs were fully exposed up to her hips. That had been a pretty pleasing look, though her skirt seemed to have turned even shorter.

「Fumu…」I let out a habitual hum in surprise.

I left footprints in the sand as I walked over and passed around her. With that, I came face to face with the grumpy expression of a young lady with a rough temper.

Vaje had her arms crossed as she stared fixedly at the sea, just as she had done earlier. However, it seemed like my guess was right. While we were changing, Vaje had changed her appearance too.

Vaje’s usual light pink clothes were thin and radical enough. However, she had taken her dressing to a whole new level of sensational. In the same light pink, there were only small triangle cloths holding down her breasts. From the looks of it, her breasts were almost overflowing from the cloths.

If she moved in the slightest, everything would be exposed. It was an extremely bold piece of swimsuit that Vaje had chosen.

Vaje glared at me as she crossed her arms even more tightly, causing her breasts to be pushed up even more. It sure was quite the sight to behold.

「Aren’t those girls done with changing yet?」

「They’re different from you, who’s fine with just changing your body as you wish. Don’t be so impatient.」

「Humph. How about teaching them about such things? Your relationship won’t get worse in any way.」

「It’ll be worthwhile for a man to let girls take as much time as they want to prepare at times like this. Besides, a man who can wait is a dependable one.」

「You’re really a fool, aren’t you? Humph, well, that has nothing to do with me anyway.」

「Fumu, as stern as ever. Though, there are very few people around me who would tell me such things. I find your opinions very valuable. By the way, Vaje, about this swimsuit…」

「Humph, humans tend to wear such things when they are in this place. That’s why I did the same. You’re the one nagging about having to obey human customs in places where humans live. I’m just following whatever you said…」

「You look great in it.」

The moment I said that, Vaje instantly closed her mouth despite seeming like she wanted to say more. Her tail shot up straight and stiffened like she had been electrocuted.

Fumu, seems pretty effective. I think I’ve gotten the hang of dealing with Vaje recently. 

「Following whatever you said… Really?」

「Yeah. As with your dragon appearance, your dragonian form makes your strikingly attractive limbs even more prominent. Though, this look might be a little too overwhelming.」

「Sh-Shut up. I just changed into this look to follow human customs. That’s all. I’ve already made a great concession!」

Vaje lowered her head and fell silent. At that moment, Fatima and the others had finally finished changing and came out.

「Dran, everyone’s finished changing!」

「Fumu, you guys finished faster than I expected.」

I turned back at Fatima’s call and saw the girls who had changed into their respective swimsuits.

It seemed like it had been hard to procure a swimsuit for Selina, whose lower body was a snake. Hence, she had an orange cloth wrapped around her waist and a crocheted cloth covering her breasts. Despite all the trouble, she had still decided to come to play with everyone in the sea. That was enough to make her appear a hundred times cuter than usual.

Of course, I thought the same about the rest.

As for Fatima, she had an orange dress-like attire on. A long cloth draped down from around her breasts. Though, it was hard to fathom how this would make for a swimsuit.

Irina was someone who was shy and a little lacking in self-confidence. Hence, she had a green halter neck dress with white lines on it in a checkered pattern. In addition to this dress, she donned a summer sweater too.

On the other hand, Lenia’s swimsuit had probably been chosen by Fatima and Irina. After all, this girl had probably never seen swimsuits before. Her swimsuit had frills around her waist and shoulders, while her neck, cleavage, and back were exposed quite explicitly.

Only Irina’s breasts seemed strikingly voluptuous to the eye. Fatima, Lenia, and the rest looked just like adorably younger sisters or daughters in my eyes.

Christina was also done with changing and her swimsuit caught me by surprise. Only her breasts and crotch area had been covered with this revealing design, though the white swimsuit did seem easy to move about in.

I started worrying about whether her swimsuit would turn see-through once it got wet, though I soon dispelled these anxieties. There were surely design considerations in place to prevent such a situation.

From the looks of Christina’s attire, she did not seem to be planning on entering the sea. After all, she was wearing a thin cardigan over her swimsuit and a wide-brimmed straw hat.

Nell’s swimsuit choice made me wonder if she had also been conscious about choosing something easy to move about in. She had changed into a blue swimsuit that revealed her limbs fully. As a result, her bare skin—which had never been revealed to the boys at the Magic Academy—was completely exposed.

The fair skins of these two girls almost seemed transparent to the eye. As I looked at them, it was hard not to worry that they would be burnt under the sun. However, upon closer scrutiny, I noticed that everyone’s skin seemed glossy, as though they had applied an ointment to prevent sunburns.

「This is really too darn thrilling. Zenon and the rest are sure to explode in fury at me.」

If my classmates at the Magic Academy were looking at this sight right now, they would definitely collapse on the spot or even reach Nirvana.

「Mm. That’s a body expected of someone who trains every day.」

Nell let out a proud snort as she stuck her hands at her waist and pumped up her chest to display her body to me. Her daily training had sculpted her lean and slightly muscular limbs, which I had praised in affirmation of Nell’s efforts. However, I could only wonder curiously as to how she would reply.

「Hee hee. Thanks. I’m happy you’re praising me, though it won’t do you any good to flatter girls too much, Dran.」

Even as I heard this strange reply from Nell, Christina started giggling shyly as she glanced over at me.

「That’s a pointless piece of advice. A guy who doesn’t show any reaction before such gorgeous women and young ladies has probably lost all his desires as a man and no longer has any interest in the opposite sex. Even I have urges like all other people.」

To be more precise, I was referring to physical desires. On the contrary, I barely yearned for much when it came to psychological needs.

「You’re still young, but you sound so old. Now, I’m not sure if I should be relieved or worried for my own safety.」