Unlike us who just started eating, it seems like they were almost done with their meal.
After chatting with Raven for a bit, Victor seemed ready to leave as he gathered his coat and belongings.
“Time to go, I suppose. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll be taking my leave first. Since we’re staying at the same hotel, I’m sure we’ll meet again… If the opportunity arises, let’s chat more next time.”
Hohoho!
Victor burst into cheerful laughter, clearly having enjoyed the conversation.
Ah, wait a minute. I think I’m getting PTSD from that laugh….
Perhaps because his body is so thick, he doesn’t quite seem human—more like a tiger Beastman.
His overwhelming muscles, visible even through his shirt, rippled with his laughter.
Honestly, it was a bit creepy how his chest muscles seemed alive.
“Our Mr. Victor sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience. Excuse us.”
“Hey, assistant. I didn’t cause any trouble, did I? Are you even listening…?”
“Ah, farewell!”
With that, Victor was dragged out of the restaurant by an expressionless woman, his ear firmly in her grip.
So that’s David’s role in Victor’s group—the capable assistant. She was indeed a beautiful woman.
I quietly watched Victor’s group disappear beyond the door, then returned to munching on the meat on my plate while thinking to myself.
‘Running into Victor here of all places… I never expected this. Luckily, he didn’t recognize me… Right, I should definitely avoid bumping into him if possible.’
Well, our encounter at Night Haven was already months ago.
And back then, I was completely covered with large cloths, so the chance of being recognized was practically zero…
Still, there’s no harm in being extra careful.
If anyone were to discover I’m a Ghost, it would become quite troublesome.
While I was contemplating this, methodically devouring the mountain of meat before me,
Suddenly, something unusual caught my eye—it was Alice.
“Urk, what is that?”
It was an indescribable work of art.
Seafood, meats, vegetables, noodles, bread, desserts…
Every kind of food imaginable was stacked on plates, forming some sort of installation.
The amazing part was that there were no duplicate ingredients in this installation.
And she had managed to balance four of these plates—one on each hand, forearm, and elbow!
Though it looked precarious, it seemed remarkably stable, like some sort of circus act.
David and Raine were at a loss for words at the sight of these unimaginable plates.
Even Raven, usually composed, spoke with an exasperated tone.
“What is that? Isn’t that excessive greed? You’ve basically got one of every dish. And somehow everything fits on those plates.”
“You can only know what’s delicious by trying it yourself, right? That’s why whenever I come to a buffet, I always try to sample one of everything.”
“Incredible…”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Alice approached my side of the table and gently placed her plates down.
Her movements were so smooth and natural that not a single clink of dishes could be heard.
Then, looking at my plate with an amused smile,
She began working her way through her towering pile of food from top to bottom.
The food disappeared into Alice’s mouth as if being sucked into a black hole.
It was an unreal scene, like someone had fast-forwarded time.
It was amazing how she could eat like that without gaining weight. Maybe it all went to her chest?
For reference, Sabrina beside Alice had a perfectly normal French cuisine setup.
Maybe because what came before was so shocking, this ordinary combination felt strangely reassuring.
*
After finishing our rather lively meal,
We returned to our room for now.
Of course, we weren’t returning to rest and end our afternoon plans.
We simply needed to retrieve our swimsuits from our luggage.
That’s right—swimsuits.
We planned to spend the evening playing in the water to our heart’s content.
It was a shame that it wasn’t summer, so we couldn’t enjoy the hotel’s private beach.
Swimming at the beach in this filthy cold winter would be a perfect recipe for freezing to death.
Instead, we intended to visit the indoor pool within Saint Maria Hotel’s premises.
“Hehehe, I had Yuria’s swimsuit custom-made especially for today. You can look forward to it—it’s incredibly cute!”
“…!”
“Oh my, I’m really looking forward to seeing Alice’s swimsuit too. Especially since… your figure is so good.”
“Shouldn’t you be covering up instead? People will only stare at Alice’s chest.”
“Sa, Sabrina? What do you mean by that!”
The women gathered in the large bedroom chatted away while placing various items on the bed.
Basic necessities included the swimsuits themselves, light cover-ups for when not in the water,
Towels for drying off, waterproof bags for our Terminals, oils for skin and hair, etc.
Compared to my simple plan of just bringing a swimsuit, their thorough preparations made me feel quite awkward.
That aside, I never thought the day would come when I’d actually wear a swimsuit.
Thinking that our department store trip was just a week ago, it felt like it arrived surprisingly quickly.
If I strongly resisted and refused to wear it here…
Yeah, Alice would probably look at me with such longing eyes. Just imagining it makes it seem impossible.
There was no choice then. I had to wear it without running away here.
Fortunately, it was a black one-piece style swimsuit with minimal skin exposure, so it wasn’t too psychologically burdensome. That was a relief.
Wait, but wearing a swimsuit means my body would inevitably be revealed. What about the Tesseract?
“Hmm, swimsuits don’t have pockets… I should bring a thin coat. See you later, Tesseract.”
[Okay… see you later, Mama]
Carefully observing the others who were busy packing, I discreetly removed the Tesseract from around my neck and slipped it into my pocket in one swift motion.
Perhaps because we couldn’t properly hear each other’s voices when not in contact,
The pitiful voice of the Tesseract as I removed it from my neck made my heart ache.
But there was nothing to be done about it.
If someone noticed the Tesseract, which clearly didn’t look like an ordinary object, things would get complicated.
Besides, I’d make sure to keep it securely in my coat pocket.
I’d put it back around my neck after swimming. Please don’t be too sad.
“Alright, I’m all set. I’ll go check if the men are ready!”
“Okay. Thank you.”
While I was secretly hiding the Tesseract in my pocket, perhaps Alice had finished preparing.
She left the bedroom to check on Raven and David in the other room.
True to her diligent class representative style, she always rolled up her sleeves first when there was a bothersome task.
Having her around was absolutely beneficial—a very desirable personality.
However, just as I was praising Alice deep in my heart, a loud door slam and a scream came from across the hall.
“Eek! Wh-why are you changing here?! You startled me!”
“No… It’s more convenient to change into our swimsuits here before going. More importantly, knock first—that’s basic etiquette.”
“A-ah… Sorry…. Haaa…”
Curious about what happened, I peeked my head out the door.
There sat Alice, her face bright red, collapsed in front of the door.
Her usually energetic eyebrows now drooped limply.
Apparently, she had carelessly opened the door and witnessed some cosmic truth or something.
Although she doesn’t attend school, she’s certainly of high school student age.
What she accidentally saw must have been quite stimulating for her.
Always dressing provocatively yet being pure in strange ways…
When Alice’s flushed face finally returned to its normal color, we headed toward the indoor pool.
“It’s much bigger than I expected. This place alone could be separated from the hotel and still make a profit.”
“Waa… It’s warm inside despite the cold outside. No worries about catching a cold.”
Saint Maria’s directly operated indoor pool, Aqua Marina, was a massive water park that could accommodate nearly 1,000 people.
The level of facilities was close to top-class, with some guests visiting specifically to use Aqua Marina.
Of course, hotel guests could enter for free.
Moreover, they received premium passes allowing full access to all amenities.
When staying at Saint Maria, not visiting Aqua Marina would feel like a loss.
“Hmm, according to what I’ve seen, during summer when the beach can be used, the external area of Aqua Marina opens for marine leisure activities. Therefore, there are even more visitors during that season…”
“Still, being able to swim comfortably indoors during winter isn’t bad at all. Then, let’s change into our swimsuits and meet back here!”
“Let’s hurry!”
Alice grabbed my hand and Sabrina’s, dashing toward the changing rooms.
How much had she been looking forward to this? It certainly seemed like it would be fun.
Rustle rustle.
Upon reaching the changing room, I took out a black one-piece swimsuit with frills from my small bag.
The shoulders and thighs were quite exposed in the design.
Perhaps because it was designed for children,
Despite the skin exposure, it maintained a cute aesthetic. Should I feel relieved or not?
Over the swimsuit, I wore a windbreaker-like jacket that fully covered my body.
Yes, covering up made me feel a bit better.
As I carefully placed the Tesseract in the inner pocket of my jacket, now changed into my swimsuit,
Sabrina, similarly changed, approached and spoke to me.
“Yuria, are you done changing?”
“…”
I nodded as if fully dressed, making sure to button up my jacket so the swimsuit wouldn’t show.
Turning my head to look at Sabrina, I could clearly see her swimsuit.
She wore a navy top similar to a school swimsuit with short board-shorts style bottoms.
At a glance, her androgynous charm stood out even more.
With a surfboard under her arm, she’d fit the image perfectly.
As I watched her, perhaps Sabrina also observed my appearance.
With a slightly mischievous expression, she chuckled and took a bold step closer.
“Hmph, are you hiding because you’re shy? What swimsuit are you wearing? I’m curious, show me!”
“…!”
“Anyway, you’re not going to keep wearing that jacket forever, right? Hurry up.”
Ugh, persistent little thing. But she wasn’t wrong.
Keeping myself completely covered would defeat the purpose of changing, and I wouldn’t be able to swim either.
With a small sigh, I reluctantly unzipped the jacket all the way down.
The one-piece swimsuit with frills near the chest and thighs became visible.
Sabrina grinned widely, giving a thumbs-up as if to say it was adorable. Thanks for the compliment, really.
“Are both of you changed?”
“Gasp…”
“!!”
However, when Alice approached from the side, both Sabrina and I were startled.
Alice in a bikini that captured both innocence and sexiness… she was truly a force of destruction.
If a young boy accidentally bumped into Alice, he probably wouldn’t sleep that night.
I applauded her awe-inspiring voluptuousness, while Sabrina muttered in a daze.
“A chest monster… Didn’t I say you should cover up?”
“S-stop staring… where are you looking…”
“Are you ready? Let’s go.”
“Ah, seeing Raine calmed me down a bit.”
“…”
“Huh? What do you mean, Sabrina? Why are you nodding in agreement, Yuria?”
Fortunately, Raine had a mature beauty with a slender figure.
Thanks to her, we quickly regained our composure after being overwhelmed by Alice.
Walking human Tsar Bomba versus nuclear fallout shelter.
I felt a bit sorry for Raine.
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