Having finished getting ready and stepping out of the changing room, Raven and David were near the entrance.
Staring off into the distance like that, they were probably waiting for us.
Neither of them seemed particularly interested in swimsuits, wearing simple trunks you’d see anywhere.
The kind you’d definitely spot at least once walking around a beach or pool.
But maybe because they’re both tall and clearly well-built,
they gave off an impressive vibe that felt a bit extraordinary. Kinda cool actually.
“Mr. Jin! We’re here!”
“Ah, finally. What took you so long? We’ve been waiting forever.”
“Hahaha… sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Tsk, just don’t do it again. Let’s go already. This place is so noisy my ears are tired.”
Alice approached with a raised hand, awkwardly rubbing her neck in apology to Raven’s rebuke.
Truthfully, we’d been late admiring each other’s swimsuits and chatting. No excuses for that.
But honestly, it was hard to resist. Everyone looked amazing in their unique swimsuit styles.
And when you start tossing out comments about each one, time just slips away naturally.
Still, perhaps thanks to Alice genuinely apologizing rather than being cheeky,
Raven accepted her apology, scratching his head dismissively as if to say sorry was enough.
Nodding in understanding, Alice suddenly seemed curious about something.
Unzipping her parka down, she innocently asked,
“Oh, Mr. Jin. How’s my swimsuit? Cute, right? I bought this with Yuria last time!”
“…Uh, yeah. It’s cute. Suits you well, kid.”
“What’s with that reaction? Do guys not like it? Why are you avoiding eye contact?”
Splash. The impact of lowering her parka made Alice’s exposed skin jiggle momentarily.
Perhaps the visual impact was dizzying. Raven averted his gaze as if distracted.
Probably because she’s usually hidden under thick, stiff kimono.
For Raven, who doesn’t see Alice as a woman, this must’ve been quite uncomfortable.
Like an older brother seeing his usually close younger sister in a sexy outfit.
It was impressive how Raven maintained composure facing such a ‘friendship killer.’
‘Well… nothing would’ve happened even if I left them alone. Poor Raven though.’
After exchanging glances with Sabrina, I approached Alice and took her hand.
I held her right hand while Sabrina took the left. Perhaps due to having both hands restrained,
Alice had no choice but to follow us toward the pool.
Personally, I supported Alice and Raven becoming closer eventually.
Honestly, there wasn’t a more suitable pairing in the original work.
But it wasn’t time yet. That should wait until more romantic flags are raised.
Alice tilted her head curiously at suddenly being grabbed and led away.
Maybe interpreting it as eagerness to swim,
She sweetly smiled and matched our pace.
“So eager to swim? Heheh, alright. Let’s go quickly!”
“…W-wow. Let’s go.”
“…”
Giving a small nod, I glanced back.
There stood Raven, sighing as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t.
Hmm, they really don’t see each other as the opposite sex yet.
A thought crossed my mind – maybe I worried over nothing.
Looking around, a sudden question came to mind.
Where did Raine go, who was behind us?
“…Don’t look.”
“Ack! My eyes!”
A familiar man’s scream came from somewhere.
Ah, a woman’s jealousy. That side can be like that. Pure love indeed.
Leaving behind David’s pitiful voice of unjust suffering,
We headed toward the pool filled with water.
Finally, the long-awaited water fun began.
*
The Hotel Saintmaria, so popular it’s hard to reserve.
Naturally, its massive affiliated swimming facility Aqua Marina was also packed with people.
More people meant more eyes naturally looking this way.
Perhaps that’s why I felt unusually self-conscious in my swimsuit, despite usually covering up.
‘Well… with this person next to me, no one would notice my masked face anyway.’
But maybe thanks to Alice distorting space like a black hole, drawing all attention,
The embarrassing feeling gradually subsided, letting me return to my usual demeanor.
“Ew, Yuria, why is your skin so pale? In bright light, it looks like mochi. Baby skin!”
“!”
“Ah, Sabrina thinks so too! Sometimes when I hug Yuria, I feel like nibbling on her ear!”
“!!”
What are you saying, Alice? You’re making me sound edible.
Shocked by the horrifying words, I subtly distanced myself from Alice.
She hurriedly argued it wasn’t about eating, just wanting to put it in her mouth.
But that’s the same thing! And you’re not even joking!
But no matter how much I struggled with my weak body, I couldn’t escape Alice.
Soon caught and embraced, feeling bare skin against bare skin, I could only promise not to run away.
“Uh, um. Let’s warm up first. People who don’t exercise regularly might get hurt suddenly entering the water.”
“Yes.”
“…”
People who don’t exercise regularly… guess that’s targeting me.
Alice has superhuman specs that could fold normal people in half.
Sabrina has adult-level physical abilities despite her young age. Normal people don’t stand a chance.
Surprisingly though, my body was quite flexible despite not exercising,
Taking warm-up poses without any issues. My joints moved like new. With this flexibility, I could do ballet.
While warming up from head to toe, Alice belatedly noticed and questioned me.
“Oh, come to think of it, Yuria. Isn’t wearing a mask while swimming difficult? Breathing must be terribly inconvenient…”
“Yeah, I wanted to ask that too. Yuria, is it okay to show your face?”
Hmm, I understood their concerns.
Swimming with a mask does seem inconvenient no matter how you think about it.
But taking it off here… coincidentally, they both know my face.
They must be thinking it’d be problematic to reveal in such a crowded place.
Honestly, this might attract more attention than Alice’s chest?
‘But there’s no need. I’ll just swim with the mask on.’
However, they had a misunderstanding.
They thought wearing a mask while swimming would be inconvenient.
This isn’t just a mask, but an artifact in mask form.
Without straps, it stays fixed unless forcefully removed.
You can wear it all day without sweat, breathing obstruction, or vision impairment.
Sometimes I even forget I’m wearing a mask.
It has a function that doesn’t interfere with breathing underwater. I’ve tested it, so I’m sure.
“!”
“Ah, Yuria!”
But how could I explain this physically?
So to give a good answer, I simply threw myself into the pool.
Cool water enveloped my body, slowly lifting me up.
Soon I popped my head out, confidently proving there was absolutely no problem.
“You scared me… Ah, now that I think about it, Greg said this mask was an artifact gift. Then it’s fine.”
“I wanna go in too!”
Splash!
Sabrina boldly jumped into the pool after me.
Maybe because it wasn’t deep enough to stand comfortably even with my short height,
She emerged leisurely, approaching me with a bright smile. So cute.
Only Alice didn’t jump in like us, gently entering while scolding,
“Kids, be careful entering like that. What if you get hurt?”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“…”
“Especially Yuria, since she’s delicate. Don’t do anything dangerous. Understand?”
Sad but undeniable words.
Compared to these two, I’m like a firefly under the sun, even if I’m fairly sturdy among peers.
Here, it’s better to simply nod and agree.
Afterward, we enjoyed the water play with the rest of our group who joined later.
Notably, Raven, the eldest among us, was impressively active.
Why he kept quietly diving to grab my ankles and pull me underwater…
By the third time, I was so mad I forgot embarrassment and asked Alice for revenge.
After playing happily for about three hours,
When the high sun descended into evening glow, we decided to head back to the hotel.
After lightly washing in the shower and changing from swimsuits to clothes, we walked side-by-side through the passage to the hotel.
“Ah, that was fun. Swimming after so long was really enjoyable.”
“You’re so immature. Why do you keep bullying Yuria. Poor thing.”
“!”
“Well, her reactions are fun. Other kids are boring when teased, but she gets so mad she doesn’t know what to do. Can’t help but continue.”
“You’re terrible. What kind of adult acts like this?”
Exactly what I wanted to say!
I chased after Raven, punching his side repeatedly.
But my small fists only tickled him, which he completely ignored.
“Let’s go up, rest a bit, eat dinner… Hmm, maybe visit Victor later.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, you met Victor earlier? For guarding the rare item auction… Nice. Watching should be fun.”
Alice and Raven chatted casually while exiting the connecting passage, standing before the elevator.
Behind them, Sabrina’s group was a few steps away, having separate conversations.
Seeing David and Raine talking while arm-in-arm suggested their relationship had progressed nicely.
Casually scanning the surroundings, my gaze caught an unfamiliar woman.
At a glance, she appeared to be a normal beauty. Being alone was a bit odd, but given the size of the place, it was understandable.
However, upon noticing the tattoo on her palm, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes in shock.
The reason was simple – it was the Liberation Army’s cipher pattern I’d seen multiple times in the original work.
‘…Could it be, really… No way?’
Rare item auctions and capable fixers guarding them.
Traces of the Liberation Army loitering near the protagonists.
Unless one was a fool, it was impossible to miss this connection.
This reeked too strongly of… impending trouble.
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