Chirem Act 6-11.2
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Act 6-11: Today, As a Memory
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1: [1-3], R2[4-6]
Part 4
Mishelle, who was around 140 cm tall, wore a navy swimsuit similar to a school swimsuim, with a short skirt added, and over it an oversized plain white shirt. Put together, the look made her seem almost like a young mum.
Bell was in a white frilly one-piece swimsuit, and someone’s clearly helped her put her long hair into two side buns. It kills me to admit it, but she looks ridiculously cute.
Silvia, though… Honestly, whose choice was that? A completely plain black triangle bikini, no frills, no flashy bits, nothing. Just her violet hair tied back and a little bracelet on her wrist, like she’s saying “simple is best.” And she pulls it off so well it’s actually unfair.
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―― OOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
When Lillian and the others showed up, a deep roar went up from the crowd. Most of it came from the blokes, staring at the women walking towards us with starry-eyed admiration and motives that weren’t exactly pure.
「Whoaaa… seriously, that’s amazing.」
「We’ve totally lucked out here. No question... We’re the biggest winners in the whole venue!」
「Mm… Now that’s what you call eye candy.」
Well, to be fair, the guys on our side were reacting pretty much the same way.
「Sorry! Getting ready took longer than I thought. Did we keep you waiting?」
「Nah, not really.」
「Good. So, um…」
Lillian, who spoke to me first, fiddled with the ribbon on her bikini top with her fingertips while sneaking a quick glance at Ain beside her. She probably wanted his thoughts on her swimsuit... But the idiot was far too absorbed in staring at Sylvia’s — mainly her chest — to notice her look.
Eventually, Lillian’s irritation seemed to reach its peak, and with a sharp “Hmph!”, she stomped hard on Ein’s foot.
「Gyaaah?! Wh-what the hell are you doing, you idiot?!」
「What am I doing? Don’t give me that! You’ve been staring at Silvia with those filthy eyes of yours! It’s completely obvious, you stupid monkey!」
「H-huh?! I wasn’t even looking, alright? Stop jumping to conclusions and stomping on me, you bloody ironing board!」
「E-excuse me?! What did you just call me?!」
And the two of them started bickering again. At this point, it’s practically a comedy sketch.
「Man… Those two never change, do they?」
「Honestly, those two should just stop messing about and admit it already…」
「...So, Mishelle, what’s with that shirt? This rogue would very much like to see you in your swimsuit, if you don’t mind!」
「Haha, nope. There’s absolutely nothing worth seeing in a middle-aged lady like me in swimwear. Rogue, seriously, go chase someone younger.」
「No, no, no!! For me it’s nothing but profit! Please, I’m begging you!」
Meanwhile, that lol■○n over there was practically foaming at the mouth as he closed in on the 140 cm tall girl. Mishelle might look like a kid since she was a dwarf, but she was actually forty-six years old, a proper middle-aged married woman. Her magic just manifested late, so she ended up enrolling in the same year as us.
「My apologies for the waiting, Rakuichi-sama.」
I was just about to step in before someone actually reported him, when Silvia, who had been standing nearby, spoke to me. She glanced down at her swimsuit as she continued.
「As per Rakuichi-sama's instruction, and under Lillian-sama’s guidance, I’ve changed into a swimsuit… How do I look?」
「…Yeah, it looks great. It suits you really well, Silvia. They picked out a lovely one for you.」
「I’m relieved… Thank you very much.」
「Hey hey, big bro! What do you think of my swimsuit?」
Belle skipped over next, eyes shining like she was waiting for her turn to be praised. She totally wanted a compliment… Damn it. That smug look of hers was really annoying, but yeah, as much as I wanted to deny it, I had to admit that she was stupidly pretty. Her personality was the only busted part. Looks-wise she was flawless, especially after getting all dressed up like this.
「Tei」
「Gya?! Hey! Why’d you do that?!」
I gave her a forehead flick and shut her down. She held her red forehead, eyes watering as she called out to me, and I ignored every bit of it.
「Don’t worry, Bell-chan! You look amazing! Silvia-san too! You’re both the world’s number one beauties!!」
「R-Really?! Yayyy!」
「Thank you very much.」
「Hyoh-hoho… No, no, I’m the one who should be thanking youuuu…」
At that moment, Ferio came flying right into our group. Unlike me, he was running on pure high tension, showering Bell — and Silvia for good measure — with loud compliments. Bell started hopping in excitement, her chest bouncing, and Silvia bowed politely, hers were wobbling too, and Ferio’s face loosened into something straight-up criminal. This is bad. We were about to have another arrest case.
「Hahaha… E-everyone’s really lively today.」
Watching the group from the side— Ein and Lilian squabbling, Rogue begging to strip while Mishelle just shrugged it off, and Ferio going on endlessly about Bell and Silvia—Elsie came over.
She was wearing a long rash parka down to her waist, hiding almost all of her swimsuit. That must’ve been why I hadn’t noticed her before. Maybe she was a bit shy about showing her skin… Which, well, sounded like Elsie.
「Yeah, it’s been ages since we all went out together, so I guess that makes sense.」
「Y-yeah… I’ve been looking forward to it too.」
「You too?」
「Yeah… It’s not just about going out with everyone… it’s… that I can actually spend a proper long time with you, Rakichi-kun…」
Elsie muttered this, cheeks bright red, eyes downcast.
Thinking about it… She’s always busy with school and manager stuff, and recently with outings and joint meeting prep, there was barely been a moment to rest. Life had been passing them by… Which made today something I—and everyone else—had been really looking forward to.
Then, with hands that were shaking a little, Elsie gripped mine firmly, finally lifting her bright red face and smiling.
「That's why… Let’s… Make today really fun? Make tons of happy memories together, yeah?」
「... Yeah, you're right.」
Someday, we’ll have to part ways. But when that day comes, I know these memories wouldn’t turn into anything painful. They never will.
I squeezed Elsie’s hand back, firm and certain.
「Alright! Today we’re going all out, loud enough and wild enough that tomorrow’s training’s completely ruined! You lot ready?!」
「「「「「「「「OU!!!」」」」」」」」
「CHARGEEEEEEEEEEE!!!」
Ein dashed off with his arm thrown into the air, and Elsie and I kicked off the floor at the exact same moment and sprinted after him.
◇◆◇
——— Meanwhile, in the lobby by the entrance gate.
「For the last time! Your changing room is over there! This one’s for men, got it?!」
「Oh shut up! I’m a man, so this one’s fine! Now hand over that swimsuit!」
「This one’s mine! I even picked a cute one for you, so wear that! Big bro will be thrilled!」
「I-I don’t care about Rakuichi! And there’s no way I’m wearing something that embarrassing!」
「It’s way more embarrassing for a girl to walk around in front of people wearing nothing but her pants!!」
Chris and Yuri, having chased after Rakuichi’s group all the way to Spring Heaven, were still locked in a heated argument about which changing room Yuri should use.