“─────Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Myuhi?”
A voice pregnant with anger, a face bulging with veins, and a cold glare.
Youko didn’t look like him one bit, yet their auras were similar enough to make Myuhi freeze.
For some reason, the pail that Myuhi threw bounced back mid air and hit her from behind to sink her.
The first to respond and check up on her was Youko.
It was impressive how similar their reactions and expressions were.
But of course, the kind treatment ended as soon as Youko realized she was fine.
When they got out of the bath and Myuhi was made to sit in seiza on the stone paved floor, the first thing Youko did was to give her a stern talking to.
Youko did allow Myuhi to wrap herself with a towel out of compassion, but it was still somewhat cold despite the steam.
Though her oppressive aura was nothing compared to her brother, it was still close enough that Myuhi broke out into a cold sweat.
However…
“But you know they really did feel good!”
Myuhi too was similar to Shinichi in the sense that she would crack a joke like that in a situation like this.
She couldn’t help herself even though she knew it would piss her off.
“Hah?”
But make no mistake, neither Youko’s intimidation nor the weapon that appeared from her terminal was anything to make light of.
They were vulnerable in the bath, so it was recommended that they equip their terminals.
Youko followed that recommendation, so she was able to take out a giant hammer and place it in front of Myuhi.
Normally, the use of weapons and offensive skills were prohibited outside of Kutoria except in cases of self defense,
but the teacher that was supposed to stop them silently approved and just looked into the distant sky.
That was not because she thought Myuhi deserved it, but because she too saw the similarity between the angry Youko and Shinichi, so she reflexively averted her eyes.
As for Tomoe and Aristel, it was hopeless to expect them to help right now.
The other students too were acting like it didn’t concern them.
“B-But if you use something like that, you’ll break the bath!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful, and even if I do break the bath, I can just fix it myself.”
That way of thinking that implied it was okay to destroy something as long as you could fix it was very like him too.
That’s why Myuhi also realized that she couldn’t allow this to continue, so…
“I’m so sorry!!”
Myuhi immediately performed a dogeza and apologized to Youko, the two people she attacked, and then even bowed in the direction of the boy’s bath beside them.
Youko’s expression didn’t change in the face of all that and just watched Youko’s ears and tail. They were drooping feebly.
“Sigh… Okay, but if you do this again you’ll have to buy us lunch for an entire month, okay? And by us, I mean us three. Is that alright with you, teacher, senpai?”
Youko judged that Myuhi was seriously reflecting on her actions, so she decided to warn her in that way and sought for confirmation from the other victims.
She looked relieved when she saw them nod.
That temperament that was both nervous and sweet was indeed just like a certain someone.
“Alright, in that case, get in the bath already. It would be a problem if you caught a cold, after all.”
“Aye, aye, sir, captain!”
“…Are you really reflecting?”
“I-I’m really reflecting!!”
When Myuhi started acting up again, Youko immediately questioned her with a cold voice, and Myuhi found herself stammering.
Youko sighed at that and shook her head, then went back to soak in the bath.
“You sure stirred up a huge fuss. Fortunately, only people from the academy were here, but…” Youko said.
“But?” Myuhi said.
“The boys definitely heard some of that.”
They glanced at the high bamboo fence that divided the men’s and women’s bath.
Youko did her best when Myuhi attacked, but it was definitely not the kind of conversation she’d want the boys to hear.
“It was mostly me being noisy, though,” Myuhi said.
“Yep, it was mostly you talking in a loud voice about other people’s breasts,” Youko said.
“S-Sorry.”
Youko glared at Myuhi again, and the latter had no words to argue with.
But surprisingly, there was nothing to worry about.
“Don’t worry about that. Take a look at the fence with your foster. You should be able to see a colorless sound-insulating barrier,” Frire said.
“Huh? …Oh, it’s true.”
There was indeed a barrier erected, and a more detailed analysis would show that it was designed to block only their voice.
That way other sounds could still naturally be heard by the other side.
It was also colorless, so it wouldn’t ruin the view and wouldn’t be noticed either.
“With so many people, someone without restraint is bound to appear. And that person might very well just try to peek at the women’s side, so this barrier was erected for good measure. I didn’t think he’d block our voice too, but as expected, he’s attentive to the strangest details…”
A smile surfaced on Frire. That was meant for the boy on the other side keeping the rest of the pack on a leash, and it spoke volumes of the trust and intimacy she had for him.
It was such a gentle expression that the girls around found themselves captivated by it.
It might have also been due to her hair being tied up, and her nude form laid bare in all their glory that that smile they’d never seen before exuded such charm.
Without a doubt, that was the face of a ‘woman’.
“Oh, but don’t ask who I’m talking about, okay? I trust him enough to vouch for him, but the trip is still ongoing. And it wouldn’t do well for either side to know who he is since he is the one closest to the women’s bath.”
Frire thought that the girls were looking at her because they wanted to know who was watching guard for them.
She wasn’t wrong, but the girls were only curious about the man because he got Frire to make such a womanly face.
There was no one fierce enough among them to point that out, though. Well, actually, Myuhi could’ve, but Youko was around, and bringing up the name would have caused a ton of issues.
“…In that case, I think she could have done a better job hiding the identity of the gentleman. I mean, it couldn’t possibly be him, right? …Oh how embarrassing,” Aristel said.
“You know from the way that pail moved, even if he can’t hear our voice, isn’t he well aware what’s going on in the women’s bath?” Tomoe said.
Tomoe and Aristel already more or less knew when the pail moved strangely, but it wasn’t until Frire happily revealed her helper that they were certain.
Both girls turned their back to the men’s side and blushed.
Of course, that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.
“Senpai, and Tomoe too, is something the matter?” Youko said.
“Huh? Oh, umm… It’s nothing,” Tomoe said.
“Yes, there’s no need to worry about us. Ahaha…” Aristel said.
Tomoe could never bring up his name here, while Aristel was simply embarrassed.
Though the reasons differed, both girls wryly smiled and refused to clarify.
Youko, Rizet, and even Frire all tilted their heads in confusion, but Myuhi understood.
‘Maidens in love are such troublesome things,’ she thought to herself as though she were unrelated.
She rubbed the back of her head and glanced at the men’s side.
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