“Ah, it feels like it’s been ages since I’ve stayed at a hotel.”
Alice said, gazing out the window.
As we shared our stories, we set off on our journey together.
Not near Seoul, but a place far from it where the sea could be seen.
There’s no city in Korea as big as Seoul besides Seoul itself, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other tourist cities.
“The sea is really beautiful,” Claire said, staring peacefully out the window.
While we were trying to decide where to go for this trip, the conversation of “I want to ride a plane” came up.
Azernar had planes too, but it seemed that airships were the trend for passenger transport.
After all, they didn’t have the technology yet to make fixed-wing aircraft that could carry many people.
But it seemed these kids were quite intrigued by the fact that airships could carry a lot of people, just like airplanes.
Going overseas was a bit cumbersome with passports and whatnot, so we chose a domestic travel destination we could go to right away.
It was Jeju Island.
Thanks to the clean winter weather, the blue sea was clearly visible far off in the distance.
I’m not sure if it’s just this area or if all of Jeju’s sea is like this, but the sea we saw on the way to the hotel looked extremely clear. At least, among the seas I’ve seen, it was the clearest.
The palm trees lining the streets gave it a rather exotic feel even though it wasn’t a foreign country.
The low fences and fruit orchards—probably tangerine trees—around the house were also charming.
“Riding on the plane was quite an experience, but there were just too many people inside,” Charlotte sighed lightly.
“That’s true for the seats we had. If we had chosen the really expensive seats, we could’ve had way more space. Considering our status back in Azernar, those pricey seats should’ve been the norm.”
“That’s right. The airship we rode was specifically for academy students,” I said, and Charlotte nodded in agreement, laughing bitterly.
“But it’s a bit disappointing. The weather is too cold to go into the sea,” Claire said, deflating a bit.
Well, it was winter after all.
“Then why did we pack swimsuits?”
“Sylvia said it was ‘just in case’,” Charlotte replied, glancing at me.
Over here, we had never been to a swimming pool. We had been to the sea, but the temperature wasn’t suitable for enjoying a swim.
So of course, we didn’t have any swimsuits, and thus we went shopping for them before our trip.
“While it’s certainly not ideal to enter the sea, the swimming pool here uses warm water in winter. It’s possible to swim even in this weather.”
“Really!?”
Claire reacted excitedly.
“And I made sure to book a room close by.”
Of course, I had no intention of running straight to the pool in a swimsuit. Even so, wandering around the hotel room in a swimsuit felt… kinda wrong, didn’t it?
I think I read somewhere that there were people who did that, though.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Claire grabbed my arm and dragged me. Seriously, she’s such a child.
“But, um, even if there’s warm water, won’t it still be a bit cold because of the weather?”
Mia timidly, but reasonably, voiced her concerns.
“Well, I’m a bit worried too, but we won’t know for sure until we try it out. Shall we grab our swimsuits and head out?”
When I said that, Claire rushed towards her bag.
*
The pool wasn’t too crowded.
I guess even with warm water, winter is still winter, huh?
The first impression of the warm pool was more like an outdoor hot spring. It looked just like a swimming pool, but with steam rising up, it definitely reminded me more of a hot tub.
“Wow, it’s really warm! Feels amazing!”
Maybe it was because of that image.
Seeing Claire in her swimsuit, enjoying herself in the pool, felt like watching a child play in a hot spring bath.
Her swimsuit was a sporty kind, resembling sports underwear. The top was like a sports bra, and the bottom looked like matching set underwear.
But regardless of that thick blue material, it clearly was swimwear.
“Come on, sis, get in here too!”
“Alright.”
At Claire’s urging, I quickly stepped into the warm… no, pool.
At first, I thought I’d go in later and spend some time outside, but standing out there, I felt like it wasn’t weather for staying outside at all.
Just as Claire said, once I got in, it was definitely super warm and felt great.
Oddly, instead of feeling energized, I felt more relaxed.
Splash!
“Uff!?”
But before I could fully enjoy that relaxed atmosphere, Claire’s attack hit me, and I let out an absurd sound in surprise.
“… Claire.”
“Haha!”
After Claire, who had gotten in before me, splashed me, I immediately lunged at her.
Of course, there was no way I could win against Claire’s physical abilities.
When the others saw us splashing around, one by one they jumped into the pool too.
“Wow, really… ”
“It is warm, isn’t it?”
Alice and Charlotte each commented with slightly bewildered expressions.
“It’s like a hot spring…”
And finally, as Mia joined us, she let slip the observation we were trying to avoid.
“Yikes!”
But that comment was soon followed by an unexpected splash that landed on her own face.
“Whether it feels like a hot spring or a swimming pool depends on how we play, right? If we have fun, it’s a swimming pool!”
So, Claire essentially admitted it felt like a hot spring too.
I tossed some water back at Claire.
“Ugh! Sis…!”
And then Claire splashed back at me, which sprayed Alice and Charlotte who had been nearby.
In the end, the pool—which was practically ours—became a battlefield of splashing water for a while, filled with mid-teen girls.
*
“Ahh.”
Letting out a long breath, we leaned against the wall of the pool.
The reason we didn’t want to get out was simple—it was too cold outside.
But standing there felt surprisingly like being in an outdoor hot spring. Watching Charlotte flipping her hair back and Alice wiping the water off her face felt even more so.
Among us, only Mia had bought a one-piece swimsuit. To be honest, I felt a bit guilty recommending a bikini to Mia. While she liked her dark swimsuit, which she said looked like a magical girl outfit…
I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any magic girl stories that weren’t aimed at kids. It was a bit of a thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. We agreed not to judge each other’s interests.
The rest of us were all in two-piece swimsuits.
Claire’s was like sports underwear, as she mentioned earlier, and Charlotte was in a rash guard on top and bikini bottoms.
Alice wore a bolder white bikini.
And I was in a black bikini.
A bikini.
I never thought I’d wear one of these when I was younger. I mean, of course, when I was a guy, there was no chance I’d wear a bikini.
It wasn’t about the bikini. I was just embarrassed to take off my outerwear and show everyone. My body wasn’t in good shape, and I hadn’t been exercising either.
So I didn’t particularly enjoy going to pools, and even at the beach, I never felt the need to wear a swimsuit.
… I really have changed a lot.
Especially my confidence in myself has shifted in many ways, it seemed.
“Hey, sis.”
“Yeah?”
“Your expression looks kinda old.”
“……”
I filled my palm with water and splashed Claire’s face.
“Huh!?”
With the comical noise she made, Claire immediately glared at me with a mischievous smile.
And then she stretched out both arms—
“Wait, Claire!?”
This time, instead of splashing water, she charged at me shoulder-first.
“Whoa!?”
In the end, I made that bizarre sound as I sank into the warm water—no, the pool—with a splash.
*
It was still a bit early for dinner, but not doing anything felt awkward.
After washing ourselves up and drying our hair, we decided to take a stroll along the beach.
It’s Jeju Island! It’s famous for its beautiful beaches.
And as expected, the beach near our hotel was incredibly pretty.
At first, the five of us walked down the shore together, but eventually, we started to drift apart, doing our own thing.
Alice and Charlotte were having a conversation, while Mia was drawing something on the ground with a stick.
I was with Claire.
“…… Claire.”
“Yeah?”
As I called her name suddenly, Claire responded right away.
Actually, it wasn’t that I wanted to say something in particular.
I just felt like talking since she was next to me.
So I just casually tossed out a question I had.
“Are you having fun?”
“Of course!”
Claire said with a grin.
“This might be the happiest moment in my life!”
“Is that so.”
Hearing Claire’s answer, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction in my heart.
“What’s this?”
“Mia, do you have some talent for drawing?”
“Huh? Oh, no, it’s… hehe.”
Suddenly, we heard that conversation, and we turned our heads quickly towards it.
The drawing that Mia had made on the sand was impressive.
“Let’s go take a picture!”
Claire said that and I nodded with a smile.
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