"...Do we really have to do this?"
"You're asking that now? We already planned everything out."
"But no matter how I think about it, this just feels wrong..."
Amelia let out a sigh.
Was she frustrated with Yu Siwoo hesitating at this point?
Instead of scolding him, Amelia decided to convince him.
"I told you. You can't monitor Arte yourself, so I have to do it."
"I know you're better suited for watching Arte, but... this is a crime."
Yu Siwoo’s eyes wavered with unease.
Yeah, it was a crime.
And a particularly despicable one at that.
Just a male student entering the girls' changing room was enough to be condemned.
And on top of that, going through a girl's belongings?
If they got caught, there’d be no way to talk their way out of it.
They’d be branded as sex offenders on the spot.
Expulsion was a given, and their future would be ruined.
Maybe I should be the one to monitor Arte, and Amelia could—
"Don’t worry. If someone comes near the changing room, I’ll make a loud noise. We won’t get caught."
"You really think we have to do this...?"
"You don’t need to worry so much. You’ve never heard the saying, ‘If you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime’?"
Even if you don’t get caught, it’s still a crime.
Yu Siwoo wanted to say that, but he ended up closing his mouth.
Right.
Even if you don’t get caught, it’s still a crime.
No one except me and Amelia knows about Arte Isis’s crimes.
If this is what it takes to gather evidence of her crimes...!
Yu Siwoo steeled his resolve.
To obtain evidence of the crime.
Amelia was going to sneak me into the girls' changing room anyway.
If it’s unavoidable, then the faster we finish, the better.
"...Fine."
"Good. That’s the spirit. Let’s go quickly. Arte’s waiting."
Yu Siwoo forcibly suppressed the guilt gnawing at him.
"Ugh... I really have to wear this...?"
[Why not? It’s cute.]
"I don’t want to wear stuff like this!"
He resented Laila.
He had clearly asked for a swimsuit with minimal exposure.
What the hell is this?
[...It’s still less revealing than a bikini, though.]
"Yeah, it’s less revealing than a bikini, but—!"
What he wanted was a one-piece swimsuit.
You know, like those competitive swimsuits that look like leotards.
Something with minimal exposure, like the school swimsuits you’d see in light novels.
That’s what he had wanted.
But when he checked the contents of the swimsuit he received that morning, he was filled with despair.
[Most heroes wear bikinis, so this is a compromise since it’s less revealing. Besides, it’s too late to change now.]
"..."
He stared blankly at the swimsuit in his hand.
Fine, it wasn’t a bikini.
When I really think about it, this is the one-piece swimsuit I wanted.
…If you ignore the way it exposes skin here and there.
"And why is there nothing on the back? …Cost-cutting on materials?"
It is a one-piece swimsuit.
If you ignore the exposed cleavage and the deep back cutout.
But the way it completely covers my ass is somehow more infuriating.
They carved out the back this much, yet left the ass covered like they were doing me a favor.
"Do you think Laira actually considers this low exposure…?"
[Probably? Heroines all wear bikinis, right? It’s a similar vibe…? Since she was a heroine candidate.]
She has a point.
So I can’t really blame Laira.
I should’ve just gone and bought it myself.
I only asked her because I was too embarrassed…
"Arte. What are you doing there?"
"A-Amelia."
Amelia had come over to talk to me.
My gloomy mood lifted a little.
After all, Amelia was the only friend I had at the Academy, the one person I got along with.
Hehe, so I’m not a loner.
I mean, I have such a pretty and kind heroine friend!
"We should head in soon. If we don’t go shower now, we’ll be late for class."
"A-Ah! Just—"
I wasn’t ready yet—!
My desperate cry never became words, drowned out as Amelia grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the changing room.
"…Wow, your chest is bigger than I thought."
"Haha… D-Do you think so?"
"Mine’s pretty small… Hey, can’t you just take a little off and give it to me?"
"That’s not how it works…"
"Tch."
Thud, thud.
After finishing our showers, we dragged our exhausted feet toward the pool.
J-Jeez, I’m beat…
Amelia’s energy is through the roof today.
She’s been weirdly clingy.
Come to think of it, why has the Author been so quiet?
Normally, they’d be chattering nonstop.
Taking the chance while Amelia was still in the shower, I whispered to the Author.
"…Author?"
[Y-Yes?! N-Nyehehe?!]
"No, I just noticed you weren’t saying anything. Why are you so surprised?"
[Ah, no, it’s just… I was wondering if this was a light novel. Turns out heroines really do mess around in shower scenes, comparing chest sizes and all…]
"…What exactly did you see?"
I get what the Author means.
You know how light novels often have those scenes, right?
The flat-chested heroine grabs the busty heroine’s chest, going “Ei, ei!”
The busty one screams, and the guys nearby let their imaginations run wild.
But we didn’t do any of that.
It was all… normal. Well, not exactly normal.
I did close my eyes and fumbled around a bit while showering.
And Amelia did take a while helping me out.
I might be used to my own body, but seeing someone else naked still felt a little… awkward.
I’d been wondering why the Author was so quiet—were they taking notes for material?
Of course, I knew that the author didn’t just copy the world’s contents as they were—they applied some adjustments.
It made sense, since they couldn’t fully grasp Yu Siwoo’s behavior.
But I still couldn’t understand it.
What kind of filter could possibly distort the information so much between the eyes and the brain?
It was baffling.
"Ah, Amelia. Over here."
"Mhm."
While the author was talking, Amelia emerged from the changing room, so I called her over.
…As expected of a heroine from a novel—she was wearing a bikini, and of course, it was white.
The pure white bikini somehow gave off a strangely seductive vibe.
I could never pull that off.
"Everyone, listen up! I’ll explain the safety rules before swimming class begins!"
Ah, so it’s starting.
…For some reason, I felt a little excited.
I’d barely ever enjoyed swimming or water play since I was a kid.
Since I was here anyway, maybe I should have a little fun.
"Uh, teacher… Can I go to the bathroom for a second…?"
"…Hmm? Oh, sure. Go ahead. If no one’s here when you get back, come to the classroom."
I clenched my stomach, face twisted in pain, sweat beading on my forehead.
The teacher seemed to guess what was going on and waved me off without hesitation.
Since I’d just demonstrated my swimming skills so confidently, they probably thought I didn’t need any more practice.
As soon as I stepped into the empty hallway, I relaxed my scrunched-up face and started walking, but the cold sweat kept pouring.
It wasn’t an act, after all.
…I’d really reached the point of no return now.
It was time to sneak into the girls’ changing room.
"Is anyone here…?"
Creak.
Without hesitation, I swung open the changing room door and slipped inside in an instant.
Amelia had said that hesitating would only make me look suspicious.
Be bold. Be daring.
That was her advice to me.
"Huu, huu…"
The smell in here was… different from the boys’ changing room.
No, no, that couldn’t be right.
It was just my imagination.
"Arte, Arte… here. Arte Isis."
Finding Arte’s locker wasn’t difficult.
They were arranged in alphabetical order.
And Amelia’s locker was right next to it, so it had to be the right one.
…For some reason, the lockers here felt softer than the ones in the boys’ changing room.
Shaking off the strange thought, Yu Siwoo quickly opened the locker and started rummaging through it.
"…Where is it?"
But something was wrong.
No matter how much he dug through the clothes, there was no sign of any mechanical device.
Just clothes, a little cash, and a smartphone.
Yu Siwoo grew increasingly anxious.
He’d thought he’d find it quickly, but ten minutes had already passed.
If he took any longer, class might end.
He had only slipped out after a decent amount of class time had passed.
"Arte! Let's go together!"
"···!"
While frantically searching for the device, Amelia’s loud voice suddenly rang out.
The other students’ voices had drawn near without him noticing.
He’d been so focused on searching that he hadn’t realized.
When he checked his watch, twenty minutes had already passed.
I failed.
Yu Siwoo sensed his failure and hastily moved to leave.
But haste makes waste.
The floor of the swimming pool changing room was always slick with water.
With water always around, it was unavoidable.
That was why teachers always told students not to run in the changing room.
···The price of ignoring the teacher’s warning was brutal.
THUD!
He fell with a loud crash.
Of course, Yu Siwoo was a superhuman. As someone who could wield mana, a mere fall wouldn’t seriously injure him.
The problem was time.
"Arte, was it fun?"
"Yes. It was enjoyable."
Now, not only Amelia’s voice but Arte’s and the other students’ voices were audible.
It was too late to step out of the changing room now.
···W-what do I do?
There was no time to think.
Yu Siwoo decided to hide in the easiest place possible.
"I hope we have swimming class again next time."
"We probably will. It’d be a waste to build a pool and not use it much."
"Hehe, that’s true."
This is it. Yu Siwoo realized.
Without thinking, he slipped into an open locker.
Yes—Arte Isis’s locker.
How the hell was he supposed to escape from here?
This was a catastrophic mistake.
Now, not only was he hiding in the girls’ changing room, but he’d also be labeled a pervert sniffing around a girl’s locker.
"···Hmm."
And yet, the scent inside was so pleasant that it only made him sadder.
It wasn’t perfume, but an indescribable, subtle musk of the opposite sex.
The leotard covering Yu Siwoo’s face carried Arte’s fragrance.
"Ah, Arte. Sorry, I need to use the bathroom. Can you come with me?"
"Y-yes…? Go ahead. I’ll wait for you."
"Aww, come on. Friends should go together for stuff like this!"
"I-I suppose…? Yes. Since we’re friends. I understand."
···!
Unexpectedly, an opportunity presented itself to Yu Siwoo.
Amelia and Arte disappeared toward the bathroom.
The other girls finished changing and left.
This was his chance.
He bolted out of the locker like an arrow.
After confirming no one was in the hallway, he made a beeline for the boys’ changing room.
Inside the quiet changing room, Yu Siwoo finally clutched his pounding heart and swallowed back his tears.
He had survived.