Chapter 44 - The Bikini Top, and the Bikini Bottom
It was the morning of our departure. The night before, I’d spent the evening with Fam and Mizuki, and the night before that, with Cecily and Aira, taking turns. I'd considered using the virility potion Cecily had made to handle all four at once, but I had a premonition that adding Aira to the mix would be dangerous.
When I woke up, Fam was praying, as always. As I sat up, I saw Mizuki clutching her stomach, laughing.
"What is it?"
She handed me her phone. It was a picture of my sleeping face. On my forehead, someone had written the character for 'nose.'
"That's some impressive calligraphy."
I found myself impressed by the strangest thing.
"Yep. I took calligraphy classes back in elementary school."
"Alright, I'll write on you too. Hand over the permanent marker."
"Wha—? Are you serious?"
Even as she said it, Mizuki passed me the permanent marker. I proceeded to write the very same character, 'nose,' on her forehead.
"...You know, you still look kind of cute even with that on your face. That's not fair."
"Excuse me? Kind of cute?" Mizuki pouted.
"Master-sama, please write on me as well."
Fam had entered the fray.
"...Alright. Mizuki, could you write this character for her?"
I discreetly showed Mizuki the character on my phone.
"Leave it to me."
Mizuki wrote the character for 'sincerity' on Fam's forehead. I took a picture and showed it to her.
"Whoaaaaa! It's... so cool..."
Fam let out a strange, excited cry.
"Yeah, well, it's not that cool."
Her innocent delight was adorable, but I had to nip this in the bud before she started asking me to write on her every day.
Just then, Maira entered the room.
"Good morn—hmph. You're leaving me out again, aren't you? Please, write on me too!"
"Are you sure? Aren't you embarrassed?"
I was genuinely concerned and had to ask.
"I want to match with Mash!"
"...Mizuki, you're up."
"Oh... okay..."
Looking slightly taken aback, Mizuki finished writing 'nose' on Maira's forehead.
"Hmph, how do I look?"
Maira seemed proud.
"I don't know if 'it suits you' is the right thing to say, but... I guess it's fine?"
I couldn't offer more than a vague reply. The sheer quality of the calligraphy somehow undercut the humor of it all.
"Aira and the others aren't in the dining hall yet. Could I borrow that marker and the magic key?"
It seemed Maira intended to go write on Cecily and Aira's foreheads as well. They had been drinking pretty heavily last night, so they were probably still asleep. I wondered if it was really a good idea for Maira to burst in. What if they were sleeping naked in each other's arms?
"They were pretty wasted yesterday, so things might be... a little intense. No matter what you see, just quietly write the character on their foreheads and come back, okay?"
"You can count on me."
Maira nodded firmly.
"Whatever the situation is, just blame it on the alcohol from last night. Absolutely do not wake them up to ask questions."
Maira left the room. I just hoped she'd return safely, without incident.
I noticed Fam and Mizuki staring at me.
"...What exactly is going to happen?"
"N-No, it's just... they drank a lot yesterday, so I was just a little worried, that's all."
I could tell my explanation hadn't cleared up their suspicions at all—in fact, it had probably created new ones. But I really didn't want them prying any further.
"Anyway, Mizuki. We've had enough fun with this, right? Let's erase it."
I tried to change the subject.
"Huh?" Mizuki replied.
"Huh?" I replied back.
"...Sorry, I don't know how to get it off."
A line of ten two-horse carriages stood waiting. After breakfast, we had all gathered at the city's south gate. Each carriage had two drivers. The first and last carriages were for the adventurer guards. The second through sixth were loaded with cargo. After that came the one for the Mateo Trading Company staff; Mateo's daughter, Claire, would be riding in this one. The final carriage carried camping equipment, tools, food, fodder, and other travel necessities.
It was quite an impressive sight, yet apparently, this was considered a small-scale caravan. As such, the cargo consisted mainly of high-value, easily exchangeable metalwork produced in the imperial capital.
As for the escort, there was one other party besides ours. If the caravan were attacked, everyone, including the drivers, would join the fight.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Claire, daughter of Mateo."
Claire gave a small bow. Then, her eyes fixed on the character for 'nose' written on my forehead.
"Is that... some kind of good luck charm?"
"Nah, if you stand on your head, it looks like a guy with a mustache."
"..."
Claire looked troubled. I was troubled, too.
"Ahem!"
The man standing next to Claire cleared his throat. This was Mercedes. He was Claire's support, but in reality, he was the one managing the caravan. He was only in his twenties, yet he'd been entrusted with this responsibility. He had to be competent.
"I'm Mash, leader of Levante. A pleasure."
"Yes. Mateo has told me everything. We'll be counting on you to guard the rear of the caravan."
"Is Mateo not here today?"
"He has departed for the imperial capital on business. My apologies."
I'd wanted to thank him, even if briefly, but it couldn't be helped.
Just then, a party of six approached the caravan.
Leading them was a female warrior in bikini armor. Beside her was the man who'd been with Wind Blade—Beards. No, that was the name Reed had given him. I realized I didn't even know his real name.
"I'm Avea, leader of Altair. I usually work as an escort for the Mateo Trading Company while exploring dungeons."
"Mash, leader of Levante. I'm an adventurer. Nice to meet you."
I shook the hand she offered and repeated my introduction. She had long, wavy red hair. Taller than me, her entire body was like steel muscle, barely contained by the bikini armor she wore.
"...What's with the character on your forehead?"
"This is 'nose'." At this point, it was the only answer I could give.
"..."
"Anyway, that's some incredible equipment you've got on."
I forced a change of subject.
"Hah, you think so? Any attack is meaningless before these beautiful muscles."
Avea laughed, flexing a bicep and showing off a set of brilliantly white teeth.
"But does it really offer any protection?"
My gaze was drawn to the red cloth that barely covered her chest and crotch.
"Wanna touch it and see?"
"Huh? Is that okay?"
"I don't mind."
At her words, Avea struck what bodybuilders call a 'front relaxed' pose. Facing me directly, she flared her lats to show off her muscle definition. I reached a hand toward her groin.
I prodded at the protrusion through the thin cloth. As I slid my finger along the slit, the nub became more distinct. Yeah, this really seemed to be just a bikini, not armor. Still, it was swelling up nicely. I wanted to touch it a little more, help it grow.
"Oi, what do you think you're doing?"
There was a clear note of anger in Avea's voice.
"Huh? You said I could check out your armor..."
"I said you could touch my muscles!"
Avea unleashed a vicious hook. I leaned back to dodge it, but lost my balance and fell on my butt. Fam and Mizuki immediately jumped between us, shielding me.
"I'm so sorry! He hasn't been right in the head all morning. I mean, he wrote 'nose' on his own forehead."
Mizuki said.
"...You've got it on yours too," Avea pointed out.
"Umm, maybe I'm not feeling well either. Mash! You apologize too!"
"R-Right. My bad."
She was terrifying, so I figured apologizing was the safest bet.
"...Whatever. I did say you could touch. Besides, it was... you know. Anyway, you," Avea's gaze fell on Fam.
"Are you a swordswoman?"
"I am a Mibu-Rō."
"And that man is your master?"
"...Yes," Fam nodded.
"How about it? If you can beat me in a one-on-one fight, I'll let this whole thing slide."
"Wait, Fam has nothing to do with this."
This time, I stood up and stepped in.
"Don't make me laugh. A dog-eared girl who needs her master to protect her?"
"M-Master-sama. I will not lose."
I really wish she wouldn't say things with such unfounded confidence.
"Fam, no. She's our ally."
"It'll be fine. I have no intention of becoming an enemy of the gods. This is just a little entertainment. We won't be trying to kill each other. Let's use wooden sticks."
Avea retrieved two wooden rods from a cargo wagon. She tossed one to Fam. Even with a wooden rod, a blow from muscles like that could be fatal.
"Master-sama, may I have your permission to fight?"
I wanted to stop her, but I knew she would fight no matter what I said.
"Yeah... Mizuki, can you go get Maira?"
"Got it." Mizuki nodded and ran off.
Avea held the wooden rod carelessly in one hand. Fam, in contrast, gripped hers with both hands, facing her opponent in a perfect ready stance. The tip was aimed at Avea's solar plexus, her foot placement and center of gravity all perfectly natural and composed.
When did she learn a stance like that?
"Come on."
Avea beckoned with an upturned palm. Fam responded, lunging forward. Avea deflected the strike aimed at her forehead with her own rod. Fam slipped past Avea's side, turned, and returned to her ready stance before lunging again, aiming for the forehead once more. This time, her strike was faster, sharper.
Avea, now gripping her rod with both hands, blocked the blow, and their weapons locked together.
"Not bad, kid."
Avea grinned. Then, she used her raw power to shove Fam back. As Fam stumbled away, Avea struck her down. She didn't press the attack, seemingly waiting for Fam to recover.
Once Fam returned to her ready stance, Avea raised her own rod. She held it with one hand, the tip pointing far above Fam's head. Fam swayed the tip of her own weapon as if to bait her, maintaining distance as she circled counter-clockwise around Avea.
"Not coming? Then I'll come to you!"
Avea moved like a dancer. Her wooden rod swung down at high speed. Fam blocked it with her own, but a second and third blow followed in quick succession, and her defense began to crumble. Just then, Avea's front kick exploded forward. Fam couldn't take the impact and fell to the ground with a thud.
"That's enough!"
It was Mercedes who stopped them. He must have realized that letting it go on any longer would make things unmanageable. Maira rushed to Fam's side.
"When you're done with her, I need some help over here," Avea said to Maira, showing her a swollen right arm. Fam must have landed a hit as she was knocked backwards by the kick.
"You've got potential. Let's do this again. I'll be your training partner anytime."
Avea smiled at Fam.
"Really? Please, train with my Master-sama as well!"
Fam stood up and bowed deeply.
"...Me too?"
All I felt was despair.
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, or rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best. The typo reports have been a huge help. Thank you.