The So-Called Swimsuit Episode

I was always afraid to speak my true feelings.

I was afraid to show my real self.

I wanted to be the person everyone expected me to be.

That was why I covered up everything with smiles. I deceived everyone with lies. I locked my heart deep inside so that ugly, pitch-black emotions wouldn’t spill out from within. Even though I knew that I was actually a far more terribly awful person than anyone could imagine. But surfacing that was terrifying, and I didn’t want to be hated.

Yet something went wrong.

That was why Grandpa… and Dad… suffered because of me…

No, that wasn’t right. I had to suppress it. These were emotions that I didn’t need. I just had to keep smiling cheerfully. If I did that, even my big sister and Mom wouldn’t have to worry.

When I looked in the mirror at my face with that pasted-on smile, this was what I thought.

But is that really who I am?

—From the monologue of Konoha Kushibiki—

Blue Moon-class adventurer Tisa. She belonged to Lichten’s largest Guild, Wyvern’s Talon. Within it, she formed an all-female team named “Pantheress.” Though still a woman under thirty, she was a skilled fighter who handled quests by swinging a battleaxe with brute force rivaling any man’s. Her resulting nickname was “Big Claw.”

“That short-tempered woman actually has a nickname for herself.”

“I don’t think you’re one to talk, Witch of the Frozen Wastes…”

“K-Konoha! I told you to stop using that!!”

“Ehh! I think it sounds great, Witch of the Frozen Wastes! It has this cool, Blizzard-like feel to it!”

It made no sense whatsoever.

“So, if we head straight there, we’ll run into them—or rather, since we have the carriage, we’ll arrive first, but it’ll be annoying to have them following right behind us.”

While the other party had lost their carriage and was forced to travel on foot, Konoha’s group could rush straight to the cave in their ice carriage. However, even though the cave was right in front of them, entering together in such a tense atmosphere was something they wanted to avoid at all costs.

“That’s why we have Forest-san’s map! Besides the Borodin Desert, I also got maps of the areas around Lichten, so there might be entrances that nobody else knows about!”

Konoha pulled out a map from her Item Box and spread it out. It was quite an old map, but there were no problems reading it. Hey, there’s even a tea stain on it.

“Near here, there’s a shortcut route distinct from the official route. It looks like only a small group can pass through, though.”

“It’s just me, Meiro-chan, and Rose-chan, so I think we can make it. Whichever of us takes the lead can probably counter any attacks.”

“Then let’s go there~. I’m looking forward to it~”

“The entrance to the shortcut course is…”

“A limestone cave?”

“Whoa~ it’s so pretty~”

Following the map, they dropped by the shortcut course, but to their surprise, the entrance was blocked by water.

“However, since human hands worked on this, going through the waterway will probably bring us inside~. Now then, what shall we do~? I can swim, though.”

“I can swim too! I’m good at the breaststroke!”

“Which means…”

The two of them glanced over at Meiro. However,

“What are you expecting! I can probably swim! Could you not arbitrarily make me out to be the only non-swimmer character?”

“Well~ it’s a common party member trope~”

“If you can’t swim, Meiro-chan, I’ll take you along!”

“I’m fine on my own… Besides, if the worst comes to worst, I can use my Magic Flute to build a submarine.”

“I wonder how many months that would take?”

“U-Shut up. At any rate, I can swim, so there’s no problem!”

Now then, the three of them began preparing at the cave entrance. Their preparation consisted of:

“How is it~?”

“As expected of melon boobs.”

A beautiful girl clad in a frilly white and pink bikini. It went remarkably well with her pink hair. Rose pushed her breasts against Konoha’s arm, as if showing off her voluptuous body to Meiro.

“Wawa-wait! Rose-chan!?”

“When you say swimming, you gotta have a swimsuit after all~! I’m so glad I brought it~”

“Your chest! Your chest is touching me~!”

“We’re both girls, so there’s no problem at all~”

“Hawa, hawawawa.”

Konoha inadvertently felt dizzy from the sweet scent Rose gave off. As something soft pressed closely against Konoha’s slender arm, her face gradually turned bright red.

“U-Um… this is embarrassing.”

“Konon is so cute~! I think I wanna see more of Konon’s cute side.”

Because Rose leaned right up to her ear and whispered so voluptuously, Konoha’s self-control was becoming slightly endangered.

(This is weird, this is so weird! She’s a girl! Why is my heart pounding so fast!? Ugh…)

“Ehehe, you’re blushing~ Wait, why is it cold!?”

“Get away from Konoha already, melon boobs. I’ll kill you.”

Meiro approached while scattering cold air into her surroundings. Are you aware that the water surface is starting to freeze little by little?

“Now, now, I don’t want you to get mad. More importantly, what are Me-chan and Konon going to do~?”

“Nothing in particular. We can just swim in our underwear.”

“Ah, but if you give me about an hour, I can use my Tailoring Skill to make one for you too, Meiro-chan.”

“Ooh~ Konon has a Tailoring Skill~ Then shall we start with the body measurements~”

Rose approached Meiro with her eyes shining.

“Wait!? What, what’s with those wiggling hands!?”

“Heh heh heh, give up already~ I’ll examine every single corner of your body~”

“Wait, stop! Kyaaah!”

Rose pinned Meiro down and intertwined her hands with hers. As for Meiro:

(What a pretty face. And such a nice scent… Wait, what am I thinking about a person like this!)

“Ehehe, a frightened Me-chan is kinda enticing~”

“That remark is completely that of a pervert. Besides, I’m not frightened.”

Meiro glared up at her, while Rose smirked effortlessly and brought her face closer. As Konoha watched anxiously, Rose let out a soft sigh and slowly moved away from Meiro.

“Just kidding~ But if we’re making a swimsuit, we have to measure your body properly, right~? Like those breasts of yours~”

“Wh-!? Y-You…!”

“Now, Konon!”

“Got it!”

“Whaaah!? When did you get behind me!?”

Konoha pinned Meiro’s arms from behind. Then, Rose sported an evil grin while wiggling her fingers.

“Now, time to surrender for real this time~”

“W-Wait, stop, stop it! A-Kya, kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

After this, they conducted an extensive body measurement.

~1 Hour Later~

“Waaah~! Me-chan and Konon! You’re both super cute~!”

Meiro wore a light blue swimsuit, and Konoha wore a black swimsuit. Both the satisfied Konoha and the beet-red Meiro—who looked like a boiled octopus as she averted her eyes in embarrassment—were beautiful enough that if they held a fan meet in those outfits, they could easily form a massive line.

“Maybe we should try charging money for this next time~”

“N-O! Why do we have to do something weird like that!”

(Ah, right, there aren’t things like idols in this world.)

“All right!! Time to swim!!”

Konoha dived into the lake. With a loud splash, Konoha submerged into the water.

“Phew! Hey~! It feels great~!”

“Ahaha~ Konon is so energetic~ Let’s go too~”

“Yeah, sure.”

Konoha, Meiro, and Rose each used the basic spell 《Light》 as they moved through the dark water. Konoha occasionally spun around underwater with joy or dived deeper to play, getting poked by Meiro every single time. She was acting completely like a child.

Incidentally, the reason why the three of them could breathe underwater for so long was, naturally, magic. Or rather, a magical item.

(The item 【Mermaid’s Tear】. A magic item that allows you to move underwater without breathing for up to seven minutes once consumed. It was quite expensive, but I’m glad I bought a few.)

Since exploring caves required adapting to all kinds of terrain changes, procuring various items was essential. This time, Konoha had impulsively bought them after calling them an interesting find, but it ended up coming in handy.

(I wonder how far we’ve gone? I’ve been checking the surface with my Heat Detection skill, but I can’t see the exit at all.)

Then, a telepathic message came in from Rose.

(I’ve grasped our location to some extent with the skill 《Tuning Fork》~ It should be a little further ahead~)

(Understood!)

Though it was dark underwater, the water was exceptionally clear. Of course, they had conducted a water quality check before entering, but there was no telling what might happen along the way. That was what she had thought going in, but honestly, it was an unfounded worry.

(Ah, the exit!)

Light shone through from the surface of the water. Guided by that light, Konoha and the others slowly ascended, and—

“Phew! We made it!! Um, where are we—”

Konoha tried to look around, but standing right there was—

“Grrrrrraaaaaaahhh!!!”

“Huh?”

“GaaahhhAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

A body hard as armor, a massive physique, pitch-black horns, ferocious fangs, and a greatsword held in its hand. In other words, that was—

“A cow?”

“It’s a Minotaur, you idiot! Which means this is the 23rd floor! The Minotaur King’s spawn zone!”

“Ooh~! We hit the jackpot right off the bat!”

“It’s a total loss!! Why are we suddenly on the 23rd floor!? No, Konoha!! Dodge, quick!!”

The Minotaur King glanced at Konoha and the others with its black eyes, then swung down the greatsword in its right hand, which was tens of times larger than Konoha.

“Konoha!!”