Episode 136

We looked around in confusion, following the staff’s gaze. At the lobby entrance, staff had lined up on both sides.

As the transparent glass doors opened, an elderly man with a white beard, resembling the portrait hanging in the lobby, entered. That must be Keikos, the Marquis.

The Marquis had a straight back and a strong build, comparable to that of younger men. His neatly combed white hair and thick white beard didn’t make him look old, but rather emphasized his dignity.

All the staff standing greeted him with a bow, lowering their heads to their waists.

“Good day, Marquis!”

Following the Marquis, a dozen people entered. They were likely the vassals managing the estate and club operators.

“It’s another fine day. Everyone, get to work.”

The Marquis smiled warmly as he passed through the lobby and ascended the central marble staircase. Once he had fully reached the upper floor, the staff straightened up and dispersed.

It was an impressive entrance, truly befitting of the Marquis. The Marquis held the second-highest rank among the noble titles of Duke, Earl, Viscount, Baron, and Commoner. Most in this rank controlled specific regions.

It was through his immense power and wealth that he could develop such a luxurious tourist complex. I don’t know what happened, but it seems that Grace Bay has truly been annexed to the Keikos Marquisate.

“My apologies, customer. Let me guide you again.”

The staff member apologized and continued speaking.

“We have one suite available for seven people. The layout is as follows.”

She showed us a luxurious cedarwood plaque with the floor plan of the room engraved on it. It seemed the patterns were burned into the wood with a heated iron by a skilled craftsman.

The suite had a large living room and a small kitchen in the center, with three attached rooms. I could use the smallest room by myself, and the other two rooms could accommodate the rest of the group.

“How many beds are there?”

“Each room comes with two beds by default, but we can add more if you’d like.”

“What do you think, Saintess…or should I say, Seleiza?”

There was no need for others to know that Seleiza was a saintess. If someone were overly zealous, they might cause trouble over it.

Seleiza, called by her name, fidgeted awkwardly, twisting her body as she shyly responded.

“I don’t mind either…”

“Then we’ll take this room.”

The staff member calculated the room charge and umbrella rental fee while tapping a small abacus. Then, she told us the final amount.

“It’s ten gold coins, sir.”

“What?!”

Before I could react, Seleiza screamed in shock. As a result, the other desk staff and customers all turned to look at us.

“It’s ten gold coins, sir.”

The staff member smiled brightly and repeated herself. She seemed to think that Seleiza was merely asking again because of a misunderstanding over the amount.

“Bertrand… It’s ten gold coins…”

Hmm…ten gold coins… That’s the amount of money I’d use to pay for ten months of Idi’s salary in just one night. Of course, this doesn’t include meals.

If we use the restaurant and other facilities in the opposite building, I’m sure we’ll spend even more. With seven people, we’ll probably end up spending at least five more gold coins.

This is incredibly expensive. Though I’m sure it’s worth the price… My lips are getting dry.

I mentally repeated François’s words. Yeah. Since we’re already here for fun, let’s enjoy it.

I counted the gold coins I had brought and found five gold coins. This was a significant amount for a trip with seven people, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Is there a bank here by any chance?”

“Of course, sir. If you head over to the opposite club, there’s a branch of the Guild Bank on the first floor.”

I was half-doubting it, but to my surprise, there was even a bank. Keikos, the Marquis, was really planning to do business here.

I crossed over to the building called the “club” with Seleiza. There, I showed my identification and withdrew an additional ten gold coins.

The Guild Bank was completely different from the Kingdom’s Central Bank. It was run by the Noble’s Council, and its fees and interest rates were much higher than those of the Central Bank.

After the bank clerk checked my identification and handed over the money without hesitation, Seleiza stared at me with suspicious eyes.

“Bertrand, are you incredibly rich?”

“I’m not rich, just getting by.”

I paid the full room charge at the hotel desk.

As the gold coins with the face of King Blavan were passed from my hand to the clerk’s, Seleiza looked at them with a sad expression. To her, it must be incomprehensible that ten gold coins could vanish in a single night.

However, for a three-room suite in a luxury hotel by the beach, ten gold coins is a bit expensive, but not completely unreasonable.

“Why the long face? Since we’re here to enjoy ourselves, let’s spend while we’re at it.”

“But ten gold coins… I’ve never even held ten gold coins in one hand before.”

“Ha ha. Let’s go now. The others are probably waiting.”

As we were about to leave the hotel, the staff explained the transaction system used in Grace Bay. She handed me seven metal bracelets, each with a four-digit number written on it.

Instead of using cash for transactions within the club, we simply show these bracelets.

The hotel will collect and tally everything, and payment will be made in one lump sum when checking out.

That’s a clever system. I had been worried about distributing money to my group with no pockets, but this way, I was relieved.

It seems like the Marquis is quite the businessman…

We left the hotel and bought four cocktails. I couldn’t get all seven because I didn’t have enough hands. I’ll have to tell the others to buy their own.

“Kali, just follow us. Don’t mess with other people, okay?”

Kali was so excited, wagging her tail and barking loudly. Thankfully, she only followed us as we made our way to the umbrellas.

Seleiza and I returned to the beach where the staff were waiting. François, who was lying under the umbrella, raised her upper body and I handed her one of the cool cocktails I was holding.

“Where did you go?”

“We went to book a room at the hotel… Wow.”

François was wearing black mesh silk all over her body. It was a sleeveless dress that extended from her neck down to her chest, waist, and ankles.

The silk dress was completely open at the sides. There were strings tied in a zigzag pattern from her armpits to her hips.

Under the mesh silk, a black bikini was visible. If she had just worn it, it might have seemed ordinary, but the way it peeked through the mesh gave it a rather unique appearance.

François’s large chest was impossible to hide, even with the bikini and mesh silk, showcasing her presence.

“Why? Does it look weird?”

“No…you look beautiful… Ah!”

Seleiza stepped on my foot with her heel. François smiled while taking a sip of her cocktail.

Pelée, lying next to her, seemed to have fallen asleep, unaware that her sunglasses had slipped off as she closed her eyes.

“Eek!”

A sharp scream from the sea rang out. Della, Marim, and Iddi were tangled up in a struggle. At first, it seemed like they were fighting, but that wasn’t the case.

“Give it to me! I want to ride!”

Marim, flickering and flashing, reached out to grab Idi’s chest. Marim was wearing a rainbow-colored string bikini.

She was generally on the slimmer side, but due to carrying heavy bags and running around every day, she had quite a bit of muscle tone.

Every time she moved her arm toward Idi, the muscles on her back twitched, and as she ran forward, the muscles in her thighs formed distinct curves.

“Hehe. Even if I fall into the water, I can survive as long as Idi’s chest is around.”

In the end, Marim grabbed one side of Idi’s chest with both hands. Idi let out a surprised “Ahh!” and collapsed into the water with a splash.

Seeing this, Della laughed brightly and dashed through the water toward them.

Della wore a large straw hat with ribbons and a lace-trimmed two-piece bikini. It wasn’t a revealing outfit, but it suited her bright and cheerful personality.

Against the emerald sea and pale sky, she looked like the sea goddess Mer, with her golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes sparkling as she smiled.

“Ugh…I swallowed water…”

“Grab my hand and get up, Idi.”

Idi, who had been sitting in the water, grabbed Della’s hand to stand up. However, because Idi was quite heavy, Della stumbled and was pulled down, crashing forward.

“Hehe… Sorry…”

Idi helped Della up as they both rose from the water. The daring bikini Idi wore barely stayed on and managed to support her heavy chest.

Unlike the string bikini she wore when trying to seduce me before, this one at least covered her chest and hips in a modest way. If it weren’t for Pelée, I imagine there would’ve been bizarre feathers attached to it.

“Hey! You guys, come here for a second!”

When I called out, they splashed out of the water and walked toward the umbrella. People passing by stopped and stared at them in awe.

“Make sure everyone wears these bracelets. You just show them, and you won’t have to pay for anything. I didn’t have enough hands to buy yours, so you’ll have to get your own food.”

“What all can we use with these?”

I told them about everything I had seen. Their faces alternated between disbelief and eager anticipation.

“Let’s go quickly!”

Marim grabbed Della and Idi by the arms with both hands and dragged them ahead. While Della wasn’t a problem, Idi wasn’t the kind of person who could be dragged around so easily.

“Hey, Idi, stop dragging your feet!”

“Hehe… Alright… Let’s go…”

Once the kids disappeared, it finally seemed to quiet down a bit. I sat down next to François under the umbrella, holding my cocktail. Seleiza quickly ran over and sat close to me.

“Seleiza, sorry, but it’s really hot. Can you give me some space?”

“No.”

The more I asked, the tighter she clung to my arm. It’s really hot…

“Bertrand, if it gets too hot, want to join me in the water?”

Suddenly, Seleiza stood up with an eager idea and tugged at my wrist. I didn’t want to get up, but I didn’t want to refuse her either, so I followed her.

Seleiza pulled me into the water. She stopped when the water reached her waist, then looked back at me.

“Bertrand, come closer.”

She came closer and grabbed my wrist, pulling it toward her hips. I instinctively wrapped my hand around her waist.

Seleiza pressed her body against mine, and her hand slid between my legs. As I tried to pull away, she wrapped her other arm tightly around my waist.

“I saw everything, Bertrand.”

“What do you mean…?”

“That look you gave the staff earlier.”

Did I? Did I do that? I just looked without thinking… Is she imagining things?

“You never looked at me like that.”

“What…? How could you look at a saintess like that…? And when I look at the others, it’s not like I think that way…”

“This.”

Seleiza clenched her hand around me tightly. I was completely cornered, unable to move, staring down at her.