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Over in one of the changing rooms of the hotsprings of Island City…

“Hahh… I really had it rough today…”
“Ahahah…at least you made it this far. But it wasn’t thaaat bad, right Kou?”
“I mean, I guess…”

Kou replied to Hijiri while loosening the shoulder strap of her dress.

A moment later, the dress flopped down to the ground. After that, she did the same for the slip she had beneath, which protected her underwear from being seen through the dress.

Then she picked them up to fold them.

“Umm… Is something wrong?”

Kou noticed two girls staring at them with twinkling eyes, who were also in the midst of undressing and only had camisoles and shorts on.

“Ah… It’s just…you’re wearing adult underwear…you seem so mature…”

Hinagiku replied, her eyes envious of Kou as she patted her flat chest covered by a junior bra.

“Err…you…think so?”
“Of course! It feels like everyone in high school is already all grown up, I want to be like that too!”
“Aww, thank you Hinagiku.”

Hijiri knew how to reply better.

But Kou was starting to feel strangely self conscious hearing the girl’s words, and awkwardly hid her chest with her arms. She probably was not talking about being an actual adult like her parents, but it was more of an innocent curiosity about those a few years older than her, like Kou and Hijiri.

Sadly that did not make it any easier for Kou to endure that envious stare. On the other hand…

“You have such nice skin too…it’s white like snow, and so silky smooth…aww…”

Miyuki also seemed envious, but in her case it was more like a young girl dreaming about becoming a princess. Unable to bear those stares any longer, Kou quickly finished undressing and ran out of the changing room.

Shortly after, Kou was caught by Hijiri, and brought to one of the private washing booths.

“…Hijiri? Is there really a need to take so long? It was never like this before”
“Of course there is~”

Kou muttered that, putting all her strength into avoiding looking at the mirror so she would not see Hijiri behind her, who was humming happily the entire time.

For some reason, Hijiri took more than twice as long to wash Kou’s hair, and then proceeded to spend more time applying conditioner too, at which point Kou got tired of waiting.

“You spent a lot of time in sea water, if we don’t take care of it, your hair will get all messed up~”
“But I already took a shower to wash that off before…”

Kou continued to complain for a while longer, waiting for everything to end. Eventually, Hijiri took a towel and wrapped it around Kou’s head, and happily announced, “There, all done,” and finally freed.

Exhausted beyond measure, Kou stood up on wobbly feet and trudged toward the hot springs.

I really need to learn how to do this myself.

Even if Hijiri kept repeating that she enjoyed doing that, Kou continued to feel some apprehension about taking so much time away from her, as Hijiri had not been able to wash her own hair that entire time.

When she reached the hot springs, Kou found a familiar face in an unfamiliar situation.

“…Are you alright? Your face doesn’t look too good… Umm, hello, Sara?”
“……Ah, Mitsuki?”

Sara, who was in the hot spring, turned around in confusion. Kou remembered her as always looking alert and composed, which was quite different from her current state.

It reeks of alcohol here.

Kou swallowed those words as she got closer, while Sara’s head wobbled around in a groggy manner as she tried to follow Kou with her eyes.

They had also invited Hisui to the hot springs, who had been drinking with Sara earlier, but she had already blacked out and the class president had to help her. Because of that, she would visit the hot springs early the next morning instead.

“I thought it wasn’t a good idea to take a bath after getting drunk?”
“I mean… Only God knows when I’ll ever get the chance to take a vacation in a resort like this, so might as well…”
“I see… Well, at least you worked hard..?”

Kou felt a bit of sympathy for Sara, even if the alcohol was making her sound a bit argumentative. The two remained silent for a while after that, until Kou could not bear with the silence anymore and asked something that had been in her mind.

“Sara… You know, right? I mean… about me.”
“…Well, yes. You were a patient, so I heard a thing or two.”

Realizing that was a more serious conversation, Sara adjusted herself to sit upright before replying.

“So… it doesn’t bother you? I used to be a guy, but now we’re taking a bath together.”

Kou gulped loudly after hearing her own words. She was almost trembling with fear, wondering if she would be shunned.

“…Maybe it’s because of my line of work, but I actually empathize with you, and I can only imagine how much worrying about this weighs on you.”

As she replied, Sara gently placed her hand on Kou’s head.

“Don’t worry. We’ve only properly known each other for a short time, but it’s been enough for me to know you won’t take advantage of your position.”
“…Thank you.”

Kou had to make an effort to hold back tears hearing such a heartfelt response.

“And in all regards, you’re a girl now, and you have to act as one. That includes what you wear, how you go to the toilet, and how you bathe.”

While Kou was asleep, Amari had been busy arranging things in the background, changing the family register to show her as a girl, and somehow even altering the memories of people who once knew Kou to remember her as a girl. As far as the world as a whole went, Kou had always been a girl.

“To be honest, the medical files about you that I read are the only instances in which I saw you as a boy.”

She added that, for her, it was too surreal to think of Kou as anything but a girl, and Kou was simply too cute anyway, which made Kou embarrassed.

“Anyway, I’m sorry but I’ve hit my limit on serious conversations… Ahh…”

Sara had said everything she felt was necessary and her brain needed a rest, so she slid to recline her body. That meant her chest was at full display, which was too much for Kou to handle so she reflexively looked away as her face got red.

And just when we were having such a nice conversation…

Kou was under the impression that Sara had a more mature and serious personality than that, or rather, that was usually the case.

Her current behavior was purely induced by alcohol, and it was a good lesson on the effects excessive drinking could have, even if it was a bad situation. Overall, it left Kou with conflicted emotions.

Let’s go outside.

The indoor hot spring was rather crowded by naked women, which was rather damaging to Kou’s eyes. So she decided to try her luck with the outdoor one instead.

That place resembled a garden naturally enclosed by rock walls, with a roof to protect from people peeking from above. But the side that faced the sea was open. As Kou watched that scenery in admiration, she felt a light breeze pass by her body.

“Hyah?! I… I should get in the water.”

Even if they were in the middle of summer, the breeze at night felt quite chilly against bare skin. Kou’s body began to tremble as her temperature dropped rapidly, so she tried to get into the water when…

“Hyahhh?!”
“Ghuh?!”

Something hit her from behind, forcing a strange noise out of her mouth.

Being a vampire gave Kou a resilient body, and there was a wooden column she held onto for support, so she was able to remain standing even after someone violently bumped into her and hugged her from behind.

“I…I’m so sorry..!”
“It’s…it’s fine, but…could you let go already?!”

Otherwise, Kou would succumb to panic.

Kou felt a cold sweat start to build up as she realized two soft lumps pressing tightly against her back. Somehow, she managed to break free from that situation and took a few steps away, where she took deep breaths trying to regain her composure.

“Hahh… Are you okay?”
“Woah…so pretty…just like a princess…”

The young girl muttered in a daze as she looked at Kou, bathed in moonlight. Eventually, concern won over her racing emotions, so Kou turned around to ask if the girl was alright.

“Wait, Miyuki?”
“Y-Yes… But I’m okay!!”

When Kou turned around, she found out that the girl who ran into her was Miyuki, who had fallen on her knees while awkwardly covering her chest, and with her long hair wrapped in a towel. For some reason, she was staring at Kou in a daze.

“I-I’m so sorry… The floor was wet and I slipped and…”
“It’s fine… Let’s just get in the water already.”

The cute girl in front of her, who was also younger, was in a rather vulnerable state. Her nape, usually covered by hair, was now exposed, and something was clearly visible around her chest. Her lower half was completely unprotected, leaving Kou’s eyes darting around, unsure of where to focus.

Knowing her willpower would not last much longer, Kou carefully took Miyuki’s hand and made her go into the water with her.

“Hmm… Is it me or does this feel different from the water inside?”
“It feels a bit more slimy…hahh…”

Both of them submerged their bodies down to their shoulders, warming up their bodies that had gotten cold from the night breeze, and letting out sighs of relaxation.

The water there felt a bit more viscous compared to that of the indoor hot spring, and had a white cloudiness to it. But that also meant it was much harder to see anything that submerged in the water, which finally allowed Kou to rest at ease.

“Umm… I still feel bad for earlier…”
“Oh…it’s fine…”

Miyuki’s face was still red from embarrassment about what happened earlier, and Kou was not sure how to reply, so she just mumbled something random. She, however, could not get the image of Miyuki on the floor out of her mind, and the clear valley on Miyuki’s chest that she had caught but a glimpse of.

I lost.

Kou held her own chest, which only had enough to feel soft, and tried pulling it together to see if it would look anywhere near what she had seen on that girl three years younger than her. But then she caught herself and shook her head, trying to stop thinking about it.

Size order: Hijiri > Miyuki > Kou > Hinagiku

As much as she tried to stop, she subconsciously thought of that.

It’s…it’s fine, I’m still ahead of Hinagiku!

She tried to comfort herself with that, but it only lasted a short time.

“She’s in elementary school, for Pete’s sake! Why would I ever feel proud of that?!”
“A-Are you okay?!”

It made no sense to compare herself to someone who had probably not even hit puberty yet.

Kou was filled with frustration, realizing that she had been trying to feel superior through senseless means, and shouted while embracing her head and going in circles.

Miyuki was startled by Kou’s sudden shout followed by those strange movements, and tried to calm her as best as she could…