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Due to Maxwell’s sudden plan, it was decided that we fourth years would be heading to the Sword Kingdom of Alecmarle. There were still things left to settle, such as making everyone aware of it, gathering the participants, and other trip preparations, so all that would take about a month.

And after that one month passed, it was already July. The usual swimming practices restarted, and I had to deal with seeing the bodies of my classmates whose sexual traits started to emerge.

Even I was the target of such gazes. In this season, in particular, the boys were sending lusty gazes at me, making me feel like vomiting.

“I never thought I would one day be the target of such gazes…”

I was thinking about such things while paddling through the artificial swimming pool. It was a little tough for me to swim across the pool that was about 30 meters long, but considering the early days when I fainted right after getting into the water, I made remarkable progress.

Moreover, when I was submerged it allowed me to avoid those gazes and forget some things, so it felt rather refreshing.

“Ohh, you’ve become quite a good swimmer already, Nicole.”

Cortina met me on the other side after I made it through. As expected of a feline race, her limbs were the very picture of youth despite her already hitting her forties. Her swimsuit that was full of exposure was a delicious sight for sore eyes.

“Wait, that makes me no different from those boys.”
“Hm? I think that would be a little tough for you, don’t you think?”

I was talking about the way I was looking at her, but she seemed to have misunderstood it to mean my swimming ability. At my age, there was already a gap forming between the physical abilities of boys and girls, so the boys were able to swim a little faster.

Of course, if I used my threads to strengthen myself, I would not lose to them… Actually, wouldn’t that serve as good training to operate my body through threads alone?

Next time we come to swim, I’ll try it out with threads that will be invisible in the water.

“Fuuh.”

I got out of the water, removed the hat that kept my hair in place and grabbed the towel. I had to quickly dry myself or I’d get a cold. My hair fluttered down and stuck to my body, making me feel kind of unpleasant.

I proceeded to wipe off the droplets of water from my head with the prepared towel. I wasn’t rubbing it hard, but instead gently pressing on it. Finia kept insisting that my hair would get damaged if I didn’t do that.

The damn atmosphere of the forest coupled with the blazing sun made it relentlessly humid.

“This season sure drains your energy even if you just stand and do nothing, huh.”
“Well, Nicole, I don’t think this season is to blame for your case.”

My legs were trembling after I got out of the water. My stamina shortage was really something.

Moreover, my skin also started to redden a little. I was weak even against the sun. The bath tonight might sting quite a bit.

“This is still considerable progress!”
“Yup. You used to float like a jellyfish before.”
“I suppose this is the result of the growth period.”
“Indeed. You even brought the swimsuit replacements twice.”

Since entering the academy, I have grown about 30 cm taller. Since I had to adjust my swimsuits to my growth, I, unfortunately, had to visit the town to buy new ones a few times. I say ‘unfortunately’ because Finia turned me into a dress-up doll on those occasions.

I’m not sure why I ended up having to wear a bunch of dresses when I originally left to buy swimsuits. Even the store staff seemed to be at a loss.

“Well, then, since you look so lively, how about another round?”
“…Well, fine.”

Swimming one more length was harsh, but it was better than being under so many curious gazes. Ever since I got out of the water, forget the boys even the girls were staring my way. It even made me double-check my body, wondering if there was anything wrong with me.

Flat chest, limbs with no muscle, nails that shone like pearls, and glossy, baby-like skin that repelled water.

“Ugh…”

S̲h̲i̲t̲, I’m a kid no matter how you look at it. Compared to the erotic body of Cortina beside me, mine felt pathetic.

She wore a racing swimsuit which unsparingly made a display of her slender yet extremely feminine figure. If I was still a guy, I would’ve gotten aroused without a doubt. I mean, I could get aroused even now, but I had no way of “showing” it. My little man was… gone.

“Cortina, are you trying to mock me?”
“How did you reach that conclusion?”

As if to escape from her who retorted with an exasperated expression, I went to stand at the edge of the swimming pool. Perhaps it wasn’t me but her that the boys were gazing at. That must be the case. Let’s assume that was it.

“Okay, I’m heading in.”
“Huh, seriously? Be careful, Nicole. Your body must be nearing its limit.”
“How come you’re acting surprised now…”

Based on her reaction, it seemed that her “go do another round” from earlier was a joke. After giving off a curt reply, I dived into the water.

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Seeing Nicole jump into the pool, Cortina heaved a deep sigh. How far did her self-awareness go, she wondered.

In these three—and already breaking into four—years, Nicole had matured a lot at Cortina’s side.

Her hands grew long and slim, and her body was slowly getting tinged with maturity and gaining its luster. When she removed her hat and let her bluish-silver hair flow, it clung to her body like she was in the shower, and even she, another woman, couldn’t help but gulp.

Cortina could understand and relate to why all the boys were devouring her with their eyes.

However, she – Nicole, was not self-aware of that fact. Even if she was aware that her looks were somewhere above average, she still did not fully realize just how breathtakingly beautiful she already was.

She interacted with people casually like a boy, completely defenselessly and straightforwardly. She was not aware of just how many misunderstandings that was causing.

“I wish I could make her more aware of it…”

Of course, kids were made to take general lessons about it. At ten, it was already a good time for sex education. And Nicole also took them, but she always took them with low interest, as if she was looking at something depraved.

Perhaps it was because Maria and Lyell—and even Finia—had been raising her like a sheltered girl, with all the care and carefulness, that she had grown to be so fastidious regarding the sexual relationships.

To be more accurate, Cortina was partly to blame too, since Nicole had spent considerable time at her side.

Thinking so, Cortina looked towards Nicole who was swimming vigorously. There, she saw a girl swimming with such a beautiful form that you wouldn’t believe she was a child. While looking at that, she directed her consciousness somewhere else.

The boys in the surroundings were staring at her as if she was a beautiful flower. Nay, it wasn’t just the boys. More than half of the girls, too, were looking at her with longing eyes.

She was gaining unbelievable attention in this academy. Only she herself was not aware of that fact.

“I have to get her to fully realize that she is a beauty before some trouble happens.”

Cortina nodded to herself and folded her arms. But then, she heard a panicking voice of a student.

“Teacher! Nicole… Nicole started floating again!!”

Returning to her senses, Cortina saw that in that one instant she wasn’t paying attention, Nicole managed to sink down and then started floating around. It seemed that 50 meters were too much for her, in the end.

Cortina jumped into the water in a hurry and commenced the rescue operation.

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