Just as I was finishing my praise for Hikari, Touka—who’d been waiting her turn—lunged at me with a hug. I almost lost all sense of reason from the soft pressure of her small but definite curves.
「H-Hey, Touka, let go!」
「Ehh, what’s wrong, onii-chan～?」
She pressed her chest against me with deliberate insistence.
The soft, squishy sensation shifted with her movement, delivering slip damage straight to my mental fortitude.
「Touka-san… please… back off for now…」
My reason was so frayed my speech turned robotic.
「Ehhh～」
「Then I’ll only praise Haruka, not you, Touka.」
Hearing that, Haruka seemed startled—maybe because she thought she’d been skipped.
「That’s not fair! I don’t mind if Haruka gets praised first, but I want praise too!」
Touka protested.
「Fweh!?」
Haruka was shocked again by the sudden turn.
Thankfully, Touka finally backed off, and the critical danger passed.
Now that I could breathe again, I took a good look at Haruka in her swimsuit.
The large frills were delicately arranged, and even her arms had little frills. Despite it being a bikini design, the overall look was adorably modest. The lapis color—matching Touka’s hair rather than her own—gave her a composed aura, different from her usual image.
「Haruka, um… the frills really suit your vibe, and the color from Touka gives you this calm, elegant feeling. With your hair in a ponytail too, it adds a cute new touch. You look really adorable.」
「Onii-chan, so in other words?」
Touka asked teasingly.
「Yeah—super cute.」
As I said it, Haruka turned bright red and slowly sank into the water up to her nose, bubbling away.
「Okay! My turn now! How do I look!?」
Her swimsuit covered from the neck down to the chest with fabric, and lace framed the collar area. The bottoms, though, were a standard bikini style—not quite matching her usual energetic vibe, yet oddly fitting in a healthy kind of way. Honestly, without some shorts or something, it was dangerously stimulating.
「Hmm… It really suits you, Touka. The lace gives it a mature touch, and the contrast with your usual energy is super cute. The twin tails really help amplify that gap moe effect too.」
As I praised her and patted her head, her face gradually turned red, and she started sinking into the water just like Haruka, bubbling up to her nose. They really are twins…
I quickly slipped deeper into the bath to avoid the topic of helping wash anyone’s body.
「Man… this bath is amazing. Feels like it’s just melting all my fatigue away…」
Then a thought hit me.
「Oh right, Haruka. How come there’s a bath like this in a private house? It’s like something out of a public bathhouse.」
I figured rich families might have something like this, but I couldn’t help asking.
「Well, you see, our father is a master of the Takanashi-style martial arts. So we often have guests from other schools or important visitors come by. The bath is used as a place for socializing or for their use as well, that’s why it’s built like this.」
「Wow… Haruka-chan and Touka-chan, your house must be amazing, huh.」
You blinked in surprise as she replied.
「Yup! But actually, Tomoe-chan’s house next door is even more amazing!」
Haruka answered excitedly.
「Yeah, yeah! You know those lion fountains from manga? She has one of those that actually pours hot water!」
Touka leaned forward, just as excited.
「And the garden! It’s got a full-on Japanese rock garden—like, with real karesansui and everything!」
Karesansui, huh… like the one we saw in Kyoto during our school trip.
「That’s incredible… She has something like that at home? Come to think of it, what does Tomoe-chan’s family do?」
「Her father’s a Diet member. He’s an executive officer in a national political party.」
「Wh… What? A Diet member!? So like, an actual politician…?」
I was floored. I’d figured she came from a good family, especially with her saying she was going to a matchmaking meeting and all. She liked making pudding and sweets too. But this… this was way beyond what I’d imagined.
「That’s right. We’ve been childhood friends and trained in the same school for so long that we sometimes forget, but Tomoe-chan’s totally an ojou-sama.」
「But if that’s the case… why would she become an explorer?」
The question just slipped out.
Touka, now energized, jumped in with an answer.
「That’s because Tomoe-chan has a rare job called 【Shirabyoushi】! Since we have rare jobs too, we all decided to become explorers together!」
「Wait, you two too?」
「Yup! We’re both 【Martial Artists】! There are a few around the world, but it’s still considered pretty rare!」
「You two are amazing…」
While we were talking, Touka suddenly stood up and declared,
「Okay! Time to wash onii-chan’s back～」
…So she hadn’t forgotten about that.
I poured magic into my limbs, cast Body Enhancement, and leapt out of the bath. Just as I reached for the bathhouse door—
I was hugged from behind.
Wait… hugged!?
I turned to see Touka grinning mischievously at me.
「Touka, let go for now.」
「Nope. You’ll just run away.」
「I won’t run, I swear.」
「Still nope.」
「Fine…」
I took a breath and asked her:
「Touka, that move just now—can you already use Body Enhancement?」
She paused to think, then replied:
「I’ll tell you if you let me wash your body♪」
「…Wasn’t it just my back? And what if I say no?」
「Then I’ll just keep pressing up against you like this♪ And I’ll bring in Haruka and Hikari-neesan too♪」
Ah. So there’s no escape…
And in terms of speed, Touka’s even faster than me. Resistance is futile!
「I surrender. I accept your terms…」
Still hugging me, she dragged me into the inner bathhouse.
「Hikari-neesan! Haruka! Yuuki-onii-chan said okay～!」
…Guess I’ll have to brace myself.
Hang in there, my sanity!!
-0-
Sanity: Nope. ＞_(:3」∠)_
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