Infinite Stratos, Volume 3, page 7
“All right, we’ll go get lunch then.”
“Don’t be late coming back.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
With that, we left the beach. It was just past noon, so plenty of other students were leaving, too.
“Did you see Ms. Orimura’s swimsuit? It looked great! She looks so awesome in it.”
“I’m jealous.”
“Keep being jealous, because you aren’t ever gonna be like that.”
“I-I won’t know until I try!”
Everyone was excited. Hearing a family member being praised was like being tickled, I didn’t know whether to laugh or be nervous. They were right, though. It did look good on her. She looked awesome. Like a model—no, better than a model.
“Ichika, is Ms. Orimura your type?”
“My... Huh? Why are you asking me that all of a sudden, Charl?”
“Oh, no reason in particular. I just thought you were looking at her a lot differently than you looked at us.”
Was Charl... Mad? But why?
“Looks like I have a lot of rivals. And not easy ones, either. Especially if Ms. Orimura is on the list.”
Yeah, she was definitely tough. Last month we saw her wielding an IS blade with her bare hands. How much skill and how much strength must that take?
“Yeah, she really is amazing.”
“I’m not sure you understood what I meant, Ichika.”
“Eh? Really?”
“Really. Definitely. Sigh... Sometimes I think you, yourself, are the toughest one.”
Huh, really? Honestly, I’d rather not spar with her if I could avoid it. We’d teamed up before, so she knew all my tricks.
“Oh well, no sense in thinking too hard about it. C’mon, Ichika. Let’s go!”
“Sure.”
I didn’t really understand why, but it seemed like her mood had passed, as she took my hand and led me toward the beach house to change. Sure, I wanted to swim again later, but who would go get lunch in their swim trunks?
“I wonder what’s for lunch? We’re at the ocean, maybe we’ll get sashimi.”
“Sashimi! That sounds great, I love it when it’s fresh.”
It seemed like Charl had really taken to Japanese culture. If it was Cecilia, she’d be complaining about how unthinkable it was to eat fish without cooking it. And Laura, on the other hand, would go “Don’t worry. I’m trained in jungle survival, I know what I can eat raw safely.” It’s not like that, Laura. Speaking of which... I realized I hadn’t seen Houki all morning. Didn’t she go down to the beach? She’s a great swimmer, I wonder why not. As I thought about that, I split from Charl to go to the boys’ changing stall.
◇
In seemingly no time at all, it had become half past seven. I was eating dinner in the banquet hall, which was composed of three separate wings.
“This is great! It’s awesome that we get sashimi for lunch and dinner.”
“Yeah. They really spare no expense at IS Academy.”
Charl, sitting to my right, nodded as she spoke. Like everyone else here, Charl was wearing a yukata. I didn’t really understand why, but it seemed to be a resort rule.
“Yukata are required while dining.”
Isn’t it usually the other way around? The first year students, packed together in straight rows, were all kneeling, as was proper for a tatami room. Each had a small table placed before them. The menu was sashimi, a simple hot pot, and two different wild vegetable salads. There was also dashi red miso soup and a quick pickle medley. Now, this all may sound completely average, but the sashimi: it was filefish. It even had the liver left in. I couldn’t believe it. My tongue silently bathed in its unique mouthfeel and mild taste. Even the liver was simply rich, rather than gamey or off. I was beginning to understand why it had become so popular lately.
“This is really good. It even has real wasabi. I’m amazed that they’re actually feeding this to high schoolers,” I said aloud.
“Real wasabi?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? It’s the kind grated straight from the root.”
“Eh? Then what’s the stuff we get when they have sashimi at the dining hall at school?”
“Oh, that’s prepared wasabi. That stuff’s normally made with horseradish. They just dye it to look like the real thing.”
“Hmm. So this is the real deal?”
“Yeah. Though prepared wasabi’s gotten pretty good lately, too. Some restaurants even mix it with the real stuff.”
“Huh.”
She took a bite. Wait, Charl, did you really just eat that whole mound of wasabi?
“MMPH!”
Yep, she really did. Now she was pinching her nose as tears streamed down her face. I couldn’t believe she just did that...
“Are you okay?”
“Hm fnnh...” As she spoke in a nasal voice, Charl tried to keep up a relaxed grin, but her tears belied her efforts. “It... It’s certainly flavorful... It’s delicious... I think?”
Sometimes she tries way too hard.
“Ugh...”
Oh, and Cecilia, sitting to my left, had been groaning like this all meal. It seemed like she wasn’t at all used to kneeling. She had hardly eaten her food.
“Are you okay, Cecilia? You don’t look well.”
“I... I’m perfectly fine...”
She definitely didn’t seem fine. Was kneeling that difficult for her? She was trembling harder and harder, but something—maybe her pride as an Englishwoman—still made her take her chopsticks to hand.
“I suppose... I’ll try...”
Her slow gulps made it clear that she was having difficulty even with the soup. Speaking of which, since IS Academy took applications from all around the world, the students and teachers around me were a very diverse group. Even the wall of yukatas around me was broken up by blonde hair here, silver hair there, brown skin and blue eyes. It almost felt like I could take a world tour without leaving the room. Nah, not really.
“It... It’s quite good...”
A smile slowly appeared on her face. Wow, she really looked like she was forcing herself.
“You don’t have to keep kneeling, Cecilia. Why don’t you go to a table? Plenty of other girls from our class have. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Since there were so many nationalities, races, and religions represented, they’d thought to provide an adjoining room with tables for those who had difficulty eating while kneeling. The small tables we had also separated into a frame and a serving tray, so anyone who wanted to move could just bring their food with them.
“I’ll endure. It’s nothing at all compared to what I went through to get my hands on this seat.”
Hm? What did she mean by ‘get my hands on this seat’? I thought we just sat down in the order we walked in. Was I wrong?
“Ichika, there are things girls have to deal with.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
I guess she was right. Speaking of which, where was Houki? Oh, there she was, sitting at the far end of the next row. You could tell she was raised in a dojo by how straight she held her back even eating while kneeling. She was carrying on a lively conversation with classmates, and didn’t notice me looking. It was no real surprise that she looked amazing in a yukata. Was this what they meant when they talked about the flower of Japanese womanhood?
“Oh, Orimura! Hey!”
The girl next to Houki noticed me and waved her hand. At once, Houki’s expression changed from enjoyment to a steely glare in my direction. I could just tell she wanted to shout over, “Stop leering at girls, you creep!” I gave a halfhearted wave back, and went back to my dinner. They’d probably have a hard time eating if I kept staring at them.
And hey, where did Tabane go, anyway? After all the fanfare of her entrance, she’d disappeared completely. I still didn’t really understand what went through her head.
“Ughhh...”
And then there was Cecilia. It really seemed like she couldn’t handle kneeling at all. She’d just dropped her sashimi twice.
“Cecilia?”
“I am not going to move.”
She shot me down before I could even ask.
“You’re not managing to get any food down, though. Should I feed you? I did it for Charl befo—”
“Ichika!” yelled out Charl.
“S-Sorry...”
Whoops, I let it slip out. It must still have been embarrassing for her to have been fed because she couldn’t use chopsticks. I quickly covered my mouth and apologized.
“Is this true, Ichika?!”
Wow, Cecelia seemed really interested. How could I change the subject?
“Well, Charl was sick that day, and—”
“I don’t care what you did or didn’t do for Charlotte! J-Just... Will you really feed me?!”
“Err, sure, I don’t mind. By the time your legs calm down your food would probably get cold, otherwise. And the sashimi’s filefish. It’d be a shame to let it shrivel up.”
“Ah, of course! Yes, yes! Allowing such a wonderful meal to spoil would be an insult to the chef!”
That was definitely true. You couldn’t just take for granted that someone would be there cooking for you. If you forgot to be grateful, you weren’t even human.
“Very well, then. Shall we begin?” Cecilia handed me her chopsticks as she spoke. I took them and immediately picked up a piece of sashimi.
“Are you okay with wasabi, Cecilia?”
“I suppose, if it’s a little bit...”
So not very okay, then. That was a shame, it was good.
“Here goes.”
“Okay. Ahh...”
Just as she was about to bite down, though, trouble started.
“Hey! Hey, wait! No fair, Cecilia! What are you doing?!”
“She’s getting fed by Orimura! What a cheater!”
“No fair! That’s playing dirty! What a minx!”
Ugh, it looked like the other girls saw us. I shouldn’t have been surprised by that, though. We were all sitting in straight rows, it wasn’t like it was that hard.
“Why, this is perfectly fair! It’s simply a privilege of sitting by his side.”
“That’s exactly what isn’t fair!”
“Orimura, feed me, too!”
Suddenly, I was almost crushed under an avalanche of girls seizing the opportunity to experience it for themselves. They needed to cool it. It was pretty obvious that they could all eat by themselves.
“Hurry!”
“Ahh!”
The girls crowded in further. What were they, baby birds?
“Can’t you all even quiet down when you eat?” A voice rang out, and the room froze in place.
“Ms. Orimura...”
“Looks like you’ve all got a lot of excess energy. Very well. How’s an after-dinner run on the beach sound? Let’s go for a distance of, hmm... fifty kilometers seems about right.”
“Oh, no, no! It’s fine! We’ll be quiet now!”
The girls rushed back to their seats. After watching them, Chifuyu turned to look at me.
“Orimura, you need to start less trouble. It’s a pain to clean up after you.”
“Understood.”
Was it really my fault? I guess so.
“So, uh, Cecilia. I’m sorry, but—”
“.........”
Her face had the poutiest pout I’d ever seen. If you typed out the sound you’d imagine it making, you’d have to put at least four tildes on the end.
“Er, ah...”
“No, no, I understand. You certainly value your sister’s opinions very highly.”
Sigh. Looks like she was mad— Oh, right.
“I’ll make up for it, Cecilia. Come to my room later.” As I almost whispered it, Cecilia blinked in confusion.
“Your room? Then, that means—” Suddenly, she clasped my hand between hers and murmured back intensely. “Of course! I understand! Simply give me a short time to prepare!”
Prepare? Prepare for what? As I wondered what she meant, Cecilia seemingly sprang back to life as she devoured her meal. I guess she’d gotten used to kneeling. That was nice, at least.
“Ah, it’s all so wonderful!”
She was definitely hyped up about something. And, I mean, it was good food. I understood where she was coming from. What was this hot pot seasoned with? Ginger, Japanese pepper, and... Hmm. I couldn’t quite make it out. It had a deep, rich flavor, so delicious it made me curious. I guess I was growing more and more domestic as time went on. As I hemmed and hawed over the ingredients, before I noticed, I’d eaten until my stomach was full.
◇
“Ahh, that hit the spot.”
After eating, I went to the hot spring. It was incredibly luxurious. I was in quite the good mood as I returned to my room, after having an open-air bath that looked out over the sea all to myself. Ah, I guess Chifuyu went to bathe too? She wasn’t in the room, so it was probably a safe assumption. Wait— Speak of the devil. Or demon, as may be...
“Aww, you’re alone? You’re going to bore me to death if you don’t try to sneak at least one girl in here.”
“I told you— Oh, never mind. Forget it.”
This room was still pretty much Ms. Orimura’s. It might well have caught up with me later if I’d tried anything indecent. Oh, and it seemed like she had been to the hot springs, as her hair was still wet. Even though she was my sister, seeing glossy black hair like that made my pulse speed up.
“Hey, Chifuyu.”
Thunk. A sharp chop bounced off my head.
“Call me Ms. Orimura.”
“C’mon, it’s fine. There’s only the two of us, and we just got out of the bath, and besides, it’s been forever—”
◆
“Hm-hmhm~♪”
Cecilia hummed happily to herself as she dressed, following a relaxing post-dinner bath and shower. She’d put the resort’s yukata back on, but underneath it was a different set of underwear. Well, it certainly didn’t hurt to be prepared! A confident smile spread over her face as she thought to herself. Cecilia’s classmates, though, couldn’t help noticing her confidence and excitement.
“Did something good happen, Cecilia?”
“Oh, nothing!”
“It... sure doesn’t seem like nothing.”
“Oh, is that so?” she giggled. “Fine, whatever. What a disappointment this trip is, though. I came all ready to have some fun with Orimura, but he’s staying with the demon, so...”
The surrounding girls nodded in shared disappointment.
By the way, the resort’s suites were set up with games from playing cards to Uno, hanafuda to Life, and even what every boy—or in this case, every girl—wanted an excuse to play: Twister. Some things didn’t change, even in the 21st century. Not that I need to waste my time playing games tonight. Cecilia continued humming as she sprayed on a light perfume. Her beautiful hair, full of body, was at least 20% more gorgeous than normal.
“Ooh! Ceci’s wearing her grown-up panties!”
Miss Casual may have spent most of her time with her eyes half closed, but it clearly did nothing to dull her perceptiveness. Hearing those words, even Cecilia couldn’t help letting out a nervous yelp. After all...
“Oh really? Lemme see!”
“Take it off! Take it all off!”
“Eek! Stop it, don’t yank!”
The old saying was that ‘three women make a market,’ so a suite with nine girls was practically an auction house; especially with all the pent-up energy and newfound free time from not having Ichika to play with. Cecilia knew all too well just how fired up and ready to jump on any distraction they were.
“Oh wow! Those are so sexy!”
“Dirty, dirty!”
“Why are you wearing your date panties, anyway? It’s not like you’re gonna get in to see Orimura.”
“Well, well. Little Cecilia’s grown up for her age.”
Each girl had their own take, but eventually they settled on one shared opinion.
“Cecilia, you’re so naughty!”
“I am certainly not ‘naughty’! This... This is just what quality lingerie looks like!” Cecilia blushed and rewrapped her yukata as she fired back, praying in her heart that no one realized she’d been invited to Ichika’s room alone.
“You sure did take your time washing up, though.”
Twitch.
“You showered afterward, and you even put makeup back on.”
Twitch, twitch.
“Are you sure you’re not up to something?”
“I very much am not! This is simply how any proper woman should take care of themselves. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a prior engagement!”
She stood as she attempted to cut off the line of conversation. Once I make it out that door, he’s as good as mine! Or so she thought, but...
Sniff, sniff.
“That isn’t your usual perfume. Is that Leliel No. 6? Wow, that’s the really good stuff!” As they heard Miss Casual speak, the other girls’ faces twisted. It was over. Over before she even realized it. The other girls had already latched on.
“Leliel No. 6? I heard that cost tens of thousands of yen a spray!”
“Isn’t that the one they only make a few hundred bottles of a year? And every one has a serial number?”
“You really have one? Let me see it!”
“Well, I don’t mind showing you, but perhaps we could save it for—”
“No way!” Cecilia sighed internally as the other girls grabbed onto her arms. It was a firm grip, one she was sure they wouldn’t relax easily.
“Where’d you get this?! I’ve heard you can’t even walk into a store and buy it!”
“A relative has an acquaintance at Leliel.”
“Wow! You really are loaded!”
“It’s not so much me as my family.”
“Let me smell it!”
“I don’t even mind if you try it on, but I really must be going now.”
“No way!” Cecilia sighed internally, as the cycle began again.
“That’s such a waste, though!”
“You already put it on, we’ll just sniff you!”
“Sniff! Sniff!”
The girls spread their arms as they stepped forward. Cecilia, realizing the trouble she was in, backpedaled, only to soon find a wall.
“Hehehe. You’re not getting away.”
