R’s Special Mission 1

I found myself in the swimsuit section of the department store. No, not for my own pleasure... It was just that there happened to be several heroines gathered here. Despite the fact that I never really have a chance to demonstrate it in front of Rekka, I’m incredibly capable. Tracking down the heroines was a piece of cake.

But who cares about my functional abilities? What was more important right now? Swimsuits, of course.

For the record, the six heroines present were Iris, Tsumiki, Lea, Hibiki, Chelsea, and Corona. Quite the crowd, right? On top of that, they’d each made their way here individually, rather than as a group. Coincidences sure are amazing.

Just kidding. There’s no such thing as coincidence. They were all going to the pool with Rekka this weekend. Originally, they were supposed to go to an amusement park, but there’d been a change of plans yesterday thanks to the heat wave.

The heroines had probably all gathered here to buy new swimsuits to show off in front of Rekka. Although, Lea and Corona didn’t own any to begin with, so it was more accurate to say that they were buying their first swimsuits. Tsumiki had come along to help them. Now... let’s see what the three of them are up to first.

“Hmm. So humans swim in these undergarments?”

“Um... yeah, basically.”

Tsumiki gave something of an awkward reply as Lea stared at a skimpy piece of material. Having the minimal coverage of swimsuits pointed out so bluntly was probably embarrassing for a girl her age. Standing next to Lea, Corona held up a similar bikini as she looked at it.

“Come to think of it, Pastel would wrap a cloth around her chest and waist on hot days to bathe in the water.”

“Huh... So that’s what they do in worlds without swimsuits.”

“Everyone in the demon world just goes naked, but when I tried to do that, she beat me up.”

“Yeah... Please don’t do that at the pool, okay?”

I, for one, would personally welcome the sight, but I guess that was too much to ask for. What a shame. At any rate, it seemed like Tsumiki was playing advisor to the two heroines who knew nothing about swimsuits. It was nice to see them bonding like that.

“W-Well, anyway, if you find a swimsuit that catches your eye, you can try it on. There’s a fitting room over there,” Tsumiki said, showing the other two girls to the fitting room.

“Then I guess I’ll try this on first.”

“I’ll do the same.”

Lea and Corona nodded and went into changing stalls. Corona forgot to close the curtain behind her, so Tsumiki hurried to pull it shut for her.

“Hmm... I don’t know how to put this on,” said Corona from the other side of the curtain.

“I’ll help!”

Tsumiki followed in behind her and let out a strange groan. Just what did she see in there?

To clarify, I was currently waiting outside the fitting room for them to finish changing. I could have peeped inside easily, but I chose to wait instead. Since we were dealing with the two heroines with the best figures, who wouldn’t want to savor the moment of the reveal?

Well, I doubt Rekka would agree with me, but anyway...

After Tsumiki helped Corona change into her swimsuit, Lea needed help, too. There was a second groan as she entered the next changing stall. I was sorely tempted to poke my head through the curtain this time. The fact that I could only be seen and touched by Rekka would come in particularly handy right now. But even so, I waited.

Eventually, Tsumiki stumbled out of the fitting room, exhausted from helping the two of them. And at last, the curtains finally opened.

“Ooh...”

My mouth fell open. It was a sight beyond words.

“Hmm. This is kind of comfortable,” said Lea.

“Tsumiki, are you sure my outfit isn’t strange?” asked Corona.

Both of them were wearing simple bikinis. But as they say, simple is best—and simplicity was undoubtedly the best way to emphasize the impact here.

“...”

As I was worshiping the double sight for sore eyes before me, Tsumiki had a rather conflicted expression on her face. She’d heard Corona’s question, but hadn’t answered her yet. I had to wonder what she was thinking...

Oh, this was a good chance. I took out the Mind-Melding Device delivered to me from the future.

“Take this!”

With an unnecessary shout, I pointed the Mind-Melding Device at Tsumiki and activated it. The Scarlet Doppel Stone embedded in the reader started to glow, causing Tsumiki’s thoughts to flow into me.

I already knew it, but the two of them really do have great figures... The bikinis really suit them.

Well, it seemed like the device was functioning properly. And I completely agreed with her thoughts.

They’d totally catch his eye...

Tsumiki pursed her lips for a moment. She was probably thinking of Rekka.

B-But it’s not like whatever goes on between him and them has anything to do with me!

I staggered in mid-air. Jeez, she was playing hard to get even with herself.

But, like... He may be an idiot sometimes, but he’s not a pervert... He wouldn’t choose someone for their appearance, Tsumiki muttered in her heart.

I would often catch Rekka’s eyes wandering towards the heroines’ chests, so in a way, her fears weren’t completely unfounded—but it was true that, in the end, when it came to choosing someone, he wouldn’t pick based on appearances.

“...Yup! The two of you look perfect.”

After much careful consideration, Tsumiki gave Corona and Lea her honest opinion. Though what she said was partially because she had faith in Rekka, it was mostly because she wanted to be honest with her friends. She was too much of the helper-type to be plotting anything, after all.

I then took the opportunity to use the Mind-Melding Device on Lea and Corona, too.

Will Rekka compliment me?

What will the young man think?

But they were thinking the same thing. Both of them were wondering what Rekka’s reaction would be to their swimsuits.

That told me what I needed to know about the three of them, so it was time to move on. Next up were Hibiki and Chelsea. The swimsuit section of the store was huge, so they hadn’t even noticed Tsumiki and the others yet. It was a coincidence they were all here, after all. Iris wasn’t even that far away.

“Look, Hibiki. What about this one?”

“Th-That...? Isn’t it a little flashy for me?”

Hmm... It seemed like Chelsea was the one helping Hibiki pick out a swimsuit in this group.

“You have a great figure, so you need to go on the offensive more!”

“O-Offensive? What do you mean? I just grew out of my old bathing suit, so I wanted to get a new one...”

“Your chest got bigger, right?”

My, my...

“Don’t say it so loudly!”

Hibiki moved to cover Chelsea’s mouth in a panic, but I heard everything clearly. So, Hibiki’s breasts were growing... This was something to look forward to. The swimsuit Chelsea had picked out for her had a nice design, too.

“Anyway, this isn’t my style! I’m going to pick something else.”

No, don’t give up!

“Aww, but it suits you! Just try it on.”

Chelsea seemed to agree with me. She snatched the swimsuit away from Hibiki, who was trying to put it back on the rack. I was rather seriously rooting for Chelsea. Come on, girl!

Come to think of it, Tsumiki was rather conflicted in a similar situation, but what was Chelsea thinking right now? This was a good time to check. There was no need for me to hold back, after all. I activated the Mind-Melding Device with another shout.

Hmm... There are a lot of girls around Rekka, so Hibiki needs to try a little harder. Not to mention that some of them can be pretty aggressive, like Iris.

Chelsea watched as Hibiki took the swimsuit back and returned it to its hanger. Chelsea then put her hand on her hip and sighed.

She’s a nice girl, but she’d have a better chance if she showed off her own charms more.

Hmm... She sounded more like an older sister helping out a little sister who was having boy troubles. Chelsea picked up another cute swimsuit, slightly less sexy than the one before.

“Here. Wouldn’t Rekka like something like this?”

“...”

Reacting to hearing Rekka’s name, Hibiki took the swimsuit from her. As she was carefully examining it, Chelsea picked up another swimsuit. It was the strapless type, held up only by elastic and a hook in the back. It was the kind of suit where there was always the fear of something slipping... How exciting. I felt it was a wonderful choice. But then...

This is definitely too risky... But what would Rekka think? Would this be a knockout?

I could hear her thoughts coming through loud and clear. That must be it. Chelsea was doing for Hibiki what Tsumiki had done for Lea. They’d saved each other in their respective stories, and were now trying to return that favor by helping them out, even though they were still interested in Rekka themselves. I had suspected that Chelsea might pull away from Rekka, but it seemed that was a needless worry now. I wished her the best. I also wished she would wear that strapless swimsuit.

I was silently cheering Chelsea on when their paths finally crossed.

“Oh.”

Iris, Hibiki, and Chelsea all looked at each other in surprise. It seemed like Iris had wandered over while the other two were still considering their swimsuit options. It would have been more interesting if Tsumiki and the other heroines were there too, but they had already made their choices, checked out, and moved on to another section of the department store. Well, I guess this would be interesting enough.

Each heroine silently glanced at the swimsuits the others were holding. I would have loved to read the thoughts of all three of them at once, but the Mind-Melding Device could only handle one person at a time. So I started with Chelsea, since I was already reading her thoughts.

Iris sure is holding a lot of swimsuits. They all look so expensive... and it’s hard to believe she’s younger than me with that figure. Are hers bigger than mine?

It was true. Iris’s did seem larger than Chelsea’s by a slim margin.

...Guess I should go with this swimsuit after all.

Oho? Her rivalry with Iris had given her that last little push of incentive to buy that dangerous swimsuit. Bravo! Next was Hibiki.

That Iris sure grabbed some amazing swimsuits. They’re all so cute... and much more daring than what I saw on Berano...

Hibiki compared the swimsuit in her hand with the ones Iris was holding over and over.

I need to try my best, too. Let’s splurge a bit this time.

She’d found the resolve to put up a fight. It seemed Iris’s arrival had done them both some good. Now, what was Iris herself thinking?

Why are Hibiki and Chelsea here?! Just when I was thinking about buying a new swimsuit to charm Rekka! Now my plan is ruined! How do you even wear that swimsuit Chelsea’s holding? Ah! And Hibiki’s swimsuit is so cute! I want that one, too... Wait! No, no! I can’t pick the same one she did! I have to show Rekka the best of myself! I have to try on more before deciding!

Wow, how delicious. No matter whether she was with him or not, Iris’s head was full of thoughts of Rekka.

“Ah... So, you came shopping, too, Iris?”

“Th-That’s right. You guys did, too? What a coincidence...”

“This place has the biggest selection around, after all.”

They were now belatedly greeting each other. Not one of them gave of a hint of what they were thinking not three seconds ago. Well done. As expected of romantic rivals.

Well, that was enough for one day. I put the swimsuit section behind me and left the department store. I knew where the other heroines were, but thought it best to save them for another time. If I was away from Rekka for long enough, he’d realize I was gone. Plus, I was a little worried about leaving him alone for too long. Who knew what trouble he could get up to?

“It’d be quite troublesome if he got caught up in something weird while I wasn’t around.”

And so I went home for the day. I had all of summer vacation to finish this special mission, so I could take my time. Oh, and I would have to pretend to be seeing the heroines’ swimsuits for the first time while we were at the pool so that Rekka wouldn’t suspect anything. But I had only actually seen Lea and Corona wear theirs, so it shouldn’t be too hard. I wonder which swimsuit Hibiki and Iris chose in the end... Come to think of it, I haven’t seen over half the heroines in swimsuits yet. I was really looking forward to going to the pool.