Shhhla—!

The curtain of the fitting room was pulled aside. Minos, the first to pick out her swimsuit and try it on, stepped out onto the soft carpet with her snow-white bare feet and called out cheerfully, "What do you think? Does it look good?"

Her voice was bright and clear, filled with a trace of anticipation and confidence.

Ryohei Tanaka, intrigued, turned his head. His gaze landed on Minos and he froze for a second, before immediately giving her a huge thumbs-up and a smile of approval. "Very nice!"

Minos was wearing a full-cup, black-and-white cow-print bikini that was both cute and sexy. A delicate black ribbon bow adorned the center of the top, adding a touch of sweetness and elegance to the overall look while cleverly accentuating her ample bust. Her curves were exquisite, radiating a captivating charm.

The tie-side bikini bottoms highlighted her slender waist and long legs. The ties hung casually at her hips, swaying gently as Minos struck a pose, adding an unintentional hint of allure.

"It looks wonderful, Minos." Medusa clasped her slender hands, her fingertips elegantly touching, and looked at Minos with admiration, praising her in a sweet voice.

"Well, it suits you," Jashin-chan added, slithering over from the other side and giving her a casual, appraising glance.

"It's great, but you really do have a thing for cow patterns, don't you," Yurine commented, her gaze lingering on Minos's full chest for a few seconds. Her tone was unreadable as she turned her head to look at Ryohei.

He had one arm crossed and was pinching his chin with the other, like a beauty pageant judge, nodding as he studied Minos.

"It's true," he said. Then he broke into a grin and added, "Minos, your character theme is really consistent!"

As if sensing her gaze, Ryohei looked over at Yurine, who simply rolled her eyes at him. But inwardly, she was relatively satisfied—at least he wasn't just shamelessly staring, completely oblivious to being watched.

"Tanaka-kun, give me a score!" Minos called out cheerfully.

Ryohei let out a confused "Huh?" 'A score for what?'

At that moment, Lucoa walked over from the side, the swimsuits the associate had recommended draped over her left arm. She held out a writable scoreboard, a pen, and a matching eraser with her right hand.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Ryohei asked, giving her a completely deadpan look.

"Providing logistical support," Lucoa answered with a bright smile. As she spoke, she gently nudged the scoreboard against his chest, signaling for him to take it.

The sales associate, who had followed her over, tilted her head, a look of pure confusion on her face. 'Wait, where did you even pull that from?'

...

In the end, Ryohei took the scoreboard. He figured it was pretty amusing, so there was no harm in playing along. He looked up at the confident, posing Minos, then looked down and wrote "9.5" on the board before holding it up.

"Ooh? A 9.5? Out of 10?" Minos blinked, feeling that this must be a pretty good score. In any case, she was very satisfied. Deciding she didn't need to try on any others, she settled on this one.

Minos pulled the curtain closed to change back into her clothes.

The store had two fitting rooms. Soon, Lucoa had changed and pulled open her own curtain. She provided her own sound effects, "Ta-da-da-daaa~!" as she struck a pose, waving one fair arm. She beamed at Ryohei. "Professor Ryohei, your score, please!"

There's an unwritten rule in Japanese fitting rooms about taking off your shoes. Unlike in many other countries where you can just walk in, most fitting rooms in Japan are carpeted, and you're expected to remove your shoes first. Therefore, Lucoa was currently barefoot. But even so, she was still astonishingly tall.

"What's with this 'Professor Ryohei' thing?!" Ryohei retorted, looking over.

Then, his heart involuntarily sped up a little, and his breathing slowed. The sight before him was truly stunning. The visual impact from Lucoa was far more intense and shocking than Minos's.

She was wearing a black, two-piece bikini. The full-cup style was somehow stretched to look like a demi-cup. The two cups were connected by black straps, and the halter straps that tied around her neck were adorned with a trio of linked gold metal rings, which glittered under the lights, adding a unique sexiness and fashion sense to the look.

The high-waisted bottoms cleverly flattered her waistline, making her full, long legs look even more slender. The lines of her legs were smooth and gorgeous. Just her legs alone were world-class! The sides of the bottoms also featured the same three-ring metal design, matching the top perfectly. It was both sexy and stylish.

Yurine, who had been bracing herself internally, turned her head to look and immediately froze. Her mouth fell open slightly, the corner of her eye twitching. It was clear she had taken a significant blow.

"Tch—!" Jashin-chan let out an unidentifiable sound of disgust from the other side.

Medusa, however, raised a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes sparkling as she gave genuine praise. "Ms. Lucoa, your figure is absolutely amazing! That swimsuit is so fashionable and it matches you perfectly. You look incredibly charming in it!"

A good swimsuit doesn't just flatter the figure and highlight its strengths; it can also elevate one's entire aura through clever design. Medusa felt this swimsuit and Lucoa were a perfect match. The sales associate also began to shower her with praise.

"Mhm, mhm—!" Lucoa beamed, walking out of the fitting room with the air of a "world-class champion." She placed her hands on her hips, nodding and basking in the compliments from Medusa and the associate. She then turned her gaze to Ryohei with a grin. "Reviewer... I mean, Tanaka-kun, praise me too!"

Stare—! Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel[f]ire.net

Feeling the burn of Yurine's gaze from the side, Ryohei looked at Lucoa and said with a perfectly composed, casual expression, "That swimsuit is indeed very nice."

"I asked you to praise me, not the swimsuit!" Lucoa replied, putting a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

Ryohei didn't answer. He just looked down, thought for a moment, and, against his conscience, wrote 9.7 on the scoreboard.

In his heart, the real score was a 9.8.

"Eeh?" Minos, having just emerged from her fitting room, saw the 9.7 on the board. 'I lost?'

She instinctively walked over, circled Lucoa once, and then her shoulders slumped. "I lost," she said, completely dejected.

"...You're surprisingly competitive about this," Ryohei said, looking at Minos in surprise.

"She's like this sometimes." Jashin-chan walked past them, holding a swimsuit. She placed a hand on her chest, full of confidence. "Now, allow me—the great Jashin-chan—to dazzle you all! Mine will definitely be the best!"

"You're certainly full of yourself for being so average," Ryohei said, looking at Jashin-chan with narrowed eyes.

"What does that mean?" Jashin-chan didn't get it. She stopped and looked back at him, confused.

Ryohei smiled. "Average, and overconfident."

"Pfft—!" Yurine, who was nearby, instantly burst out laughing. She clutched her stomach, her shoulders shaking. "That's hilarious! But she is definitely average and overconfident!"

"You jerk! Servant, are you trying to pick a fight?! Do you want me to kill you or what?!" Jashin-chan instantly blew her top. She raised her fists, gritted her teeth, and glared viciously at Ryohei, looking like she was about to snap.

"My bad, my bad," Ryohei said, holding up his hands to calm her down. He gested toward the fitting room behind her with his chin. "Why don't you go change into your swimsuit first, Jashin-chan? I'm actually looking forward to seeing it."

"I'm looking forward to it, too," Medusa added, clasping her hands and helping to smooth things over.

"Hmph!" Jashin-chan muttered indignantly, then turned and stomped into the fitting room with her swimsuit.

By this time, Minos had already recovered. Her ability to self-regulate was impressive, and she bounced back quickly. She asked the sales associate to bag up a new cow-print bikini for her.

Seeing that Lucoa wasn't going to use the fitting room, Medusa asked, "Ms. Lucoa, are you going to use the fitting room? If not, I'd like to use it." She had already found a swimsuit she loved and wanted to try it on.

"Go ahead, I'm not using it," Lucoa said, smiling and gesturing for Medusa to go first.

"Okay," Medusa nodded eagerly. She walked over to a display, picked up the swimsuit she had been eyeing, and went to the fitting room.

"Lucoa, are you going to try on anything else?" Ryohei asked casually, his gaze falling on her.

"Mhm, there's one more I'd like to try. I'll go after they're finished..." Lucoa replied with a smile, her hand on her hip. She then asked, "Is Tanaka-kun looking forward to it?"

"I guess I am, a little," Ryohei said, and then immediately walked away. This woman's flirting was just too much; he couldn't take it.

He went over to Yurine's side and asked with a smile, "Yurine, have you found a swimsuit you like?"

"Mhm, there's this one." Yurine raised her hand and pointed to a swimsuit on a nearby display with her slender finger.

Ryohei looked over curiously and saw it was a cute, skirted two-piece swimsuit. It was black, but the shoulder straps and waist were trimmed with reddish-brown ruffles. There was a black bow on the chest and another on the left hip, each decorated with a reddish-brown flower. It also came with a matching choker and a leg garter.

"It's very cute," Ryohei praised. "And the ruffles match your hair color. I think it would look great on you."

"Mhm." A faint smile graced Yurine's lips. She hummed in agreement and nodded. "I think so too."

While they were talking, Jashin-chan finished changing. She admired herself in the mirror inside the fitting room for a moment, then burst out of the curtain full of excitement. "This is the first time I've worn clothes, even if it's just a swimsuit, but it doesn't feel half bad!"

Ryohei looked over and saw Jashin-chan coming out of the fitting room wearing a light-blue, skirted two-piece, looking quite cheerful. It was clearly the same style as the one Yurine had picked out. It had big white bows on the chest and left hip, and the shoulder straps and skirt hem had cute ruffles, but it didn't have the choker or leg garter. Or maybe Jashin-chan just didn't put them on.

"Ooh... Jashin-chan has good taste!" Minos praised with a broad smile, holding her bagged swimsuit. "That's really cute on you, and it suits you."

"It really is quite nice," Yurine said, picking out her own size from the display. She tossed a compliment over her shoulder as she walked past Jashin-chan.

"Ehehe!" Jashin-chan immediately turned to her, scratching the back of her head, looking pleased. This was the first time she'd worn clothes, and she was clearly excited.

Ryohei erased the score he'd given Lucoa. He thought for a moment, then wrote the Arabic numeral "9" on the board and held it up.

"Chotto matte!"

Seeing the score Ryohei gave her, Jashin-chan's good mood instantly evaporated. She slithered over at high speed, pointed a finger at the scoreboard in his hand, and protested, "Did you write that wrong? How can I only get a 9! You forgot the number after it, right? It's really 9.9, isn't it?!"

"You sure think highly of yourself. 9.9..." Ryohei looked at her, exasperated. Where did she get this confidence?

Honestly, he was only going to give her an 8. But he figured, since it was her first time wearing clothes and she was so happy, he shouldn't spoil her mood. He shouldn't discourage her, or she might never wear clothes again. So, against his conscience, he added 1 point.

"It's mainly your tail. I just... can't appreciate it," Ryohei explained, looking down at her tail to justify the low score.

"Hah?!" Jashin-chan's eyes widened in disbelief, her expression screaming, 'What are you talking about?!' She exploded, "You idiot! The tail is clearly a bonus feature, okay?! What kind of aesthetic sense do you have?! How can you say you don't appreciate it!"

Jashin-chan was furious. Her tail started slapping the tiled floor—smack, smack, smack!—in a rapid rhythm.

Ryohei, hearing her claim that the "tail is a bonus," was truly struggling to keep a straight face. He said, deadpan, "It's a normal human aesthetic." If that tail was really a bonus point, then that would be the real problem.

"Tch—! You lowly humans just don't understand what true beauty is!" Jashin-chan crossed her arms, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"So sorry I can't appreciate your 'beauty'!" Ryohei retorted, rolling his eyes.

...

Soon, Medusa had also changed and pulled back the fitting room curtain.

She was wearing a white bikini adorned with a beige flower print, with a matching sarong tied at her waist, which half-concealed and half-revealed her long, slender legs. Her skin was fair and radiant, like polished jade. Her full curves were accentuated by the bikini, making her look even more graceful and alluring. Her delicate features were enhanced with light makeup, and her rosy lips held a trace of unintentional charm.

She looked like a goddess walking straight out of the sea breeze—both pure and sexy at the same time, making it hard for anyone to look away.

Ryohei's heart sped up again.

If Lucoa was a stunning, overwhelming visual shock, then Medusa's beauty was like a spring breeze brushing his face—refreshing, heart-stirring, and moving.

'Now that I think about it, wasn't Medusa the winner of the demon world's beauty pageant?'

Ryohei was now truly feeling the prestige of that champion title.

He looked down at the scoreboard, thought for a moment, hesitated, and finally gave her a 9.8.

"Sh-She's higher than me by 0.1!" Lucoa's eyes flew open in shock. Her figure had actually lost! 'No way! I thought the only one I could possibly lose to was Yurine!'

"Haha! That's Medusa for you!" Minos said, surprised for a second before breaking into a cheerful grin. This time, she wasn't dejected, nor was she envious or jealous; she was purely happy for her friend.

Jashin-chan looked at the scoreboard in disbelief. Then she looked at Medusa. She clenched her fists and, with a furious look, charged straight at her.

"Damn it—!"

"Medusa, I won't allow you to be so much more outstanding than me!"

"Jashin-chan Coil!"

Whoosh—Jashin-chan rushed at Medusa and, as Medusa let out a cute yelp of surprise, Jashin-chan coiled around her like a snake, wrapping her green tail tightly around Medusa's upper body in an instant.

"Hmph-hmph! Now all I have to do is squeeze tight, and I can crush you!"

"Scared now, aren't you?" Jashin-chan cackled, hanging off Medusa's body with a smug, despicable, and triumphant grin.

~~~

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