Chapter 75: Barghest's Promise
[You invited Barghest to go swimming together.]
[In response to your invitation, Barghest displayed astonishing efficiency: she almost replied to the message instantly, and in less than half a minute, she arrived at the shallow-water area by the seaside that you had agreed on.]
[Before you could even react, Barghest had already strode over to your side.]
"...Eikou."
Barghest, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, slowly walked over to Eikou.
Unlike the Servants who had already switched to summer mode and put on swimsuits, she was still wearing her yellow short-sleeved patrol uniform. The loose summer jacket was buttoned up and the tie neatly fastened, flawless in every detail.
No matter where she was, Barghest always gave off a sense of seriousness and propriety, an upright aristocratic bearing, even a somewhat rigid air, as if the summer beach held no special meaning for her at all.
Of course, in Eikou's eyes, that was precisely what made Barghest charming.
That said, the full curves of her chest, along with her toned waist and legs, could not be hidden at all by the conservative summer uniform.
The uniform jacket she wore looked as if it clung snugly to her body, and paired with beach shorts that accentuated the curves of her backside, it gave this normally serious Servant a uniquely summery allure. Taller than most men, with a full figure brimming with vitality—the blonde girl truly made it hard to look away.
Just looking at her ample chest was enough for Eikou to start imagining what she would look like in a swimsuit.
He glanced again at the patrol uniform Barghest was wearing, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind: had he interrupted her work?
"Barghest, were you on patrol just now?"
He asked curiously.
"No, the patrol duty has already been completed."
Barghest reported calmly. "I simply couldn't quite sit still, so I took the initiative to do another round of checks just now. This coastal area remains peaceful as always."
"Umu, you really are diligent. If Melusine had even half of your effort, that would be great."
Eikou said with a smile.
"Thank you for the praise."
Barghest replied politely.
"..."
"..."
Eikou smiled.
Barghest showed no expression.
"..."
"..."
Too serious—there seemed to be nothing left to say?
Although Eikou had long known that Barghest was a female Knight who did not like to joke proactively, he had not expected that at a summer beach full of openness and atmosphere, she would push that image even further. This really was the kind of stubbornness Baobhan Sith often talked about!
"Ehem, my apologies..."
Perhaps realizing that her attitude was a bit too serious, Barghest awkwardly cleared her throat softly.
"In any case, you called me here to practice swimming, correct? That's no problem. I am always ready."
"Sorry for troubling you. You just finished Student Council patrol duties, and now you still have to go swimming with me."
"There is no such thing as trouble or not,"
Barghest said calmly. "Previously, Her Majesty personally ordered me to attend to you as thoroughly as I would attend to her herself. No matter what you ask of me, I will not refuse."
She continued, "To be more precise, I even hope that you will issue orders more naturally."
"I see..."
Eikou nodded. "Then let's start by changing the way you address me. Don't call me 'Sir Eikou' like that anymore. Just call me Eikou, like everyone else does. That way, I'll feel more at ease."
(Note: Ehmmmmm..... I think I've completely ignored Barghest's honorifics all this time....)
"Um, that would be somewhat lacking in propriety..."
Barghest looked troubled.
"It's precisely because it lacks propriety that it's fine,"
He put his hands on his hips and grinned broadly. "Because I didn't call you here to learn etiquette, but to have fun together."
[You think what you said was quite appropriate. You do not intend to give orders to her as a master, but want to enjoy the summer together with Barghest as equal friends.]
[But from Barghest's perspective, those words seemed to carry a different meaning...]
"Have fun together...?"
Barghest slightly raised her eyebrows, unease rippling through her heart.
This... is this another way of saying a date?!
Could it really be just as she had thought?
The Fairy Knight's heartbeat suddenly sped up, and her full chest began to rise and fall with tension.
So there really was a response at last, finally... these past few days she had been waiting for Eikou to invite her! This was wonderful!
So that she could go into the sea with him at any time, over the past few days she had even secretly worn a swimsuit underneath her uniform. That covert effort had finally paid off with fitting results!
No, no—she couldn't let this joy cloud her judgment...
Barghest tried hard to force her overheated mind to calm down, attempting to look at the matter with her usual cold, rational way of thinking.
Calm down, Barghest. You wasn't the type of maiden who only thought about romance. Don't use infatuated eyes to overinterpret everything. What if this really was just swimming practice?
Just because the atmosphere felt a little ambiguous, you kept letting your thoughts run wild. This bad habit absolutely had to be fixed! Barghest admonished herself inwardly.
"Alright, alright then... let's go into the sea together..."
Barghest pretended to casually smooth the hair by her cheeks, as if trying to hide the redness on her face.
"By the way... um, where are your two Round Table friends?"
"Ah, they're not very available today, so it's just the two of us."
Eikou replied.
Barghest's heartbeat grew faster and faster. "Just... just the two of us?"
In other words, this time there were no other male students, no other female students—just the two of them?
Then wasn't this really no different from a date?
Objectively speaking, this was clearly a date already, wasn't it?!
Barghest immediately lost her composure and began looking around her surroundings.
"..."
With a careful look, it was easy to tell that the stretch of beach Eikou had called her to was completely deserted.
Had he deliberately avoided crowded places, choosing a spot where the two of them could be quietly together?
That's right—this was exactly the kind of choice only couples would make!
Thinking of that, Barghest hurriedly shook her head.
No, instead of overthinking things, it would be best to ask clearly. Otherwise, if there was a misunderstanding, it would be troublesome!
"...Come to think of it, there's no one here at all."
She tucked her hair back a little awkwardly and said in a deliberately calm tone, "Why did you choose a place like this to practice?"
"Eh, um..."
Faced with this very simple question, Eikou instead showed an awkward expression.
"Sorry, this is a bit hard to say..."
"H-hard to say?!"
Barghest's face unconsciously flushed. So it really was just as she had imagined? Eikou wanted to date her here, but was too embarrassed to say it outright?
[Actually, it's because your self-esteem is quite strong. At a crowded beach with lots of girls, you don't want to wear a swimming float and practice swimming in front of them.]
"Um, you can probably understand how I feel, right,"
Eikou lifted up the swimming float he was wearing. "That embarrassing state of mine from before was already seen by you, so at this point, in front of you alone, there's nothing left for me to hold back."
"That embarrassing state from before?!"
Barghest's face flushed slightly. In her heart, she wondered which time he was referring to—was it the time he indulged with two French women in the Eikou Club, or the time he was thoroughly serviced by Medusa in the Gym, or the time he was dryed to exhaustion by Scathach in the arena?
Because she had already seen it, he no longer needed to hold back?
So Eikou had known all along that she was nearby, and her very existence had even been regarded as part of the 'play'?!
"A… a a…"
Barghest's face instantly turned beet red.
Did that mean Eikou invited her here not for some romantic date, but because he was aiming for her body?
Skipping the stage of emotional development and directly moving into outdoor play—wasn't this kind of play far too rushed?!
No, judging from the scenes she had witnessed before, what Eikou wanted was surely...
Barghest suddenly jolted.
Could it be that Eikou was hoping she would turn into the kind of woman with intense desire, who, in this deserted place, would forcefully push him down—this kind of Play?
Not him taking the initiative, but him hoping that she would take the initiative?
"Glup..."
Even though she had previously said she would obey any order, did that include such a strange order as well? Did the Royal Consort of Her Majesty really have such peculiar preferences?
Barghest deeply felt that romance was truly, truly far too complicated. Even this kind of play had to be accommodated?!
"What's wrong, Barghest?"
Seeing her face flush bright red, Eikou asked vaguely.
"Eikou, I… I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm still not prepared..."
Eikou froze, thinking to himself—didn't she know how to swim?
"Uh, are you planning to do some warm-up?"
Warm… warm-up?
What kind of warm-up, exactly? Barghest thought to herself. Could this be some kind of advanced warm-up technique?
Several images surfaced in her mind, but she didn't dare to be certain.
"Um, Eikou..."
Barghest swallowed nervously and stammered.
"You… you inviting me to do something like that—I'm truly honored, but I'm not good at doing things like this. Could we do it next time?"
"Next time?"
Eikou was stunned, thinking to himself—could it be that Barghest lacked confidence to the point that she needed to go back and practice swimming skills some more?
"There's no need to go to such trouble. Even just going down to play with me a bit would be fine."
"How could that be called just playing around... Although our Fang Clan still retains a bit of wild instinct, I am not the kind of woman who is promiscuous, casual, or base. How could I possibly treat something like this as a joke?"
Eikou: "?"
Barghest hurriedly explained herself, her beautiful and noble face so hot it seemed about to steam.
"Next time... next time I will definitely cooperate properly and play together with you, but this time please let me off for now. At the very least... at the very least, please give me some time to prepare mentally and theoretically. As a Knight, I will absolutely not go back on my word! Alright, Eikou!"
"..."
Eh? Had he made some unreasonable request?
Looking at that innocent, rosy face, Eikou truly found it hard to refuse her.
"Alright, then I won't force you."
Eikou rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry for calling you over, Barghest. Go back and rest early."
"Yes!"
"Wait a moment, Barghest,"
Eikou suddenly called out to her.
Barghest's body trembled slightly. "Is there… something else?"
"Would you like to have a meal with me?"
He extended the invitation.
"Um..."
Barghest's face was still flushed, her overly full figure gently swaying like that of a shy young girl.
Her blue-and-green heterochromatic eyes shimmered with purity and bashfulness, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Alright... if, if it's just having a meal, then that should be fine..."
"Haha, that's great."
Eikou let out a sigh of relief. "If you even refused this, I really would have thought you disliked me."
"How could I dislike you..."
"Then that's good. Let's go."
He smiled. "This meal's on me."
The sun gradually sank below the horizon, and the seaside scenery slowly darkened. A faint red glow swept across Eikou's handsome face, his smile looking radiant.
Barghest only felt her heart beating wildly, swallowing hard with a sense of fluttering emotion.
"...Umu."
[After that, you and Barghest simply had dinner together.]
[Your swimming practice with Barghest was inexplicably canceled unilaterally by her.]
[As a result, you still did not get to see Barghest wearing a swimsuit...]
[But as compensation, it seems she gave you a very formidable promise.]
[In the end, it was precisely Barghest's excessive seriousness that caused you to develop an illusion. Beneath that proper and pure exterior was, in fact, a heart that had been suppressed for a very long time, full of wild instinct.]