Chapter 21 Picking out a yukata: You stood on tiptoe, barely daring to breathe...

You stand on tiptoe, barely daring to breathe.

It was quiet all around; everyone had gone to sleep. You hesitated for a long time in front of the private bathhouse, pressing your ear against the door to listen for any sounds inside, but you heard nothing.

...You haven't come home for two nights in a row, Danheng won't kill you, will he...?

The last time I was this nervous was when we sneaked out in the middle of the night on March 7th to buy ice cream. We were enjoying it, humming a little tune in the night breeze, but who knew that we'd all be getting stomach aches the next day.

At that moment, you and March 7th were sprawled on the sofa in the room, one on each side, like two giant melted ice cream cones, staring blankly at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

Danheng walked in and placed two cups of hot water on the coffee table. "Will you dare to steal food again next time?"

You: "...I won't dare again."

March 7th: "Waaaaah... I'll never do it again..."

Danheng seemed to want to say something, but seeing the pained expressions on your faces, he swallowed his words.

He sighed, "...Remember to drink the hot water." He turned and closed the door.

You secretly glance over at March 7th and find that she's looking at you too.

My dear sister, you truly are my dear sister.

You whispered, "...Actually, I still dare."

March 7th rolled over, "It's really delicious...! Let's go again next time, hehe... Ouch, my tummy hurts!"

...

The gates of the Bathing Palace before you seem to have transformed into a majestic statue of Danheng, holding up a cloud-piercing sword and looking down at you with disdain.

Dan_Door God_Dragon Lord MK2000_Heng: Where did you go?

The saying goes, "If you have a guilty conscience, you'll be afraid of everything," and you were actually startled by your own imagination. You quickly shook your head and then pricked up your ears to listen for any sounds coming from inside the door.

...Be bold, what if he has to go out?

"Click".

Fate did not favor you. The door opened.

"--ah!"

You never expected that there was actually someone inside, and they even deliberately chose to open the door when you were eavesdropping.

Your eyes widened, and you stumbled, falling straight down to the floor in front of you, about to collapse—

Dan Heng, who was just in a fantasy, swiftly scooped you up.

You are met by his deep, dark eyes, still a quiet gray-blue, with the red at the corners of his eyes seeming even more striking. Although he shows no emotion, you can't help but feel guilty.

Damn it, hurry up and think of an excuse...!

My phone died and I forgot my charging cable; Bai'er turned into a real dog; I got bitten on the butt by Ika; I got a beating from a group of four different types of enemies that attacked the king; I slipped and fell into the bathtub; no matter what, it's all Aha's fault...

"I...I can explain!" you said, trying to appear calm.

Danheng expressionlessly opened his phone and shoved your chat history with his in front of him:

--yesterday--

[Where did you go? It's very late.] 23:01

[Reply to message.] 23:01

[...] 23:02

[...Did you forget that Wanwei.net can only be used in Ohm?] 23:30

--today--

[I'm going on an adventure with Bai Er tonight, so I won't be back!] 02:20

[Teacher Danheng, go to sleep early~ Don't wait for me!] 02:21

[...Idiot.] 02:21

You were instantly terrified, turning into a horrified dried-up rat.

Oh no! I wasn't paying attention when Aglaia was explaining things... but who reads gameplay descriptions carefully anyway!

Seeing your terrified expression, Danheng's previously cold face softened. He sighed, seemingly wanting to comfort you:

"Never mind, I already guessed it this time, so I'm not too worried. But you can't do that again next time, understand?"

"--Okay, Teacher Danheng! No problem, Teacher Danheng!" You responded faster than anyone else, nodding vigorously.

“But—” he then changed the subject.

Your heart is pounding, it's like you've been on a Pinocchio roller coaster.

"W-What happened..."

Danheng lowered his gaze slightly, gesturing for you to look at your tattered, dusty coat.

"Go take a shower and change your clothes," he said. "Or do you want me to run the water and help you shower now?"

"...I'll go right now!"

*

Time flies, and your wounds have finally healed completely under Feng Jin's careful care.

"That's good." Feng Jin unwrapped the bandages and was pleased to see smooth skin underneath. "Now Grey can take a bath."

She thought for a moment, "Oh right, why don't you come with me? I've arranged to meet Ms. Aglaia and Ms. Tibo at the bathhouse later. They must be very eager to see you too."

You looked down at yourself, "But I don't have... I don't have a yukata."

Danheng has prepared a lot of clothes for you, which is nice, but they're all everyday clothes. I really haven't considered yukatas or swimsuits. You can't exactly go swimming in boots, can you?

“That’s easy.” Feng Jin laughed. “I’ll go pick one out for you at the market—wait, maybe I can call them over too? Ms. Aglaia has excellent taste; you can’t go wrong with her.”

"Beep beep beep—!" Little Ika chimed in with a series of approving beep sounds.

You thought of that polite woman, who always seemed somewhat aloof, and felt a little worried. But you didn't want to dampen Feng Jin's spirits; she had really taken good care of you these past few days, and besides, you couldn't bear to see a look of disappointment on her lovely face, so you finally nodded.

...

"Wan Di, your taste is really outdated."

"...Anyone else can say that to me, but Bai'er, you are the least qualified."

"What do you mean? Do you dare to have a competition? Let's see who can pick out the yukata that Danheng is most satisfied with first!"

"Let's have a competition, just don't admit defeat."

As soon as you enter the clothing store, you can hear arguing coming from inside.

Feng Jin smiled helplessly at you, as if it were commonplace. "It seems Lord Bai'e and Lord Wan Di are here to help Danbao pick out clothes too. But it's no surprise they'll start arguing..."

The clothing store was brightly lit, with fabrics piled to one side and clothes hanging neatly on the wall, the fabrics gleaming with a delicate texture and luster under the light.

Lifting the curtain and stepping inside, one is greeted by Wan Di and Bai E, arms crossed, glaring at each other with forced smiles. Neither is willing to back down, the air thick with tension, and as they talk, they scatter to a corner of the shop to pick out clothes.

The way they were acting didn't seem to care about what made Dan Heng look good at all; it was more like they wanted to elbow him to death with his clothes.

Dan Heng, who was at the center of the conversation, sat on the sofa to the side. His hand trembled, and the tea in his cup almost spilled. He said speechlessly, "...Actually, I don't really need a yukata that much..."

Hearing the noise at the door, he turned to look at you, his pupils dilated slightly, and his expression relaxed: "You've come."

You were about to greet the three of them when your clothes were gently tugged. Looking down, you saw it was Tian, ​​blinking her eyes.

“We’ve been waiting for you for ages.” She pointed to a small room to the side. “Aya and Tibo Tinning are in the VIP room.”

The atmosphere was much more harmonious on the girls' side.

Aglaia sat in her chair, quickly scanning the information on the stone slab, seemingly processing documents. Tibo pointed to a little dress and told Tinin it suited her perfectly, saying she would look incredibly cute in it, making Tinin blush uncontrollably. Tinin could only plead in a soft voice:

"No, stop talking... Tibo...!"

"Let's see if there's anything you like." Aglaia put down the stone slab. "I didn't know what kind of style you liked, so I picked out a little bit of everything. Don't worry, we didn't do our best to be your host before, so this time we'll take care of your and Danheng's yukatas."

You could actually read a hint of tenderness in her beautiful but lifeless eyes. Contrary to your first impression of her, she was relaxed, her long legs crossed beneath her gold-embroidered robe, exuding a sense of ease.

Tian, ​​Tibo, and Tinin ran around her, making a ruckus, but she just watched with a smile.

...The guardian of Ohma, the majestic [romantic] demigod, actually has such an unknown side.

The bond between the Golden Descendants seems to be deeper than you expected; they're not just simple companions, but more like real family.

"Try this one?" Aglaia handed over a common, conservative style, similar to the white, straight-cut short robes commonly seen in bathhouses. It had a clean cut, and the hem was cleverly embroidered with a few small flowers.

Seeing that you didn't react in any particular way, she suddenly thought of something, nodded to the tailor, and the tailor, following her wishes, took down a yukata with even less fabric and handed it to you, who was still confused.

—It was a very daring style, somewhat like a bikini, with a layer of light tulle hanging down the middle.

Ohmma has a very open-minded culture, so dressing like this is considered normal, but you still seemed a little embarrassed. She quickly waved her hand politely, saying, "I think the one I wore before was perfectly fine..."

"Oh dear, this..." Feng Jin exclaimed, covering her mouth, and said teasingly, "This is still too much for our Grey Treasure."

Tian grabbed your arm and glanced at you, "Wow—! Aya's so naughty!"

Before she could finish speaking, Tibao and Tining rushed over and pulled her down, each covering her eyes with one hand. "This child can't look!"

Tian kicked her legs, complaining in embarrassment and annoyance, "Then why can Tibao and Tining watch...! Wait, don't touch our hair!"

The VIP room suddenly became noisy because of a daring dress.

Panting, Tian broke free from the other two's grasp. Her face was flushed, and she sat on the sofa, gulping down several mouthfuls of water before letting out a comfortable sigh.

Little Ika buried its head in the fruit bowl and devoured the grapes. When it looked up again, it had transformed into a little pony, its once-clean face now covered in grape juice, as if it had just rolled around in the mud. Feng Jin chuckled, gently pulling it into her arms and lightly wiping away the dirt with her handkerchief. She met its bewildered, beady eyes, as if playing a game of blinking first.

Aglaia was just teasing you; she didn't really want you to dress like that.

She chuckled softly, the honey in the golden cup swirling slightly. "Of course, I was just joking. There are many varieties here; choose whatever you like. It's all on my tab."

You picked up the ordinary yukata from before, thinking you'd try it on first, and went into the fitting room.

A note from the author:

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The new outfits from the collaboration are so beautiful! The men are handsome and the women are gorgeous. I'm going to drink myself into a water buffalo again.

In reality, the social customs of that time were quite open. For example, in ancient Rome, female athletes wore only a tube top and shorts. Crop tops were also very common in everyday life. (For details, please refer to "A Classic Illustrated History of Western Costume")

(Stacked armor: This is just a description of the clothing and doesn't have any other meaning.)