SWNOVELXO Chapter 364: part 2
「I'm so happy~. I always thought I'd only ever be able to wear big~, bulky swimsuits. So I gave up on cute ones like this… Thank you~.」
「But, structurally, it's weak against upward water pressure, so please don't dive in feet first, okay? Or better yet, don't dive at all? If there's a wardrobe malfunction, I'm the one who'll get yelled at. And it's always like this, when such an incident happens, no one blames the pop-out itself, since no one can, so I get the full unjustified JK judgment, and since the bottoms are low-rise too, please be mindful of any half-cheek danger or I might end up banished over this. Even though I want to go to the beach and catch some seafood, banishment sounds bad. This swimsuit is a big trouble if there are strong waves and stuff so please just use it in the pool, okay?」
I thought about reinforcing it with mana, but running out of mana underwater would definitely mean drowning. And using magic to contain it meant that with that limited control there was a big chance of wardrobe malfunction. She probably would've preferred something simpler, smaller, or rather normal-sized. But all I could do was patch it together with nets and strings. It's not good at all, but she's happy anyway. Looks like I still need to level up my 『Wisdom』 quite a bit before I can solve the problem of that colossal spherical menace.
「Next one~, come in~, or actually, hurry ad strip~.」
「Wha—Haruka-kun isn't blindfolded yet! You can do this now! Don't strip meee!」
「I'll cover you with my hands~, so it's alright~?」
「So why are you covering my eyes! Cover my breasts! No, COVER THE BOTTOM TOOOOO!」
The Pres Screaming Series is still enjoying a long, and very popular run, now featuring full-throttle screaming? But do cover my eyes though? Why are the hands not on my eyes but on my chest instead? I'm wearing clothes, there's no need to hide me! Rather, if I were sitting here totally naked, I'd definitely be reported! That'd be a full-blown incident requiring an isekai summon of the entire police force!
Things eventually calmed down, well, the others did, but Pres clearly hasn't. She's trembling, holding her hand tightly over her mouth as the Magic Hands do the sizing, wait, is that a yawn? Yawning is said to be a natural response to the brain demanding more oxygen, so technically, you're not supposed to suppress it. Recently though, the more accepted theory is that yawning stimulates brain activity. The inhalation helps activate the brain, eases tension, and boosts concentration, so again, suppressing it is actually counterproductive. But here she is, desperately holding her mouth shut and shaking?
Well, there's also a theory that yawns help regulate body temperature, specifically, that it cools the brain. But if she's shaking before cooling down, that seems off? In any case, yawning is important. Anyone who says yawning is inappropriate probably has a brain so inactive that it doesn't even need yawning. If they have no need for brain stimulation, cooling, or oxygen, then they might as well stop breathing entirely. There's a strong theory that people stop complaining once they stop breathing. Well, that would mean that they are dead, but it's not that great of a loss when talking about such specimens.
「Okay, now I'm going to work on the bottom part. There's not much fabric, so I'll need to fit it a bit snugly, alright~?」
「Uuh… mm… nnh.」
That reply was, kind of suggestive, but it sounds like she's fine with it. She's trembling so hard it's turned into spasms, and now she's arching her back, which makes the work extremely difficult. Meanwhile, the blindfold assistant's grip is tightening! Hey, wait, don't pull my eyelids! They're going to tear! Why are the blindfold assistants prying my eyes open? Retinal fracture incoming! D-Do you best,『Regeneration』-san!
「Fah… haaah… aah…」
Whether it's puberty or the result of all that dance training, there are some noticeable changes in her figure, so it's back to re-measuring and re-making. Even if the bra shape stays the same, the purpose changes drastically between underwear and swimwear, which means completely different functionality is required, and that means I have to start from scratch. While it's similar to battle-use bras I've made before, those didn't account for water flow or pressure. So ultimately, redesigning everything is unavoidable. Most importantly, since the purpose of the garments differs the materials also must differ. While underwear prioritizes breathability and moisture absorption, swimsuits must repel water and dry quickly. They need to be made from materials that don't retain water, which means a wider mesh is ideal, but if it becomes see-through, I'm definitely the one who'll get yelled at! So it needs to be a two-layer design, inner and outer, but when the two layers are made of different materials, the whole base pattern has to be recalculated from scratch. As I spin the fabric into a new bra, I can't help but reflect philosophically. I really need to have a serious talk with this 「isekai」 someday and ask: What exactly is it you expect of me here?
Of course, I didn't apply 『Sensitivity Increase』to 『Magic Hands』, but even so, Pres-san hit her limit and totally broke down by the time production ended? Right now she is floating in a rub, releasing steam from overheating? It's practically turning into a bath!
「Heeey, Pres, are you still alive? I'm gonna use water magic to create a current, try not to drown, okay? Your feet can touch the bottom, I mean, it's a tub? I guess?」
And yet, why is it that the mere act of using water magic to send shifting streams at various angles toward the chest of a high school girl, who's peacefully floating and bobbing in the water, gives off the pervy, degenerate vibe of a Highschool Boy with a fetish, like some kind of deliberate image manipulation, and makes it feel like Affection Rating-san is drifting farther and farther away, bobbing off down the stream? Why is it that the more earnestly, seriously, wholeheartedly I go about things each day, the more it feels like the Affection Rating of the opposite sex just keeps slipping further out of reach? Is this some kind of rip current effect? I don't get it.
Squish-Squish, they shift and change shape. I analyze the deformation caused by water flow and pressure, making adjustments as I go. Bubbles are rising from Pres-san, is she okay? She's twitching so much it's creating ripples across the surface, makes it really hard to get proper measurements, you know?
Eventually, the prototype is finished. I haul the would-be drowning victim out of the water, dry her off with a towel, and warm her up using a 『Temeprature』magic. When I stuck a sweet bun in her mouth sge started chewing on it, so I guess she's fine.
And next up is in a way the greatest challenge in its own unique way, a duo that treats physical laws like a Zen riddle and insists on bending the rules.
「Push it up! Lift it! Do something!」 「Please, put some air into it!」
Vice Pres A-san and C-san… so the rest of the committee.
「Nothing will come from pushing up or lifting flat surfaces. And even if you did fill it with air, since there's nothing for it to grab onto, the bra's just gonna float on its own, you know? Look, we can talk this out, so maybe put the morning star away, okay? Eaaaasy now…」
The problem is, these two have almost no poyon to speak of, there's just nothing for the bra to get stuck on, which makes slippage basically inevitable.
「I mean, why a bikini in the first place!? That's definitely gonna slip. Unless you glue it on, there's no way to keep it in place. I could make it work if you weren't planning on swimming, but when it's water flow versus zero resistance, the water wins every time. Your chests are totally committed to the path of non-resistance so can we at least go with a two-piece design?」
「「Our chests don't have philosophies! We've always worn separates or one-pieces, okay!? But then Vice B-san got hers made even though she didn't think it was possible, and she looked so genuinely happy… So we thought maybe we could try a cute, regular bra too. That's why we thought maybe we can try asking as well…」」
「Yeah, okay, I get it now. Just wait a sec, okay? I'm gonna toss this one over and go split my head open real quick? Yeah, it's gonna hurt?」