I arrived at the dressing room, pulling Alice along somewhat forcefully. Her face was flushed with embarrassment, and she grumbled about me being too overbearing or needing to take things one step at a time, but it was mostly just noise. If the Phantasm King had actually intended to resist, there was no way I could have dragged her anywhere. Even as she complained, she wasn’t actually refusing me.
"Look, we’re already in the dressing room, so just give it up."
"Ugh... F-Fine, I get it. Alice-chan has a reputation for being a sore loser, but I suppose I'll accept my fate this time."
"Do you really have to call yourself a sore loser?"
"In any case, my resolve is set! Yes, I’ve survived mixed bathing plenty of times before, so there’s no reason to be scared now! I’m perfectly composed! Totally composed!"
Judging by the way she kept repeating how composed she was, she wasn't calm at all. And she hadn't exactly "survived" those past mixed baths; she had usually just sabotaged herself. Still, it seemed she had finally steeled her nerves.
Alice turned back toward the door we had just entered through and held out her hand. A brief pulse of light flashed across the wood.
"Wait, what did you just do?"
"I sealed it. Now even I won't be able to open that door until a set amount of time has passed... It's my indomitable resolve. I mean, I could still leave whenever I want if I used spatial teleportation, so it’s mostly just to set the mood."
"I see. So you’ve cut off your own retreat... But this dressing room isn't that big. What do you plan to do while we're changing?"
"....................Eh?"
She’d already sabotaged herself! This cottage was luxurious, but the layout was simple, meaning the dressing room and bathroom weren't particularly spacious. There was technically enough room for two people to move around, but I wondered how a shy girl like Alice intended to handle changing in such close proximity. I got my answer the moment I looked at her; after a brief, stunned silence, her face began to cycle through increasingly vivid shades of crimson.
"...So, what's the plan? Do you want to teleport outside for a second? Or should one of us turn around while the other changes and heads into the bathroom first?"
"W-W-W-Well, it doesn't matter! We can just change together! I mean, we're about to have a mixed bath anyway, so what's one more little thing? I’m totally fine with it!"
"Are you sure you aren't just acting out of desperation?"
"I am not! You’ve got another thing coming if you think you can drive me to desperation!"
Despite her blushing face and the sweat beaded on her forehead, Alice insisted we change together. She was clearly acting out of pure desperation, her panic causing her to pile one bit of self-sabotage on top of another.
However, the fact that the usually passive Alice was running wild in a proactive direction was, in a sense, a good thing. I would step in if she went too far, but this level of boldness was probably fine.
"Well, if that's the case, let's just get changed and get in the water."
"L-L-L-Let’s do that! Ghu... Kaito-san, you’re as composed as ever... Gununu."
"Haha..."
I couldn't tell her how much I was struggling. Alice looked so frustrated with her own blunder that I didn't want to add to it, but the truth was that I wasn't nearly as calm as I looked. I was actually quite nervous.
I’ve experienced mixed bathing many times by now, but in almost every instance, we had separate dressing rooms or one of us was already in the water. Actually undressing right next to each other in the same room was a first for me.
"Ah, wait. Your clothes aren't made of magic power, are they?"
"Huh? Y-Yes, well, I’ve made some adjustments, and my innerwear is constructed from magic power... but the rest is real. Why?"
"I see..."
Isis-san and Kuro usually conjured their clothes with magic, so their "changing" was over in an instant. Alice, however, wore clothes she had physically manufactured herself. That small distinction made the whole process feel very different.
A heavy silence fell as we both began to undress. My heart was pounding, and I felt a strange tension. I tried to tell myself it was silly to get worked up over this when we were about to be in the bath together anyway, but there was something inherently suggestive about the act of undressing and being in our underwear that felt different from the bath itself. My mind was racing—I really was more nervous than I cared to admit.
"..."
"..."
Neither of us said a word. I tried my best to keep my eyes averted, but Alice still flickered at the edge of my vision. I caught a glimpse of white lace—elaborately designed, incredibly cute underwear.
I could feel the heat rushing to my face. By the time we were finally ready to head into the bathroom, the air between us was thick with an electric, awkward tension. In hindsight, given the circumstances, that kind of atmosphere was probably inevitable.
Serious-senpai: "Ahii... This is no good... It's the pattern where the mixed bathing is thoroughly depicted... Hiii"