Nagi had invited Idate to accompany her on a “family outing,” though the phrase made it sound far more wholesome than it was. Takama and his wife were present as well—standing politely to the side, pretending this was normal.

Idate, of course, did not care. He was here for… whatever he found entertaining. Fun. Chaos. Both. Neither. It hardly mattered.

The beach stretched out pale and cold beneath a thin sky. Upon arriving, Nagi laid out her beach towel with the meticulous grace of a noble princess—though the towel itself was embarrassingly childish, decorated with some pastel creature she’d never admit to liking.

Idate was long past being surprised by her contradictions. She was his niece, after all. Proper, elegant, eerie—and also a child.

But even he had to pause when he noticed what she was wearing.

A school swimsuit. Simple. Old-fashioned. Out of place among the expensive things her wealthy parents could provide.

Naturally, Idate approached. His shadow fell over her, and Nagi lifted her gaze with her usual blank, porcelain expression. Yet there was a faint brightness there—subtle, reserved, but unmistakably pleased he’d noticed her.

“Showing too much skin is not very ladylike, Oji-sama,” she explained softly, as if the answer were obvious.

Her tone was as refined as ever—quiet, polite, a touch scolding. Her tail flicked once behind her, betraying the smallest hint of triumph that he’d come to her first… before anyone else could steal his attention.