Unlike the ambiguous tension in Room 3, which dissipated quickly without a trace, in Room 8, Durandal watched as Elysia, after entering the room, began casually undoing her bathrobe on her own.
Durandal's voice rose slightly, trembling as she asked, "Elysia, what are you doing?"
Elysia didn't stop what she was doing because of Durandal's question.
Once her alluring figure, clad in a pink swimsuit, was exposed to the air again, she slowly approached Durandal, who was still standing by the door.
Elysia stopped right in front of Durandal, reached out, and slid the door behind Durandal shut, locking it before straightening up again.
"That dance from earlier wasn't finished, you know."
As she spoke, Elysia placed her hands on the collar of Durandal's bathrobe, clearly intending to help her out of it.
Seeing this, Durandal quickly grabbed Elysia's hands.
"I'll do it myself."
Durandal didn't know what had come over her.
They should have each gone to sleep by now, but just because Elysia said the dance wasn't finished, she had abandoned her usual strict routine to indulge in this madness with the other girl at such an hour.
The bathrobe slipped off, revealing the aqua-blue swimsuit underneath.
Elysia's eyes lit up with admiration. "With all the steam and water in the hot spring earlier, I couldn't see clearly. But indeed, Durandal, you have a wonderful figure! And look, there's even some muscle here?~"
With that, Elysia actually reached out and gently brushed her fingers over Durandal's abdomen.
Past ten o'clock at night, two girls alone in a room, dressed in swimsuits that were little more than underwear, one of them directly touching the other's skin…
Durandal could clearly feel her body shudder slightly at Elysia's touch.
Once again, she pressed down on Elysia's hand, stopping her from causing any more mischief.
"Didn't you say we were going to continue the dance? Let's just get started."
Durandal struggled to keep her composure, her voice coming out a bit stiff and cold.
Elysia tilted her head, studying Durandal for a moment before obediently withdrawing her hand.
"Well then… shall we head to the private hot spring in the backyard now~?"
With that, Elysia walked toward the small courtyard behind the room.
Durandal followed closely behind.
When she saw the small hot spring, no more than three meters in diameter, Durandal frowned slightly. "This doesn't seem very suitable for continuing synchronized swimming."
But Elysia stepped right into the hot spring and beckoned to Durandal. "Why not? I think the size here is just perfect?"
As she spoke, she waved the waterproof pouch in her hand. "Come on down, I'm going to start the music."
Seeing Elysia so insistent, Durandal had no choice but to follow her into the hot spring.
Soon, the same piece of music from before began to play again.
The volume wasn't loud, but it was enough for both of them to hear clearly.
However, the music didn't pick up from where it had been interrupted earlier—it started from the beginning.
Durandal had expected as much, so she showed no reaction.
She simply began to dance, drawing from the ballet she remembered learning, adapting it to the narrow space, creating a variation of their earlier performance.
And Elysia seamlessly joined in from the start, moving in sync with Durandal's steps.
Although the dance had to be adjusted due to the size of the hot spring, the overall style didn't change much.
Mainly because Durandal only knew so many moves, so most of them were the same as before.
Soon, the dance reached the point where it had been interrupted by the alarm.
Seeing Elysia lean in close just as she had before, Durandal felt more prepared this time.
Though her heart still raced, she wasn't so enthralled that she felt the urge to pull Elysia back when the other girl began to move away.
However, to Durandal's surprise, this time, after wrapping her arms around Durandal's neck, Elysia didn't use the momentum to push herself away.
"The move's different now?~"
Elysia flashed a mischievous smile and, to Durandal's astonishment, leaned in and kissed her.
Once again, the dance stopped at the same moment.
But this time, there was no sense of loss—only a feeling of overwhelming satisfaction.
The instant their lips met, Durandal instinctively wrapped her arms around Elysia's slender waist.
The cool moonlight draped over the two girls locked in an embrace, beautiful and serene.
Yet, at the same time, Durandal remained stiff and tense, passively accepting Elysia's sudden kiss.
In that moment, countless scenes flashed through Durandal's mind.
Memories of Elysia from before—seen through computer and phone screens—and moments shared with her after crossing over.
Only now did Durandal feel as though something deep inside her had finally shattered.
The invisible barrier between her and Elysia, the preconceived notions she held about the other girl—all were broken by Elysia's actions.
Elysia's kiss was restrained and somewhat clumsy at first.
She simply brushed her lips against Durandal's, following the curve of her mouth, occasionally gently sucking on her lower lip.
Even so, Elysia tried her best to maintain control.
When Durandal still didn't respond, Elysia deepened the kiss, her tongue tentatively tracing the seam between Durandal's lips.
Elysia refused to believe that Durandal would remain unmoved after she'd taken the initiative this far.
Sure enough, soon enough, Durandal's reaction caught Elysia's mischievous tongue.
Their gradually intensifying breaths were especially audible in the quiet courtyard.
Finally, the kiss ended, their lips parting, but Elysia didn't let go.
Instead, she buried her face in the crook of Durandal's neck, her voice no longer bright and clear but tinged with a husky, sensual quality as she whispered, "Looks like our dance got interrupted again."
"Mhm."
Durandal responded with nothing more than a soft hum.
"Don't you have anything you want to say to me?"
Elysia asked.
"Shall we continue the dance next time?"
Durandal murmured softly.
"Mmh~"
Elysia opened her mouth slightly and nipped Durandal's shoulder in mild dissatisfaction.
"Nngh…"
Elysia didn't hold back, causing Durandal to gasp softly in pain.
Hearing Durandal's pained sound, Elysia lightened her bite, soothing the spot she'd marked with gentle licks, as if trying to ease the sting.
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A/N: I hadn't planned for things to progress this quickly, but once the mood took over, I couldn't help writing it this way…
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