"I'm jealous."
The words slipped out of Kaya's mouth before she even realized it. She looked slightly shocked at her own admission.
"Do you two know about my parents? That they died three years ago?" Kaya asked quietly.
"Mm. We heard. That the grief wrecked you mentally and left you physically weak," Nojiko answered.
The source of Kaya's psychological pain—Commodore Purin-Purin had briefed them on the surface details. Both Nami and Nojiko had lost their own adoptive mother and understood that kind of deep hurt, so they'd deliberately avoided prodding too deeply.
But Kaya shook her head. "That's not... entirely accurate."
"Losing my father and mother was devastating. That's the truth. For a long while, I couldn't even swallow food. But... the reason I fell ill is something else."
"Something else?"
"A different reason?"
Losing both parents was arguably the greatest psychological shock a person could endure. The fact that Kaya claimed there was another cause made Nami and Nojiko exchange a look.
"After my father passed away... the marriage proposals started pouring in."
"That means..." Nami started.
Proposals right after inheriting a colossal fortune. Even without experience in the lives of the wealthy, both women knew exactly what those suitors were after.
"Yes. I knew they only wanted the inheritance. But I thought it would be polite to meet them in person and refuse directly. That... was a mistake."
Kaya's good nature had backfired. It had given the suitors—and everyone else—the wrong idea.
"When I met him and declined... he hurled abuse at me. 'A little girl who knows nothing.' 'Don't get so full of yourself just because you inherited some money.'"
"What the hell?! That's awful!" Nami flared up as if the insult had been aimed at her.
Kaya smiled faintly at her reaction, then gently said, "But that's all in the past now." Nojiko, however, pressed further. "Wait. You said 'and everyone else'—what about the others?"
Kaya had mentioned that the misunderstanding extended beyond the single suitor.
"After that, more came. Matchmaking, marriage interviews... some even came directly to announce an engagement."
"Ugh... so that's what you meant by 'everyone else,'" Nojiko grimaced.
Once Kaya had accepted that first meeting, the floodgates had opened, and a swarm of fortune-hungry ghouls descended. Some, desperate and late to the game, even tried to throw their titles and status around.
"Honestly... it drove me insane."
A girl unable to recover from her parents' deaths could hardly withstand such an assault. It was no wonder she'd developed neurosis and collapsed into illness.
"I thought I was at my limit. I even considered using the mansion's secret passage... to slip out unnoticed and throw myself into the sea."
But she had been unable to take that final step. Day by day, her mind continued to crumble until she reached her breaking point.
"I decided... it would be better to just completely ruin my own life."
"Ruin your life...? You mean..."
"Exhibitionism, right?" Nojiko finished.
Pushed to the edge, destruction had seemed like the only way out. To expose her own naked body and bring about her own social death.
"But... when I tried to find the right moment to go through with it, I got scared again. And yet... being outside, completely naked... it made my heart race..."
"So you started doing outdoor nude masturbation," Nojiko concluded.
The scene she'd witnessed earlier now made perfect sense. The intense backlash of stress had twisted into a craving for pleasure—a desperate, sexual release through the public exposure.
"Since then, it's been my daily routine... slipping through the secret passage to masturbate in the northern forest. No one ever comes there in the morning..."
"Well, that explains it."
Having poured out the secret she'd kept locked in her heart, Kaya wore a gentle, relieved smile.
But Nojiko tilted her head, something nagging at her. "Hang on. So you were out there doing it today, too, right?"
"Eh... ah..."
Yes. Nami and the others had been having sex in that same northern forest that very morning. If the timing or location had been slightly different, they would never have crossed paths. But seeing Kaya's reaction, Nami winced. "Ahh... oops."
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to peek—"
"Ah, don't worry about it. I saw your little masturbation session earlier, so we're even," Nojiko said with a shrug.
That wasn't exactly how it worked, but Nojiko's casual attitude seemed so absurd that Kaya couldn't help but giggle.
"Fufufu..."
"Besides, three women sitting around in the buff arguing about who saw who is just stupid," Nojiko added.
"Fufu... yes, I suppose you're right."
Now that she thought about it, all three of them were stark naked. Nojiko set down her bottle of liquor.
"Welp, I'm in the mood now. Nami, let's go another round."
"Fine by me. Kaya, you in?" Nami asked.
"Eh... erm... I think that's a bit..."
As curious as she was, there was a difference between watching sex and participating in it. The two women looked a bit disappointed but quickly brightened.
"Then let's do a girls' night some other time! We'll bring Makino too!"
When Kaya asked who Makino was, they told her she was another crewmate.
From the warm way they spoke of her, Kaya could tell she was someone deeply beloved. Looking forward to that day, she promised, "Let's do that someday," and stepped off the boat.
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