When the locked bathroom door was thrown open by an Alohomora charm, an expletive mentally burst inside Kyle's mind.
Holy crap! She's actually being a total rogue!
Kyle erupted with the maximum speed he could muster in his normal state—short of entering Lightning Release Chakra Mode and opening the Eight Inner Gates to boost his velocity even further.
With lightning-fast movements, he yanked a bath towel from the nearby rack to cover his vital areas.
Almost at the exact moment he managed to eliminate the risk of flashing, Konan stepped into the bathroom.
At this point, Kyle was wearing nothing but a single bath towel wrapped around his lower half, since it wasn't large enough to cover any more than that. Eight sharply defined, chiseled abdominal muscles were completely exposed to the open air.
Because Kyle had been in the middle of showering and hadn't had time to dry off before Konan forced her way in, several large water droplets slid all the way down his abs. Under the illumination of the bathroom light, they left behind a few shimmering trails of moisture across his torso.
Konan stared straight at Kyle, practically mesmerized.
Even with Kyle's notoriously thick nerves, being stared at like an absolute pervert left him feeling a bit unsettled.
Judging by the look of things, he was afraid his chastity wouldn't survive the night.
"Sister Konan, what are you doing?"
Kyle's voice snapped Konan out of her reverie. Looking at Kyle's sculpted physique, she quietly swallowed a breath.
Suppressing her inner shyness, Konan put on an act of sheer shamelessness, as if to say I'm a rogue, so who am I afraid of?
Her appearance here right now was largely due to the provocative glance Hermione had thrown her way before slipping away from the campfire party.
Konan liked Kyle, and she had never hidden her feelings toward him.
However, because the two of them had been separated by long distances for so long, their relationship had never had an opportunity to develop further.
The inevitable consequence of a long-distance separation was that Hermione—the latecomer who benefited from being close by—got the first bite of the apple and won Kyle over.
Winning him over was one thing.
After all, Konan had once told Kyle herself that she wouldn't mind if Kyle—who was six years younger than her—found another little girlfriend.
Yet after securing Kyle, the little beaver had gotten cocky enough to brazenly provoke her.
If Konan could swallow a snub like that, she wouldn't be the Angel of Amegakure who made black witches and dark wizards tremble in fear back in Albania.
And so, here she was.
Seeing Kyle's flustered state, a subtle, sly smile curled up the corner of Konan's lips. "Naturally, I came to check if you're developing normally."
A massive streak of complaints jammed right in Kyle's throat. What on earth do you mean by 'developing normally'?!
According to the cliché script, shouldn't he be screaming, "Sister Nan, don't!" right about now?
"You're already so old, yet still so shy," Konan said, making no effort to hide the predatory glint in her eyes. "Come on, let me take a good look!"
Her teal-colored cheongsam outlined the seductive curves of her body, revealing glimpses of her long, slender legs through the high side slits. Her cold, elegant face paired with the domineering tone of a bossy female executive made Kyle suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
No, no, no... I can barely hold myself back.
Hermione was still inside the tent. What if she finished her bath and came looking for him?
If the little beaver happened to walk in and catch him stark naked in the same bathroom as Konan, it wouldn't just be a simple "Shura Field" of romantic jealousy—it would send him straight into a crematorium!
At the thought of Hermione potentially using Monster Strength to shatter every bone in his body, using Sectumsempra to slice him into lingering shreds, and finally using Fiendfyre like a gas stove to destroy all traces of the evidence, Kyle instantly lost his composure.
Stay calm.
Kyle silently averted his eyes, not daring to meet Konan's burning gaze.
Reaching forward with his hand, a black shadow zipped through the air with a quick whoosh and landed precisely in his grasp.
Watching Kyle frantically put on clothes, Konan found it somewhat amusing; she had never seen Kyle act like this before.
Yet, even pulling on the wizard robe summoned via the Summoning Charm (Accio) failed to bring even a fraction of security to Kyle's heart.
That was because Konan had no intention of stepping aside. Instead, she pressed forward step by step, trapping him in the corner of the bathroom.
With nowhere left to retreat behind him, Kyle shrank into the corner, trembling uncontrollably.
Fear.jpg
Just as Kyle turned his head toward the wall behind him, pondering whether he should simply break through the wall and make a run for it, Konan suddenly lunged forward while his attention was divided.
Catching her movement in the corner of his eye, Kyle turned his head back just as a soft sensation brushed against his lips.
His eyes widened instantly.
"Sister Nan, don't!"
"Be good!"
The rustling sound of clothes slipping off echoed through the bathroom.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hermione had been soaking in the bathtub for a long time. She had been waiting for a certain someone's footsteps to turn back around.
Yet, after waiting for what felt like an eternity, the event she had been anticipating never came to pass.
They always say that if a guy in this situation chooses to force his way through the door, he's a beast.
But if he does nothing at all, he's worse than a beast.
Why on earth had that rogue Kyle chosen to act worse than a beast in the end?
Could it be that her hints hadn't been obvious enough?
That shouldn't be the case. Kyle was clearly so smart—back in their second year, he could deduce so many things from the faintest clues. He shouldn't be turning stupid at a critical moment like this.
Sighing over Kyle's "worse-than-a-beast" behavior, Hermione stood up from the water.
After getting dressed, Hermione stood before the bathroom mirror, scrutinizing her reflection while lightly biting her lower lip with her white teeth.
Was her charm really not enough? But she had clearly dressed up meticulously today.
Hermione was fully aware of the stark contrast before and after she dressed herself up carefully.
When they were guests at Nurmengard, after she had dressed up, Kyle's reaction had clearly shown he was stunned by her appearance.
Had this guy's immunity grown too strong after spending so much time around a beauty like Konan?
After pondering for a long while, Hermione stepped out of the bathroom door.
By the time she returned, she held a set of cosmetics in her hands.
She refused to believe that Kyle could remain unmoved this time.
When Hermione left the mirror once more, twenty minutes had already passed.
"Kyle?" Hermione called out his name, but received no response. "Strange... Is he not here?"
Could he have gotten tired of waiting for her and gone to another bathroom to take a shower?
After all, inside a tent this size, it was impossible for there to be only one bathroom.
Therefore, it was quite normal for Kyle to go wash up in a different one.
Wandering around the tent for a moment, the little beaver noticed that the interior layout of the tent—which had been expanded using an Extension Charm—heavily resembled the New Nurmengard Castle in France.
Thus, moving comfortably down a familiar path, she began searching for Kyle according to the layout of New Nurmengard Castle.
Before long, she found a locked bathroom. The splashing sound of running water continuously echoed from within.
Accompanying the sound of water was a melodious strain of music.
Hermione was certain the person inside was definitely Kyle.
Bringing an alchemical item resembling a small speaker into the bathroom to play music while showering was a habit unique to Kyle alone.
Looking at the locked bathroom, a subtle curve lifted the corners of Hermione's lips.
A brilliant idea suddenly struck her.
"Muffliato." Drawing her wand, Hermione used magic to muffle her footsteps, approaching the bathroom soundlessly.
Aiming her wand directly at the bathroom lock, she whispered: "Alohomora."
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