Chapter 4: A Special Kind of Magic
Akko could only look away somewhat embarrassed. "I don't know if I would consider myself a nudist," she said, sheepishly. "I never tried anything like that before."
Diana watched as Akko clutched onto the bottom of her shirt, nervously contemplating about what to do. Diana then saw her wand, laying on the table. "Well…there's a first time for everything," she said, as she picked up her wand.
Akko noticed Diana eyeing her wand intently. "Uh, Diana…what are you doing?" she asked nervously. "Wait…you're not going to…use that naked spell on me, are you?!"
Diana didn't reply. She only turned her head to look Akko in the eyes. "Wait, hold on!" Akko pleaded, as she slowly backed away from Diana. "I'm not ready to go nude yet!"
Out of desperation, Akko quickly reached into her bag and brought out the Shiny Rod. "Don't think I won't use this on you!" she warned.
Diana looked up and saw Akko glaring at her with Chariot's Shiny Rod pointed at her. She only shook her head.
"No," thought Diana. "She's right. I can't force her to do this. She has to decide to do this herself. But how do I convince her?"
Diana quickly began thinking of various things she could say to Akko to convince her to get naked. She could try spouting the usual spiel about how being a nudist improves her self-confidence and makes her feel free and unbounded by the shackles of society's merciless standards about beauty and what makes the "ideal body."
No, that wouldn't work. Akko made it clear that she's not going to buy that from Diana.
"Although," thought Diana, "maybe if I say it like this…"
With an idea suddenly in her head, Diana set her wand down on the table. "I'm sorry Akko," she said, sadly.
"Huh?" Akko asked, confused.
"It's bad enough I lied to you about this trip," continued Diana. "I'd rather not force you to do something you're uncomfortable with doing. If you don't wish to go nude, that's fine."
"It…is?" Akko asked.
Then, Diana made her move. "I just thought it would help you to become a great witch!"
"Huh?!" Akko asked, confused. "What do you mean? How does being a nudist help me become a great witch?"
Diana took a deep breath. "I'll let you in on a secret," she began, "but this is very secret. It's something only people in the Cavendish family know about. And even then, only a few people in the family know. You have to promise not to tell anybody. Not even the other people here at the resort!"
"Uhhh….okay?" replied Akko.
"Promise me!" snapped Diana.
"Okay, I won't!" Akko said, somewhat frightened. "Now what's this big secret?"
There was a long pause as Diana tried to collect herself. "This resort," she began, "has a special source of magical energy…one that helps to amplify a witch's power, sometimes tenfold!"
Diana stuck her arms out wide to emphasize her point. Akko's face perked up and her mouth dropped in awe. "Magical energy? Here?!" she asked, excitedly.
"Uh…t-that's right!" confirmed Diana. "That's the real reason I come here for a study vacation. The first time I came here, I practiced my spells in a quiet place. At night. When no one is looking. It was then that I noticed I felt more energized! And all of my spells were coming to me much easier than before!"
Diana saw that Akko's face lit up brightly. "So you're telling me this place can help me to become a great witch like Chariot?!" she asked, excitedly. "Why didn't you say so?!"
"Just one moment," Diana replied, "there is a catch!"
"There is?" asked Akko, worriedly.
"Well, you can't expect to have great magical abilities for free," said Diana.
Akko groaned. "Yeah, I guess not."
"To truly absorb the powerful energy here," explained Diana, "you must be a full-fledged nudist!"
"A full-fledged nudist?! But…why?" Akko asked, worriedly.
"This is a special kind of magic, one that is blocked by clothing," continued Diana, "or I should say the feelings of embarrassment and insecurity."
Diana closed her eyes and placed her hands on her hip, proudly displaying her body to Akko. "A witch who is ashamed of herself or her body cannot even hope to embrace the magic that lives here!" she said, defiantly. "Only when a witch is proud of who she is outside-and-in can she possess this resort's nudist magic!"
Akko only stared at Diana, stone-faced and looking dumbfounded by what she had just heard. "Nudist magic, huh?" Akko asked, somewhat doubtfully.
Diana stood her ground, but deep down she was berating herself heavily.
"Nudist magic?! That's so stupid!" thought Diana. "Akko isn't dumb enough to fall for something like that!"
Then Akko pounded her fist proudly. "Alright, if that's the case, I'll do it!" Akko said, suddenly.
"Wait, really?!"
As if to answer her question, Akko began spinning rapidly in place. Diana put her hands up as her clothes flew in every which way! Her shirt…her skirt…her socks…even her underwear! Diana's eyes popped when Akko's bra accidentally got caught on her fingers. Diana promptly threw it aside.
Finally, Akko stopped spinning and stood proudly with her arms spread out wide. "Ta-da!" she proclaimed, happily. "Just call me Atsuko Kagari…nudist witch extraordinaire!"
Diana's mouth dropped upon seeing that Akko was now completely nude. She looked down at her body. First, she saw Akko's chest. Her bust wasn't quite as big as Diana's. However, she wasn't exactly flat either. Diana could see that her breasts were still fairly bouncy and perky, which was quite fitting for Akko.
Diana then peered down at Akko's nether regions. Unlike Diana, who was clean-shaven, Akko had a small, thin patch of brown hair. For some reason, Diana wasn't surprised that Akko would have a bit of hair down there.
But Diana was less surprised that Akko was no naked and more surprised that she took everything she said seriously. "S-She really bought that?!" she thought.
"I'll show you, Diana!" continued Akko. "If letting everyone see my goodie-goodies will help me become a great and powerful witch like Shiny Chariot, then I'm going to embrace this nudism lifestyle to the fullest!"
"She really really bought that," Diana thought, bewildered.
With her eyes wide open, her face red, and her mouth agape, Akko thought she was gawking at her. Akko only smiled as she struck a pose, jutting her hips out to the side and lifting her hair up like a supermodel. "What do you think?" she asked, boastfully. "Looks like I got more going on than you thought!"
Realizing she was looking ridiculous, Diana quickly got back up on her feet and composed herself. "See? I knew you were the nudist type," teased Diana.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Akko and Diana were both surprised. "That must be Aimi's mother," mentioned Diana.
"Don't worry, Diana!" Akko said, proudly pounding her chest. "I'll get it!"
With her chin held high and her chest puffed out, Akko marched towards the door. Diana was still finding it hard to believe that Akko, who was very apprehensive about being a nudist just a few minutes ago, was now suddenly very gung-ho about being naked.
Or so she thought…
Akko placed her hand on the door handle, but she hesitated before opening it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay Akko, you can do this," she thought. "You have to prove that you're confident in being naked!"
Akko then put on a brave face. Then, to Diana's great surprise, Akko slammed the door wide open and stuck her arms out to the side, making sure to not cover her private areas. "H-Hello there!" Akko shouted, nervously. "My name is Akko Kagari! And I am a nudist!"
The woman on the other side was startled by Akko's bold declaration. Diana, standing behind Akko, could see the woman looking very surprised. She shook her head and covered her face in embarrassment. "What have I done?" she groaned.
The woman could only laugh. She was a cheerful, middle-aged woman, with long brown hair that reached past her shoulders and halfway down her back. Much like her daughter, she had a flower in her hair. She had much wider hips and a more pronounced gut than her daughter. But they were well-toned and her skin was very smooth.
"It's nice to meet you too!" she said, cheerfully. "My name is Hiromi! I see you're already getting used to the quote-unquote "dress code" here."
"Yes, that's right!" Akko shouted. "I'm going to fully embrace the nudist lifestyle so I can become a gr…"
Akko's voice trailed off when her eyes peered down at Hiromi's nude figure. On top of having quite a sizable bust (one that put both Akko and Diana to shame), Akko could also see that Hiromi had a thick bushel of brown hair above her groin. "Whoa! You're really hairy down there!" Akko said.
Diana quickly ran up behind her and covered her mouth. "Akko, what is wrong with you?!" she scolded.
Diana turned to Hiromi. "I am so sorry for that!" she said, profusely.
"Not at all!" Hiromi said, kindly. "Aimi did warn me that this girl was fascinated by other women's vaginas."
"Honestly, her obsession is…worrying," sneered Diana.
"I'm sorry. I was just worried that I was going to be the only one," explained Akko.
"The only one what?" asked Diana.
"The only one with hair…down there," Akko replied, bashfully. "Aimi's doesn't have hair. Yours doesn't have hair. I thought I was breaking some nudist rule or something."
Hiromi couldn't help but laugh. "Nudist rule?" Hiromi asked. "Where did you get an idea like that?"
"Hey, don't laugh!" snapped Akko. "I'm new to all of this nudist stuff!"
"I'm sorry Akko," Hiromi said, calming down. "I shouldn't laugh at you like that. But please…relax!"
Akko took a deep breath. "I just want to make sure I'm not screwing anything up or breaking any rules," she said, worriedly.
"Oh, don't worry," Hiromi said. "You'll be happy to know that there aren't really any rules to being a nudist!"
Hiromi then thought for a moment. "Well…I suppose there are a few rules in being a nudist," she said.
"Like what?" Akko asked.
"Like number rule one," said Hiromi.
Hiromi then put her hand on Akko's left shoulder. "Relax and be yourself!" she said, kindly, "but more importantly, love yourself! Don't worry so much about whether your boobies are big or not or how much hair you got down there or even if your bottom is just a bit too wide. You'll find the people here don't care."
Akko smiled. She was relieved to hear that she wouldn't be mocked by anyone.
Hiromi then turned to Diana, who was still feeling embarrassed about Akko's comment earlier. "Oh! You have a friend!" she said. "And who might you be?"
Much to Diana's dismay, Akko reached back and dragged her out in front of Hiromi. "This is Diana Cavendish!" introduced Akko. "She's a regular here! So she invited me to come along!"
"Oh? Is that right?" Hiromi asked, confused.
Diana gulped as Hiromi raised an eyebrow at her. "What's your name again?" she asked.
"D-Diana Cavendish," Diana answered, nervously.
Hiromi continued staring at her, rubbing her chin. "You're a regular here?' she asked.
Akko was confused. "Don't you…recognize her?" she asked, suspiciously. "She comes here all the time for the summer."
"Hmmm…"
Hiromi looked at Akko, and then back at Diana. She saw that Akko looked really confused while Diana was doing her best to stay relaxed and not look guilty.
Hiromi then smiled. "Oh! That's right!" she said. "Diana! You're…the rich girl, right?"
"Y-yeah," Diana said, somewhat relieved. "I guess you're always busy with everyone else, it all just blurs together."
"You're right about that," Hiromi said. "Seems like we get more and more popular every summer. It's hard to keep track of everyone sometimes."
Just then, she was interrupted by the sound of someone's stomach grumbling. Hiromi and Diana both turned to Akko. She laughed nervously. "I did say I wanted to eat after getting checked in," she said, sheepishly.
"Well, it looks like you two are already checked in," joked Hiromi. "Come on! I'll escort you to the restaurant."
"Yeah! Food!" Akko shouted, happily.
Akko then leaned over to Diana. "You know what? Maybe this place won't be that bad," she whispered.
"I'm glad to hear you say that," replied Diana.
Akko then left to follow after Hiromi. Diana let out a sigh of relief. "Stay calm, Diana," she told herself. "It'll be worth it in the end. Maybe."
Akko and Diana followed closely behind Hiromi as she led them towards the resort's restaurant. Unlike earlier when the two were being escorted by Aimi, Akko was far less embarrassed and was acting more her usual cheerful self. She was practically skipping and humming a jolly melody to herself.
Diana was still puzzled by how quickly Akko adapted to not wearing clothing. "You sure grew accustomed to being a nudist rather quickly," said Diana. "It was only five minutes ago that you were scared to take your clothes off."
"I'll admit I was really nervous about the whole thing," replied Akko, "but to be honest…I'm glad you brought me here! Because this feels amazing!"
Akko then stretched her arms out as she felt the ocean breeze cooling her whole body. "It's a great feeling, isn't it?" Hiromi asked. "It feels just as good as sleeping naked and skinny dipping!"
"Oh, I never tried sleeping naked before," said Akko.
"It's an absolute godsend, especially during those hot summer nights," replied Hiromi. "It really saves on A/C bills!"
While Hiromi and Akko were happily talking to one another about nudism, Diana stood further back, thinking about what she had told Akko. "Nudist magic…" she thought to herself. "I can't believe she actually bought that. But now she's going to expect her magic to improve significantly! What am I going to do?"
Hiromi looked back and saw that Diana looked distracted about something. "Diana?" she asked, concerned. "Diana?"
Diana perked her head up, snapping out of her mind. "Is everything alright?" asked Hiromi. "You seem troubled by something."
"What? No! Everything is fine!" Diana replied, frantically. Diana then ran up to Hiromi and Akko to catch up to them.
As they continued on their way, they passed by the resort's pool area. Akko looked around and saw many women of different ages and body types strolling around without a care in the world. Some were swimming in the water while others were laid out relaxing on the pool chairs.
"Wow, everyone looks so happy," Akko said. "That must be that nudist magic in effect!"
"Akko!" growled Diana.
"Ah yes, you could say that there's a special kind of magic here," Hiromi said. "By becoming a nudist, you allow yourself to become one with your body and one with nature! And I think that's something we can all greatly appreciate!"
"Yeah! I'm going to be one with myself so I can embrace the nudist magic! Then, I'll be a great wi-"
Akko was suddenly cut off when Diana wrapped her arms around her head, pulled her back, and covered her mouth. "Diana, what are you doing?" Akko said.
"What am I doing? What are you doing?" scolded Diana. "I told you that was a secret!"
"Wait, you mean I can't even tell Hiromi?" Akko asked, confused. "But she owns the place. She would know, right?"
"No! It's a secret known only to witches!"
Hiromi watched as Akko and Diana argued with one another. She listened in but didn't really understand what they were saying. "What on earth are they talking about?" she murmured to herself.
"That doesn't make sense," continued Akko. "She owns the resort. How would she not know about the magic source?"
"I told you, it's something only witches know," replied Diana.
"Is she not a witch?" asked Akko.
"Does she look like a witch to you?"
"I…I don't know! I can't tell!"
The two stopped arguing once Hiromi let out a cough. "What's going on here?" she asked, worriedly. "Is there something I should know about?"
"Hiromi, are you a witch?" Akko asked, bluntly.
"What are you doing?!" scolded Diana.
Hiromi was taken back by Akko's question. "A witch?" she asked. "You mean like wearing pointy hats and casting magic spells? That kind of witch?"
"Yeah," confirmed Akko.
"Hmmm…no, can't say that I am," Hiromi said.
"Have you ever met a witch before?" continued Akko. Diana could only bury her face in embarrassment.
"Met a witch?" Hiromi asked. "Actually now that you mention it, we did have a witch visit here a few months ago," mused Hiromi.
"You did?!" Akko asked, excitedly.
"You…did?" Diana asked, doubtfully.
"Oh yes," Hiromi said. "She was the one who used that explosion spell and blew up one of the hillsides nearby."
"Whoa, really?!" Akko asked, excitedly.
"E-E-Explosion spell?" Diana asked, surprised.
"That's right. She scared the living daylights out of everyone at the resort. Unfortunately, she and her two friends are the only three people that we had to permanently ban from the resort."
Diana gulped. With how nice Hiromi has been to them so far, the idea of her being angry enough to permanently ban someone scared her a bit. Akko, however, was amazed to hear about the witch's power. "That must have been some powerful nudist magic!" she said.
"I don't know about that! I hate to imagine nudist magic contributing to something that destructive!" worried Hiromi. "But the less I say about that day, the better."
Hiromi quickly dropped the subject and continued on her way. Akko leaned in closer to Diana. "Diana, did you hear that?" whispered Akko. "A witch learned explosion magic!"
"Yes, I heard," Diana said, annoyed.
"You think I can learn that too?" Akko asked, excitedly.
"I sure hope not," replied Diana.
But Diana was both curious and confused about what Hiromi had just told them. She had a hard time believing that actual witches visited the resort. "So…the thing I made up…is actually real?" she asked.
TO BE CONTINUED…
