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Kai's POV:
Professor Aqua and the four of us went toward the backyard of the palace quietly. I tried to make acquaintances on the way there, but they didn't even bother making a sound. We stopped walking as we reached a-- Wait, 'a pool?!'
Well, I did have an idea of what the test would be but 'why here?' Ahem. Anyway, I had the least bit of hope that it wouldn't be what I thought it would, so I asked Professor Aqua about the reason we're here.
She gladly replied and uttered what I was afraid of. "M-meditate underwater?" I asked.
"Correct. Now go undress yourselves," she said.
The two others weren't ashamed of removing their clothes in the open-- and they were nobles. For my last resort, I tried to pry into their embarrassment by asking "Don't you feel any bit awkward by going naked?" my voice stuttered.
"We have been training like this for years now. Haven't you as well?" asked a girl whose black hair was tied into a ponytail and had cyan eyes while her bare skin slowly revealed itself. She had a playful, light-hearted voice which contributed to her charm-- Ah no, I shouldn't be distracted.
"I had done it once, but..." I paused.
"But what?" she asked.
"I stopped because you know, it's embarrassing."
"What a coward," she scoffed-- what? She talked about me... right?
'Well ouch, but say whatever you want because I will not go underwater.'
She had now unclothed herself, leaving only her underwear, and quickly jumped in the pool while I thought of another excuse.
Meanwhile, Professor Aqua asked, "Good. Now do you want to go after Miss Ella, Mister Morgan?"
"Uh... No thank you Professor Aqua." What else should I say? That I was afraid of water? No way!
"Well then, I suppose you can go last." she said. "And Miss Marie will be next."
Despite Marie looking like a hot-tempered girl with that short red hair of hers, she was, let's say, dramatic since she exclaimed "W-what? Why me? That pool looks disgusting!" She still hadn't removed her polo made of expensive silk.
I agreed with her though. It didn't reflect light even though it was out in the open, and we couldn't even see Ella down there. The only proof we had that she was still alive were the bubbles forming on the surface.
"Perhaps. But rest assured that we use cleaning magic everyday."
"S-still..." she whimpered.
"Fine. I will do as you wish after Miss Ella is done with her test."
'Ugh, don't tell me that she's going to clean the pool. And here I thought that I had a good excuse.'
We waited for Ella to come up, and after a minute, a blinding blue light shined all throughout the foggy pool. It was so bright that I had to cover my eyes, and when it dwindled a little, I saw Ella walking out. Her hair was dripping wet when I saw her hourglass of a body, and she was more gorgeous than I hated to admit. My eyes followed her, and when she was about to pass by me, she asked "What are you looking at, you puss?"
'Me? A puss?' Anyway, that did snap me out of her charming spell. I guess you could call me a coward, but it wasn't because of me being embarrassed naked.
Professor Aqua's eyes shone a darker blue while she extended her hand and chanted "Aqua fit caeli." The pool raged and quickly dried, it had quite the smell. Then she instantly chanted "Aqua," and a large quantity of water flowed out from her hand continuously until it filled the pool.
"Wow..." I mumbled in awe.
It looked clean as it was crystal clear. With how the light reflected on it, it was like the sky travelled down the blue water. Professor Aqua's hand was wet, so she wiped it dry on her robe, then asked "Does that look better, Miss Marie?"
"Yes it does, professor." Marie replied. It seemed like she regained her wits since she had a confident voice. Just like the other two, she undressed herself shamelessly, but only removed her flat heels when she was point-blanked near the pool.
Unlike Ella, she had a round body though she did have more appeal than her. She surprisingly passed the test since she successfully meditated for one minute and the pool also shone a bright blue light. After her was Bobby, who quickly failed as he resurfaced after thirty seconds. Now... it was my turn.
Should I just tell Professor Aqua the truth? 'I don't want to fail' though. "It's your turn now, Mister Morgan." she said. Hah, if only I hadn't almost drowned before, then I would ace this test.
I removed my ribbon tie, then my polo, until only my underwear were left. 'Well, here goes nothing.'
While steadily walking straight towards the pool, Ella mocked "I thought you were embarrassed being naked?"
"Oh, shut up." I replied, and heard Ella scoff. In truth, it didn't feel awkward at all.
'Let's just get this over wi-Eek!' It was effing cold! 'Okay, phew, slowly dip your feet Kai, steady...'
While I was carefully submerging my legs in the water, Ella laughed tauntingly "There's the puss*!"
Luckily, Professor Aqua shut her foul mouth by saying "Miss Ella, please keep your mouth shut."
Huff... While seeing my rippling reflection on the water, my heart pumped harder-- It had never thumped this hard before. It became faster and quicker, until it was the only sound that I could hear. My surroundings became silent and muffled while I was staring at my reflection.
It reminded me of when I was seven years old and tried to walk in a five foot pool. As tall as I was for my age, the water reached up until my chin-- and I was tip-toeing.
Alas, I accidentally slipped and I almost met the light. Well, I did see it while I was drowning since it was bright out. It felt... lonelier more than terrifying honestly. Although there was light seeping into the water, it was dark and lonely. Don't get me wrong, it scared the heavens out of me since it happened instantly.
Anyway, there I was clawing my way in the water, trying to go back to the surface-- and I did! Only for me to slip again. Although it was a swimming pool, I truly thought that I was about to go down into the depths after the second time.
Alright, enough reminiscing, I should- "Waaa!"
Splash!