I was utterly dazed.
Huh, what was I doing again…?
Where did my memory go blank…?
I remember Wendy hugging me, and then Aina and the others joining in and crowding me… ugh, my head.
By the way, what happened to my sunscreen time!? The slippery, soaking, dizzying moment, where did it go? Why is everyone already all shiny and slick?
Is it over? Is it already finished!? I don’t remember any of it!
I chanted 「Serene heart, empty mind」 to steady myself and forced down my desires, but in the end my memory must have flown away.
Haha, seriously… that’s tragic.
But what’s done is done.
Right now everyone is cheerfully forming a circle and playing with a beach ball.
The water is only ankle-deep, but after doing it so much my legs are starting to feel heavy.
「Master! Here it comes!」
「O-okay. Alright, Aina」
I wade through the splashing water, eyes on the bouncing ball rather than on chests, and send it back to Aina.
「You’re blasting it too far, my liege… oh! There! Renge!」
「Pitch perfect! I’ll take itssu!」
「Hey, don’t keep going like that. Don’t smash it from above. Hey, Shiro, can you get it?」
「Easy. Next is Mizera.」
「…Shiro’s ball doesn’t move so it’s easy, huh…」
Seeing the receiving stance in swimsuits is unexpectedly… stimulating.
It looks like my favorite kanji now will be 圧(pressure).
「Hm. Shiro isn’t that way off-target」
「Oh, ‘hm’, who is she talking about, I wonder」
「No sense of self-awareness, impressive」
「You talk… Let’s settle this on the beach volleyball court!」
The two of them snap at each other with sparks flying.
I’m already worn out, so I tell them I’ll rest for a bit and step aside.
「Then I’ll side with Sorte. Beach volleyball is a team game, right?」
「Then I’ll go over to Shiro’s side, I guessssu」
「Renge! I’ll take you down too! Grrr」
「Ara ara. Mizera. Then shall we play over there?」
「Yes. What shall we do?」
「Hmm. Let’s have a water fight」
「Watering Wendy-sama… that’s so intimidating…」
「Master, when you come back, let’s play too!」
I gave a short reply, waved my hand, and set up an ‘Invisible Jail’ a little ways away. Sitting at the edge of the pool with my legs dangling in the water, I watched the others from a higher angle. They were splashing around happily, and the sight made my cheeks loosen into a smile. From my magic space, I pulled out a cold mixed juice, stuck a metal straw in it, and took a sip.
That was when Hayato walked up to me.
「Itsuki-san. Taking a break?」
「Yeah. My stamina won’t last forever. Must be my age…」
「Why are you talking like an old man? You’re not that much older than me」
「Idiot. Don’t lump me in with you teenagers full of energy. Staying up all night is rough at my age」
When I was still in my teens or early twenties, I could stay up till morning having fun all the time, but it gets tougher as the years go by.
「Is that how it is?」
「That’s how it is」
Hayato sat down next to me, so I handed him a mixed juice too. He thanked me.
「Ah, this is good」
「Right? Food in this world is almost always delicious. It’s troublesome, really」
「Aniki, Hayato, what are you doing? Come on, let’s play more!」
「Break time, break time」
「Then me too!」
「Oi, don’t you come over here too. Three guys sitting together in this situation? People would call us idiots」
「That’s harsh! What’s wrong with including me?」
Seriously. We’re surrounded by girls in swimsuits. And instead of playing with them, these youngsters are sitting here with me? What are they thinking.
He plopped down next to us, splashing water around and making sure of the ‘Invisible Jail’s’ position. Then he eyed the drinks like he was begging. I sighed and gave him one, and he downed it in one gulp.
「Phew! Cold and delicious! With all this sweating, the sweetness is just right!」
「You should savor it more… What a waste」
「Idiot, drinks like this are meant to be chugged like a man!」
「…That’s made from premium fruit juice, 100% pure. One glass costs about ten thousand nohl」
「Eh… uh, yeah. Wonderful view today, isn’t it…」
Ah, he heard the price and immediately changed the subject.
It wasn’t actually ‘that’ expensive, but when you think of it as one glass of juice, yeah, it was pricey. Since I spent most of my life in the old world, hearing “about ten thousand yen for a drink” still makes me hesitate.
「…Yeah. Just looking at this is more than enough」
「Still… Aniki, your… uh, Wendy-san is really on a whole other level…」
「I thought you weren’t into that. Not a lolicon?」
「N-no, I’m not a lolicon, but even if I was, anyone would end up looking at ‘that’, no doubt」
How naive. For Makoto, a lolicon, big breasts are an NG word. There is a genre called “loli-kyonyuu”, but that falls into a different category and is not the same as being a lolicon.
「Hayato was looking too, right!? Say!」
「……Ha. Yes. I couldn’t help but look……」
Hayato admitted it without denial, and I felt that honesty was the right thing to do. As a fellow man, I understood it was unavoidable.
Besides, I had been looking at the girls’ swimsuits too, so it was mutual.
「Ha…… I really envy you, aniki……」
「You still saying that? Don’t get any weird ideas」
「I know, I know. I regret it. But, well…you know, hugging that float is…. 」
True, that had been provocative, but now was a time to enjoy, not brood. If you have time to brood, go play and have fun yourself.
「Master! We’re going to play on this orca now. Will you join us?」
Wendy ran through the shallow water, clutching the orca float I’d made, and asked me while leaning forward.
「No, I’ll rest a bit longer」
「Is that so…… Then let’s play together later!」
「Yeah. Let’s play together」
「Yes!」
Wendy smiled broadly and splashed back into the shallows. She slid onto the orca and glided off toward Mizera.
Watching her back, rather, her rear, fade away, I returned my gaze and found Makoto glaring at me resentfully.
「…What is it?」
「She said, ‘Let’s play together☆ミ’, I’m so jealous! I’m so envious!」
「Don’t shout like that… my ears are ringing」
「But, but!」
「You have Misa-chan and Mika-chan too, Makoto. Their swimsuits were something else as well」
「That’s true. And what were you doing in the boat?」
「No! That’s… a secret」
Makoto’s face instantly flushed scarlet. Really, what on earth were you doing? Maybe something fun?
「…Makoto. I didn’t break the pact」
I even let my memory blur for that reason. Could it be that you did…?
「I-I didn’t break it either!」
「Me neither. In the tent we only smeared sunscreen on each other」
Sunscreen smearing, huh… that’s still enviable. I apparently did it too, but I have no memory.
「Ah, aniki, can I get a refill on the drink? My throat’s dry from shouting…」
「Mm, ah. Sure」
「Ah Maa-kun. You’re drinking something that looks delicious」
When Misa-chan approached on the boat, Makoto reached out as if to ask for the straw he had just been drinking from. He glanced at Misa-chan and the drink twice, then obediently handed it over.
「Haa, this is delicious. Thank you.」
Misa-chan took a small sip from the straw and returned the drink to Makoto. He looked at me with a troubled expression.
Was he worried about an indirect kiss?
If he wanted to drink, he should just drink, but given it was Misa-chan, he was probably afraid of being teased later.
「Since we’re at it, I’ll hand these out to everyone.」
I lined the drinks on the Invisible Jail and, one by one, moved them slowly to where each person sat.
They checked, then bowed or waved with smiles to show their thanks as the bottles reached their hands.
This skill is really convenient.
「Wow… Serving by using the legendary magic. If the mage guild saw this, they’d faint.」
「You could say the same for the yakisoba we carried earlier.」
「Yeah, that yakisoba was strange. Not tasty, yet somehow everyone thought it was good.」
That’s right. I made street-festival style yakisoba.
It wasn’t planned, exactly….
I had been trying to make a sauce, and the test versions failed, but the failed sauce ended up making the yakisoba acceptable. In short, it somehow worked.
「That one was a bit odd.」
Hayato laughed brightly.
「But we all agreed on it, right?」
「Yeah. We even laughed when it was decided.」
It was terrible, and yet everyone ate it with puzzled expressions.
It tasted off, but no one could stop eating it. It made me laugh.
I remembered how fun the preparation had been. The three of us had conspired in secret, hiding and whispering, yet all aiming for the same goal together. Ah…
Perhaps they were thinking the same, because they stared at the scene before us as if savoring it.
Still, if it were evening, a nostalgic mood would be fine.
But it was only early afternoon.
Young people should not waste daylight feeling wistful.
「Come on, it’s not over yet. Don’t get sentimental.」
「Right…! Oh, aniki, I want to show off. Can I do a dive?」
「Sure. Go all out and make it dramatic.」
「Then I will…」
「…Hayato. Won’t you take a ride in the boat…?」
Letty came up from behind, pulling the boat.
Her face was as red as her crimson hair, and she must have gathered her courage to invite him.
「Of course. Shall we ride together?」
The ever-capable Hayato bowed once to us, then took her hand without hesitation and went with her.
「Well then, I guess I’ll go too.」
「Aniki, don’t forget the dive.」
「Yeah. Same goes for you.」
「Right. Let’s enjoy this to the fullest!」
We parted ways, each heading off.
Now then, I suppose it’s my turn to play with Orca-san.
「Hey, Wendy, Mizera, let me join too!」
I approached the two riding orca-san, but unfortunately, orca-san was only meant for one person.
So I pulled out conger eel-san, which was for three.
Balancing while the three of us tumbled off and laughed, we played around until the four who had finished beach volleyball came over.
With no choice, I brought out Whale-san too, and we all kept playing until the sun tilted west and the world turned orange.
Afterward, drained from all the water fun, none of us had the energy to make a full meal.
We decided on something simple, cooked together by Wendy, Mizera, Chris, Mika-chan, and me.
Once we finished eating, everyone headed back to their rooms right away.
Surely, tonight everyone would sleep well.
Sleep after a day of water play carries a magic that no one can resist.
As for me… well, adults have different circumstances.
Once the day passes, the pact no longer applies, and I don’t have to hold back.
What I couldn’t enjoy at the pool, I’ll enjoy separately now.
In other words, this is adult time.
Adults, seasoned by countless trials, can resist even irresistible drowsiness.
I said all-nighters were rough, didn’t I?
That depends on the conditions.
Well then, time to savor the summer!
Swimsuits… truly the best!
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