Chapter 151 - High Summer and Youth (Part 1)
The sun was beginning to bleed into a deep red. The time for our showdown had arrived. The children we had practiced with and their parents had become our audience, watching from the sandy beach. Unbelievably, in that short amount of time, several other kids besides Fam had managed to master the front crawl.
Time had run out for Lini. She could manage to swim, but after a short while, she’d have to put her feet down. That was normal, though, I figured. She would be joining the race with a floatie.
Team Mash, from the first swimmer, was Maira, Fam, Cecily, Lini, and myself as the anchor. Team Mizuki was Aira, Fang, Avea, Beers, and Mizuki as the anchor.
Both Mizuki and I protested that having us as anchors was unnecessary, but everyone else insisted we participate. We also tried to get Shizuka to join so she could face off against Doris, but both of them declined. It seemed Shizuka was completely exhausted from being pestered by Maira and the others to demonstrate her form over and over. She was now watching with Claire.
A flag had been set up in the water where it was about waist-deep to serve as the starting point. The course was a round trip from there to the buoys marking the swimming area. The swimmers had to go around the outside of the buoy and come back, then tag the next person on their team. The first team to have all its members finish would win. The distance to the buoy was nearly twenty-five meters, making a fifty-meter swim a considerable distance for beginners. I wondered if they would have the stamina for it. I had taught my team the back float and how to tread water, but I was still anxious.
Right now, the first swimmers, Maira and Aira, were standing at the starting line.
"A representative of God shouldn't be addressing people with formal titles."
"In that case, I'll just have to make Mash call me Aira-sama."
As the two of them declared their own selfish ambitions, Shizuka, acting as the starter, approached them.
"Alright then, on your marks!"
She raised one hand, her voice a sultry, almost moaning cry. I wished she would remember that many children were watching. I regretted letting her take on this role, but contrary to my feelings, both the kids and the adults were delighted. Was this world more open-minded about such things? Then again, I had groped Fam and the others every time they complained to me.
"Get set... Go!"
They both started swimming toward the buoy at once. A huge cheer erupted from the beach. Both of them had the same form. When they took a breath, they turned their faces to the sky with enough force to nearly flip them over, and their swimming motion paused each time. Maira looked slightly smoother, but Aira was marginally faster. The two proceeded in parallel, but they zig-zagged with every breath. I started to worry if they could even finish the fifty meters safely.
"Master, who do you think will reach the goal first?"
Fam asked, but honestly, it was a toss-up.
"Let's see. I think Maira is at a disadvantage in the water..."
"Why is that?"
Of course, it was because the resistance she faced was different due to the size of her chest, but I couldn't explain that to her. Perhaps she sensed it, as she didn't press me for an answer when I fell silent. I didn't know if it was truly due to water resistance, but just as I'd said, a gap slowly began to form, and by the time they reached the buoy, Aira had a considerable lead. On the return leg, however, Aira’s speed dropped dramatically. She was spending too much time breathing. Maira, whose pace hadn't faltered, began to catch up.
Noticing this, Aira started thrashing her arms wildly, desperately trying to move forward, but it wasn't translating into propulsion. Her strokes underwater were inconsistent. She zig-zagged and made little forward progress.
"Is she drowning...?"
I glanced at Mizuki.
"U-Umm... She's still okay. I'll go help if it gets dangerous."
"This is just for fun, remember? Safety first, please."
She nodded, her expression grim. Aira's zig-zagging didn't stop. She swam as if to block Maira's path, and the two collided right around the halfway point between the buoy and the goal.
"Why are you getting in my way, sister?!"
"You're the one who crashed into me while I was swimming!"
They stopped swimming and began to argue, which quickly escalated into splashing each other. Aira swung her arms furiously, sending water flying in all directions. Maira aimed for the gaps in the assault, accurately splashing water in Aira's face. It was an utterly graceless slugfest. The audience was ecstatic. Some of the kids were clutching their stomachs with laughter. But the battle was short-lived. Aira's movements gradually weakened.
"Hey, Aira isn't just thrashing around. She's drowning!"
Aira hadn't learned to tread water. Mizuki and I swam out to help.
Mizuki skillfully got behind Aira and pulled her up as she was beginning to sink.
"Cough, cough!"
Aira choked on water. Maira was too exhausted to swim, so I let her lean on my shoulder as I swam back to the beach. Once we were back on the sand, I checked on Aira. She had swallowed some water, but thankfully, she was alright. Most of the water she'd swallowed was what Maira had aimed at her. In public, Maira was a kind older sister who doted on children, but in private, she was a terrifying sibling who would make her little sister swallow water until she drowned.
"I'm so sorry... for that disgraceful display..."
Maira bowed her head apologetically. I couldn't tell if these sisters got along or not.
"The race is off."
"Huh? Why?" Cecily asked, as if she couldn't believe what I'd just said.
"You saw what happened. Both of them are disqualified for interference. Besides, it's too dangerous. There's no need to risk your life over a swim race."
"What are you talking about? It's their own fault for not preparing properly, isn't it?"
When I had tried to teach her how to tread water, she was the one who said it was boring. And yet, this was her attitude.
"Master. Today has been a very fun day. I got a little more carried away than usual. And you went to the trouble of teaching me how to swim. I want to show you the results of that training."
Next to Fam, Lini nodded in agreement.
"What do you want to do?"
I checked with Mizuki.
"On our team, I think everyone but Aira should be fine..." Mizuki said, lacking confidence. She seemed to feel responsible. If we called it off now, she might carry that emotional scar with her. As I was thinking, Fang and the others chimed in.
"To think she would struggle against the likes of Maira..." said Fang.
"She is the slowest among us..." said Avea.
"We are five hundred times faster than her..." said Beers. They stood with their arms crossed, smiling fearlessly.
"Hey! Aira almost drowned. Stop trying to get a laugh with your 'Four Heavenly Kings' act!"
As I shot back, Maira came to stand beside me.
"Mash, don't you dare lose to people like this! Avenge Aira!"
Maira was, for some reason, getting into the spirit of it all. It wasn't just Fam; everyone was getting swept up in the excitement.
"You're the one who took Aira down in an unsanctioned brawl, though..."
"Oh, that's right. I'll go treat her injuries."
Maira headed over to Aira.
"Anyway, if you intentionally collide with someone or block the course of the person behind you, you're disqualified. Got it?"
"Fine by me, but who's going to make that call?" Avea asked.
"If there's a complaint, Claire, Doris, and Shizuka over there will judge by majority vote. With three of them, we'll always get a result."
I didn't think we needed to be so strict for a game, but it was better to have judges in place to avoid arguments and do-overs later.
"Hmph, they're all your women, aren't they? It's obvious you'll get favorable treatment."
Beers interjected.
"Th-That's not true! Claire is, but the others aren't. Don't say such inflammatory things. You'll make Fam angry. Do you want to be forced to kneel in seiza again?"
"...Fine. Let's resume the match," Avea said. The race was restarted with the second swimmers. The battle between Maira and Aira was nullified. Fam and Fang were already standing at the starting point. Shizuka headed toward them to resume her duties as starter. She was receiving more applause than the two swimmers and was in such a good mood that she started humming. I didn't know what, but she was definitely planning something.
"Wait, Doris is the starter now. Shizuka, come back here."
"Aww, why, why?!"
"Look around you. There are children watching. You can't do it."
"How cruel! I'm going to tell everyone how big your thing is!"
"I'm telling you, there are kids watching..."
Contrary to my feelings, the children were delighted by Shizuka's words.
Doris's call of "Go!" echoed across the water. Fam and Fang began swimming at the same time, kicking off the beastkin showdown. Fang tried to pull away from Fam at once with powerful strokes. In response, Fam rotated her arms with a smooth, steady rhythm. Her movements were unbelievable for someone who had only learned an hour ago. However, the stronger Fang quickly took the lead, widening the gap.
"You didn't give Fam any advice?" Cecily asked me.
"It's fine. I already did."
"What did you tell her?"
"The same as you. Watching Aira just now confirmed it."
Fang was about to reach the buoy with an overwhelming lead. Just as I thought, he was the same as Aira.
"They're confident in their strength. So they'll swim with all their might at the beginning to create a lead. But they're still beginners. They don't know how to pace themselves for a fifty-meter swim. They think they can get away with overdoing it for this distance. On top of that, they were practicing with their swords this morning and then started swimming practice right after. Once Fam and Lini left, only the skilled members remained, so their practice must have gotten even more intense. There's no way their stamina will last."
"So you told her not to get drawn into a race and to maintain her pace."
Cecily began to move toward the starting flag to prepare.
"You and Fam are going to build us a lead, got it? Lini and I will protect it."
She nodded. Fang was making a wide turn around the buoy. In that opening, Fam caught up. She switched to treading water for a moment to change direction, then quickly turned back. At that point, the two were neck and neck. From there, Fam took the lead and began to pull away from Fang. Her form and pace hadn't changed at all. Fang had simply fallen apart on his own. He panicked and tried to pull through the water with more force, but his form had crumbled under the accumulated fatigue.
"Wooooooah!"
Fam's huge comeback must have been unexpected. Cheers erupted from the spectators. They must have thought Fang would return still holding the lead.
At the starting point, Cecily and Avea were stretching in preparation.
"I still don't accept it, you know," Cecily said to Avea, who was standing next to her.
"Accept what?" Avea asked.
"Your match with Mash this morning. Mash won that. He stopped his fist because the match was over. And yet, you attacked him after that."
"For whatever reason, that guy has no intention of hitting a woman. I don't like it. That was just practice, so it's fine. But what will he do in a real fight if his opponent is a woman?"
"Don't be ridiculous. In a real fight, Mash wouldn't hold back. He beat Aira and me half to death."
She was talking about our fight with Wind Blade. To be precise, it wasn't me who beat them half to death, but Racshell.
"But you're alive. You must know that not all enemies are as fickle as you, right?" Avea said, as if to provoke her.
"In that case... I'll protect him."
"Protect him? You're the weakest one in that party, aren't you? In a dungeon, the deeper you go, the more magic-using enemies you face, making mages more important. So, what about your skills?"
"I'm... going to create an even bigger lead than the one Fam did. You're going to lose twice today. You're about to lose to a mage you looked down on, using a strategy made by the otherworlder hero you mocked."
If provoked, she provokes right back. Cecily wasn't losing to Avea. Of course, since Cecily was the one who started it, I couldn't have her lose.
"You..."
All emotion vanished from Avea's face as she regarded Cecily with a cold gaze. Cecily shrugged it off and shifted her eyes to the swimming Fam. Fam was already approaching the goal.
"Cecily!"
Fam lifted her head and shouted. Her hand stretched out.
"Fam, nice fight!"
The two of them tagged. The sound of their hands connecting echoed with a splash. They didn't usually talk much, but at times like this, they showed a solid bond of trust. It was a heart-warming scene. Cecily started swimming. After provoking Avea, she was fired up herself, so I thought she'd start at a reckless speed, but she was calm. She stroked at her own pace. She and Fang passed each other. Fang was completely out of stamina. Still, he swam with the last of his strength, finished his leg, and tagged Avea.
"Sorry... Get us to Mizuki."
Fang gasped for breath.
"Leave it to me! Uwoooooooohhhhh!"
Avea let out a roar and began to swim. Her strokes were dynamic. Her kicks were powerful. In the blink of an eye, she was closing the gap with Cecily. Avea was Avea, after all. A physical monster. As I watched, Mizuki came to stand next to me. Fam, having finished her swim, approached as well.
"You said Avea had experience, right?"
It seemed she had more than enough stamina to chase down Cecily and overtake her.
"Yeah. But the stroke she knew was breaststroke. This was her first time doing the crawl."
Mizuki answered.
"Her first time, and she's at that level...?"
Still, if it was her first time, Cecily had a chance. That is, if she could ignore Avea's pressure and calmly continue swimming her own race. I was worried Cecily didn't have that kind of patience.
"Master, how was my swimming?"
"I was amazed. You might be a genius too, Fam."
I placed a hand on Fam's head. She had so many talents. Was it really okay for me to let her become an adventurer? Seeing her blush shyly at my praise made me a little anxious.
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