Chapter 504 - Chapter 448: Relaxation Time on the Southern Island
Tuesday
“Ah, um, how does it look?”
“Yes, it really suits you.”
Mion’s swimsuit was a tankini type, but being a flare style, it had a very refined, young lady-like feel. The shades of green and white floral pattern matched perfectly. This must be a Jade Goddess motif, right?
“Ah, is that right? Did Iincho choose this for you?”
“Yes.”
I’ll thank Iincho in my heart for a job well done. The second day was also clear and sunny. The Sandy Beach had a decent number of people, but it seemed this beach was used cooperatively by the owner, Bell-buchou’s uncle, and nearby accommodations.
“Last year, we drew the short straw with a typhoon on the day we arrived.”
“Things like that happen, huh?”
The owner (Gold Onee-sama) looked very good in his kariyushi wear and shorts. His arms and legs were heavily muscled… Maybe I should do some muscle training too?
“Shou-kun. No reactions to anyone but Mion-san?”
“Ah, sorry. It suits you.”
“...That’s too casual.”
“It is futile to expect such reactions from Brother.”
Bell-buchou was in a purple bikini with a long purple pareo, a coordinated outfit that strongly evoked the image of a witch. Miki wore a checkered one-piece, which she apparently got to match Nao-chan. They bought it during a shopping trip with the Kashiwahara Family before.
“I think a male high school student should have a bit more of a reaction~.”
Yata-sensei, who said such a thing, had no intention of swimming at all. She wore a kariyushi dress, but also arm covers and a parasol… clearly concerned about her skin.
“The Ise Family had a period when my older sister was a ‘nudist’ at home. So Brother would not be flustered by the sight of a woman’s skin.”
“Hey, don’t expose our family’s embarrassing secrets.”
““Huh…?””
Bell-buchou and the owner were completely taken aback! Yata-sensei, who knew about it, was smiling, but Mion… seemed to not understand what “nudist” meant.
“?”
“Ah, well… Mashiro-nee used to walk around in just her underwear after a bath, you know. Only inside the house, of course? And she stopped doing it once she started high school, thankfully.”
“Eh…”
That’s the reaction you’d expect! “Ah, I’ll be back for lunch, so enjoy yourselves to the fullest.”
“Yes~. Thank you~.”
The owner returned with a wry smile. Apparently, the proprietress would bring lunch when it was time.
“Well then~, do as you please~. Don’t forget your warm-up exercises before getting into the sea~.”
Yata-sensei, who had settled under a large parasol, popped open a can of non-alcoholic beer from the cooler box. “Yata-sensei…”
“It’s fine~. It’s non-alcoholic~.”
Okay. Let’s leave her be. “By the way, Mion, can you swim?”
“No…”
“Oh, really? Do you want to practice swimming? Or…”
Miki came over with a swim ring and pump she had prepared.
“It would be a waste to come all the way to the Southern Island just to practice swimming.”
“Hm.”
Well, if that’s the case, we’ll just relax in the shallows. Come to think of it, we could swim on the Sandy Beach on the south side of our island too. We could even do it with True and the others, I’ll think about it…
“Bell-dono, you can swim normally, I see.”
“Yes. I may not look it, but I’m quite good at sports, you know?”
Bell-buchou brought a large beach air mat, but she handed it to me and then went free diving. She was much more active than I would have imagined from her usual self.
“Ohh. In that case, something like a magic swordsman might have been an option…”
“Melee combat is a no-go. I found it impossible during the tutorial combat.”
She said that when she took the tutorial at the adventurer’s guild to check her job aptitude, close-range combat was too scary for her.
“Was Miki-chan okay with it?”
“Indeed. I designed my character to be mainly a frontline combatant.”
“Come to think of it, you even turned the pain sensitivity setting up to maximum.”
Mion and Bell-buchou were surprised by Miki’s smug expression. I mean, who would even do something like that as a player?
“By the way, my older sister still has her pain sensitivity setting at maximum.”
“Seriously…?”
She said it was to increase her sensitivity when receiving attacks with gauntlets. She’s that desperate. By the way, that older sister, Mashiro, is apparently in Kanazawa, Hokuriku. She said Season-san’s family runs a dyeing shop… Kaga Yuzen? She seems to be a genuinely distinguished young lady.
“Sewing?”
“Ah, that’s right, Season-san is top-class in Sewing Skill, isn’t she?”
“Indeed. She has already achieved high levels in the advanced Crafting (Sewing) skill.”
“Perhaps it’s because she handles materials from rare monsters that Marie-san has defeated?”
And so, in the end, it was less about swimming and more about splashing around in the shallow water while chatting.
“Let’s have lunch~,” Yata-sensei called out, and we returned to the Sandy Beach. The proprietress, who had arrived at some point, had spread out bento boxes on the sheet. There was quite a lot; I wondered if it would be okay.
“Eat as much as you like. If there’s any left, you can have it for a late-night snack.”
“Alright~, let’s eat~.”
“““Itadakimasu.”””
First, a simple onigiri. The salted konbu really stimulated my appetite…
“It’s delicious. The katsuobushi flavor is incredible…”
“Of course it is! It’s made from skipjack tuna caught around here, you see!”
All the other dishes were delicious too.
“Well, anything tastes good when you eat it by the sea,” the proprietress said, laughing heartily. Bell-buchou, Miki, and Mion were all eating with relish. It was lunch after a good play, and the slightly stronger seasoning definitely made it delicious, but the proprietress’s cooking skills probably played a part too.
“What are we doing this afternoon~?”
“Want to play a little more? Or maybe go back to the inn for a nap?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
Swimming makes you sleepy, doesn’t it? And even more so after eating. In fact, Miki’s eyelids were already drooping; she was getting sleepy…
“Let’s go back and take a nap. It’ll probably be busy again tonight.”
“Okay.”
“Mhm, mhm…”
Yeah, Miki’s definitely done for. I’m getting sleepy too, so I guess I’ll take a good nap to prepare for the night.