kscans

Chapter 217 - Interlude: Vacation at the Lake

Blue sky, white clouds, and a giant shark, a megalodon, washed up on the shore.

The megalodon had already been defeated and was no longer a threat. Everyone was celebrating their victory, but there was one person who was not satisfied.

"This is not the vacation I had in mind."

The one grumbling was the female leader of Kokuryu, Ney. Instead of her usual armor, she was wearing a blue bikini with white polka dots, the "Poseidon's Swimsuit."

Today, the exploration of the floating island was over, and it was the day to enjoy a long-awaited vacation.

The participants were Ney and two other female members of Kokuryu, Lunaria, Rosalie and the Black Rose, as well as Cecil and three women from the Dragon Busters, and even Diite. The only women not present were probably Esha and Sonia.

Due to various circumstances, she had been busy with real-world matters until yesterday and couldn't log into the game. While Ney was unable to log in, the other members had apparently been enjoying a vacation here.

Today was the day she was determined to participate and fully enjoy the vacation, so Ney's spirits were quite high.

Just as she thought, "Now for a vacation!" someone who was fishing in the lake pulled up a giant shark called a megalodon.

She had just finished beating it up with the members who had been enjoying their vacation, but Ney felt this was a little different from the vacation she had imagined.

This was no different from usual. Ney decided a course correction was necessary.

As Ney was thinking this, Rosalie, one of the Ten Black Rose Saints, approached her.

She was wearing what looked like a black swimsuit, but anyone would wonder if it could even be called that.

Ney's frank impression was, "It looks like it has high attack power."

It wasn't that it actually increased attack power, nor did it have any spikes. To put it simply, it was too daring in many ways. Ney thought it was questionable to wear that not just in front of men, but even in front of women. Since she was a friend, she wouldn't say it, though.

"You said this isn't the vacation you had in mind, but what's different about it? We're all wearing swimsuits and playing in the lake. It's definitely a vacation."

"Hearing just the words, you're right, but I didn't expect to be fighting a giant shark like this. Isn't a vacation about splashing each other with water in the lake or having a barbecue?"

"Then shall we grill the megalodon? We have plenty of shark fillets, you know."

"No, that's fine... Alright, Rosalie, first, let's splash each other in the lake. I've made a minute-by-minute schedule for today. It's water-splashing time now."

"Sometimes I think you're an idiot. But if we're doing this, I'll go all out."

"Wait a minute. Why did you equip your scythe? You're not allowed to use the Madness skill. Besides, you don't use weapons for water splashing."

After that, for some reason, they split into two teams and a water-splashing fight began. The damage someone took was probably from someone using the magic spell "Aqua Ball."

After enjoying what could be called a water-splashing game, Ney decided to move on to the next activity.

Time is finite. Even if some things weren't to her satisfaction, time wouldn't wait. For now, all she could do was play her heart out.

In the real world, Ney was a person of considerable standing. She had never once had a vacation with friends in her entire life. But this was a virtual reality, almost indistinguishable from the real world. Status didn't matter, and everyone was equal.

She had knowledge of what a vacation was, but for Ney, it was a dream as distant as the clouds. Today, she intended to experience all of it.

Ney called out to Cecil.

"A long-distance swimming race? You wanna swim? Of course, I'm in."

Cecil's swimsuit was a black fitness suit with gray lines. It wasn't a two-piece, but an all-in-one type.

In Cecil's case, you could see her muscular build even through her swimsuit. Her abs were something else. Ney's impression was, "It looks like it has high defense power."

"Cecil, wait. Don't equip your weapons. You're raising your STR status with equipment effects, aren't you?"

"You're one to talk, Ney. You just ate some Manga Meat. You doped your STR."

Swimming speed was affected by STR. However, whether one could actually swim was up to the person. Someone like Lunaria couldn't swim even with high STR.

So, it was decided that they would compete with as much equipment as possible allowed.

As a result, both of their STR stats rose to the maximum of 150, and there was no clear winner. They reached a distant rock at the same time and returned at the same time. It was a gentle battle with no winner, but no loser either.

Rosalie, who was watching, looked at the two with a deadpan expression.

"Cecil is one thing, but Ney, don't you think it's a bit much to swim in armor?"

"But this armor is optimal for raising STR. It goes up by a whole ten points. It's a masterpiece made by Hayato."

"What kind of god equipment is that? But you should consider your appearance. Everyone was put off seeing two women swim, one wearing armor and the other carrying multiple weapons on her back."

They weren't put off. They were just dumbfounded.

Cecil retorted to Rosalie's comment.

"Hey, Rosalie. You're talking about appearances, but your swimsuit is on a level that's off-putting, you know? And don't call that a swimsuit."

"What did you say, you punk? Honestly, it's deplorable that you can't understand this elegant swimsuit."

"That's not an elegant swimsuit, it's called a string."

"Both of you, put your weapons away. Remember, this is a vacation. But Rosalie, where can I buy that swimsuit? No, I have no intention of buying or wearing it."

"This is self-made."

"Self-made? You can make swimsuits with production skills, but you can't make something in that shape, can you?"

Equipment made with production skills has the same graphics for equipment with the same name, even if the performance is different. You can change the color, but the shape of each item is the same.

Unique items often have individual graphics, but it was impossible for clothes or swimsuits to have such a unique graphic, even if there were several types.

"We, the Ten Black Rose Saints, have received such power from God. It's limited to the Sewing Skill, but we can alter the shape to some extent. Not even Hayato, who has mastered production jobs, can do that, I imagine."

"Is that so? Does that mean your usual gothic lolita outfit too?"

"That's right. The item name for all of us is gothic lolita dress, but the shapes are slightly different, aren't they? Those are our own original designs. It is our dream to one day have Lunaria-sama wear a dress made by each of us."

"Huh. But if it's a gift from God, isn't there a downside?"

"Ah, you seem to have various demerits, like not being able to use your item bag. I think it's questionable to openly publicize that, you know. We don't have a demerit that needs to be hidden, so I'll say it, but we offer a new clothing design to God every month."

Ney inadvertently glanced at Diite. When talking about God in this world, it meant the administrator, Diite.

That Diite was wearing a simple white one-piece swimsuit, reclining on a wooden beach chair, and drinking coconut juice with a straw. For some reason, she was wearing her usual veil on her head, giving off a sisterly vibe.

"That's not much of a demerit. But why is God making you do that?"

"Who knows? But she did say something about wanting information on the items we design. It's a limited ability for us now, but she said she wants to make it a skill everyone can use someday. When that happens, our offerings will end, though."

"Then I wish I had the ability to make weapons in any shape I want. I don't have the Blacksmithing Skill or anything, though."

"Your design sense would be tested, you know. And altering the shape can sometimes reduce the equipment's stats, so you can't just change it carelessly."

Ney thought there were various things to it, but she hoped that maybe Hayato could do it someday.

But for now, that didn't matter. Ney decided to move on to the next schedule.

This time, she called out to Lunaria on the sandy beach.

Lunaria's swimsuit was a fitness type similar to Cecil's, a navy two-piece separate type. For some reason, there was a white name tag on her chest that said "Demon Lord," apparently made by Rosalie.

Lunaria was building something like a castle at the water's edge, so Ney decided to join in on the fun.

"Oh? How interesting, to challenge this Demon Lord to a castle-building contest."

"No, it's not a challenge. You can't swim, Lunaria. This is the only thing we can do together."

"...The Demon Lord doesn't get serious until she transforms. If I get serious, I can swim."

The memory of her drowning in the battle with the mosasaurus was fresh, but she wouldn't point it out. As long as they could have fun, that was all that mattered.

In any case, she decided to have a castle-building contest with Lunaria on the lake's beach. It was a game to see who could build a stronger-looking castle. It didn't have to be a contest, but Lunaria insisted on it, so she went along.

"Alright, we have thirty minutes."

"I will make you cry."

And so, the battle between the two began.

"With this, the Demon Lord's Castle is complete. It is clearly my victory. Praise me."

"Hold on a minute. This was a joint production, wasn't it? Weren't you the one who suggested we form an alliance? And yet, before I knew it, my castle was absorbed into the castle you were building."

"That was the plan. This is what happens when you form an alliance without knowing the difference in strength."

Partway through, Lunaria had suggested they build together, but before she knew it, the alliance was broken. Ney's castle was absorbed and merged.

Ney was quite dissatisfied with the situation, but building the castle together had been fun, so she decided it was fine. And it was something that could happen in reality, so she could say she learned to be careful.

When she realized it, the sun had tilted quite a bit.

Fun times pass quickly. The setting sun proved it. After the time passes, you feel lonely. It was probably the rebound from the fun time.

"Let's head back to the campsite soon. We've played enough, so I'm satisfied."

When Ney said that, Lunaria shook her head and said, "Oh, dear."

"You don't get it, Ney. We're going to have a campfire at the campsite now. And a pillow fight before bed. We're still going to play our hearts out, so you can't be satisfied with just this. Or have you given up already, Ney?"

No one knew how happy Ney was at those words. But everyone there knew that Ney's mood had returned to what it was before the vacation started.

"I see! Then let's hurry back! We still have plenty of time! But what's a campfire? Are we going to burn the campsite? We can't do that, right?"

The fun times were still continuing.

Forgetting reality for just a little while, Ney would enjoy this world with the friends she had made here.