And the next day.
The weather was fine.
Finally, we decided to go swimming.
It's always warm at this resort, and there is no set time for swimming.
Besides, nowadays there is no one who wants to go swimming because of the rumor of "mysterious glowing phenomenon in the shape of dragon" which occurred in the west of the resort.
So for the first time in a long time we got on a carriage and headed for the beach on the outskirts of town.
Look, Nagi-sama. It's the ocean. Umi!
Cecil, seated in the governor's seat, is waving his hand toward the horizon.
The sea in the resort town of Michelineira is shallow, and the rocky shore off shore serves as a breakwater.
Maybe that's why the waves are so quiet. Apparently the tides keep the dangerous water-dwelling monsters away.
Let's see.
I parked the carriage along the town's road.
In the carriage behind the driver's seat, Rita, Aine, Iris and Rafilia should be changing into their swimsuits.
Now all we need to do is get everyone to enjoy the swim.
I feel like I've finally given all the slaves a decent vacation.
'Nagi-sama, can I too ......?'
Cecil looks at me like I'm a puppy dog.
Okay, I said, and Cecil jumped from the gohja-dai to the vehicle.
Today, there is a partition between the gyoja-dai and the vehicle with a cloth. So that you can't see it from the outside.
I think it's safe to say that Rita, who has the "presence of mind" skill, is here, but just in case, let's be wary of our surroundings.
"Sorry, but can you guys take care of things while everyone else is swimming?
I patted the carriage horse on the back.
'If any of those suspicious people come close, tell me to stay away. I'll need to hear from you guys.
"Ridiculous! 'Sir!'
"Anyone who interferes with our leave will be sent away with a single sound.
You're very reliable.
The horses are very motivated today as they are communicating with each other in "Negotiating for Life".
It's going to be a nice day for a vacation.
Sorry for the wait. Nagi-sama!
Cecil and the others, dressed in their swimsuits, come down from the box behind them.
Rita looks embarrassed, Aine has her usual vague look on her face, Iris is squirming, and Raphilia is looking at me with her chest out for some reason.
I looked at everyone and noticed one thing.
It's pretty immoral ...... to wear a collar on your swimsuit.
People don't care about it, and I've gotten used to it recently, so I forgot about it.
If it was my old world, I'm pretty sure I'd be reported or questioned on duty.
...... I'm really glad this is an alternate universe.
'When you get out of the carriage, do your warm-up exercises. Don't go into the deep end. Play in the shallow water.
Let's start with the notes.
When I say this, they all say yes.
They all seem to have never been to the beach before, so I'll use my knowledge of the world to help them out in this area.
'Rita and Aine, look after everyone. Iris is from a port town, but it is her first time swimming, so don't go anywhere she can't find her feet. Cecil too. Raphilia is ...... not to do anything weird.
Again, good answer. Nice and straightforward.
The weather is good. The waves are calm. The snack was made by Aine yesterday.
Raphilia has brought a jowl, so we can increase the fresh water with the 'water purification increase' skill. Hydration is no problem.
You can change your clothes, and a cloth to wipe your body with.
We don't have sandals, so be careful of your feet.
"Yeah. You're ready to go.
I said.
'Well, you can go after gymnastics. I'll keep an eye on your stuff.
「「「「「........................」」」」」
Huh?
Why are you all looking at me like you're nothing?
'This is a world of swords and sorcery and not very safe. So someone has to guard the baggage. And since all the slaves are on vacation right now, I, the master, will guard their backs.
End of proof.
That's one thing I'd like to see up close and personal as everyone else is chattering on the waves, but when you weigh giving a slave a vacation against giving them ...... a vacation is just barely heavier. As a master, I promised myself that this trip would be 'blunt'.
I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on. I will call you when the time is up. I will call you at the time.
「「「「「 I would like to talk to you, Master! 」」」」」」
...... I was angry.
'There's no way we're going to enjoy this when Nagi-sama isn't here!
Yup, I just had to be brave enough to wear a cute bathing suit.
You can't just leave Nay-kun here and expect her to play with you.
That's not fair, is it?
Hmm. You're going to push it to the limit and make us beg for it. Master.
For some reason, I'm being taught by slave girls about the right way to be a master...
In the meantime, everyone was to play water sports with the luggage guard in rotation.
Rita and Iris' turn.
Iris has been waiting for this day!
Iris stood at the edge of the waves and shouted to the horizon.
The swimsuit I'm wearing is the type that completely covers my shoulders. It's the only type of swimsuit available to Iris, whose "sea dragon scales" come out when she gets wet. It's like a school swimsuit without the bust and back. It's a good fit for Iris, who has a sleek figure.
I'm sure you'll be able to learn how to swim, then. Rita-sama!
I'll take care of it, little Ilis!
You'll be able to get a great deal more information on this.
The bikini-type swimsuit that Rita is wearing is for Rafilia. It's for Rafilia, so it's a bit awkward to fit, so I had to adjust the knot in the back several times. I see, the orange color looks good on Rita. I'll keep that in mind. As a master.
"Let's see what kind of athleticism you have. "First, you will stand in the water...
Rita stands in the shallow water and bends forward.
'And keep your face up and move your arms and legs back and forth. Voila, perfect!
It was a dog paddle.
Rita moved back and forth with her face and tail out of the water. And it was fast.
With the athleticism of a beast, the doggy paddle can be high speed.
It's wonderful. Rita. With this, Iris can do it too!
Mmm-hmm. Take a look at Nagi.
Rita huffed and sniffed as she swam.
'You don't have to put your face in the water when you do this. ...... What's this? Waves!'
Saban.
A large wave hit Rita in her dog-scratching state.
"Rita!
Rita caught a side wave and spun around in the shallows.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her up, and she spat out a squirt of water.
...... woo. ooohhhh, what's this? It's sticky. ......
With a shake of her beast ears and tail, Rita sent the soaked seawater flying.
Then she tapped her hair and looked disgusted at the feel of it.
...... The water in the ocean is so sticky and coarse that it's ...... tail and ears feel funny.
Have you ever been swimming, Rita? You've never been swimming before?
'Excuse me! I'm a great swimmer!
Rita turned bright red and shook her head.
'I've never drowned in a lake and a river before, you know!
The ocean?
If there's no waves, I can swim!
Don't be ridiculous.
I see. You've never been swimming in the ocean, have you, Rita?
Come to think of it, she has.
When she was one of the beastmen, she lived in the forest and then did menial work for the Iturna Order, so how could she have the opportunity to swim in the ocean?
''Um, Rita-sama, can you teach me how to swim ......?''
Iris came out of the water and looked into Rita's face as she sat flat on the beach.
'Wait a minute, Iris. Until the waves have completely calmed down.
When will that be ......?
Well.
I decided to teach her how to swim.
We had swim lessons in elementary and junior high school, so I can teach you the basics.
Five minutes later.
'My brother has a great teaching style!
Zaba-baba-baba-baba-baba.
Iris crosses the shallow water in a beautiful crawl.
Swaying her body, she turns as it is. More acceleration.
My form is completely consistent.
He's already surpassed even me, the teacher, and his swim is just like that of an aquatic creature.
I mean, I didn't teach anything that advanced: .......
Disclosing the status of Iris-Hafeumea.
I call up Iris' information.
In the list of skills displayed in the window, there was an increase in 'Swimming', which wasn't there before.
The level is '2' or even '3'.
I'll go up another four?
How come it only took you so long? I just taught him how to crawl and get his feet wet.
'Oh yeah, ...... 'Blood of the Sea Dragon' or ......
The blood and genes of the 'Sea Dragon Kerkator' inside Iris were awakened by entering the sea.
As I recall, Iris said she had never been in the sea before.
During the Festival of the Sea Dragons, they would dip into the seawater for the ceremony, but they wouldn't swim.
So Iris didn't know that she was good at swimming until now.
If you think about it, 'Kerkator the Sea Dragon' is like a god who lives in the sea, so it's strange that Iris, who has that blood, doesn't have an aptitude for swimming.
Maybe the reason why the sea dragon priestesses weren't let out until now was because if you let them near the sea, they could swim away .......
With that, the two of them inserted a tree branch into the center of the castle.
'Which is the first move?'
Cecil, you first.
The girls braced themselves in front of the castle they built for each other.
I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it.
The game 'Nagi-sama Crisis' is about to begin.
What's that?
That's because I've talked about a game with a similar name.
How do you arrange it so that it looks like this?
I'm going. "Furemu, yes!
Gusu.
The 'flaming arrows' fired from Cecil's fingers scraped away the outer wall of Rafilia's castle.
It's not so bad. Next, it's our turn to use the flaming arrows!
Raphilia's blow gouged Cecil's walls.
Wrong.
This isn't what playing with a sandy beach castle is all about.
'And if you're going to break down the castle, shouldn't you aim for the base of the castle?
What are you talking about? If the castle collapses, won't Nagi be crushed?
It's a game that we can play without hurting the master.
I thought about it based on what Nagi-sama had taught me in her book, The Geometry of the World.
It's a collaboration between us and the master, so to speak.
It was my fault.
By the way, the two of them came up with this game.
The Otherworldly Game "Nagi-sama Crisis in One Piece".
Cecil and Raphilia came up with this game to play on the beach.
They built a "sand castle" for each other and embedded a tree branch in it that served as Nagi's role.
The winner is the one who shoots the Arrow of Fire and takes out Nagi without hurting her.
Required number of players: 2.
Tools you will need: Sand. Wooden stick. Low level attack magic.
Penalty: The person who burns Nagi will be spanked by her master later.
...... Huh. You're good at this, Rafilia.
...... You are the one who is reluctant to do this, Cecil. I'm losing my focus.
Ten minutes had passed since then.
Both Cecil and Rafilia were approaching their limits.
The ability to regulate magic power in order to narrow down the output and use the 'flaming arrows' so as not to completely destroy the castle.
The ability to concentrate to avoid hitting the tree branches (Nagi).
And the ability to continuously fire magic.
It was truly a clash of power and skill between the magicians and the replicas of the ancient elves.
The sand castle no longer retained its original form.
The Tree Branch (Nagisama) is more than halfway out of the sand pile, but it's still going to take some time for it to fall.
Cecil and Raphilia are both out of breath.
............ I think it's time to stop.
"This is Nagi-sama's world of 'geum'?
I didn't know the Master had to fight such an arduous battle.
'It's amazing, Nagi-sama: ......'
Very good, Master.
They both looked at me at the same time.
'In view of the size of that vessel,'
I need to ask you for a favor.
Join us and lend us your magic!
Rejected.
I pulled the two of them breathing on my shoulder and threw them into the carriage.
Aine and Reggie's turn.
You can skip Aine's turn.
What?
Aine's taking a day off, so she can go play.
Aine said as she sat at the exit of the carriage.
'Nay-kun, go play with the others.
You don't have to wait until now to be a big sister.
It's not.
Aine shook her head.
'It's my day off and so is your sister. Aine's just doing what she wants to do.'
...... Really?
Aine nodded silently at my question.
Aine, in her swimsuit, has her hair tied behind her neck.
She has a cloth in her hand and a Raphilia jowl. The cloth is filled with fresh water, and she's wiping Cecil and Rita's bodies, which are too tired to move.
Aine has a soft smile on her face.
Is that okay?
...... As long as he is happy with himself, fine.
I've decided that today is a free day.
Just because it's party policy doesn't mean you can't force him to play in the ocean, right?
That's just like a black drinking party where you force them to drink.
"Okay. Let me know if you need to play.
I took out my magic sword, Leggy, which I had left on the carriage.
'What about you? Leggy.
"I'm enjoying it too.
Don't you have to swim?
I'm happy just to see those girls with their skin exposed and chattering. Just the thought of those innocents giving in to their instincts and drowning in the ...... ...... ............
Let's leave the ...... leggy's alone.
So it's Rita and Iris' turn again.
Rita practiced her water walking again. Iris learned the breaststroke of my world.
One last splash in the shallows, and our day's swimming is over.
It took us a little over four hours.
We left early in the morning and returned to the cottage before noon.
Then we ate the lunch we had prepared in the morning, and the rest of the day was over.
Gudda.
Cecil, Rita, Iris, and Rafilia were all in a state of sound sleep.
This reminds me of elementary school.
The fourth period was swimming, and our lunch break was like this.
Good night. Good night, Nah-kun.
I was sitting on the couch in the living room when Aine made me a cup of tea.
'I'm not tired. I was just watching everyone.'
Aine's fine, too. It was rather a nice day off.
Aine, wearing a dress from the commoners' guild days, sat down next to me.
''Hey, Nay-kun. What's about to happen?''
The future?
You're going to take the quest to the guild in town, right?
'Yeah. Like I said before, I'd like to find out what materials and stuff we could sell in this town and what we could sell.
The quickest way to do that is to do the material gathering quests.
You'll learn about the monsters, animals and plants around the town, and more importantly, the fact that there are collection quests means that those materials are needed.
I need to do quests and businesses until I can create the "skill to live without working", which is the ultimate goal, and after I can live without working, I plan to do some business with camouflage, so I'll need that knowledge either way.
That's why I want to do a collection quest or a simple quest to defeat them in this town.
''One more thing. I'm also going to look into what's happening in the 'Land of the Dragon's Seal' and 'Fort' while I'm at this recreation area. I'll need some help with this one. I'll be in touch with him later.
You have a lot of work to do: ......
Don't worry, you won't be a burden to anyone.
Where's Naya-kun?
'I'll take it easy too. Voluntary black work is not my hobby.
Yeah.
Aine and I sipped our tea together.
It's a quiet afternoon.
Everyone else is asleep on the living room floor. I covered them with blankets, but Iris was the only one who was properly wrapped up.
Cecil is tossing and turning and rolling around. Rita is in between the furniture before I know it, blocking the exit with a blanket.
Raphilia is sleeping in a ...... bridge position with only her upper body on a chair. Why do you sleep like that? Is this an ancient Elvish ritual?
But it's nice to laze around like this, it feels like a holiday, isn't it?
It's a good thing I wake up in the evening and feel like I'm on a holiday. ......
I don't have anything else to do today, so I'm just going to take it easy.
No. Not really.
At my words, Aine shook her head.
''You know, Nay-kun. You're off today, right?
............ Yeah.
Aine whispered in my ear, and I nodded.
''Each of our roles are off, and we're off as adventurers too. I'm a slave, but ...... is it still good to be absent?
Of course.
So, ...... can 'sis' be off for today too?
Aine slowly stood up and looked at me.
'For the future, Aine wants to be more useful to Nay-kun, because she's ......
It was the first time I had ever seen Aine like this.
Her face turned bright red and she squeezed the hem of her skirt.
'Please. Strengthen Aine more, please. Make her your 'soul mate', please.
Close your eyes, hold your chest...
Shyly, Aine said.