Last Day of Vacation

After a break, the fatigue from the morning shift began to fade.

They headed back to the beach.

Nearly two full days had been consumed by dealing with the Kraken, making today the last day they could play.

That's exactly why they had limited the beach house work to just the morning.

They'd been in a state where it was hard to tell if they were playing or working, so from noon on they wanted to use the time purely for fun.

Since they'd already changed into swimsuits for the beach house work, they could go swimming right away.

Normally there would be a crowd at the beach, but thanks to the Kraken subjugation, they'd been specially told about a hidden spot.

There was almost no one else around. It was like having a private beach.

"Huh. Not bad."

"Looks like we'll be able to relax."

"It's so open! I was worried about the crowds, but this is perfect."

"Right? Let's get in the water, Master. We don't even have bags to watch."

"Sure, why not."

Azu pulled Yohane along, and all of them waded into the sea.

The cool water soothed their sun-warmed bodies.

"Huh. Is it just me, or is it easier to float in the ocean?"

Finn ventured a bit further out. When the water came up to her shoulders, she spoke with a note of surprise.

"That's right. I was surprised too compared to rivers."

"Well, I wasn't surprised or anything."

Azu swam over near Finn.

Her silver hair spread out as it touched the seawater.

"What?"

"Take this!"

Azu scooped up seawater with both hands and flung it at Finn's face.

Finn deflected it with her left hand.

"Oh, you did not!"

"Payback for before!"

They began scooping and hurling water at each other.

The amusing part was that neither of them actually got hit. Both dodged or deflected every splash.

A natural result of two people with exceptional reflexes and dynamic vision going at it.

"Is that all you've got? Why don't you use that eye of yours!"

"I don't need to!"

Neither had brought weapons into the water.

It was a contest of bare hands and nothing more.

"Wow, that's incredible. I couldn't do that."

"How are they even managing it?"

The skirmish escalated as Elza and Yohane watched side by side.

Before long, Elza closed the distance and latched onto Yohane's arm.

Through the swimsuit, the softness of her body pressed against him.

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

Fair enough, he thought, and let Elza stay clinging to his arm while they watched a while longer.

Eventually, a winner emerged.

Unfortunately, Azu was the first to take a faceful of water.

But it had been a close fight — Azu could just as easily have won.

"I lost…"

"You're ten years too early to beat me."

"Then let's race to that rock over there. First one there wins."

"Were you always like this? Oh, you're in high spirits, aren't you?"

"I'm not like that."

Being more excited than usual, Azu was called out on it and tried to hide her embarrassment by sinking half her face into the water.

"I've done swimming training, you know. Well, it'll be good exercise. I'll keep you company."

Azu and Finn took off toward a distant rock.

Finn's form was clean, befitting someone who trained regularly.

Azu wasn't slow either, but the gap was gradually widening.

She could probably win if she borrowed the Water Elemental's power, but she wanted to win on her own strength.

As far as Yohane had heard, Finn was the only person Azu had clearly lost to in combat.

Absurdly strong opponents like the skeleton samurai and the Ash King aside, perhaps being around the same age sparked a sense of rivalry.

"Where'd Alexia go?"

"She was just… huh?"

"Were you planning on swimming?"

Alexia surfaced behind the two of them.

She'd apparently gone for a lap around the area.

"Good idea. Might as well swim a bit while we're here."

"Sounds good."

Elza reluctantly let go of Yohane's arm, and the three of them swam leisurely.

After a while, they moved to the shallows. Both Alexia's and Elza's hair clung to their skin, soaked with seawater.

The sunlight reflected off the surface of the sea, making the women sparkle.

It was, without question, a beautiful sight.

Yohane found himself gazing for just a moment.

"Something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

"Shall we get out for a bit? I'm rather thirsty."

"Yeah. Where are Azu and…"

As if on cue, the two were swimming back toward them.

Finn had won again, but she looked somewhat fatigued.

Azu, on the other hand, still seemed to have energy to spare.

They were both agility types, but there must be differences between them.

"I can't believe I got dragged into swimming three times."

"That was fun."

"Only you would say that… Ugh, I'm exhausted."

Finn said this as she stepped up onto the sand.

Her black swimsuit stood out against the white beach.

Standing beside Azu, they were a study in contrasts—in coloring and everything else.

"Break time. Let's just relax."

"I'm still fine, though."

"Well, I'm not. Sit down."

"Okay…"

Yohane and Alexia walked a short distance to buy drinks for everyone. After they returned, the group sat on the sand for a while with just their feet in the water, cooling off.

Perhaps swimming in the ocean had been more tiring than expected, as they didn't go back in and just spent time like that for a while.

Just spending time on the open beach with their feet soaking in the sea was enough to brighten everyone's mood considerably.

"Well, I'd say it's been a good vacation."

When Yohane said this, everyone nodded.

When the sun began to set, they withdrew to prepare dinner.

Azu turned to look behind her, gazing at the sea with just a hint of longing.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Wait for me. I'm coming."

Yohane turned around and called out to Azu as she hurried to catch up.

"We'll come again."

"Yes!"

Her cheerful voice came back.

Watching the scene, Elza smiled happily.