Chapter 166
“Let’s go swimming!” he had boldly resolved, but there was one huge problem.
'We don’t have swimsuits, do we…'
In the modern 21st century, swimsuits are so common they could be considered universal.
They are even produced in all sorts of designs, serving as a tool to express one’s individuality.
But what kind of world was this?
A woman exposing her skin would be treated as a harlot, and among the nobles, it was frowned upon for a woman to even confess her feelings first - it was a truly stuffy and old-fashioned world.
Let alone a bikini, just wearing a form-fitting rash guard would surely get them pointed at and called crazy women.
'It seems fine since there’s no one around the nearby beach, but…'
Even so, he couldn’t just make swimsuits and hand them over to the women.
By this world’s standards, it would be like handing them clothes only a harlot would wear.
He wanted to avoid any misunderstandings at all costs.
'Well, it’ll work out somehow.'
Not having swimsuits didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy the sea. Wet clothes could just be dried, after all.
“Then let’s all get ready and gather again.”
Nodding at Franz’s words, everyone headed to their rooms.
It was a little while later when the women gathered once more.
“Is everyone ready?”
They were dressed in ordinary, comfortable clothes.
A short dress that came down to the knees, or a short-sleeved shirt with a short skirt reaching mid-thigh.
The colors were all close to white, giving off a very refreshing vibe.
“I’m ready.”
“I’m good too.”
“Me too, I suppose…”
“Let us go.”
Hearing everyone’s answers, Franz immediately snapped his fingers.
A magic circle was drawn beneath their feet, and soon the light flashed briefly as they vanished from the villa.
Swaaa-, swaaa-.
The pleasant rhythm was played by the gentle waves.
The fine sand sank softly under their weight.
And finally, the hot sun was in the sky, and a feast of blue water spread out before their eyes.
They had arrived at the beach.
He had felt it several times already, but the sea of Ganiphus was truly beautiful.
The emerald sea was so clear and transparent that the bottom was plainly visible, and the golden sandy beach sparkling in the sunlight looked as if it were truly made of gold.
“Guys, wait just a moment.”
Franz reached into the small bag he was holding. Then, he pulled out an item he had created after a long period of agonizing effort.
“What is that?”
Seeing the item, Yusti-ah tilted her head.
She had probably seen similar items a few times, but this was likely her first time seeing one this large.
“You’ll know once you see it.”
Saying so, Franz drove the sharp end of the pole into the sandy beach.
As he wiggled it side to side and twisted it, he drove it deep enough to withstand any ordinary wind.
Everyone was tilting their heads at his actions.
Franz let out a soft chuckle, Pfft-, and pushed the inner handle upward. Then, the folded canopy spread open, casting a wide shadow on the ground.
“Is it a parasol…?”
“I’ve never seen a sunshade this big!”
Strictly speaking, it should be called a beach parasol, but it didn’t really matter what they called it. It served the exact same purpose as a sunshade anyway.
Franz laid out a large mat beneath the parasol and said.
“It’s hot if you just stay out in the sun. Rest here if you get tired while playing.”
“No wonder you stayed in the Research Lab late into the night even after work was finished - did you actually make this?”
Arian marveled as she inspected the parasol from every angle.
“Well, there has to be a place that sells them…”
In the modern 21st century, a simple click on a phone can have it delivered right to your door, but here, not only was there no such system, the very concept of a beach parasol didn’t even exist.
So what else could he do? He had to make it himself.
Still, it was fun the whole time he was making it, so he didn’t feel like it was a waste of time.
Anyway, the preparations were all finished. All that was left was to enjoy the vacation to the fullest.
“Let’s all play now.”
Taking off his shoes and tossing them nearby, Franz took the lead and headed toward the sea.
Soon, as his feet touched the seawater, a refreshing sensation spread throughout his entire body.
It finally felt like he was properly enjoying a vacation.
“It’s so refreshing…!”
“It really is. It’s just right.”
“The sea might be just as good as the forest.”
In order, Yuna, Yusti-ah, and Hera shared their impressions as they dipped their feet in the seawater.
It was definitely a good idea to come with everyone. If their days in the Hero’s Party were full of difficult memories, they needed to have good memories like this once in a while too.
It was then.
“Take this-.”
Arian’s voice rang out, followed by a stream of water flying toward him.
However, that stream of water never touched Franz’s body.
He immediately deployed a shield to block it.
“Isn’t it a bit too much to block it like that…?”
Arian grumbled, wearing a dumbfounded expression as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Then should I have just stood there and taken it?”
“It’s fine to take a hit at times like this…!”
As one of the ancestors' proverbs went:
He who strikes must be prepared to be struck.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, a stream of water shot up from the sea.
The stream of water headed straight for Arian’s face, and she took the hit with her eyes squeezed shut.
Drip, drip-.
Water gathered at the tip of Arian’s chin and dripped down.
With not only her face but her clothes completely soaked, she had literally become a drowned rat.
“So that’s how you want to play…? I’m pretty confident with water, you know?”
Narrowing her eyes, Arian revealed her competitive spirit.
This was a challenge to the Magic Tower master, so Franz couldn’t just let it slide easily either.
“Bring it on.”
And so, a sudden magic battle began. Pillars of water erupted from the sea one after another.
Splash-!
An exchange of water magic aimed at each other ensued, and seawater splashed in all directions.
“Looks fun?!”
Yuna smiled brightly and joined their battle. As she lightly swept the water with her palm, a massive wave was created.
It was truly a water fight among superhumans, so there was no way Yusti-ah, who was physically like an ordinary person, could withstand it.
“W-wait, blub…! Everyone, s-…! Pfft…! Hera, you try to stop them too…!”
“They all look like they’re having fun. It’s not even that hard to dodge this muc…”
Splash-!
Hera, who had been dodging the streams of water by moving her body this way and that, eventually allowed an attack to hit her face.
“Hera, are you okay?”
“No, it seems I shouldn’t just stand still.”
“Then help me stop the…”
“Even if I can’t swim, I can at least ask a water spirit for a favor.”
A water spirit was sitting on Hera’s shoulder, beaming with a smile, though it wouldn’t be visible to the eyes of ordinary people, of course.
Soon, as she gestured with her hand, a massive tidal wave began to surge from afar.
“Don’t tell me you…?”
“An Elf never lives with a debt.”
“Are you crazy?!”
“Well, if everyone else is crazy, wouldn’t that make me the normal one?”
In a land of madmen, the sane man is considered mad. That was what Hera was saying.
Yusti-ah tried to argue back but shut her mouth, feeling that she wasn’t exactly wrong.
Even during that time, the battle disguised as a water fight between the two Mages and the Hero was ongoing, and a giant tidal wave was approaching from afar.
As the Saintess, undeniably the weakest in this world, all she could do was quietly offer a prayer.
“Please let me smash a Bible into the heads of these idiots someday.”
Of course, her prayer wasn’t normal either.
“F-Franz, that…!”
“Arian, isn’t that a bit too much?”
“I didn’t do that…!”
The three of them, belatedly discovering the surging tidal wave, each reacted in their own way. It was about the height of a five-story apartment building, so it was truly massive.
However, to Franz, the tidal wave was nothing more than a slightly large wave.
Snap-.
As he snapped his fingers, the tidal wave vanished, and the sea immediately returned to being calm.
With that as the turning point, the battle between the four temporarily entered a lull.
“Ah, this is fun.”
How long had it been since he played this happily without a care in the world? Even after coming to this world, he had only devoted himself to magic, so it felt like it had been a good 20 years.
“I’m completely soaked because of you, Magic Tower master.”
“I’m drenched too.”
Arian and Yuna grumbled, but their voices were mixed with amusement. It meant they didn’t exactly hate it.
“Sorry, I got too excited.”
As Franz offered a polite apology and looked at them, he belatedly realized something.
Their wet clothes were clinging tightly to their bodies, and the clothes appeared white-toned, making them see-through.
If they were swimsuits, he could have somehow brushed it off, but what was visible right now was none other than their underwear.
The sight of their pale, apricot-colored skin showing through, coupled with other factors, made him unable to look at them.
“Magic Tower master? Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, why did you suddenly turn your head away?”
Yuna and Arian were still in a situation where they hadn’t grasped the severity of the matter.
The first one to notice was none other than Yusti-ah.
“W-wait a minute…! We’re completely see-through…!”
Yusti-ah hurriedly tried to cover her underwear with her hands, but there was no way she could completely hide her pale yellow underwear that resembled a forsythia flower.
While she was flustering about like that, the others were struggling to pull down the corners of their mouths that were trying to curl up.
In truth, everything up to this point had been part of their plan.
Of course, Franz remained completely unaware of this fact, simply keeping his head turned away.