Summer Vacation (1)
After the relentless rain and the fierce storm finally passed, the sweltering heat arrived in full force.
“You guys hot too?”
Cluck-cluck— cluck-cluck.
Even the chickens, who had been laying four or five eggs a day, seemed to have lost their appetite for the heat and stopped producing for many days now.
“Tsk, tsk. I’ll leave the door open, so go find some shade and rest.”
The birds, perhaps knowing how hard life would be if they left home, wandered around even with the door open but dutifully returned to the coop once the sun set.
“You too—come back home later, got it?”
He opened the gate for the goat as well. With that, it would probably head to the spring for a drink and find a breezy spot to cool off.
“Man, it’s seriously hot.”
After feeding the animals, Patrick flopped down on the wooden platform. If it was this bad in the morning, how unbearable would the afternoon be? The thought filled him with dread.
What about lunch?
He didn’t want to light a fire in this heat. He briefly considered going to the Village Hall for a meal, but the walk down felt too bothersome, so he gave up.
At least I got some proper clothes made. Thank goodness for that.
The outfit Patrick was wearing was a loose-fitting linen set. He had nagged Josh relentlessly until the tailor produced it. Without these clothes, he couldn’t even imagine surviving the heat.
Drip—
Still, one cool outfit wasn’t enough to get through the day. The sweat already trickling down his forehead proved it.
Buzz— buzz— buzz—
Look at that. Even the cicadas were going crazy from the morning.
“Teacher!”
“Make us some cold drinks!”
“You’re here?”
He had built a playground at the Village Hall, yet the kids still came to his house every single day like clocking in for work. Despite panting under the blazing sun, Patrick welcomed them and naturally headed to the kitchen to prepare cups.
“Teacher, Teacher! We’re going to the sea later—come with us!”
“Yeah! It’s our secret spot, but we’ll show you.”
“By the way, Teacher, can you swim?”
“Aw, it’s fine. The water’s shallow there anyway.”
The children made their suggestion while sipping the drinks Patrick had made, filled with chopped fruit soaked in honey.
“The sea?”
Normally he would have brushed it off—Why go again when I see it every day?—but today the thought struck him differently.
Nothing beats playing in the water during summer vacation!
On a day like this, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to forget about farming for a while and just have fun.
“Wait here, then. I’ll pack some things first.”
“Things?”
Patrick was already brimming with excitement.
“Whoa……”
Patrick stared at the scene before him and let out a genuine gasp of wonder. It was something he had never expected.
Wait, more importantly—why are they only telling me about this place now? Was I being ostracized all this time without realizing it?
The shallow, jade-colored sea sparkling under the sun and the crescent-shaped white sand beach looked like something straight out of a postcard.
“It’s like a painting.”
“Right? This place is the best in summer. Adults hardly ever come here.”
“Yeah. They say there aren’t many rocks, so there’s not much worth catching.”
“Even if you set traps, big fish don’t get caught. But it’s great for playing.”
“The waves are calm too!”
The children chattered proudly, each adding their own explanation as to why this was their secret spot, clearly pleased by Patrick’s awestruck reaction.
Splash!
Leaving the kids behind, Patrick grunted as he hauled over the bundle he had carried and pulled out a large white cloth from the pile. He spread it under the shade of a tree, anchoring the edges with sand so it wouldn’t blow away, then flopped down on it with arms and legs spread wide.
“Perfect.”
Ahh—this is what they call romance.
“If you’re just going to lie down, why come all the way here instead of staying home……”
The children whispered among themselves, unable to understand, but Patrick had his own reasoning.
“Resting at home just doesn’t feel like real rest.”
Ah, if only I had some cold beer and potato chips, it would be even better.
If I don’t have them, I’ll just make them.
Patrick suddenly sat up and rummaged through the pile. In no time, he had set up a makeshift grill.
“Eat while you play. Go on, eat.”
“Call us when it’s ready!”
“I’m grilling it so we can eat right away. If you don’t come, I’ll eat it all myself.”
When he saw the children, who had been running around the beach with sticks, come running back, he immediately started placing food on the grill.
Anything cooked on the well-oiled iron plate would taste delicious, but the classic choice was still protein.
“Pork belly would be best, but it’s hard to get. Tsk.”
Fresh pork was difficult to come by, so he had to settle for thick-cut bacon instead. Beside it, he fried some ingredients in plenty of oil, and next to that he laid out various vegetables and a few pre-made seasoned greens.
“The greens smell great!”
The sight of the greens he had picked, dried in the shade, salted, and stir-fried always made him crave fluffy white rice, but paired with the meat, their flavor complemented each other surprisingly well.
“It’s hot, so be careful when you eat.”
“Whoa!”
The children casually rummaged through Patrick’s belongings, found forks, and stuffed their mouths full, giggling all the while.
Honestly, calling it “cooking” felt a bit embarrassing. He had simply thrown everything he brought onto the iron plate and grilled it. But with such a beautiful view, even flour dough would probably taste good.
Ah, maybe not that far.
Anyway, while they were in the middle of eating, a few villagers passing by spotted them and approached.
“Oh my, Teacher. It must be tiring looking after the kids in this heat.”
“Here, I just picked these from the field. Please grill them and eat together.”
Eggplant, pumpkin, a few potatoes, tomatoes, and a handful of plums were added to the basket. Before long, word spread and someone brought seasoned chicken, while another person left an entire bundle of fish, saying they had meant to share it at the Village Hall but were leaving it here instead.
“Teacher.”
“What?”
“The food keeps increasing.”
“So eat more.”
“Okay!”
The only thing that saddened Patrick was that no one brought any alcohol—probably because the kids were around.
Feeling full, he figured he should help with digestion. Contrary to Ben’s expectations, instead of lying around lazily, Patrick headed straight for the sea.
A sea like this has to be enjoyed in person. Obviously.
He planned to swim for exactly thirty minutes to aid digestion, then take a nap under the tree shade during the hottest part of the day. With that in mind, he dove straight into the crystal-clear water.
“Phew!”
“Take this—hyah!”
The moment he surfaced after submerging himself completely, the children immediately began splashing water at him.
“Puh-puh-puh!”
The frail wizard couldn’t withstand the combined water barrage from six children at once.
“Kyaa-ha-ha-ha!”
“Teacher, your hair looks hilarious!”
After being hit by the underhanded coordinated attack several times, Patrick found a way to turn the situation around.
“Waterball!”
Pop! Splash—!
Several fairly large Waterballs materialized above the children’s heads and burst one after another, pouring down a torrent of water.
“That’s cheating! Using magic isn’t fair!”
“If you’re jealous, become wizards yourselves! Nyah-nyah-nyah!”
Watching the scene from afar, the Village Chief smiled warmly and turned away.
“Ah, he really gets along well with the children today too.”
“Grr! Someone help me, kids!”
Poof!
—Okay!
—I’ll help!
—Sounds fun!
Had he forgotten that while none of the children were wizards, one of them was a Spiritist?
“Huh? Huh? Huh!”
A powerful stream of water swirled beneath Patrick, and in an instant, his body was lifted a full meter above the surface.
“Wh-what is this?!”
“Alright, now it’s our turn to attack again!”
With Patrick suspended on the water pillar, the children had the perfect target. They didn’t stop their water assault until they finally forced the words “I surrender, I surrender!” out of his mouth.
“Puh-puh-puh!”
Once freed at last, two questions surfaced in Patrick’s mind.
“Ben!”
“Yes?”
“What about you—when did you get so good at handling spirits?”
“Well, we’ve gotten a bit closer now.”
So this was a world where getting closer made them stronger?
Meanwhile, someone like me has to study like crazy just to use one more spell……!
The world was full of unfair things, but that spirit of his seemed especially overpowered the more he looked at it. Still, he could accept that. But there was one more thing that truly puzzled him.
“And also. Did you make another contract with a spirit?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean the spirit that appeared earlier. There seemed to be three of them.”
“Ah—yes. Three.”
“You made contracts with three of them?”
“No?”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
The conversation wasn’t flowing at all.
“No, I mean—the spirits you summoned were three, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you made contracts with all three, didn’t you?”
“I’m telling you, that’s not it.”
“What do you mean!”
“They just came to play.”
“Huh?”
“They said they’re friends.”
Dozens of question marks floated in Patrick’s mind.
Spirits come to visit friends too?
What kind of nonsense was that?
More importantly, doesn’t that mean there are at least two spirits he hasn’t contracted with?
Patrick’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“I want one too……”
His gaze was filled with desire.
—This is nice.
“Plum? Want me to peel it for you?”
—Yeah!
“Just a moment. I’ll cut it into easy bites. Wait a little.”
After getting out of the water, Patrick spoke in the gentlest voice imaginable while attending to the spirit. He fanned it, peeled fruit for it, brought it water, and even made a flower crown. The sight of the teacher fawning over the tiny spirit, mimicking Ben’s behavior, made the children shake their heads in disbelief.
“Hey, Ben. Does that actually work for making a contract?”
“Probably not?”
“Then why is Teacher doing that?”
“Maybe he’s just trying anything?”
“Poor guy.”
“Yeah.”
Still, watching it was somewhat amusing.
“Let’s leave Teacher behind and have a swimming contest!”
“Sounds good!”
“How about racing to that point over there?”
The children pointed to a distant spot and all dove into the sea at once.
“Play carefully, okay? Be careful!”
Patrick, who had been busy with the spirit’s errands, noticed too late and shouted after them, but the children were already swimming away.
“Huh?”
Just as he was about to turn his attention back to winning over the spirit by peeling another plum—
“Tommy!”
One of the children was suddenly swept away by a wave.
Perhaps it was because they had already played in the water for a while and were tired, or because they had assumed this coastline never had big waves. Either way, it was an unexpected accident for Tommy, who had been the most confident swimmer.
Unfortunately, the children swimming toward the goal didn’t notice what had happened behind them.
Splash!
In the end, Patrick gritted his teeth and jumped into the sea himself.
Contrary to appearances, Patrick could swim. More precisely, he wasn’t particularly skilled, but he at least knew how to cut through the water and move forward.
Where had he learned? At a swimming pool.
In the sea? He had never tried.
Anyone who had swum in the ocean before would have realized the problem by now.
“Puh-puh-puh!”
Swimming in the sea was no easy feat.
“I’m first! Yay!”
Ben, who had just reached the goal, turned around and spotted his struggling friend.
“Huh? Tommy! Tommy! Guys, help my friend! Hurry!”
—Got it. But what about your teacher?
He looks like he needs help more over there.
“……Please.”
It should have been a touching scene, but things weren’t going as planned for Patrick.