Secrets Beneath the Waves
126. How far ahead had she planned this? When was the last time I'd gone to the sea? As far as I could remember, it was during the freshman MT in college. After that, I hadn't gone near the ocean even once. The reason was simple—I was a freshwater fish. The thought of submerging myself in that salt-laden water felt utterly unpleasant. And if any of it got in my mouth, the overwhelming saltiness was downright painful. But now, thinking back, whether it was a valley, a river, fresh water or salt water, none of that mattered. What truly mattered was who was in the water with me.
Today, the sea that had always seemed so ordinary felt impossibly beautiful and clear. I couldn't imagine a better resort than this. Maybe I'd gone mad, but at this point, going a little crazy didn't seem so bad.
“Yaaah!”
I felt Iris's presence behind me, followed by the sound of her running toward me. She was clearly trying to jump on my back. I briefly considered catching her, then naturally chose the opposite.
“Hiek?!”
Splash!!—
The moment Iris leaped into the air, I casually stepped aside. She plunged straight into the seawater instead of landing on my back.
“Kehk! Kep! Puha! Salty!!”
“Of course the sea is salty. Did you really not know that when you chose this place?”
“I knew that! Even an idiot would know something that obvious!”
Iris puffed out her cheeks in indignation and splashed water at me. Of course, since I was only standing ankle-deep, dodging was effortless.
Tap, tap—
I still couldn't figure out why Ester kept suppressing her presence. She was so stealthy that even when she approached openly and quietly, I only noticed her once she was right beside me.
“Master, Master. How do I look?”
“What the— Ester, you changed into a swimsuit too… and… uh…”
…Damn it. What the hell was I looking at?
The master in a black bikini, Iris in a white one—those were perfectly normal sights at the beach, so I could let that slide. But what on earth was Ester wearing?
I'd assumed it would be a one-piece or a modest bikini like the other two. No matter how I looked at it, this seemed excessive.
“Ester?”
“Yes, Master.”
“You… did you pick that swimsuit yourself?”
“The youngest said I could wear whatever was in there, so I put one on.”
“……”
It wasn't just a bikini. It was a micro bikini—the kind that barely covered the essential parts. Honestly, I wasn't even sure it qualified as a swimsuit.
“Ester. Go change into something else.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“Just go change. Quickly.”
I had no idea where to put my eyes anymore. Ester might act like a child, but her body was fully grown. Especially as a demon, her curvaceous figure stood out even more. And now she was wearing a micro bikini and coming closer? At this point, it wouldn't be strange to think she was testing me. I had no intention of becoming the kind of shameless master who laid hands on his own disciple. Damn it.
“I-Is it strange? Did I… do something wrong?”
At her words, I instantly thought, Oh no. From her perspective, she wouldn't consider any other reason—she'd just assume she'd done something wrong and that I was angry.
“No, no. That's not it. Ester? Do you see the sun up there?”
“…Yes.”
“You already know this, but if you stay in the sunlight too long, your skin will burn. Then our Ester's beautiful skin would be ruined, wouldn't it?”
“But Grandmaster and the youngest are wearing similar things too.”
“……”
With that counterattack, I couldn't exactly tell her to go change anymore. In that case, the next best thing was to at least cover her up a little.
“Here, Ester. Wear this.”
I draped the shirt I was wearing over her. Since it was a button-up, it covered her well enough. And because it was my shirt, she wouldn't think anything strange of it.
“Hee! M-Master's clothes! Hnnngh!”
…Why was she sniffing it? Had she learned that from Garam?
“Wear that while you play, Ester. Got it?”
“Yes! I'll take good care of it, Master!”
Wearing my shirt, Ester dashed off and plunged into the water with a splash. I watched her for a moment before turning to the gaze I felt beside me.
“You. Why did you even bring something like that?”
“It was a mistake. I was going to wear it myself, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized it wasn't right, so I gave up. Grandmaster also had a heart attack and said it absolutely wouldn't do.”
“Then you should've hidden it. Why leave it out in the changing room?”
“I never thought Ester would actually pick it. I really didn't.”
Iris made a genuinely wronged expression. It didn't seem like she'd done it to mess with me. And honestly, I'd gotten to witness that legendary micro bikini. All things considered, it hadn't been a bad experience, so I decided to let it go quietly.
“More importantly, Master. Look over there.”
“Hm?”
Where Iris pointed stood none other than the master. She appeared to be floating on the seawater, but it wasn't simple buoyancy. Splash, splash— She was walking on the water itself. An utterly absurd sight. She wasn't some religious figure said to walk on water, yet she'd reached that level. What was that called again? Water-walking? Or was there another term?
“……”
She seemed so focused that she didn't hear us. Of course—it wasn't a calm lake, but a constantly waving sea surface. Walking on that was no easy feat.
“Master?”
“Shh.”
This was too good an opportunity to resist playing a prank. After silencing Iris, I loosened up and slipped into the water. I carefully approached the path the master was walking. Her eyes were still closed, all her senses focused on her feet. A peerless beauty walking on the swaying sea—vacation really suited her.
More than that, even though I'd gotten right up close, the master remained silent. I'd expected her to warn me with something like “That's enough” once I reached a certain distance. But there was no reaction—whether she was pretending not to notice or truly didn't, I couldn't tell.
—There's no way she doesn't notice.—
Yeah. There was no way she didn't. I knew the master's skill and martial prowess better than anyone. If she was still this focused even after I'd approached this close, there was only one conclusion: she was deliberately pretending not to notice. Go ahead and try, she was saying.
With that thought, I reached out and grabbed her ankle.
“Hik?”
I thought I heard an incredibly cute scream. Must've been my imagination.
“Uwaaah?!”
Splash!!—
The moment her concentration broke, the master fell straight into the sea. But in that split second, I'd felt it—she'd been genuinely surprised. How should I put it? It was as if she really hadn't noticed me approaching until the very last moment.
“Puhak! Cough, cough!”
Splashing around, the master looked around in confusion. When her eyes met mine, her face twisted.
“Y-You! What do you think you're doing?!”
“You came all the way out here and still want to play games? Just relax, Master.”
“This is my own choice! I wasn't surprised at all! It's just that someone suddenly grabbed my ankle!!”
“…You were surprised?”
“Of course! My heart nearly fell out! You wicked disciple!”
At her words, the strange feeling I'd had earlier grew stronger. The master—of all people—hadn't noticed me approaching? And I hadn't even been deliberately hiding my presence.
“This disciple dares to think of other things while this lord is speaking?!”
“Huh? Urgh! Glub glub glub!!”
Thanks to the master charging at me, I had no choice but to swallow a generous amount of seawater.
* * * * * * * * * *
While playing, I hadn't worried about it, but as time passed, a thought occurred to me. Swimming in the sea was fun, but what about all this salt? It wasn't like reality where you could just turn on a faucet nearby. But once again, the regressor effortlessly crushed my concerns.
“Here, Master! Grandmaster! And Senior! You can wash up over here!”
Perhaps because this beach was originally used by nobles, there was a place nearby where spring water had been drawn for washing. How on earth had Iris found and rented this spot? It didn't seem like she'd benefited from regression alone. She'd even set up a simple tent to make it feel like a shower room. When had she prepared all this? It was starting to feel frightening.
Anyway, after washing off all the salt and changing into fresh clothes, I stepped outside only to be greeted by yet another surprise—a lavish feast had been prepared.
“Master. I prepared a special barbecue for dinner tonight.”
“…Be honest. How far ahead did you plan this?”
“I merely gathered information by meeting various people in the Royal Capital and having conversations! I have no idea what you're talking about, this foolish disciple!”
Iris tilted her head with an expression of complete innocence. After that, we truly enjoyed a proper barbecue. Iris displayed such versatility that even the master, who had been sitting beside me, muttered, “Is that really Iris?”
“Ah, and also. Originally, I planned for one tent per person, but it seems we'll need to share two per tent. So, how about the youngest and Ester senior in one, and you and Grandmaster in another?”
“There's also the carriage. We could sleep there, couldn't we?”
“We need to store the luggage, so there won't be space, Master.”
“……”
It was a convincing excuse—the amount of luggage really was considerable. It was hard to believe she'd managed to cram it all into the carriage.
“I have a lot I want to talk about with Ester senior! I'm sorry to you and Grandmaster, but I'll be taking Ester senior with me!”
“Hueh? Eeh? M-Me? You're taking me?”
“Yes!”
With that, Iris really did drag Ester into her own tent. Left alone with the master, all we could do was laugh in disbelief. Well, to be honest, the master and I had spent plenty of time together before. So neither of us reacted much to the idea of sharing a tent.
“Then shall we go in and rest?”
The master spoke while lightly stretching. I nodded, then suddenly remembered something and opened my mouth.
“Master.”
“What is it?”
“When are you going to teach me that?”
“…What do you mean?”
“That thing you did—reaching something I was told was unreachable. How you managed to reach a place I still can't even dream of.”
The master had clearly dealt damage to the Fragment of the Demon God, even if only a little. Despite not being a Hero, despite the world's predetermined laws, she'd broken them. If I could learn that method, if I could become capable of it, our chances of victory would increase dramatically. That was why I'd brought it up.
“…Hyun-ah.”
The master's expression was grave.
“Let's not talk about that anymore.”