Vacation Days
Kiki Beach Resort. Day one of the trip.
I stuffed everything I needed into my subspace.
Most of it was already prepared by the resort, so honestly, there wasn't much for me to pack in the first place. What I did bring were some specially prepared foods. And weapons, but…
Today was a vacation, not a war.
Time to actually enjoy a break for once.
Over the past two months — no, to be exact, I had almost never truly rested in over thirty years. I was always running somewhere, never even allowing myself the indulgence of rest. That place simply didn't let you relax, and even if it had, I wouldn't have dared.
But now? Now was different.
“......”
I stood in front of the mirror.
The outfit was so unlike my usual that it felt faintly foreign on me. Of course, I wasn't wearing my saint's robes in the real world, but back on Deoen I had always gone fully clad in white. Even in reality, I deliberately wore black clothes, a mask, and a hat just to keep eyes off me.
I took a moment to admire my reflection.
“...Not bad, actually.”
This kind of outfit suited me pretty well too.
Kiki Beach Resort.
A famously popular tourist island located at the southern edge of the continent, reachable only by boarding the Kiki ferry. Kiki Island was the land of Crere — one of the top rankers and the owner of Deoen's tourism company, Sea.
The moment Crere first laid eyes on the island's breathtaking scenery, he resolved to turn it into a tourist destination, pouring enormous capital from the real world into transforming the place into one of Deoen's three great resorts.
“And thus was born Kiki Beach Resort! Perfect for couples! Perfect for families! And of course, just as wonderful for solo travelers!”
“Ooooh! Amazing! Right, sis?!”
“Whoa… it's insane.”
At the pier, where the blue sea stretched out as far as the eye could see, Jjoa the manager and White Autumn the editor had arrived ahead of us and were listening to the guide. White Autumn inhaled deeply, as if to wash away months of accumulated fatigue.
Staring at nothing but a screen for two months really was too much…
“By the way, your avatar makeover is super pretty.”
“Hehe. I did put some effort in before coming.”
Jjoa's eyes were the same emerald shade as her emerald hair. She wore a pristine white one-piece dress with purple sunglasses pushed up like goggles, and she spun in a circle with a beaming smile.
“You look gorgeous too, sis!”
White Autumn. True to her nickname, she had snow-white hair and yellow eyes, dressed in that distinctly Deoen-style fantasy clothing. Hers was a breezy summer outfit, and it suited her appearance wonderfully.
“I just threw on something normal, what are you talking about.”
“Oh come on, still— Oh! Over there! There they are!”
Two men were scanning the crowd. The editors Battery and manager Hyuji heard Jjoa's call and came over. Their outfits were the same breezy travel wear as everyone else's.
“Lily hasn't arrived yet, has she?”
“Nope. Apple Flavor hasn't shown up either.”
“I'm sure they'll be here soon if we wait.”
“Haha! Then allow me to share more of Kiki Island's legends while we wait for the rest of the party. As it happens, only two years ago, Kiki Island was nothing more than an ordinary uninhabited isle. But the species living there—”
“Oh! Look, look! Over there!”
“—the species living there…”
“Huh. Oh my god.”
“No way. This is real?”
“......”
Leaving the guide deflating in disappointment behind, the editors and managers all turned as one to stare at a single point.
A thoroughly shriveled-up Apple Flavor — and beside her, a blue-haired woman walking toward them like she'd stepped out of a photoshoot.
Her outfit was, in a way, perfectly ordinary. A snow-white tank top, a thin cover-up, short denim shorts. On anyone else, it would have read as nothing more than comfortable summer clothing. But on her, it was different.
“Whoa.”
In that instant, the illusion seized everyone on the pier that the dock had become a fashion runway. What drew the eye most of all was that particular something — prominent without any effort to make it so…
Unbelievable…
The sheer destructive force was beyond anything her white saint's robes could compare to, and everyone froze solid. And then they understood. Why Apple Flavor, standing beside her, had shrunk into herself so completely.
Walking next to her like that, though…
What was she supposed to do when she got turned into a squid on the spot? Plus Lily was just so tall.
“Why is everyone acting weird?”
Having reached the group, Lily tilted her head. With everyone struck speechless, only White Autumn managed to force her mouth open.
“No, it's just…”
“?”
“No! No no! Why have you been wearing nothing but white clothes this whole time?!!”
“I'm sorry?”
“Th-this, thiiiiis…!”
White Autumn couldn't bring herself to touch the sacred form before her, and simply flailed her hands wildly at the air.
“Why have you been hiding THIS all along…”
“Is this the workshop of a god…”
“Whoa.”
“Sis—! No, Boss, you're GORGEOUS!!”
“Ah. Thank you.”
Despite the overwhelming reactions, Lily simply nodded without much change in expression. Being told she was beautiful was something Lily was extremely used to. Thirty years of hearing it until her ears grew calluses — and still hearing it now, no less.
“But you all look fine too. I don't think it's my place to say anything.”
“No, ma'am, you can't compare an ant to a lion.”
“Agreed. Agreed.”
“Whoa…”
“Ahem!”
Clap!
“It seems everyone has gathered! Then as we walk, I shall introduce you to the beauty of Kiki Island! Right this way~”
Following the guide with the sign hanging around her neck, we boarded the ship.
Enormous at a single glance. For only six passengers, this vessel was closer to a cruise liner.
“Waaaah! Look at that! Dolphins, dolphins!”
Splaaaash!
Jjoa, the youngest among us, excitedly pointed at the sea from the deck. A pod of pink dolphins surged up above the surface, then dove back into the deep.
The dolphins were a far richer hue than the pink dolphins rarely glimpsed even in the real world, and every gaze on board was drawn to them.
“Those dolphins are called Filica, and they live only near Kiki Island. A fascinating creature — when winter comes, their color changes to white.”
“Woooow…”
“But please don't get too close. They're level 85 creatures, you see — take a hit from their tail slap and any ordinary teleporter would be killed outright.”
“Free EXP, huh.”
“...I beg your pardon?”
The guide flinched and shrank back in alarm. I chuckled and shook my head.
“Just kidding.”
“Ah — yes, yes of course. Then next, if you'll come this way…”
After that, all manner of marine creatures revealed themselves. Everything from dolphins and sharks — the kind of things you might see in reality — to lifeforms unique to Deoen.
One thing was certain: the sea's creatures were somewhat stronger than those on the continent. It had been similar in the old days, too.
The Kraken was genuinely terrifying, though.
The ancient monsters had all been powerful, but the Kraken boasted strength and menace worthy of being called exceptional even among them. In truth, our win rate against it had been close to a coin flip. In the end, it fell to the Heavenly Host, and I never got a rematch after that.
The most spectacular sight of all, though, was a whale one-quarter the size of the cruise ship. Since the liner was hundreds of times larger than an ordinary vessel, the whale was likewise absolutely massive.
Apparently the whale was a level 87 Field Boss that lived here. Because the island's master claimed even part of the sea as its territory, it left the beast alone and kept it purely for display. The reason that was possible lay partly in the Field Boss's own docile temperament — but mostly, they said, in how well the island's master kept it under control.
“And that is why! There has never been a single accident here. You see, the island's master is quite formidable indeed. Hahaha!”
“I see.”
So they said.
“Yes. It looks like we'll be arriving shortly.”
A small island came into view from the deck of the liner.
We had arrived at Kiki Island.
“Welcome to Kiki Beach Resort!”
“Welcome!”
The moment we set foot on the beach, palm-tree-lined sands and comparatively short-statured people greeted us — along with a resort that was, at a glance, mind-bogglingly vast. The buildings looked as though sleek modern resort design had been blended with fantasy elements.
And the most eye-catching thing of all was this:
[You have entered Kiki Island — Kiki Beach Resort.]
[Tip. Kiki Island is a tourist island created by renovating an uninhabited isle that holds a special secret. By day it offers gentle warmth and refreshing scenery; by night, a cool breeze and a sky full of beautiful constellations. Be advised! Kiki Island holds many secrets — but there is no particular reason to go digging for them.]
“It's a dungeon, isn't it?”
“Correct. Kiki Island is an island made of dungeons.”
An island that had been conquered, then renovated rather than raided. That was the true nature of Kiki Island.
And above all, here was the reason Kiki Island could stand as one of Deoen's three great resorts:
[Kiki Island's secret is being kept. At regular intervals, a random stat will rise slightly.]
[Strength increases by 0.2.]
“Whenever you go 'sightseeing' on Kiki Island, your stats rise. It's a treasure created by the island's master, Lord Crere himself.”
Every time you engaged in tourism on Kiki Island, your stats went up.
That was why travel costs here ran noticeably higher than at the other two great resorts. Unlike ordinary tourist spots where you merely played and looked around, Kiki Island was a place where you could grow while you did it.
Your stats rise just from having fun.
Beautiful, isn't it?
So smiled the guide, and we nodded along. We hadn't come here to farm stats, but there was nothing bad about getting them anyway.
Never mind me — aside from Hyuji, the managers and editors all had low base specs to begin with, so even those small increments would feel substantial to them.
White Autumn, who had been brimming with anticipation for a while now, thrust her hand up high.
“I want to go see our room right now! I looked it up and the rooms here are supposed to be absolutely amazing.”
“But of course. Kiki Beach Resort boasts the finest food and lodging on all of Deoen.”
“Ooooh…”
“Then allow me to show you the way.”
Amid the warm hospitality, we entered the resort.