Beach Day Before the Storm
The four of them devoted the entire night to preparing for underwater combat.
“Whew, now I finally understand the pain of creation. Truly.”
Dick swept a palm down his face as he studied the blueprints.
“But wait—if we suffer like this developing a brand-new magic circle, and then the professors later teach us the official version, won't all our hard work have been for nothing?”
Meilin gave him a look of pure contempt.
“There's no chance of that, idiot.”
The second BMAT had taught them several things.
The heart of that exam had come down to how quickly a student could push through the third stage, where weapons rained down endlessly—in other words, defense and endurance were everything. Yet while the professors had taught a handful of dark spells related to trap detection, not one of them had told anyone how to survive an infinite hail of falling weapons.
In the end, the exam was designed so that the most crucial key to passing had to be discovered by the students themselves. And indeed, the ones who lounged around thinking the professors will handle it for us~ all got brutally smacked down by the test.
“Being prepared is always better than not being prepared. Always.”
That was Meilin's ironclad rule of study.
“Hey. And be honest with me.”
She glared at Dick and growled.
“You just want to slack off, don't you?”
“Yep. Caught me.”
“Try pulling any of that laziness and I'll pluck your eyeballs right out, got it?”
Dick waved his wrist in a limp, weary gesture.
“Ugh, I'm exhausted. Our team leader being such a perfectionist is killing me. Right, Cami?”
Camibarez, who had a pair of kittens lounging on her lap being stroked, smiled brightly.
“I'm always, deeply cheering you on, Dick!”
“…C-Could you just insult me instead?”
A smile tugged at Simon's lips as he watched his teammates bicker.
Meilin was scribbling on the blueprints when she looked up, met Simon's eyes, and flinched, her shoulders jolting.
“…Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you grinning at me like that? It's creepy.”
“No reason. Just…”
Happy.
Simply being able to stay up all night with friends, all of them absorbed in a single shared purpose. Spending good time with good people.
He was just happy.
Coming straight off yesterday's vicious power struggle between Serne and Lorraine only made it stand out more. Today felt like an entirely different world.
“I'm starting to run low on sugar.”
Simon eased into the subject with a stretch.
“Would it kill us to have something sweet?”
“Great idea!”
Camibarez approved, and Dick jumped in as if he'd been waiting for exactly this.
“It's an all-night meeting, right? Then while we're out, let's grab late-night snacks too! You know Auntie Kinu's general store? During assessment season they stay open till dawn.”
“Hold it! Snacks? Again? Are we trying to turn work time into party time again?”
Meilin objected instantly, but Simon just smiled serenely.
“Funny how you eat the most whenever we actually buy some.”
That one line left Meilin speechless, her face burning scarlet, while laughter erupted all around the room. Dick, looking thoroughly satisfied, high-fived Simon.
“Okay, then let's pick exactly one person to go as punishment!”
Dick immediately blackened one of four wooden chopsticks and had everyone draw. Simon and Meilin drew in turn, and Camibarez drew third.
“Cami's it!”
The surviving members cheered. She fidgeted, then rose from her seat.
“I-I'll be right back.”
“I'll go with you.”
As Simon said this and grabbed his coat, Dick cut in.
“Aww, come on, where's the fun in that? The punishment is going alone!”
“Still, sending a girl out alone this late feels wrong, doesn't it?”
Camibarez clasped her hands together, looking deeply moved, while Dick gave a hollow laugh to himself.
Wow. He just delivers that greasy line without a shred of embarrassment, and his face carries it.
Meilin, apparently sharing the worry about sending Camibarez alone, nodded too.
“Then escort her properly, don't dawdle, and get back fast. We've got a mountain of work left.”
“Okay!”
“We'll be back!”
The two pulled on their coats and stepped out the door. Unlike the warm room, the night outside was chilly.
“Thank you for coming with me.”
Camibarez whispered it, color rising in both cheeks. Simon smiled back at her.
She was always in good spirits at night. Listening to her chat and laugh brightly made the time fly by.
“Days like this—the four of us having fun together—they make me feel more determined, somehow.”
Simon tilted his head.
“Determined?”
“I hate even imagining it, but if any one of us failed the exam and it was just the three of us left… I think that would honestly feel like a burden on everyone else.”
Simon realized the words were ones she was saying to herself.
“The happier each day is, the more I worry this everyday life might break someday—and then at the same time I think I have to work even harder, and… ah, did that come out all jumbled?”
Simon smiled and shook his head.
“I think the exact same thing. Let's survive this together. All of us.”
“Yes!”
In the end, all four of them stayed up the whole night.
They finished the air-storage breathing circle and the Jet-Black Torpedo, and on top of that added the mana-powered swim fins Dick had invented. The moment everything was complete, the four of them collapsed onto their beds and slept like they'd been knocked unconscious.
By the time Simon woke, the sun was high—it was already noon.
The fourth and final day of the Mission Assessment. From tomorrow, regular classes would resume.
Mew! Meow!
It was the two kittens that woke him. The white one pressed its front paws firmly against Simon's face, while the black one batted at his hair.
“Okay, okay, I'm up.”
Urged on by the two felines, Simon rubbed his eyes and sat up. Beside him, Dick lay snoring in a bizarre pose, arms and legs splayed like a starfish.
“Sorry—were you hungry?”
As Simon got out of bed, the cats trotted after him. He poured some food into the bowl Camibarez had brought, and they immediately began gobbling it down. Yawning repeatedly, he set out a bowl of water beside them and cleaned up the mess they'd left that morning.
Are the girls awake yet?
Today was the day they'd head to the sea to test the dark magic they'd developed themselves.
Thinking he should wake them soon, he knocked gently on the girls' door.
“…?”
No response. Not even the sound of breathing.
Cupping a palm lightly over his eyes in case of any embarrassing situation, he opened the door.
They weren't there. The blankets on their beds were folded up neatly.
“Where'd they go this early?”
Simon was standing there bewildered, halfway out the door, when footsteps came climbing up the stairs outside. A moment later the door opened, and in walked Camibarez and Meilin.
“Simon! Good morning!”
“Huh, you were already up?”
Simon exchanged greetings with them, then asked,
“Where'd you two go?”
“Quick shopping trip. We're going to the ocean today, remember?”
“…You need to buy separate stuff just to go to the beach?”
It was a question of pure innocence. Having lived his whole life in the mountain valley of Leshill, the very act of going to the sea was unfamiliar to Simon.
“There is, actually.”
Meilin gave a casual wink and walked into the room—then immediately noticed one person missing and exploded.
“Ugh, seriously! Get up! You haven't done a single thing!”
The sound of Meilin beating Dick with a pillow rang through the room.
Simon shrugged and headed to the kitchen to make lunch.
The sea, huh.
The waters around Roc Island were known for their powerful currents.
Kizen headquarters deliberately manipulated the ocean currents around the island, making it impossible for any vessel without prior clearance to even approach. Any ship foolish enough to force its way close to Roc Island would do nothing but capsize and sink to the seafloor.
Only extraordinary beings could punch through those currents—Nether Whales, or Ancient Undead like Thalaze.
Even so, the eastern coast held calm, sheltered beaches where students could swim to their hearts' content.
The waves and water temperature were gentle, and the broad stretch of sand drew crowds of students and townsfolk every weekend.
And today was the last day of the Mission Assessment—what amounted to the students' only “vacation.”
“Whoa…!”
Simon's eyes went round at the sight of the beach.
There were so many people. Students swam and surfed, chatted under parasol shade, and tossed balls back and forth.
Wait, what is all…
Simon's eyes darted wildly about.
Boys and girls alike were romping around in breathtakingly revealing outfits that left their skin bare and covered only the most essential parts.
For Simon, who had spent practically his entire life in the mountains, the scene was a full-on culture shock. Just watching made him so embarrassed his face flushed.
“…Simon. This place is heaven.”
“…Dick?”
Dick was wearing the most serious expression Simon had ever seen on him.
His gaze was fixed on the girls in their swimwear.
“We're coming back after the assessments are over. Next weekend too. The weekend after that, and the one after that, and the one after that-after-that.”
“…Get a grip.”
Said it though he did, Simon was every bit as flustered himself.
Was this kind of culture and dress simply normal at a beach? Students his own age were laughing and playing without a trace of self-consciousness.
“…Hey, Dick. I've got a question.”
“What.”
Dick answered without moving anything but his mouth, eyes locked straight ahead.
“Uhh…”
Simon swallowed the question once, unable to get the words out—then, failing to contain his curiosity, blurted it anyway.
“They're… wearing underwear under those, right?”
“OF COURSE THEY ARE!!”
WHACK!
Something smacked the back of his head without warning.
Simon clutched his head and spun around to find Meilin, face crimson, holding the pole of a sunshade.
“…!!”
Simon's face burned even hotter.
He'd never imagined Meilin would be wearing one of those swimsuits. She had at least covered her top with something like a thin cardigan.
“Gah—hey! Don't stare, it's embarrassing!”
Meilin swung the sunshade pole like a weapon, whoosh whoosh, and Simon dodged with quick upper-body movements.
“…Ahaha, hello!”
Camibarez, who had been shyly hiding behind Meilin, peeked her head out and gave a little wave.
She wore a one-piece swimsuit, and it suited her so well it was almost unfair. In one hand she carried a basket with the kittens inside.
So that's where they went this morning—they all went swimsuit shopping.
“Ohh.”
Dick looked Meilin up and down.
“Not bad, you're actually—”
“Finish that sentence with so much as one more word and I'll call the campus disciplinary committee and have you locked up on the spot.”
Cowed by the threat, Dick hunched his shoulders with a wounded look.
“Ah! That's so unfair! I was trying to pay you a complimen—”
“I said shut it!”
THWACK! The swinging pole caught him across the forearm, and Dick collapsed to the sand with a howl.
“I'll hold that, thanks.”
Before she could pound him into minced meat, Simon hurriedly wrestled the weapon out of Meilin's grip.
She calmed herself, gave a light cough, and looked over her teammates.
“Anyway! We came here to practice dark magic in the field today! We are absolutely, one hundred percent NOT here to play!”
“Says the girl who went bikini shopping first thing in the morning. Not very convin—”
CRACK!
Without warning, Meilin fired off ice and froze Dick from the waist down. He thrashed around like a clown, rolling across the sand.
“Enough. Look over there.”
She swept her hair back and pointed toward the sea.
There were students out enjoying themselves, of course, but the majority were training their dark magic in the water, just like them. Now that the exam's ocean theme had leaked, everyone had come to prepare for the BMAT.
“Some of them are already ahead of us. Keep this in mind. Nobody knows whether the BMAT hits this week or next. For all we know, today might be the last chance we get to test our magic in the sea.”
The three of them nodded.
“Then let's start testing the new spell right now!”