Riding the Waves! Climbing the Waterfall!
Elementary school had all sorts of events.
From the opening ceremony, to a small festival in May celebrating Children’s Month, to a Walk Day in June where the whole class strolled through the village together.
And today, July 17th, was the day the entire elementary school buzzed with excitement: the Cheongdaram Summer Water Festival.
Countless students ran through the school grounds, spraying each other with water guns and drenching one another in joy.
I’d worried about the cleanup, but the teachers had confidently assured me it would be fine.
Children with water-manipulating superpowers laughed happily as they got soaked from every direction, while those without such abilities darted around the school firing the water guns provided by the school.
"Harang~!!!"
Se-ah, meanwhile, was gliding effortlessly along the school’s walls and floor, riding the streams of water flowing beneath her feet.
I’d heard about Se-ah’s Suryu ability—how she could make water flow or ride existing currents—but seeing it in action reminded me anew how different the original world was from this one. Even magic here couldn’t replicate such a phenomenon.
I looked down at the water gun in my hand.
In this world, ordinary people needed about three years of study just to learn the magic of making water spout from their fingertips.
Pshh!
I pressed the trigger, and a stream of water shot out.
If three years was the baseline for basic water magic, then mastering the kind of precise, long-range targeting I was doing now would take a talented person around ten years of dedicated practice.
Splash!!
"Eek!! Cough! Cough!"
"Heehee~!! Harang! You let your guard down!"
Se-ah had summoned a wave as tall as I was from the water flowing in front of her and crashed it over me.
Water rushed into my nose and ears, then vanished just as quickly.
Turning my head, I saw one of the teachers watching me with a gentle smile.
If someone wanted to create a wall of water like Se-ah just had to knock me over, even a talented person would need thirty years of training.
And the way my body had so precisely expelled the water from my ears and nose without injury? That was a technique not even recommended, no matter how skilled one was at mana control.
Helpless…
If only I’d had the extraordinary superpowers of the women from my original world, could I have saved this world a little faster…? Could I have defeated the Demon King before my comrades died?
"Harang…? Are you okay? I’m sorry… I sprayed water at you suddenly. Are you mad…?"
"Huh? No, Se-ah, don’t worry about it."
Se-ah approached me, her face full of concern, and tugged at my sleeve.
I shook my head and patted her head.
Right. It was already in the past.
There was no going back, and even if I’d had superpowers, I’d have been just as helpless as a five-year-old as I was now.
Pshh!
Even as I said I was fine, Se-ah kept glancing at me nervously, so I fired the water gun at her forehead.
"Eep!! You jerk!… You’re really not mad, right? Right?"
"Yeah, I’m not mad. I just thought it was cool how you rode the wave and climbed the wall."
"Really? I was cool??? Yay! I’ll show you again! Watch closely!"
Se-ah summoned another wave beneath her feet and began gliding along the walls again.
A power more magical than any spell a child could cast whenever they wanted—
It was an extraordinary ability she could wield as naturally as her own body.
Flash
"Whoa!"
"Heehee!! Harang, get on with me!!"
"W-wait, Se-ah! It’s dizzying!"
While I was lost in thought, Se-ah had crept up behind me, grabbed both my arms, and pulled me into a hug before riding the wave and racing around the school.
I shouted as the unfamiliar speed and the disorienting view of walls and floors beneath us made me dizzy,
but Se-ah just giggled "Heehee" and refused to let go.
Right. No matter how much I envied superpowers, it was meaningless. I finally let go of the lingering hope that maybe, someday, I could use magic.
There was no room for magic in my original world.
"Se… Se-ah! I’m really… Ugh!"
"Huh? Eek!! Harang! Teacher! Harang’s!!"
…A motion sickness prevention spell would’ve been nice.
The next day, after the Summer Water Festival had turned the entire school into a waterlogged mess, students gathered in their classrooms for the summer vacation ceremony, grinning from ear to ear.
I was amazed to see not a single water stain left on the school grounds, and it drove home once again how fragile magic truly was.
"Ugh… it hurts…"
While everyone else was beaming, Se-ah sat in class, massaging her thighs.
She’d had so much fun riding the water yesterday that she’d woken up this morning with muscle soreness all over her legs.
Se-ah, still working at her thighs, reached out to me and said,
"Harang~ massage me~ my hands hurt."
"No. Think of it as punishment for dragging me around yesterday."
"A~~ Harang~~"
I ignored Se-ah’s whining and sat down.
When I first met Se-ah, I’d done almost everything she asked,
but after more than half a year of knowing her, I’d started to gently refuse some of her demands.
"Tch."
As I sat down, Se-ah stuck out her tongue and glared at me.
Se-ah loved physical contact from me.
She often asked for things like holding hands or head pats, sometimes even pushing for more than was appropriate.
Back then, the only kids my age I knew were family and Se-ah, so I hadn’t realized it was unusual.
But now that I knew such behavior wasn’t normal, I didn’t feel the need to comply with everything.
Se-ah seemed to understand this too—she didn’t cling to me as much as before, though she still occasionally insisted on certain requests with a cold tone.
"Hey! Come to school tomorrow…"
"Huh…?"
"I said come! Just come!"
"U. Uh!!"
The girl who’d previously bullied the boy in our class because she liked him had grown much closer to him.
Whether the boy felt the same way was unclear, but among the girls, it was already common knowledge that the two of them were dating.
I’d asked the boy if they were together, wondering if he needed help if he was being bullied,
but instead of looking for help, he’d blushed and run away, so I assumed he wasn’t being forced.
The girl, who had roughly made plans to meet her boyfriend at school tomorrow, turned to me and smiled warmly.
She’d become friendly toward me after I’d told her I didn’t actually like the boy.
"Harang, you come tomorrow too."
"Harang! My leg hurts! This is real! Ugh!!!"
As the girl approached me to speak, Se-ah suddenly grabbed her thigh and screamed.
I gave the girl a wry smile, then walked over to Se-ah, who was clutching her thigh and whimpering.
She’d probably pulled a muscle.
"How much force did you put into your thigh?"
"It hurts!! It hurts!! Hic! Harang~! It hurts!"
"Yeah, yeah, it must hurt."
While casually responding to Se-ah, I pressed my fingers firmly into her thigh.
Every time I pressed harder, Se-ah let out cries of "Eek!! Egh!!"
The other girls nearby just watched and laughed at the sight of us.
After about two or three minutes of massaging her thigh, Se-ah sniffled and pushed my hand away.
The pain had mostly subsided, but tears and snot from when it had hurt were still lingering.
"We’ll have to be careful when we go play in the summer."
"Ah! Right! The valley!"
My family and Se-ah’s had planned to visit a valley during summer vacation.
Se-ah’s parents had invited us as a thank-you for how often Se-ah visited our house, and since she loved flowing water, the valley would probably be even more fun than a swimming pool.
"We’ll grill meat! Ride waves with me! Climb the waterfall!"
"Will there even be a waterfall…? And it’s dangerous, so no."
Se-ah, having forgotten her earlier tears, grabbed my hand and started enthusiastically listing all the things we’d do at the valley,
but her grand travel plans were abruptly cut short when our homeroom teacher arrived to begin the summer vacation ceremony.
Summer vacation was a time for girls to play freely, but for boys like me, it was an awkward season.
During the school year, the designated routes and the people stationed along them made it possible for kids to move around,
but during summer break, most boys couldn’t leave home without their parents’ accompaniment.
Boys over ten were allowed to go out alone,
but if you’d grown up in this environment from a young age, like the boys sitting gloomily in the corner, you probably wouldn’t want to go out even if you were allowed.
"Alright, everyone! Don’t wander too far during summer vacation! Don’t forget your homework~! And boys, listen to your parents at home~! Now, goodbye everyone~~! See you in the fall~~!"
With our homeroom teacher’s cheerful farewell, summer vacation began.
Se-ah jumped up to run toward me, but winced at the pain in her legs and approached slowly instead.
I smiled at her and walked over.
"Harang~ my legs hurt~ carry me~"
"Your mom’s waiting outside. Let’s walk slowly. Muscle soreness goes away when you walk it off."
Ignoring Se-ah’s whining, I matched my pace to hers and started walking slowly.
Around us, many students were running out, grinning brightly.
Some tried to use their superpowers to get out faster, only to be caught and scolded by the teachers.
While everyone else was rushing to be the first out, Se-ah and I were the only ones walking slowly down the hallway.
When we reached the stairs, we saw Seon-hee coming down from the third floor.
Seon-hee was also walking slowly, just like Se-ah and me.
"Huh? Harang. Hi."
"Unnie, don’t you want to run? Everyone else is running."
"Yeah. It’s a hassle."
Seon-hee approached me and gave me a quick hug.
Seon-hee always hugged me like this whenever we met or parted.
Se-ah also greeted Seon-hee brightly, and only after everyone else had left were we finally able to go outside.
Se-ah’s legs were hurting more than I’d expected—her walking pace was very slow.
Eventually, Se-ah left with her parents, who were waiting for her outside the school, and got into their car.
Even though they offered to drive me, I shook my head and declined.
I wanted to walk this street, even a little, under my own will during summer vacation when I couldn’t go out freely.
"Unnie, let’s go."
"Yeah. Let’s go."
I took Seon-hee’s hand and started walking down the slightly more crowded street.
Summer vacation had begun.