More Important Than Trials (1)
The next morning.
"What on earth did you all do last night that everyone looks like this?"
I met Yurha Silverstar at the entrance to the Old School Building, where the academy had set up a "meeting spot." She'd pulled up in her golden carriage.
"Nothing much. I went into the High Library and wrote some papers, and everyone else just stayed up all night agonizing over how to spend the break."
"Uh... really?"
"Yep."
Everyone was still half-asleep, so I was steering the conversation, but Yurha's gaze seemed to drift more toward the others than me. Not that there was any particular reason for—
"I brought swimsuits, but do you all not need to try them on?"
"No."
"That's not happening."
"We have to try them on."
The word "swimsuits" snapped the three of them awake instantly. It was like shaking off drowsiness while driving—they went straight into full battle mode, reactions so intense it wasn't an exaggeration.
"I've set up a fitting area inside, so just check it out. This golden carriage is pretty spacious."
"Yurha senior."
"Oh, Miss Unia? What's up?"
"That golden carriage... does it have some kind of magic that expands the space once you go inside?"
"Heh heh heh."
As Unia asked in that tentative tone, Yurha touched her face like she'd been waiting for it.
"I was going to keep it a secret, but looks like you've caught on. Exactly. It looks like just a bigger-than-usual golden carriage from the outside, but inside, it's structured wider than your average store."
Blatant spatial distortion magic. If someone asked how it's possible in reality, you'd just say it's the power of magic.
"I see."
"You're taking it better than I expected. This is seriously high-level magic, you know."
"No, I'm totally shocked right now. It's just that I'm so wiped out I don't even have the energy to react properly."
"......?"
Unia boarded the golden carriage with that plausible excuse. Yurha pouted slightly, watching the three of them pass through the rainbow dimension-gate-like entrance.
"I figured Miss Unia would be into high-level magic like this."
"......."
"No chance there's some even crazier spatial magic in the Old School Building, right?"
"You think the Old School Building has something like that?"
It does. There's the Trial Grounds, a grand magic that holds an entire "world"—leagues beyond the spatial magic used only by Silverstar Group's top executives even after 500 years. Sure, we'd gotten booted right at the entrance, but that vast white expanse before even reaching the Earth Tower had already been mental shock enough for the special class folks.
A golden carriage with a store attached? Impressive, but it paled in scale.
"Anyway, Yurha senior. What's this about a five-star hotel-level resort?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. There's a spot on the southern coast of Ludbekia Marquisate touching the sea, and we built a resort there."
"Southern marquisate... Ah, you mean the southern coastal zone."
I remembered now.
"But isn't that place crawling with monsters?"
It wasn't just the northern part of current Ludbekia Marquisate—formerly Hapsderk County—that teemed with monsters. Every territory was surrounded by them on all sides, with paths cleared only through the least infested routes connecting domains. That was continental traffic reality.
For Silverstar of all people to build a resort there meant one thing.
"You took down a named monster and claimed the land?"
"That's right. A Mega Seed Dragon. Near S-rank beast, but she over there took it out, securing the spot for us."
Instructor Esta appeared behind me.
"Why drag up old stories? That was three years ago."
"Thanks to that feat three years back, we've got more room to operate, right? Heh. That A-rank core and the carcass let us build another magic tower, even."
"Resort, you mean."
"Instructor Esta, you don't seem thrilled?"
She flinched at my words, face souring. She usually kept a straight face around me, so this open disgust meant she really hated it.
"Resorts draw crowds outside the academy—guests and all. Means folks hoping to rub elbows with the White Sword Saint show up too."
"Hmm...."
Fair point. Unless they chartered the whole five-star place or bought it outright—which was insane—guys would swarm any beauty there.
"Don't worry, Junior Phoenix."
"Worry about what?"
"Not worried some sleazy dudes might hassle the special class crew?"
"Sure, that's a concern, but I was just pondering how to blind those creeps."
"No need to fret about that—we've booked the whole thing under the Ludbekia Marchioness's name for your stay."
"...The whole thing?"
"Yep, the whole resort."
Yurha winked and gave a thumbs-up.
"Trade-off is the timing's tight. Gotta head out tomorrow afternoon to make it work. Any schedules?"
"Schedules...."
Of course there were. We'd just hit the Fourth Hour Trials, failing to clear even the first floor of the easiest Earth Tower. Ditch that for a resort vacay?
"None."
Didn't matter. The world wouldn't end if we didn't clear the trials right away. A free pass to an empty five-star resort? No way I'd pass that up. Even if the towers had some 500-year-old facilities we could use, they didn't have this.
"Phoenix!"
Unia poked her upper body out the golden carriage entrance.
"There are men's swimsuits here too—wanna come in and check 'em out yourself?"
She was in a glaringly red bikini, innocently pointing inside and inviting me with a pure face.
"Sorry, but stepping in there would be trouble on multiple fronts. Mind picking one for me, Miss Unia?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. Go wild—pick whatever you wanna see me in."
"For real?"
Unia's eyes sparkled as she grinned ear-to-ear, scary in its implications. But no way was I entering that magic realm. The second I did, Yurha would tail me and target my back. Hard pass on the chaos.
And.
"Yurha senior. Tomorrow afternoon means we've got about 40 hours from now, right?"
"Right?"
"How're we getting there—teleport magic? Or like the field trip, by carriage?"
"Obviously by the custom vehicle I modded special for you all."
Vehicle. Not carriage, but straight-up vehicle. Sounded like "that thing" was finally rolling out.
"Got it. So for those 40 hours...."
"Something to do?"
"Yeah."
I pointed at Instructor Esta.
"Heading into the High Library with Instructor Esta to skim some 500-year-old journals."
"Eh."
"Wanna join?"
"......Well."
Yurha averted her eyes a bit.
"Instructor Esta? Swimsuit like usual—I got you?"
"Ah, yeah. Thanks."
"Sure. Have a good one."
Yurha vanished into the carriage quick. Even she had no urge to study through break.
"...Shall we?"
Instructor Esta tugged my collar with a grin.
"Told 'em we're swimsuit shopping, so no hourly check-ins needed."
She pointed to her empty left wrist, then toward the Old School Building's infirmary.
"Cardisha's sorting your reports into the instructor archives right now, so let's borrow the Old School Building while we can."
"Not you?"
"Heh."
Instructor Esta shot a glance at the golden carriage, pressing a finger to her lips.
"Swimsuits all picked?"
The moment Yurha boarded the carriage, the Zhuque Squad trio closed in on her.
"...Wh-what? Coming at me so close out of nowhere is startling."
"Yurha senior?"
Unia grabbed Yurha's hand tight.
"Any... private beaches near that five-star resort?"
"There are, but why?"
"If no one's around, how about swimsuits like this?"
Unia held up a swimsuit, and Yurha's face twisted instantly.
"Swimsuits...?"
"Yes, swimsuits."
"......."
"Ah, this is—"
Unia grinned mischievously, pointing at it.
"The swimsuit for Phoenix."
"No."
"Right?"
"That's it exactly, Yurha Silverstar."
"Rydmila, even you?"
Rydmila nodded, stroking the swimsuit with her own hand, while Yurha could only let out a hollow laugh.
"You girls perverts or what?"
She finally had to ask.
"Calling that a swimsuit...!"
"Yurha senior."
"Wh-what, Princess?"
"Hang around Phoenix long enough, and you'll end up like this too."
Evangeline gazed at the swimsuits with a resigned look.
"And we'll be wearing them too."
"......????"
"Oh my."
Unia flashed a bright smile.
"Not confident?"