Chapter 369
Chapter 369. Peace and Longing
With a splash, I sent water flying everywhere, causing Leila, who got caught in the crossfire, to let out a cute scream, “Kyaa!”
“…Hey!”
She pouted her lips in mock anger and scooped up water with her hands to retaliate. Ha ha! I’m drenched head to toe, so I’m taking no damage here! Leila’s scary face (which wasn’t scary at all) quickly melted away as she broke into giggles.
“Wow! It’s so refreshing!”
Getting soaked with cold water and feeling the breeze is the best, isn’t it? Even though I’m wearing the 【Evrogia】, the sunlight is still hot… If I wanted to, I could completely block out the heat, but if I enhanced my flame resistance, I would end up glowing red, making it unusable in the city.
“The feature that shines in seven colors became a hindrance…”
I never imagined I’d wear it in the alliance zone…
“Oh, right! I need to stretch my legs!”
After a light stretch, I jumped back into the water.
The adults and kids gave me odd looks as I swam seriously while fully dressed, but I didn’t care! It’s better than swimming around in a glowing red leather suit, right?
As I swam through the crystal-clear water, it felt as though all of my burdens had melted away.
It’s been so long since I swam like this. The water here is clear, and you can see a decent distance, which makes it very reassuring. It doesn’t seem like a magical beast would suddenly pop out and drag me to the bottom, so the kids are probably playing without worries too.
But since I was still dressed, my swimming felt a bit clumsy. Well, it’s still easier than crossing a river in armor.
“…Ah, sorry Leila, I got too carried away swimming!”
I splashed around for a while before noticing Leila smiling at me. I was acting like a child…
“At six years old, that’s about right!”
N-No, my spirit isn’t six years old… In fact, my body has grown with the human transformation, so I’m not six!
“It’s great to see you’re having fun, Alex. You swim really well…”
Leila suddenly put on a determined face and went up to the shore to set down her straw hat.
“I’m actually really good at swimming too! Here I go!”
And without hesitation, she dove into the water in her one-piece!
People around us were a bit surprised, thinking, “Wait, you too?!”
With a splash, Leila was making a huge mess of the water—
“…Bloop, bloop, bloop.”
She sank straight to the bottom.
At first, I thought she was diving, but watching her flail around, something felt off!
“Leila?!”
What happened to all that swimming confidence!? I quickly pulled her up, and she coughed, giving me a “I don’t get it” look.
“Why can’t I float?”
“I don’t know, why do you ask me…”
I wonder what’s going on? Maybe it’s the one-piece…?
But listening closely, it turns out this was actually her first time seriously swimming since taking on human form.
“I could swim at the… uh, the previous job’s bath…”
She almost let slip that it was at the Demon Lord Castle… the large public bath meant for servants. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard Diagias has.
“Not that it’s an intense lust scenario…”
Shut it.
Anyway, according to Leila, she thought she could swim this time because she made it work at the giant bath. However, considering the depth, there’s a suspicion she was merely using her arms and legs to keep from sinking…
By the way, Leila can swim just fine in her dragon form. When we took a break on the small island, she powerfully swam in deep waters, creating splashes while playing in the water. Apparently, it’s thanks to her father’s memories…
“Well, it might be that she’s not used to this fresh water at this depth. If she could float in the bath, she’ll get the hang of it!”
I took Leila’s hand and slowly guided her.
“See? Just relax and try letting go.”
“Ah, okay…”
“Breathe in and fill your lungs with air. That will help you float.”
“Understood.”
“Exactly, good job!”
As I pulled her along smoothly, she started kicking her legs in the water, getting the hang of it.
“I see, this is how it feels…!”
Looks like Leila is starting to regain some confidence! Before long, she was swimming along on her own, although she did sink when she tried to take a breath… but that’s just a matter of time.
“Thinking calmly, the fact that I was on a ship with this level of swimming ability might have been a bit dangerous…”
Well, if I really started to drown, I could just cancel the human transformation. My identity would be revealed, but at least I wouldn’t have to worry about drowning…
In that sense, it’s convenient to become capable of swimming to a certain extent while in human form for future activities.
“Whew! Swimming is so much fun!”
“Yeah!”
Compared to flying, it’s a bit frustrating, but it feels good.
“Shall we take a break? … I came for leisure but ended up getting completely carried away.”
“Ahaha. Right, I’m feeling a bit thirsty too.”
Leila stood up to make her way back to the shore—
Whoa!
Oh no!
Her thin, white one-piece was soaked, revealing the 【Kizuna】 underneath, and it was bad!!
“That’s not good!”
She tilted her head cutely, confused.
“Uh, um, just a little…”
I gestured to cover my chest, but as Leila looked down at herself, she had a “?” expression on her face.
Ah… She has that look of “What’s the problem?”
“It seems she doesn’t quite grasp the state of her outfit. If I showed her a mirror to see her full reflection, maybe her sense of modesty would grow, but in this situation, that’s quite tough!”
That’s a lot of regret…
But somehow, I felt like a fool for being flustered and started to feel bad for her.
“Uh… well, you got all wet, so let’s dry off.”
“? Yeah, that sounds good!”
Despite her expression of “What are you talking about?” she nodded. We couldn’t return to the city like this, so it was a good thing not too many people were around.
“Welcome back~”
We returned to where Barbara was keeping an eye on our things.
“Thanks.”
“No problem, I was just chilling peacefully. Only one little bird came to peck at our things.”
Maybe it was because we had fruits in our backpack? While sitting on our cloaks, we hydrated and snacked on some delicious fruits! Yum!
From the thrusting sword, a faint laugh was heard.
“It’s nice to take it easy like this. Everyone seems lively and happy. An environment where kids can laugh and play is priceless.”
…Really, it is.
I watched the local children joyfully playing around.
“Look! I found something interesting!”
“What is it~?”
A girl beckoned a boy over while pointing to her feet.
“That!”
“Whoa! You little brat—!”
“Ahahaha!”
As expected, the boy got splashed, and the girl laughed while running away from him, who was chasing her in anger.
Suddenly, everyone got involved in a water fight, rolling around while soaked and covered in sand.
And adults watched over those kids, smiling.
“…”
This feels nice.
The sound of the waves. The sound of the wind. The sound of laughter.
It’s surprisingly peaceful and comforting.
I’m sure, days like this will continue, where peace reigns.
How nice.
I wanted to live like this, together with everyone.
