Chapter 59: Heracles
[From Jason's mouth, you obtained the information that there will be a Party the day after tomorrow.]
[Participating in this Party may be a valuable opportunity for you to expand your network with Greek people, so you temporarily keep this information in mind.]
[After that, you take advantage of the break time to learn how to swim...]
[Although swimming is not a skill that must be mastered, if in the future you go to the sea on a date with a girl but can't even get into the water yourself, it would look very uncool.]
One hour later.
Time passes slowly.
The setting sun gradually sinks below the horizon over the sea, the sea breeze blowing head-on becomes cooler and more pleasant, and the sound of the waves is gentle, carrying a healing feeling.
Under the patient guidance of the Round Table Knights, Eikou is trying hard to flap both arms and churn the water on the surface of the sea. But no matter how hard he struggles, the distance he manages to swim is still less than one meter, and in the process he even chokes on several mouthfuls of seawater.
"Alright, alright, let's stop here for today..."
Even Gawain, the most patient elder brother, begins to feel embarrassed on his 'stepdad'.
"Your motor ability actually isn't bad, but why is it that once it comes to swimming it just leaves people speechless? I remember you have the skill Protection of the Lake, don't you?"
"I do have it, but this is the sea. Protection of the 'Lake' obviously doesn't work..."
Eikou spits out a mouthful of seawater and shrugs helplessly.
"Ha ha ha, what's with that dog-paddling style of yours? That's way too funny!"
Nearby, Jason, who is surfing, also notices the awkward scene over here. Standing leisurely on his surfboard as he glides past, he openly laughs and mocks without any restraint.
"If you were one of us Greeks and didn't even know how to swim, you'd basically have no qualification to step onto my Argo at all."
"As if I want to get on your ship—can you shut up for me?"
Eikou impatiently waves his hand at him.
"You're already annoying enough when you talk normally, and on top of that your voice sounds like sandpaper rubbing directly against my eardrums!"
"You brat, what are you saying?!"
Jason retorts angrily. "There are people who say my voice is like Kira Yamato's, you know—that's a very famous main hero—wait, hold on, who is Kira Yamato anyway?!"
"Who could even understand jokes about voice actors like this?"
Gawain complains from the side.
[Amid joking and banter, you continue training for a little while longer.]
[As it gradually gets dark, you return to the beach, preparing to go back to the hotel rooms to rest.]
[Immediately after that, you very quickly realize that something is not quite right...]
"By the way, speaking of this..."
Jason looks around left and right with a curious expression. What enters his field of vision is only the violently surging sea, and for a long time he still doesn't see that familiar muscular figure.
"Have any of you seen Heracles? Where did that guy go?"
"Ah, I don't know either..."
Only then does Eikou realize that he indeed seems to have not seen Heracles for quite a while, because that person disappeared without a trace the moment he charged into the sea.
However, Eikou is not worried at all that Heracles might encounter danger.
After all, that is the most famous great hero of Greece—how could he possibly run into trouble so easily? Compared to that, it would be more reasonable to worry that someone else might get injured by Heracles in a berserk state.
"What on earth is going on with that Heracles... could it be that he got lost?!"
Jason frowns seriously, an extremely worried look suddenly appearing on his face.
"...Do you take Heracles for a three-year-old child?"
Eikou can't help but complain inwardly, thinking to himself: this scum really cares a lot about Heracles, huh. Then while you're at it, why not also worry about Medea Lily, who is about to stay together with me—'this blonde'—for five whole days, and see whether in her heart she has already secretly changed her beloved?
"It's fine, Heracles definitely won't have any problems..."
Eikou pats his shoulder and says seriously. "If something really does happen to him, just come find me. After all, people even call me Eikoucles—later on, as long as you see me, you'll be able to recall his appearance and voice."
"What kind of substitute literature is that supposed to be? What the hell is Eikoucles anyway?!"
Jason groans, then immediately shakes his head vigorously.
"No, no, this won't do. Now is not the time for joking around. Heracles is the main combat power of Argo, and also my subordinate and close friend. Even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I will not allow anything to happen to him!"
He stares at the violently rolling sea, grinding his teeth tightly.
"Yare yare, this is seriously troublesome. Then this time, I—Captain of Argo—will personally head to the front line to search for the missing crew member!"
Before his words even finish, Jason rushes straight toward the surging sea at the fastest speed.
Watching the Argo Captain dash off in a hurry, Eikou and the Round Table Knights can't help but look at each other in bewilderment.
"Alright, looks like he's serious this time..."
It's truly rare. The Argo Captain, who always likes to hide behind others, actually takes the initiative to charge forward for the sake of his crew member's safety. At this moment, he looks neither suspicious nor cowardly.
"To be safe, I'll go contact Barghest and the Teachers first..."
Eikou scratches his head and also decides to take this seriously. "Tristan, Gawain, please trouble you two to keep an eye on Jason first, so he doesn't get into trouble. His solo combat ability is relatively weak."
"..."
Gawain nods, preparing to go provide support, while Tristan beside him seems not to hear, just standing there in a daze.
Tristan's gaze looks far out toward the nearby shore, where the waves are constantly crashing.
"Tristan?"
"Ah... my apologies, I just noticed some tourists returning from the seaside, so I got distracted for a moment."
"Are you helping Jason look for Heracles?"
"No…"
He strokes his chin and says seriously, "I just suddenly recalled many classic plotlines from romance manga. At the beach, there are often scenes like [when the Protagonist and the Main Heroine, who is a married woman, are playing by the seaside, violent waves accidentally knock off the married woman's bikini, and out of necessity, the full-bodied and alluring married woman can only press her chest tightly against the Protagonist to avoid being exposed]—that kind of fanservice plot. I'm using my naked eyes to observe whether such a storyline will appear in real life."
"Romance manga really does have that kind of fanservice… but what kind of romance manga would choose a married woman as the Main Heroine anyway? Can that even be called a proper romance manga? Just call it a Lancelot manga!"
After saying that, Eikou forcefully slaps his own forehead.
"That's not right, I almost got led astray by you. Now is not the time to spout nonsense. In short, let's go help Ja—"
Before he can finish the sentence, Jason on the opposite side has already plunged headfirst straight into the sea at top speed.
Boom!
The very next second, a huge wave suddenly surges up on the surface of the sea.
From the water, an enormous fist suddenly shoots out, directly punching Jason and sending him flying back toward the shore.
After that, Heracles, with a ferocious expression and a tall, powerfully built body, slowly walks out of the sea. While roaring with terrifying growls, he drags along a gigantic shark that has been beaten to the point of barely clinging to life.
"So that's what it was—he ran into the sea to fight a shark…"
Seeing Heracles return, everyone lets out a collective sigh of relief.
"I knew for sure nothing would happen. Jason was really worrying over nothing…"
Wait a second, something seems off…
The gazes of Eikou and the others simultaneously drop to the lower part of Heracles's body, and then their eyes immediately widen in shock.
"Damn it!"
The Hawaiian swim trunks that were supposed to be on Heracles's body…
Have somehow disappeared without a trace!
Could they have been swept away by the waves?!
"ROARRRRRR—"
This great hero of Greece lets out a thunderous roar.
Heracles—so it turns out you were the Heroine in a romance manga all along, the one whose swimwear gets knocked away by the waves, accidentally exposing your body?!
...