After returning to the Black Bull headquarters from the royal capital, everyone erupted in cheers the moment they learned their next mission would take them to the beach.
"It's wonderful to drink something hot by the summer sea!"
"The sea is a man's dream!"
"Swimsuits!"
Magna and Asta danced side by side, Finral couldn't wait to chat up beautiful women, Noelle was stunned by the revealing bikini Vanessa held up, and Charmy was drooling already.
"Shut up!" Yami's face darkened. He punched the wall of the castle, leaving yet another hole in it.
Everyone fell silent instantly, standing at attention as their captain glared at them.
"We're going to carry out a mission, not to play," Yami said firmly, his voice carrying weight this time — probably because of his promise to the Magic Emperor.
"Listen carefully. Time is short, and we leave early tomorrow morning."
Yami's gaze swept over each of them. "The Eye of the Midnight Sun is also after this magic stone. We must get it first. Don't let their ridiculous plan succeed. This is a direct order from the Wizard King himself. Take it seriously — now, disband!"
"Yes, Captain!"
As Yami turned and walked away, everyone exchanged glances — then instantly burst into louder cheers.
"The sea, here I come!"
"Noelle, let's go swimsuit shopping together!" Vanessa teased with a playful wink.
Noelle's face turned crimson. Her gaze drifted toward Adam — who, to her surprise, was already looking at her. Their eyes met, and she nearly combusted on the spot.
"That's great, I'll go too!" Adam grinned. He didn't even own swim trunks, so this was a perfect excuse to get some… courtesy of someone else's wallet.
In the castle town, inside a fancy clothing store...
"Noelle, this one suits you really well," Vanessa said, holding up a particularly daring swimsuit.
Adam looked from the swimsuit to Noelle, nodding approvingly. "It's not bad. The shells hit the important spots perfectly."
"Don't say that out loud!" Noelle snapped, her face steaming.
Adam, however, seemed completely shameless, casually "helping" Vanessa pick swimsuits for the girls like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"How about this one?"
"It's nice," Adam said. "But maybe add… more fabric."
"What if I wear this one?" Vanessa asked, smirking.
"That's your usual style," Adam deadpanned.
"What about this one for Charmy?"
"Children's clothes suit her best."
"Adam!" Charmy immediately puffed up like an angry kitten and leapt at him — but she was too short to reach his head.
In the end, Noelle chose the most expensive swimsuit, while Adam managed to snag two pairs of swim trunks — both paid for by Noelle.
Vanessa didn't bother buying anything since her usual sleepwear already qualified as a swimsuit. Charmy proudly bought children's swimwear, declaring it "cute and sexy."
After shopping, Adam and the Bulls' beauty squad wandered the city before returning to headquarters to rest for the mission ahead.
That night, Adam lay on his bed, flipping through his grimoire. There were only twelve pages, and no matter how much he tried, the number never increased.
"Ugh, even the Ox's ability is sealed. I've only got three zodiac signs active now."
He looked at the dragon pattern on the fifth page, feeling slightly better. The dragon's circle was now completely lit, and only its eyes remained dark.
Once those lit up, he'd achieve the Perfect Dragon Power.
The apertures represented stages — first the ring, then the beast's body, and finally the beast's eyes.
He flipped to page nine. The Monkey's ring was only half-lit, while the Pig's form was already halfway through its second stage.
"My magic's still basically useless," Adam muttered. "All I can do is scare people with it. Hopefully this mission brings something exciting."
He sighed, closed the book, and drifted off to sleep — dreaming of becoming an emperor surrounded by every beauty in the Clover Kingdom.
(Note to self: stop visiting places filled with female hormones. It messes with your dreams.)
The next morning, outside the Black Bull headquarters...
"Where's Captain Yami?" Magna asked.
"Still sleeping?" Asta wondered, already sitting on Magna's Crazy Cyclone. Adam and Noelle sat together on Vanessa's broom — Adam flat-out refused to transform into an animal just to be ridden.
Originally, he was supposed to ride on Charmy's cotton cloud, but after the swimsuit fiasco, she had blacklisted him and refused to share.
"Captain Yami left early this morning to scout ahead," Finral said.
"Wow, look at him being responsible for once," Vanessa muttered.
"Then let's go!" Adam shouted.
Everyone took off toward the beaches of Raquey, the entrance to the Underwater Temple — and also a royal resort area.
"Hey, where's that creepy guy?" Asta asked midair.
With a poof, the fake Gordon turned into Gray, leaving the real Gordon behind at headquarters.
Home guards: Gordon and the Black Bull's castle!
"Whoa, what's that huge blue thing ahead?" Asta gasped after flying for a while.
"Silly boy," Vanessa chuckled. "That's the sea."
"The sea!"
"Wow, it's so big!" Everyone — except Noelle — shouted in awe.
"Let's dive in!"
The beach at Raquey.
The Black Bulls were having the time of their lives, completely forgetting this was supposed to be a mission.
Gauche was on "video call" duty with Marie using his mirror magic. Magna and Luck were bickering again — apparently over lost pants.
Charmy munched nonstop, Gray accompanied Finral to flirt with beach twins, and Adam was… well, relaxing quite nicely.
"Adam, does this look good on me?" Noelle asked shyly.
"It suits you perfectly," Adam said, admiringly.
Noelle blushed so hard she collapsed onto her recliner.
"Adam, come rub sunscreen on me, I can't reach," Vanessa purred, crooking her finger at him.
"With pleasure," Adam said smoothly.
Of course, good times never last.
When Marie told Asta through the magic mirror that she wanted to go to the beach too, Gauche went berserk. Chaos erupted across the sand.
The poor statue (Emperor Hoo-ha) was sent flying into the sea by Gauche's magic.
"Wait, weren't we supposed to find the magic stone?!" Asta shouted, realization finally hitting him — just as Yami appeared out of nowhere and kicked him straight into the sand.
"You've got the nerve to ask that?! Get over here!"
Yami buried the entire squad neck-deep in sand, leaving only their heads exposed.
"While you idiots were playing, I gathered all the intel myself," Yami growled. "The Sea God's Temple is located beneath the ocean. It's surrounded by magic that even high-level mages can't penetrate."
"Captain Yami was… actually working hard?"
The Bulls gasped in awe.
The sun might as well have risen from the west.