"'Beach day' means playing at the sea, right?"
"Exactly! It's summer right now! Coming all the way to the Reglif territory during this season and not playing at the beach would be such a waste, wouldn't it!?"
Lucre answered my question.
It was true—this territory was famous as a tourist spot, and playing at the beach was a classic summer activity here. I'd heard as much.
When I glanced toward my disciples, all three of them were looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.
Since today was already a scheduled rest day in our rotation, if they wanted to go, they could just go without needing my permission.
"Master, come with us too! I wanna play together with Master!"
"M-Me too… If it's okay with you, Orun-san."
It wasn't so much about getting my permission—they wanted to go together with me.
Lately, I'd been spending rest days separately from my disciples.
Well… once in a while should be fine.
"Yeah. Let's go play at the beach today."
"Yay—!"
"But what about swimsuits? I didn't bring any—did you all bring yours?"
"We didn't bring any either, but Count Eddington just offered to provide them. It seems he's also lending us the Eddington family's private beach behind the mansion. He left a message saying, 'Enjoy yourselves today and recharge your energy.'"
Luna answered my question.
Apparently they'd already made all the arrangements.
Not only swimsuits but even a private beach—talk about being spoiled.
"I see. Since it's such generous hospitality, I'll gratefully accept."
"Right! It's my first time playing at the sea, so I'm really excited! We were talking earlier about heading out right after breakfast, so hurry up and eat too, Orun-kun!"
"Got it."
◇
From among the options provided, I chose a pair of simple surf shorts and a light hoodie, got changed, and exited through the back door of the mansion.
"This is… quite the view."
The moment we stepped outside, a pure white sandy beach and an endlessly blue, vast sea spread out before us.
Since it was a private beach, there were no other visitors. The scene was so fantastical it almost felt like I'd wandered into another world.
It was that beautiful.
"Man… I almost feel bad messing this place up."
Will murmured in agreement with my quiet comment.
Rogue and the three guys from the A-rank party also seemed overwhelmed and at a loss for words.
"It really hits different after being stuck in enclosed spaces so much lately."
"Is your labyrinth a cave too, Orun?"
"Yeah. What about yours?"
"Ours is basically a forest, to put it simply. It's so dense that the environment might actually be worse than a cave. The saving grace is that it's not that big, so the investigation's been going really smoothly."
The scope of labyrinth investigation scaled with the size and number of floors.
A narrow labyrinth made the work significantly easier by default.
"Ours is pretty narrow too. If we finish early, I plan to come help you guys—so don't push yourselves too hard. —Whoops, sorry for bringing up labyrinth investigation on a day off. Looks like the girls aren't here yet, so let's get set up first."
As I spoke, I pulled out the parasol, blue sheet, and other items the servants had entrusted to me from my storage magic tool.
"Yeah. Let's get this done quick."
We stepped onto the sand and moved to a less conspicuous spot near the edge.
"Master, why are we setting up so far to the side? They said no one else is coming today, so wouldn't the center be fine…?"
While the guys and I were setting up the rest area, Rogue asked.
"Well, you're right, but when the girls arrive, I didn't want them to see a parasol and stuff plunked right in the middle of this view. I want them to feel the same awe we did. Plus, with a slight tweak to the [Space Leap] spell formula, I can just teleport the whole setup later."
"Rogue—this is how popular guys think. Take notes."
Will put a hand on Rogue's shoulder and teased in a playful tone.
"Popular? You're way more popular than me, Will."
Will had handsome features—even I thought he looked cool as a guy.
He had that carefree vibe, but he was also considerate. He probably had more appeal than I did.
"Did you hear that, Rogue? Every girl in Twilight Moonbow has a thing for him, and the guy himself says stuff like this. What do you think?"
"W-What am I supposed to say…?"
"Will, you're making Rogue uncomfortable. And sure, they all have some affection for me, but I don't think Luna or Carol have romantic feelings."
"Oh? You're not denying Sophia's little sister, huh?"
Will grinned and pressed closer.
…How did the conversation end up here?
"Well… I do sense that kind of affection from her."
"Oho! Things are getting fun! So? So? What about you, Orun?"
Will looked genuinely delighted.
Rogue and the other three guys were clearly eavesdropping while pretending to work.
"…At the very least, I have no intention of getting into that kind of relationship with anyone right now. I don't have the mental bandwidth for it."
Honestly, I was doing my best just to handle my own stuff.
On top of that, I'd taken on the responsibility of training my disciples.
I couldn't imagine building a good relationship with someone in my current state.
"That sounds like a safe dodge… kinda feels like you escaped the question."
Will sounded disappointed.
Now seemed like the right time.
Since he'd teased me, he couldn't complain if I fired back.
"So what about you, Will? You like Lucre, don't you?"
"..."
He clearly hadn't expected the counterattack—his expression froze.
"Eh, really!?"
"What the heck, Wilkes—if you'd said something, we would've given you two some alone time! That's cold, man!"
At my words, the other guys immediately piled on Will.
"N-No way! I like reliable older women! Who'd fall for a girl like that…?"
Will's eyes darted around in obvious panic.
…Did he really think no one had noticed? The way he looked at Lucre was clearly different from how he looked at anyone else.
"Are you okay with some other guy taking her?"
I pressed further.
Well, from an outside perspective, it was obvious they were mutual, so that probably wouldn't happen.
"Enough of this topic! Who even started this?!"
◇
After that, we changed the subject and chatted idly until the girls finally emerged from the mansion.
We could sense them coming, but no voices reached us yet.
They were probably just as stunned speechless by the scenery.
"Ah, looks like Will and the others are over there. Let's go, everyone!"
After a little while, Lucre's voice rang out, and we felt their presence approaching.
"Sorry to keep you waiting~!"
Once they got close, Lucre called out to us.
And then the girls in swimsuits came into view.
Sophia wore a white bikini with floral patterns and frills on the top. It suited her perfectly and looked incredibly cute.
Carol had a simple blue bikini. Even though she was only fourteen, her figure was already impressive—and in a swimsuit, it stood out even more.
Luna wore a halter-neck bikini with a light pareo wrapped around her waist, giving her an even more mature aura than usual.
Lucre had a high-neck bikini. The clean lines matched her bright, energetic personality perfectly.
The two women from the A-rank party were also wearing swimsuits that suited their vibes beautifully.
"We weren't waiting at all. We just finished setting up too. And everyone looks great in their swimsuits—really cute."
I gave my honest opinion.
"As expected of Orun-kun! You're always the first to compliment us! Hey, Will—don't you have anything to say about my swimsuit?"
Lucre pointedly named the person she most wanted to hear from—Will.
"Hm? Looks good on you. All of you are crazy cute. Man, this is what 'eye candy' really means."
Following Will, the other guys from the A-rank party also praised the girls' swimsuits.
But Rogue remained frozen.
Maybe the stimulus was too much for him.
"Rogue, don't you have anything to say to us~?"
Carol called out to the petrified Rogue.
"Eh!? Ah… Everyone looks really wonderful…"
Rogue's face turned bright red as he spoke in a small voice.
"Ehehe, thanks, Rogue!"
Carol beamed happily at his words.
"All right then—let's have some fun today!"
With Will's rallying cry, I used [Space Leap] to teleport the rest area we'd set up earlier to the middle of the beach.
Now then… today, maybe I'll just enjoy myself without overthinking things.