Sorry again if this chapter is a bit too long. I know I had fun with it though.
To respond to KenjiApex: I have no idea when you thought any of these crossover references were ever important to the story. I'm just having fun here. :/
Thanks again for the other reviews, and I hope you all enjoy the floof- I mean, the floof- I mean... you know what I mean!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Beach Day!
"Woohoooooo! Beach day!"
Naofumi, who was dressed in a pair of light green swimming trunks, cheered as he and Raphtalia ran towards the waves together.
The half-tanuki girl was dressed in a light blue unitard swimsuit. The pair had just gotten them with Uncle Bald Guy's help from a local shop.
Uncle Bald Guy himself was relaxing in a lawn chair on the sand, holding his hands behind his head with a pair of sunglasses on his face. By the way his mouth was gaping and the snores coming from him, it was easy to tell that he'd already fallen asleep…
Hey, don't judge! He'd finally hit level 100 after his many years of life! He'd also made some good headway on some of his blacksmithing projects!
He deserved a chance to nap just like any other old man!
Anyway, he was probably going to sleep for the rest of the day, so Naofumi focused on the ocean water in front of him and his best friend. They were going to have so much fun together! It was like their vacation was finally beginning!
"Cannonball!" Raphtalia yelled as she and Naofumi jumped into the air together over the ocean water.
Splash! Sploosh!
The two disappeared under the water.
Only to immediately pop out a second later, their bodies ice blue. "C-C-COLD!"
They raced up the sand away from the water. Naofumi didn't remember it being this cold when fleeing with Amber from Shadow!
"It can't be that bad! Learn to grow up a little!" Melty, dressed in a darker blue unitard swimsuit of her own, jumped into the water herself.
…
Seconds later, her stubbornness broke as she jumped out. Her body was even more ice blue than theirs had been. "O-O-OKAY! Y-YOU WERE R-R-RIGHT!"
"D-Don't you r-remember th-that I'm always r-r-right?!" Naofumi yelled through chattering teeth.
"S-SINCE WH-WHEN IS THAT T-T-TR- S-S-SO COLD!" Melty screeched. She couldn't focus on arguing with Naofumi at the moment!
The three kids all raced up the sand together. Amber, fortunately, was ready for them in her Filolial Queen form.
"Here! My feathers will warm you back up in no time!"
The three kids buried themselves in her body, disappearing entirely from view. "T-Thanks Amber!"
The sense of warmth was immediate. It was like they were actually standing next to a campfire! Amber helped even more as she finished casting a spell.
"Drifa Radiant's Warmth." A soft orange glow surrounded Amber's large body. While this buff spell helped with increasing her speed and defense, it also had the effect of increasing the natural heat she gave off.
In what felt like seconds, the kids were thoroughly warmed up and ready to head back into the water again. "Alright! I'm ready to go again!" Naofumi said happily.
"Thank you, Amber!" Raphtalia said in the same tone.
"You're welcome! Take care when entering the water this time!" Amber called after them.
"We will!" Melty yelled back, rushing after her younger siblings while waving to the Filolial Queen.
"I daresay, when has Prince Naofumi ever been careful?" Shadow commented from Amber's shadow.
Oh yeah, while Shadow wasn't visible, she was definitely there.
Always watching them like always.
Amber shrugged. "Fair point."
"Also, please turn off your spell. It is hot enough here as it is." Shadow said in the same tone of voice.
"Eh? Couldn't you have just gotten a swimsuit of your own weird lady?" Amber asked her.
"I am never out of uniform," Shadow replied.
"Why's that?" Amber asked curiously.
"..." The large filolial never did get an answer to her inquiry.
The three kids were running towards the water to jump in once more, only to stop just short of it. They looked at the waves lapping against the beach, and then at each other.
"How about we take things more slowly this time?" Raphtalia suggested.
"Yeah." "That'd probably be smart." Melty and Naofumi agreed.
The three kids began the long process of getting into the ocean water one slow inch at a time. Amber stayed in her spot, watching her younger siblings brave the cold water while Shadow stayed suffering in the heat of her shadow.
It was times like this she wished the shadows had a summer uniform.
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the beach, Granny let out a nice long sigh as she cracked her neck and spine into place. There were quite a few loud pops that made people turn to look, only for their eyes to widen at the old lady.
"Hooo, the sea breeze definitely feels nice today, doesn't it?!" Granny laughed boisterously.
"Fuehhhhhhh…" The two figures behind Granny let out whimpers of pain.
Itsuki was in gold-colored swim trunks. And while Rishia was in a green two-piece, she also had a thin white jacket around her torso as well as a straw hat on her head. Both of them looked dead on their feet.
… you know, maybe those people were staring at them instead of Granny.
That must have been the case, as upon them looking between them and the powerful old lady, they began fleeing in terror to find another beach on the island to enjoy instead.
"I said, the sea breeze feels nice today, doesn't it?" Granny asked again.
"Fuehhhhhhh…" Rishia and Itsuki whimpered in pain again.
"... ORA! Did I hear another week of training for my pupils?!" Granny asked, an aura of menace intensifying around her.
…
Thump. Thump.
There wasn't a response, so much as the sound of two thumps hitting the sand. Granny quickly turned around, finding her two students laying in the sand side by side.
When Granny bent down low, she saw they were still alive, but their eyes were definitely filled with fear. "P-Please don't." Rishia whimpered.
"M-M-Mercy…" Itsuki whimpered after her.
...
Awwww, it was too cute. The Hengen Musou Granny cracked a smile.
"Ora, don't worry, even I'm not that cruel. Especially when you kiddos moved heaven and earth training this last week. Even you've surprised me with how much you've been able to progress in Hengen Musou despite your Bow's limitations." Granny chuckled to the Bow Hero as she checked her party HUD.
Granny: Lv: 100
Rishia: Lv: 100
Itsuki: Lv: 102
Well, she might have moved heaven and earth, slaying so many monsters for them. But they'd participated a little bit after they started getting the hang of her Peerless Transformation Fighting Style.
It was strange since, for almost a day, Rishia had been stuck at level 68. But after Granny slayed an entire island's worth of monsters, the fueh girl managed to push past that exp wall and leveled normally alongside the Bow Hero again.
Not only that, but her stat growth, which had been the worst Granny had ever seen before level 68, absolutely exploded afterward. It gradually leveled out to a more normal stat growth at around level 88-90. Still, her star pupil was now far stronger than ever. And both she and Rishia were at the highest level possible for non-heroes.
The islands they'd grinded on may have looked like the sites of nuclear fallouts. But those black floating spheres were indestructible anyway. And they were capable of spawning more than enough monsters for them to murder.
Granny laid out a blanket on the sand, and set an umbrella over it. She then moved Rishia and Itsuki underneath it so they were out of the sun and resting against each other.
"You two kiddos just relax and have fun today. And make sure you eat some good food when you're able to stand up again." Granny was still smiling… but it quickly turned into a predatory grin. "That way, I'll be able to push you extra hard again starting tomorrow!"
Despite being so tired, the two shivered where they laid. "G-Got it." Itsuki whimpered weakly.
"T-Take care, G-Granny." Rishia whimpered after him.
Granny laughed boisterously as she walked away and found herself a lawn chair next to Uncle Bald Guy to lay back and relax on.
Elhart shivered in his sleep but otherwise didn't react to her presence. Mere moments later, Granny was napping away too.
The two teenagers were finally able to have their first moment of peace since Granny caught them napping in their breakfasts that one morning. A morning that felt so long ago after the hell they'd been forced to endure together…
…
This week was truly hell. Itsuki's memories of that JSDF drill sergeant didn't even compare.
He'd never been forced to grind and train in something he wasn't comfortable with doing at all for so long in his entire life! He'd probably put Ren's status as a sweat-lord in online gaming to shame over the last few days!
...
Probably not, actually. But it still felt like it!
If Granny wasn't having him punching monsters with his fists, he was having to blow up rocks by pressing his fingers into them and locate monsters via their chi instead of with the help of his skills. Granny could somehow tell when he tried to cheat with these passive skills too, and it only made her work him even harder.
He hadn't even been allowed to use his Bow once until he showed that he could exert his chi through his hands and throughout his body! Which, he had managed to do thankfully, but then that'd only made her move on to training him to channel life force through his Bow! It just never ended!
Itsuki didn't even have the energy to care that he and Rishia were half-naked right now. They'd had to cuddle together in bed the last couple of nights just to stay asleep since it felt like Granny's training continued even in their dreams, scaring them and making them not want to sleep by themselves.
And the half-naked fact didn't matter either, since Granny had made them bathe in the same Hot Springs together.
At least she'd allowed them to keep their towels on. So it wasn't like he actually saw what her body looked like underneath her clothes.
…
"Damn, that daydream I made up before seriously didn't do her thicc chest any justice. They were like giant marshmallows-"
Will you please shut up, brain? It didn't help that Rishia was laid out on her side and was hugging his arm to her thicc chest right now!
Gods, she was so short! So why were her assets so big?!
…
Not that he even had the energy to enjoy it.
Not that he was enjoying it…
…
It really felt like Granny had torn all of his pride and ego down over the last week. He had nothing left to take pride in. So he simply rested his eyes and tried to recover alongside his girl… his friend who was a girl.
Ugh, he really hoped this wasn't a dream and that Granny wasn't training him in his dreams again right now. That'd truly suck.
Yes, she'd done that too. How she accomplished that, he had no idea.
And he hoped he never learned how she did it either.
…
Ren stretched his arms out as he and his party walked onto the sand. He was in swim trunks without a shirt on, but his trunks had a design like a dragon breathing fire on their front.
Ren: Lv. 97
Wyndia: Lv. 96
Bakta: Lv. 95
Welt: Lv. 96
Farrie: Lv. 98
Tersia: Lv. 98
Yep, he and his party had done a good job grinding by themselves throughout the week. He felt that they more than deserved to be awarded for all of their hard work.
"A-Are you sure we should be doing this, Sir Ren?" Bakta asked nervously.
"Y-Yeah. W-We could just keep grinding m-monsters like b-b-before." Welt stuttered after him.
The two boys were shivering in fear. They could see Farrie and Tersia both staring hungrily at them.
And for Bakta, Farrie had been acting weird lately… well, weirder than normal.
The night after his drunken escapade with L'Arc and the others (which he still couldn't recall), she'd arrived back to the Sword Hero's room with her light green hair cut short, like, tomboyish short. Still an inch or two longer than his own, yes, but definitely not very long.
She also stopped wearing any makeup and switched from a mage's outfit to more masculine clothes and armor for their grinding. She attempted to speak in a deeper voice around him too but eventually stopped when he freaked out over it.
Now she had flipped the tables again and was wearing a bikini, showing off her assets while still keeping her new hair style and lack of makeup. The weird combination made Bakta want to run for his life for so many different reasons. Why couldn't Ren pick up on her weird behavior!?
Ren smiled at his mate, who was dressed in a blue two-piece swimsuit the same color as his eyes. "Alright if I go and see what Naofumi is doing?"
"Of course. Just remember that you don't have to force yourself to go into the water." Wyndia replied, looking at him with concern.
Spending time together in an ocean village, Wyndia had previously learned about Ren's inability to swim. She'd tried her best to teach him in the evenings, but…
Before she could dwell on it more, Ren leaned over and kissed her on the lips, catching her off guard.
"If worse comes to worst," He pulled back and gave her a sincere smile. "I can use that spell I learned with your help to keep myself from drowning."
Wyndia blushed but smiled as she hugged her Sword Hero.
"Just don't expect me to swim out to rescue you, dummy," Wyndia whispered quietly as they separated.
Ren gave her a grin that melted her heart, and then he was racing across the sand towards his younger bro. The dog girl was left holding her hands to herself, smiling like an idiot.
"Awww, I'm surprised they didn't sneak off to have another quickie." Farrie sighed in the background.
"You know, it's not like their every waking thought is centered around sex," Tersia commented beside her.
"... It feels like it sometimes." The girl crossed her arms and pouted.
"Well, I doubt that's the case." Tersia rolled her eyes. "Let's try to focus on our love lives now, eh?"
"Yes…" Farrie's face twisted into a scowl as she focused on Bakta again. Who was running off with Welt to build a sand castle somewhere on the beach far away from them.
She'd tried being girly, and that'd failed miserably. And she'd tried acting like a guy, but that'd failed drastically.
She swore, come hell or high water, she'd make that tank notice her advances. Even if she had to try everything in the book to figure out what his tastes were.
And if that still failed, she'd strip if she had to be that blunt.
"L-Let's make a really big sand castle!" Bakta suggested.
"Yeah, let's m-make a really big one s-so we don't have to interact with anyone else!" Welt instantly agreed as they raced off.
The two girls slowly followed… and planned their course of attack.
...
"H-Hey Ren!" Naofumi's teeth were still chattering somewhat as he yelled at the sight of his cool older bro approaching. "H-How's it going?!"
"Pretty well, actually! Glad to see everyone else is taking a break today too!" Ren's smile became big as he approached the edge of the water, only to pause. "Also, is it really that cold?"
"Y-Yeah, it is." Naofumi and the other two kids shivered again.
They were barely up to their waists. How were they supposed to have fun swimming if they risked getting hypothermia just from getting in?!
"Hmmm…" Ren thought to himself for a moment.
"A-Are you joining us?" Naofumi asked curiously.
"Oh, sorry, I actually can't swim very well," Ren admitted. "But it doesn't look like you're enjoying it either, so I was trying to think of something we could do."
"You can't swim?" Naofumi asked incredulously.
... Ren awkwardly chuckled. "I never really learned how to in my world. And whenever I go into the water, I kind of sink like a rock.
"Weird, right?"
Ren felt a little bit nervous opening up about that so freely to his kid brother. However, as he'd come to learn, he was long past the need to act cool around Naofumi. Being himself was more than enough for the kid.
"No way! You're so cool that even water rejects you!" Naofumi had stars shining in his eyes, which caused Melty and Raphtalia to look at him weirdly. "You're too amazing, Ren!"
"Heheheh…" Ren chuckled.
He hadn't thought of it that way before. It made him want to enter the water even if he was still deathly afraid of it.
A wave crashed down behind Naofumi and the kids. Suddenly bringing freezing water up to their chests and making them screech in shock from the cold.
All three raced back up to the sand, shivering from the surprise wave. "D-Dang it, we w-were so close too." Naofumi sighed defeatedly.
"M-Maybe playing in the w-water i-isn't the b-best idea," Raphtalia said through her shivering.
"C-Come on! L-Let's have Amber warm us up again!" Melty told her siblings.
They raced up the beach to Amber again, leaving Ren to stand near the water. While he still felt fear just looking at it, the gears in his mind turned as he thought of something for them to do.
...
By the time the other kids came back, freshly warmed and dried off by Amber once again, Ren had a smile on his face as he spoke to his younger brother. "How about we try surfing?"
"... eh?" Naofumi cocked his head confusedly.
"You know. It's something that'll allow us to be on the water without us having to be in it." Ren said with a smile.
It helped that, as he'd been thinking, he'd pulled up his list of swords on his weapon tree and remembered he unlocked a few that gave bonuses to surfing.
A weird bonus to have, to be sure, but he could definitely make use of it here!
"Sweet!" Naofumi instantly agreed. "How do we surf though?"
"I have an idea or two," Ren replied. "Think your Shield skills would be up to the task?"
Naofumi's eyes widened, and then stars appeared in them once again. YES, THIS WAS WHY REN WAS THE COOLEST BRO, I SAY!
"Wooooohooooooooo!" Naofumi was cheering again, but this time it was for a different reason.
He was currently sitting on Ren's shoulders. And Ren was balancing on a skill shield Naofumi had summoned for them to ride on the waves.
"You're right! This is way better than trying to swim!" Naofumi yelled happily.
"Way to be able to use your Air Strike Shield as a board," Ren replied happily. It was big enough to give the water-fearing boy plenty of space to stand, and if it ever felt like he was losing his balance, Naofumi could adjust the skill shield to better ride the Wave.
It honestly wasn't Naofumi doing it though. It was actually his Shield doing it since it was a tsundere that liked to help out every once in a blue moon.
The skill shield was normally immobile. It also normally disappeared after fifteen seconds or so. That didn't appear to be the case this time though.
This is a one-time deal… brat. Don't expect me to do this again in the future.
Despite the tsundere shield's text, it didn't take away from the fun he and his bro were having. And they rode along a nice tall wave together.
"Wooooooooo!" Only to be surprised as Melty and Raphtalia raced by.
Raphtalia was actually using a regular surfboard she'd found on the beach. She was surprisingly good at this!
Whereas Melty…
"Hey, that's cheating!" Naofumi yelled after her.
"What!? I'm allowed to use my magic for this!" Melty screamed back. She was riding on a board made of water over the water. She flew up over the crest of the wave, doing a backflip in the air before landing perfectly on the wave again.
Well, it didn't look like it'd be a perfect landing. But the water of her board melded with the water in a way that it looked perfect.
It was definitely cheating!
"Heh, I guess we still have a ways to go yet." Ren chuckled to himself. "Should I make things more interesting?"
"Can you!?" Naofumi asked, stars shining in his eyes again.
Ren nodded and began to chant. "Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength!" The Sword Hero continued to chant as a blue glow from the water surrounded his body. Naofumi's eyes widened in awe at what he was witnessing.
You see, having the adoptive daughter of a dragon for a mate came with more than a few obvious benefits. For you see, he'd gotten a dragon blessing from Gaelion shortly after his return from Siltvelt. This allowed him to cast a new type of magic he'd known nothing about before.
Said daughter was also thoroughly experienced in this branch of magic. Meaning she'd been able to help him learn whenever they had free time from training and… other non-PG activities.
While he was no master like she was, he was experienced enough to be able to confidently cast magic under this system.
"Tsunami!" Ren raised his hands up as he cast the spell.
At first, nothing happened. The wave they were riding on was still only ten feet tall.
But then, it began to grow in size. To fifteen feet. Then twenty. Then thirty.
"Whoaaaaaaaa!" Naofumi held onto his older brother for dear life. The wave they'd been riding on before became enormous!
Melty looked back at them gloatingly, only for her eyes to widen in shock. "W-WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?"
"This is the power of Cool Bro's magic! Ahahahahaha!" Naofumi laughed with glee.
"Whoaaaaaa!" Raphtalia was caught up in the Wave, but then she began to laugh as she rose up it. She was such an awesome natural at this!
"Hmph! You won't one-up me like that!" Melty turned herself around and then rode up the length of the Wave past Naofumi and Ren.
"Ha! Even if you can ride it, Ren can ride it better!" Naofumi yelled up after her.
However, despite Naofumi's confidence in his older brother, the Sword Hero was finding it hard to ride the wave he'd summoned. His eyes began to widen in terror. He'd only meant to double the size of the wave, not triple it!
And several seconds later, it was nearing forty feet. Raphtalia and Melty were having the time of their lives as they crested over the top.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Ren began to teeter on the skill shield. Crap, he'd bitten off more than he could chew! Not even Naofumi's Shield was enough to help them escape this fresh batch of stupidity!
"R-Ren?!" Naofumi called out in terror.
"Hold on tight!" Ren yelled up at him.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Ren and Naofumi began to scream together.
Meanwhile, on the beach, Bakta and Welt were beginning to finish up a large sand castle. Thanks to their high levels, they were able to make it taller than normal with turret walls standing at over ten feet and everything else they needed to keep the two girls pretending to play in the sand nearby from getting close and bothering them.
"Alright, let's finish this door," Welt suggested.
"Right, after everything else, this will be as easy as-" Bakta was replying.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The two boys looked up, and then their eyes widened in terror as they saw Ren and his kid bro riding the biggest wave they'd ever seen!
"No! NOOOO-"
The monster wave, which had neared fifty feet at that point, splashed over their section of beach. Completely enveloping the sand castle they'd made.
Fortunately, the sand castle's large size kept the massive wave from bothering too many people on the beach behind it. So there wasn't a massive wash-off like there could have been.
…
…
A moment after the water receded, the four boys' heads popped out of the sand. Bakta and Welt spat out sand and water, while Ren and Naofumi shook their heads of sand.
"That, was, AWESOME! Let's do it again!" Naofumi said excitedly.
"Heh, maybe another time. It appears I don't have enough control over Earth Vein just yet." Ren rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile.
Naofumi gave him a look of awe. He remembered picturing Ren on the ship summoning the power of the sea to bring them to the islands that much sooner. And the Sword Hero had revealed he could do that whenever he wanted!
It was too cool for words, I say!
Bakta and Welt, meanwhile, were groaning in frustration. "We were so close to being done too," Bakta complained.
"Urgh, whatever, help dig me out of this man before those girls show up and-" Welt began to say in complaint.
"Need a hand getting out?"
The two paled as two pairs of feet walked into their vision.
They slowly looked up, seeing the hungry gazes of the two girls of their party.
"M-M-Meep." Bakta shivered in terror.
"Don't worry. We'll help you boys to build a much better sand castle after we dig you out." Tersia said with an evil smile.
"One that'll definitely give the four of us some privacy." Farrie licked her lips.
…
"AIEEEEEEEEEEE!" The two began screaming again, though for an entirely different reason this time.
They were unable to escape the clutches of the two former nuns after that.
…
Naofumi and Ren had just finished digging themselves out when Wyndia raced up to them. Raphtalia followed right behind holding her surfboard. "Is everything ok?! I saw a giant wave appear out of nowhere!" The amber-eyed girl exclaimed.
"Heh, that would be the result of me attempting to use Earth Vein without your guidance." Ren chuckled awkwardly.
… The dog girl briefly frowned and crossed her arms under her chest. "Ren, you and I both know that you need more training in Earth Vein before you can use it like that."
"I know, I'm sorry…" Ren briefly looked sad at her look of disappointment, before his expression turned more hopeful. "Still, it looked pretty cool, right?"
"Hmmm… it did look cool… up until the wave buried you into the sand that is." Wyndia smiled mischievously.
"Better the sand than in the water." Ren smiled back, before focusing on his younger bro again.
"Are you okay, Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, but…" Naofumi was staring at Ren's shoulder in surprise. "Ren, I think a monster bit you!"
"Huh-" Ren looked down at himself in surprise. "Where?!"
"There, on your shoulder near your collarbone!" Naofumi pointed frantically.
Ren tried to look, but he couldn't feel any blood racing down his shoulder or anything. Was it just a scrape? But his stats were so freakishly high that no weak monster could hurt him at this point!
"As the Shield Hero, the source of thy power I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and…" Naofumi began chanting, which only made Ren want to freak out more as he tried to think what it was Naofumi was seeing and-
The boy's eyes widened in realization. And he swiftly grabbed the young kid by the shoulders, cutting him off mid-chant. "Wait, Naofumi, don't heal that! It's fine!"
"- Eh?" Naofumi cocked his head in confusion.
Wyndia looked at Ren and then Naofumi in confusion as well. "Ren's HP bar never dropped on my HUD. Are you sure a monster bit him?" She asked.
"Yeah, it's right there!" Naofumi pointed at Ren's right shoulder next to his collarbone.
Wyndia's eyes followed the boy's finger, only for her to freeze up.
It wasn't so much a bite as it was a scar. Ren's armor normally hid it from view, but…
The Sword Hero froze up too. Oh, crap, he hadn't really told the others about this, had he?
"Actually, now that I'm looking at it, it doesn't look very fresh. When did this happen? You could have asked me and I would have healed it for you, bro." Naofumi looked up at the Sword Hero sadly.
...
Oh… oh crap. Ren felt immense guilt for hiding this from his younger bro. He made sure to rest his hands on the kid's shoulders as gently as he could. "Look, I've… I've had this since Siltvelt, Naofumi. It's very personal, so that's why I haven't talked about it before."
"Oh… is it okay if I ask why you have it then?" Naofumi asked curiously. "Because if it came from a monster, I'm going to beat it up for you! Even if my Shield won't let me!"
Ren grimaced but glanced over at Wyndia. She had been frozen that entire time, but at his glance, she finally blushed and turned away. Revealing a similar bite mark on her left shoulder near her neck.
Ren smiled a little at the action, remembering the events of that night. He didn't have to go beyond the PG details. But a simple explanation came to his mind that would, hopefully, satisfy the young kid.
Even if it did out just how personal his relationship with Wyndia had become for the two of them.
"You know how when adults get married, they normally wear a ring on their ring finger, right?" Ren started, gesturing to said finger on his left hand.
"Yeah, I think so..." Naofumi answered.
"Well, you see, Wyndia wasn't raised by normal adults, and because of that…" The explanation Ren gave following that went like this: because Wyndia was raised by a dragon, she was taught a different and more permanent form of marriage. One which involved marking the other person to claim them as hers for life, and vice versa.
Wyndia lowered herself to Naofumi and Raphtalia's height at Ren's urging so that they could see where Ren had marked her on her shoulder in turn.
Ren finished his explanation by saying how these bite marks symbolized the two of them being married by the customs she'd learned from her Father.
"We're planning on having a human wedding later since I don't think this custom is recognized as an official marriage by any country in this world. But this identifies us as mates, and that we plan on staying together for the rest of our lives." Ren finished explaining, feeling somewhat nervous at the end.
"So… you two bit each other because you loved each other and wanted to be together forever?" Naofumi asked.
"... Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Ren said, giving a soft smile to his mate. "I'm stuck with Wyndia for the rest of my life… and honestly, I don't mind it one bit."
Wyndia's heart melted at the action. And she kissed him on the lips for saying such kind words that made her soul feel warm. He accepted it and kissed her back.
…
Oh, man.
Such an open display of mutual affection.
Ren had probably just fallen off of Naofumi's cool list for sure now and-
"SO COOL!"
Nope, the stars in Naofumi's young eyes were the biggest they'd ever been. It was almost sickening how biased he was towards the Sword Hero. "I'm so happy for you Ren! I want to have a mate of my own when I grow up too!"
"W-What's that supposed to mean?!" Raphtalia asked in a shocked voice.
"It means exactly that! Could you just imagine us being mates when we're older, Raphtalia!?" Naofumi asked her excitedly. His excitement then changed to a pondering look. "Although I don't know how I'd feel about having to bite you. Actually, would my Shield even allow me to do that?"
He looked down at his weapon. But it was strangely silent, for once.
Studying it, he found two twin red spots appearing on its sides. Was it blushing? Was it even possible for a shield to blush? Why would it be blushing though?
Maybe he was just imagining things? But it still seemed weird...
…
BOOM!
Before he could ponder more on it though, steam exploded out of the red-faced half-tanuki's ears, and she fell backward onto the sand. Her eyes were rolled up into the back of her head.
"Ack! Raphtalia, what's wrong?! Are you ok!? Do you have a fever again!?
"Speak to meeeeeeeeee!" Naofumi yelled in fear while shaking her shoulders.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Raphtalia was too incoherent to form words.
Had Naofumi just proposed to her?! Weren't they still kids though!? Did he even understand how that'd mean they'd be doing lots of stuff like hand-holding, and tail-floofing, and hugging, and-
OH, GODS! THEY ALREADY DID ALL THAT STUFF ALREADY! THEY WERE BASICALLY MARRIED EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ONLY TEN YEARS OLD!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
"Quick, let's get her out of the sun! I'm afraid it's a fever with how much she's burning up!" Naofumi yelled to Ren and Wyndia worriedly.
"I'm finnnnnnne." Raphtalia continued to drawl while her mind continued having an internal meltdown.
The two mates stayed smiling… though both of them might have been hiding their anxiety and nervousness.
They were glad Naofumi had dropped the subject for now. But they really hoped he didn't ask when the marking was supposed to happen.
That definitely wouldn't have been something PG to explain.
...
"Eh, why is everyone back on the beach now? Didn't they manage to ride that killer wave like I did?" Melty finally crested over another, smaller wave to find her siblings on the beach.
The confusion at such a sight was followed by realization, which was then followed by a massive pout. "Was he really that mad that I was better at something than him!? AGHHHH!"
Melty continued to pout as she rode her board all the way to the beach and jumped off of it to find Amber. Allowing the water construct to merge with the ocean water it'd been born from once more.
At least she could hang out with the Filolial Queen without having to worry about being ditched!
Raphtalia eventually recovered from whatever stroke she'd been going through, and she and Naofumi went to build a sand castle of their own. Though, this time, the half-tanuki girl was more subdued than before.
Wyndia and Ren stayed nearby, just in case Naofumi felt like hanging out again. But when it became apparent that Naofumi was focused on his best friend, they began digging through the sand for seashells together.
"Ren, I found a seashell that looks like a dragon!" Wyndia called out happily.
"Really?" Ren asked in surprise.
He had quite a pile of various seashells he'd dug up next to him by then. Wyndia had her own smaller pile she'd gathered resting next to her. Compared to his, hers looked really shiny! But the one she was holding in her hands now was huge!
It was bigger than both of his hands combined!
It almost looked like a dragon's head too!
Wyndia put her ear up to its gaping maw, and the smile on her face widened. "It even roars like a dragon!"
"Whoa…" Ren's jaw dropped in shock. There was normally the cliche 'I can hear the sea with this' that he'd heard people would say before (which didn't make sense, as the ocean was RIGHT there) but to hear a dragon?!
"How can you even tell!?" Ren asked.
"Listen for yourself." Wyndia smiled as she held it out to him.
The Sword Hero held it, and it felt… different, in his hands. He couldn't describe it.
He looked unsure. But his mate smiled at him, encouraging him to put it to his ear.
He did so, trusting that she wasn't kidding. And then-
"ROWRRRRRRRRR!"
"AH!" Ren dropped the seashell, letting out a small scream of surprise as he jumped back.
"Ehehehe!" Wyndia began giggling to herself as she picked the seashell back up. The Earth Vein spells she'd used on it wore off, and the sand she'd hardened into the shape of a dragon's head around the admitted large seashell fell back onto the ground.
"See, this is what you can do when you're better at Earth Vein," Wyndia said teasingly.
Ren, whose rapidly beating heart began to slow, narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh… really, now?" The Sword Hero realized that his mate had just pulled a prank on him. "I guess I'll do something I don't need Earth Vein to do, then!"
"Huh, what do you-" Wyndia's eyes widened as Ren picked her up off the ground.
He then promptly chucked her out into the water before she could even react.
"EEEEEEP!" Wyndia broke through the surface, ice blue just like Naofumi and his friends had been earlier.
"Hahahahaha! How's that?! I didn't even need magic to pay you back for scaring the crap out of-" Ren was laughing to himself on the beach.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!" Ren's laughter was cut off when Wyndia's dragon vein spell washed over him entirely.
When it was gone, he was shivering from the cold water himself. However, he was grinning widely at his mate, who was grinning widely in turn.
"Alright, I see how it is…" A bright blue aura of energy surrounded Ren's form. The sand around him began to crack and burst just from his presence.
NO WAY! HE'D GONE BEYOND HIS ULTRA BAIYAN FORM TO HIS ULTRA ULTRA SUPER FAIYAN FORM!
SO COOL!
Ren began chanting, and Wyndia crawled out of the cold ocean water as she chanted in turn.
Naofumi and Raphtalia both ended up smiling widely as they watched the two begin to play fight with water magic. They did no damage to the other, but it definitely looked like a lot of fun! "That's so cool. I wish we could do that too."
"I guess it'd be really hard to do so with Support or Healing magic as your affinities," Raphtalia said shyly, her hands resting on a turret she'd crafted out of the sand for their smaller, more realistic sand castle.
She really wasn't sure what to feel right now. Should she try kissing her best friend if he wanted to get married later in life anyway?
After everything, she still wasn't sure if her heart was ready for it or not, but if that was really how Naofumi felt, then maybe…
"Eh, I just realized, where's that pretty lady and Big Bro at?" Naofumi asked, looking over the beach. "I could have sworn they said that they were coming to the beach too…"
He could see Itsujerk and Rishia sleeping together underneath an umbrella on a blanket. As well as Uncle Bald Guy (whose skin was starting to turn a slight red) napping next to Granny, who was also napping. Ren's two guy friends were trying to escape from Farrie and Tersia, without much success. Melty and Amber were playing together in the ocean, which was made possible due to their older sister heating the water around her up for the bluette.
Shadow wasn't in sight. But who knew where she was hiding at this point?
Still, there was no sign of Therese, or L'Arc, or Motoyasu, or 'Kizuna'.
Where had they gone? Hmmm…
"Eh, what is it, Raphtalia?" Naofumi focused on his best friend again.
She was red-faced again, but this time, it was for an entirely different reason.
She grabbed him by the wrist and set his hand on her tail. "You're floofing me while I finish building our sand castle." She said in a dry voice.
"Eh, b-but you said not in pub-?" Naofumi began to ask.
"Do you want to floof my tail or not?!" Raphtalia all but yelled at him.
"..." Naofumi's head was still cocked in confusion, but as the feel of Raphtalia's tail moved up his hand all the way to his brain, a dopey smile took over his face. "Flooooooof." He drawled out as he felt along her thicc, soft tail fur.
Good. Raphtalia had trained him well. Though if that pale older lady kept on entering his thoughts, she was going to have to up his dosage of tail floofs to make sure he was never attracted to anyone besides her. Raphtalia smiled happily to herself as she got to work finishing up their sand castle.
…
After only a few seconds, however, her face began to turn bright red once again. If only feeling up her tail didn't make her feel so embarrassed!
AHHHHHHHH!
An hour passed as the sun moved slowly over the afternoon sky. People came and went from the beach. The Hero's activities didn't change much, outside of resting in the shade from time to time to give themselves a break from the sun.
...
"Ah, finally, we have everything we need." Motoyasu finally arrived on the scene, holding two large poles and a net on his shoulders. He was dressed in bright orange swim trunks.
"I'm surprised it took so long." L'Arc groaned. He was following behind Motoyasu in red swim trunks. Some of the cool tattoos on his body were on display. "Is there really a reason you needed to get a blacksmith's help to make two iron poles with hooks on the top for you, bro?"
"Of course! I already scouted out the beach before and saw they didn't have anything like this setup, I say!" Motoyasu proceeded to plant one of the poles into the sand. "Now… Crimson Thrust! Yes, perfect!"
L'Arc jumped back in surprise at Motoyasu's use of the skill. But the Spear Hero had thrust it into the sand around the pole. Superheating the sand and melting it into glass. The end result was a solid support for the iron pole.
He then moved several dozen feet to the right and set the other long iron pole into the ground, setting it in place with the same skill. He then unraveled the net and attached it to the poles once he was sure both poles were secured.
When the net was set up, he dug his spear into the sand to begin marking the out-of-bounds lines for the rectangular court as well as everything else he needed. He also pulled out a blue-colored dye from his Spear that he put over the lines he marked with his spear.
Motoyasu was humming a happy tune to himself as he did all this and seemed to enjoy creating something that reminded him a lot of something from back home.
"I still don't understand. We have a whole day to chill on the beach and leer at girls playing around in the water. To hit up bars and flirt with waitresses and the like. And yet you want to set up another game I don't know anything about." L'Arc muttered sarcastically.
"I'm not really surprised, since this is another game from my world like dodgeball," Motoyasu replied. "Though this one was all the rage with guys my age. They'd kill just to go to the beach to have a chance to watch some girls play this."
"... fine, how do you play this 'volleyball' then?" L'Arc asked with an eye roll.
"It's really simple. All you have to do is work as a team and hit the ball over the net. And the other team has to do the same."
Motoyasu explained the rules to the redhead as he finished drawing up the lines and pulled out a balloon ball he'd messed with. Making its skin more akin to how a volleyball felt when hitting it and the like. The end result was an orange, but very much real and tough volleyball that felt and handled as well as the ones from his world.
Over the course of that explanation, L'Arc muttered words like "Uh-Huh", "Mhmmm", and "Okay." It wouldn't have been wrong to say the redhead's mind had turned to mush at some point.
When Motoyasu was finally done explaining the rules and everything was ready, L'Arc shook his head rapidly as if to wake up and finally asked a question that was very important to him. "So… how is this better than scouting out cute girls on the beach again?"
Motoyasu grinned. "Watch."
He threw the ball high up into the air. He then took a running start towards the net, jumping perfectly to spike it down into the corner of the court on the other side without hitting the net itself.
It was a perfect spike. His old coach back in his world would have been proud to see he still had it.
Having some weapon forms that improved his jumping prowess and hand-eye coordination might have also helped him a bit.
…
…
"So, what you're saying is that I'm supposed to be watching you, man?" L'Arc asked after a moment of silence. "I'm sorry, but I don't exactly swing that way if you get what I mean."
"Ha, as if!" Motoyasu laughed. "You saw how I moved, right?"
"Obviously," L'Arc answered. "You told me to watch you, after all."
"Try picturing Therese in her swimsuit doing that exact same move now," Motoyasu said.
"Alright, easy." L'Arc snorted. "She's so hot, but in a swimsuit, she'd literally be-"
…
…
…
…
L'Arc's brain stopped, finally realizing what his Bro was getting at.
"Yeah, in a swimsuit, you'd be able to see her jump in all of her glory, wouldn't you?" Motoyasu said with a smirk. "You think this game sounds boring anymore?"
PBBBBBTTHHHHHHH!
Motoyasu received his answer when L'Arc was literally thrown back several dozen feet by the spew of blood that spurted from his nose.
Motoyasu couldn't blame him. Despite building up resistance to it after getting together with Amber, the same thing happened to him when he imagined Amber playing volleyball with him in her swimsuit.
It was too bad she was hanging out with Melty right now. But if Motoyasu did this and she did join in, he hoped he'd be able to resist temptation whilst showing his kid bro that he could still be his cool bro self without obsessing over his angel wife.
…
Ugh, if only it wasn't so hard! He really wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Amber again! Naofumi had clearly forgiven her by now, so why hadn't he forgiven him yet?!
"Oi, you better be keeping things PG over there!" Elhart bellowed, dragging Moto out of his thoughts.
"What makes you think this isn't PG?!" Motoyasu yelled back. "And I thought you were napping?!"
"I've seen you get bloody noses plenty of times to know what's going through his head right now, Spear brat!" Elhart replied heatedly while pointing at L'Arc. "Also, I'm not napping, I'm resting my eyes!"
"Well, uh… No worries then, Uncle-In-Law! We're just setting up a fun innocent game over here! That's all!" Motoyasu sweatdropped while chuckling nervously.
"B-B-Boobies-" L'Arc was finally becoming conscious again, only for Motoyasu to karate chop the back of his head to keep him quiet.
L'Arc's head hit the sand so hard that it left a crater.
Elhart scowled at the nickname but then put his hands behind his head as he tried to loosen up and relax again.
He just wanted to reward himself for a job well done. And have some peace and quiet without having to worry about young brats, and… and… … …
He was snoring again within moments.
It also took that long before L'Arc finally managed to pull his head out of the sand. "Ugh, what was that for?" The redhead grumbled and looked up at Motoyasu.
"Just a friendly warning. While this gives us a unique opportunity to leer at our girls, we need to keep this PG if we don't want to gross out Naofumi… or earn Uncle-In-Law's wrath."
L'Arc shook his head, but he was grinning like an idiot now. "Eh, fine. But you're right. I can't wait for Therese to finish her shopping. This game is going to be so much fun and-"
"What game, L'Arc?"
"Eep!" L'Arc jumped up in surprise and then turned around quickly. "Oh, nothing Therese. Just… just… … just… … …"
L'Arc's brain stopped again, though it was for an entirely different reason.
The blue-haired girl still had her leather bracelet around her head. However, she was dressed in a very nice turquoise colored swimsuit that… suited her form very well.
"Hey, L'Arc? Did that red line in the sand come from you?" Therese asked, pointing out the line of blood resting on the sand. Yet the redhead didn't respond to her question.
…
It was like staring at the two juiciest melons ever. Held back by only a tiny layer of clothing. And that was just her top half!
Her bottom half…
"Hmph, I don't think I've ever seen him leer at you this hard before, Therese." 'Kizuna' crossed her arms in front of her, feeling somewhat self-conscious of the black two-piece swimsuit she was in.
Her hair was still held in its twin ponytails, but she wasn't able to wear the wrap underneath her adventurer armor for the swimsuit. Showing her chest was almost as big as Therese's.
She definitely felt very uncomfortable. Fortunately, L'Arc only had eyes for Therese.
"Uba… uba…" L'Arc put a hand to his nose, which was freshly bleeding again.
"I'll take that as a yes," Therese sighed, shifting under the weight of L'Arc's intense stare.
Motoyasu grimaced briefly. Perhaps this hadn't been the best idea for the redhead after all. If Naofumi saw him like this…
Actually, that might work in his favor if L'Arc did steal his Big Bro spot from him! Ha, it was the perfect revenge, I say!
But later, for now! "Hey! Ren! I'm just about finished setting up for a game of beach volleyball! Want to join!?"
The Sword Hero had been cuddling with his girlfriend under a big towel after their magic playfight. At Motoyasu's call though, he looked over and sat up. "Volleyball? Is that why you're late to the beach?!"
"Perhaps, but are you in?!" Motoyasu asked. "We could definitely use more people!" And maybe if Naofumi saw cool bro Ren playing, he'd want to join in too!
…
Ren thought about it for a few seconds. He also looked down at Wyndia, who was stretching herself after waking from her short, but enjoyable nap with the Sword Hero, before smiling again. "Sure, let me find my friends and see if they want to join."
"Awesome!" Moto gave him a thumbs up, and Ren briefly left Wyndia to get ready as he ran across the sand to find the other members of their party.
"So, L'Arc, do you feel like playing now?" Motoyasu asked with a wide grin.
"Yes, absolutely, let's start playing already Therese! Come on! Let's go!" L'Arc began speaking super excitedly as waves of energy came off his form.
"Do you even know how to play?" Therese asked dryly.
"We'll learn as we go just like we did with dodgeball! Now come on! Get to teaching us already, bro!" L'Arc turned to Motoyasu, a burning fire raging behind the redhead.
Heh. This was going to be fun.
Kizuna at least made an attempt to cover the blood on the ground before they got started.
It took only a few minutes for Ren to return with Wyndia, Farrie, Tersia, Bakta, and Welt. While Ren and the girls were smiling, Bakta and Welt were shivering in terror.
It was unknown what they'd been forced to do for the last hour. It probably wasn't too bad, as they'd been carrying bags full of clothes that the girls had bought from the storefronts next to the beach.
And they were still in their original swim trunks, so shenanigans probably hadn't occurred!
At least any that could be considered life-scarring!
While Motoyasu taught the Otherworlders how to play, Ren did the same for the members of his party. They covered the rules but also showed how they could hit the ball, how they could set for their teammates, and spike and block without touching the net; amongst other things.
L'Arc asked at one point if feet were allowed, and Motoyasu responded that they were, but that it was significantly harder to do that. L'Arc then tried to show off his superiority by attempting to spike the ball down with his foot.
The resulting faceplant had him spitting out sand, and Motoyasu also had to fix the netting. The idiot redhead didn't try anything to embarrass himself further after that.
Motoyasu continued to smile. And as the others practiced getting used to hitting the ball around with their hands and arms, he was so proud of the fact that he could witness all these cute girls being there and yet still only have thoughts for his lovely angel wife.
If only she'd change into her human form and come over to play so he could see what kind of swimsuit she was wearing right now and… and…
…
Wait, unless it was made of magical linen, it wouldn't transform with her. So Amber was likely wearing her usual dress today since she was in her Filolial Queen form right now.
…
…
…
HIS ENTIRE DAY HAD JUST BEEN RUINED, I SAY! WHY DID HE EVEN GO TO ALL THIS EFFORT IF HE WASN'T GOING TO GET THE CHANCE TO OGLE HIS HALF-NAKED ANGEL WIFE?!
"Hey! What game are you guys playing?" Naofumi asked curiously as he walked up with Melty and Raphtalia. Amber, who'd transformed into her human form, was napping next to all of their stuff in the heat of the sun.
And yes, she was in her usual dress. Motoyasu had to try his best to hide his disappointment.
"Beach volleyball," Motoyasu said dryly. He utterly failed at hiding his disappointment. "Have you played it before?"
"Hmmm… nope!" Naofumi shook his head.
…
Motoyasu didn't even have the energy to be surprised. Still, he forced himself to smile and gather some excitement since his kid bro might be interested in playing. And perhaps, without his angel wife being there to distract him, he could use this as a chance to-
"You should totally learn with us then! It's a lot of fun!" L'Arc butted in from beside Motoyasu.
"Really!? Cool! Count us in then Big Bro!" Naofumi said happily.
…
…
Motoyasu glared at the redhead.
GO BACK TO OGLING YOUR GIRLFRIEND ALREADY, YOU REDHEADED OAF!
"Is everything ok?" Raphtalia asked the Spear Hero while Naofumi and L'Arc were distracted with coming up with a secret handshake.
It wasn't fair! They never had a secret handshake even before he became uncool! Why was Naofumi so biased against him?!
"You seem very sad lately. Anything we can do to help?" Melty asked worriedly.
Motoyasu smiled tensely. It was fortunate he'd made multiple balls for everyone to practice with, as the one he was currently holding was starting to get squished in his hands like a pancake. "It's nothing. Definitely nothing. Don't worry about it kiddos."
Melty and Raphtalia did not feel like everything was alright. But decided to not press the blonde man about it as the volleyball in his hands was very well pleading for mercy.
The kids spent time learning from Motoyasu how to play the game and getting used to the ball themselves. And then, finally, after they all felt like they were ready to start for real, Ren suggested for him and Moto to pick their teammates.
Motoyasu and Ren took turns choosing, with Ren picking first. In order, Ren ended up with Naofumi, Wyndia, Raphtalia, Bakta, and Therese. Motoyasu ended up with L'Arc, 'Kizuna', Farrie, Tersia, and Welt.
Motoyasu had wanted to pick Naofumi first. But since Ren had chosen him first, he opted for L'Arc instead just to make sure his kid bro wouldn't have a chance to hang out with him.
Melty wasn't on either team. After learning the rules from Motoyasu and seeing how her addition would make the teams uneven, she decided that she'd be a referee for everyone once again.
She was always refereeing their games for some reason. Was she afraid to just play with other people or something? Or maybe she was just more comfortable with observing than showing off her childish side in front of so many people?
Either way, they started the first game.
"Ack!" Bakta tried diving for the ball, only to barely hit it further away down towards the ocean.
"Come on, man! That was clearly going out!" Welt called from the other side of the net.
"S-Sorry! I thought it was in!" The party tank shrank in terror.
"Ehehehe- I mean, you can do better than that, punk!" Farrie called from the other side of the net. She looked to Tersia, who gave her a thumbs up.
Bakta shrank even further.
Why did it feel like his situation had become even worse?!
"I don't know if it would have been in or not." Melty moaned to herself.
She'd been provided with a very tall crate to stand on so she could see over the whole makeshift court. But she felt way out of her element just trying to keep track of the ball! Why was everyone's stats so high?!
"You could just play Mel," Raphtalia suggested.
"Yeah, we promise we'd go easy on you." Naofumi snickered next to his best friend.
"And have you break the rules?! Fat chance!" Melty bristled.
"Boo! It's not like we'd try to cheat… every round!" Naofumi pouted.
"Naofumi!" Ren called.
Naofumi was snapped back to the game as the ball sailed past his head onto the ground behind him.
"Sorry Shield Kiddo, you need to pay attention to the game!" L'Arc cheered from the other side of the net as he began to dance. What an awesome spike he'd just delivered there! He hadn't touched the net or anything and-
"Out!" Melty declared, stopping L'Arc mid-dance.
"Wha- how?!" He yelled.
She pointed to where the ball had landed. It was well behind the line Motoyasu had made with the strange blue dye. Even if the sand shifted around, the line didn't move and stayed in its spot. And besides that, the small crater in the sand from L'Arc's spike helped to show where the ball had landed.
Okay, she couldn't follow the ball entirely well. But at least the sand could help her out!
"Good call Naofumi!" Ren smiled widely. "That's our point!"
"Ehehehe!" Naofumi cheered happily. "Get ready, Big Bro L'Arc! We're going to kick your butt even if we hardly know what we're doing!" Naofumi declared.
L'Arc had sputtered at the out call, but at Naofumi's declaration, he began to grin again. "Good, 'cause I hardly know what I'm doing either!"
The two both laughed.
Motoyasu frowned again.
He really hoped this activity would help him bond with Naofumi again...
"How is that a good thing?" 'Kizuna' sighed to herself because of L'Arc's statement.
Time passed as the game gradually heated up. Most everyone there had never played volleyball or anything like it. However, between their high levels, some hero or weapon bonuses to stats, some buff magic here and there (especially on Melty, so she could better keep track of everyone), and training that'd improved their hand-eye coordination with weapons, they were able to adjust these things to learn the unique playstyle of volleyball faster than a normal person.
They definitely weren't on par with professional players. But they might have stood a chance against a regular team.
"Ahahaha! Not this time, Therese!" Welt jumped up, blocking Therese's attempted spike on their side of the court.
However, it went sideways out of bounds, giving another point to Naofumi and Ren's team anyway.
"Dang it!" Welt pouted.
"Don't worry. Just keep it up. You're improving with each round we play!" Motoyasu encouraged him.
"Got it!" Welt then proceeded to do a perfect block on the next round when Sir Ren tried to spike it between him and Glass.
"Yes!" "Way to go!" The rogue swordsman started to be praised by his party on both sides.
In some ways, Ren's friends found it to be a new way to work together as a team. And L'Arc, Therese, and Glass were quick to pick up on this as well. They also began to encourage one another and practice good sportsmanship.
"Nice set there G- Kizuna!" L'Arc gave the raven-haired woman a thumbs up.
"If only you hadn't spiked it right to Therese." 'Kizuna' rolled her eyes.
"H-Hey, it's not like I'm i-intentionally going easy on her." L'Arc stuttered nervously.
"Eyes on the ball, L'Arc!" The redhead eeped as Therese jumped up and spiked it into his general area, forcing him back into the game.
But man, Motoyasu was right. The sight of Therese performing that perfect spike was breathtaking, and nearly left him with another bloody nose again.
They all laughed when they messed up badly here and there. But after Ren's team won the first game, they pretty much stopped keeping track of points and had fun. Leaving Melty to observe and call outs and the like so they'd know when to shuffle around with servers and the like.
"Ugh, I keep on messing up…" Wyndia muttered sadly as the ball she tried to hit up with her arms went out of bounds again.
"Don't worry, you can use your hands like this if it makes it easier." Before Wyndia could protest, Ren came up behind her and held her wrists up, showing her an easier way to stop the opponent's return by placing her hands together.
The dog girl began to blush furiously at the unexpected close contact but smiled as she snuggled back against the Sword Hero's bare chest and followed along with his instructions.
Tersia and Farrie cat-called from the other side of the net at the action. But not even they could ruin the sudden romantic moment between the pair.
Even Naofumi got better at the game. He got especially good at setting the ball for Ren, so he could deliver a massive spike that'd absolutely incinerate the opposing side with ease! MUAHAHAHA!
…
Not really. Cool Bro Ren was making sure to hold back his powers enough to not accidentally erase anybody from existence. But it was still really cool to be able to help his cool Bro and everyone else he set up to be able to score!
One set went perfectly. Ren was able to jump more than twice his height and slam the ball down between Motoyasu and Glass on the other side near the back line of the sand court!
"I got it- whoops!" Motoyasu barely twisted to the side in time to avoid plowing into the spirit girl.
"Careful!" 'Kizuna' hissed at him.
"S-Sorry. I really wasn't looking or anything-" Motoyasu began to say in terror.
"Good job, Cool Bro!" Naofumi high fived the Sword Hero.
"Back at you, Naofumi!" Ren looked super energized and excited again. He turned forward again, completely ready to spike another ball in Motoyasu's weak spot.
Motoyasu stopped apologizing and deflated even more. He'd slowly deflated over the course of every game. Things just couldn't go his way, even with L'Arc on his side of the court.
"Um… Do not worry. I know you were not trying to do anything…" 'Kizuna' began to mutter at first, before she rested a hand of pity on his shoulder. "At the very least, I am certain Naofumi will realize you care about him eventually."
WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHY DID HIS YOUNGER BROTHER HAVE TO BE SO CRUEL!?
Finally, after some time had passed and Motoyasu thought he could finally change things up by having him and Ren switch sides, a pair of people walked up to the court.
It wasn't Granny, as she'd woken from her nap and taken to passively observing the game from a distance. Nor was it Uncle Bald Guy, who was still fast asleep in his spot (and looking redder by the minute). Neither was it Amber, as she was still sleeping by Naofumi and Raphtalia's sand castle and stuff too.
No, after resting for a good long while and feeling recovered enough to move, Rishia and Itsuki had finally woken up and decided to try spending time with the others on the beach, only to find everyone enjoying a sport the Bow Hero had recognized from his world.
"Are you guys playing beach volleyball?" Itsuki asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Want to join us?" Ren asked. "You can join my team if you want. And Rishia can join Motoyasu so we still have the same number of people on both teams."
"... I don't know… are you feeling up for it, Rishia?" Itsuki asked his friend.
"I, I think I've recovered enough to try it out," Rishia admitted nervously. "Besides, I'd rather Granny see us being active instead of lazing in the sand all day."
"Who knows, it might get her to take it easier on us tomorrow?" The green-haired girl said hopefully.
…
"... right." Itsuki sweatdropped.
He'd already seen what his being lazy had inspired from the old woman before.
He'd rather not ever face the JoJo Granny ever again.
So Rishia and Itsuki joined the game. Rishia went over to Motoyasu's side while Itsuki stayed on Naofumi's side.
"Try not to hold us back, Itsujerk," Naofumi said in a dry tone.
Itsuki merely sighed in response. "I'll try not to."
Man, he must have really lost his pride to not respond with "It's Itsuki!" like normal.
Motoyasu smirked a little. Well, it wasn't exactly the change-up he wanted. But with uncool Itsujerk on his younger brother's side and the ever-cool and sweet Rishia on his team, maybe he'd finally have a chance to shine in the eyes of his younger bro!
He just had to set up some awesome moves alongside Rishia, and then… muahahaha, he'd be back in Shield Kiddo's good graces for sure!
Hopefully.
…
The game slowly progressed after Rishia was taught how to play, and they kept on shifting positions each time they switched who was serving.
Itsuki observed how well Rishia was doing. The last week had really increased her skills and confidence quite a bit. While it took her some getting used to, she was eventually able to get into the game.
Itsuki was able to watch as the ball came toward her. A burst of energy came off her form as she moved into position underneath the ball. And that energy came up into her hands as she set the ball up for Motoyasu.
The ball was set up perfectly. Motoyasu jumped into the perfect position and spiked it down onto their side like it was a fastball.
"Whoa!" Ren barely managed to jump and keep the ball from hitting the ground, but it bounced off his arms and went at a wild angle.
"I got it! I got it! I- whoa!" Bakta ran to try and set it but slipped on the sand and his arm hit the ball sideways.
Motoyasu was inwardly cheering as he landed on the ground. Yes, finally, his time to shine had come!
"Oh no, quick, we need to hit it over before-" Naofumi began to yell.
Itsuki glanced up at the ball as it was flying over his head.
On instinct, his life force flared up inside him, and time seemed to slow down as he jumped high up in the air. Sand burst out from around him at the launch.
His stats had just skyrocketed thanks to Granny training him to do so via life force. And before he even realized what he was doing, his foot came around, roundhouse kicking the ball down onto the opposing side of the court so hard that it left an explosive impact crater in the sand right behind L'Arc.
It'd happened so quickly, almost everybody there hadn't been able to follow it.
The redhead blinked in confusion. "H-Huh?!"
He then turned around, seeing the smoking sand behind him. His eyes boggled out of their sockets. "HUHHHHHHH!?"
Itsuki looked very surprised as well after he landed, and he looked down at his body, seeing as the leftover life force he'd used faded into the air.
What just- Had he seriously just done that?! That was… was…!
"SO COOOOOOOOOOL!"
And then, Naofumi was running all around him. He had stars in his eyes and stars coming off his skin and everything! Not even Ren had gotten such a reaction out of him!
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! IT WAS SO AWESOME! YOU WERE LIKE WHOOSH AND THAT BALL WAS LIKE WHISH AND THEN THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION LIKE BOOM! AND IT WAS JUST SO AWESOME AND COOL AND…"
Itsuki hardly registered the kid's words as he continued. He didn't know what was so surprising, the fact that he'd just pulled that killer move off, or the fact that Naofumi suddenly found him cool!
"FUEHHHHHH! I-ITSUKI! THAT WAS FANTASTIC!" Rishia ran up to him from the other side of the net. She had stars in her eyes as well that very well rivaled Naofumi's.
"I-It was?" Itsuki asked in shock.
"Yes, you used Granny's teachings so perfectly! It was so, so… cool!" Rishia was literally bursting with excitement as she said the one word.
Itsuki began to blush furiously. "You have to do it again!" Rishia and Naofumi both yelled at the same time.
"I… I don't know if I can…" It honestly felt like he'd just pulled off one big fluke.
However, the very next round… after they managed to find the ball (it'd rolled off quite a ways after its hot landing), Naofumi set the ball up for Itsuki this time instead of Ren.
Though the ball was set a little too high in his opinion…
However, it was no sooner than he'd had the thought when Itsuki managed to jump up past the ball, and then spiked it downward with an awesome front flip kick!
"INCOMING!" Farrie dove out of Motoyasu's way so he could try and return the ball.
It was incredible, especially since the ball landed directly in the corner of the sand court! Motoyasu didn't even stand a chance!
"Uh… in." Melty decided after looking the latest crater over.
"AWESOME! THAT'S ANOTHER POINT FOR US!" Naofumi cheered.
"I thought we weren't keeping track anymore?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"So, we still scored!" Naofumi continued to cheer.
"Did you play volleyball back in your world?" Ren asked Itsuki curiously while Naofumi was on some kind of awesome high.
"N-No. This is my first time…" Itsuki stuttered.
Ren gave him a smile, as well as a pat on the back. "You definitely don't look like it."
"I agree," Wyndia commented, smiling as widely as her mate.
…
Oh, man. Cool Bro Ren and his mate had just acknowledged Itsuki's own coolness. And Naofumi had paid attention to witness it.
The stars in his eyes confirmed it.
Itsuki's life had just changed forever.
...
The next few serves came and went. Itsuki showed off more and more moves, landing their team points that won that game (as they suddenly started keeping track again) and helped win the next.
Itsuki's shock gradually faded. A look of pure happiness filled his face as well as Rishia's.
His hard week of training under Granny had paid off!
He'd finally become cool in the eyes of his younger brother!
"Whyyyyyyy?!" Motoyasu fell to his knees on the other end of the court.
IT WAS SO UNFAIR! NOW HE WAS THE ONLY ONE ON NAOFUMI'S UNCOOL LIST NOW!
THIS WAS THE WORST, I SAY!
As Itsuki shuffled off the sand court to stand aside and wait for when he'd come in to serve, he felt a cold feeling travel down his spine. It didn't take him long to realize why, as his gaze fell upon Granny who was standing by their stuff, staring at him.
"Um, I'll be back in just a moment." He told the others on his team.
"Oh… okay, good luck, Itsuki," Naofumi said after seeing where he'd been looking.
Had he not been so deep in thought as he walked towards Granny, he would have felt happy at the fact that the Shield kid had just called him by his actual name. He'd probably never have to deal with the accursed nickname Itsujerk ever again if he played his cards right.
"Um, hey Granny…" Itsuki started when he stopped several feet from the old lady.
"My star pupil isn't relaxing, as I recommended to you two earlier," Granny said in a plain voice.
"I… I'm sorry." Itsuki sighed sadly. "It's just, Rishia looked so sad when we woke up and saw the others having so much fun, and I didn't want her to just be stuck with me all day, so I-"
Slap!
Granny began laughing after slamming her hand against Itsuki's back. The Bow Hero straightened in surprise at how she'd moved so suddenly, but the hit wasn't accompanied by pain. "You think I'm mad!? Ora, you two look amazing! Especially you!
"I had no idea you had such talent hidden that deep inside you!"
"R-Really?" Itsuki asked.
"Mmhmm." Granny continued to smile. "Though, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. You've been working hard to overcome your own challenges, after all."
"What… what do you mean…?"
He looked even more surprised as he realized she was giving him one of her rare, but sincere smiles. This wasn't her predatory smile that said he was about to go through a lot of pain. Nor was it her evil smile when she promised she was going to put him through a lot of pain.
"You think I haven't taught enough students in the past to recognize when one of them is putting up a front due to a lack of self-confidence in themselves?" She asked in an oddly sympathetic voice.
"I… but…" Itsuki sputtered.
Granny silenced him by raising a hand to his face, cupping his cheek, and making him look down at her. "Sometimes, all one needs is to have their ego torn down. That way, they'll be able to look at themselves and see how much they're truly worth."
…
Itsuki looked like he wanted to cry. "But, I never told anyone about-!"
"Heh, you didn't have to say anything. It was written in your very chi." Granny removed her hand, rubbing his shoulder with it. "I say this seriously, Bow Hero. You've done very well.
"I'm proud of how much you've grown while here in Cal Mira. And I'm sure your future will hold even more growth for you."
…
…
Shocked couldn't describe how Itsuki felt at receiving such rare yet sincere praise from his mentor. He felt like crying for an entirely different reason now.
All those hours of harsh training. Of punching monsters over and over again. Of trying to learn his Bow's style of Hengen Musou while trying to keep up with Rishia's rate of growth after she finally passed level 70.
He hadn't felt this happy in a long time. He was so proud of himself!
He could just-
"Of course," Granny suddenly had a predatory grin on her face, bringing him crashing back to reality. "Know that this means that I'll be pushing you just as hard as Rishia from now on."
...
...
...
"Y-You mean I w-w-w-wasn't even-"
Granny began laughing, though it wasn't a good laugh this time. This was her 'I'm going to enjoy putting you through another hellish training montage' kind of laugh. One he'd become very familiar with over the past week.
"I was taking it easy on you since I didn't think you could handle it, but now that I see that you're capable of pushing past your limits, I'm going to truly work you to the bone! Prepare yourself, Bow-dono! ORA!"
…
...
...
...
...
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Itsuki definitely should have seen this coming. It'd been too good to be true. His training montage wouldn't end with Cal Mira after all.
Oh well, at least Naofumi thought he was cool now.
He just hoped that he'd live long enough to enjoy that luxury before Granny beat him to a lifeless pulp.
Itsuki eventually rejoined everyone, though Granny stayed under her umbrella in the sand. Relaxing while watching them all play.
The Bow Hero tried to tone his moves down, but Granny had trained him till he could use life force in his sleep. He just kept on using it at the most random moments to help his team score a point. And every time he looked he saw that Granny's predatory grin had grown just a little bigger.
Yep, he was definitely and entirely screwed. He'd never be able to escape her clutches again.
…
He did feel happy though whenever Rishia smiled while showing off her moves as well. He couldn't help but smile whenever she did.
It seemed like the only time either of them didn't score was when the other life force practitioner managed to block or hit the ball up for the team. It became really funny seeing the other Heroes struggle to keep up.
"Oh no, I'm blocking Bow Kiddo's shot this time! There's no way I'm letting this match go too!" L'Arc yelled on the other side as Itsuki was set to by Ren this time. Moto's team had lost five matches in a row at that point, though they'd gotten closer to winning as Rishia got better at the game.
"L'Arc, just let Rishia get it, that's our only shot at setting up for an actual retu-" Tersia was yelling.
Itsuki's hand connected with a harsh and fast spike.
"I got it!" L'Arc dove where the ball was heading.
POW!
It missed his hands.
However, it slammed right off his face and back over the other side of the net! A most unexpected return indeed that no one was ready for!
Too bad it flew over the back of the court out of bounds. It would have made for an awesome comeback like nothing else.
"And… that's game?" Melty said unsurely from her referee box.
"Uhhhh…" Motoyasu, who'd been depressed almost that entire time, was finally brought out of it by the sight of L'Arc being facedown in the sand. "You alright, bro?"
"..." Not even a sound came from the limp redhead. His health bar had dropped drastically on his HUD.
"Ouch, that looked like it hurt." Naofumi and the others were grimacing.
"Uh-oh." 'Kizuna' sighed to herself.
"L'Arc! L'Arc!" Therese yelled worriedly as she rushed under the net and got on her knees next to the redhead.
"Ugh…" The redhead groaned. Blood leaked from his disfigured nose. That seriously looked like it hurt…
"Quick, bro, help me heal him!" Naofumi rushed under the net with Raphtalia, asking for Motoyasu's help as he did so.
"R-Right!" Motoyasu shook his head to clear it and got on his knees next to his younger brother. The two began chanting healing spells simultaneously.
"Drifa Heal V!"
"Healing Fire XIII!"
Red and green energy covered the redhead's face. L'Arc's nose moved back into place, but he still looked really out of it.
Itsuki paled. Was Naofumi going to hate him again for hurting L'Arc?! No, and after he'd finally escaped the uncool zone too!
He could totally see it happening too. And Granny had promised to train him harder than ever.
It looked like the Bow Hero's good luck streak for the day had finally dried up and he was going to die uncool and alone and then he'd never be happy again and-
"Ah! Therese! My lovely angel!" Before the two Heroes had finished healing the redhead, however, L'Arc suddenly sat up, hearts and stars coming out of his eyes like a waterfall.
Therese and the others who'd gathered around him quickly pulled back in shock. "H-Huh?!"
"B-Big Bro?" Naofumi asked in confusion.
… or maybe the idiot redhead was about to dig his own grave right then and there? Saving Itsuki from a fate worse than death and preserving his newfound good luck streak in a fiery display of simphood only L'Arc could pull off.
"I can't hold back my feelings anymore! You're just so beautiful and hot and everything I could ever hope for in a girl!" The redhead continued. Hearts and stars were beginning to fly around his head now. "No other girl could ever hope to compare!"
"Um… uh…" Therese looked a little flustered. "L'Arc, I appreciate it, really, I do." Her gaze fell on Naofumi. "B-But maybe you should save it for when we're alone and-"
"Nonsense! I've been holding myself back for long enough! You're just perfect! Your body is perfect! Your mind is perfect! Your personality sets me on fire in ways I could never dream of!
"You're the most beautiful person inside and out! And anyone who claims otherwise is blind and an even bigger idiot than I could ever be!"
Therese and the others continued to stare. The redhead wasn't even close to being done.
"Kingdoms, politics, the Waves, screw them all! You're the only thing that makes me happy! Seeing your smile every day is worth more than an entire treasury! I don't care what others have to say about it! You are the one and only person I'd love to have by my side for the rest of my life!"
"Nothing else matters except you, I say!"
…
…
Everyone stared at the redhead for several seconds, with mixed reactions to his head trauma-induced confession.
Farrie and Tersia looked extremely excited. They were witnessing an outpouring of pure and honest love from the heart of an idiot unlike anything they'd ever seen!
Ren and Wyndia were grimacing, however. What L'Arc had said seemed a little too over-the-top, even for them. And they were mated for life.
"Oh no…" Motoyasu muttered to himself.
He could already tell what was about to happen next.
While everyone's reactions ranged from surprised or even happy at the sudden love confession… there was one very important individual there to witness it as well.
And it did not make him happy, at all.
"GROSS! BIG BRO IS ACTING EVEN WORSE THAN MOTO EVER DID WITH AMBER!" Naofumi yelled in disgust.
The idiot redhead was brought hurtling back to reality at the kid's voice. "H-Huh?"
Naofumi stood nearby with Raphtalia. The little kid, who'd looked worried for his bro before and had even been prepared to cast even more powerful healing magic on him to help him out was now fuming with betrayal.
To think he'd gained another Big Bro after nearly losing Moto to cooties and now it turned out that his new Big Bro had an even worse case of cooties than Moto's! How could he have been so blind as to not see that?!
"Ah, wait! It's all a mis-" L'Arc started to stand up quickly, only to fall over in the sand.
"Hmph! I don't care anymore! Come on Raphtalia! I'm hungry! Let's get dinner with Kizuna!
"At least she still seems to be cool!" Naofumi declared.
"Yeah- wait, what-" Raphtalia turned to her best friend in surprise.
"Eh?" Glass looked caught off guard at the statement, but Naofumi grabbed her by the hand.
"Come on, we're leaving, pretty lady," Naofumi ordered.
"... Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" Glass continued to look confused as the Shield Hero began dragging her away from the makeshift volleyball court towards the town.
…
Steam came out of Raphtalia's ears.
She did not look very happy.
"Naofumi!" She rushed after him and 'Kizuna'.
Shadow sighed as she materialized from out of nowhere, but trailed off after the group of three to keep an eye on them.
"Wait, Shield Kiddo, I-I didn't mean- I swear I don't just care about my girl!" L'Arc yelled after him. "I care about you and the others too! I swear!
"Please, I'm not a simp! At least, I'm not a simp all the time!"
"Shield Kiddo! Shield Kiddo?!"
"SHIELD KIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDO!"
…
…
"I, um, guess we're done with volleyball for the day?" Itsuki asked out loud.
"Fueh, um, I guess?" Rishia muttered nervously.
"How about we grab some dinner?" Ren suggested to his friends.
"Alright." "Sounds good." The others agreed and then trailed after their leader away from the beach.
…
L'Arc was still kneeling in the sand. Staring off after where Kidfumi had disappeared.
Therese stood behind him, looking unsure of how to comfort the poor man.
"Why do I feel like I just made the biggest mistake of my life?" L'Arc asked in a dead voice.
Motoyasu thought that he'd been depressed all game. Yet right now, L'Arc was sinking to levels that even he hadn't reached.
Not even Therese awkwardly rubbing his shoulder was enough to comfort him.
…
It appeared Motoyasu wasn't the only one on Naofumi's 'uncool' list anymore.
Strange how it didn't feel like a victory for the blonde simp.
"… come on, let's try to cheer you up." Motoyasu gripped one of the redhead's arms and lifted him up.
"I want some alcohol…" L'Arc muttered sadly.
"Let's finish healing your nose first…" Motoyasu said as he led the redhead away. "Then we can see about getting drunk."
"..." L'Arc was uncharacteristically silent as the blonde man led him away from the makeshift court.
…
"Um… does that mean the game's over?" Melty asked, where she was still standing on the referee box.
She'd distracted herself by staring at Amber for the past while. It'd probably been for the best that she hadn't tried to intervene there.
"Yes, um… I'm going to stay and watch over everyone's stuff." Therese muttered.
The Heroes and their companions had left some of their things on the beach. Granny and Uncle Bald Guy had disappeared, and Amber was still resting beside Naofumi's stuff.
She figured it'd be best to wait on the beach anyway.
"Is… is it okay if I stay here then?" Melty asked shyly.
Therese smiled. "Of course."
Melty sighed in relief. Not because she'd have a break from her siblings.
No, she finally had a break from Shadow!
She could finally have some fun of her own!
Muwhahahahaha!
Author's Notes:
Heh, Beach Day indeed. And quite a few revelations too. Turns out that Ren and Wyndia have been married since Siltvelt. And Naofumi wants a mate of his own when he grows up too (poor Raphtalia's heart can't take this anymore and thus more tail floofs are in order).
Itsuki has finally escaped the uncool list! Not only that, he and Rishia have increased their powers of awesomeness to epic proportions and transformed into Goku!
Though, sadly, it looks like L'Arc has fallen onto the uncool list in Itsuki's place. Let's see if our idiot redhead can survive with Motoyasu's help! (Probably not, but let's hope!)
Hero Clips!
Tsundere Shield
Inside Naofumi's Shield
"Just... just how big of an idiot is that boy!?"
Normally, if this was the normal timeline, all you would have seen was a green orb of light floating inside a place that'd look like a sea of stars.
However, due to Kidfumi's antics, the ball of light had long since transformed into a tsundere anime girl with green hair and eyes, some very fine assets, and a face that would have been beautiful if it wasn't always pouting.
Said tsundere anime girl had bright red flaming cheeks while staring up at a TV screen replaying a moment from earlier in front of her.
"I'm so happy for you Ren! I want to have a mate of my own when I grow up too!"
"W-What's that supposed to mean?!" Raphtalia asked in a shocked voice.
"It means exactly that! Could you just imagine us being mates when we're older, Raphtalia!?" Naofumi asked her excitedly. His excitement then changed to a pondering look. "Although I don't know how I'd feel about having to bite you. Actually, would my Shield even allow me to do that?"
He looked down at his weapon. But it was strangely silent, for once.
The Shield Spirit continued to tremble. They'd long since passed that point and the kid was dragging some Hero and his own best friend to dinner right now, but she still had no idea what to do!
Should she just stay silent about this and hope this innocent little brat never brought it up again!?
But then, he had an astonishing memory when it came to Raphtalia! It almost made her feel jealous- NO, IT TOTALLY DIDN'T! THERE WAS NO WAY SHE WAS STARTING TO LIKE THIS BRAT NOW! NOT WITH HOW STUPID AND ANNOYING HE COULD BE AS WELL AS RECKLESS AND IMPULSIVE AND... and...
Her face softened.
And he was also surprisingly warm and caring whenever someone was unhappy. He was also able to learn surprisingly well and managed to stand against all sorts of monsters. And he fulfilled his duty as a hero and talked back to her and acknowledged her existence unlike most of her other wielders...
But that was beside the point!
It was likely the subject of mates would come up again in the future and it would probably fall on her to explain things to him when that happened!
Should she just tell him straight up what mates are?!
Should she just stay silent and hope his short attention span got him distracted with something else!?
She didn't want to ruin the young boy's innocence! But if he kept on playing with his best friend's heart the way he was, then she might not have any choice but to-
Boom!
"Eep! W-What just-" The Shield Spirit turned around in surprise. Nobody else was supposed to be able to enter her personal space!
"Did I sense that somebody was planning on ruining the young brat's innocence!?" Warlord Uncle Bald Guy bellowed, wielding his ever-trustworthy warhammer in his hands. His skin was bright red from being out in the sun all day. But that just made him look even more demonic than ever before.
"H-How are you even here!? I didn't even see you trying to absorb yourself into Naofumi's, well... me!" The Shield Spirit yelled angrily.
"You were planning on ruining the young brat's innocence with your non-PG explanation of mating! I knew it!" Elhart angrily pointed a finger at her.
Wh-Wha- HOW COULD HE EVEN TELL!? AND IT WASN'T LIKE SHE'D ACTUALLY BEEN CONSIDERING IT OR ANYTHING REALLY-
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Warlord Uncle Bald Guy charged forward.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The Shield Spirit screamed in terror as she fled from the scary crazy blacksmith.
She never did find out how Uncle Bald Guy had broken into her home inside Naofumi's weapon. Nor did she ever think of ruining Kidfumi's innocence ever again after the whole ordeal was resolved peacefully.
There was only so much crack she could take in one omake.
And the Shield Spirit could only pray that Allen wouldn't hint at these events actually happening in the main story like in some of the other omakes.
Till Next Time
Allen