âWhat do you know, itâs over. My oh my. How time flies when class is so much fun.â Eldmed commented while spinning his cane around.
âBy the way, Shin-sensei, are you free after class?â (Eldmed)
âYes.â (Shin)
âWonderful. In that case, tag along with me. If weâre gonna exterminate dragons, we have to find them first. And itâs still too early to leave that part to the students.â (Eldmed)
Shin turned his gaze towards me.
âKhahaha! If we let him handle it, there would be nothing to learn.â (Eldmed)
âAfter you.â (Shin)
The two left the main auditorium using <Transition Gatom>.
âNggghhh! Itâs finally over.â Eleonore exclaimed while stretching.
And so did Zeshia, as if to mimic her.
âNow, itâs water game time!â (Eleonore)
âWait, so we were serious about that?â Sasha asked, slightly surprised.
âIâd say itâs not such a bad idea.â Lay commented with a smile.
âAhaha, itâs a great idea, you mean. Todayâs weather happened to be hot, so itâs a perfect day to take a dip, isnât it?â Misa stated with another smile.
âBesides, if we donât find something to do, Headmaster Zamira might come back to invite me again.â (Lay)
âAh, that does seem very likely.â Sasha replied in exasperation, perhaps from remembering Zamira.
âSounds fun.â (Misha)
When Misha said that, Sasha nodded with a smile.
âI agree. Well then, letâs go.â (Sasha)
Sasha extended her hand to me.
I took it and also held hands with Misha and the others.
When I cast the <Transition Gatom> spell, everything before my eyes turned completely white.
As soon as my field of vision cleared up, we found ourselves before the holy lake.
A stretch of white sand spread out, and beyond that was crystal clear water with a shade of blue.
The water on the beach was shallow. Unlike back when we had our inter-academy exam, this place would be perfect for playing in the water.
As I was about to head for the lake, I suddenly felt a gaze and turned around.
A man in a scarlet uniform was looking at me.
That was the Hero Academy uniform. And the scarlet color indicated that he was from the selective class.
And yet classes were supposed to have ended only just now. Was he skipping them?
That man was tall and slender. Only the right side of his hair was long, covering one of his eyes.
He locked eyes with me for a moment and, in no particular hurry, turned on his heel.
At that moment, I saw something shining on the manâs index finger.
It was a ring. And one of unusual shape. That ring was made from the claw of some kind of animal, and was covered with a thin layer of animal skin.
The jewelry was also unusual. In the center of that transparent black stone, there was a red light source illuminating the entire jewel. However, that light didnât come out of the jewel, but emitted a kind of fantastical glow instead.
I had never seen any of the other materials it was made of, but that thin piece of animal skin wrapped around the ringâŠ
Wasnât that dragon skin?
âSpecial ring youâve got there.â (Anos)
When I called out to him, the man stopped.
âWhere did you get it?â (Anos)
âItâs a handicraft from my homeland.â (Man with the ring)
After saying that, he walked away.
A handicraft from his homeland, huh.
If I remember right, the man who delivered that dragon to the Royalists was also wearing an unusual ring.
In Dilhade and Azesion, rings were mainly made of metal, wood, or minerals.
This wasnât to say that rings were never made of animal claws or hides, but they would probably be made only in a very small number of shops and villages.
Moreover, it was quite impossible to acquire dragon skin in this day and age.
âAre you curious about it?â (Misha)
Misha looked into my face.
âItâs alright, he was wearing the Hero Academy uniform. Iâll ask him about it when I see him again.â (Anos)
âAnos-kuuuun, Misha-chaaan, come oooon! Letâs swimâŠ!â (Eleonore)
Eleanore was dipping her bare feet into the shallow water and waving at us.
Misha and I slowly walked in her direction.
âI wish I had brought my swimsuit. I wasnât expecting to go swimming, so I didnât even store it in my magic circle either.â (Sasha)
Sasha squatted down by the lake beach and scooped up some water in her palm.
âHmm⊠But why donât we just use the <Underwater Activity Koko> spell like we did during the inter-academy exam? It wonât matter if we keep our clothes on.â (Eleonore)
âSure, we can swim easily that way, but it wonât put us in the mood.â (Sasha)
âHmm. In that case, Iâll take care of this.â (Anos)
I held my hand in front of my eyes and drew a magic circle around everyone here, including myself.
The next moment, our clothes suddenly turned into light and vanished, and we were in our swimsuits the next moment.
âWow! Swimsuits!â (Eleonore)
Eleonore was happily playing around on the beach.
âLook, Sasha-chan, you got the swimsuit you wanted! Since youâre the one who wished for it, you should be happier about it!â (Eleonore)
While saying this, Eleonore scooped up some water and splashed it on Sasha.
âKyah! HeyâŠ! EleonoreâŠ!â (Sasha)
âHere comes⊠my counterattackâŠâ (Zeshia)
Zeshia, in her swimsuit suit, scooped up some water and splashed it on Eleonoreâs face as if to imitate her.
âFufu! Now youâve done it, Zeshia!â (Eleonore)
Eleonore and Zeshia were happily splashing one another with water.
âSasha. Does it suit me?â Misha asked while pointing at her own swimsuit.
To be frank, the swimsuits Sasha and the girls were wearing had a smaller surface area than the ones often found in Dilhadeâs stores.
âHmm. I see you donât get it, Sasha.â I said while folding my arms in confidence.
âNot that I mind, but isnât your swimsuit too much of a tight fit too, Anosh?â (Sasha)
âThose swimsuits arenât just pieces of clothing, theyâre a kind of magic that allows you to maximize your ability to operate underwater.â (Anos)
âWhat?!â Sasha shouted frantically.
âIn other words, this thin fabric is a magic circle that remains constantly activated. It seems this era has forgotten even the basics, but the swimsuits you guys are wearing right now are the perfect shape for each of your body types.â I said while showing off the swimsuit I was wearing.
âSo donât forget. This is the <Supreme Swimsuit Bi Kini> spell.â (Anos)
I leisurely stepped into the lake.
âLook. When you wear it, this is what happens.â (Anos)
My feet didnât sink into the lake, and I was running on the waterâs surface with ease.
âYouâre supposed to swimâŠ!â (Sasha)
âOf course, I can swim with it too.â (Anos)
I jumped into the water and swam around the holy lake.
This caused the water to gradually swirl around so violently it created a whirlpool that swallowed up even the fish.
âNow come on. Sasha, Misha, this is your chance to play in the water, so enjoy it to the fullest.â (Anos)
âAre you trying to kill us?!â (Sasha)
âWhat are you saying now? Donât underestimate the power of your <Supreme Swimsuit Bi Kini>. It wouldnât be a real swimsuit if you couldnât use it to swim regardless of how strong the water current is or how turbulent the water surface is.â (Anos)