Chapter 71 – 71 – Rentals and Coral Reefs
“You’re renting it for three hours?”
Morgan sarcastically imitated a tickling voice.
“It’s like what the Tobetan port prostitutes say when they grab a sailor’s lapels and rub their chests. ‘Young man, don’t be so shy, it’s okay to just talk quietly. Of course, my hand might slip down your pants by mistake… ·.’ “Weeeeek.”
“…Could you please stop pushing me in strange directions?”
It’s okay to get angry for a moment. Villena peeked her head out from behind the rock. She blushed her cheeks and bit her lip as if she were embarrassed.
“Everyone, I’ve changed, so turn your head.”
···Turn your head? If you think about what you have to do in the future, there is no need to do that…
“Oh, please! It’s embarrassing!”
I suppressed a sigh and obediently turned back.
Morgan was no exception. She wrinkled her face as if she was dumbfounded and Morgan followed suit, turning around and sitting down, and only then did Villena throw herself into the sea water, making the sound of her hurried footsteps.
And she screamed and splashed in the water.
“Aaaaah-it’s cold-!”
“I can’t live.”
“Gwii! I have a cramp in my leg!”
The first thing on the agenda for drunk Villena, who borrowed Tan Banthai for three hours, was swimming lessons.
It seems that it bothered her that while everyone else was enjoying the water in light clothing, she was the only one who stayed on the bench under the parasol.
···I wish I had thought of that before emptying the entire bottle of beer.
It’s weird, but I understand. The weather is cozy, and the emerald sea water is so clear that you can see the coral reef.
The people of Bisserk will be upset when they hear this, but it feels different from the cold and gloomy northern sea. To the point where it feels like a loss if you don’t soak your body in this water.
Of course, the level of water play had to match Villena’s level, as she was a scholar and even drunk.
As I gently pull on the tube floating in the water that submerges her up to her waist, Villena, her pony, draped in a tube with her head, kicks the water away from her.
With bare white legs that look like bleached fabric. Her swimsuit is pure white, similar to her skin, so it is a bit difficult to tell since she is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight.
··· I think I can understand why she was asked to turn her head. In fact, she seemed to feel less ashamed after taking a dip in the water.
On the other hand, her Morgan, who was swimming freely in the sea alone like a fish in water, followed Villena’s side with only her face floating as if she was doing backstroke.
“It’s almost time to leave, so now you’re asking me to teach you how to swim. It’s absurd. Hello, drunk lady.”
“Concentrate, don’t talk to me.”
“Outside the water, my swimsuit is embarrassing, but is it okay in the water? What’s the difference between inside and outside?”
“Well, on land, it’s no different from underwear. In the water, there’s a reasonable reason for it to be functional, so there’s no reason to be embarrassed.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Morgan shook her head in bewilderment and dived.
Villena, who had been nodding with her pouty face as if satisfied with her own logic, opened her eyes wide as her morgan burst out in the other direction, whispering.
“Then can I ask this too? If I wear a swimsuit with the same skin tone and a matching swimsuit, what is the difference between naked and clothed?”
Oh my. I was just thinking.
Embarrassed, Villena lost her composure and her body tilted. I quickly grabbed her arm and placed it on her tube.
After struggling with her desperate motor skills, Villena managed to regain her balance and take refuge on her tube.
And I cried.
“Sii. Again…”
“···You’re cramped.”
Although there are two people watching over you, it is still dangerous for a drunk person to play in the water. I convinced myself that it would be good to stop at this point.
But Villena’s will was firm. She sat on a rock jutting out at the edge of the water and kneaded her thin legs eagerly. She then leaned back on her tube and dipped her body into the water.
“Let’s go deeper.”
“···Then, salty water gets into your nose and you have a hard time.”
“I told you. Deeper. You said you could borrow it for three hours? Then do as I say.”
I was confused, but Morgan clapped instead.
“That’s right. It’s a good posture. It’s better than being stuck out of the water for fear of showing your lack of motor skills later.”
“···I didn’t go into the water because I was afraid my swimming skills would be discovered.”
Villena got angry, but Morgan didn’t listen and just giggled and disappeared somewhere.
I shook my head and slowly led Villena away. Deep and beyond where her feet can reach.
“Still, it’s good that you feel like going into the sea. It’s a waste to buy such a pretty swimsuit.”
“I didn’t buy it for you to see, Tan Bantai.”
“I didn’t say anything like that. I just said she was pretty.”
“Empty words.”
Vile I turned her head, curling her lips.
Schools of fish pass by beneath her feet, and foam and moss of all colors spread out. A calm peace that can only be felt in a dynamic landscape.
But unlike me, who was soaked in sentimentality, Villena seemed a little bored.
“Say something. Don’t be quiet.”
“Why, it’s nice to quietly look at the scenery. It’s not easy to see something like this anywhere.”
“He said he was lending it to me. You said it was mine.”
As I stared, Villena changed her words.
“…In the sense of a tool. Something like a bottle opener I borrowed from next door. Anyway, do as I say.”
“···Ah yes.”
She scratches her head but can’t think of what to say. From the point of view of an illiterate porter, it is impossible to know what topics a scholar might like.
“Usually, people who ask you to say something tend to have a lot more to say.”
“···I think I’ve heard that before.”
“That’s right. Actually, you seem to have more to say than me. Just like last time.”
The sound of my legs hitting the water stopped. Even without Villena splashing her water or me swimming, her tube slowly moves far out to sea. The two of us have already gained momentum.
Enjoying the gentle waves, I quietly closed my eyes.
“So tell me something. What is so painful and what is so difficult?”
“···Last time I said my aptitude was to be an inventor. Actually, that was a lie.”
“That’s shocking.”
“No matter how many rare aptitudes you’ve never heard of in the world, where are those aptitudes in the first place? Of course, it’s a made-up story.”
It’s a good sea to wash your mind. Little by little, I began to bring out her old resentment from her closet.
Villena’s story was complex yet simple. Villena’s aptitude was none other than a wizard.
“The Nitro family is originally a lineage of traditional wizards. Most of the members are born with the aptitude to be wizards. You’ve never seen me carry a staff like Nenya? Of course, carrying it around would be of no use.”
Aptitude alone is not everything about talent. There are cases where people who were given the aptitude to be a blacksmith by the gods are actually afraid of fire, and in other cases, children who are born with weak bones and cannot move are born with the aptitude for being a swordsman.
An ironic fate where aptitude is at odds with eight characters. Among them, it is a common story that a sloppy wizard who has little mana capacity and is therefore of little use receives cruel ridicule at the Academy.
Theologians explain that the works of the gods are sometimes incomprehensible to humans. To my short-educated eyes, it seems like nothing more than the result of sloppy administration.
“Yes, just like you said, it’s absurd. It’s ridiculous. You’re an apt wizard with no magical talent at all, does that make sense? If you want to make someone wish, shouldn’t you also give them talent?”
It didn’t take long for the child born with a wrong fate to face setbacks. I think I was very disappointed because the theory was always perfect.
The child who thought he was exceptionally smart fell into despair. He tries to mask his lack of self-efficacy with bravado, but even that doesn’t work.
In the end, Villena, who was isolated and without her friends, was lost in her desire to improve. She tried to pretend that her magic had bloomed belatedly with a combination of chemicals, but she ended up blowing up an entire classroom and filling an entire building with gas.
“There was a good part. The stupid bitch who turned me into a weasel and played with me all year long drank too much gas and collapsed with foam at the mouth. She laughed without even covering her mouth. She didn’t even hear the warning. It looked good.”
Neither family nor friends nor teachers take sides. It was only natural for a crushed child’s talent to explode in a dangerous way.
It is fortunate that no one was seriously injured, and it would have been better for both parties to have been expelled before such a disaster occurred, but what happened happened.
Her family, who had been supporting her to maintain her education, poured out their anger on Villena, and Villena was disappointed in herself as she was.
The one who accepted Villena, who had been kicked out of both her academy and her home, was none other than Thena Everlight.
“Tena?”
“He stopped by the academy to look for a useful wizard, and came back after hearing my story.”
Vilena, who was giggling at her, erased her laughter and absentmindedly leaned her body against her tube.
“They said they needed a talented person like me for a big party, so I told them honestly. I’m an idiot. The only thing I can do is blow things up, destroy things, and ruin things. Do you know what Tena said?”
“That’s enough? You’re a precious person? Rather than someone with few flaws and no flaws, we need someone with our own weapons and strengths by Thena Everlight’s side?”
Villena paused.
“How did you know?”
That’s what I heard. I buried my face in the clear water and swallowed the bitterness.
Okay. You are a good guy who knows how to see the good side of people.
I knew it wasn’t just about me. It would be a shame to use such nice words only on myself.
This anger has nothing to do with Villena. Instead of shouting out my anger, I just spit out a lot of droplets of resentment into the sea water.
The bubbles disappear meaninglessly. As expected, it is a good sea to wash away your mind. I closed my eyes, counted to three, and then looked up again.
“I just thought they encouraged him like that. He’s a good guy.”
“···Anyway, it’s just such a boring story. A child who was kicked out with nowhere to go ended up missing the party, and then discovered a porter who had disguised himself as a woman and hid at the party. He bought the potion for him, but when the few remaining friends disappeared, he was completely alone. “I was so filled with anger that I created a strange machine that would submerge you.”
“Oh my.”
Rather than a mad scientist’s biological experiment, it seemed more like a threat from a hamster trying not to lose its territory. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that he almost lost his masculinity by having his balls bitten off.
Villena, who was muttering sorry words over and over again with her drunken tongue, blurted out something as if she remembered something.
“I tried not to show it, but I kept getting really jealous. I heard about your sister.”
“···Ah.”
“Like your younger brother, I was a student studying abroad in the Empire. There are dozens of educational institutions there, so the odds of me being an alumnus are low.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I was trying to avoid topics that might hurt.”
“Your younger brother did a good job, and you achieved it thanks to your support, so why are you sorry to me? Please be kind to your younger brother. No matter where you go, whether it’s a rookie academy or a full-fledged magic tower, there are enough people who are territorial towards people from outside the library that will make you walk five times around the library.”
The smiling Villena suddenly looks anxious. She didn’t know how to swim and hung precariously on her tube. When she thought about it, she felt the same way on land. She looked precarious, like watching an acrobat on her single rope without any equipment.
Meanwhile, Villena, as her Villena, is observing me with her red eyes. Her drunken companion, who had been staring at her for a while, tilted her saltwater-soaked hair to the side.
“Are you in love?”
“···Suddenly?”
“It was nice of you to compliment the swimsuit. Actually, I bought it for you to look at. I just wanted to know if it worked well.”
A dull blow hits her chest. She was colorless, but as the sun shines on her, she turns gold.
As I swallow and take a small step back, I see an unfamiliar sparkle in her pale, dry eyes.
“My young love, don’t be so shy.”
“···Suddenly?”
“It’s okay if we just talk. Of course, my hand might slip down his pants by mistake.”
“…I’m surprised. It was a joke Morgan said earlier, wasn’t it? It was a bit harsh, wasn’t it?”
“It’s annoying.”
Villena chuckles. Her tongue still twitching from her drunkenness. However, it seems that her rosy cheeks are not only due to drunkenness.
“I don’t know how to build up. Don’t expect that from a defeated heroine.”
“You keep talking about being a defeated heroine and all, but I can’t figure out what you mean.”
“···I’ve tried to pretend it wasn’t the case once or twice. I’m planning on being honest to a certain extent.”
Billena let go of her tube. Startled, I dived in and grabbed her waist with the intention of rescuing her.
But Villena did not flounder, nor did she freeze, as if she was not used to the water. She just floated still.
Villena, who was looking down at me in confusion, grabbed her ears and pulled her face out of the water.
“If you have noticed this, then attack me from your side.”
