Lian quickly pulls Will out of the sand. He leaves his glasses on her mat, and the two leave for the water, talking about something. Greaves and Alicia watch Straf and Cycelia while they return to them in a leisurely pace.

Holding the still unfolded parasol in her hands with her sheathed sword at her hip, she visibly giggles at something Straf has said. Carrying her mat under his arm, he turns his face towards her, bearing a mostly deadpan expression, albeit with a slight smirk.

Seeing as Will and Lian are spending time together, and the queen is getting along with Straf very well, a minor feeling of envy stabs away at Alicia from within.

「Greaves…」

Alicia calls out quietly, scooting over closer to him.

「Yeah?…」

He idly asks, tracking Lily with his eyes while she just barely beats her last best time each lap.

「…Am I plain?」

She asks, leaning towards Greaves, looking intently at his face with a small pout.

「Wha-? No! Why are you even listening to that guy? Cut it out, Alicia…」

Greaves shoots Alicia a bewildered glance, before looking back at the water.

「…He's the only one not looking at me like a friend.」

She glumly remarks, looking at Straf, then looks aside with a sad frown.

「…Am I ugly to you, then?」

She adds, asking Greaves with downturned eyes.

「What!? No! Don't put words into my mouth, Alicia! I didn't say that!」

Indignant, Greaves reacts almost violently outraged at Alicia's self-deprecating question. They look at each other, with Alicia gazing at Greaves with sad, doe eyes.

Her round face indeed lacks features conventionally considered attractive, but certainly lacks any considered ugly as well. Despite that, it would be rather unfair to call her mediocre, as while she may not be attractive, she does possess a few certain characteristics that one could call cute.

「What am I, then? You never say anything about me, even when I do something about my hair, or when I'm out of my robes…」

She asks, tilting her head as she scoots even closer, leaning forward towards Greaves.

「Y- You're c- Cute…」

Greaves stammers with a tight-lipped grimace, struggling to maintain eye contact with Alicia. She breaks it first, however, looking the other way.

「Really?…」

「Yeah.」

He nods, though she isn't looking.

「…How cute?」

Alicia asks, tapping her index fingers together.

「V- Very cute…」

Greaves meekly insists, nodding again for no reason while Alicia is still turned away from him.

「…Is that so?」

「Yeah.」

He replies with absolute confidence in his voice.

Thwap!

Straf loudly drops the mat onto the sand near the other ones, causing Greaves to angrily glare at him from the sudden noise.

「Heave… Hup!」

Krkk.

Cycelia quietly utters out, plunging the parasol into the sand between the mats, and gives it a little twist so it digs deeper in.

She unsheathes her sword, and gets to work on starting a fire, while Straf looks at Lily and Athea with his fist on his hip. Alicia continues tapping her fingers together, noting Straf's and Cycelia's presence.

「…I see.」

Alicia bluntly states, nodding her head.

「…Hey, Alicia. Are you mad at me for something?」

Greaves asks, causing Cycelia to momentarily glance at him with her brows raised in surprise.

「Who knoows…」

Still looking away, Alicia shrugs her shoulders, tapping her fingers together with an ear to ear smile on her flushed face.

「What is she still doing there?」

Straf asks himself while looking at Athea. Her golden head seldom emerges from the waves Lily is causing…

…

Half an hour later, the pleasant smell of roasted fish has spread virtually everywhere. With the help of the unused branches set aside for fuel as skewers, Cycelia and Alicia cook the fish over the dancing fire.

Lian and Will return from their swim, and his face bears a light, satisfied smile alongside Lian's usual smug smirk.

「Here.」

Alicia holds out her skewer for Lian, which elicits a raised brow from her in response.

「I can make one for myself.」

She nonchalantly responds, sitting down next to her. Will scoops his glasses up and puts them back onto his face, after a moment of searching for them.

「But I have one ready right now. Do you not want it?」

Alicia tilts her head, still holding the skewer up for Lian.

「…I'll take it.」

She sighs in defeat, and accepts the roasted fish on a stick. She sits down on her mat and begins nibbling away at it.

「Hey! Lily! Dyslexiac bimbo! Get over here!」

Straf calls out, gesturing with a wave of his hand for the little-girl-shaped wave generator to return.

「I'm staying!」

While Lily slows down and starts relatively leisurely paddling her arms back to the shore, Athea shouts back in refusal.

「Are you sure? There's a fish here with your name on it! Makes me wonder who goes around writing dumb bimbo on random fish in the sea!」「Eh?…」

Straf shouts back with a grin on his face, and Cycelia tilts her head in surprise looking at him.

《…What does that even mean?》

She wonders, her emerald eyes blinking.

「I don't want it! I don't even need it!」

Athea insists, shouting angrily.

「Stop acting like a bratty kid! Lily here is behaving more mature than you right now! Get over here!」

Straf shouts, waving his arm for Athea to come. Cycelia hands him another ready fish on a stick.

「Thanks… Here.」

Straf nods, and immediately holds the stick out for Lily as she approaches. Drops of water run down her black-red swimsuit, and drip off the skirt-like faux frills at her hips.

「…I don't want it. Why would I eat a fish?」

Lily furrows her brows in confusion while looking up at Straf.

「For its valuable micro and macroelements that all young children need, Lily. Such as mercury. Come on, not you too.」

「Straf… I am a vampire.」

Lily reminds Straf, looking at the fish momentarily before her confused crimson eyes look up to his.

「Tsk. Such a picky eater… Alright.」

He clicks his tongue, rolling his eyes and gazing aside. Lily sits down in the shade of the parasol, looking at the storm clouds in the distance.

「I said get over here already! Stop missing out! You are wasting your youth, you hag!」

Straf resumes shouting towards Athea, still holding onto the stick with the fish.

「I am-! Aaaghh!」

Athea bites her tongue before she can say something she shouldn't, and starts walking out of the water with a frustrated growl. She covers herself with her hands the best she can, but her micro bikini simply exposes too much skin.

She walks up, takes the fish from Straf, and sits down on the sand next to the fire, obscuring as much of herself with her legs as she's able to. Straf opts to sit down next to Cycelia on her mat, and looks at the storm clouds above the water.

「Here, Will.」

Alicia says with a smile, and hands Will a fish. He returns a grateful nod, and takes a few small bites.

「When am I going to get mine?」

Greaves asks, crossing his arms in annoyance.

「Patience, Greaves.」

Alicia replies with the same smile, and places a raw fish on a skewer. Athea eyes the lightly charred fish with a displeased slant to her mouth, but ends up taking a small nibble out of it.

「…This is good.」

She quietly says, with her blue eyes open wide in stunned shock. Athea looks at the small bite mark she left, blinking with an amazed expression on her face.

「What, you never ate a fish before?」

Straf scoffs and asks with a smirk. He receives a wide-eyed stare with a serious expression in return, wordlessly answering his sarcastic question.

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「…Seriously?」

He furrows his brows heavily in disbelief.

「No way. Even we ate fish from time to time, and we're from a mountain village.」

Alicia says with a lightly amused smile, swiveling her head to glance at Greaves and Will around her before her eyes return to Athea across the flame. Will adjusts his glasses, and Greaves incredulously furrows his brows.

「…I've never had a chance to.」

Athea replies, looking at Alicia with a completely serious face. Cycelia glances at Straf, deeply confused while she roasts the next fish.

「Wha- Really?… Well, how do you like it, then? Is it better than what you usually-」

Alicia tilts her head, smiling at Athea as she asks.

「I'm so grateful to it for its life.」

Athea taciturnly cuts Alicia off. Her blue eyes stare at the fish with solemnity

「It's that good?… It's just fish. I don't think it's bad, but…」

Somewhat surprised by her response, Alicia chuckles quietly with an awkward grin. She shrugs her shoulders and looks to Greaves and Will to gauge their reactions.

「W- Well… It's good that you're thankful. Mercia says all lives are equal, and commands to always be grateful to the lives you rob to live yourself.」

Alicia stammers a little, and gives Athea a little sermon with a light smile and her index finger extended. She hands the next fish to Greaves.

「My grandma always said, that people don't like to think where their food comes from. That's not a good thing. A cow or a pig has to die, so someone else can live. Instead of feeling guilty, it's better if everyone feels thankful to them.」

Alicia gets infected by Athea's solemn mood, and reminiscences on her grandmother's lesson with a sullen expression while looking at the flames.

「Yes, I-」

Athea bites her tongue again, and stops herself short of saying something that would complicate the beach outing. Instead, she nods her head and continues nibbling on the fish, and Alicia prepares to roast another one.

「Where's mine?」

Straf nonchalantly asks Cycelia.

「I already gave you one, Straf… But you gave it away. Good grief… It can't be helped, I suppose. I will make another one for you.」

She sighs in response, feigning frustration with a smile on her face…

…

Another half an hour later, the raw fish run out, and at this point, everyone sans Lily had at least one.

「Craft…」

Straf says under his breath, and looks at a point in the thin air before him. Athea's blue eyes snap wide open in surprise, and they dart all over the group, gauging for their reactions to Straf's crafting screen.

「Cream…」

He says, looking at the search bar in the corner. Though Cycelia tilts her head in curiosity at Straf, the reaction is either muted or non-existent from the rest, which shocks Athea more than Straf opening the menu itself.

With a press of a button on the screen, a small cream tube drops into his waiting hand when its glow subsides.

「Could I interest anyone in some sunscreen? It's a limited time offer.」

Straf stands up and stretches his back.

「Bimbo? You wouldn't even need to take your swimsuit off.」

He asks, looking at Athea.

「No! Go smear yourself in it!」

With her voice raised, she replies with a glare.

「Fine. Remember, when you're sunburnt, it's already too late, so don't come crawling back to me… Lia?」

Straf shrugs, warning Athea with his mouth aslant in annoyance, before turning his head to Cycelia.

「…Sunscreen? What's that?」

Cycelia asks, tilting her head. Her confused emerald eyes blink up at Straf.

「Well, you see, Lia… The sun is trying its hardest every day to try and kill you.」

He points his thumb up at the sun, clutching onto the tube of cream as he explains.

「Huh?」

Her confusion only deepens, and her brows furrow.

「Why do you think vampires burn up in the sun, Lia? It's because the sun bathes them in death energy. This cream here thwarts its efforts. How about it?-」

Straf asks with a grin, looking into Cycelia's eyes.

「I'll take it. I get sunburnt easily-」

Will chimes in, adjusting his glasses.

「Ladies only! Get your own!… Liaan?」

Straf barks at Will with a scowl, before raising his eyebrow with a smug smirk at Lian, presenting the plain-looking tube with no print on it.

「…I'll pass.」

Lian bluntly declines, bearing no expression on her face, though her eyes are narrowed in suspicion and glaring at Straf.

「Tsk. Suit yourself. The sun can make you look like an old woman if you spend too long in its death rays.」

Straf clicks his tongue and doomsays in response again. He shoots a quick glance at Cycelia and Lily.

「That's why Lia and Lily look so youthful. Right, Lily?」

Straf jokingly asks with an amused grin on his face, nodding his head up at her.

「What are you talking about, Straf? I don't age because I am a vampire, you know that.」

Lily tilts her head a little, and one of her golden twintails slides off her flat chest, revealing her UV-blocking crescent moon medallion.

「It was a little joke, Lily. Anyway, do you want this-?」

Straf abruptly pauses, and looks at the medallion hanging off Lily's neck. His eyes lower to the tube of sunscreen in his hand, and return back to Lily's crimson eyes. She tilts her head further with a little pout, her vertically-slit pupils continue staring at him.

His eyes jump back and forth between the sunscreen and Lily with a tight-lipped expression on his face. He turns to face the water.

「Um, I'll take some if you don't mind- Eh?」

Alicia meekly lifts her finger at Straf, but he cocks his hand back, causing her to tilt her head in confusion. Cycelia and Athea look at him with furrowed brows as well, but only Athea manages to realize what Straf is about to do.

Pop!

Straf swings his arm, and a supersonic crack rings out. The tube of sunscreen flies off into the distance, far above the water. Athea's jaw drops, and she looks at the rest of the group, only to be shocked even more when she realizes they look bored or annoyed.

《Do they just don't care about anything this maniac does!?》

She thinks, and glances over her shoulder at the tube of cream sailing through the air.

「…Why'd you throw it away, Straf? I would have taken it.」

Greatly confused, Cycelia asks. Her emerald eyes track the tiny black dot as it plunges into the waves.

「Me too…」

Alicia meekly, quietly adds, nodding her head.

「Well, uh… I said it's a limited time offer didn't I? Whew…」

Straf shrugs with his arms, grinning awkwardly. He looks towards the sea and lets out a quick, relieved exhale.

《I almost casually gave the vampires a fucking WMD in a beach episode… Wait, is it still a WMD if it's not a weapon? Defense of Mass Destruction? Would it still be valid to say「I am become death」if I didn't do anything?》

Straf thinks, rubbing his chin as he ponders what a sunscreen classifies as in the hands of a vampire.

「Straf?…」

Cycelia calls out, looking at him while he's intently rubbing his chin with his thumb and finger. He looks at her over his shoulder, still rubbing his chin.

《The only reason humanity hasn't been eradicated yet is the lack of a skincare product, huh?… The peace in this world is really tenuous.》

Straf thinks, glancing at Lily's crimson eyes with his brows raised.

「Ahem. Well, looks like that storm will be here soon. We should make the most of the weather while it's still good. Why don't we all go splash around in the water, before it's too cold to?」

Facing the group, Straf asks with his arms spread.

「I'll pass. I don't think it's a good idea at this point, and I've had enough of swimming for today… I beat all my records and you didn't even look…」

Lily turns the idea down, and pouts while grumbling with her arms crossed.

「Fair enough. You've probably had enough swimming for the next 200 years…」

Straf shrugs, and then turns his gaze to everyone else.

「Well?」

He says, spreading his arms further.

「…Lian? Do you feel like it?」

Will adjusts his glasses as he asks.

「Sure, we might as well.」

Lian says, and gets up from her mat. They walk towards the water together. Will momentarily peeks over his shoulder to see if anyone else is coming.

「Let's go Alicia, get some swimming practice in.」

With very little prodding required, Greaves gets up and gestures Alicia to stand up as well. She doesn't require much convincing either, and they follow behind Lian and Will.

「Lia, dyslexiac, let's go.」

Straf nods his head towards the water and gestures them to get up. Cycelia does so, but Athea remains sitting next to the fire.

「No, you'll just make it terrible and embarrassing again…」

Athea refuses, her blue eyes stare at the small dancing flames.

「Tsk. Fiiine, I'll give you a free pass. Just come along and don't spoil it for everyone.」

Straf shrugs, throwing his hand up.

「…Do you promise? That you won't embarrass me anymore?」

She asks, looking into Straf's eyes from under her brow.

「I won't embarrass you any more than you already are. Come on, let's go.」

Straf attempts to reassure Athea, spreading his arms and shrugging his shoulders with his mouth scrunched to the side. She sighs and relents. The three join the rest of the group, mostly centered around Alicia as Greaves is trying to teach her a new way to swim…