Just before noon, as the sun is about to reach its zenith…

The carriage turns, and starts riding down an incline along a cliffside. The inside is silent, though the silence is caused by a lack of topic, rather than tension. Will sits on Lian's lap, red-faced.

Lian meanwhile is looking through her window with a bored expression, her chin still resting on Will's shoulder, hugging him into herself as if he was a giant teddy bear. The slump Greaves was in only deteriorated since, and now Alicia is almost squeezed into Lian, too.

By pure chance, both Cycelia and Alicia look through their windows when the carriage clears the last of the forest, letting them see the full view down the cliff. Their eyes open wide, lighting up with joy as a happy grin appears on their faces.

「It's the sea!」 「It's the sea!」

They both exclaim in unison, and brush away the window curtains to get a better look at the glittering waves with ecstatic smiles.

「Yeah, indeed it is…」

Straf looks up at the thundering blanket of gray clouds in the distance above, leaning forward a little to see past Cycelia. Greaves suddenly wakes up, appearing greatly confused and a little alerted by the shouting.

「Hrk- Krhmm- Wha-? Ahum… Are we there yet?…」

He grunts and groans as he gets out of his slump, clears his throat, rubs his face and asks, forcefully blinking while his eyes refocus and adapt to the light. Lian and Will turn their heads to the other window as well.

「Not yet, but look! There's the sea!」

Alicia says, pointing at the window. Greaves turns his head, and looks nonplussed.

「…Looks like a bunch of water.」

He shrugs, and shuffles to sit up straight.

「That's what it is, really, but there is nothing wrong with being excited to relax a little… I was always excited with Shien, when the clan members brought some cliff pumpkins. We'd look forward to eating them after training.」

Lian says, glancing at Greaves.

「How can you get excited about pumpkins and water? I'd be excited if it was an adventure…」

Greaves crosses his arms and turns his body to the window.

「Greaves, you know Will can't go on an adventure. He needs to recover.」

Alicia reminds him, tilting her head a little.

「Yeah, sorry about being a ball and chain Greaves, feel free to take Alicia and abandon me to go on an adventure.」

Will snarks at Greaves with his arms crossed.

「Tsk… Man, shut up… I'm just saying water is boring.」

Greaves grumbles with a slanted mouth.

「…More importantly, what's with those clouds?」

Straf remarks, still staring at the gray sky in the distance over the water. Lily raises her index finger, opening her mouth, but then changes her mind.

「You figure it'll leave us alone while we're on the beach?」

Straf asks, glancing at Lily and Cycelia with his arms crossed.

「I sure hope so. It'd be a shame if such a nice weather was ruined all of a sudden.」

Cycelia glances at Straf for a second, before her emerald eyes return to the vast blue beyond the window. The carriage soon descends into outskirts of a settlement, and homes begin obscuring the view as the cliff softens into a steep hill.

Knock knock.

「Yes?」

Cycelia slides open the hatch to the drivers.

「Your majesty, is it alright if we drop you and your companions at the beach, and then return here to let the horses eat and rest?」

The mustached driver leans into the hatch and asks.

「Of course! Right, Straf?」

She nods, before looking to Straf. He shrugs his shoulders in indifference without otherwise saying a thing.

「Very well. We will return for you just after sundown, will that please you, your majesty?」

The mustached man asks another question, glancing at the road every few seconds.

「Yes! Take your time! Make sure the horses are well!」

She nods her head with a smile as she replies.

「Very well. We will, your majesty.」

The driver nods, and turns back to the road. Cycelia slides the hatch shut again, and beams a radiant smile at Straf with a gentle tilt to her head. The carriage continues onward for a while longer…

…

Not too long afterwards, the carriage slows to a halt, and the mustached driver opens the carriage door.

「We're here, your majesty. We will return after sundown.」

He says to Cycelia while peeking into the carriage, and steps away. Straf hops out, and shortly after, everyone else follows.

「Where is the port?…」

Cycelia asks, looking around. A small dirt road stretches towards a long, sandy beach. Waves splash on the sand, then retreat back in an unending folly assault on the shores.

「We're not where you think you are, your majesty. We're just past the village near the port city, and perhaps an hour's ride away from it. This beach is rarely frequented by the villagers, so it should be empty. Does that not please you, your majesty?」

The mustached driver asks, following behind Cycelia as she walks closer to the beach. She looks side to side, and indeed, the picturesque beach is devoid of people.

「No, it's great! Thank you! Is this something you decided on your own?」

She turns around and asks with a smile.

「Yes, your majesty. Apologies if I'm assuming things, but I thought you would prefer to be here sooner, when it's warm. Of course, if you wish, we can still go to the port-」

「No, here is fine, thank you. Let the horses rest.」

Cycelia interrupts the driver, shaking her head with a gentle smile. He nods his head, and hops back into the driver's seat.

「Your majesty! Here are the large parasol and the beach mat you wished for!」

The younger man approaches with his arms full.

「I'll take 'em, give them to me.」

Straf says, and sticks his hand out.

「I- Er… To your hand?」

The young driver asks, a little confused as to how Straf intends to carry the bulky items in one hand. Straf wiggles his fingers in response to hurry him, and the man hesitantly lowers the parasol and the mat into his hand.

[Portable Storage] opens off to the side, and Straf throws them both in effortlessly with a swipe of his hand, amazing both of the drivers with the casual display of magic.

「Let's go, Lia, Lily. We've got entire list of cliches to go through. We've already got one down, at least.」

Straf says, placing his hand in his pocket as he walks towards the sand. Lily and Cycelia follow closely behind, and Greaves's party lags behind in their own seperate group.

The mustached man whips the horses with the reins gently, and the two ride off and disappear after turning behind a hill.

Once Straf has reached sufficiently deep into the beach, he stops and looks over his shoulder at Cycelia.

「Right. Where do you want the mat and the parasol?」

He asks, and looks around again. The beach is mostly sand, although it does have a large rock outcropping here and there, presumably remnants of a cliff long gone.

「Ah, just anywhere is fine, Straf. Don't worry about it.」

Cycelia shakes her hands in front of herself with a warm smile. Straf shrugs, and pulls the folded mat and parasol out, dropping them onto the sand with a soft pat. He takes the parasol into hand.

Fwoop!

It unfurls loudly, and Straf throws it like a spear into the sand, casting some shade onto the beach. Cycelia undoes the string tying the mat, and unrolls it into the shadow.

「There's your emergency shelter, Lily. Right… Where's your swimsuits?」

Straf asks, looking at both Lily and Cycelia with lightly furrowed brows.

「Ah… I'm wearing mine under my clothes… It's a little embarrassing…」

Cycelia says, breaking her eye contact with Straf.

「Okay. Lily? You didn't forget yours at home, right? I'm not letting you swim if you-」

「I have it on…」

Lily interrupts Straf as he points at her, crossing her arms with a pout.

「Well? Then what are you waiting for?」

Straf unties the lacing tightening the shirt around his shirt's collar. He throws the sling off his neck, and pulls the shirt over his head.

「Ah- Straf?」 「Straf?… Do you need help?」

Both Lily and Cycelia asks when he begins wiggling his cast arm heavily in his shirt, in an effort to slip it off his torso.

「Uh, ah- No, I'm good… Let me just… This fucking shirt-」

Straf activates [Freedom of Movement], and the shirt effortlessly slips off as if it was repelled by any nook, cranny or other crevice that his body forms that could possibly get the shirt stuck.

「There. Come on. You're not going to make me look like a pervert, and make me take my clothes off alone in front of two girls, are you? Start undressing.」

He says, unbuckling his sheath from his hip. He drops it onto the sand near the mat, and works on undoing his belt as well. Cycelia hesitantly starts unbuttoning her shirt while looking on, and Lily loosens the laces around her tall collar.

「Hup.」

Straf hops out of his pants, leaving only underwear on. Both Lily and Cycelia pause their undressing, looking at his lower body. The next instant, they look aside. At each other. With tight-lipped grimaces, they look each other in the eyes.

The moment they establish eye contact, their heads snap aside the other way. Straf is a little puzzled by the reaction, but ultimately only shrugs his broad shoulders.

「I'm taking this with me, though. Just in case.」

He says, scooping the sheath with the sword up from the sand, and throws it into his [Portable Storage].

「There, I'm now almost naked, and you're still not in your swimsuits. I hope you're happy, a maid somewhere out there is going to lose her mind. Now excuse me, I have something important to attend to…」

Straf says, and starts casually walking back to the dirt road. He glances aside, and Greaves's party is already partially undressed after unpacking their beach mats.

「Where are you going Straf?」

Cycelia asks, looking at his toned, fit back.

「To take a shit.」

「Good grief!…」

Cycelia exclaims and pouts at Straf's nonchalant, blunt response, as he doesn't bother to even turn his head towards her…

…

A few moments earlier, in Straf's room in the palace…

A maid is standing on a stool, dusting the top of a tall cabinet with a feather duster.

「Ah- Ahh- Aaaahchooo!」

She sneezes, precariously wobbling on the stool before she manages to catch her balance.

「Ahhh… Good grief, even this pervert's very room makes me sick…」

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

She gloomily remarks while rubbing her nose with her finger. She sighs, and shakes her head before she carries on…

…

Minutes later, at the edge of a forest near the beach…

Wearing only his underwear, Straf walks a few steps into the treeline.

「Athea… I'm waiting…」

Straf says, placing his fist on his hip, and trying his best to mirror the pose with the arm in the cast.

《I can't! It covers nothing! I'll die of shame!》

The familiar, desperate voice in Straf's head protests.

「Athea, you said you will… You better get your ass down here. If you drop dead, I'll just quote the favorite quote of every teenage boy over your body.」

Straf says, waiting for Athea to appear with a tight-lipped, annoyed grimace.

《Uuugg-》

「-ggghhhhhh!」

With a flash of golden light, a gentle rustle of vegetation, and a greatly displeased groan, Athea appears before Straf. Almost completely naked, she covers her large breasts and groin with her arm and hand, wearing only the popular bathing set.

「One. Two. Three… Okay, you're not dead. Maybe I'll quote it some other time. Let's go.」

Straf motions Athea to follow with a wave of his hand, and heads back towards the sandy beach.

「Wait, wait wait! I came up with a script for you to follow-!」

「Pffffft.」

Athea chases after Straf, despite her boots being ill-suited for the rough terrain. He loudly sputters with a greatly amused face. She grabs onto his wrist and starts pulling him back.

「Please! Pleeaase! At least hear me out!」

Athea begs and pleads in an effort to stop Straf. He looks in her blue eyes for a second, then his gaze drops down into her cleavage while her arms squeeze her breasts together.

「What do you want? I'm not going to sing your praises. You'll be lucky if I ad-lib it in your favor.」

He asks with a slanted mouth. Realizing where his eyes are looking, Athea lets go of his hand to cover her cleavage up.

「You-!… Bah! Listen. If they ask, you're going to say this… We met on the road, and we're friends-」

Athea almost says something, but restrains herself, and presents the script to Straf while looking into his eyes, receiving no eye contact back.

「No we're not.」

Straf scoffs with a grin, interrupting her right away.

「Please just listen to me! Just play along! I need to fix a bad misunderstanding! We met on a road, we're friends, we know each other for a long time, and we are not in a relationship! There is nothing between us! Okay?」

She asks, lowering her posture so his eyes catch her face.

「Okay. And what's in it for me?」

Straf shrugs, and asks.

「What? I'll… I'm going to…」

She looks aside, thinking heavily, before anger flashes on her face.

「Tsk. Why do I have to do something for you to get a little favor!? You put that girl on the throne because she asked you to!」

Athea clicks her tongue and raises her voice in frustration.

「Well, first, she didn't ask me to. Second, she didn't kill me. And third, she's a sweet little cupcake. I wish she had just a little more normal sizes.」

Straf counts on his fingers, then shrugs his hand and shoulders, grimacing. He turns his head around to the beach.

「Wait! Wait, fine… I'll let you…」

Athea stops him with a desperate shout once again, trying to bargain. He looks over his should at her, and sighs.

「…I'll let you touch more than my chest… But only once! And only with your hands!-」

She hesitantly says, before pointing his finger at her and exclaiming an additional rule.

「Pffft. Who would want to touch you?」

Straf scoffs, and continues walking. Athea runs out in front of him.

「Wait! Then… Then I will touch you!」

She says, spreading her arms in an effort to block his path, completely exposing her tight-fitting bathing set.

「Hoooooh? Really? Now you have my interest a little piqued-」

Straf's brows rise, and he grins, drawing closer.

「But nothing lascivious! I- I can give you a massage, or something!」

「Pft. I had a place in mind that you could touch, but then you said nothing lascivious. Pass.」

Straf scoffs and takes a few steps diagonally, forcing his way past her arm like it's not there.

「Wait! I'll… I'll step on you?…」

She hesitantly suggests with her hands out pleadingly.

「Wow! Good job! Someone would agree to that!」

Straf's brows rise, and he nods at her with a smirk, continuing towards the beach.

「Please! What do I have to do for you to just do it!?」

She runs out in front of Straf again, practically almost begging on her knees, if not for the fact she has to keep up the pace with him while walking by his side.

「Give me a cool power.」

Straf bluntly responds with a shrug of his shoulders.

「What? But you already have-」

Athea stops, lightly shaking her head in confusion.

「Yeah, I know. Give me a cool one.」

Straf scoffs again, and shrugs once more.

「No! I'm not going to give you anything else! You already have way too much!」

She protests, quickly catching up to him.

「Well, sucks to be you, then. Here comes ad-lib, play the straight man- Well, woman.」

Straf replies with a smug grin, walking back onto the beach. Lily is neatly folding her gothic dress while in her black-red swimsuit with faux frills at the hips, while Cycelia is wearing a swimsuit that exposes nearly nothing.

「I'm back.」

Straf nonchalantly announces.

「Ah, Straf- Hurk.」

Cycelia straightens out, having just finished folding her clothes herself. As soon as she hears Straf's voice, she turns her gaze towards him, and chokes on air. She glares daggers at the almost naked woman next to him.

「Straf… Who is that woman? I thought you said you were going to-」

Cycelia says, pointing at the woman with eyes full of murder. Her other hand reaches for the hilt of her sword, but grasps at thin air, as the sheath is down on the mat with her clothes.

「I am-」

Athea places her palm on her chest, attempting an introduction.

Slap!

「Gyah!」

「Yeah, I know, I changed my mind. But I've got the next best thing!」

Straf says, and loudly slaps Athea's back, causing her to squeal and jump up with her teeth clenched. She shoots a hateful, embarrassed glare at him.

「This is Athea. I think you've met before.」

Straf introduces the golden-haired goddess, and turns his gaze to her with a gleeful, smug grin.

「Say hi.」

He says to Athea, grinning with his eyes narrowed in contempt.

《I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you I hate you! Die die die die die die die!》

She glares at Straf, spitting venom at him from her mind, but her cheeks only impotently flush red while she clenches her teeth from embarrassment.

「…What is she doing here, Straf?」

Cycelia grimly asks, tilting her head lightly with a stone face. Lily appears to be confused by the mysterious woman's appearance as well.

「Oh, I invited her to join the beach with us. She got lost on the way because she's stupid. You don't mind, right? The more the merrier?」

Straf asks, shrugging his shoulders with his arms spread.

「Yes. The more the merrier. I remember saying that. Yes.」

Cycelia says, without nodding and without any discernible expression. Her emerald eyes glare at the concerned blue.

《I came here to clear things up with this girl, and the way she's looking at me is seriously creeping me out. What is this?》

Athea thinks, maintaining an uneasy eye contact with Cycelia.

「…Right. Are you feeling alright, Lia? You sound a little… Odd.」

「I am fine. This isn't bothering me.」

Straf asks, and Cycelia replies with the exact same blank expression as before, speaking in a rote fashion as if she was poorly reading off a script.

「Okay, good- Wait, this?-」

「There is no problem.」

Straf catches the peculiar wording and furrows his brows, but Cycelia insists in the same voice, with the same expression.

「Right… Go on, why don't you chat for a while?」

Straf walks towards the water, and points at Cycelia and her parasol while looking at Athea. She hesitantly follows him, her chest sways heavily, squeezed tight by the barely sufficient micro bikini.

「Have you tried the water yet?」

Straf asks, walking past Lily and Cycelia and powerwalking straight for the water.

「Why should I? I know it's salty…」

Lily crosses her arms, pouting while looking aside.

「Not that way, Lily…」

He glances at Lily with greatly furrowed brows, and a tight-lipped grimace. Athea approaches Cycelia, and points at the mat.

「…Can I sit here?」

「Yes.」

「Thank you…」

She asks, and Cycelia responds in the same, stone-faced and script-reading manner. Athea nods her head with a quick little smile, and sits down next to Cycelia's folded clothes, uttering out a quiet thanks.

《Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. You are a queen, this is unbecoming of you. Calm down. You don't need to get violent. Calm down. You can murder her with words. Calm down.》

Cycelia rapidly thinks, and lets out a long sigh through her nose. She sits down near Athea, while Lily decides to go to Straf and the water. Athea hugs her knees, attempting to cover herself up as much as she can.

「So… How long have you known Straf?」

Cycelia asks, staring at Athea with the same exact stone face as previously, though speaking with a more human tone now. And yet, she makes no effort to hide the bitterly frigid displeasure in her voice…