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Chapter 59 Part 1

Our Preconceived Notions Of What We See As Normal Can Blind Us From Seeing The Most Visible Things

 

The heat of the scorching sun in the sky, the breeze that carries an unfamiliar scent.

A soft and warm feeling under my feet that I had never experienced when I was playing in the village.

 

「Heyy~ Russell! Over here~!」

 

And then… there’s the sight of my childhood friend, confidently showing off her half-naked figure like when she was about to go to bath.

As I looked at the girl next to her who was grinning with her arms crossed, I walked over toward the two.

 

——Right now, we are visiting the beach.

 

Seiris is divided into two main areas.

One is the port area with fishing and trading boats, and the other is an area for people to play with a stretch of sandy beach near the sea… and that’s where we currently are.

 

Well, to put it simply.

We’re playing on the beach in Seiris.

I guess it goes without saying, but Sybilla was the one who came up with the idea.

 

As to how we arrived at this situation, the story goes back to yesterday——.

 

After the battle in Seiris Third Dungeon, I used Heal and Cure to cleanse my body from dirt.

While Emmy and Sybilla left the room as they felt the need to use the inn’s hot spring not just to clean their bodies, but also to refresh their moods.

 

After seeing them off, I sank straight into bed… and let go of my consciousness.

Thinking back, it seems that the battle in Seiris Third Dungeon still took a huge toll on my mind.

The monsters are extremely tough and not exactly a good match for me, not to mention the floor bosses that defy Sybilla’s expectations.

And above all…  the Demon Lord’s absolutism in seeing things for their material worth, that evokes unpleasant feelings within all of us.

 

Too many things were happening all at once.

So even though I used healing magic to relieve my fatigue, I still collapsed from mental exhaustion.

It has been since the battle in Adria Dungeon since the last time I felt like this.

…But this is different from that time.

 

I haven’t defeated the Demon Lord this time.

I just can’t get into the comfortable mood of that fatigue you felt before sleeping.

 

……With such thoughts in my mind, I get up from my bed in the morning with a fuzzy head.

When I woke up, Sybilla was on the bed with her right arm lent to Emmy as an arm pillow.

 

「Yo.」

 

Sybilla raised her left arm while in that position and greeted me in a whisper.

 

「Nn」

 

I responded with a short reply and looked at Emmy in Sybilla’s arms.

She’s still asleep, but… her brow is wrinkled and she is sweating.

 

「How’s Emmy doing?」

 

「Yesterday, we chatted in the bath and did a lot of other things, but… it looks like she’s still frustrated at herself after all. She was all gushing over you and madly in love with you, but… by the end of the day, she felt like she lost you.」

 

「As I thought, she’s still concerned about that, huh.」

 

「That’s why I suggested she sleep with me in the hope that it would ease some of her anxiety.」

 

I see… so she took care of her while I went to first ber, huh.

I’m really grateful to Sybilla for doing that because there’s no way I could have done that myself.

Also, Emmy looks more like her daughter than a sister when they’re together like that… but I’ll keep that to myself.

 

The both of us just looked at the sleeping Emmy… or so I thought, but it seemed I was the only one watching her.

Sybilla was looking at me intently.

 

「What?」

 

「No, I just thought that you were making the same face as her in your sleep last night.」

 

What Sybilla said surprised me. I mean, me, making the same face Emmy makes now when I sleep?

When I got up, my body was sweating and the bed had absorbed so much water that it was clearly damp.

 

「……Looks like you’re right.」

 

「I told you, you just lack awareness. That’s why you’re so——.」

 

「N… Nn…?」

 

While I was checking my condition and talking with Sybilla, it seemed that Emmy had finally woken up as well.

 

「Ah, Russell, good morning… and Sybilla-san too.」

 

「Good morning, Emmy-chan.」

 

Sybilla lightly waved her arms when Emmy got up.

……Well, there’s no way she wouldn’t get tired from giving arm pillows to someone who isn’t a child.

 

「《Extra Heal Link》, 《Cure Link》」

 

Fatigue recovery and abnormal status recovery.

I cast the magic out loud so the two would know. They soon noticed it, as it also had an effect on their sweat-soaked clothes.

 

「Wow, my body instantly feels refreshed! Thank you!」

 

「Yep, it’s really helpful.」

 

「Yeah. Oh, by the way, how far are we going to dive today?」

 

When I brought up the subject, Emmy’s face immediately turned serious.

Sybilla crossed her arms as if she was thinking hard.

 

We were able to conquer Seiris Third Dungeon, which is said to be the most difficult in the city, not to mention the modified lower layer floor boss.

So trying to challenge it once again is very possible.

 

Emmy, probably thinking the same, nodded as she made eye contact with me while looking at her fist and clenching it repeatedly as if trying to check her strength.

 

Seemingly finished thinking, Sybilla clapped her hands and told us her plan.

And that plan was——.

 

「Let’s spend the whole day having fun to our heart’s content!」

 

——to go playing at the beach.

 

While trying not to bump into the other visitors, I headed toward Emmy, who waved at me.

As I was on my way, I saw two men making their way towards the girls.

 

「Yooo~ look at these two new faces here! Both are hot, but damn, the other one is just straight FIRE, man. Are they girls from a noble house or something?」

 

「Hey hey, you girls free? Wanna go play with us?」

 

When the weird guys who acted overly familiar suddenly called out to them, Emmy didn’t even try to hide her annoyed face.

Even Vince wouldn’t make such a lame approach to a girl… there’s no way a girl would follow you if you hit on them like that.

 

In contrast, Sybilla… is putting on a wide smile on her face.

Oi oi, you aren’t really going to follow them, are you? Well, it’s Sybilla we’re talking about here, so I don’t think there’s even a single chance that she would actually do that.

 

Then suddenly, Sybilla put her arm around Amy’s shoulder and did something unexpected.

 

「Ohhh, who do we have here~? If it isn’t the punk from yesterday!」

 

Those words were directed not to the men who approached her, but to a different man behind them.

Jannet had told me about this once, I think it was called… reverse pick-up*.

From there, I can immediately tell Sybilla’s intention.

[*TL Note: A woman hitting on men instead of the other way around.]

 

「Y-y-you are… from yesterday! Y-You guys, run away! Those girls are seriously dangerous!」

 

「Eh? For a C-rank like Mokuyari-senpai to run away from them, just how dangerous they are?」

 

「That blonde over there is a monstrous bitch who can bend metal with her bare hands like a Gigante, you know!? You guys should run away too!」

 

「Eh!? Ah, wa-wait for me! Or rather, aren’t you running too fast!?」

 

Seeing the man whom Emmy had subdued yesterday start running away in a hurry, the men who had approached the girls hurriedly chased after his back.

As I watch their figures getting smaller in the distance, I reach Sybilla’s place.