“We’re finally here… It’s the beach…” So pretty, it almost brings a tear to my eye.

  Normally, I would never want to go to the beach. I’m more of the indoor type, after all. But under these circumstances, knowing I get to mess around with my girls wearing swimsuits… It’s a totally different story!

  “Where do we put our stuff? Can we set up anywhere, Iroha?” Miyuki helped carry our stuff.

  “Should be fine, right?”

  Along the south coast of Three Records, we found ourselves to the west. It was to the west where our beaches and most fun stuff were, away from the harbor and city center to the east.

  We arrived at the sand with our swimsuits already on, carrying a handful of bags with our stuff for the day and a couple beach umbrellas. It was relatively early in the afternoon, and our first goal was to find somewhere to set up, like Miyuki pointed out.

  Hehehe… And that’s right… Miyuki’s here too… I invited her on a whim after we bought Sarasa and Ririna their swimsuits, and now everyone’s here!

  I have a slight feeling something will go wrong here, but for some reason, I’m really excited to see what happens…

  “Hey…” Sarasa walked next to Carol while we were searching for a spot together. Her voice wasn’t particularly quiet, but only those of us nearby could hear her. “Is this all of them? Are all the girls here Iroha’s girlfriends?”

  “Shhh!” Carol covered her mouth. “It’s not everyone… The only ones are you, me, Ririna, and Hecate. That girl over there.” She pointed. “The others are just friends. Keep it a secret from them. Don’t even mention it!”

  “What? We’re out here dressed like this, and we’re supposed to act like there’s nothing between us? How lame…” Sarasa sighed. “So the other three aren’t girlfriends…” She glanced between Katja, Narumi, and Miyuki to memorize their faces. “Potential targets, then?”

  “Huh?! No! Are you stupid?” Carol raised her voice at her when she noticed I could hear them. “There’s no way, you hear me. Don’t even think about it. I’ll actually kill you if you do that…”

  Going to the beach is synonymous with sand, sun, swimming, and threats. Apparently… “Ahahahaha… Don’t get mad at me… I haven’t done anything…” Not yet…

  Wait, is that even true? Miyuki is already one of my girlfriends… Hmm… Not exactly… We’re not officially dating. She’s… waiting for the right moment? When’s that gonna be?

  “How about here?” Katja was a couple steps ahead of us when she turned around and raised her voice. “Seems like a nice spot.”

  “Anywhere is good…” Narumi sighed and dropped her bags. “Let’s hurry this up and go for a swim! The sun’s killing me already!”

  “Why not? Seems fine.” I didn’t have much of a preference, so I went along with them. No one had any objections, so we got to work. We laid down our towels and created some shade for us to enjoy.

  Physical labor out of the way, now was time for introductions. Our current group was a weird mishmash of people who didn’t all know each other. We sat around in a circle under the shade, and…

  “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Miyuki Eis.” She waved with an approachable, bubbly smile. She gave off the vibe of a perfect beauty. Or rather, she was a perfect beauty. “I’m Iroha’s classmate together with Carol and Katja. I’m a normal girl who likes interesting stuff!”

  She showed off one final smile. Normal girl who’s able to see the future. Only sometimes, though. I won’t nitpick about her liking interesting stuff with how easily she buys new styles of outfits… Not that this applies to her swimsuit… She kept it simple yet elegant… A black bikini to contrast with her cool, silver hair, sitting beautifully on her smooth, pale skin. She was easily the palest among us.

  “Wow…” Reactions were mixed, and Ririna was stunned by her appearance. “She’s pretty…”

  Hecate nodded in agreement and muttered a response. “Unnaturally so… Is she a goddess from your world? I could easily believe that.”

  Ririna shook her head, and at the same time… “Interesting stuff? What does that mean…?” The last part caught Narumi’s attention. “Whatever, I like interesting stuff too! Let’s get along!”

  “Wait right there!” Sarasa interrupted as Narumi shook Miyuki’s hand. “My name is Sarasa F. Dremsa! I too am a connoisseur of interesting stuff!” She stood up with a hand over her chest in a gallant way. Who the hell is she trying to be?

  “Connoisseur?” Ahh… A complicated word turned off Narumi’s brain, and she tilted her head.

  “*Sigh…* Gotta start there, huh?” She sat back down. “It means I like interesting stuff too! Let’s do lots of interesting stuff!” She extended a hand. “It comes natural to me since I am an adventure-” Forbidden word. Carol pinched her thigh. “-venturous girl!”

  She stuck the landing…

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  “Ahahaha… Guess it’s my turn next…” Ririna took a deep breath. “I’m Ririna Windfiel. Both Sarasa and I are friends with Iroha, Carol, and Hecate. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” Katja subtly smiled. “Carol and Hecate are longtime friends to both me and Narumi. When did you meet and how? It’s interesting I haven’t heard of you two before…”

  “H- how? Uhmm… What am I supposed to…”

  Sigh… Why does Katja have to be so sharp? Making things complicated… “They’re just normal friends… We met by chance at some point and became friends after getting along. Nothing special.”

  I was just trying to get her off our case, but… “Ehhh…? That’s the norm… How interesting…” Is she interested in making friends? She’s friends with Reia, that weird nurse girl who made my Matching Weapon… She can’t be that lonely, can she?

  The conversation continued with Ririna asking why Katja wanted to know. The others then asked questions of both her and Miyuki, who fit in surprisingly well with Narumi.

  The only two not involved were Sarasa and Hecate. “So you’re the new one… What a curious thing you are… I find that cats have a certain mysticism to them. What do you think?”

  “I- I don’t really know…? I’m not exactly a cat, so that doesn’t apply to me, right?” Hecate’s presence was intense. So much so that even Sarasa couldn’t help but be nervous. “Either way, you’re Hecate, right? Nice to meet you! Let’s do our best as Iroha’s love slaves!”

  “Slaves?” Hecate brought a hand to her cheek. “No… That’s not right… Our relationship with her is that of equals… Unless that’s what you’re into. In which case, think of yourself however you please.”

  “Unless it’s what I’m into? Well…” She grabbed her chin, pretending to be in deep thought. “I wouldn’t mind trying it once or twice, I guess.”

  Sarasa was cracking jokes, but Hecate wasn’t having it. A normal smile remained on her face while she looked the girl up and down.

  “Wh- what’s wrong?”

  Hecate sighed. “I don’t mean to judge Iroha’s tastes, but…” Less than stellar, she refrained from saying. “You strike me as the type of person who sucks up to everyone you meet in a very shallow way for your own benefit.” She giggled. “But I’m sure I’m just imagining things.”

  “Wow!” I was stunned. “You actually nailed it!”

  “Wha?!” Sarasa was also shocked. I was ready to hear a retort, but… “What the hell, Iroha, is this chick clairvoyant!?”

  She’s not even denying it…

  “Enough talking!” Narumi clapped, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s do something fun now!”

  “Something fun? Sounds good!” Miyuki was the first to reply, followed by Sarasa, who had to press on her head so her hat wouldn’t fall off. “I have no clue what’s fun about a beach, but I’m in!”

  We all turned to her. Hecate then spoke. “And what could this something fun you’re suggesting be?”

  “It’s hot… We need to get in the water right away, so let’s go for a swim!” Narumi was riding high when she stopped and doubted herself. “Actually, swimming normally is boring… We need something else… Oh! I know! Let’s go surf!”

  “Surf?” That came out of nowhere… “Do you even know how to surf?”

  By the time we noticed, she was already holding a surfboard with her… Where the hell did she pull that from? “Huh? What do you mean? Don’t you just need to balance on top of the board?”

  She was completely clueless… “Really…? You think it’s that simple?” She better not say that to an actual surfer…

  “I’m not opposed to the idea, but…” Katja shook her head. “I’m sorry, where did that board come from?”

  “Oh, this? I bought it just now.”

  “Just like that…?”

  “Don’t start with me, Katja! It’s my money, and I can spend it however I want, okay?” I know she dislikes thinking properly about things, but… Maybe she could make an exception when it comes to money…

  “Surf… What’s surf? Is it a monster?”

  Sarasa asked jokingly, but the word alarmed Katja. Monster meant a lot of things, so she let it go.

  “Surfing is obviously not a monster, you idiot. How did you even arrive at that conclusion…?” Carol was the one to correct her, but she was acting strangely calm… And strangely nice… “Surfing’s an activity where…”

  Carol explained what it was and how it worked. Ririna and Sarasa listened closely. “Ahh… I see… Sounds easy… I said before I’m in, and I’m still in!”

  “Let’s go with Narumi’s suggestion then.” Katja giggled. “Most of us are fairly athletic, so we might be able to make it work.”

  She looked at me and the other girls of the house, and this somehow lighted Sarasa’s competitive spirit. “I’m athletic too! No one’s more agile and dexterous than me!”

  “Oh… Really…?” Katja’s interest was piqued. “I’ll judge that for myself…”

  “I’ll try it too.” Ririna raised her hand. “I’m not very athletic, but if everyone’s trying, I wanna try.”

  “That’s everyone then! I’ll go first! It’s my board, after all…” Narumi gave us no room for objection. She grabbed her board and ran toward the waves. We followed her lead and stepped into the water, both to refresh ourselves and to watch from up close.

  “Uhmm… Miyuki?” The only one lagging behind was her. She was so into it earlier… “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong… I was just expecting something more interesting when she suggested doing something fun… Surfing is… too much effort…”

  “What? You scared?” Surfing’s not the most common thing, so it’s probably her first time for her too. There’s a good chance she’ll fall, so I don’t blame her. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna join. We’re just doing this for fun. It doesn’t matter if you succeed or not. Plus, I’ll rescue you if something goes wrong, so don’t get scared.”

  “It’s not that I’m scared, Iroha, don’t get the wrong idea!” She sounded insulted all of a sudden. This is like how Carol would react. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and continued. “This idea is just… too childish… too crude… Not something to be getting excited about…”

  Why is she suddenly acting all haughty? It’s beneath her to surf? What a sorry excuse… “Just give it a try, okay?”

  “Iroha? Wait!” I grabbed her hand and brought her to the others.

  And so, we all took turns getting on the board and trying to surf without any prior experience. I had a terrible feeling about it, but for some strange reason, Narumi was right.

  It was easy…

  We were all able to get out there, get up, and catch some waves.

  “Woohoo! How was that?” Sarasa returned while holding her hat as she jumped off the board. “Ready to admit defeat, Katja? I even did a flip there at the end just for you. Let’s see you do that now.”

  “I’ll admit… I wasn’t expecting you to be able to move that well without any experience… I’ll try experimenting more next time, but now it’s Ririna’s turn.”

  “It’s my turn?” Ririna stood up after spending the previous minute rubbing her legs… “I’m ready.”

  “Ririna, huh…? No way Ririna can do it, nyahahahaha!” Sarasa wrapped her arm around her shoulder while handing her the board. “Here you go, show us some funny falls!”

  “Hmm… You’re underestimating me, you know…?” Ririna received the board with a confident smile.

  “No… I’m correctestimating you. You can’t even climb a tree without struggling.” Sarasa kept mocking her, but what happened next shut her up… “No way…”

  “See?” Ririna returned with a triumphant grin. “I told you I could do it. My flip was even better than yours!”

  “No way… How did Ririna of all people…” Was it that much of a shock for her?

  Katja applauded. “That was amazing! Is this really your first time? You two are really good at this… Do you do any sports?”

  “Ahahahaha… It was just luck! The next one is Miyuki… right?”

  “Yeah… I guess so…” Miyuki hesitantly took the board from Ririna’s hands. “Not sure how this is gonna end, but… Have it your way…”

  She slowly laid down on the board and swam forward to catch a wave. At the same time, Ririna stopped by my side. “Ririna… Did you cheat?”

  “Huh?! Me?” She whispered back. “Wh- why do you say that?”

  “I saw you… You put something on your legs, didn’t you?”

  “I- I… what are you talking about? It’s Miyuki’s turn now… Pay attention to her, okay?” I knew it…

  Well, I guess the alchemist is allowed to use alchemists’ tricks. It’s part of what makes her cute.

  And so, Miyuki’s turn finally arrived. She waited for a wave to appear, and when it did, she stood up. Maybe she’s got thi- “Wh- what now?” I could hear her panic… She stood up too early, and the wave hit her head-on.

  *SPLASH!* She’s not the first to go for a dive, but she made the biggest, funniest splash, her legs falling last.

  She resurfaced right away and got on the board again, brushing the hair from her forehead. “Guhhh… I won’t hold back anymore.” She muttered to herself.

  Another wave showed up, and time seemed to slow down. I watched her get up in slow motion, at the perfect time to catch the wave. Is she actually…

  The wave picked up speed, she skillfully flexed her knees and controlled the impact, getting carried forward by the water. I could finally breathe normally again. She did it! She actually di- *SPLASH!* Next moment, the board flew out from under her feet like it had a mind of its own.

  Well… “That’s was a good try…” She was back. I patted her shoulder to reassure her. We all did. “Cheer up!”

  “Iroha’s right! You started off pretty well. With some training, you’ll be able to do it too!” Katja chimed in. She was kneeling in silence with her shoulders trembling.

  “Dammit! Not like this… I did not sign up to get condescended to!”

  Ahahahahaha! I think we just found one of her weaknesses…