“Whew… I’m spent…”

  Narumi was the last to plop down her butt as our group gathered under the shade.

  “It was a good workout.” Katja fanned herself. “Surfing’s more demanding than I thought… I feel like I’m still sweating even though we were just in the water… I guess it’s just that hot.”

  We spent our time taking turns surfing, but since we only had one board, everyone else swam and splashed water on each other to kill time. It was a lot of fun but also exhausting.

  Under the shade of the umbrellas, on each of our towels, we sat around to cool down. The beach was nice and quiet, which was unusual for our beaches at this time of the year. The spot we’re at is not too far from a big water park, which drew a lot of potential beachgoers there, making this the best beach in Three Records! At least for someone like me who hates crowds.

  It’s also better for our otherworldly guests…

  “If everyone’s fine with it, I made something I wanna share with you.” Share? Ririna sprung a surprise on us and drew everyone’s attention. She reached for her bag and pulled out a plastic container. When did she get that? In the mall? From Carol? “I made this for everyone to help cool down!”

  “Is that ice cream?” Hecate’s lips formed into a curious smile. “Not bad for something homemade…”

  “Just in time… I needed that. Give it here…” Miyuki raised a hand, looking more exhausted than I had ever seen before.

  “Oh, me too! Is that chocolate? I love chocolate!” Narumi rushed over right away, followed by Sarasa and Katja. “Me next!” “I’ll take some, please.”

  “No need to rush… There’s enough for everyone!” She filled up cup after cup with a smile on her face. She’s way too prepared, but whatever. She’s cute and adorably thoughtful. Between her and Hecate, I wonder who’d make the best wife. Good thing I don’t have to choose.

  “Hm?!” “This is…” The first taste revealed something incredible. One by one, as the sweet flavor coated our tongues and filled our mouths, our bodies felt an even better sensation. “It’s so good… So cooling…” A pleasant, refreshing feeling permeated our bodies, a feeling that went beyond that of normal ice cream, a feeling almost supernatural.

  “How is it? Did it work?” Ririna’s face was beaming with optimism as she saw our smiles. Did it work, huh?

  She did something to this ice cream, didn’t she? It isn’t almost supernatural, it is supernatural. Why? Didn’t I tell her to be careful not to reveal her identity? She’s playing with fire to make ice cream! Come on!

  “It’s amazing! I’ve never felt better! It’s like all the heat is leaving my body! More!” Narumi scoffed down her ice cream before extending her empty cup.

  “It’s too incredible… Mhm… This isn’t normal ice cream, is it?” Katja was getting suspicious, but she couldn’t stop her spoon. “How did you achieve this…? What did you put here?”

  “Ririna…” I shook my head. Did you think this far ahead?!

  “Well… It’s just… Uhmm…” Her eyes were darting all over the place. I sensed her asking for help when our eyes met. Great… She’s leaving it to me…

  “Please, Katja, isn’t it obvious?” Hecate covered for Ririna and calmly brought a spoon to her mouth. “It’s just mint. It doesn’t taste like it because of how it’s been worked into the ice cream, but the refreshing sensation is the same.”

  “…” Katja was impressed. “Mint… Was mint always this refreshing? Well, you’re the expert, so I’ll take your word for it.” That was close… Her suspicion was gone, and a delighted smile formed as the next spoonful entered her mouth. She’d be much easier to handle if, rather than sharp, she was always this cute!

  “Thank you, Hecate… You really saved us…” Hecate was kneeling next to Ririna, so I scootched over. She seemed happy with herself. “Ririna, what were you thinking? Did you put something weird in the ice cream?”

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  “No!” She whispered while Hecate was trapped between us. “I just wanted to make something to help us cool down, so I might have put in some drops from a certain potion… Nothing weird, though!”

  “So you did put something! What kind of potion was it?” I sighed. “I told you you’re gonna get dissected if your secret gets out…”

  “It’s not my fault! It was just a few drops… It should have been impossible to notice…” Ririna defended herself, then she too sighed. “But thanks, Hecate… I wasn’t sure what I should say…”

  “Fufufu… You owe me one now… You see, I’ve realized I have some use for one such as yourself… Receiving a favor from an alchemist would more than make up for my help.”

  “Oh… What is it? If it’s something I can do, I’ll give you a hand. I mean, we’re friends… sort of… aren’t we? You can ask me for a favor anytime!”

  “Friends, not rivals?” Hecate smiled. “I can’t tell if you’re kind or na?ve… But I’ll take you up on your offer. I was wondering if you could get me some manner of love potion.”

  “A love potion?” Ririna recoiled, looking at Hecate suspiciously. “Those are really dangerous, you know? Why would someone like you want a thing like that?” The obvious answer came to her right away. “Wait… For Iroha!? To get ahead of us? No way! That’s the one thing I can’t do!”

  If that was her plan, it would have already failed with me next to her hearing it.

  “Don’t worry, that’s the last thing I’d use it for…” Hecate was surprisingly disarming, which put Ririna at ease.

  “If it’s not for Iroha, maybe it’d be fine…?” But something was strange about that. “No… You love Iroha, don’t you? Love potions are for people you love… If it’s not for her, why would you need…?”

  “It’s a long story… One I’d normally never share, but given our mutual circumstances, perhaps I can share it with you…” Do- does she want a love potion to use on one of the others?

  “Come on, Hecate!” I pulled her arm. “I get it, but you can’t resort to things like that… That’s, like, highly immoral…”

  “Highly immoral…” Hecate thought about it and arrived at a conclusion. “*Sigh…* Perhaps you’re right… It would feel hollow doing something like that. I got caught in the moment, forgive me, Ririna.” It was just a lapse in judgement… Ririna and I couldn’t be more relieved. “Just for the record, with alchemy, what kind of aphrodisiacs can you make?”

  “Hey!”

  …

  This is the life… I know lying down after eating is not a smart thing to do, but we can make an exception today, right? The Ririna’s ice cream was very effective, but it also made being under the sun much better. The sun felt good no matter how hot it got, and it actually made me want to sunbathe for a change, and I wasn’t the only one.

  I brought my towel under the sun and laid down. Katja lay down, Hecate lay down, Miyuki lay down. We were all on the same page even without saying a word… It feels so nice that I might accidentally fall asleep.

  “Hey, Ririna, is there still ice cream left?” Ririna was about the put the container away when Narumi asked. Sarasa was with them, though she apparently wanted to join us, and Carol was helping Ririna clean up.

  “Yeah, I made more than we would eat so there would be enough for everyone. There’s around a fourth still left.”

  “It’s gonna go bad by the time we go back, isn’t it? Can I do you a favor and take it off your hands?” She leaned forward, blinking adorably.

  “Didn’t you eat like four cups already?” Carol shot her down without even looking at her. “You’re gonna get fat.”

  “Joke’s on you, Carol. You know I can’t get fat!” What a smug little thing… Don’t brag about that! “Please, Ririna… I promise I’ll behave…”

  “You don’t need to promise anything… It was gonna go waste…” She pulled out the container she just finished putting away. “Here you go. Enjoy!” If nothing else, Narumi liking her creation that much made her happy.

  “Thanks, Ririna!” She brought the container onto her lap and stabbed a spoon right down the middle. It was a big chunk. Didn’t come off loose easily. But Narumi didn’t give up. She pushed down on the spoon and… “Oh…”

  The chunk of ice cream flew through the air and fell on Carol’s head. Then slid down to her chest and swimsuit. Uh oh…

  “Ahahahaha… Oops… Sorry, Carol…” I sat up in a hurry. Carol’s not gonna let that slide.

  “I thought you didn’t want to waste it!” Ririna grabbed a handful of napkins and reached for Carol. “Hold still…”

  “*Sigh…* It’s not a big deal…” Carol faced Ririna and didn’t say anything.

  “Yo- you’re not mad?” Narumi was surprised, and I can’t blame her. “I didn’t mean it, okay? It was an accident. Then again, just go for a swim and you’ll be fine!”

  “No thanks… I’d rather use fresh water.” She nodded towards some showers next to us. “That’s good enough, Ririna. I’ll just go wash off real quick.”

  She stood up and turned around. “Okay…” She reached the stall in less than twenty steps and closed the door behind her.

  That was surprisingly peaceful… Glad I didn’t need to get involved, not to mention, they were right, getting a little dirty at the beach while wearing swimsuits is not that big a deal, so I can just lay down again… close my eyes, and…

  “Kyaaaaah!”

  A high-pitched scream got us all up on our feet. Carol… What happened? I wasted no time and ran to the showers. Everyone else did the same.

  “Carol! What’s wrong?!” The stalls were part of a small wooden building with a simple design fit for the beach. I knocked on the door, and it swung open. “Ca- Carol?”

  First person I saw was myself. There was a mirror turned to the entrance. Shower was still running. The one who we were looking for was still there, unharmed, but acting really strange. She leaned against the corner of the stall, as if trying to get as far away from the door as possible.

  “Whew… You’re okay…” Hecate heaved a sigh of relief and practically pushed me out of the way to look for Carol. “You had me worried…”

  “Same for me…” I stopped the shower and gave her a hand to help her stand up. “What happened? Why were you screaming just now?”

  Carol looked at me, Hecate, then others gathering around the door, but didn’t say anything… Was there a bug in here? She seems scared… “Carol?”

  She gulped to calm herself and forced her mouth open. “Were you following me when I got into the shower? Was that a prank?”

  “A prank…? I mean… We didn’t follow you… Neither we nor anyone else… Right?” I wasn’t looking that closely, but Ririna confirmed with a nod. “What happened?”

  “Who opened the door?”

  “Uhmm… It was me… Just now… Why? You’re acting strange, Carol. What happened?”

  A simple explanation was all I needed. Somehow, Carol finally relaxed and let out a sigh. “Sorry… I overreacted… I thought I heard the door rattling and opening, but…”

  “Huh?! Was someone peeping on you? Unacceptable!” She may not even have taken her swimsuit off, but…

  “Just you wait, Carol.” Hecate giggled. Something told me we were on the same wavelength when I saw a scary glint in her eye. “We’ll make you an offering out of that pervert’s entrails!”

  She was more or less back to normal, something we picked up from her giving us a look that seemed to say, ‘Look who’s talking.’ “Listen, I don’t need all of you worrying about me. Nothing’s wrong. Must have been the wind or something. Also…”

  Hecate and I were the only ones who had forced our way inside and the only victims of her next glare. “Who gave you permission to come in while I’m showering?! Get out!”